The Press-Dispatch
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2014 2 2 ALL 3-MONTH MEMBERSHIPS REDUCED! the Fitness Center New Summer hourS: Mon-Thurs: 10am-7pm, Fri: 10am-7pm Saturday: 10am-1pm ( 812 ) 354-1303 604 East Illinois St., Petersburg (near the Little League Park) September Spectacular HURRY! OffeR ends fRidaY, sept. 19 SINGLE ........$120 ...... $70 SENIOR/ STUDENT ...$95 ........$45 HUSBAND/ WIFE ............$195 ... $145 FAMILY .......$260 ... $210 REG. NOW By Andy Heuring Three men were arrested Saturday evening at about 9:15 p.m. when county po- lice made a traffic stop at the corner of Number 7 Road and Muren Road. James Allen Young, 50, of 313 CR 475 S., Winslow, Al- len Eugene Mathies, 57, of 1408 S. 15th St., Vincennes, and Roger Glenn Mathies, 52, of 5534 S. CR 50 E., Oak- land City, were all three ar- rested on charges of pos- session of marijuana and possession of methamphet- amine. Pike County Deputy Sher- iff Dallas Killian said he was watching the area near Number 7 Road and Muren Road after the sheriff's de- partment got complaints of vehicles speeding in the ar- ea. He said he saw a vehi- cle drive into the middle of the intersection before stop- ping and then drove west on Number 7 Road. While Killian was following the car, he said it went off the right side of the road before he stopped the car. During a search of Young's vehicle, Deputy Killian said he found a pack of cigarettes with a small plastic bag con- taining a white powder, as well as hand- rolled ciga- rettes contain- ing a green leafy sub- stance. Killian said the white powder field test- ed pos- itive for meth- amphet- amine, while the hand- rolled cig- arettes tested positive for mari- juana. All three were taken into cus- tody. Bucshon holds listening session in Pike County By Ed Cahill U.S. Representative Lar- ry Bucshon held a listening session at the Sweet Stuff Bakery and Cafe at Prides Creek Golf Course on Fri- day, Aug. 29, a week before the end of a five-week sum- mer recess for Congress. "I think it's important to give people the opportunity to come out and ask ques- tions and get my perspec- tive on what's going on," said Bucshon, who was ac- companied by Southwest In- diana Field Director Larry Ordner. Bucshon, who had held a listening session earlier the same day in Huntingburg, said that the people he's met are telling him that they con- tinue to be concerned about the economy and jobs. "Around this area, people are real concerned about the EPA and the coal mine situation," Bucshon said. "We're hearing a lot of that. People are still concerned about health care, because the costs are going up, and there's been some discus- sion about the immigration issue, but not a lot." "But all those things kind of loop back into the econo- my and jobs," Bucshon add- ed. "So that's what people are asking about." Bucshon admitted, how- ever, that he had no an- swers when people ask him about the future of the coal industry and coal-fired pow- er plants. "We're fighting back," Bucshon said. "We want to make sure we can keep peo- ple in good-paying jobs and also keep our energy costs low. I think the EPA has come out with some regula- tions that we just can't meet, and it's going to cause all kinds of things." "Like, right here in Pike County, Hoosier Energy's planning on closing that plant in Petersburg," Buc- shon continued. "We were just up at a Duke Energy plant north of Terre Haute they're going to be closing because they can't com- ply with the new regs. The plant's been open for 60 years. So people are con- cerned about the cost of en- ergy and about the jobs." Bucshon encouraged the public to join in the battle. "For example, there's, right now, a comment pe- riod that you can comment to the EPA about these reg- ulations," Bucshon said. "We have held hearings in Washington, D.C., where we have people come in and tes- tify... about what these reg- ulations mean and whether they're doable and whether they should be in place." "Legislatively, we can try to pass a law to change it, but that's not going to hap- pen, because the Senate and the White House agree with what's happening," Bucshon added. Bucshon acknowledged that the public's confidence in its elected officials is at an all-time low, but blamed it on a president he described as "very, very uncompromis- ing." "The President, how ma- ny times has he said, 'We're not going to negotiate,' and the Senate follows his lead," Bucshon said. "I think if the President would lead, we'd be able to get more done. The lack of presidential lead- ership has resulted in not a lot happening." "It's like any organiza- tion," Bucshon