The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/961332
18 SPORTS PULL OUT INSIDE SECTION C SPECIAL SECTION D PIKE COUNTY Planter Planter Local ........ A1-10 East Gibson .... A8 Sports .........B1-3 Opinion .......B4-5 Classifi eds .... B6-7 Home Life........C4-8 Obituaries........... C9 Church ... C10-12 School........... C13 WHAT'S INSIDE: CONNECT WITH US: NetEdition ...pressdispatch.net/edition Facebook.....facebook.com/pressdispatch E-Mail .........news@pressdispatch.net Phone:.................. 812-354-8500 Fax: ...................... 812-354-2014 E-Mail . editor@pressdispatch.net NEWS TIPS: PIKE PUBLISHING See BRIDGES on page 5 See MILLER on page 2 Four sections • 42 pages Three inserts Wednesday, April 4, 2018 Volume 148 Number 14 Phone (812) 354-8500 Petersburg, IN 47567-0068 (USPS 604-34012) $ 1 See NARCAN on page 5 HONOR ROLLS inside this edition You'll find Honor Rolls for Petersburg and Winslow Elementary on page C-13 and Pike Central Middle School on page A-7. White River predicted to exceed 25 feet By Andy Heuring Significant flooding along the White Riv- er is predicted to continue through next week. Updated flooding predictions for the White River has it cresting at 25.6 on Sun- day, April 7. If it reaches 25.6, it would be in the top 15 highest crests recorded. "It will be higher than you had a few weeks ago," said National Weather Service Hydrologist Al Shipe. The White River crested at 25.2 on March 2. On Tuesday, the White River was near- ing 24 feet and is expected to continue a slow rise to the crest on April 7. As of Tues- day, predictions were for it to stay above 25 feet until April 11. Shipe said the recent heavy rain locally is causing an early local crest and then the rain in Indianapolis will hold that crest for several days. "It takes about seven days for rainfall here to make its way down to you." Heavy rain and possible tornadoes were being predicted for Tuesday night and late afternoon in central Indiana. "I guess it is better now than in May or June," said Shipe, commenting on the ef- fect flooding will have on farmers. As it is now, it will probably be late April before the floodwaters have receded off of farm ground in the bottoms. This means it might be May before farmers could even start working on their ground in the bottoms. Highway 257 at the Pike-Daviess line was closed Monday morning. It typically floods at about 22 feet. However, because it is only the East Fork of the White River and the Petersburg river gauge is just down stream of where the East and West forks come together, the level causing flooding on 257 can vary. The White River, according to the Na- tional Weather Service, isn't predicted to fall below 22 feet at Petersburg until Fri- day, April 13 and that is without anymore heavy rains the next 10 days. Pike County received between eight and 10 inches of rain during March. Flooding to continue into next week Moose hunt packs them in Kids were packed in tightly after the Petersburg Moose Easter egg hunt was moved inside due to the rain and cold on Saturday. It turned into an egg distribution at the Moose Lodge. Nearly every room was as crowd- ed as the downstairs with kids getting eggs and prizes. The hunt is usually in Hornady Park, but heavy rains left the park waterlogged. By Ed Cahill Otwell Miller Academy, which current- ly has an official average daily member- ship (ADM) of 58 students, will begin the 2018 -19 school year with a estimated en- rollment of 80 students – a 38 percent in- crease. According to OMA director Rick Fears, that was the projected ADM count for the 2018 -19 school year that was submitted to the Indiana Department of Education on Friday, March 23. "We sent in the number 80 because we feel like that's a valid number for next year," Fears told the OMA school board during its regular monthly meeting on Monday, April 2. "We didn't want to over- estimate it too much, and, of course, you don't want to underestimate it a lot, either, because that's your income. We wanted to be realistic." Fears noted that, at the beginning of the 2017-18 school year, the K-5 charter school had received state tuition support based on a pre-enrollment ADM of 120 students. Based on the pre-enrollment ADM of 120 students, Otwell Miller Academy re- ceived state tuition support payments of $58,650.67 during the months