The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1400710
B-2 Wednesday, August 11, 2021 The Press-Dispatch By Andy Heuring Pike County recorded its first COVID death since March 10, 2021. It is the 35th COVID death in Pike County. There were 26 new cases re- ported in the last seven days in Pike County, as the COVID numbers across Indiana and the country continue to rise. There were 2,234 new cases reported in Indiana on Mon- day. That is the most since ear- ly February in Indiana and 10 times the level in mid-June, when the number of cases were in the low 200s. Howev- er, it is far from when COVID was at its peak of 8,441 on De- cember 2, 2020. Hospitalizations are also going up in Indiana. They hit a summer peak of 1,318 on Monday, which is up from 933 a week earlier on Aug. 3. On June 24, hospitalizations had dropped to 369 in Indiana. Deaths have remained fair- ly low compared to the num- ber of cases occurring. Deaths had a spike on Aug. 8 to 12, but that's more than double any day over the last seven days, when the highest number of deaths was six. Pike County Health Nurse Amy Gladish said Pike Coun- ty has 22 active cases. She said vaccination rates in Pike County are increasing. She said she thinks that is due to the rise in the number of new cases and kids going back to school. Gladish said even though we are hearing about break- through cases, where some- one vaccinated gets COVID, she said that is rare. She said Indiana's Department of Health released on Tuesday that breakthrough cases are only 0.2 percent of the new COVID cases. Anyone wanting a vaccine can get one by going to the Pike County Health Dept., lo- cated on Walnut St. in the Old Petersburg Gym, during their vaccine clinic hours, which are Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Tuesdays from 1 to 6 p.m. Gladish said they have the Moderna vaccine ev- eryday and most days have the Pfizer vaccine, because it is the only one approved for 12 to 18 year olds. She said on some days, they have the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. CVS in Petersburg and most other pharmacies are also of- fering the vaccines. Gladish said Pike County's testing site is staying busy. Anyone wanting tested can go online and make an ap- pointment to be tested. The site is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Mondays, 3 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesdays, and 9 a.m. to noon on Thurs- days and Saturdays. County records first COVID death since March 10 8–7 . Mon. 8–noon . Tues. 10–7 . Wed. 8–5 . Thur. 8–5 . Fri. Trouble with vision at school? Now Locally Owned and Operated Dr. Clint Shoultz 715 S. 9th St., Petersburg 812-354-9400 Call For Appointment To pre-register for this free event, visit www.mhhcc.org and search for the program in "Classes & Events" or please call 812-996-2352. Deadline to register is Friday, August 20. Wednesday, August 26, 2021 6:00 p.m. ET Main Street Presbyterian Church 910 Main St. • Petersburg, IN Stay healthier and lower your health care costs. Join Ben Stillman, D.O. from Petersburg Family Medicine as he presents "Preventative Medicine and Why it Matters." Pre-registration is required. A free dinner will be included. Preventative Medicine and Why it Matters Presented by: Ben Stillman, D.O. GUILTY Continued from page 1 Her husband, Ed Fox, saw her while violating his protec- tion order, gained entry to her house to check on her and was too afraid to call police. "Quite cowardly," Walton said. He argued the two charges connected to burglary could not apply because Ed and Sha- ron Fox had not yet divorced, and Ed Fox could not burglar- ize his own property. "You cannot find guilt on that issue," he said. Walton pointed to Fox hav- ing given four voluntary inter- views to law enforcement. "He didn't skip town or leave her there. He didn't not try to get into the house," said Walton. Walton also criticized the two months it took law en- forcement to charge Ed Fox with murder, saying that if it had been a simple clear cut case, the state would have pre- sented it sooner. Walton also pushed back with the coroner's initial find- ing of accidental death. "Dr. Jacobi would not waiv- er from his position. Dr. Jaco- by's findings are not consis- tent with the state's case," Walton said. "Having said all this, let's picture the scenario. She's lost her glasses, but she knows her way around well enough to navigate the trash she keeps on the floors...That is an abso- lutely reasonable scenario to consider." He said that nothing in the 21 search warrants the state executed found property that was supposed to be in Sharon Fox's home. "Maybe he didn't love her, maybe it's been a miserable 37 years," said Walton. "There's nothing here that shows he's angry enough to take her life." He said the case was built on pillars of doubt, and chal- lenged how the jury would sleep should they convict. McDonald rebutted Wal- ton's assertion that Sharon Fox would choose oranges as a midnight snack. He also re- futed Walton saying that the 21 search warrants indicate a case that wasn't clear, add- ing that it wasn't apparent un- til police found the internet password reset on the acci- dental death insurance policy why someone would kill Sha- ron Fox using the stairs. "The recon, the black ops missions, the questions to his son, is all to figure out how to kill her," said McDonald. "It's not apparent that the icing on the cake is if he kills her in an accident...There is no reason- able theory of innocence. You should go back and find Ed Fox guilty on all three counts." Pike Community Foundation seeks applications for Lilly Scholarship The 2022 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship ap- plication is now available in Pike County through the Pike