The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1383896
Gibson County Council approves transfers By Janice Barniak Gibson County Council ap- proved fund transfers to cover var- ious county expenses last Tuesday in their regular meeting, includ- ing: •$1,147 for a pay increase for the Sheriff, transferring the amount from retirement funds. Sheriff's wages are tied to the county prosecutor pay, and set by the state budget, which goes through in July. •$24,000 was transferred into trial attorney fees for the public defender's office to cover overag- es incurred by the Wilson murder trial. The money was taken from furniture, office decor and records funding. (The furniture and office funds were set with the anticipa- tion of furnishing the new public defender's office, but that hasn't been built yet). •$5,000 from salary funds to overtime in the health department budget to cover overtime incurred at the vaccination clinic. Jail pre-design approved By Janice Barniak The Gibson County Council approved moving $200,000 of jail tax collections into a fund for the pre-design phase of the jail. That money includes the $150,000 contract for the RQAW pre-design, $40,000 of which has been billed to the county so far, and $17,250 for Byron Sanders' contract, among other expenses. EMS rebounding from financial setbacks, COVID By Janice Barniak Gibson County EMS director David Pond told Gibson Coun- ty Council June 8, while revenue from ambulance runs was down all through last year, that's beginning to bounce back. Over the last year, the EMS has been not been allowed to bill COVID patients. That, combined with insurance office shutdowns, meant that recouping expenses and billing was very much down; however, it's on a soft rebound now that things are opening back up, and the office is on track to collect roughly $1.53 million. "I'm expecting it to come up," said Pond. He also acknowledged the toll of the pandemic on EMS workers. "This last year has been really rough for our service. What we do is high-risk. The back of an ambu- lance is not very big, and you've got these COVID patients cough- ing," he said. The ambulance ser- vice members performed high- risk procedures on COVID pa- tients, knowing the risks they were taking, and even with chang- ing clothes before they went home, their workplace was much less safe than a hospital, for example. "They were fearful, and some took it home to their families too, even though they tried not to," he said. Interactive sculpture unveiled at Lyles Station By Janice Barniak Ghana-born artist Kwame Akota-Bamfo un- veiled the "Blank Slate Monument" at Lyles Sta- tion Historic School and Museum, Gibson Coun- ty's 1800s-era free Black settlement, on Fri- day, with the mission to spark healing and unity through dialogue. The Blank Slate Memorial includes an Ameri- can Civil War Black soldier with a noose around his neck, and a woman carrying a baby the way an A frican woman would carry a child traditionally. Morris Sinclair, who is traveling with the artist and statue, explained the bottom person is an en- slaved A frican essentially supporting his descen- dants, so that statue presents the fight for freedom before, during and after the American Civil War. The memorial is interactive and allows anyone within WiFi range to put a message onto the sign held up by the top figure—making the piece it- self a literal dialogue between the artist and the viewers. While the monument was completed in 2019, the bottom figure is of a man having his neck crushed, which Sinclair said echoes the death of George Floyd, despite the piece pre-dating the event. "This was created before anyone knew the name George Floyd. But there are no accidents," Sinclair said. The monument was on display through the weekend and then continued its cross country trek; it will be on display in Chicago, Detroit, At- lanta and Washington, D.C., among other stops. "I literally have about 3,000 sculptures to my credit, but this is one of the pieces I am most proud of because I get to collaborate with people," Akota-Bamfo said. "This narrative we're talking about, the A frican-American experience—we art- ists are sometimes very elitist without knowing. We are the ones who get to choose the symbols that present somebody else's experience, so this is to break away from being so elitist...it's hum- bling." Blank Slate Monument was unveiled at Lyles Station Friday, an interactive exhibit that allows people to put their own message on the statue's protest sign. Oakland City man faces drug charges Clay Pflug, 25, of Oakland City, will face drug charges after a June 8 traffic stop on Ind. 64 in Francisco. According to the Sheriff's Of- fice report, at 10 :41 p.m., Depu- ty Bryce Jutzi conducted a traf- fic stop on a maroon 1998 Toyo- ta Tacoma for failing to maintain its lane of travel. Upon initiating a traffic stop, Deputy Jutzi iden- tified the driver as Pflug. While speaking with Pflug, Deputy Jutzi detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage and be- gan a roadside DUI investigation. At the conclusion of his investiga- tion, Deputy Jutzi placed Pflug in- to custody and transported him to the Gibson County Jail, where he was charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicat- ed, possession of methamphet- amines and possession of para- phernalia. He remains in custo- dy on a $750 bond. Assisting Deputy Jutzi in his investigation were Captain Bry- an Ellis, Deputy Garrett Tuley, Oakland City Officer Mike Mc- Gregor and Conservation Offi- cer Ryan McIntyre. SCHWOMEYER ADVANCES TO STATE FINALS By Andy Heuring Wood Memorial senior Paxton Schwomeyer shot a 73 last Thursday at Country Oaks in the IHSA A golf regional to qualify for the Indiana State Finals in golf. It was exactly the number he needed to qualify, as he tied with two others for fourth best score in the 18 -team regional. Schwomeyer missed it by one shot in 2019 as a sophomore when he finished sixth. The IHSA A takes the top five individuals not on an advanc- ing team to the state finals. He was primed to ad- vance to the state finals in 2020, but then COVID hit. It all just added big pressure to the regional this year. "It has been my goal all four years, es- pecially since last year, missing the season," said Schwomeyer. He started on the 10th tee Thursday and got off to a good start playing the 10th and 11th of Coun- try Oaks in even par. Then he birdied the par 5 12th to get to one under. Things then got interest- ing after playing 13 and 14 even. He bogeyed the par 5 15th and bounced back with a birdie on 16. But then his biggest trouble of the day set in. He blocked his tee right of the narrow fairway on 17 into the trees and ravine. "Instead of trying to go for the green, I decided to just punch it out to about 100 and lean on my wedge play," said Schwomey- er. He didn't hit a great wedge. Then he chipped and missed the putt. "I had a look at it, but just didn't make it," said Schwomeyer. A par on 18 left him one over for the back nine. He played one and two even par before getting a shot back on hole 3 with a birdie. He parred the next three before taking on hole seven, which is the hardest hole on the course. It was playing 470 yards. Schwomeyer said he played conservatively, hitting his 5 wood off the tee and had 200 yards left. "It was a seven iron to the green. I told myself short is okay." He was short and then chipped to less than 10 feet. "I had a look at it, but just pushed it to the left." He was even over the last two holes to finish even on the front nine and card a one over par 73. "It feels awesome to get to go up there and play with no pressure," said Schwomeyer about getting to play in the state finals. He has already signed with Vincennes Univer- sity, so he doesn't have to impress anyone with his performance at state. "This is as far as you can go in high school golf. It is a great way to end my high school career," said Schwomeyer. The state finals are hosted by Prairie View in Carmel. The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, June 16, 2021 B-3 Submit East Gibson news items: Call: 812-354-8500 Email: egnews@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg EAST GIBSON Kwame Akota-Bamfo discusses the collaboration between himself and the sculpture's audience Friday at the unveil- ing of the Blank Slate Monument, which was on temporary display at Lyles Station last week. Wood Memorial senior Paxton Schwomeyer shot a 73 last Thursday in the IHSA A golf regional to qualify for the Indiana State Fi- nals in golf. It was exactly the number he needed to qualify, as he tied with two others for fourth best score in the 18-team regional.