The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/950460
B-6 Wednesday, March 7, 2018 The Press-Dispatch EAST GIBSON NEWS Submit school news: Email: egnews@ pressdispatch.net Deadline: Noon on Friday CONGRATS ATTAWAY Wood Memorial eighth grade student Everett Att- away has qualified to com- pete in the state level com- petition of the National Geo- graphic Bee this spring. This is the second consecu- tive year Everett has earned the honor. Congratulations Everett. WM is proud of you. The Indiana State Bee will be on Friday, April 6, 2018. ROSETTA STONE PROGRAM In keeping with their commitment to serve the needs of every child, a new Spanish program has been identified for student con- sideration. The Rosetta Stone educational program was tested and supported for utilization by students representing Spanish I, II, and III. With this, students will been given an opportu- nity to move to the Roset- ta Stone program, or to re- main with the current Pla- to online course. Approxi- mately 50 % of the students enrolled in a Spanish course have elected to move to the new program. AGRICULTURE PROGRAM During the March school board meeting, Smith will be presenting a propos- al regarding the launch of an Agriculture curriculum and program for Wood Me- morial High School and Wood Memorial Junior High School. Student feed- back, to a recent survey in- dicated approximately 40 % of the high school students have an interested in enroll- ing in an agriculture course. In order to serve the needs of these students, the pro- posal asks for approval to launch the program for the 2018 – 2019 school year. ISTEP BEGINS The first round of ISTEP testing is just a week away, with February 26, 2018, serving as the first day of assessments. Students in grades 7, 8, and 10 will be administered the ISTEP test beginning on February 26 and running through March 8, 2018. Instructors have engaged state provid- ed practice assessments to assist with student prepara- tion. MAKE UP DAYS In order to make up the five (4) days of missed school, due to the recent winter weather, our schools will be in session on the fol- lowing dates: Monday, April 2; Wednesday, May 23; Thursday, May 24; Friday, May 25. The second semes- ter is now scheduled to end on May 25. OPEN OFFICE SESSIONS Once again this year, I will be utilizing a collabora- tive opportunity for all mem- bers – students, staff, par- ents, guardians, and com- munity members – of the Wood Memorial School Community. With this said, I believe to be most effective with the development and growth of our students it is imperative that every stake- holder of Wood Memorial have an opportunity to col- laborate and provide input in any area/aspect of inter- est involving our school(s) they may have. Thus, I will conduct 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 com- munication, I want to invite Wood Memorial stakehold- ers to follow the happenings at the junior high and high school by joining us on twit- ter at WMTrojans1. Wood Memorial CALENDAR Wednesday, Mar. 7 National Free Breakfast Week ISTEP Testing 7th Grade English Blue Chip Conference Board Meeting, 9 a.m. HS Student Council Meeting, 12:15 p.m. WMJHS Spirit Club Meeting, 3:30 p.m. WMHS Softball Club Meeting, 5:30 p.m. Blue Chip Conference Boys Basketball, Selection Meeting, 6 p.m. Thursday, Mar. 8 National Free Breakfast Week Prom Committee Meeting, 7:30 a.m. ISTEP Testing Make-Up Testing Environmental Science Field Trip, 8 a.m. Blue Chip Academic Bowl, 4 p.m. Friday, Mar. 9 National Free Breakfast Week Saturday, Mar. 10 IHSA A Boys Basketball Regional ADDITIONAL DATE OF NOTE Math, Reading, Writing, US History, Civics, and Geography, Accuplacer – Part 2, Feb. 12 – Mar. 30 ISTEP Part 1, Feb. 26 – Mar. 9 Science Academic Bowl Team Meeting, Mar. 7 WMHS Softball Club Meeting, Mar. 7 WMHS Softball Club Meeting Mar. 14 Science Academic Bowl Team Meeting, Mar. 14 WMHS Softball Club Meeting, Mar. 21 Science Academic Bowl Team Meeting, Mar. 21 JHS Renaissance Day, Mar. 23 Academic Banquet, Apr. 6 ISTAR Apr. 16 – May 18 ISTEP Part 2, Apr. 16 – May 4 Indiana Bass Nation High School Event, Patoka Lake, Apr. 22 TROJANS VS. NORTHEAST DUBOIS 02/27/18 Northeast Dubois Reece Bauer 6 17-13 