The Press-Dispatch

A-2 Wednesday, December 18, 2013   The Press-Dispatch Satterfield to be sentenced Friday By Andy Heuring The sentencing hearing for Andrew Satterfield is scheduled for 9 a.m., Friday, December 20, in Pike Circuit Court. Satterfield was convicted of murdering his mother, Kathy Satterfield, in the home they shared on Cart Road, just west of Petersburg. He was convicted of shooting her and then setting her on fire on December 8, 2011. A Pike County jury found him guilty on November 21, 2013. They also found aggravating factors existed to warrant life in prison with- out parole. Indiana law requires the judge to abide by a jury's recommendation on life without parole sentences. Pike Circuit Court Judge Jeff Biesterveld heard the trial and will issue the sentence during Friday morning's hearing. H  New voting districts Decker retirement open house Thursday Darlene Decker, who has worn three hats for the Pike County Extension Department, will have an open house on Thursday from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Pike County 4-H Building. She has worked at the Extension Department for more than 18 years and will retire at the end of the year. Everyone is invited to attend the open house. Continued from page 1 drastically. District 1, now held by Jeff Nelson, will consist of Washington 1, Jefferson, Marion and Lockhart Townships. It used to include all four Petersburg precincts, Patoka 1 and Winslow, and was the largest district with 7,599 of Pike County's roughly 12,000 people. District 2, now held by Brian Davis, will consist of Clay, Madison, Washington 2 and 3 and all four Petersburg precincts. It remains the same except all four Petersburg precincts were added and Logan has been moved to District 3. District 3 now consists of Monroe, Patoka 1 and 2, Winslow and Logan. The population of those districts now is District 1 – 4,389, District 2 – 4,247, and District 3 – 4,209. The county commissioner districts change their boundaries, but not who votes in the individual races. Everyone votes in all three races; however, the candidates must live in the district they represent. The four county council races are different. Not only do they have to live in that district, but also only the people in that district can vote for that race. There are four county council districts in Pike County. The four new districts approved last night by the county commissioners are: District 1, represented by Randy Harris, is Washington 2, Petersburg 1, 2 and 4, Madison, Clay and Logan. It used to be the four Petersburg precincts. Its population has increased from 18 percent to 26.6 percent under the new district. District 2 represented by Greg Mangin, is now Washington 1 and 3, Petersburg 3 and Jefferson 1. It used to be Jefferson 1 and 2, Washington 1 and Marion. District 3, represented by Max Elliott, was condensed to Patoka Township including Winslow and both Patoka precincts. It used to be Clay, Madison, Logan and Patoka 1. District 4, represented by Myreon Krohn, is Monroe, Lockhart, Marion and Jefferson 1. His district used to be Monroe, Lockhart, Winslow and Patoka 2. H  Validity of library board appointment questioned Continued from page 1 Van Meter received a certificate of appointment from Blake, which Van Meter signed, had notarized and filed with the Pike County Clerk's office the next day. However, when Van Meter arrived at the Pike County Public Library later the same evening, she was met by library director Sadie Oldenkamp. "She started to tell me that there was a problem with my appointment, and Phil Elkins came in and he said that there was a dispute about my appointment, that someone else had wanted to be appointed and wasn't considered at the school board meeting, and they thought that it was done improperly," Van Meter said. "So he said for me to abstain from voting or making any motions during the meeting that night, not to do anything until they got this straightened out." "He said if there were discussions, I could participate," Van Meter added. "I just couldn't make any motions or vote." According to an e-mail sent by Oldenkamp to Blake, a public record which was obtained by The Press-Dispatch, Elkins "stated his concern that Mrs. Van Meter's appointment should be nullified due to incorrect procedures in appointing her" prior to the library board's meeting. "He stated that he himself had not been at the School Board meeting when her appointment was discussed, but mentioned that a patron who had been at the meeting (who he was not willing to name) said that board meeting procedures had not been properly followed when Shirley Van Meter was appointed to the Library Board," Oldenkamp wrote in the e-mail dated Wednesday, Dec. 13. Oldenkamp informed Blake that the first issue raised by Elkins was that "not all nominations were stated." "Janet Gray (whom I have not met, and has not contacted me in any way) had asked a School Board member, Chris Satterfield, via telephone to nominate her for the Library Board since she was interested in the position," Oldenkamp wrote. "Mrs. Gray, who I understand was not at the School Board meeting, had told Phillip Elkins that she had discussed the matter with Mr. Satterfield and was upset that her nomination was not considered." "Mr. Elkins states that all nominations had to be considered before the vote takes place, and that the School Board should have asked the attending public if there were any other nominations," Oldenkamp's e-mail continued. "I told him that I would have to look into the School Board's procedures and bylaws for meetings to see if this was true, and also ask the School Board for a copy of their meeting minutes to make sure that the events took place as mentioned to him by this unnamed third party." Elkins' second issue, ac- cording to Oldenkamp's email to Blake, was that Van Meter's nomination "was put into motion by the Vice President of the School Board and seconded by the President of the School Board." "He has asked me to check the School Board's procedures and bylaws for meetings to see if this was true, and also ask the School