The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1489075
READER GUIDE Subscriptions: Change of address: sub- scribers changing addresses will please give old address as well as new one along with phone number. We can- not guarantee prompt change unless this is done. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Heartland Media Group, LLC, P.O. Box 275, Fowler, 47944-0275 or email hmgcirculation@gmail.com or call 765-884-1902. Subscription rates as of Jan. 1, 2023: One year: $42 for Pike County; $48 else- where in Indiana; out-of-state: $63. Paid in advance. Sub- scriptions taken after noon on Friday will not receive a pa- per until the second edition after their subscription date. About us: Don Hurd, Publisher Sherri Sebella, Editor Andy Heuring, Sports/News John B. Heuring, Adv. Mgr. Pam Lemond, Adv. Sales Cindy Petty, Adv. Sales • • • Published every Wednesday by Heart - land Media Group, LLC. Phone: 812-354-8500 820 E. Poplar St., P.O. Box 68, Petersburg, IN 47567-0068 • • • Entered in the Post Office in Petersburg, Indiana for transmission through the mails as Periodical Mail, postage paid at Petersburg, Indiana – published weekly. (USPS 205-620) Contact us: Main Phone: .. 812-354-8500 Circulation: ... 765-884-1902 Fax: ................812-354-2014 Editor editor@pressdispatch.net Advertising ads@pressdispatch.net General News news@pressdispatch.net Circulation hmgcirculation@gmail.com HEATING AND AIR 812-789-3065 tdavis@alltradeheatingandair.net or admin@alltradeheatingandair.net WE TEST. SO IT RUNS. Pregnant... or think you are? Call:1-877-257-1084 or Locally Call: 1-812-354-2814 • Free pregnancy testing • Free counseling and info. on pregnancy options. • Confi dential counseling for women & men who are suff ering from post-abortion syndrome. • Residential Care • Health and assistance referrals. • Training and education. • Assistance in getting baby and maternity clothes washpcc@sbcglobal.net www.washingtonpregnancycenter.com Miss Pike County Jordan Schatz By Jill Hyneman Correspondent news@pressdispatch.net Jordan Schatz, Miss Pike County 2022-2023 is some- one you should know. She was a 2022 graduate from Pike Central High School and won Miss Pike County this past summer. As Miss Pike Coun- ty, Schatz said, "I have enjoyed meeting new people and mak- ing lifelong friendships with the girls of our community. I love being able to represent my county. The community has been so amazing to work with and I have absolutely loved every second of getting to inspire little kids and meet the amazing people of our lit- tle county." Schatz enjoys riding hors- es, reading, baking with her mom and hanging out with her friends and family. She is cur- rently working at Tractor Sup- ply in Washington. If she is not at work on weekends you will find her working with her an- imals or hanging out with her family or her boyfriend and his family. Schatz attends Oakland City University, working to- ward a degree in Agribusi- ness. One day she hopes to own and operate her own farm. Schatz excitedly said, "It has also been a dream of mine to one day own and operate my very own horse rescue". The 4-H organization has been a big part of Schatz's upbringing. She has learned a lot participating in 4-H and some accomplishments were winning master showman- ship in rabbits and becoming top herdsman in 2021. Judy Krieg, 2022 Presi- dent of the 4-H Council spoke about Schatz's 4-H participa- tion. Krieg said, "Jordan has been such a pleasure to work with in all of the roles she has assumed through the 4H pro- gram. She has been a true lead- er to the younger up-and-com- ing 4Hers, leading by example, lending a hand when they need direction and even just simply being a source of encourage- ment when they need it." "Currently, she heads up an outreach effort to remind mid- dle & high schoolers about the opportunities offered in the 4H program." "She balances her full load of responsibilities, that in- clude work, school and her Miss Pike County efforts, with a smile on her face and a fan- tastic attitude. She's just one of those people who make you immediately happy when she's around. Jordan is going plac- es in life, and she's the type of person who will fight to lift ev- eryone around her up, too. A real future leader in the mak- ing." Another 4-H leader, Ka- ra Willis, 2023 Council Vice President also added, "She en- thusiastically wants to bring more to all ages of our coun- ty. Her excitement and genu- ine devotion to everything she does is inspirational. She has wonderful ideas and then goes all in to make them a reality. She's also one of the kindest and big-hearted people that you'll ever meet. That type of soul will always be fun to plan with and be a fantastic leader." The 2023 Miss Indiana State Fair Pageant is right around the corner. Schatz said, "I am extremely excited to be able