2 26 Brandon Merkel 2 6 -5 3 9 Alan Kerstiens 3 2-1 1 9 Alex Harder 5 5 -3 4 13 Logan Dodd 1 3-2 1 4 Marshall Knies 1 0 -0 1 3 Chase Riecker 2 3-2 4 6 Griffen Bauer 2 0 -0 4 4 TOTAL S 22 36 -26 20 74 3 Point FG's-4 (Bauer 1, Kerstiens 2 and Knies 1) Wood Memorial Lathan Falls 7 8 -6 3 20 Harden Hunter 0 0 -0 5 0 Remington Wilkison 1 1-0 5 2 Cameron Saulman 3 0 -0 3 9 Paxon Bartley 5 6 -5 5 15 Walker Nurrenbern 4 12-8 4 17 Austin Ireland 0 0 -0 3 0 TOTAL S 20 27-19 28 63 3 Point FG's-4 (Saulman 3 and Nurrenbern 1) SCORES BY QUARTERS Northeast Dubois 21 13 7 33 74 Wood Memorial 9 15 10 29 63 With low unemployment, county seeks workers By Janice Barniak Gibson County hosted a job fair Feb. 28 at Ivy Tech, where employers gathered to find employees in a variety of fields. Sara Worstell, business services and com- munications manager for Work One, said that with historic state lows in unemploy- ment, it's really an employees' market for jobs in the area, and Work One is trying to make those connections between employ- ers and job seekers. "I think there is, for job seekers, an oppor- tunity to better themselves and get new op- portunities," she said. For people looking to transition to fields locally that always have openings, she rec- ommended technical fields, especially in ad- vanced manufacturing. With automation, she said employers are always looking for someone with mechanical skills. She added healthcare and information technology are also thriving locally. Andrea Schafner, of staffing agency Peo- ple Link, said the company has clients look- ing for qualified candidates that want to find a career path. They're looking for people in light industrial, manufacturing and machine operating, and office cleaning, and they are offering $10 -13 per hour. "We are kind of the middle man... we do background checks and drug screens for cli- ents," she said, adding while the agency is based in Evansville, they go to Gibson Coun- ty's Work One every Wednesday. "Just come talk to us. We'll find the best fit for you." Aphrodite Hudson, of Penske, had a sim- ilar message at the job fair, as the company sought forklift drivers to load and unload, adding they were willing to train people for the role. "We need someone who's a team player, takes initiative—someone who's very safe- ty conscious, that's big for us, with good at- tendance, who can support the team," she said. Over and over, employers at the fair stressed the importance of character, since the skills themselves were often teachable. Josh Kealoha, of Aerotek at TMMI, said good attendance and accountability is the most important quality for employees. "Everything else you can train, but not ac- countability," he said. Joshewa Meurer, of Aerotek, agreed that, in his search for commercial welders and machinists, the pay can get high, and yet, it can still be difficult to find people even for lucrative positions. Mike Watkins, out recruiting for Hansen at that fair, said they were pleased with the turnout. He said he hoped talking to people personally would let him get across the mes- sage that manufacturing, at least at Hansen, has excellent working conditions. "It's repetitious, but it's easy—our parts are only this big," he said, hoisting a prod- uct a little bigger than a Texas grapefruit. "So there's not a lot of lifting, and it's heat- ed and cooled in the plant." Felicia Weeks said that dependable peo- ple with a good work ethic will enjoy their job at PGW. "Stay with it, get your body acclimated to it," she said. "Don't give up and it's worth it. I think we have really good people, and some- times I think we spend more time with peo- ple we work with than our immediate family members. So you get to learn a lot of things about their lives." Josh Keoloha, of Aerotek TMMI, networks with JoAnn Kappell, of Goodwill, at the Gibson County Job Fair last week, where a low unemployment rate is creating opportunities for local workers. Beekeepers buzzing about new club By Janice Barniak Gibson County has a new club drawing people from across south- western Indiana, and even as far as Illinois, Petersburg-area and Boonville—the Beekeepers of Southwest Indiana. Started in September by local enthusiasts, including Lisa and