The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/68821
A-2 Wednesday, June 6, 2012 The Press-Dispatch ★ Commissioners differ inventory. Nalley said he had a 1934 Continued from page 1 map showing the road and he said the 1966 map also showed the road. Montgomery said part of you are saying something different," said Flint. He suggested they table it until the next meeting. "We have too many peo- the road Nalley was talking about was now a Triad min- ing pit. "That is going to be real hard to replace." Nalley said he didn't mean ple involved, that is the prob- lem, I will just get out of it," said Morton. Flint suggested they get of where Nalley wanted to have the road widened, Commissioner Brian Da- vis asked, "Are we going to have a 14 foot road lead- ing into a 22 foot road?' Nalley said all United Min- erals would have to do is re- move a few trees to widen the road. Montgomery said they ★ Train derailment spill contained Highway 61 closed prevented the alcohol from getting into Flat Creek and moving quickly to the Pato- ka River in the heart of the Patoka River National Wild- life Refuge. Flat Creek runs along the Continued from page 1 Britton said two factors hol. "The cool damp weath- er also helped out. If it had been hot and dry the alcohol would have vaporized much quicker," said Britton. He said this could have caused the air to be combustible. The EPA and Indiana De- side of the Indiana Southern rail line, but just a few hun- dred feet north of where the derailment took place Flat Creek fl ows under the rails and then continues south on the west side of the tracks. The tanker cars containing alcohol leaked out on the east side of the tracks. He said it was a low-lying area that kept it contained. Brit- ton said the two hopper cars also overturned, spilling their loads on the ground. One was "gluten" which is fi nely ground corn and the other was "starch." He said the spilled grain formed a temporary dike helping contain the alco- closed at the rail crossing about a quarter-mile east of Highway 57. It was most- ly closed because of all the heavy machinery working in the area. They used Sugar Ridge Road as an entry point to the derailment site. Clean-up crews were on partment of Environmental Management were on the scene by Friday afternoon and continue to monitor the clean-up. Sugar Ridge Road was site as well as rail crews repairing the tracks. Two large bulldozers equipped with booms called "side- winders" were used to right the rail cars. Rail crews put sections of track called "pan- els" together out near Sug- ar Ridge Road and then they were taken back and dropped into place. Large tank cars resembling gi- ant trash dumpsters with semi-wheels on them were in place for transporting al- cohol and other debris re- moved from the site. Tonda Dixon with the Pike County Homeland Security said Sugar Ridge Road was reopened Saturday night, but clean-up crews were still Highway 61 just south of Winslow at the Norfolk Southern rail crossing is closed and is expected to stay closed until Friday afternoon, while the crossing is repaired. didn't mind removing small- er trees, but cutting down larger trees increased their liability and they didn't want to do that. County Attorney Val Fleig for them to replace that. He also added he didn't know that pit was there until a few days prior. During the discussion in writing from the proper- ty owners what they wanted. In other business, Morton told commissioners he com- pleted an emergency road usage agreement with Indi- ana Southern. One of their trains derailed south of Sug- ar Ridge Road about a half mile east of Highway 57. Morton said they agreed to fi x any damage they caused on the road. In public comments, Clay- ton Claridge thanked police for how they have treated him when he was being re- moved from several recent meetings. Claridge also asked the in the area working Tuesday. A representative of Indi- tried to work through what each side wanted. Montgom- ery agreed to put in eight inches of dirt and six inch- es of rock. Commissioner President communication and team- work between local, state and federal offi cials. It got cleaned up with little or no hassle." ana Southern said environ- mental offi cials would de- termine how much soil had to be removed and then it would be replaced with top- soil. He added, "It was good Mark Flint said he was both- ered by differing versions of what property owners want- ed. Neither were present. Montgomery said the Hal- commissioners why a claim hadn't been paid to Charles Aldridge. In February the county's rubber-tire exca- vator was removing a limb and it fell across Aldridge's electrical service, pulling it from their residence. Claridge said the county ey family had planned to be there, but had a recent death in the family. "Still what bothers me is, Dale, you say one thing and these two other guys say they spoke with them, and had been turned over to the county's insurance. Flint then asked, "So it is being taken care of?" "It was taken care of a long time ago. It has been turned over to the insurance compa- ny and is entirely out of our hands," said Morton. The next commissioner hadn't paid the claim. Morton said the claim meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m Monday, June 18. Dale man arrested on meth-related charges on meth charges Monday morning by a Conservation Offi cer patrolling the Sug- ar Ridge Fish and Wildlife Area 2. Brian D. Wedding II, 24, A Dale man was arrested of Dale was arrested on charges of possession of methamphetamine, posses- sion of drug paraphernalia, and possession of a hypoder- mic needle. Indiana Conservation Of- fi cer Duane Englert said at about 10 a.m. Monday he was passing through Area 2 of Sugar Ridge Fish and Wildlife Area in Pike Coun- ty, when he noticed a vehicle parked by a lake on the state property. As he approached a rock ledge area of a lake, he noticed four individuals around what appeared to be a campsite. Upon seeing the approaching offi cer, one of the individuals alerted the others to the offi cer's pres- ence, but the offi cer was able to detain all four subjects Englert said debris in the area suggested illegal drug activity. A Pike County Sher- iff's Deputy, a Deputy Fire Marshal and a second Indi- ana Conservation Offi cer ar- rived to assist. According to the DNR, "As a result of the ensuing investigation, Wed- ding was placed under ar- rest and transported to the Pike County Sheriff's Of- fi ce." City moves ahead on Cherry St. water line; seeks funds for truck route with utility improvements in the Cherry Street area and is seeking grants to accom- plish portions of the projects that were in the Stellar Grant application earlier this year. The City Council had a silent prayer for The City of