The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/956502
The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, March 21, 2018 A-9 EAST GIBSON NEWS Submit school news: Email: egnews@ pressdispatch.net Deadline: Noon on Friday SELECTION FOR SUMMER TRIP TO JAPAN Wood Memorial has four individuals selected to take part in the Gibson County Foundation's summer trip to Japan. Ms. Pat Douglas, in- structor, freshman students Griffin Parke, and Luke Schenks were notified of their selections during the week. The fourth individual has yet to be advised. This is a great opportunity for these individuals and I am excited for each. It will be a great ex- perience. WM PERFORMANCE QUALIFIED HIGH SCHOOL The Indiana Depart- ment of Education recog- nized Wood Memorial High School as a Performance Qualified High School for the 2018 – 2019 school year. The department provided their congratulations on March 1, 2018. In order to be eligible for the performance qualified program, a high school must receive an 'A' for the previ- ous school year. The high school holds the designa- tion until such a time it ei- ther receives a "C" or low- er for one school year, or re- ceives a "B" r lower for two consecutive years. EARLY COLLEGE PROGRAM On Tuesday evening, March 20, 2018, Wood Me- morial High School will be hosting "Early College Night" at 6 p.m., in the lec- ture room. The intent of this evening is to provide infor- mation to the student and parent/guardian, on oppor- tunities to earn college cred- its during high school. Infor- mation will also be provided focused on our 2018 – 2019 course offerings for sched- uling consideration. Students, and their par- ents, who will be in high school next fall, as well as anyone with interest in learning about the "Early College" program are invit- ed to attend. MAKE UP DAYS In order to make up the four (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 Tuesday, March 20 Early College Program WMHS Lecture Room Wednesday, March 21 WMHS Softball Club Meeting Community Easter Egg Hunt, Lafayette Park, Princeton Friday, March 23 JHS Renaissance Day Start of Spring Break ADDITIONAL DATE OF NOTE Math, Reading, Writing, US History, Civics, and Geography, Accuplacer – Part 2, Feb. 12 – Mar. 30 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 County Council discusses jail improvements By Janice Barniak An expert in jail analysis told Gibson County Council Tues- day that the number of correc- tions officers the facility needs depends as much on how the jail is built as it does on how many inmates are housed there. Meanwhile, discussions con- tinue about whether to expand the facility and how many jail- ers to hire, after a study last spring suggested adding 11 people, and the jail's insurance carrier called five more a show of good faith. So far, the council approved one at the beginning of the year and two since. The jail population was at 96 inmates, not counting work re- lease, and the council wanted to ask expert Kenneth Whipk- er, a retired sheriff who works regularly on jail analysis, about whether there was an inmate to officer ratio. The State of Indiana does not use an inmate to staff ratio, Whipker said, because jail lay- out is the driving influence on how many jailers are needed, and the State of Indiana require- ments are centered around how often the officer sees the in- mates. "Your jail is multi-floor...it's a linear jail, you have to look in to see people," he said. This means the corrections officer needs to walk the corridor to have eyes on the prisoners. Some jails do pod-style lay- outs that have different staffing requirements, even with equal numbers of inmates. Staffing estimates are also based on providing enough staff to cov- er vacations and sick days. If a jail has a position that needs to be staffed 24/7 for example, in eight hour shifts, a person might say that's just three peo- ple; however, he said someone estimating that position would actually put it at 4.75 people, so that weekends, sick days and holidays can be covered. He added that while the jail may have 120 beds, (and held 143 people at the time of the in- spection), a jail is actually full before all the beds are full. Corrections officers need a few empty spaces for segrega- tion purposes, he said. Other- wise staff are placing trouble- makers—what Whipker termed "knuckleheads"— in with others, with just the hope they don't do something that creates liability. "Your situation is not unique. Most jails are understaffed," he said, adding that if they had a different jail design, it was pos- sible their current staff would be enough, and that video could do something to help reduce the number of officers needed. "You're doing more than what some counties are doing." Building a new jail to reduce those staffing needs is contro- versial, however. "My objection from the start is...this is an imposition," said long-time Councilman Bill Mc- Connell, who has frequently advocated for a bill at the state level to reduce bail so that the accused cannot wait in jail for their court date if they cannot pay, although other