The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1364176
B-6 Wednesday, April 21, 2021 The Press-Dispatch EAST GIBSON Submit East Gibson news items: Call: 812-354-8500 Email: egnews@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg Francisco Elementary School Francisco Elementary School recognized three outstanding students who scored a perfect score on the IREAD assessment for third graders. Congratulations for a job well done. Waylon Lamson Alexa Pharris Dean Wentworth Greyson James, first grade Deklynn Dunn, kindergarten Julian Hornby, kindergarten Mrs Malin and Mrs. Kelley, second grade teacher and aide Tyson Sheehe, second grade Francisco Elementary School had Spirit week to prepare the students for ILEARN. Staff and administrators want the students to have fun and feel positive about the test. COVID numbers up among younger people in Gibson County By Janice Barniak According to Gibson Coun- ty Health Dept. Director Di- ane Hornby, after a February low, numbers were trending up through March and April, especially among younger people. The county saw 812 cases in January, 144 in February, and 197 in March. In April, the county is averaging 6.5 new cases per day, compared to March's five, but those numbers are at least lower than the county's peak pan- demic average of 26 cases per day, she told the Gibson County Council. "I don't know if it's due to spring break," said Hornby. "With so many vaccinated, you would think it would go down, but it's in younger peo- ple who have had no vaccine." She said the health depart- ment is continuing to encour- age masking in local restau- rants because the numbers continue to rise, and they'll continue courthouse screen- ings. She said they only vacci- nate 18 years old and older at the health department be- cause they're giving mostly Moderna. The county did give 185 doses of the Johnson and Johnson one-shot vaccines in a one-day clinic before it was recalled due to incidents of blood clots. The county gave 2,456 vac- cines last month. Testing is going down and the testing site may close as early as June. "At some point, will you have to go to the doctor to get tested like you would for a flu? " asked Councilman Jer- emy Overton. According to Hornby, it's likely Express Clinics will take over testing. Overton also commented that because the number of people testing is going down, it's also likely the positivity number, (based on number of cases per 100,000 and per- centage positives), would stay high as only sicker peo- ple would be tested. The advisory level is at yel- low, and the county sits at 89 deaths, and a total number of 4,287 total cases. "We went three days with- out cases in February," Horn- by remembered, adding they haven't had that since. County jail goal is to open by 2023 By Janice Barniak Commissioners met April 13 with RQAW to discuss expectations and needs for the Gibson County Jail project, the anticipated completion of which is March 2023. According to the RQAW's Eric We- flen, there's not often the kind of inter- est that packed the room at the project meeting last week, with members of law enforcement, Gibson County Re- development Board and concerned citizens all there to give their feed- back on what the jail needed. Weflen promised a design that would meet Indiana Code; he said the company will update the data collect- ed on the jail, talk to adjacent counties about their bed counts, host a public hearing, spend time with the jail com- mander and get the project out to bid with alternates. The company will look at how to add 60 rooms at least, likely in four blocks of 15. According to Sheriff Timothy Bot- toms, the jail needs more beds, anoth- er drunk tank to up the number from one to two, medical holding cells and a bigger booking room, because during a drug raid, they can have eight to 10 people waiting for booking with no place to put them. The jail needs at least one other vid- eo visitation room because there are at least two courts running concur- rently, but only one room for the de- fendants to use video. The current jail has one padded cell, Bottoms said they need two to three. "One thing I don't want to see in this jail is an elevator," said Bottoms, adding it's difficult carrying meals and is not safe transporting prisoners. Jail commander Andrea Shell said she'd like the building to last the coun- ty for a long time, and for it to have more classification opportunities, in- cluding being able to classify people according to mental health issues. She also said jail institutions are hav- ing conversations about how to clas- sify people who are transgender and that will likely continue to be a big top- ic in coming years. She said she hopes the space will be flexible enough to meet the changing needs of jails and to provide better safety for officers. Dispatcher Becky Beadles said the jail needs a radio room with a station for each dispatcher and a break room. She added the jail needs a shower for guards, because they are assaulted with blood and spit, and don't current- ly have a place to clean up. Deputy Bruce Vanoven is a mem- ber of the cell extraction team and seconded what Beadles