The Press-Dispatch
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Local ........ A1-10 Sports .........B1-6 Opinion .... B8-10 Classifi eds B11-13 Church ........C1-3 Home Life........C4-8 Obituaries........... C9 School........... C10 East Gibson .. C11 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 METERS on page 3 See PLAN on page 2 See VOTING on page 2 Three sections 36 pages Four inserts Wednesday, April 18, 2018 Volume 148 Number 16 Phone (812) 354-8500 Petersburg, IN 47567-0068 (USPS 604-34012) $ 1 See REVOKE on page 2 By Andy Heuring The Petersburg VFW and Boy Scouts had a joint Flag Disposal Observance last Saturday. They disposed of more than 100 old flags collected from the community. VFW Commander Ray Stilwell told the group these flags have served their purpose and it was now time to dispose of them. He said the first time he attended this type of ceremony was when he was serv- ing in Vietnam. Stilwell said a Viet Cong had slipped into their base and stolen the flag. "They guys were really worked up like a bunch of mad hornets. He said a group of soldiers went after the man who had stolen it and recovered the flag. They then had a formal ceremony to dispose of the flag. "Our commander put a great deal of empha- sis on that ceremony," said Stillwell. Saturday's ceremony included an invoca- tion, followed by a flag being folded prop- erly by Stillwell, and Boy Scouts Cameron Smith and Dominick Garland. The Scouts then presented the flag to Petersburg May- or R. C. Klipsch, who told the group he learned respect for the American flag as a young boy, being the son of a Marine Staff Sgt. He said each day, it was his job to raise and lower the flag at the motel his parents owned at the south end of Petersburg. He said his Staff Sgt. father saw to it that this was done to the letter of flag etiquette each time. "He was teaching me something very important," said Klipsch. Taps was played by Boy Scouts Justin Thorne and Ayden Young. The flags were then taken outside and Mayor Klipsch placed the first ceremonial flag into the barrel to be burned. The Petersburg VFW has placed a for- mer postal mail box in front of City Hall in Petersburg, where worn out flags can be de- posited to be properly disposed. VFW, Scouts have Flag Disposal on Saturday By Andy Heuring Election day is not until Tuesday, May 8; however, early voting is underway right now. So far, 91 people have voted in the Clerk's office on the second floor of the courthouse. Another 137 have voted ab- sentee by mail. The Clerk's office is open for voting Monday-Friday until May 4 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and from 8 a.m. to noon on Monday May 7. The Clerk's office will also be open on Saturday, April 28 and Saturday, May 5 from 8 a.m. to noon to accommodate those who can't make it during the week. Voters can request absentee ballots by mail. Applications for the absentee ballots by mail must be received in the Clerk's of- fice by April 30 and the ballot will need to be returned to the Clerk's office by noon on Election Day. If a voter is physically unable to vote, they can request the assistance of a bipar- tisan travel board. These requests must be received by the Clerk's office by noon on May 7. If anyone is interested in being a poll worker, they are encouraged to call the Pike County Clerk's Office at 812-354-6025. Poll workers are required to be at the poll- ing place from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Elec- tion Day and are also required to attend the Poll Worker training session on Saturday, May 5 at 9 a.m. There are several local races in both the Democrat and Republican primaries in Pike County. The sheriff's race has five candidates seeking their party's nomination. On the Democrat side, Chief Deputy Sheriff Kent Johnson, Deputy Sheriff Brad Jenkins and former FBI agent John Bellamy are vying for the nomination. On the Republican side, Jeffrey Davis II and former Indiana State Trooper Frank Coleman, who also is a for- mer Mayor of Petersburg, are seeking the nomination. Two Democrats, Heath Scraper and Steve Vian, are seeking the nomination for Commissioner District 2, a seat now held by Brian Davis. Davis is not seeking re-elec- tion. The winner will face former Repub- More than 200 have voted early or absentee The public is invited to attend the Pike County I-69 Interchange Master Plan press conference on Thursday, April 19, 2018, at 1:30 p.m. (EDT) at the Pike County Courthouse Auditorium. Pike County Economic Devel- opment Council Executive Di- rector Ashley Willis said, "Pike County has taken a progressive role in economic development to spur capital investment, create jobs, attract talent, and increase the housing inventory. The mas- ter plan includes an extensive land