The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/895273
A-2 Front Wednesday, November 1, 2017 The Press-Dispatch JA Primitives Chr ist m as O pe n H ou se • Woodworking Cras • Homemade Candles • Homemade Soaps • Children's Clothes 1335 N. Kennedy Court, Petersburg • 812-789-6229 Wednesday-Saturday 10am-4pm SATURDAY, NOV. 4 Marge's Shop 716 Main St. 812-354-9372 Petersburg Mon.-Thurs. 9-5; Fri. 9-6; Sat. 9-5 Snowman Precious Moments Saturday, Nov. 4 • 9pm to 5pm $25 Sales, Bargains, Refreshments & Drawings New Arrivals • Keepsake Ornaments • Precious Moments Collectibles • Jim Shore & Willow Tree Collectibles • Libs Candy • Colonial & Woodwick Candles FREE gift with purchase Marge's Hallmark OPEN HOUSE 25 th Christmas Darth Vader SAVE Keepsake 50% to 75% off seasonal and everyday items 201 S. 7th St., Petersburg • 812-354-8793 Mon.-Fri. 9am to 5pm • Sat. 9am-12pm SALE 20% Off Buy One $24.95 (Lg) Get second candle 20% off Other Sale Items in Store • Jewelry • Purses • Selected Fall Arrangements CANDLEBERRY CANDLES FIRE Continued from page 1 Thomas closing the base- ment door made a big differ- ence in the amount of dam- age by limiting the oxygen supply to the fire. "Keeping the basement door closed kept the fire from making an aggressive run though the house. . . If the doors had been left open, it may have been a total loss," said Truitt. He also praised his de- partment. "I'm very proud of my firefighters for keep- ing a cool head," said Truitt. Indiana State Fire Mar- shal Field Agent Matt Wells investigated the fire. He con- firmed it started due to a fur- nace malfunction. Wells said the furnace was 34 years old. He estimated damage at $10,000 to $15,000. It was reported at 1:31 p.m. The Petersburg Fire De- partment responded to two other furnace mishaps. Sunday morning, they re- sponded to a smoke alarm going off in the Downtown Terrace Apartments. Fire Capt. Jeff Nelson said fire- men were able to deter- mine that when the furnace kicked on for the first time in a long time, it burned off the dust in the unit and set off the smoke alarms. Friday night, they also re- sponded to Mark Goodpas- ture's residence about 8:30 p.m. to a report of smoke in the house. Apparently, the boiler motor went out and created a lot of smoke. Firemen were able to venti- late the house to remove the smoke. By Andy Heuring A woman was arrested for drunken driving after she hit a mailbox. She was one of five people arrested for driving while intoxicated. One was arrested after go- ing into a residence and an- other after he was seen uri- nating behind his car in Mc- Donald's parking lot. A Jasper woman was ar- rested last Tuesday after a homeowner followed a vehi- cle that hit his mailbox on CR 300 E. and didn't stop. Christina M. Hess, 42, of 430 Kirkwood Dr., Jasper, was arrested by Petersburg Cpl. Kyle Mills on charges of operating a vehicle while in- toxicated (refusal) prior, re- sisting law enforcement and leaving the scene of an ac- cident. Cpl. Mills said the home- owner followed the vehicle into Petersburg onto Illi- nois St., then onto First St., and eventually on Locust St., until it stopped sideways in the street next to T&E Weld- ing's gate. Cpl. Mills' report states he talked to the homeown- er, who said Hess had hit his mailbox and driven through his ditch. Mills said after talking with the homeowner, he walked towards Hess and her SUV, and heard her yell- ing she didn't know what she was accused of and for Mills to just leave. Mills said Hess' SUV had fresh damage on its bumper. He said he asked her to step out of the vehicle, but she refused and told Cpl. Mills to call her husband. When he repeated his or- der for her to get out of the vehicle, she cursed at him. When Mills repeated the order to exit her vehicle or she would be physically re- moved, she continued to be abusive and combative. Cpl. Mills said he could smell the odor of alcohol. She refused field sobriety tests and was transported to the Pike County Jail, where Mills said she continued to curse jail staff. She was placed into a cell, because she refused to go through the booking process. A Princeton man was ar- rested at about 9 p.m. Satur- day in McDonald's parking lot after a customer called central dispatch and com- plained about a man urinat- ing in the parking lot. The caller