The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1467433
NEWS TIPS Phone: ���������������������812-354-8500 Email ����� editor@pressdispatch�net INSIDE Local ����������������� A1-6 East Gibson������������A5 Sports �����������������B1-4 Obituaries ���������������B5 Home Life ������������C1-2 School ���������������� C3-4 Opinion ������������� C5-6 Classifieds �����������D1-2 Church �������������� D3-5 History �������������������D6 USPS 604-34012 $1.00 24 PAGES Four SECTIoNS oNE INSErT PETErSBurG, IN 47567-0068 Dance Marathon raises record... Chargers prevail over Tecumseh SPORTS B1 LOCAL A6 See PRIMARY on page 2 See CO. COUNCIL on page 2 See WINSLOW on page 3 See RESCUE on page 2 County-wide yard sale brings out all ages Amelia Kiesel, 3, hands money to Rachelle Neyhouse for an Elsa dress she found at Neyhouse's yard sale. Neyhouse was busy all day and stated that people started showing up at 7:45 a.m. ready to shop. Petersburg and surrounding areas hosted more than 40 yard sales on Saturday. See additional photos on page 4. A Pike County Search and Rescue Team is being developed by a group of first responders, that have seen first hand the need for equipment, and a trained team to be prepared in case of an emer- gency. "After the last incident on the White River where we had to rescue a patient from Dodge City, we knew we had to do something," Dallas Killian, Chief Deputy of Pike County Sheriff's Depart- ment, said. Accusations fly at Winslow council meeting By Sherri Sebella Winslow Town Board members were in the hot seat at Monday night's council meeting, now being held at the Winslow Community Center. The Pledge of Allegiance was about the on- ly thing that went peacefully at the meeting as residents continue to voice concerns raise questions regarding the board's decisions and actions in their respective positions. Before the request-to-speak portion of the meeting, Debbie Lamb, President, read the second reading for the golf cart ordinance, stating that their intention is to regulate use of golf carts safely in town. "This is pretty ba- sic," Lamb said. "You must have a driver's li- cense to operate a golf cart since they are driv- en on public streets. They do not need to be registered, like some places require. We didn't want to make it hard on people." Lamb also addressed concern over people living in campers in Winslow. "People cannot live in campers for extended periods of time," Lamb said. "I know with housing costs rising, people may think they can live in them, but they cannot." "We are working on an ordinance to clar- ify the issue. There is already an ordinance that exists. We just have to make adjustments to make it easier to understand and be more specific. We need to determine the number of days people can stay in a camper." "We understand there are certain cir- cumstances such as visitors, remodeling or COVID, where people need to stay in a camp- er. We should have the ordinance ready soon." The Park Board advised that a work day is planned for Saturday, May 14, beginning at 8 a.m. at the baseball fields, to do clean-up and necessary steps that desperately need to be accomplished at the park. Manpower is needed to finish setting up the playground equipment, along with trash pick- up and general cleaning. A 5K is also planned for Saturday, June 11, but 25 volunteers are needed in order to have the event, and there are not enough volunteers at this time. Without the 25 volunteers, the event cannot take place. A heated discussion ensued when Winslow Town Marshall Steve Nelson questioned if the temporary deputy, James Harrington, who Deadline is Friday for senior profiles The deadline to submit profiles for this year's Press-Dis- patch Class of 2022 salute is Friday, May 13 at 5 p.m. Students can ac- cess the Google Form from the link sent to their school email account, or by going to https:// bit.ly/3OF8Z7t. Stu- dents need to log in to their school Goo- gle account to access the form. The following 28 students have NOT completed a profile as of press time: Morgan Blackburn Haley Brackney Quaid Britton Devin Carlisle Jacob Carter Isaiah Culbertson Zoie Curtis Kaden Davis Kayden Deweese Quentin Dillon Brianna Estrada Dane Gladish Adrian Gulledge Ryan Hertel Brynn Hillyard Laney Johnson Jade Kamman Matthew Long Hunter Mosby Brody Musser Alec Nowark Sienna Nowark Blaine Pitcher Adan Sanchez Michael Taber Jack Tegemeyer Damien Wylaz First Responders seek funds for Search & Rescue Team Sherri Sebella With Pike County having over 20,510 acres of wetlands, several lakes and ponds, as well as, two ma- jor rivers, our first responders see the desperate need for a Search and Rescue Team. A Pike County Search and Res- cue Team is being developed by a group of first responders that have seen first hand the need for equip- ment and a trained team