South Gibson Star-Times

Ava Weisheit and Jaxun Lamb were crowned 2023 Winter Homecoming queen and king on Friday. Juniors Halle Pohl and Dawson Maurer were crowned 2023 Gibson Southern Win- ter Homecoming princess and prince. Weisheit crowed at Winter Homecoming By Elizabeth Elpers Star-Times Contributor news@sgstartimes.com Fort Branch-Gibson Southern High School students celebrated winter homecoming Jan. 27. The theme for Friday night's game was "Dress to Impress", and the Titan student section certainly understood the assignment. Congratulations are in order for the 2023 GSHS homecoming queen and senior girls basketball player Ava Weisheit, who traded in her basketball uniform for a fancy dress and heels, along with homecoming king and se- nior boys basketball player Jaxun Lamb, who also led the Titans in scoring at Friday night's homecoming game. Both students exemplify what it means to be a Gibson Southern Titan, in and out of the classroom. The 2023 homecoming princess honor went to junior Halle Pohl, while junior GSHS swim- mer Dawson Maurer was crowned prince. Basketball bearer Owen Schmitt and crown bearer Jacey Martin performed their duties amazingly and certainly looked the part of royalty. Members of the high school student coun- cil, with the help of student council advisor Ian Gamroth, organized the homecoming dance that took place after Friday night's game and lasted until 10 p.m. Although the Titans fell to Evansville Chris- tian 60-42, it was a special night for Gibson Southern High students and the South Gibson community. Seven Vehicle Pile Up By Andy Heuring Press-Dispatch News news@pressdispatch.net A storm that dropped freezing rain on the area Monday night and Tuesday morning caused icy conditions and speed that were cit- ed as the cause of a seven-vehicle pile-up on Highway 41 just south of Fort Branch. Gibson County Deputy Sheriffs John Fisch- er and Bart Wagner investigated the accident. Deputy Wagner said he was working anoth- er accident and tr ying to move two vehicles to the shoulder of the road and was tr ying to stop all northbound traffic. He said the first three vehicles stopped when a chain reaction was set off by a Jeffrey T. Myers, 29, of Evansville, driving a white Toyota Tundra truck. Deputy Wagner in the report said several of the drivers involved said Myers was driving "way too fast for the conditions and was unable to stop, which started the chain reaction involv- ing the other six vehicles." Wagner said Myers' Tundra hit a red Chev- rolet Impala driven by Alan Luigs, 41, of Mt. Vernon, in the back, causing it to spin about 180 degrees. Myers' Tundra continued north hitting a Jeep Wrangler driven by Wonga Horn- back, 47, of Elberfeld. Hornback's Jeep was pushed into a gray Toyota Tundra driven by Roger Conklin, 62, of Haubstadt. Ralph Wilkison, 54, of Evansville was driv- ing a 2017 Porsche Cayene and was also north- bound. He avoided the Luigs' Impala as it spun away after being hit by Myers, but Wilkison hit Myers' truck. Wilkison's Porsche had signifi- cant damage to the front end. Mark Bailey, 60, of Evansville was driving a red 2014 Toyota Camr y north and was at- tempting to stop to avoid the crashes in front of him when Joseph Hill, 35, of Evansville driving a 2005 white Monte Carlo was unable to stop and hit Bailey. Four of the vehicles had to be towed away, but no one was injured. Damage was estimated at between $25,000 and $50,000. It was one of several wrecks in the South Gibson area due to the ice. Five minutes prior to the big pile-up, Deputy Fischer was working an accident in the same area. Deputy Fischer said Lidia Lucke, 33, of Evansville was driving a 2013 Toyota Corolla when Elmer Smith, 56, of Evansville started fishtailing while tr ying to stop. Luke said she started braking and lost control on the ice and the two vehicles sideswiped each other. At 7:25 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 31, Bethany Breeden, 32, of Princeton was driving a white Toyota Avalon and lost control on the ice. Sher- iff Bruce Vanoven said Breeden hit a concrete barrier in the median then spun 180 degrees and hit a guardrail. She was not injured, but her Avalon had an estimated $10,000 to $25,000 damage. At 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 