The Press-Dispatch

$1.00 24 PAGES FOUR SECTIONS PETERSBURG, IN 47567-0068 Wednesday, a pr il 19, 2023 PIKE PUBLISHING VOlUMe 153, nUMBer 15 Commissioners accept bid to begin replacement of courthouse windows By Sherri Griffin editor sherri@pressdispatch.net at Monday's pike County Commissioner's meeting, the Commissioners unanimous- ly accepted a bid from Wolfe Construction in the amount of $726,596 for the replacement of windows at the pike County Courthouse. The contractor will remove existing windows, remove existing caulk, remove win- dow weights and fill in weight well with closed cell foam and replacement windows with anderson windows and wrap windows with a dark bronze aluminum trim. Work is to be completed within 180 days. The goal is to also remove all blinds throughout the court- house and replace with a tint on the window to show the beauty of the window according to con- sultant Tom schroeder. in other business, the Com- missioners agreed unanimous- ly to make Good Friday a float- ing holiday for departments with 24/7 employees due to some county employees getting not getting paid holiday pay for both easter and Good Friday. a discussion was held about the forgiveness of a $60,000 loan to the Town of spurgeon that the county provided back in 2010. at the time of the loan, the Town of spurgeon was to pay back the funds upon the receipt of grant money which they never received. This loan was for the sanitary sewage collection system which pro- vides infrastructure for growth and development in the south end of pike County as well as a healthier and safer community. Commissioners agreed unani- mously to forgive the loan and stated that the Town of spur- geon would have to have legal documents drawn up to formal- ly forgive the loan. ashley pollen Willis, execu- tive director of the pike Coun- ty economic development Cor- poration approached the Com- missioners about a $388,691.90 shortfall for the river Birch project, asking for the county's help with the shortfall. Total NEWS TIPS Phone: ������������������������������������� 812-766-1611 Email ����������������������sherri@pressdispatch�net INSIDE Local �������������������������A1-4 Obits ���������������������������� A5 Sports ������������������������ B1-4 Home Life ����������������������� B5 Classifieds �����������������������C1 Legals �������������������������� C2 History ����������������������������C5 School ���������������������������D-3 Church �����������������������D4-5 USPS 604-34012 SPORTS B1 See WINDOWS on page 3 See SEWER page 4 See I-LEARN page 2 Craig makes hole in one Winslow Spring Concert I-LEARN Spring testing set to begin for students By Mendy Ross Correspondent news@pressdispatch.net it is that time of year again when students in the third through eighth grade take indiana's learning eval- uation assessment readiness net- work (i-learn) test. i-learn is the state's mandated assessment, which is administered each spring; this test replaced isTep as indi- ana's accountability assessment in 2018. as always, it is important to help your student prepare by letting them get a good night's rest, eating a healthy breakfast, and having a positive tone about your child's abilities. according to dana deffendoll, pike County school Corporation assistant superintendent of Curric- ulum and Technology, the test mea- sures students' achievement within english language arts and Math in grades Third through eighth, science in grades fourth and sixth, social studies in grade Fifth, and Students from Third grade to Eighth grade will participate in the I-LEARN testing during a time frame of this month to early May. "There are a variety of response types that assess the students on everything from their ability to write to multi-step math problems," said Principal Myer. "The tests are challenging for all students but I have found students ready and willing to meet the challenge." Kindergarten students were so excited to sing their songs on the stage! Dana Moyes sentenced following plea agreement By Sherri Griffin editor sherri@pressdispatch.net Following much controversy and bargaining amongst dana Moyes attorney and prosecutor darrin Mcdonald, a plea agreement was finally reached on Moyes remain - ing charges concerning neglect of dependent. Moyes voluntarily entered into a plea agreement with the state on three counts of ne- glect of a dependent, level 6 felonies and was sentenced on Thursday, april 13 to one year for each count (Counts 8, 9, and 10), in the pike County Jail with permis- sion to be served in the Wabash Valley regional Community Correc- tions Work release program, with the sentence for each count to run concurrently. during the plea hearing and sentencing, prosecutor Mcdonald asked Moyes if she admitted to plac- ing three different children of hers in danger of their life or health, to which Moyes admitted was true. Throughout the lengthy trials and arguments over the past year, it was learned that one of Moyes children was found unconscious and blue in the bath tub after having no supervision. That Moyes had dele- gated supervision of her children to a person who is on disability for au- tism and that numerous and repeat- ed safety plans had been put into place by the department of Child services, which Moyes had agreed to and failed to follow through on, leaving her children uncared for and in dangerous situations. another incident in court re- cords involved another young child of Moyes escaping from the home and found in general proximity to numerous hazards, including Blackburn road, which is known for heavy coal truck traffic. Other is- sues with Moyes children included allowing them to play with their dog while Moyes used intense cleaning chemicals on the bathroom, and the young child that had escaped from the home in a previous incident, being found wandering near Black- burn road unsupervised again. an- other incident that brought the over 20 charges of neglect at one time to a head, included an incident one of Moyes children walking approxi- mately three tenths of a mile from their home on a County road to a bus stop when the temperature was seven degrees Fahrenheit. each time Moyes had agreed to the safety plans initiated by the de- partment of Child services, Moyes would leave and delegate her re- sponsibilities to someone who could not handle the stress of young, ac- tive children. each time disaster was narrowly avoided. pursuant to the plea agreement, Moyes is allowed to serve said sentence at the Wabash Valley re- gional Community Corrections Work release program. The pike County sheriff's department shall transport the Moyes at their earliest convenience. pursuant to the plea agreement: "Contact with the chil- dren as follows: From now until July, while Moyes is incarcerated, she will be allowed to have contact with the children by phone and letter writing. From July through January, 2024, while in work release, she will be allowed to have supervised visits with the kids (no unsupervised vis- itation allowed). The following two (2) years (2024-2026) Moyes will be on probation and the state asked that the court to lift the restriction of no contact with one of her older children, as there will not be restric- tions on her contact with any of the other children at that point. Following the plea agreement and sentencing prosecutor Mcdonald's stated that his concern and what is most important, which has always been his main concern, was that Moyes learns from this process. Moyes was given the opportunity to speak to The press-dispatch, but per her attorney, felt it was best to say nothing at this time. Following much controversy and bargaining amongst Dana Moyes attorney and Prosecu- tor Darrin McDonald, a plea agreement was finally reached on Moyes remaining charges con- cerning Neglect of Dependents. Moyes voluntarily entered into a plea agreement with the State on three counts of Neglect of a Dependent, Level 6 felonies and was sentenced on Thursday, April 13 to one year for each count (Counts 8, 9, and 10), in the Pike County Jail with per- mission to be served in the Wabash Valley Regional Community Corrections Work Release Program, with the sentence for each count to run concurrently. A trial heard in February on other charges of Ne- glect of a Dependent, resulted in Moyes being found guilty in a trial by jury on four charges of Neglect of a Dependent with a sentencing on those charges held in March. Petersburg considers sewer rate increase By andy Heuring petersburg's City Council will consider a $5 per 1000 increase to the sewer flow rate at their next two meetings. The rate increase was recommended by a 3-0 vote of the petersburg Board of public Works during Monday' nights meeting. They also decided to get input on having curbside trash pickup. Mayor r. C. Klipsch said the last sewer rate increase was in 2018. He said since that time petersburg has been hit with several increases that in the last year has caused the sew- er department to start losing mon- ey. "i'm projecting about an $11,000 a month loss," said Klipsch. He said there are three main fac- tors contributing to the losses. "This has nothing to do with the new plant that is planned these are just oper-

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