The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/917847
A-2 Front Wednesday, December 20, 2017 The Press-Dispatch We're not afraid to shed some light on the truth. 812-354-8500 SUBSCRIBE TODAY! SCHOOL Continued from page 1 COUNCIL Continued from page 1 the Fitness Center HOURS: Mon-Thurs: 10am-7pm, Fri: 10am-6pm Saturday: 10am-1pm ( 812 ) 354-1303 604 East Illinois St., Petersburg (near the Little League Park) 1-YR MEMBERSHIP SPECIALS • SINGLE - Reg. $275, NOW $230 • STUDENT/SENIOR - Reg. $225, NOW $180 • HUSBAND/WIFE - Reg. $460, NOW $405 • FAMILY - Reg. $635, NOW $520 TANNING SPECIAL 2 MONTHS TANNING ANY BED... PLUS GET A FREE BOTTLE OF MOISTURIZER! $ 60 ONLY.. Reg. $87 Gi certificates are available and make a great gi! Merry Christmas from e Zone! CHRISTMAS SAVINGS SPECIAL Get strong, live long. JOIN DEC. 14 – DEC. 31 AND SAVE! Open Christmas Eve 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. • Beginning Tuesday, Dec. 26 • Marge's Shop 716 Main St. 812-354-9372 Petersburg Mon.-Thurs. 9-5; Fri. 9-6; Sat. 9-5 "When you care enough to send the very best" SALE After-Christmas HALF PRICE All Christmas Gi Wrap & Accessories Boxed Christmas Cards Select Holiday & Everyday Items 40-75% Off Keepsake Ornaments RAPE Continued from page 1 put their clothes back on and Woods kept telling her he was sorry. According to the affidavit, she said they were friends and she tried to make him feel better by saying he didn't make her have sex with him. "But she knew in her head she had been raped." While police were inter- viewing the woman, a sec- ond woman, who is a cous- in to the claimed victim, called police and told them her cousin had contacted her and said she had been raped. The caller then came to the Sheriff's Department and told them about her cousin, who police were in- terviewing at the time. The caller, during her interview, claimed Woods had raped her years earlier, when she was 14, according to proba- ble cause affidavit. Police later contacted Woods and interviewed him. According to the affidavit, Woods originally told police he picked up the woman and they went to the wash plant, where they sat and talked for about 30 minutes and then he took her home. He said after he dropped her off, he started getting text mes- sages from her saying she couldn't see him anymore. According to the affidavit, when police asked Woods about having sex with the woman, he said she had text- ed him the day before say- ing she was "horny." He al- so claimed, "She didn't show any sign she didn't want to and she didn't tell me no, she didn't tell me to stop." However, later in the in- terview according to the af- fidavit Woods admitted "she said she didn't want to have sex" and he pressured her into sex. Following the interview, Woods was taken into cus- tody on a charge of rape, a Level 3 felony, punishable by three to 16 years in pris- on and up to a $10,000 fine. By Andy Heuring It was a wild and wool- ly weekend on the roads. Three people were arrest- ed for drunken driving; one crashed into a house, one into a cow fence and a third was arrested while driving away from her residence af- ter a domestic dispute was reported. Sunday night, police ar- rested a rural Petersburg man after he crashed a truck into the side of a house at 4647 N. Alford Locust St., Petersburg. Luke McGiffen, 33, of 4712 N. CR 575 E., Peters- burg, was arrested on pre- liminary charges of oper- ating a vehicle while intox- icated, leaving the scene of a property damage accident and resisting law enforce- ment. Pike County Sheriff's Sgt. Dallas Killian said he responded to the report of a truck crashing into the side of a house at 8:18 p.m. Sun- day. Killian and Petersburg Police Cpl. Jared Simmons arrived and talked to the homeowner, who told them the driver had run away from the scene toward the back of the house. He said when he shined a flashlight in that direction, they saw a man jumping a fence. Sgt. Killian pursued the man, who eventually circled back toward Cpl. Simmons, who tackled the fleeing per- son, which turned out to be McGiffen. McGiffen failed field so- briety tests and was taken to the Pike County Jail, where he tested 0.2 for blood alco- hol content. The legal limit in Indiana is 0.08 percent. Late last Tuesday night, a rural Petersburg man was arrested after he crashed his wife's car into a cattle fence along Winslow-Cato Road. Kyle Michael Smith, 36, of 410 E. SR 356, Petersburg, was arrested after police re- sponded to a report of black 1996 Chevrolet wedged be- tween a tree and fence pole. Pike County Deputy