The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1400710
D-6 Wednesday, August 11, 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 Subdivisions will need to get on list for paving By Janice Barniak Subdivisions that have been accepted into the coun- ty road system will have to get in line on the county's 15 -year road plan, commis- sioners decided Aug. 4 in a county council meeting. The county accepted sev- eral subdivisions last year, and since then, those subdi- visions have requested pav- ing and other subdivisions want to be taken in for the purposes of road care. According to commission- ers, when County Engineer Matt Holden went to exam- ine subdivision Hunter's Crossing, and told them the county could chip and seal the area, they turned it down. "They wanted new pave- ment," said Commission- er Warren Fleetwood, who added he doesn't blame res- idents, but rather wants the county to be more careful about accepting future sub- divisions as county roads. "Okay, they're low man on the totem pole, they need to get on the list," said Commis- sioner Mary Key. "We cannot change our county's 15 -year plan," said Fleetwood. Cecil "Bob" Allen told commissioners he wanted his road paved, too. "Paving (the subdivision) would be thousands of dol- lars," said Allen. "Not thousands. Millions," corrected Key. 5-year-old loses life at Princeton pool By Janice Barniak Gibson County Coroner Barrett Doyle confirmed drowning as the cause of death for a 5 -year-old child who lost her life at the Princ- eton Aquatic Center Aug. 3, at 8:41 p.m., when she was pulled unresponsive from the pool and attempts to resusci- tate her failed. Indiana Dept. of Natural Resources is investigating, ac- cording to the press release. According to her GoFund- Me page, Kimber Hibbs "was ready to start kindergarten and loved LOL dolls and Fortnite...Kimber's mother is devastated and asks for all the prayers anyone can spare." The fundraiser to help her family had raised $ 6,200 of its $10,000 goal as of Monday, and is avail- able at https://gofund.me/ d2f79c22. Meanwhile, the Princeton Aquatic Center is closed, and a memorial of balloons and posters continues to grow, and a candlight vigil is ten- tatively set for Saturday, though exact details were not available as of press time. Kimber Hibbs Concert raises $8,185 for Cops for Kids By Janice Barniak A three-band concert raised $ 8,185 for impoverished chil- dren at Christmas Saturday in the Toyota Events Center at Gibson County Fairgrounds, enough to take about 30 chil- dren shopping for presents. The fundraiser, organized by Jeremy Bigham, original- ly planned the concert in 2020 with his mother in mind. "My mom was a big Jeff Bates fan," he said. Jeff Bates headlined the concert with Joe Nobody, Blackford Creek and Rodney Watts. "I wanted to bring Jeff in for her, too. She would want to see him per- form. She didn't make it, un- fortunately. She passed away in May." The fundraiser is Bigham's second for Cops for Kids, a local organization formerly known as Shop with a Cop. The first fundraiser was a comedy show raising $5,400. "We don't want any kids to go without Christmas," Bigham said. Princeton Police Chief Der- ek McGraw said the Cops for Kids organization has come a long way since shaking a bucket on street corners for change 17 years ago. The first year, the organization raised $2,000, and took 20 children to spend $100 each. Last year, the group had approximately 40 children and spent $250 each. McGraw said the funni- est moment he remembers was during clothes shopping for a child who was picking up a package of T-shirts at Walmart, only to find some- one had opened it and it was one short. "He said, 'You need to ar- rest these people.'" McGraw laughs. "He said it totally se- rious. The touching stories are the ones that want to buy for their parents or siblings. These kids are so gracious." Blackford Creek performs Saturday at the Cops for Kids fundraiser. Joe Nobody takes the stage Saturday at the Cops for Kids fundraiser. Coronavirus testing ramps up as local cases top 250 in July By Janice Barniak Gibson County will ramp up coronavirus testing as this July was worse than July of 2020 in sheer number of cases, Health Dept. di- rector Diane Hornby told Commis- sioners Aug. 3. Last July, the coun- ty saw 152 cases. Once people who have been tested that have not been added to the system are included, July 2021 will top that with approxi- mately 250 cases. "We're in a worse situation than last year," Hornby said. The health department plans test- ing four to five days a week, and pos- sibly a weekend day. Because