31, Timothy L. Trench, 61, of Princeton was driving a 2016 Kia Optima on CR550S when he attempted to turn onto CR100E and slid on the ice, going off the east side of CR100E, according to Deputy Sheriff Deborah Borchelt. Trench was unin- jured, but his Kia had an estimated $5,000 to $10,000 damage. At nearly the same time and same place Clin- ton Pinkston, 42, of Carlisle was driving a 2019 Hyundai Elantra toward the same intersection. Deputy Borchelt said he was unable to stop and slid through the T intersection, going into a ditch causing his airbags to deploy. At 10:18 Tuesday, Richard Smallwood, 70, of Evansville was driving his 2019 Dodge Grand Caravan south on CR100E approaching the in- tersection of CR600S when he hit his brakes and was unable to stop due to the ice. Deputy Logan Lashbrook said Smallwood slid through the intersection and hit a guard rail causing $5,000 to $10,000 damage. Two people suffered injuries in an accident at the intersection of Highways 64 and 65 in a 2:23 p.m. Thursday accident, blamed on both drivers disregarding the stop light. Deputy Sheriff Zach Lienemann said in his report Patrick F. Johnson, 62, of Owensville was driving a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox west on Highway 64 attempting to turn south onto Highway 65. Kevin Phillippe, 39, of Mt. Carmel was driving a Toyota RAV 4 east on Highway 64 and they collided into each other. Deputy Lienemann said he was able to re- view video from a nearby vehicle's dash cam and it showed both drivers ran a red light on Highway 64. Johnson was taken by EMS to the hospital with minor bleeding from his neck. Phillippe complained of shoulder pain. Damage was es- timated at $25,000 to $50,000. Fire Destroys Holder's Funeral Home By Andy Heuring Star-Times News news@sgstartimes.com An early Sunday morning fire destroyed Holder's Funeral Home in Owensville that dates back to the 1800s at 319 S. Main St. By Sunday afternoon the century-old building was a pile of rubble. "We are devastated by the loss of this his- toric building, a place of comfort to thousands over many years. The loss is of the building only. No living or deceased were affected," stated a social media post by Holder Funer- al Home. "We will begin the process of rebuilding as soon as possible. In the meantime we will con- tinue to serve Gibson County with our other facilities in the region and in conjunction with local churches through the Owensville Min- isterial Alliance," stated the post. The fire was first dispatched by Gibson County's E911 center at 12:23 a.m. from "mul- tiple reports." "It was rolling pretty good when we got there," said Owensville Fire Lt. Curtis Black. Flames and heavy smoke were both showing when firemen arrived. Black said Owensville, Fort Branch and Haubstadt fire departements were all dis- patched simultaneously. "We tried to hit it from the interior, but structurally it wasn't sound. The roof was al- ready starting to give and the upstairs floor was starting to sag, so it just wasn't safe, and we had to abandon that," said Black. Because of the size of the fire in the multi-story building, Princeton Fire Depart- ment was also called for help. Black said a sec- ond ladder truck was helpful in getting the fire under control. He said fire departments were on scene until about 6 a.m. A state fire marshal was called to determine the cause of the fire. Black said as of Sunday night no cause had been determined. "I don't know what the cause was or where the fire started. I can only say where we were able to see flames from the upstairs corner," said Black. A trackhoe was used to bring down the re- maining structure after the fire was extin- guished. An early Sunday morning fire reduced Holder's Funeral Home in Owensville to a pile of rubble. The funeral home, located at 319 S. Main, was established in 1874. $1.00 12 PAGES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2023 VOLUME 68, NUMBER 30 SPORTS A5 Lady Titans Beat Evansville NEWS TIPS Phone: ������������������������812-753-3553 Email ��������������� editor@sgstartimes�com INSIDE &ODVVLŵHGV �������������� A3 Sports �����������������A5-6 Opinion ������������������ A7 Church ������������������� A8 History ������������������� A9 One Section Fort Branch 47648-0070 (USPS #205-620)

• Cover