council member and commissioners say that bill is far off. "I think there's a way for some of these counties to work out a temporary deal until we get word from the (Indiana) Supreme Court...up until that time, we're stuck," he said. "I made my speech, I told you my feelings from the start." When built in 1989, the jail was supposed to be expandable by building floors above the cur- rent second story. Unfortunate- ly the property has settled, and that's no longer safe, especially if inmates were to stay at the jail during the renovation. Meanwhile, the property is landlocked by its location and the buildings around it. "It doesn't make sense to me to buy that building. We don't know what's going to be done," McConnell said. "We're not ready for this...Now is not the time to even think about it." On the other hand, the coun- cil moved forward in a split vote, with McConnell and fellow com- missioner Mike Stilwell voting against, with the $170,500 al- location of funds for the North Main property that makes the jail landlocked. Equestrians receive sponsorship for shows By Janice Barniak Two horse-themed events received Gib- son County Visitors and Tourism support of $1500, the first for a three-day weekend April 20 -22 and another set for May 11-13. The first is a project of Loehr Productions, and Jennifer Loehr presented the event, which is a barrel racing event, although she said the company is considering another event in Princeton and also puts on rodeos. The events, Loehr said, draw people from around and fill up the fairgrounds. People like the Gibson County Fair- grounds, she said, because of the horse-friendly setup that makes for an easy build and tear down around the event, which typically will draw 300 horses per day with their riders. "I feel like it's building each time," she said. While people may eat breakfast and lunch at the fairgrounds, they typically go out for dinner, which means revenue for local busi- nesses, she said. The IKI show, which stands for Indiana Kentucky and Illinois, submitted a similar request for a three-day horse show May 11- 13, featuring barrel racing and poles. "Horse shows fill the place up," said Char- lie Woodruff, of the Gibson County Fair Board. The group discussed how to use the events to build tourism, as a segue to show people what else the county has to offer. Emergency rule expedites repair of bridges, crossings and stream banks damaged by recent flooding An emergency rule that, in light of recent localized flood damage, temporarily eases DNR license requirements for specific repair or reconstruc- tion was signed into effect by DNR director Cameron F. Clark yesterday. Work covered by the rule in- cludes repair or reconstruc- tion of bridges and culvert crossings, and the stabilization and repair of unstable stream banks. Application of the rule is lim- ited to work within a county un- der a state declaration of Disas- ter Emergency between Feb. 24 and March 31. For a project to be authorized under this rule, it must be completed by March 14, 2019. Counties where a Dis- aster Emergency has been de- clared can be found at IN.gov/ gov/2384.htm. Property owners in the af- fected area who have specif- ic questions about coverage should contact the DNR Di- vision of Water at 877-928 - 3755 (select option 5 when answered), or by emailing at water_inquiry@dnr.IN.gov. A copy of the entire emer- gency rule is at IN.gov/nrc/ files/lsa18152e.pdf. This emergency rule only ad- dresses property that falls un- der DNR jurisdiction. Other state, federal or local approvals may also be needed for some repairs. To view all DNR news releas- es, please see dnr.IN.gov. CREATIVITY. OUR SPECIALTY. When you place an ad in The Press-Dispatch, your ad is designed by Indiana's top designers. Eric and Matt have nearly 20 years of combined experience and a long list of awards including the HSPA's Indiana's Top Ad Designer, Think Outside The Box and Innovation Award. ADDITIONAL PERKS INCLUDE: Art Services: Our designers have access to millions of images to help attract the reader's eye to your products and services. Quality Proofreading: Your ad is proofread for spelling and grammar so you get your message across in a clear, concise manner. Run Here, Post Anywhere: Once you place an ad with us, you're free to send it to other publications or post it to social media.* Ready to Start? Call Today! 812-354-8500 OR EMAIL ADS@PRESSDISPATCH.NET *Additional conversion fees may apply. Ask your sales representative for details The Press Dispatch PIKE COUNTY'S NEWS NETWORK John Lewis Day Celebration Dinner slated for April 1 The 57th John L. Lewis Day Celebration Dinner will take place Sunday, April 1 at 1 p.m. CDT at the American Legion, 211 E. Washington St., Oakland City. All retired miners and their spouses, as well as widows and widowers of retired miners, are welcome to attend. The Black Lung Representatives will be in attendance and will be bringing a doc- tor from Chicago. The girls from Black Lung will fill out the paperwork. The doc- tor will have a machine to test you. If you want to be tested, arrive at 10 a.m. CDT.