The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/61487
A-4 Wednesday, April 11, 2012 Three arrested for drunken driving over the past week rested for drunken driving in Pike County over the last week. One when he near- ly hit a deputy sheriff head on, one who nearly collided with a school bus and anoth- er who backed into a ditch. Alan L. Bennett, 46, 409 Three people were ar- By Andy Heuring meanor, because of a prior conviction in 2008. At about 12:10 a.m. Sun- day a Bruceville man was arrested after he ran Pike County Deputy Sherif f Chad Tharp off the road. Larry M. Halter, 33, of N. Eighth St., Petersburg, was arrested at about 5 p.m. after Pike County Sheriff Jeremy Britton said he was driving south on Highway 57 when he saw Bennett pull out of the Jay C Food store parking lot in front of an oncoming school bus. Sheriff Britton said he noticed the truck Bennett was driving had the tailgate down and several trash bags in the back of the truck with several of them falling out. Sheriff Britton said he 723 N. Vine St., Brucev- ille was arrested by Deputy Tharp on a charge of oper- ating a vehicle while intox- icated. Tharp said he no- ticed a blue truck meeting him near the top of Half- Mile Hill on Highway 61 and the truck wasn't dim- ming its lights. Tharp said it then veered into his lane forcing him to run off the road to avoid a head-on col- lision. Tharp said he turned pulled the truck over at Nichols Ave. and talked to Bennett, who was driving it and noticed the odor of al- cohol. Britton said Bennett of- The Press-Dispatch around to stop the truck and noticed him drive into the left lane two more times before he stopped Halter. Deputy Tharp said when fered to go back and pick up the trash. Sherif f Britton asked he talked with Halter he could smell the odor of al- cohol and noticed an empty box of beer cans in the bed of his truck. Halter failed a field so- Bennett if he had been drinking. He said he drank earlier in the day and got hungry, so he drove to the store to get something to eat. He tested 0.21 percent for blood alcohol content at the Pike County Jail. The le- gal limit in Indiana is 0.08 percent. He was charged with op- erating a vehicle while in- toxicated, a class D felony, instead of a class A misde- briety test and was taken to the Pike County Jail where he tested 0.09 percent for blood alcohol content. At about 5 a.m. Sunday barrier and crashed into a ditch at the I-69 construction site on Highway 61 just south of Petersburg at about 4 a.m. Saturday. Courtney Green, 18, of Petersburg complained of neck and chest pain and was transported to Memo- A Petersburg teen was injured early Tuesday morning when a car she was riding in hit a concrete Teen injured Saturday rial Hospital in Jasper. Pike County Deputy Sheriff Dallas Killian said James Gailor, 42, of Winslow was driving north on Highway 61 and thought he saw headlights in his lane, so he swerved to the left, hitting a concrete bar- rier and then bouncing into a ditch at the south side of the road. Deputy Killian said Gailor refused medical treatment. The 2004 Dodge he was driving had extensive damage. It was owned by Laura Stuffel. to assist the driver, the driv- er was walking toward them with an unsteady walk. The driver was Mark T. morning Deputy Sheriff Jeff Boger said he and Pe- tersburg Cpl. Chad Tharp were driving out of Ri- fle Range Road onto River Road, when they saw a pick- up truck back out of a drive- way and into a ditch. Deputy Boger said when they approached the truck Dunn, 56, of 1608 Cosby Rd., Washington. He failed two of three field sobriety tests and was taken to the Pike County Jail, where he tested 0.16 percent or twice the legal limit. He was charged with op- erating a vehicle while in- toxicated. Highway 61 closing delayed until June 4 railroad tracks just south of Winslow will be delayed un- til June. The Indiana De- partment of Transportation announced last week the planned closure on April 9 Highway 61 closing at the had been delayed because of concerns from Pike Coun- ty schools about delays it would cause their buses. Cher Elliott with INDOT said the closure is now scheduled to start Monday, folk Southern railway just south of Winslow. June 4 at about 8 a.m. and reopen on Friday, June 8 at about 2 p.m. It is located on the Nor- VIDEO Click to see the Saturday from his home on Highway 61 near Half Mile Hill into Petersburg. "It is just something between me and God," said Stilwell on Saturday. "I'm going to go as far as I can get." He said he was doing it as a tribute to Jesus' sacrifice for mankind. "This is what Easter is all about," said Stilwell. Melton Stilwell of Petersburg walked with a wooden cross on his back on Man carries cross for Easter