The Press-Dispatch

April 7, 2021

The Press-Dispatch

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B-2 Wednesday, April 7, 2021 The Press-Dispatch Want to share your news with others? The Press-Dispatch can help deliver it to Pike and the surrounding counties. NEWS! 812-354-8500 FOX TRIAL Continued from page 1 the benefactor, and that he had purchased a lock pick set. During interviews, he ad- mitted being in Sharon's house, knowing she was dead days before asking police to do a welfare check on her. Murder is punishable by an advisory sentence of 55 years, with a range of 45 to 65 years. A level 1 felony is punishable by an advisory sentence of 30 years, with a range of 20 to 40 years. A level 4 felony is punishable by an advisory sentence of six years, with a range of two to 12 years. A final pre-trial hearing is set for 9 a.m. Monday, June 29 to hear pending motions. A deadline of June 8, 2021, was set for all pre-trial motions. SPIDER-MAN Continued from page 1 back of the building trying to figure out how Hammock got up there. "There were no steps or ladder that went to the top of the building." He said Deputy Jones talked to Hammock from the ground and Hammock told police he was Spider-Man. While police were there, Hammock, after talking with Jones, started to bang and kick the door and yell for someone to open it. Police said when they told him to stop beating on the door, he asked, "If this wasn't routine." Another time, he told police there was a lady in the apart- ment who needed help and at other times, he talked about a test he was taking and he had to get into the door to win. A neighbor who saw the commotion brought over a ladder large enough to reach Hammock. Officer Manning said police then asked Ham- mock if he would climb down the ladder, but he initially told them he had taken an elevator to get there. Manning and Petersburg Police Chief Chuck Baumgart then moved the ladder to where Hammock was, but Hammock said he was just going to jump. Baumgart was eventually able to convince Hammock to use the ladder instead of jumping. A fter police took Hammock into custody, he told them he had taken "bath salts." Highway 257 at the White River will have lane restric- tions beginning next Wednes- day. The Indiana Department of Transportation said begin- ning on or around April 14, contractors will restrict one lane of the S.R. 257 bridge spanning the east fork of the White River as crews work to paint the steel components of the bridge below the deck. Bridge painting helps inspec- tors identify potential struc- tural issues with bridges more easily and provides protection against rust and corrosion of a bridge's structural compo- nents. The bridge painting project is expected to last until mid- May, depending upon weath- er conditions. One 12-foot lane will be open at all times, with traffic controlled by flagging operations. Restrictions will be in place 12 hours per day. Lane restrictions on Hwy. 257 at White River starting April 14 The Jefferson Township Ruritan Club Hosts Free Will Offering Breakfast Saturday, April 17, 2021 Otwell Community Center Serving begins at 7:00am • Dine In or Carryout Options Available • Meal Includes: Social Distancing and Masks will be enforced both for Dine In Guests and Carryout Lines -Only Making 200 meals- Come early to get your meal! • Biscuits and Gravy • Bacon • Eggs • Hash Browns • Choice of Milk, Juice, Coffee Locally Owned & Operated | Dr. Clint Shoultz 715 S. 9th Street, Petersburg | 812-354-9400 Mon. 8-7 | Tues. 8-noon | Wed. 10-7 | Thurs. 8-5 | Fri. 8-5 SAVE 25% on all non-prescription designer sunglasses SUNGLASSES SALE SUNGLASSES SALE Need prescription sunglasses? These frames take prescrip- tion lenses, too! Need prescription sunglasses? These frames take prescrip- tion lenses, too! Buy 1 pair prescription sunglasses, get the second at HALF PRICE! * *Insurance accepted. 2nd pair doesn't have to be prescription. COACH EYEWEAR Robin Smith named 2021 Young Retailer of the Year Robin Smith, president and co-owner of Petersburg Hard- ware, was recently named a 2021 Young Retailer of the Year honoree by the North American Hardware and Paint Association. The award recognizes in- dividual achievement by in- dustry retailers age 35 and younger throughout the U.S. and Canada. Robin and her husband, Er- ic, bought the business from her parents, Dennis and Sher- ry Bishop, in January 2021. Robin serves as a trustee in her church, teaches business skills to Pike Central eighth graders, and currently serves as treasurer of the Pike Coun- ty Chamber of Commerce. She also served as president of the Chamber for five years, and was a director for the Eco- nomic Development Corpora- tion. Robin has overseen a wide array of community and busi- ness projects, all while raising three daughters. "Robin exemplifies the de- termination and innovation that keeps our industry grow- ing," said Scott Wright, exec- utive director of advanced re- tail education programs of NHPA. Speeding stop results in OVWI arrest Scott Schroeder, 35, of 12603 N Spangler Rd., Ed- wardsport, was arrested for OV WI by Pike County Sher- iff Deputy Cody Jones after a traffic stop for speeding on SR 257 late Friday night. Jones stopped Schroeder for driving 59 mph in a 40 zone, and af- ter noticing the odor of an al- coholic beverage and seeing bloodshot, glossy eyes and slurring speech, he conduct- ed three sobriety tests, which Schroeder failed. Schroeder consented to a PBT test, which tested .134, according to the report. A f- ter a certified BAC of .144 at the Pike County Sheriff's Of- fice, Schroeder was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.b McCandless arrested for OVWI Ronald L. McCandless, 83, of 41289 S. SR 61, Winslow, was stopped on April 2 by Pike County Sheriff's Deputy Jared Simmons in Winslow for fail- ing to signal and swaying back and forth in the lane. Simmons reported observing the truck McCandless was driving go left of the center line near Union St. with about a quar- ter of the truck in the oncom- ing lane. Deputy Simmons stopped McCandless just past the rail- road tracks south of Winslow. During a conversation with McCandless, Simmons report- ed he could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage and ob- served slurred speech, blood- shot eyes and poor manual dexterity. McCandless consented to three sobriety tests and a PBT. He failed all three, according to the report, and tested .124 BAC. A fter