The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1402699
B-2 Wednesday, August 18, 2021 The Press-Dispatch yeah, it's that fast! net edition Z M www.PressDispatch.net/Subscribe The Press-Dispatch. No matter where you live. COVID Continued from page 1 COUNCIL Continued from page 1 welcoming SERVICES OFFERED: • Haircuts/Styles • Special Occasion/ Formal Styles • Brazillian Blowout Smoothing Treatment • Chemistry Treatments • Haircolor • Highlights • Lowlights • Balayage • Perms • Lip/Eyebrow waxing Hairstylist Danie'll Davis 709 MAIN STREET, PETERSBURG Call for an appointment 812-582-9028 or 812-380-2320 Walk-Ins Are Welcome All Together for Adam Benefits Saturday, August 21 Sunday, August 22 Adam's classmates and Friends Bar and Grill will be hosting a fundraiser with a $5.00 entry fee. There will be a silent auction, live music, food and drinks. There will be a Spaghetti Dinner at the Otwell Community Center sponsored by Otwell United Methodist Church, Algiers United Methodist Church, Petersburg United Methodist Church and Amber Manor. The dinner will be a free will donation and there will also be a silent auction. Begins at 9:00 p.m. 11:00 A.m. to 2:00 P.M. All proceeds go to help the Adam Houchins family as he continues his rehab in Atlanta. By Andy Heuring A bicyclist traveling from Front Royal, Va., stopped in Petersburg at Randy's Ameri- cana for lunch on Monday af- ternoon. David Rapoport ar- rived on his 1980's Schwinn Letour bicycle, loaded with camping gear, on his way to Peoria, Ill. Rapoport, 28, is riding the 800 or so mile trip on smaller highways for his three weeks of vacation to see the country. So far, he has been trying to do about 50 to 60 miles a day, depending on terrain. "The hills in Virginia and eastern Kentucky were brutal," said Rapoport. He grew up in Chicago and said he was pedaling his way there, but thought he would probably only ride to Peoria where his brother lives, then take the bus into Chicago. Along the way, he rode on the Shenandoah Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway through the Appalachian Mountains. He said the worst thing he has encountered so far are biting dogs in Kentucky. He said information online about the dogs were helpful and he avoided the worst ones. He said a few days it has been so hot, he chose not to camp. But along the way, he has slept several places, in- cluding the yards behind churches that are on byways for bikers. "I was at one place sleeping in the yard behind the church and the pastor showed up at about 5 a.m. and said 'I wish I had known you were here, I would have let you in.'" Along the way, he has learned to get up early and ride before it gets hot. "I like to be on the road by 7:30 a.m." Rapport said he was going to try to make to Vincennes for the night. This isn't his first cross-country trip and he is hoping it won't be his last. He has done a couple of long- range trips in the United States, but he also did one in Europe. He said the EuroVelo is what got him hooked. It is an orga- nized tour of 17 long-distance routes criss-crossing Europe. The routes total about 53,000 miles. He only rode a part of one, but loved it. He road more than 1,100 miles from Ulm, Germany to Bucharest, Ro- mania. Rapoport said he was plan- ning on quitting his job next year and hoped to ride from the east coast to the west coast. He said he wanted to doc- ument it as he went and then 30 years later, drive the same route and film it again to show how it had changed. But Monday afternoon, he was just getting a warm meal, resting for a few minutes, and getting back on his Schwinn and heading north. Cyclist stops in Petersburg enroute to Peoria AMBULANCE Continued from page 1 In other business, EMS Di- rector Chris Young said the EMS was down to two ambu- lances in service right now. However, he added a new one is expected to be delivered by the end of the week. It replac- es an ambulance that caught fire last year while returning from a run to an Evansville hospital. The ambulance liter- ally went up in flames on I-69 and was destroyed. A second ambulance was damaged in a wreck in Dubois County. He said they are anticipating that ambulance will be back in ser- vice in four to six weeks. An- other ambulance won't start. Young said it was in the shop being diagnosed and repaired. The commissioners tabled a discussion of the CR 350 N. road project that has run into problems. The next commissioners' meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Monday, September 7. Houchins progresses in rehab; fundraisers set for weekend the sewer plant and the new water plant at the same time. He also suggested they need to see about replacing a section of a 12-inch water line, from the Highway 57 water tower to near Eastwood Drive. City Services Manager Ross Elmore said they had four line breaks in that area in a three-week period. "It has just been a consistent problem in that area," said Klipsch. Elmore said they adjusted an altitude valve in the High- way 57 