David Keen, Vaughn and Kay Col- lins, Roy Lynch, Lauren Norvell and Carla Lemar, the club, with minimal advertisement, drew 47 people for their inaugural meeting, and it's been steady since, with the club boasting 57 dues-paying members on the rolls. "We want to be a resource for anyone interested in bees. We have people come that don't even have hives that want to learn about it," said club member Lisa Keen, who, along with her husband, is the local 4-H Beekeeping Super- intendent. She added that experi- ence in the club ranges from those newbies, all the way to people who have 40 years of hive-minding ex- perience. She and the other early mem- bers had been in other groups but were discovering more and more people in the area who were bee- keepers, and thought a local club would provide a colony of locals who could lean on each other for support and knowledge. That's especially helpful this year, since it's a hard year for bees, likely because of the bitter winter temperatures. "Some want bees for pollina- tion of their gardens, others want bees for the honey, some do it for commercial purposes. The most important thing is that we need them," Keen said. A fter an election of officers, the non-profit began hosting speakers and having raffles to raise mon- ey to pay them, including starter hives, beekeeping tools and honey. So far, Kent Williams, of Wingo, Ky., spoke in January and Grant Gilliard, of Cape Girardeau, Mo., spoke to the group about his ex- periences as a writer, beekeeper and pastor. "We kept hearing more people were interested," Keen said. "We do want to promote it to the pub- lic and see if it's something they're interested in...There's so much to learn." The club meets every third Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Vin- cennes University's Fort Branch campus—signs will direct people to the correct room. The next meeting is 6 p.m. March 15. "We need bees. Locally, farmers need bees for pollination of their crops, such as watermelons and pumpkins. Bees are so interesting and there is so much to learn," she said. The club also has a Facebook page people can look up to connect with them. Oakland City man arrested on charges of battery At 7:38 p.m. March 1, Gibson County Cen- tral Dispatch received a report of a distur- bance in the 10,000 block of North Salem Lane near Hazelton. Upon arriving on scene, officers discovered 64-year-old Mark Thomson, of Oakland City, on top of the homeowner. Upon separating the parties, Captain Bryan Ellis began an investi- gation into the incident. At the conclusion of his investigation, Cap- tain Ellis placed Thomson into custody and transported him to the Gibson County Jail, charging him with Battery, Strangulation and Residential Entry. He remains in custody on a $750 bond. Assisting Ellis in his investigation was Dep- uty Jennifer Loesch and Conservation Officer Matt Clark. New member of redevelopment is Louise Jenkins By Janice Barniak Louise Jenkins, new redevelopment board member, said she sees Gibson County as be- ing at a crossroads. "I think Gibson County is sort of at a start- ing point to where we have the possibility to make decisions now with long-term benefits. We need to think to the future, and not dwell on the past," she said. "It would be good to control the growth in a positive way, not a neg- ative way." As a redevelopment member, she'll have a vote in deciding which economic development projects to support, and said she's excited to start on the board. "I'd like to see the county stay clean and beautiful," she said when listing her priorities. Jenkins knows a little about progress, as it affected her own life—she was a clerk op- erator with Norfolk Southern, a job that no longer exists. These days, she runs a 24-acre horse farm in Columbia Township, where she boards horses and does mare foaling of race hors- es for out-of-state owners, among other work. She also had work experience in her fa- ther's construction business. She said she'll be glad of the opportunity the new post will give her to support Gibson County Schools and encourage positive, long- term and sustaining growth. "If our growth is going to be from factories, let's have it be clean and long-term," she said.