The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/931535
C-10 Wednesday, Januar y 24, 2018 The Press-Dispatch EAST GIBSON NEWS Submit school news: Email: egnews@ pressdispatch.net Deadline: Noon on Friday MAKE UP DAYS In order to make up the five (5) days of missed school, due to the recent winter weather, our schools will be in session on the fol- lowing dates: Friday, Feb- ruary 16; Monday, April 2; Wednesday, May 23; Thurs- day, May 24; Friday, May 25. The second semester is now scheduled to end on May 25. 2018 HOMECOMING POSTPONED In order to ensure that time is efficient to allow for the proper planning and ex- ecution of our 2018 Home- coming event a decision has been made to postpone and reschedule the festivities. This winter's homecoming has been moved to and will take place at 6:00pm on Jan- uary 31, 2018, when Wood Memorial plays Washing- ton Catholic in a varsity on- ly contest. JUNIOR HIGH SPIRIT CLUB Through the collaborative efforts of Ms. Leslie Leiber- ing, Ms. Mariah Poteet, and Ms. Nicole Seitz, a new ju- nior high spirit club is being launched. A total of 40 stu- dents have signed up to join the club, with a focus on pro- viding awareness to the suc- cesses being experienced at WMJHS. Students will fur- ther work to build a positive environment, with Trojan school spirit at the founda- tion of day-to-day activities. WM INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES Internship opportunities are available for Wood Me- morial sophomore and ju- nior students through the Conexus Advanced Manu- facturing program launched last fall. Individuals may earn more than $2,000 during the six (6) week in- ternship. For more informa- tion contact the Wood Me- morial High School Student Services (Counseling) of- fice. CONGRATS STEVE KILIAN Congratulations to Wood Memorial High School Ath- letic Director Steve Kilian for being named District III Athletic Administrator of the Year by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Associ- ation. The honor is well de- served. Mr. Kilian will be honored during the IBCA's annual spring clinic on April 20, 2018, in Indianapolis. WM BREAKFAST CLUB Mr. Messmer is planning to launch the "Wood Memo- rial Breakfast Club" in the near future. The club will meet twice a week, on Tues- day and Thursday morn- ings, from 6:30 a.m. – 7:30 a.m. in the weight barn. The focus will be on providing a structured strength and fit- ness training club for those who want to better them- selves physically. No pri- or athletic experience is re- quired, as Mr. Messmer will be providing proper form and safety instruction to those participating. Information is being sent home through the respec- tive student. Parent approv- als and signatures are re- quired in order for a student to take part in this healthy opportunity. Please contact Mr. Mess- mer with questions and in- formation needs. OPEN OFFICE SESSIONS Once again this year, I will be utilizing a collab- orative opportunity for all members – students, staff, parents, guardians, and community members – of the Wood Memorial School Community. With this said, I believe to be most effective with the de- velopment and growth of our students it is impera- tive that every stakeholder of Wood Memorial have an opportunity to collaborate and provide input in any area/aspect of interest in- volving our school(s) they may have. Thus, I will con- duct monthly "Open Of- fice" sessions, focused on providing time for such col- laboration to occur. I encourage you to come meet anytime to review items of interest you may have. You may schedule a meeting by calling 812- 749 -4757 and requesting a time. In keeping with the theme of collaboration and communication, I want to invite Wood Memori- al stakeholders to follow the happenings at the ju- nior high and high school by joining us on twitter at WMTrojans1. Wood Memorial UPCOMING SPORTS SCHEDULE GIRLS' VARSITY BASKETBALL Jan. 23 Northeast Dubois away 5:30 p.m. Jan. 25 North Daviess JR/SR away 5:30 p.m. BOYS' VARSITY BASKETBALL Jan. 26 Tell City away 5:30 Jan. 27 Northeast Dubois home 5:30 Feb. 1 Vincennes Rivet JR/SR home 5:30 p.m. Feb. 6 Forest Park JR/SR home 5:30 p.m. Feb. 9 Southridge away 5:30 p.m. Feb. 13 Evansville North away 5:30 Feb. 16 Gibson Southern away 5:30 Feb. 17 North Knox away 5:30 p.m. Feb. 22 South Knox home 5:30 p.m. CALENDAR Wednesday, Jan. 17 Wednesday, January 24 Science Academic Bowl Team Meeting, 11:31 a.m. HS Student Council Meeting, 12:13 p.m. WMJHS Spirit Club Meeting, 3:15 p.m. Boys "C" Basketball at Boonville, 5:30 p.m. Thursday, January 25 Prom Committee Meeting, 7:30 a.m. Fine Arts Academic Team Meeting, 11:31 a.m. 8th Grade Commitment to Graduate, 12:01 p.m. Bass Fishing Team Meeting, WMHS Library, 3:30 p.m. Boys JHS Basketball vs. Washington Catholic, 5:30 p.m. Girls JHS Basketball at Loogootee, 5:30 p.m. Girls Basketball at Gibson Southern, 5:30 p.m. Friday, January 26 Boys Basketball at Tell City, 5:30 p.m. Saturday, January 27 ISSMS Vocal Solo and Ensemble, Evansville, 8:30 a.m. Boys Basketball vs. Northeast Dubois, 5:30 p.m. ADDITIONAL DATE OF NOTE ISTAR, Grades 