being transported to the Sheriff's Department, McCandless tested .157 BAC on the certified breath ma- chine, according to the report. He was then arrested for oper- ating a vehicle while intoxicat- ed with a prior. Indiana Department of Transportation will have an informational open house to explain projects planned for Pike County. It will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednes- day, April 14 at Kiefer Hall of Main St. Presbyterian Church on Main St. in Petersburg. The three projects include: • Reconstruction of High- way 61, which runs from Main St., Petersburg, 1.1 miles north. It will also include new sidewalks and curbs for much of the project. • A preventive mainte- nance of hot mix asphalt over- lay on Highway 56, from High- way 61 to Highway 257. • Highway 56/61 drainage correction, from McCoy St. to Goodlet St. in Petersburg. All three projects are slat- ed to be done in the 2021 con- struction season. INDOT to host info open house By Andy Heuring Petersburg delayed taking action on a proposed parking ban for Seventh St. and passed a ban on commercial vehicle traffic on several streets in Pe- tersburg, including Seventh St., during their Monday night city council meeting. "I think we would like to dis- cuss this a little further. We are not sure what is going to happen until it happens," said Klipsch about an ordinance the council discussed that would have banned parking on Seventh St., from Highway 57 north to Highway 61. At their last meeting in March, the council had the first reading of an ordinance that would ban parking. Klipsch and council mem- bers proposed the ordinance due to safety concerns about the expected heavy traffic on Seventh St. when Highway 61 will be closed from Main St. to Abigail St. between May and mid-October of this year. This will leave Seventh St. as the only way to Main St. from north of Main St. Klipsch said he has been watching traffic patterns on Seventh St. He said now it is the heaviest during a three- hour span per day. He said the traffic is heaviest before and after 8 a.m. when people are going to the post office, and then again starting at about 11 a.m. when people start go- ing to Randy's Americana Ca- fe for lunch. Klipsch said once people driving south on Seventh St. get to the railroad track, they can see Main St. "I believe a lot people will avoid this, going on Poplar St.," said Klipsch. He also said the yellow line prohibiting parking on both sides of Seventh St. north of Main St. had been reduced to just 15 feet. He suggested that be increased back to 30 feet so people will have more room to make the turn and visibili- ty at the intersection would be improved, but continue to al- low parking on both sides of Seventh St. in the first block of Seventh, down to Poplar St. "We can always change it if we need to. Think about whether you believe this is right. We don't want the cor- rection to be worse than the problem," said Klipsch. He said the real problem with Seventh St. is from north of the railroad tracks to High- way 61. He said he saw a 4-wheel drive tractor with a large fold- up implement on the back of it driving south on Highway 61 recently. "I think it was prob- ably wider than Seventh St," said Klipsch. Councilman Gary Leavitt asked if they could smooth out a couple of areas in the parking lot behind City Hall and asked about parking be- hind the 606 and 608 Main St. building facades. Klipsch said they can con- sider that, but he didn't want to right away. The council amended and adopted an ordinance that bans commercial traffic on several streets. In the first reading at their March 15 meeting, the ordinance stat- ed: "There are certain streets that will be designated as lo- cal detours for the upcoming work on Indiana State Road 61 and these detours will not be suitable for through commer- cial traffic." The affected streets are Locust St., Seventh St. and White River Ave. However, Monday night, Klipsch said city officials learned a bigger portion of Harvest Lane was in the city limits than previously thought. "Harvest Lane is a county road, but the front part of it is in city limits," said Klipsch. So Harvest Lane and North St. were both added to the com- mercial traffic ban. A fter the amendment was added, councilmen had three readings of the ordinances and then voted 5 -0 to approve the commercial through traf- fic ban. Councilmen approved a second ordinance that creat- ed a fund for Petersburg to put their stimulus package mon- ey in. Klipsch said Petersburg will be getting $482,000 from the CARES act and they need a fund to put that money in. The ordinance creating the fund was approved by a 5 - 0 vote. Klipsch said that money had great timing because he recently learned it can be used for water and sewer projects. Petersburg is in the process of rebuilding its wastewater treatment plant and building a new water plant. "We have more than $20 million of proj- ects that are going to be go- ing on. We know they are go- ing to be more than what the estimates were, because those estimates were made several years ago," said Klipsch. He added some of the $482,000 can be used to offset those extra costs. In other business, Klipsch and Police Chief Chuck Baumgart warned people that blowing their grass clippings into the street was a fineable offense. Baumgart said it cre- ates a safety hazard for motor- cycles and stops up the storm drains. Klipsch said Code Enforce- ment Officer Kyle Mills and Fire Chief Ross Elmore in- spected buildings at 402 S. Eight St. and 502 N. Seventh St. and found them to be un- safe structures. Councilman Brian VanMe- ter said he had gotten com- plaints from residents about a vehicle that has been sitting at Knox and Cedar Sts. for more than a month and debris that had been dumped there re- cently. Klipsch said he would have Officer Mills check on it. The next city council meet- ing is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 19. Council reconsiders 7th Street parking ordinance Carrying their cross Youth from the First Baptist Church in Petersburg walked around Petersburg on Saturday carrying a large cross, which Jesus was forced to do before he was hanged on Good Friday and rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. Participating Saturday were Reagan Craig, carrying the cross, and (l to r) Lucy Yon, youth pastor Tam- my Graham, Jordyn Graham, Garrett St. John and Colin Craig.

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