The South Gibson Star-Times serves the towns of Haubstadt, Owensville and Fort Branch.
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1464965
South Gibson Star-Times Front Tuesday, April 19, 2022 A-3 EMS Continued from page 1 4-H Continued from page 1 Do you have an upcoming community event? Send the details to editor@sgstartimes.com THIS WEEK Fort Branch Kindergarten registration Fort Branch Community School will have Kindergarten registration on Tuesday, April 19 from 3:45 to 6:30 p.m., at the FBCS office. Children must be five years of age on our before Aug. 1, 2022 to start kindergarten for the 2022-2023 school year. Parents should bring the child's certified birth certificate, immunization records and proof of Indiana residency. The child is required to attend, as all students will be giv- en a readiness assessment during registration. For more information, call 812-753-3641 during school hours. Groundbreaking set The county and Chamber of Commerce will host a ground- breaking ceremony for the new probation building south of the jail at 5 p.m. April 20. Everyone is welcome to attend. Dementia-friendly community session slated for April 20 The Oakland City-Columbia Township Public Library is partnering with SWIRCA to host an informational session on becoming more dementia friendly in our communities. The session is geared towards business, church, and others who may cross paths with the one in 10 older adults who have some stage of dementia. The session will be held Wednes- day, April 20 at 10 a.m. CDT in the library meeting room. Anyone wishing to attend, should call the library at 812- 749 -3559 to reserve their seat. Food truck in Owensville Bruce Li food truck will be on Owensville square from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. April 22 on the north side of the Ow- ensville Carnegie Library lawn. This event is sponsored by the non-profit Owensville Community Planners. Hydrants flushed The Fort Branch Water Department will be flushing hy- drants beginning at 9 p.m. April 23. Fort Branch water cus- tomers can expect discolored water for up to 24 hours af- ter the flushing is completed. Please plan water usage ac- cordingly. ARF meeting April 27 The Committee to Oversee Gibson County's Receipt of American Rescue Funds (ARF) will hold a special public meeting on Wednesday, April 27. The meeting will com- mence at 4:30 p.m. local time and will be held at Gibson County Annex North, which is located at 225 N Hart St., #105, Princeton. THIS MONTH Aaron Fischer celebrated Locals will celebrate Lyles Station World War I military he- ro Aaron Fischer with a marker dedication at 1 p.m. April 30. Yarn Store Day celebrated Local Yarn Store Day will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 30, at Little House of Yarn, and is designed to show support for small businesses while bringing together a unique commu- nity of knitters, crocheters, weavers and spinners to drive awareness and celebrate the craft. Three local dyers will display yarn, including Fiber Owl Yarn Company's Mickey Horton, who will do a meet and greet. There will be knit and crochet kits, door prizes and demonstrations of a yarn craft, with the opportunity to par- ticipate. MAY EVENTS Vine Street Makers Market returns Vine Street Makers Market in Fort Branch, returns to Fort Branch from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 7, and Sat- urday, Oct. 1. If you're interested in signing up to vend at the Spring Market indoor Spots are $45, with only six avail- able, and outdoor spots are $ 35. No multi-level marketing. This event is rain or shine with flexible spacing and no vendor map prior to show. As always, shows are held at Fort Branch Community Park, sponsored by the non-profit Fort Branch Community Pride. Contact the Vine Street Makers Market Fort Branch Facebook page for more details. Owensville Town Wide Yard Sale Saturday, May 7th Owensville Community Planners will host the Owensville Town Wide Yard Sale. To participate, call the town hall at 812-724-4151 to add your address to the map. Maps may be picked up on May 7, at the Boy Scout table. The Boy Scouts will be selling both breakfast and lunch that day. WWII event set The Indiana Military Museum (IMM) is gearing up for a Spring W WII event from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 7, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 8, at 715 S. 6th St., Vincennes. Daily battle re-enactments will be