the lo- cal hospital charges $139 for testing, those who are uninsured may not get tested without a free testing site. The health department would likely use the EMA camper and funds previously approved to staff a coronavirus testing center at the fairgrounds. Warren Fleetwood said after the meeting. Meanwhile, Hornby recommend- ed stepping up mask wearing while Gibson County is in the orange ad- visory level. The current seven-day positivity rating is 12.77 percent as of 6 a.m. Monday. The health department recom- mended to local superintendents that students be masked at school during the high advisory level, fol- lowing CDC guidelines that recom- mend all unvaccinated people be masked. Evansville schools have already announced masking, Hornby said, while hospitals in Evansville have begun diverting coronavirus pa- tients due to a lack of space. Gibson County sits at a 43 percent vaccination rate. "Who is it hitting hardest now? " asked Commissioner Warren Fleet- wood. "It's just all over the place," said Hornby. "If you get it in a family, the whole family gets it. Children are getting sicker than they were. Children are now on ventilators when previously they were not...It's a difficult, touchy subject. COVID did not go away. We missed the win- dow with many of our residents (on vaccination) and now we're in a dan- gerous place." EMS director David Pond told commissioners COVID is eating through his regular EMS budget, as paramedics' procedures, like intu- bation, expose them to high COVID risk daily. "We are struggling," Pond said. "I've been really proud of them." Hornby asked commissioners to be community leaders to advocate measures that fight coronavirus. "I'm like everyone else in the room...I'm hoping and praying for my neighbors," said Fleetwood. He said increasing testing days, administering free vaccines and talking to schools is action. "We're doing our part and we need our community to help us," he said. INDOT begins Ind. 68 work The Indiana Department of Transportation announc- es complete closures for four separate pipe replacements on Ind. 68 near Haubstadt. Beginning on or around Monday, Aug. 9, INDOT maintenance crews will be- gin the process to replace four drainage culverts on Ind. 68. Crews will excavate and replace the structures, requiring full pavement cuts across all lanes of traffic. Crews will then fill the pave- ment cuts and allow fill ma- terial to compact under nor- mal traffic conditions. Work- ers will return after the com- paction period and replace the driving surface with new asphalt. The work will take place in four locations, from County Road 425 West to the Haub- stadt town limit. Work will take place in on- ly one location at a time, with each replacement expected to take about a day, depend- ing upon weather condi- tions. During the project, lo- cal traffic will have access up to the points of closure, but all through traffic should use the official detour following Ind. 65, I-64 and U.S. 41. Wood Memorial baseball awards Tuesday, August 3, Wood Memorial handed out baseball awards. Pictured are (l to r): Senior Jordan Coo- per, Mental Attitude Award; Senior Gramm Collins, Coaches Award; Junior Owen Day, Offensive Player Award and All-Conference; Freshman Will Morton, Defensive Player Award; Freshman Ayden Clark, Most Improved Award. Team is coached by Bo Daves and Aaron Heichelbech. Photo by Kenzie Rudolph Red Cross: Emergency need for donors The American Red Cross has an emergency need for lifesaving blood amid the ongoing severe blood short- age. Blood donations contin- ue to be critical to meet hos- pital demand and the public is urged to make an appoint- ment to give now. The Red Cross has been distributing about 12 percent more blood products to hos- pitals across the U.S. com- pared to this time last year. The Red Cross needs to col- lect more than 1,000 addi- tional blood donations each day to meet the current hos- pital demand and end the se- vere blood shortage. Donors of all blood types are need- ed, especially type O, which stands at just a one-day sup- ply right now. Donors who give now will help stock the shelves as we wind down the summer sea- son. Schedule an appoint- ment to give blood by us- ing the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting Red- CrossBlood.org, calling 1-800 -RED CROSS (1-800 - 733-2767) or enabling the Blood Donor Skill on any Al- exa Echo device. UPCOMING BLOOD DONATION OPPORTUNITIES • Friday, Aug. 16: 2 to 6 p.m., Knights of Colum- bus, 313 West Broadway, Princeton. • Friday, Aug. 23: 2 to 7 p.m., Mackey Communi- ty Blood Drive, 9612 E. Main St., Oakland City.