The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/641328
The Press-Dispatch Local Wednesday, Februar y 17, 2016 A- 7 Pike County Farm Bu- reau Directors and Mem- bers visited with Senator Mark Messmer and Repre- sentatives Ron Bacon, Mike Braun, and Tom Washburne on three recent trips to the Indiana General Assembly. On January 6, Pike Coun- ty Farm Bureau Inc's Pres- ident Joe Furman and Vice President Ken Meyer and Board of Directors mem- ber Kathy Harker attended a Pre-Legislative Session sponsored by Indiana Farm Bureau for Indiana's Legis- lators and Farm Bureau di- rectors state wide. At this meeting their goal was to state overall concerns in re- gard to the upcoming legis- lative session. On January 28, Ken Mey- er, Kathy Harker, Judy Gum- bel, and Kate Williams visit- ed the State House and were able to speak with all Pike County legislators and voice their concerns. They dis- cussed Property Taxes and the appreciation for the ef- forts being made to stop the unending increases to farm- land taxes. They learned de- tails about SB 308, authored by Sens. Brandt Hershman (R-Buck Creek) and Er- ic Bassler (R-Washington), passed in the Senate by a vote of 50 -0. This Farmland Formula Fix does three ma- jor things to match the base value more closely with a farmer's ability to pay. When calculating the base rate for agricultural land for the Jan. 1, 2017, assessment date and each assessment date there- after, the Department of Lo- cal Government Finance must: • Use the six most recent years preceding the year when the assessment date occurs (before the highest of those six years is elimi- nated when determining the rolling average). • Use a capitalization rate of at least eight percent. • For purposes of calcu- lating a base rate, recalcu- late certain prior base rates that are used in the rolling average by using a capital- ization rate of at least eight percent. They also discussed the ISTEP disaster and the damage that it is doing to our students, teachers, and schools. We all want quali- ty schools and teachers for our students, but it is appar- ent that this instrument and its administration, scoring, and reporting problems is not the appropriate means for measuring our students, teachers, or schools. Improvement of Indiana's infrastructure, particular- ly our roads both state and local, was also discussed as an important means of im- proving the economic out- look for Indiana. House Bill 1001, HB 1001, passed and was heard in the Senate Committee on Appropria- tions. For state and local road funding needs, the bill does five things: • Taps excess reserves. • Establishes local op- tions (e.g. local option in- come taxes and city wheel tax) and matching grants. • Redirects gas sales tax to roads and bridges. • Indexes fuel taxes to re- store lost buying power. • Provides new Medic- aid funding (e.g. $1 tax on each cigarette pack) to re- lieve general fund for infra- structure. The bill also includes a five percent income tax re- duction that completes Gov. Mike Pence's promise of lowering income tax by 10 percent. Watch this bill and contact your Senator Mark Messmer regarding its pas- sage in the Senate. February 2, was Farm Bureau's Ladies Day at the State House. Cassie Harker, Mary Meyer, and Judy Gum- bel represented Pike Coun- ty. District 9 Education and Outreach Director Sher- yl Seib and Delores Strupp from Vanderburgh Coun- ty also made the trip. They shared a piece of Indiana's State Pie, Sugar Crème, with our legislators. This was the final day of the first half of the 2016 assembly and all bills had to be heard by this deadline to be alive in sec- ond half. It was a very busy day and an educational event for attendees. They left feel- ing like the legislative team is working hard to represent our counties. Contact your legislators regarding HB 1001 and SB 308. The passage of these bills is important to the fu- ture of agribusiness in Pike County as well as the re- mainder of the state. Sen- ator Messmer: s48@iga. in.gov; Representative Ba- con at h75@iga.in.gov; Rep- resentative Braun at h63@ iga.in.gov; and Representa- tive Washburne at h64@iga. in.gov. Farm Bureau is a mem- bership organization ded- icated to promoting agri- culture and improving the quality of life of members. The purpose is to be an ef- fective advocate for farmers and through its policies and programs, promote agricul- ture and improve the eco- nomic and social welfare of member families. To enter the Birthday Club, email your name, ad- dress, phone number and birthdate to birthdayclub@ pressdispatch.net. Only the person's name, town and birthday will appear in the paper. As an added bonus, one lucky person each month will receive a free prize from a local business and a three month Press-Dispatch subscription. February birthdays have a chance to win a $25 gift certificate from The Doo- dlebug in Jasper. THIS WEEK'S BIRTHDAYS: Sharon Gladish ............. Petersburg.......... 2/17 Louis Pancake ..................Velpen ............ 2/20 FEBRUARY SPONSOR: 671 Third Ave., Jasper (In Jasper Commons next to Dollar General) 812-482-4949 Hours: Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday Noon-5 p.m. For the peace of mind that comes with quiet, dependable warmth and energy efficiency that can save you money, discover Comfortmaker ® systems. Bringing comfort to your home. © 2014 International Comfort Products Air Conditioning & Heating LIMITED ™ S ee w a rr an t y ce rti ca t e f o r de t a il s . 10 Timely registration required. See warranty certicate for details and restrictions. 303 Breckinridge Rd, MonRoe City Box 35 Phone: 812-743-2382 Fax: 743-2169 Email: perryshvac@gmail.com HEATING & AIR-CONDITIONING Craig Perry Vance Perry Perry ' s LLC Serving the area since 1950. Perry ' s Complete Line of: Air Conditioning, Gas Furnaces, Heat Pumps, Whole-Home Air Cleaners, Humidifiers, Water Heaters and Water Conditioners The Pike County Public Library Your Pike County Public Library has a new Facebook page! To keep up with daily programs and community updates, please visit: www.facebook.com/PikeCoPublicLibrary and click "Like." Pike County Farm Bureau directors and members visited the State House and spoke to Pike County legislators. Pictured (l to r): Ken Meyer, Senator Mark Messmer, Judy Gumbel, Kathy Harker and Kate Williams. Pike County Farm Bureau, Inc. visited State House The Dubois County Mu- seum will host storyteller Tammy Deicken for a pro- gram on Saturday, March 5, beginning at 10 :30 a.m. and lasting approximately an hour. Mrs. Deicken will spin the tale of the Lew- is and Clark Expedition as told by Sacagawea. The program will include Sa- cagawea's story, followed by activities for students, audience participation fun and a musical performance by Mike Deiken for a sing along. Admission will be $2, per person. Tammy Deicken has been telling stories of all catego- ries for 10 years to children and adults with her story- telling business known as the Tale Weaver. She be- came involved with writing her own stories as the direc- tor of a children's learning center from 1999 to 2013. Deicken joined the Ri- vertown Storytellers and began professional story- telling at libraries, schools, and churches for special events and Literacy Day Programs. She has been a first and second place win- ner in the New Harmony Big Whopper Contest and Toast- masters' Humorous Story- telling. Tammy writes her own material and believes stories are the pathway to connecting one person to another in all cultures. Al- so a board member of New- burgh Community Theater, her involvement with acting and costuming makes its way to her entertaining sto- ries and historical re-enact- ments. She enjoys portray- ing historical characters as she believes: "Stories pre- serve the past and give hope for the future." Storyteller Tammy Deicken performs at Dubois Co. Museum March 5 Storyteller Tammy Deicken presents the tale of the Lewis and Clark Expedition as told by Sa- cagawea at the Dubois County Museum.