The South Gibson Star-Times serves the towns of Haubstadt, Owensville and Fort Branch.
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1489040
HAPPY NEWS TIPS Phone: ������������� 812-753-3553 Email ����editor@sgstartimes�com INSIDE Local ��������� A1-D2 Year Review � A1-B3 Obituaries �������� A2 Sports ������������� B4 School ���������� C1-2 Church ��������C3-4 History ������������ C4 Opinion ����������� D1 Legals �������������� D3 Classifieds ����D3-4 Four Sections • No Inserts Fort Branch 47648-0070 (USPS #205-620) $1.00 16 PAGES TuESDay, DEcEmbEr 27, 2022 VOLUME 68, NUMBER 25 South Gibson Year in Review: Looking back at the first half of 2022 JANUARY • Gym owners notice a post-vaccine uptick in gym memberships after a few slow years during COVID-19. • A fter 70 years in public service, Bill Mc- Connell, 100, retired from the Gibson County Council effective Jan. 1. He said it's the right time, as the jail project has lined out and he's come to a point that ocular, hearing and trans- portation problems are interfering with him be- ing able to participate to the extent he should to fulfill his duties. • Gibson Southern hosted 774 archers in fourth through twelfth grades, from 48 schools, for a National Archery in the Schools tournament. • Low temperatures and the first snow of the year disrupts schools and workplaces after the National Weather Service issued a warning that black ice was likely over much of the re- gion. Schools released early one day and can- celed the next. • Commissioners ask Peabody to build a continuation of CR 950 S., between CR 1225 E. and CR 1300 E., then to turn it over to the coun- ty as a work around for a road closure the com- pany requested from commissioners; neigh- bors protested the closure. • The Gibson County Health Dept. inves- tigated mold complaints in the Train Station Apartments, located next to Dollar General in Fort Branch. • Haubstadt Town Council approved a Bak- er Tilly rate study to compensate for provider Gibson Water's rate rising 50 cents per thou- sand gallon in January, and another 40 cents per thousand in March. • Titans crown Homecoming King Rory Heltsley and Homecoming Queen Madeline Douglas. • Jacob Shuman begins as Purdue Exten- sion's new 4-H Youth Educator. He's an Ohio State University grad in agriculture, with a mi- nor in etymology. • Gibson County Council approved send- ing a letter to Gibson County Commissioners on negotiation of the 2022 union contract on Jan. 11. According to Council president Jere- my Overton, changes in the union contract will likely make filling shifts harder for department heads as it adds time off and is "ripe for abuse" in a more flexible approach to sick time, comp time and bereavement pay. • South Gibson Teen Center representative Bill Knapp told the Gibson County Redevelop- ment Board that the South Gibson Communi- ty Teen Center project will officially begin Jan. 21, after a small delay for sickness. • Gibson County Council approved a new job description for EMS Director David Pond Jan. 11, with the hope it will help him over- came an EMT shortage. The part-time posi- tion paid $12 per hour to drive the ambulance, compared to the basic EMT role that started at $13.10 per hour. • According to Gibson County Health Dept. Director Diane Hornby, the public has been uti- lizing the health department's drive-up test- ing site consistently, even as numbers spiked since October. • Commissioners contacted developer Wayne Kinney to follow up on a health depart- ment investigation into mold at the Train Sta- tion Apartments. According to Commission- er Warren Fleetwood, Kinney said the com- pany has cleaned up the mold, and that it's the type Kinney called fairly typical on new con- struction. • In a 2-1 vote, Gibson County Commission- ers tabled allowing Haubstadt's Southern Hills Subdivision move forward due to a plan by the designers to put waste into a cluster septic sys- tem as opposed to running the sewer back to the town for treatment. The 40 -house cluster system would be the first of its kind in the county. • Health Dept. Director Diane Hornby told commissioners last week that while the Gibson County Health Dept.'s previous high COVID- case-per-day average was 35, that number, as of Jan. 18, was 86.1 new cases per day. The county was out of rapid tests and did not know when they will get more. • Peabody Coal agreed to build a perma- nent road for local access. They had originally asked to make it temporary and for emergen- cy vehicles only, in exchange for the county approving a road closure needed to temporar- ily reopen the mine and create 40 coal min- ing jobs. FEBRUARY • Gibson County Soil and Water Conserva- tion District hosted a birds of prey program by, World Bird Sanctuary, of St. Louis, Feb. 1. • Collector's Carnival, now in its fourth year in Princeton, returned to Gibson County Fair- grounds with somewhat smaller crowds for the winter market, but those that were there walked out with deals and steals, according to organizer Suzie Pace, while vendors were satisfied having moved a lot of merchandise. • South Gibson VFW, in Fort Branch, cele- brated their 50 year anniversary Feb. 3. • Only a year after his rst solo show in Evansville, Fort Branch native Drew Cooper closed his first show in Switzerland, and pre- pared for his international solo debut at Lon- don's Maddox Gallery, Oct. 13. • YMCA Camp Carson raised more than $21,225 for camper's scholarships with their third annual Polar Plunge Saturday, which drew about 30 participants. • Gibson County Commissioners pass a much-debated contract for the highway de- partment and clerical employees in their Feb. 1 meeting, but the vote was split with Commis- sioner Mary Key dissenting after criticism of the contract from the county council. Council recognizes Beard, Pflug By Janice Barniak SG Star-Times Editor editor@sgstartimes.com Gibson County Council recognized the work of longtime council members Dan Beard and Craig Pflug, whose terms end Dec. 31. Beard has 43 years of public service. "It was eye-opening. It wasn't everything I thought it would be," Beard said. He en- couraged council and commissioners to come together, calling it the biggest chal- lenge of the last eight years. Pflug has been on the council 20 years. Council president Jeremy Overton called Pflug "one of the smartest, most reasonable people I've had the opportunity to work with." He said the county would not have been in such good financial shape without the two members. "We had some good role models. I mean Bill McConnell — he was a gentleman," Pflug said. "That was one reason I served, just trying to make Gibson County a better place than we found it." Jan. 11 — Mia Cooper, left, and Simon Walden play in the snow after school was cancelled in early January. Photo by Scott Walden See REVIEW on page B-1 Brakin' for Bacon: 'Patoka Petey' saved on US-41 By Janice Barniak Star-Times Editor editor@sgstartimes.com A pig was rescued by local women and the Gibson County Sheriff's Office Dec. 20 after the pig — dubbed Patoka Petey — es- caped his home. Local mom and business-owner Shayna Blevins was headed into town to drop her kids off at school and daycare when, on US - 41 outside Patoka, she saw a pig. As a farm-raised woman, she tried for 10 - 15 minutes to catch him, call him, and final- ly to herd him away from traffic, but when that didn't work, she continued on to drop off her children. When she returned, she noticed a crowd of people in the US -41 median, cars flying down both sides, trying again to get the pig to safety. She'd returned with food to bait the pig, A tradition of bringing joy to children By Janice Barniak Star-Times Editor editor@sgstartimes.com Owensville Fire Chief Mike Sokeland takes a minute to think when asked how long the Fort Branch Fire Department's Christ- mas Eve Santa event has been go- ing. "Well, it would be 97 —" he starts. Another fire department mem- ber cuts in. "No before 1997 because—" "I meant 97 years." There's a beat of silence as the group realizes the event is nearing the century mark. Cheyenne Rexing tells Santa what she wants for Christmas this year Saturday at the Fort Branch Fire Station. See PIG on page 2 See TR ADITION on page 3