The Press-Dispatch
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INSIDE NEWS TIPS Phone: ���������������������812-354-8500 Email ����� editor@pressdispatch�net INSIDE Local ����������������� A1-8 Sports �����������������B1-8 Home Life ������������C1-8 School ���������������� C3-4 Obituaries ������������C5-7 Opinion ������������� C6-7 Church �������������� D1-3 East Gibson������������D4 Classifieds �����������D5-7 History �������������������D8 Home Improvement �E-F USPS 604-34012 $1.00 52 PAGES Six SECTiONS FOur iNSErTS PETErSBurG, iN 47567-0068 WEdNESdAy, SEPTEmBEr 29, 2021 PIKE PUBLISHING VOLumE 151, NumBEr 52 bargain OCTOBER PERIOD Page F-4 for Savings! See BOOSTER on page 2 See MEETING on page 8 Same name causes mix-up on arrest report By Andy Heuring A name shared with another per- son can cause problems. Often it is just a minor mix up. But last week, it was a serious legal problem for Kev- in Mundy, of rural Winslow. Kevin Mundy, of Ferdinand, was arrested September 19 on charges of operating a vehicle while intoxi- cated and driving while suspended. However, when he was arrested and booked into the Pike County Jail, his address was entered as the Winslow address instead of the Ferdinand ad- dress. Pike County Jail Commander Bri- an Maxwell said he wasn't sure how the mix-up occurred, but he sus- pects the automated system pulled up the Winslow address. Maxwell said the Mundy with a Winslow ad- dress has called central dispatch, so the system may have seen a former entry and auto-filled that address, but the operator didn't notice the change in address. Consequently, the Winslow ad- dress was put on the probable cause affidavit. The Press-Dispatch used the prob- able cause affidavit for a source on the arrest story. Consequently, the story had the Winslow Mundy's ad- dress on the story. It should have been 1838 E. Holiday Lake Rd., Fer- dinand. The age was correct for the Fer- dinand Mundy. He is 15 years old- er than the 41-year-old Mundy from Winslow. The Winslow Mundy said it is not the first time he has had trou- ble with having the same name as someone else, especially since the person has a criminal record. He said a few years ago, he applied for a gun permit in Pike County and was originally denied. "They told me I was a convicted felon. I have never been arrested for so much as stealing a piece of bubble gum," said the Winslow Mundy. Save $ 3 off the price of your yearly subscrip- tion during The Press-Dispatch Bargain Period, whether it is $ 37 for both the print + NetEdition, $ 32 for the print only subscription or $ 32 for the NetEdition only version. The Press-Dispatch has been keeping the res- idents of Pike County informed about what is happening in their community since March of 1898. If you live in Indiana, but outside 475 or 476 zip codes, it is available in print and NetEdition for $40, print only $ 35 or NetEdition only $ 32. If you live out of state, it is available in print and NetEdition for $57, print only for $52 or NetE- dition only for $ 32. Out-of-state customers no longer have to wait for the mail to arrive with the NetEdition sent to your smart phone, tablet or computer at 6 a.m. every Wednesday morning. Subscribers and neighbors will receive a fly- er explaining the October Bargain Period sav- ings. Get it while it's hot. The deal goes away after October 30. There is no better time than now to get the best source of Pike County news for the last 122 years. You can mail in the form or call 812-354- 8500. Customers wanting the NetEdition need to include their email address and a password with a minimum of seven characters. October Bargain Period now underway By Andy Heuring COVID has affected the Pike County School Corporation's funding in several ways. It is be- lieved COVID's impact on the 2021-22 school budget is about $260,000 for the 2021-22 school year. The first ways the COVID pandemic has af- fected Pike County Schools' budget is in how the state counts students and the number of students enrolled in Pike County schools. Pike County right now is only getting 85 percent of the normal funding for 81 students. Blake explained how a change in the fund- ing rules affected those 81 students for 2021- 22 school year. She said prior to the pandemic, the state had always only funded 85 percent for students in a virtual learning setting. But in May or June of 2019, they announced because of the pandem- ic, they would pay 100 percent for students participating in virtual learning. But for the 2021-22 school year, they changed it back to 85 percent for virtual students. Blake said Pike County gets roughly $ 6,620 per student from the state. Each year, the state sets a date when atten- dance on that day is a school's official enroll- ment count. Consequently, that is the number of students for which they will receive funding. Blake said they got a notice from the state the students who had not attended at least 50 per- cent of the days prior to September 17 would be funded at the 85 percent rate. She said if a student was quarantined once and