The South Gibson Star-Times serves the towns of Haubstadt, Owensville and Fort Branch.
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1476385
NEWS TIPS Phone: ������������� 812-753-3553 Email ����editor@sgstartimes�com INSIDE Local �������������� A4 Church �������� A6-7 Sports ���������� B1-2 Home Life �������� B3 Classifieds ������� B4 Fall Sports �� C1-D2 History ������������ D3 Opinion ���������� D4 Two Sections • One Insert Fort Branch, IN 47648-0070 (USPS #205-620) $1.00 24 PAGES FOUR SECTIONS TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2022 VOLUME 68, NUMBER 7 South Gibson INSIDE THIS ISSUE FALL 2022 SPORTS PREVIEW Local group assists Kentucky flooding victims By Janice Barniak SG Star-Times Editor editor@sgstartimes.com Sheep Dog Impact Assistance returned from a Kentucky deployment Aug. 7, where they assisted rural Kentuckians affected by catastrophic flooding. Southern Indiana Chapter President Chris MacKay discussed the local efforts to the Kentucky response, which includ- ed being the first from the non-profit to go to the impacted area. "When we heard about the flooding, we rallied the community and called for supplies," MacKay said. People donated towels, cleaning supplies, and in the case of Vance Lloyd, from Francisco, two raft boats to use in the search and rescue ef- forts. The team showed up to Jackson, Ky., where they linked with their volunteer organizing department. "Ever ybody was down where the news cameras were. Unfor tunately that happens a lot in disasters, so that's one of the main missions of sheep dog is help the little guys. There are people in the hollers and hills that don 't get tend- ed to," he said. One person they met had been res- cued off her roof before floods swept her house off the foundation and shattered it against a bridge. "You could see her house all down the river. It was a lot of devastation," MacKay said. The first few days the team did search and rescue, as well as welfare checks. Then the team tore out dr y- wall, set up a donation center, dropped of f food, water and supplies. They went to the small towns of Jenkins and Fleming-Neon, Ky. Fleming-Neon was so small that during the last ma- jor flood FEMA completely overlooked the town. Sheep Dogs took their chain saws and gear to begin cleanup, established a new city hall, and set up a distribution point. Locally people started coming out to tell them where people needed help. In the past, people arrived during disas- ters claiming they were there to help be- fore scamming the townspeople, so when they were able to gain the town's trust, the team wanted to hold onto that by do- ing things like clearing four to five inches of muddy silt from people's homes. When they finished their work the second wave, from fur ther-away na- tional chapters relieved the Souther n Indiana team with dozens of mem- bers. The local chapter wants to go back to Kentucky, but said, like many non-prof- its, fuel costs are eating into their overall budget, and they'd have to raise those funds first from the public either in cash or fuel cards. Moreover, the SDIA group — a rela- tively young non-profit — has realized that they will reliably have at least one to two disasters to deploy to each year. They'd like to be able to collect water, for example, and other needed supplies year- round to decrease their response time but they don't have storage space for the items. As a 501-(c)(3) organization, they're looking to find a host business with a space the business owner could write off his or her taxes, which would provide a place to store the non-perishable supplies and even potentially host meetings. Re- Owensville considers sign to acknowledge football win By Janice Barniak Star-Times Editor editor@sgstartimes.com Owensville resident Jimmy Baker told the Owensville Town Board he'd like the town to create a "Welcome to Ow- ensville" sign along the lines of the signs Fort Branch has posted at town entrances. Those signs acknowledge Fort Branch as home of the Gibson Southern State Cham- pionship football team, a title won last year, but Baker said Owensville is also home to many who played. "Several Owensville boys started on that football team," he said, and he thought their hometown could also ac- knowledge the achievement. The town board was not opposed to the sign, adding they may have to make theirs bigger than the Fort Branch signs depending on where they place them. "I saw theirs said 'Home of Gibson Southern High School,' and yes, it stung a bit. But it does have a Fort Branch address," said Matsel. "It's a Fort Branch address, but it's got Owensville Water," said a voice from the town hall crowd. "Well, maybe we could put that on a sign," joked Matsel. In other town business, the council approved replac- ing the police vehicle's GPS/ internet system at a cost of $1,228, and the town is plan- ning street work and a sewer expansion. Josh Hood, of Wessler En- gineering, asked to approve an agreement between town Board president addresses land transfer By Janice Barniak Star-Times Editor editor@sgstartimes.com Town Board President Dwayne Matsel addressed questions he'd received about the Steelman Park proper ty being transferred to the librar y during the August town board meet- ing. "Two years ago, in 2020, the head librarian asked if we would donate the land to librar y to help them get grant money to become ADA compliant," he said. Consulting the town lawyer at the time, the board was told yes, the librar y needed to own the proper ty to do the building constr uction. The board made a verbal agreement with the librar y board president that the town's citizens could still use the proper ty at any time. "That has not been ne- gated. They haven't told anyone they can't use it," Matsel said, adding that he's in favor of those using it signing a waiver. "Agree or disagree with it, there are some smar t things about it. The head librari- an went a little overboard. Those demands were put down by her own board. The agreement was be- tween the board and the town." Recently citizens pro- tested against a measure by the librar y board which would require each person using the librar y lawn to buy insurance, which can at times be costly. After dis- cussion, the board decided in favor of a waiver instead, however the librar y direc- tor and three board mem- bers resigned during the controversy. Since then, Matsel said Pizza dough-nates slice of profits for local family By Janice Barniak Star-Times Editor editor@sgstartimes.com Monroe Pizza Compa- ny will host a fundraiser Wednesday for the family of Josselyn L ynn, an East Gib- son student who was struck by a vehicle while riding her bike at Ind. 64 near Gibson in Oakland City Friday. Parents Chris and Jess L ynn went online to thank those following the stor y at Gibson County News and Talk for their prayers, as well as to thank first responders from East Gibson Fire Terri- tor y and Oakland City Police Dept. They posted a public picture of their daughter in the hospital recovering, add- ing she was hit from behind. The East Gibson commu- nity wanted to reach out to help the sixth grade student. Emilee Corn, of Monroe Pizza Company, organized a fundraiser for Wednesday night — a portion of the piz- za restaurant's proceeds will go to the L ynn family to help with hospital bills, travel and missed work for the family. Many employees at the restaurant are donating their time during work that day, so what they would normally get paid will be added to the fundraiser amount. "Her family works nights, New RC racetrack opens in area By Janice Barniak SG Star-Times Editor editor@sgstartimes.com Chris Buck, who lives just outside Princeton, has opened his yard for RC racing by building a track and becoming someone who fixes and soups up remote control cars. While having a track and something semi-official is new to the area, Buck said most re- mote control racers are adults who started in their childhood and now share the hobby with their children. He said his friend Matt West's track, in Boonville, in- spired his own, but RC racing is common in Evansville. The cars tend to be custom- ized with after-market parts that give them more power than the cars straight off the toy store shelves. At $5 to $10 a race, of course it's cheaper than racing a real car, and it's something people like to do with their kids. Places like Hobby Town in Evansville specialize in help- ing the racers with their vehi- cles. "I'm honestly not that good at driving them," Buck said. "You would think a guy with a track would practice all the time, but I do more fixing the cars and taking care of the track than racing." He and West have teamed up to create Southern Indiana Off-Road RC. They hosted two July races, and a race Sunday at Buck's Princeton track. Their next race is at West's Boonville track on Aug. 28, then again in Princeton Sept. 11, in Boonville Oct. 2, and Local Sheep Dog Impact Assistance teams did search and rescue as well as welfare checks for those in east- ern Kentucky affected by catastrophic flooding. See VICTIMS on page 3 Father Dustin Smith works on an RC car he's about to race, something he did with his dad that he now shares with his four sons. See PIZZA on page 2 See WIN on page 2 See NEW on page 2 See BOARD on page 2