The Press-Dispatch
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D6 Opinion .......C7-8 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 FESTIVALS on page 2 $ 1 Four sections Five inserts 34 pages Wednesday, September 6, 2017 Volume 148 Number 36 Phone (812) 354-8500 Petersburg, IN 47567-0068 (USPS 604-34012) See CANNON on page 3 See HIRING on page 6 See ACADEMY on page 2 See OPEN HOUSE on page 4 Otwell Academy finalizes agreement with Grace College By James Capozella A fter touring Otwell Miller Academy for the first time while students were present, Grace College Charter School and MBA Di- rector Tim Ziebarth called the school open- ing "an exciting time" and that the commu- nity "can be very proud" of what has tak- en place in such a short period of time. He noted that developing a new charter is very stressful and that getting to the point of signing the agreement document is a big moment. Ziebarth said, "We take it very serious- ly and hope to see many years of partner- ship." He added it was "no small feat" for the school board, supporters and communi- ty to get to this point. He said that although Grace College is the "authorizer and dis- trict office," Otwell Miller Academy is "op- erated by the local board" and they will have a "distinct philosophy." Ziebarth said it was a great day for the community and for public schools to cel- ebrate, but to remember, "the work has just begun." He said in an interview, after the signing, that Otwell Miller Academy is the fourth chartered school by Grace Col- lege, with Dugger being the nearest to Pike County. Ziebarth was in the community on several occasions and this time was able to tour the school with Otwell Miller Academy Director Rick Fears while students were in session on Thursday. Upon signing the document, Bob Rhodes stated that he said when he started this journey with Mike Houtsch, they would be- gin together and end together and that is what has happened. Houtsch added that the work is "not all done but it is enough to be used." Rhodes chimed in stating "be care- ful where you lean. The paint is still wet." Elisabeth Luff was remembered for By Andy Heuring A triple festival weekend is set for Sep- tember 15 and 16 as Petersburg is having a 200th Anniversary celebration called the Buffalo Trace Festival on Friday and Saturday. Main St. will close from Ninth to Fifth Sts. Beginning Thursday after- noon through Saturday night for the festi- val. There will be rides, stages and grand- stands on Main St. Winslow's Community Festival is set for Saturday, September 16 and the Blue Jean Festival in Monroe City will begin Friday, September 15 and run through Sunday. BUFFALO TRACE FESTIVAL SEPT. 15-16 Petersburg's Buffalo Trace Festival will celebrate Petersburg's 200th year as a city. It will feature free carnival rides, musical entertainment, bed races, a parade and fire- works all on Main St., Petersburg. Activities will start at 5 p.m. and feature bicentennial re-enactments on the court- house lawn, and food and vendor booths will open at 5 p.m. as well. The free carni- val rides will be on Main St. between Ninth and Seventh Sts. They will run from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday. A parade is set for 6 p.m., with opening ceremonies set to follow at 6:30 p.m. The parade starts on Nichols Ave. It will pro- ceed to Pike Ave., then to Main St. and north on Main St. to Fifth St., where the festival will be set up. The line-up of musical performances for Friday night will include: 7 p.m. Kyilindi Pipes and Drums Band, 7:30 p.m. Pike Cen- tral Jazz Band and from 8:30 to 10 p.m. Co- chren and Company. Saturday activities will start with the Farmers Market opening at 9 a.m. More re-enactments will begin at 9 a.m., as will the FFA Pedal Tractor pull. Tony Rothrock, Jerry Willis and Albert Swain will perform on the bicentennial stage beginning at 10 a.m. Little Miss Petersburg, Junior Miss Pe- tersburg and Miss Petersburg pageants will begin at 11 a.m. Little Miss. Contes- tants are Kellcyn Riker, A zalin Vennard, Elle Readle, Avelyn Knepp, Chloe Howard, Addison Mitchell, Emiley Riker, Jenna Har- ris and Ava Sturgeon. The Junior Miss Petersburg pageant is set for noon. The contestants are Chloe Wil- lis, Jerzey Reibold, Jayla Harris and Kena- die Houchins. The Miss Petersburg pageant is set for 1 p.m. and the contestants are Honey Ralston, Kabrea Howes, Erin Craig and Peyton Knies. Stacy's Studio of Dance will perform at 1:30 p.m. The free carnival rides will open at 1 p.m. and run through 10 :30 p.m. Tony Rothrock will return to the stage at 2 p.m., this time with Shelby Lynn, Henry Norton and Albert Swain. The Main Street Bed Races will fire up at 3 p.m. Two beds are being provided by Festivals next weekend in Petersburg, Winslow and Monroe City By Andy Heuring Petersburg celebrated its new Fire De- partment Building on Illinois St. Sunday af- ternoon with a fire hose cutting, cake, pre- sentations and even bagpipes. "What a great day for Petersburg," said Mayor R. C. Klipsch, standing in the new building in front of about 100 people gath- ered for