then had an illness for a few days, they wouldn't meet the 50 percent requirement. Al- so, if a student was quarantined twice, they would not meet it. In all, there were 81 stu- dents that fell into that category. At one point, about a month ago, there were 546 kids in Pike County schools on quarantine. Blake said since then, the state has notified schools they may review this policy and stu- dents' circumstances in December, so there is the potential to get some of the 81 students counted toward 100 percent funding instead of 85 percent. She said this cut the school's funding by about $72,000. The other loss to the school is the total num- ber of students has dropped. In school board meetings last year and this year, several par- ents have said they are upset with mask man- dates and quarantines and were either going pull their children out of the school or con- sider it. Blake said they have also had threats from parents to pull their children if they don't have mask mandates in place. Last February, the student count was at 1,577. This Fall, it was 1,578. She said while that number held steady, she said they had projected the enrollment in kindergarten to 12th year would be 1,606, but several students didn't return to Pike County schools. Conse- quently, they lost funding for about 30 stu- dents at $ 6,620 per student. Blake said in the two cases, it cost the school about $260,000 from their $10,628,686 project funding. Instead, they got $10,365,552. School funding losing $ 260,000 due to COVID By Andy Heuring The Pike County School Corporation will have a special meeting to review their COVID-19 Plan. It is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Petersburg Elementary School gymnasium. The other items on the agenda, besides review of the COVID-19 Plan, are patrons' comments and other. Two weeks ago, the school board amended their plan to make masks optional and set the social distance parameter for quarantining at three feet. They also established kids who are quarantined can be tested on day five and if the result is negative, they can return to school on day eight. They can return to school on day 10 with no testing if they have had no symp- toms. Upon return, they will not be required to wear masks. Students returning after quar- antine will be allowed to ride on school buses. Another part of the plan mandates middle and high school teachers have Google Meet live or some type of live interaction available for quarantined students. However, the action by the school board was only good until September 30, when the Gov- ernor's 2124 mandate on COVID expired. The mandate is several pages long. But paragraphs dealing with schools states: Wehr suffers minor injury in crash A Velpen man suffered a cut on his head when he fell asleep Monday morning and crashed into a metal post and tree. Pike County Deputy Sheriff Bryce Manning said Roger Wehr, 72, of 8723 E. Private Road 410 S., Velpen, was driving his 2017 Chevrolet Colorado pickup south on Highway 257, near Velpen, when he fell asleep and ran off the right side of the road, hitting a wooden post, a metal post and then a tree. The pickup, upon impact with the tree, spun off the tree. Wehr was treated at the scene by Pike County EMS for a cut on his head. Damage to Wehr's truck was estimated at $5,000 to $10,000. There was also damage to Stephen and Chasidy Fuhrer's property at 3677 S. SR 257, Velpen. School board to have special meeting for COVID-19 plan Saturday morning cruising David Sells, of Evansville, on his 1955 John Deere 60, is in a line of 19 tractors that took part in the Pike County Tractor Drive. He is followed by Dob Schaefer, of Chandler, on a 1952 John Deere 60 and Tanner Wandel, of Evansville, driving a Far- mall 300. They started out with breakfast at the Spurgeon Fire Department and went into Warrick County, where they stopped for lunch, and then returned to Spurgeon that afternoon, covering 33 miles in all. By Andy Heuring The CDC last week approved those 18 and older, who have received the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine more than six months ago, getting a booster vaccine. The Indiana Depart- ment of Health on Friday made the announce- ment about the booster shot. Below are the criteria to receive the booster: • 18 years and older, and •Received Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine as their primary series, and • Received their second dose at least six months ago, and • Can attest to meeting one or more of the following criteria: • Age 65 or older, • Reside in long-term care, • Age 50 to 64 with underlying medical con- ditions, • Age 18 to 49 with underlying medical con- ditions, based on individual benefit and risk, • Age 18 to 64 at increased risk of exposure and transmission, due to occupational or insti- tutional settings. For help scheduling a Pfizer booster shot, call the Petersburg Library at 812-354-6257. Appointments can also be made at ourshot. in.gov. COVID numbers in Pike County and Indi- COVID booster for Pfizer vaccines approved for ages 18+