The Press-Dispatch
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Three sections 30 pages Five inserts 75¢ Wednesday, November 13, 2013 Volume 145 Number 46 Phone (812) 354-8500 Petersburg, IN 47567-0068 School board denies Fears' allegations Satterfield to claim insanity By Andy Heuring The murder trial of Andrew Satterfield is scheduled to begin on Monday, November 18. Satterfield is accused of shooting his mother Kathy Satterfield and then setting their house on fire on December 8, 2011. In March 2012, Satterfield's attorney, Doug Walton filed an "admission of facts and notice of defense of mental disease or defect" with Pike Circuit Court. The single-page double-spaced motion states: Andrew Satterfield, by counsel does hereby freely and voluntarily admit that the following facts are true: "Andrew S. Satterfield, did then and there kill Kathy Satterfield by shooting at and against the body of said Kathy Satterfield with a .22 caliber pistol then and there inflicting mortal wounds in and upon the body of Kathy Sattterfield and setting the residence of Kathy Satterfield on fire while she was inside, causing her to die." His motion continues: "The defendant further says and hereby gives notice pursuant to IC 35-362-1 that his sole defense is that he is not responsible under IC 35-413-6 for his conduct, which took the life of Kathy Satterfield, because he lacked the substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law, as the result of a mental disease or defect." Two mental health experts have been selected to testify in the case. Walton filed a motion to Continued on page 2 (USPS 604-340) Honoring veterans Theodore Foster, who served in the U.S. Army from 1966-68, salutes while the colors are presented at the start of a Veterans Day program at Pike Central High School on Monday, Nov. 11. See additional photos on page A-5. Ed Cahill photo By Ed Cahill Pike County School Corporation is denying allegations by former Otwell Elementary School principal Rick Fears that he was wrongfully terminated, according to its answer to a complaint filed by Fears last month in U.S. District Court in Evansville. The four-page answer, filed electronically on Monday, Nov. 11 by Bloomington attorney Douglas A. Hoffman, also rejects Fears' claims that Pike County School Corporation was in breach of contract and had committed "employment discrimination" when the Board of School Trustees terminated his contract in September. Fears, who had served as principal at Otwell Elementary School for seven years, was terminated by the Board of Trustees on Sept. 3, after it concluded that evidence presented during a seven-hourlong hearing Aug. 27 supported the cancellation of his contract on the grounds of "neglect of duty" and "other just and good cause." "Rick Fears, as principal of the Otwell School, neglected his obligation to comply with the Pike County School Corporation's requirements for the evaluation of teachers through the RISE Program by entering information unsubstantiated and often incorrect data in the evaluation reports that provided at best questionable teacher evaluations and at worst Continued on page 2 School administrators: no cuts, no comment School board votes to keep all administrators at current pay; cuts office staff, nurses By Ed Cahill The Pike County School Corporation's Board of School Trustees voted to extend administrators' contracts through the 201415 school year while, at the same time, reducing the contracts for nurses and office staff by five days "at the end of the year" during its regular monthly meeting on Monday, Nov. 11. In addition, the Board of School Trustees voted to amend the high school assistant principal/athletic director contract to 220 days "to reflect the combined duties." Recommended by Pike County School Superintendent Suzanne Blake, the actions were approved unanimously by the Board of School Trustees without any pub- lic discussion. The extension of the administrators' contracts – coming on the heels of a three-percent salary reduction for teachers during the 2013-14 school year – drew the ire of Pike County Teacher Association President Angie Baker, who confronted the school board immediately after it adjourned. "When you guys renewed the administrators' contracts for next year, is that at the same pay, I'm assuming?" Baker asked. "So the (good-)faith agreement we made during bargaining means nothing?" "They've been cut," board vicepresident David Waltz replied. "They've been cut with their insurance," board president Jerry Grubb added. "Thirty bucks a month?" Baker asked. "It's a little more than that," Grubb retorted. "If you do the HSA (health savings account), it's thirty bucks a month," Baker said. "I know, because I'm on it." Baker, accompanied by Pike County Teacher Association VicePresident Randy Meece, told the school board that the reason they and the corporation's teachers agreed to the three-percent salary reduction was because they were assured that all employees would experience salary reductions as well. "We stood with you guys and said we'll agree to it peacefully if everybody takes a share," Baker said. "But evidently that's not what's happening." Meece agreed. "It's just a disappointment on our behalf because we thought we'd be treated as equals," Meece said. "We feel that is not happening now." Meece, in reply to an e-mail seeking comment, said Tuesday, Nov. 12, that neither he nor Baker were "ready to officially say anything to the media yet on it." Blake said on Tuesday, Nov. 12, that the reduction of days for nurses and office staff were "a continuation of cost-cutting measures." She estimated that the reductions would save approximately $15,000. Tom Behme, a