added. "If you work for a business and you don't feel like the leader- ship knows what they're do- ing, you know how that feels. Right now, I think many peo- ple in the country don't feel like we have solid presiden- tial leadership." Bucshon noted that previ- ous presidents such as Ron- ald Reagan, a Republican, and Bill Clinton, a Demo- crat, have been able to work with the other party's lead- ers in Congress to get things done. "Most people, including Democrats in Washington, feel like this president isn't showing good leadership when it comes to trying to get some things done," Buc- shon said. "He's really tak- en a hard-line position on some issues and just won't work with us." That's why, Bucshon said, it was important that Repub- licans gain a majority in the U.S. Senate, as well as main- tain its majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, in November's mid-term elec- tion. "Then we can actually get some legislation passed and put on the President's desk, some of which, hopefully, he will sign, but it will put more pressure on the White House to actually take ac- tion," Bucshon said. However, Bucshon added, he was not interested in just passing what he referred to as "messaging" bills, which Republicans know the Pres- ident will not sign. "There'll be some of that, because we have some con- servative ideas that he won't accept," Bucshon said. "But I also want to get some things passed that we can really work with the White House to move the country forward. I'm hopeful we can do that." Bucshon, who was elect- ed to Congress in 2010, re- elected in 2012 and is seek- ing a third two-year term in 2014, predicted that this year would be a good one for conservative candidates. "The policies of the cur- rent administration are not resulting in economic growth and job creation at a fast enough level," Buc- shon said. "There's still a lot of people out there that are under-employed and are worrying about supporting their families. So I think you're going to see an elec- tion where there's going to be a backlash against the ad- ministration." Bucshon said several scandals were still being in- vestigated by the U.S. Con- gress, including those sur- rounding the deaths of four Americans during an attack on the Benghazi consulate on Sept. 11, 2012, that ad- ministration officials – in- cluding President Obama and then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – initially claimed was the result of a protest against a video, and the targeting of conservative groups by the IRS. "We've suggested that the Justice Department appoint a special prosecutor for the IRS situation, because it's pretty clear that a number of IRS officials lied to Con- gress," Bucshon said. Traffic stop leads to meth, pot busts Eighth District Congressman Larry Bucshon, left, and county councilman Dennis Bishop discuss cur- rent events during Bucshon's visit to Pike County on Friday. The Petersburg stop was one of several during Bucshon's tour of the district during a five-week sum- mer recess of Congress. Sweet Stuff Bakery and Cafe at Prides Creek hosted the event. By Andy Heuring A Ferdinand man was se- riously injured Monday eve- ning when he collided with a barbed-wire fence during a motorcycle crash at the edge of Velpen. Robert Williams, 27, was riding a motorcycle south on Highway 257 in Velpen when he crossed the rail- road tracks and lost control, according to Conservation Officer Ken Tincher. CO Tincher said Williams then went over an embank- ment and hit a barbed wire fence, causing a "severe" in- jury to his neck. Tichner said Maddie Gamble and Makayla Veit were nearby and saw the crash. Gamble and Veit said they were in a car driving a friend of Williams to meet him in Arthur when the crash happened. Veit said Williams asked them to take him to a hospital and then af- ter talking with 911, asked them to take him to Arthur to meet an ambulance. They went to check on him and called 911, then started driving Williams toward Arthur, where they met an ambulance. Williams was then trans- ported to the area of the for- mer AMA X mine on High- way 64 near the Pike-Gib- son County line and taken by air helicopter to Deacon- ess Hospital. CO Tincher said Williams underwent surgery on Mon- day night and was in the ICU at Deaconess Hospital. Williams was still in Dea- coness Hospital on Tuesday. Ferdinand man seriously injured in motorcycle crash near Velpen James Young Eugene Mathies Glen Mathies YARD SALE PEtERSbuRg CItY-WIDE & MAIn StREEt CAR FESt DEADLInE to PLACE YouR SALE: tuESDAY, SEPt 9 At noon Sept 13 A-2 Wednesday, September 3, 2014 The Press-Dispatch