The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/941742
A-4 Local Wednesday, Februar y 14, 2018 The Press-Dispatch John Bellamy announces candidacy in Sheriff's race John Bellamy has an- nounced his candidacy for the Democrat nomination for Sheriff. Bellamy is a for- mer FBI agent and is cur- rently a homeland security specialist. As a homeland se- curity specialist, he assists counties, cities and states with planning and training to respond to acts of violence and natural disasters. Part of this planning includes the ability to continue to pro- vide essential services to the community in the midst of a catastrophic event, such as an act of violence/terror- ism, cyber intrusion, torna- do, flood, fire, winter storm, earthquake, pandemic in- fluenza epidemic and oth- er events. He also conducts vulnera- bility assessments to identi- fy operational plans and fa- cilities within a community that are vulnerable to these types of events and makes recommendations on how to reduce or eliminate the vul- nerabilities. "I've been blessed to have family, friends, teachers, coaches and mentors who have helped instill within me the values, education and experiences which give me the basis on which to ask for your vote for Sheriff. My father and mother, John and Eleanor 'Boots' Bella- my, raised me and my two sisters to have respect for authority, stand up for what is right and treat other peo- ple the way we would like to be treated. I believe the time is right for me to use my knowledge, skills and experience working with law enforcement, fire res- cue, EMS, emergency man- agement, public health, gov- ernment, schools, private in- dustry and others to protect our children and adults, our critical infrastructure, crit- ical assets/resources, and government services so that we can preserve our way of life for our families," said Bellamy. "The public's trust is not a small thing in my eyes. If elected into office, I will work closely with the com- munity, listen to your con- cerns, and use every means available to protect our fami- lies, property and way of life from all threats – foreign and domestic. I will work side-by-side with elected officials, county employees and local businesses so that the Sheriff's Department and other critical entities within Pike County can con- tinue to operate in the midst of hazardous events which impact our community. We must continually initiate and update our plans and train- ing for likely events, as well as unexpected events; other- wise, the impact to our com- munity could be far worse than it should have been." Bellamy graduated from Pike Central High School and Rose-Hulman Insti- tute of Technology, earn- ing his degree in chemical engineering. He graduated from the FBI Academy sec- ond in his class in academ- ics, which primarily incor- porates the law and legal process. While assigned to the FBI Miami Field Office, he held positions as Haz- ardous Materials Response Team Leader, Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordina- tor and Special Agent Bomb Technician. Bellamy worked on ma- ny high profile cases and special events, such as the search for Andrew Cunan- an, who was wanted for the murder of Gianni Versace; led the planning of security and emergency response for Super Bowl X X XIII; was part of a special response team to protect participants attend- ing the 2001 Presidential In- auguration; led the FBI's re- sponse to the first weapon- ized Anthrax attack in U.S. history in Boca Raton, Fla; and was part of a nationwide team of law enforcement of- ficers investigating the 9/11 attacks against the World Trade Center and Pentagon. He received a 2001 Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) Foundation Award for his investigative work during the Anthrax attack in Bo- ca Raton, Fla. He also has obtained instructor cer- tifications for: (1) law en- forcement response to ac- tive shooters; (2) Civilian Response to Active Shoot- er Events (CR ASE); (3) In- cident Command System (ICS); (4) Homeland Se- curity Exercise and Evalu- ation Program (HSEEP); and has obtained certifica- tions for conducting vulnera- bility assessments and Con- tinuity of Operations Plan- ning (COOP). John Bellamy Is it TIME for your next eye exam? 8–7 . Mon. 8–noon . Tues. 10–7 . Wed. 8–5 . Thur. 8–5 . Fri. Locally Owned and Operated Dr. Clint Shoultz 715 S. 9th Street, Petersburg (812) 354-9400 Pregnant... or think you are? Call:1-877-257-1084 or Locally Call: 1-812-354-2814 • Free pregnancy testing • Free counseling and info. on pregnancy options. • Confi dential counseling for women & men who are suff ering from post-abortion syndrome. • Residential Care • Health and assistance referrals. • Training and education. • Assistance in getting baby and maternity clothes washpcc@sbcglobal.net www.washingtonpregnancycenter.com Adam Scales (812) 354-8488 adam.scales@infarmbureau.com Weyer Electric files notice of intention to hold a mechanic's lien against Friends of Otwell By Ed Cahill A Dubois County electrical con- tractor has filed a notice of intention to hold a mechanic's lien against prop- erty owned by Friends of Otwell, Ltd., after allegedly not being paid more than $ 93,000 for work it performed during the construction of the Otwell Miller Academy building. A sworn statement by Weyer Elec- tric, Ind., president Frederic M. Wey- er –which was filed along with the No- tice of Intention to Hold Mechanic's Lien in the Pike County Recorder's Office on Monday, Jan. 8 – asserts that Friends of Otwell, Ltd., owes the Ferdinand, Ind., company $ 93,695.81 "for labor and electrical and related systems furnished by" Weyer Elec- tric, Inc. According to Indianapolis attorney Mike Einterz, legal counsel for Wey- er Electric, Inc., the original contract between Weyer Electric, Inc., and the Friends of Otwell Elementary, Ltd., was for $102,098. "Then they had changes to it of $12,147.81," Einterz said during a telephone interview on Tuesday, Feb. 13. "And they have paid $20,550 to date, which leaves a balance, which is the lien amount, of $ 93,695.81." Einterz said that he has had no con- tact with Friends of Otwell Elemen- tary, Ltd., legal counsel Elisabeth Luff – or anyone else connected with Friends of Otwell Elementary, Ltd. – since Dec. 20. "My understanding was that they were seeking some financing that they were hoping to have closed dur- ing the month of February, and that once they had that financing closed, then they