to be pre- pared, in case of an emergency. The first responders involved felt so passionate about the need in Pike County that they took their own money to establish the Pike County Search and Rescue Team 501C and tax identification number. The team being formed currently involves three Pike County Sheriff Deputies and three Pike County fire- fighters: Briar Meadors, Jason McK- inney, Dallas Killian, Kyler Henry, John Voyles and Jonathan Benner. "A fter the last incident on the White River where we had to rescue a patient from Dodge City, we knew we had to do something," Dallas Kil- lian, Chief Deputy of Pike County Sheriff's Department, said. "In the event of an accident or emergency, everyone just pitches in. There is no set group. There were two water res- cues in a two week span. Over win- ter, we had a capsized boat and a duck hunter took me out to that one. Clog the Patoka has hundreds of participants, along with water fowl hunters that hunt in local marshes. They come from all over the state to Pike County. We have no current wa- tercrafts. Shore-based rescues are all we are equipped for." Everyone currently involved in the newly formed Search and Res- cue Team have some search and res- No major upsets in Primary Election By Sherri Sebella While there were no major upsets in the Primary Election on Tuesday, May 3, there was one close race be- tween current Pike County Coun- cil member, Republican candidates Randy Harris and Jared Furman, for the County Council District 1 seat. Harris beat Furman by a mere 53 votes out of 365 total. Many felt that the County Council race was what drove people in to vote. Harris waited patiently at the Pike County Courthouse on Tuesday eve- ning for results to be announced and breathed a sigh of relief when he found out he had won the prima- ry race. "You just never know," Harris said the night of the race. "I just want to thank everyone who came out and voted. That was the only race in that District to vote for, so you don't know who will show up. I am very ap- preciative to continue." Harris won in the Petersburg 1, 2, and 4 Districts, along with Washing- ton 2 District, while Furman won by large margins in the Clay and Logan Districts, and won by a mere .02 per- cent in the Madison District. Republican candidate Max Elliott, current Pike County Council mem- ber, beat Jim Johns, by 270 votes out of 508 total, for the primary election. "I'm happy I won," Elliott said. "We both worked hard and the vot- ers decided." Elliott won with 85.12 percent in the Patoka 1 District, and 67.14 per- cent of the votes in the Patoka 2 Dis- trict. Elliott carried 80.77 percent of the votes in the Winslow District. Ray McCormick, who was run- ning for the United State Represen- tative for District 8, won the Dem- ocrat primary to challenge current Republican Representative, incum- bent Larry Bucshon in the general election to be Tuesday, November 8. With only 16.24 percent voter turnout for the primary election, out of 9,082 registered voters in Pike Tax abatement approved for Crosstrack Solar personal property By Sherri Sebella In a 6 -1 vote, the Pike County Council ap- proved the Confirmatory Final Economic Re- vitalization Area Resolution with Travis Trout- man being the lone council member to vote against the Resolution. This personal property tax abatement is for the solar energy generation facility in Jeffer- son, Marion, and Patoka Townships in Pike County. Invenergy had requested the Pike County Council to approve a five-year personal prop- erty tax deduction for the project. They had also asked that the property be designated as an economic revitalization area for the purpos- es of permitting such deductions. Invenergy is the world's largest privately held sustainable energy company. The project will be roughly 800 acres within the project fence. There will be an approximate $110 million investment in Pike County, roughly $ 30 mil- lion in new taxes over the life of the project, which is expected to be 35 years, an average of 130 construction jobs and an estimated two full-time jobs for Operations and Management when the project is in the operations mode. An estimated $ 35 million in payment will go to the participating land owners, according to Invenergy. The five-year tax abatement on the project's personal property is proposed to be a declin- ing schedule with a 90 percent, 80 percent, 70 percent, 60 percent, and 50 percent abatement for years one through five. This will not apply to the land or any real property improvements, such as an operation maintenance building, fencing, or substation. Ashley Willis, Pike County Economic De- velopment Executive Director, said Pike Coun- ty has one of the top 10 tax rates, with Pike County being the eighth highest in 2022. WEdNESdAy, MAy 11, 2022 PIKE PUBLISHING VoLuME 152, NuMBEr 19