The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1422416
C-4 Wednesday, October 27, 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 Stormwater ordinance presented to Commissioners By Janice Barniak A stormwater ordinance presented to Gibson County Commissioners, which was approximately 14 years in the making, passed a first read- ing last week, although in an altered form from what the county surveyor presented on behalf of the ditch board. Originally, anyone disturbing more than an acre of ground would have to pay $2,500 for an engineer to check the run- off on the county's behalf. Commissioner Warren Fleetwood suggested pass- ing the ordinance sans fees. Already, he said, a person was required to bring a plan designed by an engineer if they were going to disturb an acre or more of land, includ- ing those who wanted to, for example, build a horse barn that might disturb an acre. He felt also requiring devel- opers and residents to hire an outside person to evaluate the stormwater, at a cost of approximately $ 3,000, would discourage development in the county. He added that the people evaluating would al- so have suggestions, which would be likely to up the cost of the actual projects people wanted to do. "I just don't feel we should burden the developers or tax- payers anymore," he said. "My motion is we do it all in house." County Surveyor Scott Martin said he, not being an engineer, wouldn't be quali- fied to approve those in-house, and that on big projects, like the solar project that came to the county, there can be pag- es of calculations for a quali- fied person to consider. Commissioner Mary Key said the county needs to watch for heavy runoff. She said major developers are used to these fees and are surprised the county doesn't have them. "Someone's not going to go up there and build an acre barn...there are exceptions there for agriculture," she said. "It can tear up our bridg- es. It can tear up our roads. It can tear up our ditches. There's a lot of expense heavy runoff can cause. We've had some doozy rains." She said subdivisions, for example, create a lot of hard surface, and it would work out to $50 - $ 60 per home, which they may or may not pass on. She said the agricultural community was pushing in favor of a stormwater ordi- nance because they are the most negatively affected by the runoff. She's personally been affected. "It costs individuals money who have nothing to do with it," Key said. She said she felt the coun- ty had to charge the fees be- cause the person looking at the stormwater plans would have to understand the spec- ifications. Fleetwood said he was con- fident Martin's office could approve projects because an engineer would have al- ready done the legwork; he said he didn't like that the fee wouldn't stay local and help, for example, dig ditches. It would instead go to an engi- neering firm to look at plans. Commissioner Kenneth Montgomery said if the coun- ty didn't approve charging the developer fees, it would be on the county to pay those. "I think it would save the county money in the long run," Martin said. "I respectfully differ," said Fleetwood. Montgomery and Fleet- wood voted in favor of not charging fees; Martin said his office would not be able to ap- prove the plans. Key said she would go ahead and vote in favor of the stormwater ordi- nance even though she was al- so in favor of charging the fee. "We've been working too long on this," she said. A final, second vote will be at the next meeting on Nov. 2. GGH plans boo Deaconess Gibson Hospital is host- ing a Trunk-or-Treat event on Thurs- day, Oct. 28, from 4-6 p.m. Hospital staff and some Gibson County first re- sponders will be in the hospital's main/ west parking lot providing goodies and fun decorations for all to enjoy (while supplies last). OCU trick-or-treat Oakland City University will host a Halloween Spooktacular on Lucre- tia Street from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Oct. 28, with inflatables, haunted trails and more. Main Street Trick-or-Treat returns The annual Haubstadt Main Street Trick-or-Treat is back from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 29. Many local businesses and Town Hall will be open for a safe, fun and friendly trick-or-treat event. Family Fall Bash set Owensville Community Planners will host a Family Fall Bash with a chili cook-off, costume contest, pump- kin carving contest, trunk or treat, cake walk, games, prizes, hayride, face painting and more at 5 p.m. Oct. 30 on the Owensville Library Square. Carve pumpkins prior to fest to compete. St. Stephen's Community Church Trunk-or-Treat St. Stephen's Community Church will have a Trunk-or-Treat on Satur- day, Oct. 30 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Fort Branch Halloween set Fort Branch's fifth annual Communi- ty Pride Halloween Festival will be Oct. 30 on North McCreary Street, with a rain date of Oct. 31. Activities include: games, hayrides, food and trunk-or-treat. This year, trunk-or-treaters will be assigned a time slot based on age to comply with COVID regulations. Ages 0 -3, 11 a.m. to noon; ages 4-6, 12:15 to 1:30 p.m.; ages 7-9, 1:45 to 3 p.m.; ag- es 10 and up, 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. Lyles Station corn maze open each weekend The Lyles Station Historic School and Museum in Princeton will host their annual corn maze each weekend in October. Hours are: 5 to 8 p.m. Fridays, 1 to 8 p.m. Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sun- days. Hay rides and petting zoo are al- ways included in the admission price. For more information, visit www.ly- lesstation.org. Butcher of the Branch haunts Halloween Sinister Cellar returns to haunt Fort Branch Community Park this Hallow- een weekend, with a no-scare hour from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., and scaring to begin at 7 p.m. Oct. 29 -Oct. 31. Actors are still needed. To be an actor, contact Sinister Cellar on Facebook. Mackey plans Trunk-or-Treat Mackey Church of the Nazarene will host a trunk-or-treat from 4 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. Oct. 31, with candy, games, hay rides and more at their church campus. Car club hosts classic car trunk-or-treat Oct. 31, Southern Indiana Car Club will host their annual Trunk-or-Treat. The show opens at 11 a.m., with awards at 2 p.m. Cars entering bring candy for trick-or-treaters. UMC plans Halloween fest Patoka United Methodist Church will have a Halloween event from 1 to 4 p.m. Oct. 31 at the church. County tables unusual tie bid By Janice Barniak If great minds think alike, that might explain why com- panies Parker Excavating and Kerry Wilhite Excavating, Inc. both came in with exact- ly the same low bid to demol- ish a building at 314 N. Main St. in Princeton— $ 38,500. "I don't think we've ever had a tie," said Commission- er Mary Key. Bids are submitted sealed so that no one has the chance to underbid a competitor by seeing their price for a job first—all county bids are opened at the same time. County Engineer Matt Holden and County Attor- ney Jason Spindler will work together to differentiate be- tween the contractors and make a recommendation at the next county commission- ers' meeting. Jenny Mason mans a booth with son Patrick Smith Hart. Zay Boyd and Kinsley Boyd wait for their mom to remove their costumes so they can play on the playground equipment. Meredith Sanders dressed as Belle from "Beauty and the Beast." Dan and Jaycee McCormick came from Owens- boro, Ky., to Francisco on a 2020 custom bike, where Dan had pulled handlebars off a dirt bike, added new grips, mirrors, levers and more to show off at the Spooktacular in Francisco Saturday after- noon. Bill and Nita Pero pose by their classic car at the Francisco Lion's Club Spooktacular Saturday. Spooktacular benefits children in court system By Janice Barniak While there were scary costumes at the Francisco Lion's Club Spooktacular Saturday, none of them were probably as scary as the shortage of funding to help children in the court system. A vendor fair, a bake sale, trick-or- treat and car show benefited children whose families are going through guard- ianship issues. According to organizer Jenny Mason, CASA of Gibson County — local court appointed special advocates — has very little funding to go towards the birthday presents, birthday cakes, Christmas gifts and various other small things they provide for children in care, with volun- teers sometimes buying those items. "A lot of years, they took it out of their own pocket," she said. The benefit drew a motorcyclist, Dan McCormick, and daughter, Jaycee, all the way from Owensboro. "It was an hour," said Jaycee, who rode with her father on the motorcycle. Francisco Fire Dept. also served food to benefit the department. OAKLAND CITY ELEMENTARY CITIZENS OF THE NINE WEEKS Alayna Sloan Carissa Wolf Sophie Fritz Hannah Stolz Lyric Cansler Aubrey Schmidt Berkley Atkins Daniel Bravo Baltazar Graham Parke Greenlee Parke Rylee Morris Aiden McCandless Alison VanMeter Kyndra Leek MOST IMPROVED STUDENTS Hunter Kneer Chloe Kanzler Kai Turner Addison Cox Draven Finney Rolan Young Gibby Bruner Avery Carr Bentley Coleman Terrin Meece Jesse Miller Braydon Egdorf Payton Pfister Ayden Bye FIRST NINE WEEKS HONOR ROLL GRADE 4 All A's Honor Roll Hunter Blades Rylan Brown Parker Dupps Averi Fryxell Abby Heichelbech Graham Parke Isaac Stolz A-B Honor Roll Briar Burkhart Caiden Carr Brayden Cashin Kaleb Krieg Makynna Lecocq Jessalynn Lewis Greenlee Parke Aydan Payne Steeler Richey Riley Rodocker Kaleb Sendmeyer Gage Sloan Anthony Tucker Eli VanMeter GRADE 5 All A's Honor Roll Damien Maier Aiden McCandless Wyatt Rowe Anastyn Wilkerson A-B Honor Roll Brayden Brown Grayson Bye Caylee Dailey Brayden Egdorf Brooklyn Hess Kayla Hughes Jaxson Jarboe Josslyn Lynn Kenadi Maikranz Ascher Mayberry Fallon McGillem Annabella McGowan Georgie Richey Raeann Stevens Harlow Williams Ian Woolsey GRADE 6 All A's Honor Roll Paige Shoultz Chloe Stolz A-B Honor Roll Chloe Blades Haylen Bobbitt Kylie Kimbrel Trinity Pride Ali VanMeter