The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, Januar y 20, 2016 A-3 LOCAL Call: 812-354-8500 Email: news@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg NEWS BRIEFS Pike County Library to host beginner quilting workshop is Jan. 21 Pike County Public Library (PCPL) will host a be- ginner quilting workshop at the Petersburg branch, 1008 E. Maple Street, Thursday, Jan. 21 at 6 p.m. The introductory workshop will cover the basics of getting started in the craft. Participants are encour- aged to bring their own sewing machines and quilting supplies (fabric, scissors, thread) if they wish to fol- low along step by step. As with all programs hosted by the library, the work- shop is free and open to the public. For further information, contact Joe Dillon, program coordinator, at 812-354-6257. Pike County Soil and Water Conservation District annual meeting is Jan. 25 The Pike County Soil and Water Conservation Dis- trict annual meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, January 25 at the Otwell United Methodist Church. Following the meal, the featured speaker will be John Scott Foster, of the Wesselman Woods Society in Evansville. Foster will talk about pollinators and how to introduce and welcome them to your farm or yard. For more information call 812-354-6120. Pike Co. Solid Waste Mgmt. meeting changed The Pike County Solid Waste Management District meeting that was scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 21 at 4 p.m. has been rescheduled for Thursday, January 28 at 4 p.m. at the courthouse. yeah, it's that fast! net edition Z M www.PressDispatch.net/Subscribe The Press-Dispatch. No matter where you live. 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Heuring, Advertising Manager Cindy Petty, Advertising Sales Pam Lemond, Advertising Sales Fran Petit, Advertising Sales Ed Cahill, Sports Editor Eric Gogel, Production Manager Monica Sinclair, Office Manager • • • • • • Published every Wednesday by the Pike County Publishing Co. Telephone 812-354-8500 820 Poplar Street, P.O. Box 68, Petersburg, Indiana 47567 • • • • • • Entered at the Post Office in Petersburg, Indiana for transmission through the mails as Periodical Mail, postage paid at Petersburg, Indiana. Published weekly. (USPS 604-340) February is American Heart Month! Early prevention is key to a happy heart. To raise awareness of heart health, Good Samaritan will be offering FREE Stroke and Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) screenings in February. Your heart works hard for you every day. It's time to return the favor. Stroke Screenings PAD Screenings Thursday, February 4 and Friday, February 5 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. and 12:30 to 3:00 p.m. Community Health Services 401 S. Seventh Street Vincennes, IN 47591 Tuesday, February 2 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Good Samaritan Health Pavilion - Eva Hill Auditorium 520 S. Seventh Street Vincennes, IN 47591 Appointments are required for both events. Please call Community Health at 812.885.8753 if you have any questions or would like to make an appointment. www.edwardjones.com Member SIPC Even If You Lose Your Job, You Still Have Choices During difficult times, it's easy to feel like things are out of your control. So it's essential to consider every financial decision carefully, especially when it comes to your retirement savings. Edward Jones can help. We'll start by getting to know your goals. Then we'll sort through your current situation and work with you face to face to develop a strategy that can help you keep your retirement on track. To make sense of your retirement savings alternatives, call today. Tom Willis Financial Advisor . 801 N Vincennes Avenue Petersburg, IN 47567 812-354-9950 IRT-1425-A-A1 2501 Newton St (HWY 231 N) Jasper, IN 47546 www.obcycle.com 866-yamaha-6 Obermeyer H O N D A - YA M A H A - S U Z U K I 2501 Newton St (HWY 231 N) Jasper, IN 47546 www.obcycle.com 866-yamaha-6 Great SelectiOn! Great SelectiOn! Adam Scales (812) 354-8488 adam.scales@infarmbureau.com inside, unless they're com- ing across to here." Mike Houtsch estimated that the cost to set up the building would range from approximately $135,000 to $175,000. "And then, after that, it's around $5,500 a month to rent it, for however long, a year or two years, whatev- er we need to rent it for," he said. "When we get our char- ter approved, we want to get the building set up and get going, get moving." Judy Houtsch, chairman of the group's budget com- mittee, reported that a mail- ing sent out to Otwell High School alumni in early De- cember seeking both letters of support and donations had – to date – generated a little more than $ 8,400. "We really appreciate those donations," Mike Houtsch said. "We're going to need a lot more as we go forward, but to get started, to do mailings and things like that – it's just a neces- sary part of the process – we really do appreciate that. I thank everyone who's done that, to this point." While Friends of Otwell will also be conducting a deer scoring session on Saturday, Feb. 27, and Sun- day, Feb. 28, at the Otwell Community Center, Mike Houtsch noted that the group had yet to have an in- dividual or a group of individ- uals to step forward to chair the fundraising committee. "We really need some- one to head that up," Mike Houtsch said. "I sent an e- mail out to everybody that was on the fundraising com- mittee and got no response from them." "That doesn't mean that just because you're the head of the committee that you have to do it all," he added. "We just need to make sure that everything's coordinat- ed." Mike Houtsch said that the group has received sev- eral ideas for