Sher- iff Buck Seger said the crash had damaged a fence near Greg and Lisa Poehlein's residence and allowed cat- tle to get out. Deputy Seger said the ve- hicle had a pair of broken eyeglasses laying on the driver's side floor. He al- so said the windshield was broken and appeared to have been impacted by the driv- er's head. While he was investigat- ing the accident scene, he received information that a man was walking north on Cato-Algiers Road. Police were unable to lo- cated the man, but a motor- ist told police he had picked up Smith and given him a ride to his mother's resi- dence. Pike County Deputy Paul Collier went to the residence of Tonya Gladish, who is Smith's mother. She told po- lice she hadn't seen him and they would have to get war- rant to search for him. According to Deputy Seger's report, while police were obtaining a search warrant, they heard a "loud thump." Police then went be- hind the residence and, us- ing a flashlight, noticed a man crouched on an elevat- ed deck. Deputy Mike Willis then entered the residence and went to the elevated deck and took Smith into custody. According to Deputy Seger's report, Smith told police he and his wife got in- to an argument, so he went to his mother's residence. Police also talked with Smith's wife. She told him Kyle had come there and wanted her to drive him to Winslow, but because it was late and she had a small child, she didn't want to the leave the house. She said later he re- turned and said he needed to call police because he had wrecked her car. A third drunken driving arrest occurred after police were called to a domestic battery report. On Friday night, a Hunt- ingburg woman was arrest- ed for drunken driving after police were called to a report of domestic violence in the White Oak community. Viana Michelle Volz, 39, of Huntingburg, was arrested on a preliminary charge of drunken driving. Deputy Seger said he was dispatched to Rick Boyd's residence at 2071 S. CR 650 E., Winslow, after a re- port from a woman that her mother had called her and said someone was trying to hurt her. Seger said while he was trying to locate Boyd's res- idence, he heard shouting from the bottom of the drive- way. Then as they arrived at the driveway, they noticed a vehicle leaving. It was driven by Volz, who stopped to talk with officers. Deputy Seger said he asked her about her well-be- ing and if there was anyone fighting. She said no one was fighting. He asked her to not leave while he talked to the residents of the house. Seger said while talking to Volz, he noticed the odor of alcohol. Volz said there was no do- mestic violence. Volz failed field sobriety tests, had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. She refused a breath test repeatedly and was taken in- to custody on a charge of op- erating a vehicle while intox- icated, (refusal). Three arrested for DUI in separate incidents bly needs to be tweaked a little," Mayor Klipsch told councilmen after talking to the Planning Commission and the Economic Develop- ment Council. He said it was recom- mended the council put in a definition of what a gas sta- tion shall not have. Those items included: showers, overnight parking and truck scales. Melhiser asked, "Is this a new ordinance or an amend- ment? " "It is a new ordinance amending the planning or- dinance," explained City At- torney Brian Mahoney. "We will eliminate a lot of problems with that," said Councilman Gary Leavitt. In other business, Fire Chief Ross Elmore said the new fire station has helped with recruiting. He said they added three new members on Monday and have plans to add a few others from the IPL crew in the future. Elmore also said the fire department is in the process of drawing up specifications for a new tanker truck. Elmore, who is also City Services Manager, said he is concerned about the wa- ter meter transponders. He said they are expected to have a 10 -to-14-year life. "They are now 12 to 13 years old. My fear is the next time Bob (who reads the meters) comes back, it might 75 that don't work instead just a cou- ple," said Elmore. He suggested the city get started on replacing all or at least a portion of them right away. Mayor Klipsch also an- nounced a delegation from the Japan External Trade Organization Chicago would be visiting Petersburg on Thursday, December 21 to visit with Petersburg and Pike County officials, and tour the I-69 development area, including the certified shovel ready site and mega sites, and discuss future de- velopment potential. The next Petersburg council meeting will be moved from their