The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/856300
Local ...........A1-6 Sports .........B1-3 Classifi eds .. B5-10 Health........B11-12 Church ........C1-3 Home Life C5-10 Obituaries..... C10 Opinion .. C11-12 Fair Results .......D WHAT'S INSIDE: CONNECT WITH US: NetEdition ...pressdispatch.net/edition Facebook.....facebook.com/pressdispatch E-Mail .........news@pressdispatch.net Phone:.................. 812-354-8500 Fax: ...................... 812-354-2014 E-Mail . editor@pressdispatch.net NEWS TIPS: PIKE PUBLISHING See FEST on page 2 $ 1 Four sections Three inserts 34 pages Wednesday, August 2, 2017 Volume 148 Number 31 Phone (812) 354-8500 Petersburg, IN 47567-0068 (USPS 604-34012) See REGISTER on page 2 By James Capozella Otwell Miller Academy school director Rick Fears had two an- nouncements that could have a big impact on student numbers for the first year of operation in a new building just south of Otwell, near the junction of SR 257 and SR 56, during an open house held at the Otwell Community Center on Saturday, July 29. Fears told about 125 people and children in attendance that text book rental would be free and that the school would have their own buses and routes. In addition to a nice meal for those at the Otwell Communi- ty Center, Friends of Otwell Ele- mentary president Mike Houtsch – who is stepping down to serve as chairman of the Otwell Miller Academy's school board – offered a tour of the facility. Forms were available for par- ents to pre-register their children, along with information on school supply lists, the paver fundraiser, and text and email sign-ups for Friends of Otwell Elementary/Ot- well Miller Academy events and meetings. The school supply list for each grade included items that may need to be replenished during the school year. Basics for grades kin- dergarten through fifth is a back- pack and school box. The list for each grade is different and exten- sive so consulting with the school is essential. The first board meeting for the Otwell Miller Academy is sched- uled for Monday, August 7, at 6 p.m., at the Otwell Miller Acad- emy. The paver bricks are $50 for a 4x8 and $100 for an 8x8. For infor- mation, contact Valerie Nolan at 812-661-7199, Rosemary Rhodes at 812-766 -3987 or Carol Rose Horne at 812-354-6964. The Otwell Miller Academy is a public charter school open to all children without a tuition charge and special entrance re- quirements. Otwell Miller Academy hosts open house Mosquito Fest begins Friday Monday house fire claims Dorothy Kinman Dorothy Kinman SPORTS B-1 LUNSFORD NAMED WINNER AT NPC USA CHAMPIONSHIPS SPECIAL SECTION D HEALTH B-11 HEALTHY WAYS TO GET TO SCHOOL PIKE COUNTY 4-H FAIR RESULTS Mick Rowe Bob Rhodes, Sharon Fort and Dr. Mark Luff prepare hamburgers for a crowd of about 125 at the Otwell Miller Academy Saturday open house. Others, including Rose Rhodes, Lou Fort and Mike Houtsch, had a hand in Saturday's successful open house. James Capozella photo By Andy Heuring The 45th version of the Zoar Mosquito Fest will be this Fri- day and Saturday, August 4 and 5. While the events have changed slightly over the years, the Mos- quito Fest remains a weekend of old-fashioned family fun with ma- ny events unique to the communi- ty festival. It will have sack races and an egg toss, a stationary pa- rade, wiffleball championship and hula hoop competition. The weekend begins at 5 p.m. on Friday at the Zoar United Meth- odist Church grounds, which are located three miles west of Sten- dal on Old State Road 64 at the Pike-Dubois County line. Their fried and BBQ chicken dinners will be served starting at 5 p.m. A change this year is the chicken dinners will only be served on Friday. Opening ceremonies are at 6 p.m., followed by country music performed by Iron Mountain at 7 p.m. The wiffleball championships starts on Friday night and will continue all day on Saturday. A flea market, country store and craft demonstrations will be open on both days as will their food booths, which feature the staples of fish sandwiches, ham- burgers and hotdogs, as well as By Andy Heuring A rural Petersburg woman died Monday in a fast moving house fire south of Petersburg. Dorothy Kinman, 77, died in a fire that destroyed her house at 1703 W. CR 200 N. (Charlie Hill Road) just after noon. Firemen arrived at the home, just minutes after receiving the 911 call from passersby, to find the house completely engulfed in flames. "I'm not sure I have ever been at a hotter fire," said Assis- tant Chief Jon Craig. Assistant Chief Ross Elmore said the Kinmans were at home at about noon when their fire alarms went off. A family mem- ber said Mike was frying fishing in a downstairs kitchen and went upstairs to check on something, and when he went downstairs everything was in flames. Mike helped get his wife Dorothy out of the house and then returned into the home get their daughter, Gina. Gina is hand- icapped and Mike dragged her from the home. Howev- er, while he was bringing Gina out of the house, Dor- othy