The Press-Dispatch
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Something newsworthy? EMAIL eastgibson@ pressdispatch.net The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, December 22, 2021 C-3 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 County Council moves forward on wage negotiations By Janice Barniak Gibson County Council moved for- ward with mandated measures and elected official raises, but decided to wait on all other employee measures after seeing union negotiations this year had resulted in concessions that would give employees much more time off, potentially increasing the budget in unexpected ways. One council member calculated that if employees took advantage of all their possible leave, they would work 184 hours for the year, and their leave would re-set at the beginning of the year. The new contract, negotiated by Commissioner Kenneth Montgom- ery, waives employee requirements to provide a doctor's note for sick leave of more than two days, it add- ed two holidays—Juneteenth and President's Day—to the already ap- proved holidays. Major medical leave increased from four to six weeks, can be used non-consecutively, and can now be used to care for spouses, chil- dren, paternity leave and more. It added to the bereavement poli- cy, allowing it to apply to in-laws, and letting employees bank one of the be- reavement days for up to a year. Non-union employees in the coun- ty have historically received the same benefits as those covered in the union. The county council expects com- missioners would pass the contract at their next meeting. "Here we got totally blindsided with it the week before the meet- ing," said Councilman Jeremy Over- ton, who said measures like bringing in a doctor's note for sick days are benign while discouraging misuse. "There are bad apples in every company, every group that gets em- ployed," he said. "There are people that would take advantage of that." He asked EMS supervisor David Pond whether he believed more time off would lead to more challenges fill- ing EMS shifts. "Yes, anytime there's time off, it's going to affect the coverage, but it's good for employees," he said. "It's kind of a double-edged sword." "I would prefer to give them money instead of days off," said former Sol- id Waste director Mike Stilwell. "As a former department head, I know how difficult it is to fill those spots and take care of business when there's so much time off. It is a catch-22." Councilman Craig Pflug said the contract reinstates comp time that has to be taken by the end of the year, which can also cause staffing issues at the holidays. Especially at the highway depart- ment, having all employees trying to fit in their comp time before the end of the year could mean that the coun- ty could be short staffed when get- ting an unexpected snow that needs removal. "We could have six weeks of roads not getting clear," he said. The council generally tries to ap- prove the salary and contract before the end of the year, but Pflug said he didn't see how he could approve the ordinance not knowing how it would affect an already-strained health de- partment and EMS staffing. "Typically in a negotiation, both sides get something. I'm not sure what the taxpayer got out of this pro- cess. I think being stewards of tax- payer money, it would be irrespon- sible to approve a salary ordinance that has the salary increases we talked about at budget time until we have had a chance to see how all this shakes out," said Overton. He said keeping track of comp time and major medical leave used for relatives will also be a bookkeep- ing challenge. "I was confident that we would have a role in this," said Overton. "It's set up to be a vicious cycle of more time off, more benefits and needing more employees." TIME OFF BY THE NUMBERS Under the new contract, county employees would receive: •16 holidays •16 P TO days •5 personal days •Could bank up to 240 hours comp time •6 weeks major medical leave •4 days bereavement COVID cases increasing as county heads into Christmas By Janice Barniak According to the Gibson Coun- ty Health Dept., Gibson County is seeing a big increase in positive cases of COVID. As of Monday, the county was in the red adviso- ry level, having a seven-day positiv- ity rate of 15.78 percent, a number that was trending up. Deaths as of Monday were at 121 and cases at a total of 7,481 as the county heads into Christmas week. "We are still seeing over the weekend, still seeing a big increase in positive cases of COVID," said Health Dept. director Diane Horn- by. The department is still giving adults the Pfizer vaccine Mondays through Wednesdays, and the de- partment has benefited from the trailer to administer vaccines via drive-thru, they're running into building issues as the pandemic continues, and they're in what was supposed to be a temporary build- ing that has what Hornby called minimal handicap accessibility. The department generally meets elderly people at their vehicles, but even accessibility aside, she asked the county council to consider where else the health department could go. "This has just grown and grown and grown," she said, adding it is very hard to respect patient con- fidentiality because of the lay- out of the rooms in the health de- partment, and now that the lot is a drive-through testing site, employ- ees have to park elsewhere. "I thought this would be short- lived, but it doesn't seem like it's being short-lived," she said of coro- navirus. Redevelopment questions increase By Janice Barniak Gibson County Redevelopment will look again next month at a bill from Pavement Solutions on the Maple Tree Drive Project, original- ly bid at just under $ 94,000, that came in at closer to $140,000, af- ter, according to information at the meeting last Monday, some of the cracks were longer than expected. Redevelopment Commission members had approved up to $200,000 for the project, and mem- ber Larry Michel asked if that was a mistake. "Are you saying we shouldn't al- locate so much money or it will in- crease the bid? " he asked. While the contractor said no, and that the price per foot didn't change, member Marc Iunghuhn said the appropriate move would have been to present the additional cost with an explanation in writing. Board president Phil Young agreed. "I don't want to set a precedent that if there's extra money out there to be spent, we'll spend it," Michel said. The next meeting will be 6 p.m. Jan. 10. Local Sheep Dogs deploy to tornado-affected Kentucky By Janice Barniak Southern Indiana's Sheep Dog Impact Assis- tance, made up of local retired veterans, deployed to Kentucky in the wake of devastating tornado damage last week and will return two more times in upcoming days. Their biggest contribution has been using chainsaws to cut trees to clear paths for dogs on search and rescue missions. "We were there two days after the tornado, and because we were early, grounds were covered. Trees laid on top of trees, on top of trees," said local leader Chris MacKay, of Princeton. "We're trying to be really careful as we cut because we don't know if there's anyone in there." The group of roughly 40 people also cleared fall- en trees at a command center in Dawson Springs, which allowed people to pull up and park. The group passed out meals and helped estab- lish a distribution center. He said a big reason for the former military members to go is that if they should find people who are not alive, they've saved a family member, neighbor or friend from finding the person. "Normally, when we go to a disaster, there are some houses still standing. Here, if you had a mini Lego town in front of you, this is like taking your hand and just wiping it Local Sheep Dog Impact Assistance members deployed to tornado-ravaged Kentucky last week. In the foreground, a child's teddy bear laid in the rubble. Local Chris MacKay described the delicate work of cutting through trees with chainsaws, without knowing if a person could be underneath. The Sheep Dog Disaster Response Team sorts donations during their trip to Kentucky to assist tornado victims. Local Sheep Dogs, a group of retired veterans and first responders, pose during their trip to Kentucky. They'll return with presents Christmas Eve. To donate presents, drop them off to Toyota Motor Manufacturing of Indiana, the Gibson County Chamber of Commerce or The Barthel Agency in Princeton.