Petersburg is moving ahead By Mike Johansen former City Councilman and current Water Board and Board of Public Works and Safe- ty member Jon Welch for a quick recovery from injuries suffered in an accident on Sun- day. They also prayed for the entire Welch family at the loss of Mrs. Bobbi Welch, who was killed in the motorcycle accident. One of the areas in which they are seek- ing funds is to use Illinois Street for trucks to by-pass Main Street. It was one of the main portions of the Stellar Grant applica- tion for which the City of Petersburg was a runner-up. The city was one of seven fi nal- ists for a Stellar Grant to accomplish around $20 million worth of improvements and proj- ects in the city. Mayor Jon Craig feels the relocation of adopts the state law into city ordinance as is required by the new law. The city does not plan for additional restrictions than re- quired by state law. The City of Evansville passed a stronger no smoking law with add- ed restrictions as is allowed by the new state law, but they cannot be more lenient than the state law. Solar Sources announced that they would truck traffi c from downtown Petersburg to a highway running around the city from State Road 57 and 61 will have a positive impact. They plan to seek funding from the Indiana Department of Transportation and possibly other sources to go ahead with the project. It would be the fi rst step toward moving the development of downtown Petersburg into a more historic district without all the coal dust from the trucks going through town. The mayor said it is not that they do not want the coal trucks in the area, but want to be able to have a downtown that is free of the coal dust. If the new route would go in it would not add mileage for the coal truck traffi c, but provide a better route for them to travel. The state smoking ban will be a topic fac- ing the Petersburg City Council at its next meeting. City Attorney Brian Mahoney is preparing an ordinance that essentially Be dad's like the city to hold off on its grant applica- tion for water line work to a new mining site in the Petersburg area. They said there are economic conditions that are unfavorable to the coal industry at this time that have Solar Sources waiting on the project. It al- so gives the city a chance to make sure they have everything ready for submitting the grant. The public hearing set for Monday has been cancelled. They may go after the grant in the next round of applications in the fall. Solar Sources may also ask the city to lower their contribution to the project. The city had sought about $400,000 from Solar Sources in the current application. The Prides Creek Drainage Project is al- so on hold for the current time and a grant application for funding for the project will be delayed for possibly a year. They found some items that are needed for the applica- tion are not ready and will have to wait for the 2013 grant application cycle. The fee schedule ordinance for building water main improvement in the Cherry Street area from Mulberry to Knox Street at a cost of around $36,000. The money be- came free after the Stellar Grant application was turned down and has to be spent be- fore another grant application time period. It is part of a previous grant for water sys- tem work. The line in the Cherry Street ar- ea has had several problems and was high on the city's list for repairs or replacement. That still leaves about $89,000 in contingen- cy funds with more work to be added when all the other work is done. The Water Board also approved paying those two items. It was the best report the city has received in years. The city is also moving ahead with a ment. The city is also looking at new polymer feed equipment for the Water Plant and have one quote at $9,500. They are awaiting ad- ditional quotes on the project. Action may come at the next meeting. They are also seeking quotes on replacing conduit at the water plant at a cost of about $12,355. The board will consider the project at the next meeting. The Board of Public Works and Safety ap- several claims for work on the water system. Wabash Utilities will receive $70,589.77 for water line work; Reynolds Inc. will receive $42,359.25 for work on another water proj- ect and Midwestern Engineers will receive $21,500 for design and overseeing the con- struction work on those projects. The board also approved $12,093.75 for Van Hoy for the Meridian Road project and $3,726 for Midwestern Engineers for design work and overseeing the project. They also approved paying Wabash Util- ities $24,849.25 and Midwestern $5,428.25 for work on the water plant valve replace- permits and other items has been updated to include a double fee for anyone applying for a permit after they have started a proj- ect. It will also come before the City Coun- cil for action at the June 18 meeting. Mayor Craig said he wanted to thank and proved paying $3,752.23 to Wabash Utilities for sewer line relocation on the Highway 61 project. The state will reimburse the city for 53 percent of the costs. The city's portion of the work is complete. The bridge replace- ment by INDOT is still to be done awaiting clearance on environmental issues. The mayor said the signs are in for the FIT Trail from Hornady Park to Petersburg Elementary and will be installed this week. The Pike County Chamber of Commerce is planning a walking event to celebrate the opening of the trail on Thursday, June 21. It will be an evening walk with other activities. The Silver Dollar Saloon also came up again and the next meeting of the Unsafe Building Committee will again work on the project of clearing out the fallen building. No date has been set for the meeting. "Team Z" Good Luck to at the congratulate City Clerk-Treasurer Tammy Selby on the recent good audit report. They had only three fi ndings and one was relat- ed to the Park Board Minutes and clarifi - cations on the minutes. The other two had been reported to the auditor before the au- dit and Selby was already working on fi xing Favorite Saturday, June 16 at Badlands Off-Road Park 12 miles, 29 Obstacles Year Membership Special Family ..............................................$499 Husband/Wife .........................$375 Individual ......................................$199 Student or Senior ...................$150 30 DAYS ONLY. EXPIRES JUNE 30, 2012 If you purchase a membership before your's runs out, 365 days will be added to your expiration date. (reg. $595) (reg. $420) (reg. $245) (reg. $195) JUNE TANNING SPECIAL $25 Expires June 30, 2012 (REG $36) 604 East Illinois St., Petersburg (near the Little League Park) 354-1303 Fitness Center Fri 10–6 • Sat 10–1 • Closed Sunday New Summer Hours: Mon - Thurs 10–7 24-HOUR ACCESS TO FITNESS CENTER WITH KEY MEMBERSHIP the