to represent our county. I am probably most excited about meeting the county queens I haven't gotten to know yet, and getting to experience this huge moment together as a big group. I one hundred per- cent think of them as my pag- eant sisters and am so excit- ed to get to have the time of our lives." If you want to attend the Miss Indiana State Fair Pag- eant and support our county's queen, the preliminary pag- eant judging is open to the public January 7th at 5 p.m. and the finals are January 8th at 1 p.m. Both events are lo- cated at the Indiana State Fair- grounds in the Indiana Farm- ers Coliseum. To purchase tickets and for additional information go to indianastatefair.com. SOMEONE KNOW YOU SHOULD Right: Audubon Society member Jeremy Ross is looking for volunteers to participate in the upcoming Pike County's Christmas Bird Count. The radius is shown here for birders to count species, record num- ber seen and keep track of travel time on Saturday, December 31. To see map circles for the CBC, look here at https://www.arcgis.com/apps/View/index. html?appid=ac275eeb01434cedb1c5dcd0fd3fc7b4 Below: Volunteer birders can simply sit in the com- fort of their own home and count the birds at their feeders or take a hike like Josiah Ross, as pictured, and see what they can spot. This Red Breasted Nuthatch is just one of the birds to look for during the Pike County's Christmas Bird Count, on Saturday, December 31. Audubon Society member Jeremy Ross is looking for volunteers to partici- pate in the county's CBC to count species, number seen and travel time. Photo by Jeremy Ross. Birders sought Pike County's Christmas bird count By Mendy Ross Correspondent news@pressdispatch.net In 1900 the tradition of a Christmas hunt was quite popular. Folks would choose sides to see who could bag the most game. However, at the turn of the century ma- ny were beginning to worry about the impacts on wildlife of such traditions. A concerned naturalist, Frank Chapman, and 26 oth- er conservationists, suggest- ed that folks simply count birds instead of killing them; and so the Christmas Bird Count began. Every year for the past 123 years nature loving folks have been encouraged to go out for one day (24 hours) and count all the birds they see around Christmastime. The current year's count date runs from December 14, 2022 through January 5, 2023. Indiana has CBCs all over the state and some of the highest performing counts are in the southwestern re- gion. Oakland City's and Western Gibson's CBCs can garner well more than a doz- en volunteers, and quite often succeed in logging up to 100 species in a single day. In 2017, local naturalist Jer- emy Ross decided to official- ly get Pike County on the map with it's own count. The CBCs are all run within a 15 -mile di- ameter circle, so finding room to get a circle took some plan- ning. Oakland City's count al- ready reaches well into Pike county and Knox county has a nearby count as well. The cen- ter of Pike's CBC is just east of Alford, with Otwell being the far eastern edge, Winslow to the south and Bowman com- munity to the west with the northern boundary running just up into Daviess and Knox counties. Even though Pike County CBC is only five years old it has already risen high on the list of Indiana counts with a high of 86 species recorded in 2020. This is due to the di- verse habitats in Pike County– including forest, bottomland, water, fields and young brushy habitats, as well as mostly ru- ral and few suburban areas. Pike County has the habitat for potentially more diverse bird species. In it's short tenure, Pike County has had Indiana's on- ly yellow headed blackbird recorded on a CBC for years, which was found in Ross' own back yard, as well as a Logger- head Shrike, a state endan- gered species. Ross hopes in the future more counters can access areas that are current- ly not counted. To participate in the count, a 'birder,' as they are called can simply sit in the comfort of their own home and count the birds at their feeders or take a hike or a drive and see what they can spot. Most of the time, bird watching is do- ne by vehicle, slowly driving roads and scanning the sides and skies for anything with feathers. But so counters' da- ta doesn't overlap, participants need to communicate with Ross on location and time. A f- ter counting, the participant will tally up the total number of birds seen by species and give the data to Jeremy Ross, who will compile the data and submit to the Audubon Soci- ety. The data is used by scien- tists to track and monitor bird populations. This year's Pike County CBC 2022/23 will be Satur- day, December 31. If you have questions, email Jeremy Ross at jeremy.ross@hotmail.com. The Press-Dispatch A-4 Wednesday, December 28, 2022 LOCAL Call: 812-354-8500 Email: news@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg