South Gibson Star-Times

NEWS TIPS Phone: ������������� 812-753-3553 Email ����editor@sgstartimes�com INSIDE Local ����������� A1-8 Obituaries �������� A5 On the Record � A6 Shopping������ A6-7 Sports ���������� B1-3 Opinion ����������� B3 School ����������B4-5 Church ��������B6-7 History ������������ B7 Legals �������������� B8 Classifieds ������� B8 Two Sections • One Insert Fort Branch 47648-0070 (USPS #205-620) TWIGS AND TWIGS AND ELITE BOYS ELITE BOYS SPLIT GAMES SPLIT GAMES $1.00  16 PAGES   TuESDay, NovEmbEr 22, 2022  VOLUME 68, NUMBER 21 South Gibson LOCAL A5 SPORTS B1 Flock of eagles spotted at Cane Ridge By Janice Barniak Star-Times Editor editor@sgstartimes.com Birder Jeff Helfrich spotted roughly 20 bald eagles at Cane Ridge around 7 a.m. Nov. 19, an unusual number for that area, he said. Helfrich, who has been to multiple countries birdwatching since he and wife, Marcia, got the bug four years ago, said the Cane Ridge event was likely due to an area where mud ap- peared to trap fish and make for easy fishing. "The first thing I saw was a large number of swans, and as I was taking pictures of them, there were a large number of eagles coming out to where they were. It's usually deeper wa- ter in that area, but the water was low. "Eagles like an easy meal," he said. "Still, that's a lot of eagles." He added the brown heads indicate many are younger eagles, and likely the clear weath- er pushed them further south. While the eagles may have moved on, he said this weather is a great time to see thou- sands of snow geese in that area, for example. "Changes in weather can start the birds moving," he said. He recommended those wanting to see birds in that area to bring a good pair of bin- oculars or a good zoom lens, because it would be hard to tell what birds are out there with- out good equipment. "It's really interesting the number of birds that migrate through this area, swans and pel- icans. People would think pelicans are Florida — they migrate through every spring." Bird enthusiast Jeff Helfrich spotted about 20 bald eagles at Cane Ridge in Gibson County the morning of Nov. 19. Health insurance increases for town employees By Janice Barniak Star-Times Editor editor@sgstartimes.com Health insurance is up 12 percent this year for town employees, Fort Branch Town Coun- cil learned in their meeting last week. IU Health insurance is also changing from embedded to non-embedded, an insurance term that means when a family is insured, the whole family deductible will have to be met before the company covers 100 percent of expenses, instead of each person meeting their individual deductible. Town Clerk Stacy Elpers noted the employ- ees are happy with the insurance, and she had budgeted for up to a 25 percent increase. The Fort Branch Town Council decided to stay with the company. Their life insurance increased by $77 a month and long term disability increased $18.30 a month. Prosecutor's office moves due to mold By Janice Barniak Star-Times Editor editor@sgstartimes.com The Gibson County prosecutor's office, in the basement of the North Annex build- ing, is experiencing mold issues, Prosecu- tor Michael Cochren told Gibson County Commissioners Nov. 15 in their regular pub- lic meeting. Since an environmental study found the mold, the prosecutor and county attorney Jason Spindler have worked together to find a few alternate locations to house the em- ployees, who work in the child support, vic- tim advocate and prosecutorial offices. The temporary housing will hopefully keep the departments in one location but separated to meet the federal and securi- ty requirements. "I respectfully request you allow us to do it," Cochren said, adding he believed pro- longing exposure might not be wise, and the issue was found three weeks ago. "I'm more concerned about them than I am my- self...I think the longer they're down there the more chance of an issue." Commissioners asked about whether employees could work from home, and Co- chren said yes, with accommodations, but from a practical standpoint a physical office is better when the office is dealing with law enforcement partners. The victim's advo- cate office sees daily foot traffic, he added. It could slow down the legal process to work from home, he said. All the furniture need not be moved; with laptops and access to the server employees could work with minimal accommodations. He added this is the better time to miti- gate the mold if they truly need to be down because many attorneys take time off at the holidays, and the legal process does seem to unintentionally slow down somewhat. Commissioners said they wanted to give Cochren the flexibility to do what he thought would work best. "You know what you need," said Commis- sioner Kenneth Montgomery. Christmas vendor fair at St. James Students crowd around Hope Hill Soap products from Haubstadt at a vendor fair in Madden Hall at St. James Church during breakfast with Santa Sunday. More photos on A-3. Vertical Church to host community event Dec. 2 By Janice Barniak Star-Times Editor editor@sgstartimes.com Vertical Church representatives Pastor Richard Clark and his wife, Stephanie, re- ceived permission from Fort Branch Town Council to use Fort Branch Community Park picnic tables from 5 to 8 p.m. Dec. 2 during their community event, which will host food trucks. "It's not a church event, it's a community event," Clark said, describing a tree lighting he said would be similar to a Hallmark movie. The church had 19 vendors signed up. "Just paint them before you bring them back," joked Councilman Scotty DeLong to laughter. Council members were invited to take part in the celebration and potentially throw an oversized switch to light the tree. "We'd love to be a part of it," said Council President Sandy Birch. See INCREASE on page 2 SATURDAY L Black BIZ FRIDAY SATURDAY 27 & S M A L L Black BIZ

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