The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/898366
Local ........ A1-10 History ........... A9 Sports .........B1-4 Classifi eds .... B5-6 Church ........C1-3 School.........C4-5 Home Life....D1-5 Obituaries....... D6 Opinion .......D7-8 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 FELONIES on page 2 See CARTS on page 4 See VETER AN on page 2 See GR ANT on page 8 $ 1 Four sections Six inserts 30 pages Wednesday, November 8, 2017 Volume 148 Number 45 Phone (812) 354-8500 Petersburg, IN 47567-0068 (USPS 604-34012) By James Capozella Fort Branch native Daniel Fullington and his wife, Deborah, were recently approved for a Vet- erans Administration program called Special- ly Adapted Housing (SAH), according to Pike County Veterans Service officer Tom Dooley. The couple recently built their home just off SR 61 S. on County Road 900 S near Spurgeon. Daniel, the son of a World War II Navy veter- an, was born in Tacoma Washington and graduat- ed from Fort Branch High School in 1970 before joining the U.S. Air Force about a month later in June. Dan's draft notice was in the mail but the Air Force recruiter was able to sign him up be- cause of his high test scores. It was Dan's moth- er, Donna (Harvey) Dilbeck, of Fort Branch, who pushed him to make up his mind and join the mil- itary after high school graduation. Dan said she harassed him until he finally decided to join. His mother resided in Fort Branch until just recently when she moved with her sister to Florida, but she passed shortly after that, according to Dan. Following basic training at Lackland AFB, Tex- as, Dan volunteered for a special medical pro- gram at Brooks Air Force Base in Texas, where he was part of a group given Lomotil prior to its development into a popular and well-known pre- scription drug that is still in use today. At the time, the U.S. Air Force was interest- ed in developing a drug to overcome diarrhea for pilots at high altitudes, according to Dan. He and the others in the testing were either given the drug or a placebo and then ran treadmills measuring air intake, flew simulators at high al- titude and spun on a centrifuge at about 3.5 gs. Eventually, they were allowed to run it at a much higher speed. Dan said he went up to 7.6 gs and Fullington part of VA's Special Housing project Coleman-Stewart Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3587 will be presenting their Veterans Day programs on Friday, November 10. The post begins their circuit at the Petersburg Elementary School, followed by the Golden Living Center, Winslow Elemen- tary, a combined program for Ot- well Miller Academy at the Otwell Veterans Memorial, and then Am- ber Manor on Illinois Street. The VFW will visit Petersburg Elementary School at 9 a.m. and then begin their program at the Golden Living Center at 9:45 a.m. The squad then travels to Winslow Elementary School for a 10 :35 a.m. program, followed by a program at the Otwell Veter- ans Memorial at about 11:45 a.m. At that time, the Otwell Miller Academy students will be in at- tendance. A lunch will be provided at the Otwell United Methodist Church in Otwell, followed by a visit to Amber Manor at approximately 1:15 p.m. VETERANS DAY PROGRAM AT PIKE CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL THIS FRIDAY Pike Central High School will be conducting a Veterans Day pro- gram on Friday, Nov. 10 at 9 a.m. in the high school gym. The high school swing choir and the high school band will both be perform- ing. All veterans are welcome to attend. Contact the high school office at 812-354-8478, Ext. 302, with your service information so it can be read at the program. VFW Veterans Day programs are November 10 Mike Houtsch, the former pres- ident of Friends of Otwell Elemen- tary, Ltd., has resigned from the group's board of directors, as well as a member of the Otwell Miller Academy's School Board. Elisabeth Luff, who currently serves as secretary for Friends of Otwell Elementary, Ltd., con- firmed Houtsch's resignation by text message on Sunday, Nov. 3. "He resigned from Friends of Otwell Elementary," Luff wrote. Luff noted that Houtsch was one of three representatives of Friends of Otwell Elementary, Ltd., on the Otwell Miller Acade- my School Board, and that his res- ignation automatically removed him from the school board. "It will be an agenda topic in the next Friends meeting (on Nov. 20)," Luff wrote. Houtsch, contacted by phone by The Press-Dispatch on Sunday, Nov. 3, declined to comment. Houtsch, who was superseded as president by former Friends of Otwell Elementary, Ltd., vice- president Bob Rhodes in August, served as chairman of the Otwell Miller Academy School Board's operations and facilities subcom- mittee. Houtch resigns from Academy posts By Ed Cahill The Petersburg Common Council is expected to be present- ed with a proposed ordinance that would allow golf carts to be used on the city's streets at its next meeting on Monday, Nov. 20. During a meeting held on Mon- day, Nov. 6, Mayor R.C. Klipsch asked council members to help give City Attorney Brian Ma- honey some guidance as to what they would like the proposed or- dinance