would get everyone cur- rent," Einterz said. "I have not heard from Elisabeth," Einterz continued. "She's on my list for this week to call and find out what's going on, because we haven't heard anything. So I'm wondering if the financing's still on or if they've gone in a different direction. I've just heard nothing, so I don't know." A mechanic's lien is a claim by someone – a person or a business – who performs construction or repair work on either commercial or resi- dential property. Work for which a mechanic's lien can be imposed is defined by state and case law as any type of construc- tion or remodeling work, including supplying materials for the people who do the work. Indiana's mechanic's lien statute provides for the ultimate seizure and sale of the property owner's interest in the real estate to recover the un- paid debt, costs and reasonable at- torney's fees. "Mechanic's liens are pretty reg- ular," Einterz said. "I file a lot of me- chanic's liens. It operates in the same capacity that a mortgage does for a loan. It's a method to secure payment by securing it against the real estate, as opposed to the funds that either the general contractor or the owner might hold because, obvi- ously, they can disburse those funds without you having any control over them." Einterz explained that a notice of intent to hold a mechanic's lien must be filed within 90 days from the last day that any work is done. (The last day that Weyer Electric, Inc., worked at the Otwell Miller Academy build- ing was Nov. 29, Einterz said.) "And then you've got a year to file suit on it, to foreclose on it, if they don't pay you," Einterz said. "You may or may not get whole when the property gets sold," Ein- terz added. "It's not uncommon to have multiple lien claimants and you might even have a bank out there that's got a mortgage, and everyone's kind of splitting the pie. If there's not enough money when it sells, you take a pro rata distribution." The mechanic's lien filed by Wey- er Electric, Inc., is at least the third that has been thus far filed against Friends of Otwell Elementary, Ltd. In October 2017, Jesse Gehlhau- sen, president of Gehlhausen & Son Drywall, Inc., in Evansville, Ind., filed a mechanic's lien after allegedly not being paid $ 6,745.20 for work he and his employees performed during the construction of the Otwell Mill- er Academy building. In November 2017, Superior In- sulation Co., LLC, of Huntingburg, Ind., filed a mechanic's lien after allegedly not being paid $7,025 for work it performed during the con- struction of the Otwell Miller Acad- emy building. "I had heard that there may be oth- ers that had filed liens prior to us fil- ing," Einterz said. "I haven't checked the records to see who's filed and who hasn't filed with the recorder's office. My clients are still believing that they're going to get paid in full, and hoping that they will." On Tuesday, Feb. 13, Friends of Otwell Elementary, Ltd., president Bob Rhodes described Weyer and Mike Gudorf, of Gudorf Supply Com- pany in Jasper, Ind., as "saints." "They have really worked with us and they continue to work with us," Rhodes said. "They continue to ba- by us along and we're doing every- thing we can to get them as much money as we go." "We're willing to work with them, to give them the time to get things re-financed, provided it's going to happen," Einterz said. "And we hope that they will discuss with us frankly if things go sideways. And then we can figure out how do we get this re- solved." Rhodes acknowledged that sev- eral mechanic's liens had been filed against Friends of Otwell Elementa- ry, Ltd., over the past few months. "There's a number of them," Rhodes said. "That hasn't affected our relationships with those people or those companies at all. It's very professional, very business-like. And we're proceeding as quickly as we can." Rhodes said that the school has had to deal with a new set of con- tractors since the K-5 charter school opened, and that disbursements to those contractors have taken prece- dence. "Those are the ones who help us keep the doors open and the mon- ey flowing to the company," Rhodes said. "The building contractors rec- ognize that. We have to keep the school in session and everything go- ing and so far, so good. There's good days and bad days for all of us, but the bottom line is that we're making progress." City clean up Petersburg employee William Rainey uses the city's mini-excavator to clean up a drain at the side of Prides Creek near the Charger Bridge last week. City Services Manager Ross Elemore said the drain spillway had filled with silt. They removed the grate and dug it out. Otwell man arrested for child solicitation By Andy Heuring A rural Otwell man was arrested for child solicita- tion after he drove to Horna- dy Park to make the aquain- tence of what he thought was a 13-year-old girl. In- stead, he was introduced to the steely cold handcuffs of local police. Austin Lane Martin, 22, of 1485 N. CR 825 E., Otwell, was arrested by Sgt. Chad McClellan and Pike County Sheriff's Sgt. Dallas Killian at about 5 p.m. Saturday. Sgt. McClellan stated, in his report, that on February 10, he made a decoy profile of a 13-year-old girl. He said Martin contacted the decoy profile and began a conver- sation in which he asked the decoy about several sex acts. "He (Martin) repeated- ly told her (the fake profile) not to tell anyone because he would go to jail." He also told the fake pro- file he would be wearing pa- jamas and exposing himself out the front of the pajamas. They arranged a meeting in Hornady Park. Sgt. McClellan said he waited in the park in an un- marked car and noticed a car matching the picture of a car Martin had sent to the profile. He said Martin then sent a picture from inside the park to the Facebook profile. Sgt. McClellan said he and Sgt. Killian approached Martin and asked him what he was doing in the park. According to McClellan's report, he said he was there to meet a friend he had met on Facebook by the name of the fake profile. Martin was taken into custody and, according to McClellan's report, when confronted by police with the transcripts from the con- versations he had with the fake profile, he admitted he had sent those messages. However, he said he would not have had sex with the 13-year-old girl if she had met him, but instead would have apologized to her. Martin was preliminari- ly charged with child solic- itation.