apparently re- entered the house. Pike Coun- ty Sheriff Jeremy Britton said cen- tral dispatch re- ceived the call at 12:06 p.m. and Pe- tersburg Officer Scott Wright ar- rived at the scene at 12:08 p.m. Chief Deputy Kent Johnson and Sheriff Britton arrived just mo- ments later. When they learned Doro- thy was still in the house, Cpl. Wright and Depu- ty Johnson went in- to the house. Dep- uty Johnson said Wright was crawl- ing in an attempt to get below the smoke and Johnson held on to his belt. Johnson said they went in a side door and were only able to go a few feet. He said they made it around one cor- ner, but the smoke was too thick to see anything, and there were flames 10 to 15 feet high in the middle of the house, forcing them to get out. The Indiana State Fire Mar- shal's Office stated, "At this time, the July 31 fire that occurred in Pike County is under investiga- tion, and no updates are available at this time." The Petersburg Fire Depart- ment was assisted by seven oth- er fire departments, including: Jefferson and Patoka from Pike County, Columbia Township and Oakland City from Gibson Coun- ty, Harrison Township of Knox County, and Washington Town- ship and Southeast, both of Da- viess County. It is the second fire-related fa- tality in Pike County in the last eight months. On Saturday, De- cember 3, 2016, Damian McBride died after the house he was stay- ing in, only about three miles from the Kinman house, caught fire. Registration changed for high school Middle school, elementary dates stay the same Registration dates for Pike Central High School have been changed, while the registration dates for Pike Central Middle School and Petersburg and Win- slow elementary schools stayed the same. Registration will be at Pike Cen- tral High School on Thursday, Aug. 3, from noon to 6 p.m.; and on Monday, Aug. 7, and on Tues- day, Aug. 8, from 8 a.m. to noon. Parking tags will be available for By Andy Heuring A former Pike County man who now lives in Evansville was arrest- ed on a charge of child molesting and a charge of criminal deviate conduct resulting in serious bodi- ly injury. Both are class A felonies. Mickey E. Rowe, 49, of Evans- ville, was arrested on a warrant on Thursday, July 27, by the Indiana State Police. Rowe is accused of molesting and sexually abusing a girl for a period of about 20 years that start- ed when she was nine years old. She claims he continued to abuse her through her teen years, even- tually prompting her to become a stripper and prostitute to sup- port him. The girl, who is now married, contacted Pike County authori- ties on May 12. In an extensive in- terview with Pike County police, the girl claimed Rowe, also known as Handsome Mick, first molest- ed her while she was riding with him in a box truck making a fur- niture delivery for a charity. She said over the years it continued and the molesting became more frequent and involved increasing- ly serious sex acts. According to a probable cause affidavit, the girl said she learned if she screamed Mick would stop. So he started giving her three to five cups of Nyquil a night to make her sleep. She also claimed he made her view pornography with him three to five times a week. She claimed Mick started tell- ing her mother they were going to work out at a local gym, but that was just code for going to the tat- too store he owned in Petersburg and having sex with him in one of the rooms. She also claimed, when in high school, she developed a crush on a boy and planned to meet him. When Mick found out about it by seeing text messages on her phone, he raped her so violently he injured her. She said at one point, when Mick got ar- rested for oth- er charges, she thought she could get help from her grandfather and escape the situation, because her grandfather was at the po- lice station that night. Instead, her grandfather shunned her. She said after Mick was "kicked out" of an Oakland City tattoo shop, he moved to an attic in Evansville. Because he was broke and neither of them had money, he told her to become a stripper and he started promoting her as a stripper. He then encouraged her to become a prostitute and he han- dled all the money. She told police in the interview she thought she made about $100,000 a year, but Mick handled all the money. Eventually, she met a disc jock- ey in a Florida strip joint and got married. She then decided to talk to police about Rowe. According to the probable cause affidavit, police talked with her high school boyfriend, an employee she confided in from Rowe's tattoo shop, and a custom- er of hers about a night he hired her as a prostitute. A class A felony is punishable by 10 to 50 years in prison. Former tattoo shop owner arrested on child molesting charges Firemen battle an intense fire that quickly spread through Mike and Dorothy Kinman's house on CR200N south of Peters- burg on Monday. Dorothy died in the fire that started at about noon. Mike was able to get his handicapped daughter out of the fire uninjured.