water tower and since then, they haven't had any- more breaks. "I think it just got out of adjustment and was opening and closing too quick- ly," said Elmore. He said the hammering caused by that appears to have been causing the line breaks. Elmore said the Highway 61 rehab project is falling behind schedule. Phase I of the proj- ect from Main St. to Seventh St. was scheduled to be com- pleted by mid-October. It was delayed at the start due to a water line relocation project. Elmore predicted it was going be November instead of Octo- ber. Phase II of the project from Seventh St. to Harvest Lane was projected to start in mid-October until July. The next City Council meet- ing is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 7. By Andy Heuring Two fundraisers have been scheduled for Adam Houch- ins, who suffered a spinal in- jury on the Fourth of July in a pool accident. Houchins is currently in the Shepherd Center in Atlanta undergoing rehab. He said Tuesday after- noon he had regained the use of his forearms. "That is good. It means my spine is healing. Now I'm waiting for my hands to wake up. I believe they will," said Houchins. "They keep me busy. I bare- ly have time to eat. They keep me busy. From the time I get up in the morning at 6:30 a.m. until about 4 p.m., I am doing something." Another milestone for him is he got to take off his neck brace on Tuesday. "I have been wearing that since my first surgery." His mother, Janet Graff, a nurse, said she and other fami- ly members are going through training, as well as Adam, on how to help him. Adam, along with numerous therapies, is also getting voca- tional training so he can work in the future. Houchins said one the neat- er things he is doing is taking music class. "I have to learn to sing again. I learned how to sing once. I can do it again." He said his voiced has been affected because they moved his esophagus and a vocal cord during surgery. "My voice is scratchy." Houchins thanked every- one for the support, cards, well wishes and prayers. Two fundraisers are sched- uled for this weekend. On Sat- urday, August 21, beginning at 9 p.m., Adam's classmates and Friends will be hosting a fundraiser with a $5 entry fee. There will be a silent auction, live music, food and drinks. A spaghetti dinner is sched- uled for Sunday, August 22, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Otwell Community Center. They are asking for a free- will donation and there will be a silent auction. The event is sponsored by the Otwell United Methodist Church, Petersburg United Method- ist Church and Amber Manor. with Waggener, of Louisville, on Friday night, has been can- celled. Volleyball has already cancelled two games and girls' soccer on August 19 has been cancelled. The official reason stated by Pike Central Ath- letic Director is "Due to cir- cumstances beyond our con- trol." However, sources have said that is basically code for COVID-related issues. Pike is not alone in rising COVID numbers. Pike Coun- ty remains in the orange cat- egory, which is for counties with a 7-day all tests positivi- ty rate of 5.0 to 9.9 percent. On Tuesday, according to the In- diana Department of Health, Pike County had a 7-day all test positivity rate of 5.6; how- ever, for the days of August 4-10 that rate was 10.4 per- cent. So Pike County may be bumped up to the red rating. Eight counties in Indiana are now red. They are all in the southern half of Indiana and include neighboring counties of Gibson and Posey. Statewide, new cases jumped to 3,121 on August 10, and ranged between 1,902 and 2,726 over the last seven days. Hospitalizations have also increased steadily. The were at 1,296 on August 10 and in- creased to 1,517 by August 16. The numbers of deaths over the last seven days has ranged from 8 to a max of 12 on Aug. 15. Cosby said in Pike County they are seeing vaccinations increase as the number of new cases goes up. Memorial Hospital in Jas- per put out a news release stating the CDC is now recom- mending booster vaccination for certain people with moder- ately to severely compromised immune systems. According to the release, the CDC is recommending those people who have received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine get a sin- gle dose booster. It also states a booster is not recommended for those who got the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. Those recommended to get the booster include those: active- ly receiving cancer treatment for tumors or blood cancers, organ transplant patients, and stem cell transplant patients taking meds to suppress their immune system. Also those with HIV, those receiv- ing high-dose corticosteroids and or other immune system suppressant drugs should re- ceive the booster. David Rapoport, of Front Royal, Va., stands with his vintage Schwinn bicycle. Rapoport stopped in Peters- burg on Monday on his way from Front Royal, Va., to Peoria, Ill. He is making the trip to visit family during his three-week vacation this summer.