The Press-Dispatch
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Three sections 30 pages Five inserts Wednesday, November 14, 2012 Volume 144 Number 46 Phone (812) 354-8500 Petersburg, IN 47567-0068 75ยข (USPS 604-340) Couple arrested after October death of infant rested on charges of neglect of a dependent resulting in injury, a class C felony, after an investigation of an infant's death on Octo- ber 11, 2012. Amanda D. McLain, 23, of 4492 E. A Petersburg man and woman were ar- By Andy Heuring SR356, Petersburg and her husband, Wes- ley Scott McLain, 21, of the same address were both arrested at 7:10 p.m. Thursday, November 8 on warrants by Indiana State Trooper John Davis. Amanda was arrested on preliminary charges of neglect of a dependent resulting death, a class C felony; neglect of a depen- dent, a class D felony; possession of a con- trolled substance, a class D felony; main- taining a common nuisance, a class D fel- ony and false informing, a class B misde- meanor. Wesley was arrested on charges of ne- coming Ford Taurus. Nancy Jones, 48, of Monroe City was partially ejected from the other vehicle and died from in- juries in the wreck Tuesday afternoon. Emergency personnel work to free Aaron Craig from the vehicle he was driving when it collided head-on with an on- Two killed in separate Hwy 57 accidents Tuesday when a Chevrolet Tracker and Ford Taurus crashed head-on just south of CR125S (Oatsville Road). cidents on Highway 57, about a half-mile apart on Saturday and Tuesday. A Monroe City woman was killed on By Andy Heuring and Andrea Preston Two people were killed in separate ac- 53, of Monroe City died of injuries suffered in the crash. The accident investigated by State Troop- Indiana State Police said Nancy Jones, er Bob Helfrich happened at about 2 p.m. According to a news release, Aaron Craig, 28, of Huntingburg was driving north on Highway 57 in a 2002 Tracker when he attempted to turn left into Tim's Auction House just south of CR125S. Kathleen Blackgrave, 57, was driving south on 57. They collided, and witnesses said the Ford Taurus's rear wheel came off the ground, with the car being near vertical on the front end, before it spun around and came to rest Continued on page 5 glect of a dependent resulting in injury, a class C felony, neglect of dependent, a class D felony and maintaining a common nui- sance. According to a probable cause affidavit, police were called to the residence after EMS reported the death of an infant. The affidavit said the child was unresponsive, not breathing and had no heart rate when EMTs arrived. The affidavit said Amanda originally told investigators she had placed the baby in a "pack-n-play" bed and gone to sleep in an adult bed. Later, during a second interview, she told police she had put the child in the adult bed with her and went to sleep. When she awoke, the baby was not breathing, he was cold, and his arms and legs were stiff. Continued on page 2 School to seek loan for cash flow woes is going to have to borrow more than $3.6 million dollars to keep its finances current pending the payment of property taxes to the corporation after they are collected. The Pike County School Corporation The Pike County School Corporation By Mike Johansen Board of Education approved the motion to advertise for bids to borrow $3,682,000 for the capital projects budget and the transportation budget at its monthly meet- ing Monday night. They will repay that money, plus interest, once they receive the property taxes from the Pike County get mixed grade report from IDE County schools grades for the Indiana Department of Edu- cation ranging from As to a D in the recent- ly-released accountability grades for pub- lic schools. However, two of the five schools improved their grades by two letters, while one school jumped a single letter. Pike Central High School and Otwell Ele- Pike County's schools got varying grades were harder to obtain this year. The percentage of schools earning an "A" dropped from 47 percent to 41 percent, while F's rose from five to seven percent. About 29 percent of Indiana schools saw their grades fall at least one letter grade. Most Indiana schools, 43 percent, saw their grades remain the same as last year. In Pike County, 60 percent of the schools mentary received an "A" grade, Petersburg Elementary School was given a "B" grade, Pike Central Middle School earned a "C" grade, and Winslow Elementary a grade of "D." Pike County School officials said top Treasurer. This will be the third year in a row they have to borrow money to meet the budget while waiting for the tax draw to be paid to the school