at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Flyovers are anticipated, weather permitting. There will be living histo- ry encampments and weapon demonstrations. Outdoor ac- tivities are free to the public with regular admission fees to go inside the Museum and Annex. There will also be mili- tary and food vendors on the grounds. Please call 812-882-1941 with questions. Daughters of the American Revolution meeting May 7 The General John Gibson Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution will meet on Saturday, May 7, at 1 p.m. at the Hazleton Church, for their monthly meeting. Golf scramble set Gibson County Chamber of Commerce will host their An- nual Scholarship Golf Scramble Thursday, May 12, at Princ- eton Country Club, with morning and afternoon flights. A team of four costs $ 300, or individuals can register for $75. Title, lunch, station, hole and goody bag sponsors are sought. Trustees meet The Board of Trustees for the Oakland City-Columbia Township Public Library will meet at 4 p.m. on the second Wednesday of every month as the dates for their regular monthly board meetings. The meetings are held in the Li- brary Meeting Room. Merit board meets The 2022 meetings of the Gibson County Sheriff's Mer- it Board will be at 12:30 p.m., the second Tuesday of every month, in the Gibson County Community Corrections Con- ference Room, located at 112 E. Emerson Street, Princeton. Owensville hosts clean up day Owensville plans a town clean up day from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 14, where locals can throw away their larger trash or furniture. There will be a charge for tires, because Gibson County Solid Waste charges for tires. Saturday, May 14th Owensville Town Wide Clean Up Day. The dumpsters will be located on the north side of the Owensville Carnegie Li- brary lawn. Fugitives and Heroes premieres at museum Broadway Players and Lyles Station Museum will bring local history this May with "Fugitives and Heroes," a his- torical experience inviting locals to travel back in time on the Underground Railroad to meet Gibson County and na- tional figures, thanks to sponsorship from Gibson County Community Foundation and the Betty McCullough grant. Staged across the museum and grounds, ticket holders will meet national figures like Frederick Douglas and Har- riet Tubman, as well as, everyday people like the Grier, Stor- mont, Cockrum and Archer families. Audiences will meet Reube, a free man kidnapped into slavery as he left Princeton, and Charles Grier, a free black farmer who provided a haven in Gibson County for even the most-pursued enslaved people as they made their way north, as well as, many other local stories. The show will be 7 p.m. May 20 at a cost of $15, as well as, a dinner show at 6 p.m. May 21, at a cost of $ 35. Tickets will go on sale at BroadwayPlayers.org April 18, and will al- most certainly sell out. Community Bulletin Obituaries READER GUIDE Subscriptions: Change of address: subscribers changing addresses will please give old address as well as new one along with phone number. We cannot guarantee prompt change unless this is done. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to South Gibson Star-Times., P.O. Box 70 Fort Branch, IN, 47648 or e-mail to subscribe@sgstartimes. com. Subscription rates: One year: $32 for Gibson County and all 476/477 zip codes; $40 elsewhere. Paid in advance. Subscriptions taken after noon on Friday will not receive a paper until the second edition after their subscription date. About us: Published every Tuesday by the Pike County Publishing Co. Phone: 812-753-3553 Office hours: Monday and Tuesday: By Appointment, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. 203 S. McCreary St., P.O. Box 70, Fort Branch, IN 47648-0070 Andrew G. Heuring and John B. Heuring, Publishers Janice Barniak, Editor John B. Heuring, Adv. Mgr. Eric Gogel, Production Mgr. Cindy Petty, Adv. Sales Pam Lemond, Adv. Sales Brakston Farrar, Adv. Designer Entered in the Post Office in Fort Branch, Indiana for transmission through the mails as Periodical Mail, postage paid at Fort Branch, Indiana – published weekly. (USPS 205-620) Contact us: Phone: .............................................................................. 