normal meeting days because of the holidays. They typical- ly meet the first and third Mondays at 6:30 p.m. How- ever, those dates are New Year's Day and Martin Lu- ther King Day. So the first meeting will be on Wednes- day, January 3 and the sec- ond meeting will be Tues- day, January 16. Gospel Center Church carolers A group of well wishers and carolers from the Petersburg Gospel Center Church used their voices to lift spirits and help with the Christmas season activities at Amber Manor and Golden Living Center this past Saturday evening. Singers from left to right are: Grace Fretwell, Angie Fettinger, Anne Uppencamp, Lar- ry Fettinger, Wendy Uppencamp, Bobby Uppencamp, Cathy Sachs, Jude Fretwell, Pastor Rodney Fretwell and Dale Messer. Also with the group were Sharon Fretwell and children, Mercy and Eden. ing starting in January 2018. "The Learning Center will provide an opportunity for students in grades 9 -12 who are unable to attend a tradi- tional school setting to com- plete the necessary course work for a diploma," the no- tice states. "The majority of the courses at the Learn- ing Center will be offered through the PL ATO online format. Additional online courses may also be used, if approved. Students attending the Learning Center will be in a separate classroom from the students in the ATS pro- gram. Initial staff to be hired includes one certified teach- er and one instructional assis- tant. Additional staff will be hired as needed to maintain a 1:20 ratio or below." In addition, the notice states that, beginning in Au- gust 2018, the building will be used for Career and Techni- cal Education (CTE) classes. "The Pike County School Corporation is a member of the Patoka Valley CTE Coop- erative which serves school districts in Pike County, Du- bois County and eastern Gib- son County," the notice states. "The Patoka Valley Board of Directors approved the ad- dition of two new programs for 2018 -2019: Fire and Res- cue and Emergency Medical Services. Both programs are eligible for dual credit with Vincennes University. Addi- tional CTE programs are be- ing considered by the district with strong consideration giv- en to local businesses and in- dustry needs. Each program will begin as a part-time pro- gram, allowing for program growth and expansion. In- structor expense will be sup- ported by CTE funding." High School Principal Bri- an Holland told the school board that additional CTE classes could include culi- nary arts, computer science and diesel mechanics. Holland added that plans for the school building also included offering adult edu- cation courses. Board member Chris McK- inney asked Holland if he had a timeline for the adult educa- tion phase of the project. "Once we get the word out that we are looking at starting this, I think the response is going to help determine how quickly we can start looking at getting that rolling," Hol- land said. "I'm guessing at least a year away." Blake told the school board that the ATS and alternative education programs would be located in classrooms in the newest addition to the building, on the south end, in Rooms A111 and A112. When McKinney ques- tioned how that portion of the building will be heated and/ or cooled, Blake said that the school corporation's former director of maintenance, Ross Elmore, informed her that, that portion of the building is on a separate heating and cooling system. Board member Steve Pot- ter subsequently asked the school corporation's current Director of Support Services, Todd Harker, to confirm what Elmore had told Blake. Blake said that she was asking the school board to al- low her to notify the IDOE of the corporation's intent to re- claim the building as of Jan. 3. "I can hold it until we get feedback or confirmation from Todd and Ross and send it after that if you approve it, or we can wait until the Jan- uary meeting, but that's Jan. 9," Blake said. "I make a motion we move forward with it now," Sharp said. "This is something that we've talked about doing off and on, and here we are going to start dragging our feet." Board president David Waltz seconded Sharp's mo- tion, which was approved by a 3-1 vote, with McKinney cast- ing the lone dissenting vote. Blake submitted the No- tice of Intent to Reclaim to the IDOE on Tuesday, Dec. 19, and received the following response from IDOE staff at- torney Andrew Bernlohr: "Thank you for the email and your Intent to Reclaim form. Effective January 3, 2018, we will show that PC- SC has reclaimed the Otwell Elementary building and will remove it from the Unused Building List."