Thomas E. Hensler Sr. is seeking the Democrat nomination for Pike County Council-at-Large I am a retired 65 year old Vietnam Veteran County Deputy Sheriff Chad Tharp said Brandon Kortea, 18, of 6727 E. CR250S, Winslow was driving east on Highway 356 slowing to turn into his place of work Ripco at 6:44 a.m. Megan McKain, 21, of 1569 E. CR25S, Win- slow was also driving east on 356 and had something get into her contact lens. Deputy Tharp said McKain looked down and when she looked up Kortea was stopped and she couldn't avoid him. Neither were injured but damage was estimated at $5,000 to $10,000. A contact lens problem was blamed for a crash Thursday morning. Pike Contact lens blamed in crash TANNING SPECIALS APRIL PACK OF LOTION FREE ONE SAMPLE "ANY BED" MONTHLY TANNING PACKAGE WITH PURCHASE OF ONE MONTH TANNING WITH PURCHASE OF 6 MONTH OR 1 YEAR GYM MEMBERSHIP ONE MONTH FREE 24-HOUR ACCESS TO FITNESS CENTER WITH KEY MEMBERSHIP 24-HOUR ACCESS TO FITN T ESS CENTE 604 East Illinois St., Petersburg (near the Little League Park) 354-1303 Fitness Center Hours: Mon - Thurs 10–8 Fri 10–7 • Sat 10–2 • Closed Sunday who has chosen to live in Pike County for the last 41 years. While I have never held a public office, I have been an active member of the com- munity. I am a Life Member of the VFW and a member of the American Legion, Moose, Indiana Farm Bu- reau, AARP and the NRA. I serve on the board of direc- tors of PAWS animal shelter and volunteer my time for PAWS and for the Ameri- can Cancer Society's "Road to Recovery" program. In 1998 the late Governor, Frank O'Bannon, awarded me with the Governor's "Distinguished Hoosier" award for my years of con- tinuous service to all citizens of Indiana. I was married to Virginia "Ginny" Hensler for 46 years (deceased). Ginny worked many years at The Ole Flower Shop and Klipsch Realty Company and she knew almost everyone in this county! We have three children; Christine, Thomas Jr. and Pamela. All children attended Winslow Elementary, Petersburg Elementary, Pike Central Middle and High Schools. I have four grandchildren, Britney, Zach, Faryn and Myra. Since moving to Pike County in 1971 we have lived near Union, Winslow, Oatsville and presently near Petersburg and have met many wonderful people along the way. After moving to Indiana we knew right away that Pike County was where we wanted to live and raise our children. Before retiring in 2009, I worked for 42 years as an engineer for Norfolk Southern Railroad. I was an active member of the United Transportation Union and held vari- ous leadership positions since 1988 to as- sist its 3500 active and retired members. I served as a registered Lobbyist and as the Director of the Indiana State Legislative Board. As the State Director I implemented and oversaw our yearly budget and moni- tored all state legislators' positions on all transportation, family, seniors and veterans issues… and their voting records. As an Indiana Lobbyist I worked with all Republican and Democrat members of the Indiana General Assembly and lobbying our Washington, DC politicians, including reading all proposed bills and amendments and tes- tifying for or against all issues that concerns our members and families. While serving as State Director and Lobbyist, I purposely stayed away from Pike County politics for fear of being accused of using my position for personal gain or be- ing fined by the Indiana Lobby Commission for violations of the lobbying laws and rules! After my retirement, I promised my wife that I would stay out of politics and enjoy our retirement, but after 10 months of retirement she passed away. In the past two years I started to pay more attention to what's going on here in the county we loved for so long and found that some of the dra- ma has turned my stomach! So I decided I've had enough!!! It's time for me to get involved and to help put an end to some of the drama and finger pointing! When elected, I will work for ALL citizens of Pike County, not just for those chosen few! I will stand with all elected county officials in diligently reviewing and approving our yearly budget and pursuing meaningful economic development in our county. As a Council member I will also vote for ALL funding activities that are pre- sented that will benefit our youngest citi- zens. It's sad to know that when we want to take our families to a public swimming pool, a theater, roller skating, bowling or a hospital we have to take them to one of the other counties around us to do so! We can do better than that! I've had enough… How about you? I am seeking your support, your trust, and most of all, your vote! Thank you. Tom Hensler Paid for by Committee to Elect Tom Hensler County Council, Tom Hensler, Treasurer the