County community Founda- tion. The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Pro- gram (LECSP) will provide 143 scholarships statewide and one scholarship in Pike County. LECSP scholarships may be used for otherwise unreim- bursed full tuition, required fees, and a special allocation of up to $ 900 per year. The special allocation may cover the costs for required books and required equipment for four years of undergraduate study on a full-time basis lead- ing to a baccalaureate degree at any eligible Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university. The program, administered statewide by Independent Col- leges of Indiana (ICI) and lo- cally in Pike County through the Pike County Community Foundation, is open to all In- diana residents who: • graduate from an accred- ited Indiana high school by 2022 and received their di- ploma no later than June 30, 2022. • intend to pursue a full- time baccalaureate course of study at an eligible college or university in Indiana. • meet the criteria specific to their local community foun- dation. Students can learn more about the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship in Pike County and apply for this scholarship by visiting https://www.community- foundationalliance.org/schol- arship/lilly-endowment-com- munity-scholarship-pike/. Ap- plications must be complet- ed and submitted by Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, midnight to be considered. Applications will be evaluat- ed on, but not limited to, the following criteria; class rank, financial need, and communi- ty activities, one student and two alternates will be nom- inated by the Pike County Community Foundation, and their names will be submit- ted to ICI for final selection of the recipients. Scholarship re- cipients will be notified in De- cember. Lilly Endowment creat- ed LECSP for the 1997-1998 school year and has support- ed the program every year since with tuition grants to- taling more than $424 mil- lion. Nearly 5,000 Indiana stu- dents have received Lilly En- dowment Community Schol- arships since the program's inception. The primary purposes of LECSP are: 1) to help raise the level of educational at- tainment in Indiana, 2) to in- crease awareness of the ben- eficial roles Indiana commu- nity foundations can play in their communities; and 3) to encourage and support the ef- forts of current and past Lil- ly Endowment Communi- ty Scholars to engage with each other and with Indiana business, governmental, ed- ucational, nonprofit and civic leaders to improve the quality of life in Indiana generally and in local communities throught the state. Pike County Community foundation is again pleased to offer LECSP for its 24th year in Pike County. Cindy Gaskins, volunteer director of the Pike County Communi- ty Foundation said, "The Pike County Community Founda- tion is fortunate to be able to award the LECSP year after year to a worthy student, for some it opens up an opportu- nity of a lifetime." Middle School locker assignments After signing up for school, Colten McCollom works on opening his locker for the first time, with the assis- tance of his little cousin, Evelynn Nordhoff, on Monday, August 9. Baham hired as new Public Works Superintendent By Andrea Preston The Town of Winslow is taking the first steps to address the community's grow- ing feral cat issue. During Monday's bi-monthly meet- ing, the Winslow Town Council unan- imously passed – on first reading – two ordinances aimed at tackling the prob- lem. Council mem- ber Debra Lamb spearheaded the ef- fort and presented the ordinances for review and approval. Feral cats are the offspring of stray or abandoned household pets and are typically raised without hu- man contact. The "Community Cat Initia- tive" ordinance attempts to address the issue by explaining the "Trap-Neuter-Re- turn" (TNR) program. TNR programs are exactly what they sound like — feral cats are caught, neutered or spayed and then released back into the wild. TNR pro- grams are typically viewed as the most hu- mane way to deal with the issue. While there is no funding tied to the or- dinance, and the town isn't financially ob- ligated, Lamb said she's looking at ways to offset the cost of the medical proce- dure for each cat. "I'm looking for funds; grants. This is a start," she said. The second ordinance, "Cruelty/Ani- mal Care," addresses the humane treat- ment of animals within the town. The or- dinance doesn't define the term "animal" as in kind of animal, but rather protects animals of "owners/guardian/caretaker." And that "no person shall beat, torment, overload, overwork or otherwise abuse an animal." The fines for violating are: $50 for first offense; $75 for second offense; and $100 for third and subsequent offenses." Both ordinances will be read a second time before being formally adopted at the next meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday, Au- gust 23. IN OTHER BUSINESS • Introduced Torez Baham, the town's new Public Works Superintendent. The Winslow native started on Aug. 2. In ad- dition, Alisha Wardlow and Ray Bolin were announced as new hires in the Pub- lic Works department. • Approved on a 3-0 vote that utility customers seeking a payment arrange- ment with the town must also apply for assistance from the Indiana Emergency Rental Assistance (IER A) program. WINSLOW POLICE DEPARTMENT JULY REPORT The Winslow Police Department re- ported the following incidents for the month of July: • Domestic – 2 • Traffic – 14 • Medical Call Requiring Police Presence – 1 • Noise Disturbances – 2 (fireworks) • Drug Activity – 2 • Arrest – 1 • Suspicious Person and Activity – 1 Torez Baham Winslow council deals with feral cat issue Fox trial testimony from pathologist, coroner on page A-4