said, adding urine and excrement to the list of sub- stances officers would like to be able to wash off. Besides a place to shower, the team needs a place to keep equip- ment, he added. He said keeping em- ployees healthier will mean them not getting sick as often. Deputy Dan Lieneman, who helped Toyota building projects in Texas and Princeton, is also a school resource officer, said the jail needs to be flex- ible—should there be fewer incar- cerated people, he'd like to be able to mothball part to save costs. He'd also like to make it environmentally friend- ly and something of which people can be proud. Marc Iunghuhn, who worked for North Gibson Schools, said part of the project will be selling the jail to the community. "Call it the Gibson County Correc- tional Facility. A big thing in this com- munity is to keep the edge off stuff. Don't call it jail...that's also a mind- set," Iunghuhn said. Commissioner Warren Fleetwood said he prioritizes sticking to the timeline, limiting change orders and getting as close to what they need as possible the first time around. He'd like it to be safe for inmates and em- ployees, and to provide the best tech- nology available for the structure, with a floor plan to allow for future expansion if needed. Former Sheriff George Ballard list- ed security as the top priority, say- ing that when the current jail was de- signed, they made sure that no mat- ter where an inmate was, there were at least two locked doors between them and escape. Previously, the jail had numerous escapes, but after institut- ing that rule, they had none. He said they also must prepare to staff the jail to the capacity the design requires, and to remember mainte- nance on the jail as part of the cost. The jail will get hard use, 24 hours a day, because prisoners are not caring how they treat the place since they're incarcerated. "They don't care...they're going to get taken care of by the county," he said. Commissioner Mary Key said she wants dispatchers to have more of- fice space. "Their equipment is on top of them. They can't move without hitting it," she said, adding they need to know all the soft costs before building, and need it to be efficient staffing-wise. "We don't want to build a facility and need five to 10 more people. We know we can't get it." She'd also like to see a climate-con- trolled room for the servers and phone systems where they will not get wa- ter damaged. Byron Sanders, who contracted for the project, wants a jail that will help ease staffing issues, including recruit- ing and retaining employees. Weflen said the commissioners would want to start committees of stakeholders to give feedback and make recommendations to commis- sioners. An executive committee gen- erally includes two council members, an attorney, an owner's representa- tive, a construction manager and the sheriff. Commissioner Ken Montgomery suggested asking Jeremy Overton, because he knows the finances in- side and out, and Councilman Derek McGraw, who is in law enforcement, to be the council members. RQAW suggested at least two oth- er committees, one on finance and another on communications. They would also like to see more proper- ties owned by the county. Iunghuhn suggested designing with so many committees could slow down the process. "Design by committee is our spe- cialty. We've had a lot of practice at it," said Weflan. County approves deputy for courthouse By Janice Barniak Gibson County Council approved funds on April 13 to put a deputy at the entry to the courthouse to take care of courthouse secu- rity. The county has bailiffs in the courtroom, Judge Rob Krieg told the coun- cil, but this person will man the increased securi- ty measures demanded by an Indiana State mandate that went into effect earli- er this year. Councilman Jeremy Overton asked if there was a way to classify the deputy the same as the bailiffs, as the bailiffs get PERF (pub- lic employee retirement fund) benefits instead of pensions, which are much more expensive. The judges didn't have specific input on that, ex- cept that the deputy needs to have arrest powers. Judge Jeffrey Meade told him every courthouse he's been to in the state has had county deputies as the se- curity officers. "We're fine. We're fine because of the COIT mon- ey going in there...it helps prop that up," said Coun- cilman Jeremy Overton. Thinking ahead, with a magistrate coming on, they'll likely need anoth- er person. "I think we've got to do it," said Councilman Der- ek McGraw. Wood Memorial's Reese Morton hits his ball out of the bun- ker on the right side of hole nine at the Oakland City Country Club. Morton shot an 89 for the Trojans, who placed second in the four-team invitational on Saturday morning. Paxton Schwomeyer hits a high and soft flop shot on the green of the fifth hole. Schwomeyer shot a 74 on Saturday in the Wood Memorial Invitational. It was the second lowest score in the four-team tournament. Wood Memorial was runner-up with a team score of 346. Gibson Southern won the tournament with a score of 313. Evansville Christian was third at 397 and Pike Central fourth with a 435. Trojans second in Wood Invitational