also said the man fell down before getting back in- to his vehicle and attempted to drive. David J. Rippy, 60, of 500 W. Warnick St., Princeton, was arrested by Pike County Sheriff's Sgt. Dallas Killian and Petersburg Cpl. Jared Simmons after they stopped him in the parking lot. Sgt. Killian said when he approached Rippy and asked how he was doing, Rippy said he was "drunk." Rippy failed a field sobriety test and was unable to perform the others. He was taken to the Pike County Jail, where he test- ed 0.17 percent for blood al- cohol content. The legal lim- it in Indiana is 0.08 percent. Rippy was preliminari- ly charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated. An Ireland man was ar- rested Friday afternoon in Velpen after a woman's chil- dren called her and said a man they didn't know had parked in their driveway and gone into an old house on their property. Bradley Joseph Neuhoff, 29, of Ireland, was arrest- ed on preliminary charges of residential entry and op- erating a vehicle while in- toxicated (refusal) by Pike County Deputy Paul Collier. Deputy Collier said he, Deputy Buck Seger and State Trooper John Davis arrived at the residence at about 3:41 p.m. and saw a red pickup truck and talk- ed with the residents. They told Deputy Collier they saw Neuhoff drive the truck into the driveway and then go in- to an old blue house. Collier said when he walked toward the house, Neuhoff came out of the doorway. Collier's report stated Neuhoff seemed fidgety and his pupils were extremely di- lated. He was talking about a chemical being on his skin and being electrocuted. Collier said he had symp- toms of being under the in- fluence of meth. Neuhoff failed field so- briety tests. While talk- ing with police, he said he had smoked marijuana and drank beer. He was transported to the Pike County Jail, where he refused a chemical test and was arrested. An Illinois man was ar- rested early Sunday morn- ing when police stopped him for speeding. Alex Brock, 45, of Carmi, Ill., was arrested by Peters- burg Police Cpl. Jared Sim- mons at 4:09 a.m. Cpl. Simmons said he saw Brock driving 72 mph in a 50 zone on Highway 61 near CR 400 N. (Prides Creek Road) and, along with Pike Coun- ty Deputy Jason McKinney, stopped Brock near the southbound ramp of I-69. Cpl. Simmons said when he talked with Brock, he no- ticed a strong odor of alco- hol and that Brock's speech was slurred. Brock told Sim- mons he had drank one beer and "shotgunned" another. He failed field sobriety tests and was taken to the Pike County Jail, where he tested 0.1 for blood alcohol content. Brock was preliminari- ly charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated. A Bloomington man was arrested at about 2:30 a.m. Friday after Pike County central dispatch was noti- fied of a possible intoxicat- ed driver going southbound on I-69, just south of Wash- ington. Jesse Prochaska, 30, of 817 E. Moody Dr., Bloom- ington, was arrested by Cpl. Simmons. He said after getting the report from Washington, he went to I-69 and was north- bound on I-69 when he saw a black Kia passenger car come to a complete stop in the passing lane with two semi-trucks behind it. Cpl. Simmons said he immedi- ately crossed the median and put on his emergency lights and the vehicle pulled off onto the right shoulder. When he talked with Pro- chaska, Simmons said he noticed the odor of alcohol, slurred speech and poor dexterity. Prochaska told Cpl. Sim- mons he had consumed one beer. He failed field sobriety tests and was taken to the Pike County Jail, where he tested 0.15 percent for blood alcohol content. He was preliminarily charged with operating a ve- hicle while intoxicated. Seven code violations remain to be corrected at Otwell Academy By Ed Cahill A follow-up inspection of Otwell Miller Academy con- ducted on Tuesday, Oct. 24, found that seven out of 12 fire code violations original- ly identified during a inspec- tion of the charter school's building in early September had not yet been resolved. On Sept. 6, Jason Buchan- an, an inspector with the In- diana Department of Home- land Security Division of Fire and Building Safety, issued a Fire and Building Code Enforcement Inspec- tion Order listing a dozen violations of the state's fire code, and gave the build- ing's owner, Friends of Ot- well