3 – 8, 10, EL A/Math/Science/So- cial Studies, Jan. 15 – Feb. 16 National Assessment of Educational Progress, Grades 4 and 8, Digital Based, Math, Reading, Writ- ing, US History, Civics and Geography, Jan. 29 – Mar. 9 HS Student Council Meeting, Jan. 24 Prom Committee Meeting, Jan. 25 8th Grade Commitment to Graduate – Jostens, Jan. 25 Instrumental / Vocal Recita,l Jan. 25 Winter Homecoming, Jan. 27 A&P Health Occupations Field Trip, Feb. 1 Winter ADM Count Due, Feb. 1 Prom Committee Meeting, Feb. 1 Student Advisory Council Meeting, Feb. 1 Environmental/Biology Field Trip, Feb. 1 Staff PLC Session, Feb. 2 Girls JHS Blue Chip Tournament, Feb. 3 Principal Open Office Hours, Feb. 6 HS Student Council Meeting, Feb. 7 Prom Committee Meeting, Feb. 8 Red Cross Blood Drive, Feb. 23 ISTEP Part 1, Feb. 26 – Mar. 9, JHS Renaissance Day, Mar. 23 TROJANS VS. SHOALS 01/22/18 Shoals R. Hawkins 1 3-0 2 2 M. Fischer 4 0 -0 3 8 K. Tichenor 6 3-2 4 14 K. Sorrells 0 0 -0 2 0 J. Sukup 2 1-0 1 5 JD Troutman 0 0 -0 1 0 R. Sherrill 0 0 -0 3 0 D. Roush 0 0 -0 2 0 TOTAL S 13 7-2 18 29 3 Point FG's-1 (Sukup 1) Wood Memorial Lathan Falls 4 6 -3 3 12 Harden Hunter 0 0 -0 1 0 Remington Wilkison 2 0 -0 2 5 Cameron Savlman 1 0 -0 3 3 Paxon Bartley 7 6 -3 0 18 Walker Nurrenbern 2 3-0 3 4 Logan Keeker 0 2-2 0 2 TOTAL S 16 17-8 12 44 3 Point FG's-4 (Falls 1, Wilkison 1, Savlman 1 and Bartley 1) SCORES BY QUARTERS Shoals 9 0 15 5 29 Wood Memorial 9 8 17 10 44 County nears $100k on zoning plans By Janice Barniak In December, South Gib- son Commissioner Gerald Bledsoe asked for a running tally on zoning costs to be presented at Gibson County Commissioners' meetings, and Tuesday, Auditor Sher- ri Smith gave the first total, saying $ 94,858.19 from ED- IT and county general funds have been paid toward expert attor- ney fees to explore adopting county zoning. Cecil "Bob" Allen stood to address commissioners after the total was an- nounced. He wanted commissioners to note that was only the total for the time of KDDK attorney services, not any time associated with the county's at- torney-of-choice Jim McDonald, who has also attended meetings and as- sisted with zoning. He contended that once those fees were included, the to- tal would easily top $100,000. "How much money are we going to pour down this rat hole before we call it quits? " Allen asked. He added that the planning commission had assured the public at the last meeting that they would not hurry the zoning process, and would take "as long as it takes." "I can see the county having a quar- ter million in this project if they keep going on," Allen said. (In context, the planning commis- sion was responding at the end of the Jan. 3 meeting to accusations they were trying to rush the zoning pro- cess, keep it secret or adopt it quickly before the end of the year. The com- mittee said they were committed to the process and would spend "as long as it takes" to come to an agreement on how to move forward.) Commissioner Alan Douglas said that the decision to halt the zoning talks wouldn't be up to the commis- sioners. "I assure you...I have been listen- ing and taking notes. I am remaining totally neutral on this," Douglas said. "Do I like spending the money? No... but I can see the positives and nega- tives in this." Allen told commissioners that the meetings had far more public in- put against zoning than for; he also believed there were other good us- es for the money spent in exploring the issue. "You could pull the plug anytime you want to...when you control the money, you control the plug," he told the commissioners. "People said we were hurrying this thing through. Of course, we haven't. That's why there's the higher cost," said Commis- sioner Stephen Bottoms. "Does it cost more for people to have their say? It does." Bottoms added he does not believe most people are against zoning, on- ly that people with a dissenting opin- ion are more likely to show up for the meetings. McDonald said that at the next meeting, the planning commission in- tended to take the comments they'd heard so far, condense them to key issues and begin the process of re- sponse. Planning committee member Mike Stilwell was in the audience of the com- missioners' meeting and said planning commission members were waiting on a re-draft of the zoning ordinance that would reflect changes made so far in response to public comment. The next planning committee meet- ing is 6:30 p.m., Jan. 24 at the Toyota Events Center at the fairgrounds. Does it cost more for people to have their say? It does." Commissioner Stephen Bottoms How much money are we going to pour down this rathole before we call it quits?" Cecil "Bob" Allen ISP teaches how to survive active shooters By Janice Barniak Indiana State Police trained a full house of Gib- son County residents in ac- tive shooter response Fri- day at Oakland City Public Library. Public Information Officer Todd Ringle told participants that between 2000 and 2016, there were more than 200 ac- tive shooter events. While the most televised are at schools, he warned that many more occur in commerce areas, workplaces