former interim library director for the Pike County Public Library, also left the school board's meeting disappointed. Behme had previously appeared at the school board's meeting in October to request that it replace one of its appointees to the Pike County Public Library's Board of Trustees, Phil Elkins, after Elkins cast the deciding vote against converting the former Barrett Memorial Library building on East Main Street into a history and genealogy center. Behme told the school board that the library board had met on Saturday, Oct. 26, when it again rejected a motion to convert the former Barrett Memorial Library building into a history and gene- alogy center. Instead, the library board voted to give the building to the Pike County Commission. "Please, I am begging you to make a motion tonight to remove Phil Elkins from the library board immediately, then appoint a person to move Pike County forward," Behme said. "Not just Petersburg, but the whole county. We the public are not going away." Later in the meeting, Waltz complied with Behme's request. "I'd like to make a motion for the Pike County School Board to remove Mr. Phil Elkins from the ... Pike County Library Board, on the grounds that he's not representative of the school corporation ... and the fact that he doesn't follow the mission statement," Waltz said. "The (Pike County Public Library's) mission statement is to preserve history and I believe that that's not being done, that mission statement's not being carried out, so I make that motion." Four Whitehead brothers served in WWII By Andy Heuring A rural Petersburg man was the youngest of four brothers to serve at the same time in World War II. Thomas V. Whitehead, 91, of CR 450 N., Petersburg, was a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army, serving from June 3, 1944, until he was discharged on July 7, 1946. Whitehead is one of 10 siblings of William and Amanda (Stone) Whitehead. He grew up in the Bowman area near the White River in what is known as "Pecan Flats." When he was 22 years old, all three of Whitehead's older brothers: Earl, Oral (Rabbit) and Ray had already joined and been sent overseas in the war effort. So in early 1944 he enlisted. "I either had to go or be a dog here at home," said Whitehead about his sense of duty. He was sent to basic training at Camp Blanding in Florida in the summer and learned what hot was all about. "Right in the hardest weather," said Whitehead. It was 69 years ago on November 13, when he was shipped out on the USS Monticello for Italy. He was not meant for the Navy. "I got sick," said Whitehead about the first venture on the ocean. He was packed on the boat with 6,000 other soldiers. Once he reached Italy, he landed at Naples near the Po River Basin. "I didn't see a whole lot of action," said Whitehead. His daughter, Carla Hamm, said Whitehead PIKE PUBLISHING The Whitehead brothers and their father seated on a couch. All four Petersburg brothers served in the Army in World War II. They are Earl, Tom, father William, Oral and Ray. Tom, 91, is the youngest brother and is the only one still alive, but all four made it back to the United States from their service in WWII. never talked to them about it, but he had talked about some of his experiences with a son-in-law. "He just says it is things you don't want to remember." said Hamm about her father. About two weeks after he arrived in Italy, Whitehead said he was walking down the street and someone hollered, "What are you WHAT'S INSIDE: Local ........A1-10 Classifieds ....B8-9 Shopping....C6-8 Obituaries ......A3 Church .......C1-6 History ...........C9 Sports ........B1-3 Opinion..........C2 doing here? I thought you were going home." Tom said it was a friend of his brother Earl, the oldest of his brothers, who was sent home about the time Tom arrived in Italy. "We looked so much alike people often thought we were twins." His brother Oral, known to NEWS TIPS: Phone:........................354-8500 Fax: ............................354-2014 E-Mail . editor@pressdispatch.net most people as Rabbit, was sent to the Panama Canal and his brother Ray was in France. One of the few things Whitehead's daughter said was he was fighting in the mountains and one morning he woke up laying on a dead mule. The mules in the Alps were used to take supplies up the mountain and then they brought the wounded and dead back down the mountain. "Sometimes you didn't know where you were going to sleep. We often had snow in our tents. I think it snowed in September because we were so high up in the mountains," said Whitehead. "They had to have bulldozers in the mountains to keep the roads open from the snow." It made up for his basic training in Florida during June and July. While he was in Italy and not in the mountains fighting, he often would get a little extra food in the mess tent and then keep some of it. He would give it to an Italian woman who would wash his clothes for him in exchange for the food. He said the women had big washboards and sand rocks, and would wash the clothes in a stream. At Christmas time he gave a piece of candy to an Italian child and the next day her father invited him to Christmas dinner with the family. "You had to be careful what you ate. You would think it was rabbit or something and it might be cat. You couldn't find a cat the city," said Whitehead. Whitehead got to see several of Europe's sights while on leave. "I got my picture taken with my hand on the Leaning Tower of Pisa." He also went to Zurich, Switzerland. He received the medals and ciContinued on page 2 CONNECT WITH US: NETedition ... pressdispatch.net/edition Facebook .... facebook.com/pressdispatch E-Mail .......... news@pressdispatch.net