to include. "There's a few little interesting twists that I thought we would talk about a little bit this evening, so Brian can have some idea how we want this ordinance to appear be- fore we even bring it to a vote," Klipsch said. "And, as you know, when we do present an ordinance, then we have a chance to amend that ordinance through the pro- cess. But, before we ever start, we might as well try to get something that we're comfortable with." By Andy Heuring A Velpen man was arrested on numerous charges, including kidnapping, battery and resisting law enforcement, after a passerby saw a woman yelling for help from a "dirty van" and reported it to police. Seth Joshua Smith, 34, of 8195 E. CR 175 S., Velpen, was arrested on charges of do- mestic battery resulting in serious bodily injury, a level 5 felony; criminal confine- ment, committed by using vehicle, a level 6 felony; resisting law enforcement, a lev- el 6 felony; reckless driving, criminal reck- lessness; and kidnapping while using a ve- hicle, a level 5 felony. Pike County Sheriff's Sgt. Dallas Killian said at about 5 p.m. Sunday, police received a phone call from a passerby who said he saw a woman yelling for help from a "dirty van." The caller also reported he saw the van turn onto a dirt lane off of CR 50 S. in the area of White Oak. Killian went to the dirt lane and noticed fresh tire marks. He parked his car and decided to walk the lane, because it was impassable in his patrol car. A fter he had walked about a quarter of a mile from his patrol car, he heard an engine running. Killian said he walked to the top of a hill to listen and said it sounded like it was com- ing towards him. He then saw a minivan similar to the description coming toward him. Sgt. Killian said the van started brak- ing and sliding, and he yelled for it to stop. Instead, he said as it neared him, the tires turned in his direction and it began to ac- celerate. KIlliam said he was close enough to see a male was driving the van and there was a female passenger. He said as it passed him, the driver looked right at him and he recognized the driver, but couldn't remem- ber his name. Sgt. Killian said he yelled repeatedly for the van to stop, but it drove away from him towards his patrol car that was parked across the dirt lane. Killian, in his report, stated he thought the van was going to hit his patrol car, but instead it went into a cornfield without slow- ing down. A fter going around Killian's pa- Smith charged with kidnapping, battery, four more felonies Daniel and Deborah Fullington recently built a house with assistance from the Vet- erans Administration program for veterans with permanent and total service-connect- ed disabilities. The Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) program provides grant funds to help veterans construct or remodel a barrier-free home. Veterans Service Office photos by Tom Dooley Fire destroys house on CR 900 S. An early Sunday morning, fire destroyed a house on CR 900 S. owned by Linc Oxley. The house was unoccupied at the time and had not been lived in for several months. In- diana State Fire Marshal Assistant Chief Matt Wells is in- vestigating the fire "as a criminal matter right now." Wells said it appears to start on the east side of the house. Spurgeon Fire Chief Donnie Pancake said the fire was reported at about 6:30 a.m. and when firemen arrived, it was fully engulfed. "It was pretty much gone," said Pancake. It was locat- ed at 96 W. County Road 900 S., about a quarter of a mile west of Highway 61. Pancake said Oxley was in the process of cleaning out the house after tenants had moved out several months prior. Patoka and Lockhart Fire Departments assisted with the fire. Crews were on the scene about two and a half hours. Wells said anyone with information about the fire should call the arson hotline at 800-382-4628. City will allow golf carts on side streets Road will improve access to industrial and rail sites By Andy Heuring Pike County Commissioners voted to proceed with an application for a grant to help pay to build CR300N from Highway 61 to Indiana Southern Railroad. They al- so agreed to inquire about acquiring the In- diana Department of Transportation's Pe- tersburg Substation Building. Both actions were taken during their 40 minute meeting Monday morning. Making improvements to CR300N was called vital to improving access to more than 800 acres of land zoned for heavy in- dustrial development. Ashley Willis, Executive Director of the Pike County Economic Development Coun- cil, said they have until November 22 to ap- ply for an 80 -20 grant. She said the estimat- ed cost of the project is $2.75 million, but with the grant Pike County's portion would be about $550,000. She said the hope is to complete the project in the future by extending the im- provements from the railroad tracks west to Highway 57. "We see it as a great oppor- tunity to have a heavy road for (only) 20 percent of the cost," said Willis. "The ulti- mate goal is to connect the two highways." Willis said the first phase of the proj- ect from Highway 61 to the railroad would County seeks grant to improve CR 300N