The Press-Dispatch

75¢ Wednesday, May 7, 2014 Volume 146 Number 19 Phone (812) 354-8500 Petersburg, IN 47567-0068 (USPS 604-34012) Threesections 38 pages Seven inserts Local ........A1-12 Obituaries ......A3 Azalea Fest .A8-9 Sports ........B1-9 Classifi eds B12-14 Church .......C1-8 Opinion ..........C2 Health .........C6-7 Planter ....C10-12 WHAT'S INSIDE: CONNECT WITH US: NetEdition .... pressdispatch.net/edition Facebook .... facebook.com/pressdispatch E-Mail .......... news@pressdispatch.net Phone: .................812-354-8500 Fax: .....................812-354-2014 E-Mail . editor@pressdispatch.net NEWS TIPS: PIKE PUBLISHING Continued on page 2 Krohn, Harris advance to fall election A three-car chain reaction had cars stacked on top of each other Monday af- ternoon on Highway 56 near Cato. Pike County Deputy Jeff Boger said Caleb Merkel, 19, of Dubois, was driving east on Highway 56, in a 1990 Honda, and stopped in traffic, waiting to turn left on- to CR 500 E. The second vehicle, a 2004 Chevrolet, driven by Andrew Rickard, 18, of Otwell, had stopped behind Merkel. Jamie Earls, 17, of Otwell, driving a 2001 Ford, failed to stop and slammed into Rickard. The impact knocked Rickard into Merkel and into the air. Depty Boger said Earls then drove under Rickard's car. Merkel and Earls both complained of shoulder pain, and Rickard refused med- ical treatment. Deputy Boger said Rickard's and Earls' vehicles were probably total losses and Merkel's might be a total loss. The accident was reported at 3:22 p.m. and stopped school traffic for about 30 min- utes on Highway 56. Chain reaction wreck causes stack-up By Andy Heuring Convicted murderer Chris- topher Helsley has filed a mo- tion to have his Life Without Pa- role sentence, which was recom- mended by a Dubois County ju- ry, set aside. Helsley's attorney, Steve Rip- stra, filed the motion on Friday, May 2. The motion states: Hels- ley moves the Court to set aside the jury recommendation of Life Without Parole. The jury, by stat- ute, precedent, and this Court's instructions were required to con- sider and weigh mitigating cir- cumstances. Substantial mitiga- tion was presented, with several instances that qualify as statutory mitigation and general mitigating circumstances. There is no evi- dence of record that the jury, col- lectively or individually, found, or even considered, any mitigation. There is a special finding that they found aggravating circum- stances." Ripstra said he had recently filed a similar motion in a death penalty case and he decided to file the same motion in this case. "I don't think it will go anywhere, but I thought I would file it." Pike County Prosecutor Darrin McDonald filed a response to Rip- stra's motion. McDonald's response states: the jury verdict forms present- ed to the jury were agreed upon by both parties. He added, "Nei- ther party objected to the jury in- Helsley files to vacate recent sentence City-wide Yard Sale is Saturday The Petersburg City-Wide Yard Sale is Saturday. More than 40 yard sales through- out Petersburg are planned. There is a listing of the yard sale ads and a city map pin- pointing their location on pag- es A-6 and A-7. Several people will be set up along Main St. and Eight St. near the Courthouse and along Main St. in front of busi- nesses with prior permission from the businesses. The event is rain or shine. The Harlem Wizards will per- form at Pike Central at 6 p.m. Sat- urday, May 10. The Harlem Wizards combine amazing basketball talent with hilarious comedy. Last year, they broke a backboard with one of their dunks while visiting Pike Central. They will compete against a team of local players, coaches and well-known individuals. There will be a chance to win $5,000 with the Half Court Shot Challenge. Doors open at 5 p.m., with the game starting at 6 p.m. The Band Boosters will have concessions. The fundraising event is spon- sored by Amber Manor Care Cen- ter. Amber Manor to sponsor Harlem Wizards Check your paper's address la- bel. If it is highlighted in orange, it is a reminder that your subscrip- tion will expire at the end of May. You can renew by phone, 354- 8500, mail, PO Box 68, or in per- son at the office, 820 E Poplar St. in Petersburg.. Check date on your subscription label Traffic was literally stacked up on Highway 56 Monday afternoon when Jamie Earls, 17, slammed into the back end of Andrew Rickard, 18, on the way home from school. Her car ended up under his. And the winner is Jim Harrell, pastor of the Rumbletown Free Methodist Church, pauses for a brief breath- er before stuffing down more chocolate pie. Harrell was the winner of the pie eating contest at the first Azalea Blossom Festival in Petersburg. He beat out Jon Craig, of First Baptist, Denny Eversole, of the First United Methodist and David Leighty, of the Glezen Revival Cen- ter. They raised more than $400 for the Clothe-a-Child Fund. (See more photos on page A8) CITY-WIDE • 43 SaleS • large map • YARD SALE THIS SATURDAY See PAge A-6 PETERSBURG By Andy Heuring Incumbents Myreon Krohn and Randy Harris won their primary races for county council and incumbents also easily carried the state and federal races. In District 4, Democrat incumbent Krohn won all four precincts over challenger Nor- man Dillon for a grand total of 262 to 84. Krohn carried 75 percent of the vote. Krohn won his home precinct of Mon- roe by a whopping 123-6 count. The oth- er precinct were much closer. Dillon had his best result in Marion, where he lost by two votes, 20 -18. "You never really know where you are, until you get to right here," said Krohn, breathing a sigh of relief moments after the final vote totals were announced. "I was really worried about the turnout," said Krohn. His and Dillon's race was the only race on the Democrat ballot. Still, Krohn's home precinct had the largest turnout in the county with 31 percent of the registered voters casting ballots. "I have always tried to win my home precinct and hold on in the others," said Krohn. Dillon declined to comment on the race. A county-wide average of 17.9 percent of the registered voters cast their ballots. Currently, there is no Republican candi- date on the ballot for the District 4 race. However, parties can add someone to the ballot until June. Harris defeats VaugHn Harris won by similar margins in the Dis- trict 1 race over Kurt Vaughn in the Repub- lican primary. Harris totaled 223 vote to Vaughn's 92. Harris won all seven precincts. The clos- est was Madison where Harris' margin was only 22-19. His biggest margin was in Pe- tersburg #1 where he won, 61 to 19. "I hope people know I'm consistent and I have always tried to do what is best for the constituency," said about what he thought made the difference. Continued on page 2 NETedition Exclusive vidEo

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