Board for a copy of their meeting minutes to make sure that the events took place as mentioned to him by this unnamed third party," Oldenkamp's e-mail states. "In short, Mr. Elkins has asked me to look into this matter, and bring the documentation listed above to the next board meeting," Oldenkamp's e-mail continues. "If the procedures for her appointment had not been followed, he states that a revote/recount would need to be done at the next School Board meeting." Oldenkamp informed Blake that Van Meter had attended the library board's meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 10. "I was told that I could not officially introduce her as a board member until this matter was looked into and confirmed," Oldenkamp wrote. "She was also asked by Mr. Elkins to not take on any duties of a board member, act as a board member, or vote during the board meetings until this matter was looked into." "He had also asked me not to give Mrs. Van Meter her copy of the Trustee Manual, library procedures, or the Library Board meeting packets which are given to board members," Oldenkamp's e-mail states. "I countered Mr. Elkins, and explained that since these items are a matter of public record, that she should be given them, especially if it turns out her appointment is valid." "Naturally, I would like to get this taken care of as soon as possible, especially if Mrs. Van Meter is not allowed to accomplish her duties as a board member by the Board President," Oldenkamp's e-mail concludes. On Thursday, Dec. 12, Blake, after consulting with school board attorney Val Fleig, responded to Oldenkamp by e-mail. "I spoke with our school attorney on this matter," Blake wrote. "After researching the guidelines, he indicated that there are no provisions within the statute guiding the appointment process. The school corporation does not have a written policy regarding the process of appointments. The recommendation to appoint Shirley Van Meter was made in writing by me as superintendent of the corporation. Chris McKinney, Board Secretary, made the motion. Jerry Grubb, Board President, seconded the motion. The events as they transpired are consistent with our procedures at a board meeting." Following the meeting, Blake noted that she met briefly with Van Meter and signed a copy of the Certificate of Appointment. "I do not know if she has completed the Oath of Office with the County Clerk," Blake wrote. "To the best of my knowledge, this is the same procedure that was followed with the re-appointment of Phil Elkins and Sandra Ficklin in December 2012." "Based on a review of the statute and the proceedings noted above, it does not appear that the appointment of Mrs. Van Meter has sufficient grounds for a challenge," Blake's e-mail concludes. "Please let me know if you have additional questions." Van Meter said that she was informed Saturday, Dec. 14, that Oldenkamp had received a response from Blake. "Their counsel said they had followed the correct procedure and that the appointment should stand," Van Meter said. On Monday, Dec. 16, Van Meter returned to the Pike County Public Library for a called meeting of the library board. "During the executive and financial meeting we had last evening, she had full voting rights as a board member," Oldenkamp said. Elkins, contacted on Tues- We apologize for the misprint in our volume 52 (Dec 21-Dec 24) flyer regarding guns/firearms. We intended to advertise 30% off all gun accessories. We will be running all guns on sale at 15% off for these 4 days and all gun accessories will be at 30% off. We take customer service very seriously at Rural King and are very sorry for any inconvenience caused by our error. For details or Rural King Gun Barn locations please contact your local Rural King store. day, Dec. 18, defended his actions in barring Van Meter from assuming her duties as a library board member. "I didn't have no problem with it to start with," Elkins said. "I really don't want to talk about it, because it was brought to my attention and I had to ask the question, and that's all there was to it. It's all been taken care of. If that's the way it is, that's the way it is." When asked to confirm the concerns attributed to him in Oldenkamp's e-mail to Blake, Elkins replied, "That's what I was told to ask." Elkins subsequently declined to reveal the identity of the person who had told him what to ask. "They asked me not to and I won't do it," Elkins said. "It's no big deal. The other person wanted to stay out of it, that asked me about it, and I said I will find out, and that's all I done, and there's really nothing to it. The school board's made their decision and we honor that." Elkins said that the library board was a "good" board, despite recent controversy over whether or not to convert the former Barrett Memorial Library building on East Main Street into a history center. "We don't always agree on everything but we always seem to work things out," said Elkins, who has voted against the history center. "We really do have a good board, and nobody has any hard feelings once the meeting's over or whatever. We respect each other's comments and stuff in the meetings." "When you get a mob that comes in there, sometimes that's hard to deal with," El- kins added. "That's what I call them, a mob, when they go to threatening you and doing things like they have done. That's the way I look at it." Van Meter said that she will continue to support the history center. "I think that's the best use of that facility," Van Meter said. "That's the best thing that could happen for that building, is to use it for the history center." Despite the unpleasant manner in which her appointment to the library board was greeted by Elkins, Van Meter remains optimistic. "It was very unexpected that this happened," Van Meter said. "But I think that we'll be able to work together and come together on taking care of the business for the library." Ole Country Woodshop Your business the last 12 years has been greatly appreciated. The memories and friendships I will have forever! 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