the ceremony. "You have waited a long time for this." He added, "This proj- ect represents a dream for many people for many years." He said shortly after he became mayor, he realized a new fire building was impor- tant for the fire department to be a recruit- ing and retention tool to get and keep peo- ple interested and invested in the fire de- partment. He said two other mayors also worked on the project, including Jon Craig who helped design it, and Frank Coleman who planned for it. "Here it is, within budget and at a price New Petersburg fire house dedicated Sunday PIKE COUNTY PLANTER PAGES C8-10 By Ed Cahill The recommendation of a committee comprised of Pike Central High School Principal Brian Holland, Pike Central Mid- dle School Principal Mindy Hill-Keeker and Pike County School Corporation treasur- er Chelsea Yon to hire Tracy Stone as Pike Central's extra-curricular account (ECA) treasurer was met with some resistance during a called meeting of the Pike Coun- ty School Corporation's Board of School Trustees on Tuesday, Aug. 29. A fter School Superintendent Suzanne Blake announced the committee's recom- mendation, board member Chris McKin- ney questioned Blake on how many years of experience that Stone – who is current- ly employed as business manager at Amber Manor Nursing Home – had. "Eighteen," Blake replied. "Eighteen years of experience? " McK- inney said. "What hourly rate does that come to? " " $16.60," Blake answered. "For how many days on the contract? " McKinney asked. "221," Blake replied. "Is that what we normally paid in the past? " McKinney asked. "Is that how ma- ny days that contract has normally been? " "It's always been an extended contract, yes," Blake replied. "It just seems to me like 18 years of ex- perience is an awful lot when we've got em- ployees in the corporation that can do this job," McKinney stated. "I think we have somebody with a lot of strong financial skills, and that it's worth it," Blake said. McKinney continued, saying that rec- ommendations "normally" are made by the high school administrator. "Why is this one different? " McKinney McKinney questions hiring of school corporation extra- curricular treasurer By Andy Heuring A Petersburg videographer was at ground zero of the world's nuclear conflict recently with one foot in North Korea. Cody Cannon, a 2006 Pike Central grad- uate, literally had one foot in North Korea at the height of tension between the Unit- ed States and North Korea. Cannon, who is a videographer for Coun- ty Music artist Chase Rice, traveled with Rice to South Korea and the DMZ (The Ko- rean Demilitarized Zone) to perform for United States troops overseas. The DMZ is described by Wikipedia as a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula. It is established by the provi- sions of the Korean Armistice Agreement to serve as a buffer zone between the Dem- ocratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea). The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the Korean Peninsula roughly in half. It was created by agreement between North Korea, China and the United Nations in 1953. The DMZ is 250 kilometers (160 miles) long, and about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) wide. Within the DMZ is a meeting-point be- tween the two nations in the small Joint Security Area near the western end of the zone, where negotiations take place. There have been various incidents in and around Cody Cannon at Ground Zero of world conflict Wilson injured in Saturday crash A Petersburg woman was injured Saturday when she crashed upside down into a deep ditch along CR275E at about 8:05 p.m. Deanna Wilson, 38, of Petersburg was driving a 2001 Mitsubishi north on CR275E, ran off the north side of the road and overturned, according to Pike County Sheriff's Sgt. Dallas Killian. He said the car was owned by Brian Like, who lived about a quarter-mile away on Doane Lane. Sgt. Killian said Like picked her up on a motorcycle and then took her back to his residence but she fell off the motorcycle into his yard. When the accident was reported, it was re- ported as a car upside down and the driver was lying in the yard. Killian said he was unable to speak to Wilson about the accident because EMS was treating her and took her to the hospital before he could talk to her. He did not know the extent of Wilson's injuries. While responding to the accident, Deputy Paul Collier was on his way to Doane Lane and saw the car upside down beside CR275E. He hit his brakes and lost control, spinning around in the road and damaging the front of his car. About 30 minutes later, Like drove an ATV from his residence to the accident scene, and was arrested for drunken driving. See related story on page A-5. Petersburg Mayor R. C. Klipsch, with the help of Petersburg firemen, cut a fire hose with a Jaws of Life tool instead of a traditional ribbon cutting during their open house for the new Fire Department building on Illinois St. Above are (l to r) Alex Dedman, Chris Morton, Ryne Biesterveld, Bill Traylor, Jeff Nelson, Mayor Klipsch, Steve Cook, Lowry Cooper and Nathan Harker.