812-753-3553 Fax: ...................................................................................812-753-4251 Janice Barniak, Editor ������������������������������������������ editor@sgstartimes.com Advertising ��������������������������������������������������������ads@sgstartimes.com General News ������������������������������������������������� news@sgstartimes.com Sports ������������������������������������������������������������ sports@sgstartimes.com Circulation �����������������������������������������������subscribe@sgstartimes.com WILFORD EUGENE WHEATON Wilford Eugene "Gene" Wheaton, 86, of Haubstadt, passed away on Monday, April 11, 2022, at North River Health Campus in Evansville, following a long hard-fought battle with Parkinson's Dis- ease. He died peacefully with his family at his bedside. Gene was born on July 3, 1935, in Elberfeld, to the late Wilford and Carrie (Bertram) Wheaton. He grew up on the fami- ly farm in Wheatonville, and enjoyed time spent there throughout his life. He was a lifetime member of the New Jerusalem United Methodist Church. He served as a Sun- day School Teacher and Sun- day School Superintendent for many years. He was a gradu- ate of Elberfeld High School, Oakland City College, and In- diana University. He played high school basketball and went on to be an IHSA A certi- fied basketball official for over 20 years. He was a devoted fan of the IU Hoosiers and New York Yankees. He served his country as a member of the United States Army Reserve. Teaching was his passion. He taught at Fairlawn Ele- mentary School from 1957 to 1984 and Oak Hill Middle School from 1984 to 2000. When school was not in ses- sion, gardening filled his time. He enjoyed all aspects of gar- dening, especially sharing the harvest with others. He is survived by his lov- ing wife of 64 years, Martha Jean (Riddle) Wheaton; son, Michael (Michelle) Whea- ton; daughter, Tamara (Paul) Allison; grandchildren, Ra- chel Wheaton, Carrie Alli- son, Luke Allison and Hannah Wheaton; sister, Phyllis (Bill) Kitchens; and goddaughter, Elizabeth (Lee) Muster. Special thanks to family friend, Marjan LaGrange, for many years of help and sup- port. Funeral Services were at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 16, 2022, at New Jerusalem Unit- ed Methodist Church, in El- berfeld, with Pastor Lisa Resler officiating. Visitation was from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Friday, April 15, at Stodghill Funeral Home, in Fort Branch and from 1 p.m. until service time, at the church. Burial was at North View Cemetery in Elberfeld. Military Honors was per- formed by the veterans of Gib- son County at the graveside. Memorial contributions may be given to the New Je- rusalem United Methodist Church building fund, P.O. Box 270 Elberfeld, IN, 47613. Expressions of sympathy can be made at stodghillfu- neralhome.com said. "Don't go back. If you go back we might as well put a nail in our coffin." He said two employees left at the beginning of the year, and he's replaced one para- medic with an EMT, a posi- tion of lower training. "Other places are pay- ing more. Keep the benefits where they are, pay every hour. If you start taking ben- efits away we're not going to be competitive," said Pond. "I'm not saying take ben- efits away," said Overton. "Compare apples to apples... That's my answer. I'm work- ing on it." One EMS employee said they had hoped to vote on the contract after Tuesday's coun- cil meeting, thinking they'd have an answer. Pond said five employees are ready to leave. "I make $13.90 an hour as full-time EMT. I can go to AMR and make $27 an hour, and get paid for every hour I work. If you take benefits out, I would make $20 an hour...It's still a huge difference," said Robert Barter. He said making around $ 30,000 a year puts him at poverty level. "I can go to Aldi's stocking store shelves for $15 an hour," he said. "We've been putting this off month after month." Overton said legal counsel has not yet looked over the county's employee contract. "It's amazing to me that we just had two contracts re- newed without legal review. I'm not sure we want to do that again," Overton said. "They're not going to sign if it's not hour-for-hour pay," said Pond. Shuman is the second re- cent new face; Maegan Hol- lis, who introduced Shuman, is a recent hire as county ex- tension director. Hollis is from Kentucky, got her bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Kentucky, and a PhD at the University of Il- linios. Her husband is from Gibson County, and they've bought a home in Fort Branch. Locals can reach Hollis at mwhollis@purdue.edu, and 812-385 -3491. Shuman is available at jashuman@pur- due.edu and 812-385 -3491.