corporation from property taxes on Pike County property. The amount is based on the estimated property taxes the school corporation will receive. This does not affect the general fund $50,000 and $60,000. The school corporation does not have an alternative to borrowing the money it needs. The transportation fund is the most important because it deals with the opera- tion of the school buses and fuel costs. They will advertise for bids this week because that money comes in from the state through a statewide special tax. It is for transportation and the capital projects budget. They had to borrow last year as well and the interest costs were between and next and receive bids on Monday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. They will be brought before the board for a decision on whether or not to borrow the money and how much at that time. They will likely have to borrow the full amount to meet the budget demands. Newly elected Board of Education members Nathan Harker and Chris McKinney were at the meeting. Harker replaces Ryan Edrington and McKinney replaces Debbie Lemond on Jan. 1. They did not vote on any matters and were at the meeting to learn about the school board and become current with issues facing the board. The board also approved a price in- crease for having children in the Pam- pered Chargers Day Care operation. Su- perintendent Suzanne Blake said that day care was to operate on its own funds and Continued on page 3 were rated a "B" or above, 20 percent a "C", and 20 percent a "D." This distribution of grades was similar to other schools across Indiana. Pike County School Corporation super- intendent Suzanne Blake noted the new grading system has brought an addition- al challenge to Hoosier schools. "In theo- ry, assigning letter grades for school per- formance seems appropriate and straight- forward. Under the former rating scale, the primary emphasis was on passing the test. The new model incorporates additional fac- tors, but makes the calculation of the grade more complex." She added, "The administrative team will be reviewing the results and implementing an action plan which focuses on the areas of concern while continuing to build on the strengths within each school. Four out of five Pike County schools re- ceived grades at least as good as they re- ceived in 2011. Pike Central High School went from probationary status two years ago, to a "C" last year, to an "A" grade this year. Pike Central Middle School gained Continued on page 2 WHAT'S INSIDE: PUBLISHING PIKE Local ........A1-10 Obituaries ......A3 Sports ........B1-4 Taps at the Winslow Elementary School. The VFW squad conducted ceremonies at all the elementary schools on Friday morning. (See related pictures on page A-4. Roger Brittain and Jim White salute while the VFW Post 3587 honor guard fires a 21-gun salute, followed by Veterans honored throughout county sored a Veterans benefit hog roast din- ner, followed by an MIA/POW ceremo- ny with key note speaker and plaque pre- sentation this Saturday. First Sergeant Ray Stillwell, intro- Winslow Community Churches spon- By James Capozella their families. Henderson also ended the evening with a large plaque presentation to Minuard Beadles and Stanley Nelson. Veterans attending the event decided duced to the Winslow Community Cen- ter crowd by emcee Terry Beadles, spoke on his service in the U.S. Air Force as aide to Lyndon B. Johnson. Roy Henderson told those in atten- dance about the MIA/POW memorial ta- ble, explaining the significance of each item displayed before the veterans and the plaque should be dedicated to the lon- gest-living veteran in attendance and al- so the POW held longest. Beadles is a World War II veteran of the U.S. Army Air Corp and Nelson is a purple heart re- cipient, former POW and U.S. Army vet- eran of the Korean War. Beadles served in Greenland at a night with a large brass and walnut First Place Trophies Plaque. Nelson is to have the plaque placed in the Pike County Bar- rett Memorial Library. It may then be ro- tated to the Pike County Court House. The inscription includes emblems of the five service branches, and honors all who served during war time and peace time. Many Pike County residents assisted Their service was recognized that weather station and Nelson was severely wounded several times in Korea and was saved from dying by a Chinese medic. in getting the hog to the cooker, cook- ing, decorating, preparing the dinner and purchasing memorial items, accord- ing to Terry Beadles. Jim Dickerson se- Continued on page 4 Classifi eds . 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