fundraisers, and that he expected that fundraising events would need to be held on at least a monthly basis. "I know a lot of people are hit up all the time for fund- raisers," Mike Houtsch said. "I just bought my firemen's ball tickets today, so I under- stand that all of those things happen as we go along." "I would hope, as we get into being a school, that the parents will be involved, or maybe made to be involved, as far as the fundraisers and things like that, to help out with those things, too," he added. "So we need some- body to head that up." Rhodes said that it was time for the group to get se- rious about fundraising. "We cannot spaghetti sup- per and pancake breakfast ourselves to where we need to be," Rhodes said. "Don't misunderstand me – we can use those. And the deer scor- ing did pretty darn good last time we had it for the fire de- partment. But we need out- side donors. We need access to corporation donors." Rhodes asked those at- tending to help the board of directors identify and ap- proach possible donors. "The bottom line is, we've all got to put our thinking caps on to break this fund- raising thing," Rhodes said. "Is it critical? Are we falling down, going boom? No. But after the charter submission, it's the next biggest thing we've got to strap on." Mike Houtsch noted that several letters of support – including one from State Senator Mark Messmer – had been received in recent days. "If there are any other let- ters of support out there, we need them as soon as pos- sible," Mike Houtsch said. "Those go in with the ap- plication, and it sounds like we need to try to get that in, for sure, by the end of the month." In addition, Mike Houtsch asked the group to submit possible names for the day- care that organizers plan to include as part of the charter school operation. "I'd like to get three or four good suggestions for a name and then we can vote on it," Mike Houtsch said. "We're going to start the day- care just the same as we're going to start the charter school up. That's what's go- ing to help pay for it." Rhodes asked whether or not the group should begin gauging parents' interest in sending their children in the charter public school. "It occurs to me, as much intimidation that has been laid out by different agen- cies involved in this, maybe we ought to provide a meth- odology so that our families could get on a pre-enroll- ment list but without making the list visible to the public," Rhodes said. "It seems to me it might make some parents more comfortable." A member of the group was asked to look into the possibility of conducting pre-enrollment on the In- ternet using Google Docs and to report their findings at the next meeting of the board of directors on Tues- day, Jan. 19. Judy Houtsch added that there was some confusion in the community regard- ing what a charter public school actually is and said that Friends of Otwell had brochures available at the Otwell branch of the Pike County Public Library and information on the group's website – www.friendsofot- well.org – about the subject. "If anybody would hap- pen to comment to anybody about this being a private school or whatever, please let them know that this is a public school, just like Ot- well is today, as far as the curriculum and the criteria and everything else," Judy Houtsch said. "We cannot charge for you to go to this school." Rhodes told the group that there was no way of knowing how Pike County School Corporation's Board of Trustees – who voted 4-1 last June to close Otwell El- ementary School at the end of the 2015 -16 school year – would react if the group's application to Ball State Uni- versity's Office of Charter Schools is approved. "In your and my defense, we don't know exactly how the cards are stacked," Rhodes said. "We know that there are some milestones that are going to change some other people's opin- ions on what's happening. Some people would have bet against this meeting ev- er taking place. Some peo- ple didn't think we'd get through September, or No- vember – and it's 2016. We get this thing completed and put it into the slot, some peo- ple are going to have a real- ly bad morning when that comes out in the paper. Can you imagine how disruptive we will be when they actual- ly come out with the head- ing, 'Approved'? " "I have a very good friend who's speculated (that) we get an approved charter, they might just change their mind on opening that school back up next year," Rhodes added. "We don't know the thinkings and the inner workings. But we have to un- derstand that what we're do- ing here is for the best oppor- tunity for the future for the children of Otwell and Jeffer- son Township. And we will trust in Providence when it comes to the rest, because we cannot control what those people do or think." When Rhodes subse- quently described Otwell Elementary School as "the best darn school this coun- ty's got," a woman in the au- dience confronted him. "When you say 'the best darn school,' that ticks Pe- tersburg off and Winslow off, and they think, 'Well, they think they're better than us,'" she said. "There is no logic to what is going on here," Rhodes replied. "We're having to write our own rules and use our own toughness and our own leadership that's got, I think, to pave a new way for a brand new day of edu- cation in Pike County. The steps we're taking make it CHARTER Continued from page 1 See CHARTER on page 4 Baby it's cold outside It was 8 degrees on Tuesday morning at 7:41. Frigid temperatures have caused schools to be on a two- hour delay so far this week. But forecasts are now calling for one to three inches of snow Tuesday night and Wednesday, with cold temperatures all week and more snow this weekend.