use, transportation, and in- frastructure plan to accommodate development for retail/commer- cial, residential, light and heavy industrial development." She added, "Pike County Com- missioners and Council, and the City of Petersburg, have been ag- gressive and strongly supportive of a pro-business agenda to diver- sify our local economy. Additional steps have been taken to receive state-recognized, site-certified, shovel-ready designations, estab- By Andy Heuring An Otwell teen has been released from the hospital and is recovering after falling from the back of a pickup truck last Thurs- day night. Lane Doades, 17, of Otwell, a junior who played football at Pike Central, suffered head injuries in the fall. Pike County Chief Deputy Kent Johnson said Doades had jumped into the bed of a pickup truck on the parking lot of the Circle A Convenience Store. A fter Doades got into the truck bed, he told the driver, Cavan Bre- itwieser, 20, of Huntingburg, to go. Howev- er, when Breitwieser pulled away, Doades lost his balance, fell out of the pickup and hit his head. Johnson said Doades initially was not responsive and was suffering sei- zure-like symptoms. By 10 a.m. on Friday, school officials were told by Doades' grandmother that he had been removed from all machines, and was awake and talking. Otwell teen injured in fall from pickup truck bed I-69 Interchange Master Plan press conference is Thursday By Andy Heuring Unpaid fees for home detention is a mounting problem in Pike County. Pike County Prosecutor Darrin McDonald said while Home Detention is now emphasized by the state as an alternative to incarcera- tion, it comes with some problems. One of the positives of home detention is it costs taxpayers less than incarceration and al- lows a participant the opportunity to work while serving their sentence. The Indiana Department of Corrections pays counties $ 35 a day to house their non-violent pris- oners to take pressure off the state's pris- on population. A term of home detention is that the per- son on home detention has to pay the fees for home monitoring. At least that is one of the intended purposes. However, theory and practice can often be different. McDonald said there are 34 people on home detention in Pike County. He said his office did a review of those 34 and found 26 of them are delinquent on paying fees as- sociated with the home detention program. The study found those 26 people are delin- quent $ 39,455. "When these are not paid, law abiding taxpayers ultimately have to foot the bill," said McDonald. He added, "We have made a point of filing requests for revocation on the worst, most aggravated cases." McDonald said there will be more filed in the future. "The ones who are trying to pay as they go, we will wait them out. If they are trying to pay and making an effort, we will work with them." He said filing the motions has made a difference and they have seen an uptick in people making a payment since the first motions were filed. When a person is placed in home deten- tion, they are placed on probation and the home detention is part of their probation. A motion to revoke that probation, if grant- ed, could cause that person to be arrested and incarcerated to serve the remainder of their term. Unpaid fees could lead to revocation of home detention By Ed Cahill Petersburg Water Company's board voted unanimously during its meeting on Monday, April 16 to begin a program to replace the utility's aging water meters. On a motion by Petersburg Mayor R.C. Klipsch, which was seconded by Jon Welch, the board approved Klipsch's recommenda- tion that they enter into an agree- ment with Utility Supply Compa- ny, of Huntingburg, to begin the process of replacing the existing water meters with meters manu- factured by the Neptune Technol- ogy Group. "Like everything else in Peters- burg, everything's old, but, specif- ically, our meters," Klipsch said. "We're guessing 15 to 20 years old, and the life expectancy on these meters is 15 to 20 years, so we're starting to experience prob- lems. Our transponders are fail- ing." Klipsch informed the board that water department employ- ee Darren Cook has been replac- ing transponders as they fail. The transponders, he added, cost ap- proximately $250 each. "Darren's been spending City water meters to be upgraded Boy Scout Dominick Garland, VFW Commander Ray Stilwell and Boy Scout Cameron Smith fold an American Flag that is being retired and disposed of during a solemn ceremony last Saturday morning. See related photos on page A-3 White escapes injury but not arrest A rural Petersburg man was arrested after he crashed his SUV into a tree on CR150W south of Petersburg and fled on foot Thursday night. Adam White, 35, was arrested by police about a half-mile away. See related story on page A-2.