Elementary, Ltd., until Thursday, Oct. 5, to resolve them. According to an email from the IDHS Office of Public A ffairs dated Tues- day, Oct. 10, an unnamed code official with the IDHS Division of Fire and Safety conducted an inspection of Otwell Miller Academy on Thursday, Oct. 5. "The code official found that five outstanding viola- tions from the September 6 inspection were resolved," the email stated. "Due to extenuating circumstanc- es, Otwell Miller Academy was given a two-week exten- sion in order to finish resolv- ing the seven remaining vi- olations." "In the event that the re- maining violations have not been resolved by October 19, IDHS will then seek le- gal means to obtain compli- ance," the email concluded. According to a separate email from the IDHS Office of Public A ffairs dated Oct. 10, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security has "broad" authority to execute different types of actions in order to obtain compliance. "This may include fines, building closure orders or other sanctions as the agen- cy sees fit," the email states. According to Friends of Otwell Elementary, Ltd., president Bob Rhodes, the seven fire code violations that remained unresolved as of the Oct. 5 inspection were: • Vertical grab bars have not been added in accessible bathrooms. • Rear and side wall hor- izontal grab bars have not been added in accessible bathrooms. • Fire alarm acceptance testing showed lack of re- quired duct detectors due to incomplete HVAC make- up air installation. • Bathroom sinks drain pipes have not been insulat- ed/covered. • Bathroom in common office area is not accessible. •Current means of egress does not lead to a public ar- ea. •Current means of egress to public way is loose dirt and gravel. On Tuesday, Oct. 24, a follow-up inspection was conducted by an unnamed code official, according to an email from the IDHS Of- fice of Public A ffairs. "At this inspection, the code official found that the seven remaining violations from the October 5 inspec- tion had not yet been re- solved," the email stated. "The process of escalat- ing an issue to begin en- forcement is extremely in- volved and can have ma- ny steps," the email contin- ued. "The course of action taken is often different de- pending on each individu- al case. IDHS staff mem- bers are currently working to determine next steps for resolution." Otwell Miller Academy students, after starting the school year on Monday, Aug. 14 at two Otwell churches, began attending classes in the new building – located at 9958 East County Road 150 North – on Wednesday, Aug. 30. Several arrested for DUI in separate incidents METH BUST Continued from page 1 of paraphernalia and posses- sion of marijuana. His passenger, Shaun Bellerson, 35, of Manches- ter, Ky., was arrested on charges of possession of meth, possession of a sy- ringe, possession of para- phernalia and possession of marijuana. Indiana State Trooper Hunter Manning said he saw Lear driving a Chevro- let truck north on I-69 at 84 mph near the 39 -mile mark- er. He stopped Lear at the 40.5 mile marker. According to Trooper Manning's report, Lear said they were running late for work in Henderson. When Manning said they were go- ing the wrong way, Lear ar- gued with him. Lear failed field sobri- ety tests and a K-9 unit was brought in and it indicated drugs were present. During a search of the vehicle, po- lice located a pouch on the back of the front passen- ger seat where they found a green leafy substance in a metal tin. They found anoth- er container with duct tape around it. It contained two syringes and a broken part of a spoon with residue on it. They also located a small, plastic, orange organizer with a transparent lid. It al- so had residue and plastic bags in it. This was found be- hind the driver's seat. Troop- er Manning said the residue tested positive for metham- phetamine. Both were taken into cus- tody at about 10 :30 a.m. Pike County Soil and Water Conservation District Newsletter Planter Planter INSIDE THIS EDTION See Page A-10 Petersburg Fall clean-up Petersburg worker Darin Cook and Alan Tegmeyer throw large items in a dumpster Saturday morning. Petersburg Clerk-Treasurer Tammy Selby said they collected 50 loads of trash on Friday and by 10:30 a.m. Saturday, about 20 loads, despite the cold rainy weather.