and open air are- as. Eastland Mall, for exam- ple, would be a higher likeli- hood target to a shooter sta- tistically. The shooters can typical- ly be split into two groups; terrorists who look to make a change the way people live and bring fear into their lives, and shooters who want to "even the score" for per- ceived injustices, for exam- ple, at their workplace. Both are looking to kill as many people as possible, and are likely aware the sce- nario, for them, ends in su- icide or a death by police shooting. Both look for soft targets, large groups of peo- ple who are easy to shoot. Most attacks typically oc- cur in a five-minute window. The typical shooter is not a bully, as some might think, but rather a person who has been bullied day in and out. In a job situation, this would be a person who puts up with insult day after day, and has been denied re- course through, for example, human resources. The person generally be- gins fantasizing about get- ting even, mentally planning the attack, first without true intention. Later, the person starts gathering weapons, perhaps borrowing, stealing or buying an arsenal. According to Ringle, there is a breadcrumb trail for in- vestigators to follow, and there are points where the person could be stopped. Typically, there's a friend or two who say the person make comments to them, but they didn't take the potential shooter seriously. "If you don't say some- thing, you're part of the prob- lem," Ringle said. If the person is younger, in- vestigators normally find that a tour of their room shows ev- idence of the crime leading up to the event—like hit lists or diagrams. "It's mind-boggling how many parents never go inside their kids' rooms," he said. He outlined an action plan for participants to help them- selves and others survive an active shooter situation. Public Information Officer Todd Ringle leads a talk on Friday to prepare locals in the event of an active shooter. Visitors and Tourism welcomes new members By Janice Barniak Gibson County Visitors and Tourism Board accepted new members Nancy Gehlhausen and Greg Wright to the board Thursday, along with reelecting officers. A nature enthusiast, Gehlhausen re- places former member Mary Francis, and was recommended to the post after two years on the Hopkins Park Board and serving the Patoka Wildlife Refuge. Greg Wright was appointed by the mayor of Princeton, and is a city coun- cil member and the unofficial city histo- rian for Princeton. Alan Douglas will serve another term as president of the board with Stanley Madison as vice-president. Jeff Cook returns as treasurer, and Fort Branch's Candy Yancey was voted to the secre- tary post. When asked to serve, Yancey, the suc- cessful restauranteur behind R'z Cafe and Catering, joked about qualifying for the post. "Does the secretary have to be super organized? Because I don't know..." she trailed off as attendees laughed. While Director Eric Heidenreich takes care of meeting minutes, the post does give Yancey a position on the exec- utive board of the organization. Tourism collections, generated by ho- tel bookings, were down 11.6 percent for 2017; however, Heidenreich, marketing manager Paula French, and social me- dia specialist Kelly Scott are working to generate tourism in 2018. French and Heidenreich promoted Gibson County as a bridal destination at a recent bridal and prom show, espe- cially touting the Toyota Events Center at the fairground as a wedding venue— already Charlie Woodruff, from the fair- grounds, has reported a wedding book- ing for 2018. While the Visitors and Tourism Face- book page is updated regularly, Scott re- ported a drop off since Christmas. TMMI's Barry Roberts told the board that the Toyota Visitor's Center will soon welcome its 100,000th visitor as it nears its eighth anniversary Feb. 7. "We had some folks in this week from Wisconsin. You wonder what brought them down. I said, 'I'll bet it's cold in Wisconsin,' and he said it's colder here," Roberts shared. As February is Black History Month, Madison is looking at increased traffic for local historical site Lyles Station. Madison also plans to speak to Indiana judges in Indianapolis this month, even as the site works with three universities for programming. Woodruff reported the Gibson County Fairgrounds is prepping for the first of three gun shows this year, even as booth renovation races toward completion to be done in time for the fair. "We seem like we just make it in time," he said of past construction at the fairgrounds. Wright provided an update on ef- forts to bring a YMCA to Gibson Coun- ty. While he could not yet release any names, he said it looked like fundraisers were close to their goal as far as fund- ing the YMCA study if a big local organ- ization that's discussed donation decid- ed to give. According Gibson County Chamber of Commerce member Jim Stephens, lo- cals are brainstorming how to expand the Golden Heritage Days festival; ide- as include a BBQ cookoff. The next Visitor's and Tourism meet- ing is set for 8 a.m. Feb. 15 at the Prince- ton Train Depot. See SHOOTER on 12