of July, Au- gust and September and $58,650.66 in Oc- tober, for a total of $234,602.67. However, based on the school's actual ADM count of 58 students, Otwell Miller Academy should have received an estimat- ed $28,347 in state tuition support each month, for a total of $133,388. As a result, Otwell Miller Academy re- ceived no state tuition support payments during the months of November, Decem- ber, January and February, and a reduced payment of $20,527 in March. "One thing this year that got us in a bind – and it was no one's fault, not at all – was we overestimated the students we would have," Fears said. "The state doesn't let anything get by, and when we got all those dollars in July, August, September (and October), and we sent in our actual count in September, then that's when those dol- lars are deducted ... and that doesn't help Otwell Academy estimates 38% enrollment increase Winslow Clean Sweep will be April 6, 7 and 8 Winslow Volunteer Fire Department and Town Council will sponsor a Clean Sweep set for this week- end on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They have rented a dumpster and will pay the dump- ing fees for the project. Firemen and others have volunteered to pick up res- idents' bagged trash on those three days. The trash must be bagged and moved to the street side. Residents should also call Town Hall at 812-789 -2207 and let them know they want trash picked up. Fiery crash leads to arrest An Indianapolis man was arrested at about noon Sunday after the truck he was driving ran off the left side of the road on southbound I-69, near the 47.5-mile marker, crossed the median and began flipping. It crossed both northbound lanes and ended up in a ditch, according to Pike County Deputy Sheriff Paul Collier. The truck then burst into flames and was destroyed by the fire. Petersburg firemen extinguished the blaze, but not before the S-10 pickup was a total loss. Adan Anastacio Ortiz was driving the truck and escaped uninjured. Pike County Deputy Sheriff Paul Collier said Ortiz was located walking along the fence line. Indiana State Trooper John Davis talked with Ortiz and learned he was unlicensed. Ortiz was taken into custody. By Andy Heuring The Petersburg Board of Public Safe- ty, during their Monday night meeting, passed a resolution to approve a policy call- ing for Petersburg Police to carry a dose of NARCAN, which is an antidote for opioid overdose. Petersburg Police Chief Chuck Baumgart said they had received a grant for 15 doses of NARCAN from the First Re- sponder Comprehensive Addiction and Re- covery Act. He told Board of Safety mem- bers the doses expired, but they would be replaced due to expiration and or use by the grant. Baumgart said NARCAN does come in the form of nasal inhalant. Consequently, it is safe for non-medical personnel to give. "It doesn't work on anything else but opioid overdose," said Baumgart. He said if police officers would have had to give an injection, he would have been a lot more apprehensive about that. "I don't want us getting into the medical profes- sion," said Baumgart. However, he said there are times an of- ficer will arrive before EMTs and if they believe someone is suffering from opioid overdose, they can issue the NARCAN na- sal doses with little or no risk. "Each offi- Petersburg police now carry NARCAN opioid antidote By Andy Heuring County commissioners approved a change in the type of guardrail to be installed on County Bridge 150 over the Patoka River and agreed to apply for a vehi- cle from Toyota during their brief meeting Monday morning. Highway Superintendent Roger Ham told the com- missioners engineers are calling for a change in the type of guardrail in the design of County Bridge 150. The bridge over the Patoka River on CR 650 E., at the back side of the Pike State Forest, is part of a Federal Aid project. The wood floored historic bridge is going to be replaced. Ham said engineers are calling for a "Level II" guardrail to be used for about 50 feet of the project. He explained a Level II guardrail is a shock absorbing guard rail. Ham also said it appears everything on the project is falling into place. The plans are for the wooden floor steel truss bridge to be taken out and moved to Pe- tersburg over Prides Creek on Cherry St. It will re- Commissioners cope with county bridge issues