The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/985526
The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, May 23, 2018 A-3 LOCAL Call: 812-354-8500 Email: news@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg NEWS BRIEFS Live music at Prides Creek Park Saturday Prides Creek Park is offering a free live music con- cert this Saturday evening, May 26, beginning at 8 p.m. Local and area musicians will be performing at the Amphitheater. The concert is free and open to all campers and the general public. Matt Sullivan, Carie Thorne, Dustin Arnold and Joe Dillon will be performing live and will be giving away a guitar. There is no cover charge; however, there is a $2 gate fee without a Prides Creek annual windshield sticker. Upcoming event? We want to know! Do you have an upcoming event? Send it to news@ pressdispatch.net or call 812-354-8500. ª5($'<ª6(7ª 6&5((1 $OXQJFDQFHUVFUHHQLQJJLYHV\RXDKHDGVWDUW «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etersburg Senior Citizens Center - The senior citizens center is open from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday in the Pike County Courthouse basement. Breakfast is served on the first Wednesday of the month, donations accepted to help with the cost. Everyone is welcome. Al-Anon meeting – Meetings are each Wednesday at 11:30 a.m., located at 424 W. 7th St. in Jasper. For more information, call 812-887-0349. Celebrate Recovery Program – Meets every Sun- day night from 5 to 7 p.m. at 207 Lafayette St. in Win- slow. For more information, call Krystal Breeding 812- 582-2562. Winslow Alcohol Anonymous – will meet every Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Call 812-789 -8535 for location of the meeting. Narcotic Anonymous – Every Monday at 7 p.m. at River of Life Fellowship Church. For more informa- tion, contact 812-380 -1395. Diabetes Discovery Camp – Has your child been diagnosed with diabetes? When diagnosed with dia- betes, almost every part of your and your child's life is affected. It's a serious condition, but there's a lot you can do to protect your children's health. Memori- al Hospital and Health Care Center is offering a free event, "Diabetes Discovery Camp," on Saturday, June 23, 2018, from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. The Diabetes Discovery Camp will be at the Tri- County YMCA, 131 East 16th Street, Ferdinand, and is for children ages 4-18 and their parent or guardian. The day will consist of fun crafts and activities for chil- dren, and a day of educational sessions and network- ing for parents. Snacks and lunch will be provided, and registration is required. Contact Memorial Hospital Diabetes Man- agement at 812-996 -0521 or email diabetes@mhhcc. org to request a registration form. Women's Cancer Support Group - The Lange- Fuhs Cancer Center at Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center offers a support group for women who have had cancer of any type or are currently undergo- ing cancer treatment. Sessions are the third Tuesday of each month from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Lange-Fuhs Cancer Center Con- ference Room, located at Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center's Dorbett Street entrance. For more information about the "Women's Support Group," visit www.mhhcc.org and click on "Classes & Events," or call The Lange-Fuhs Cancer Center at 812- 996 -7488. Pre-registration is not necessary. Petersburg Lions Club Run for Sight - Hokum Karem (Run or Walk) 9 a.m. (EDT), Saturday, June 9, 2018, at Hornady Park, 1265 State Road 56 Petersburg. The deadline to sign up is June 2. For more informa- tion, contact Cal Biddie, Lions Race Director, 225 W. Pike Ave. Petersburg, IN 47567. Mt. Olympus Alumni Banquet - Saturday, June 16, with social hour at 4 p.m. and catered dinner at 5 p.m. at the Mt. Olympus gym. For more information, contact Patty Craig at 812-385 -8228. County commissioners hire two EMTs, approve new jail security system By Andy Heuring The Pike County Com- missioners hired two EMTs and approved a $146,000 se- curity system for the Pike County Jail during their Monday night meeting. Pike County Sheriff Jer- emy Britton recommended a system from Stanley Se- curities, which had the low bid for the project. The sys- tem includes items such as remotely controlled door locks, and video and audio communication through- out the jail. Sheriff Britton, in earlier meetings, said the original system was in- stalled when the jail was built in the early 1990s. He said replacement parts are no longer available for the door locking systems, forc- ing them to cannibalize the doors in non-secure areas. He said if the system fails, it could cause serious prob- lems. The other bid for the system was from SAS for $180,000. The commission- ers approved the contract with Stanley. The commissioners vot- ed 3-0 to hire Ryan Benner as the Emergency Manage- ment Agency Director. Com- missioner Jeff Nelson said the EMA Advisory Board had interviewed candidates and recommended Benner for the position. He replaces Holly Bryant, who resigned last year to take a similar po- sition with the State of Indi- ana. Benner worked as a EMT for the Pike County Emer- gency Management Ser- vice. Consequently, EMS Director Chris Young asked the Commissioners to hire Chris Doll to replace Ben- ner. Doll is a paramedic who has worked part-time for the Pike County EMS. "He is very familiar with Pike County," said Young. Young also asked the Commissioners to hire Kathryn Hoffman, a basic EMT as well. Last week, County Councilmen voted to approve a transfer of funds from the part-time EMT to full-time EMT. Young told the county council he was having to fill at least eight shifts a month with either part-time people or over - time. He said hiring another EMT would greatly reduce the amount of shifts he has to fill and could show some savings by not having to pay overtime. Young said the county council understood when they voted for the transfer, it was creating an additional full-time position they would have to fund in the future. He predicted the savings on overtime and part-time help would almost offset the cost of the additional EMT. Commissioner Jeff Nelson asked Young how many runs the EMS had made the last two years. Young said about 1,420 and this year they are about 79 runs ahead of the number from this time last year. Young's request was ap- proved by a 3-0 vote. Com- missioner President Bri- an Davis did not attend the meeting. The commissioners ap- proved several other agree- ments, including a contract for courthouse HVAC main- tenance, purchasing carpet for the family courtroom and with Malcon, a firm that audits fuel tax and other tax- es to see if the county is eli- gible for refunds. They purchased about 900 square feet of carpet from Englerts in Jasper for the Family Court for a price of $ 3,082.40. They renewed a contract with Messmer Mechanicals to maintain the courthouse's HVAC. Al- pha Energy Solutions sub- mitted a quote for $ 6,220 a year. Commissioner As- sistant Kristi Dischinger said the only real differ- ence in the services was Al- pha would inspect the chill- er and boiler twice a year, while Messmer only inspect- ed them once a year. Howev- er Messmer's price is about $ 800 a year less at $5,450. "Have you had any prob- lems with Messmer? " asked Commissioner Ryan Cole- man. Dischinger said they hadn't. They voted 2-0 to stay with Messmer. James Wiltbank com- plained to the commission- ers about the dust on CR 900 E. He asked if they could pave or put dust control on it. "We are prisoners in our own house. You can't put the windows down." "I have to wear a dust mask because of the dust on the road," said Wiltbank. He told the commissioners 900 E. was the heaviest traveled road in the county and four of his neighbors had moved out because of the dust prob- lem. He also complained that the rock the county put on the road just washed off into the ditches when it rained. He said he would take the rock out of the ditch and put it on his driveway. Commissioner Nelson said the county didn't have money to pave the road, but they would get some dust control on it. The next commissioners' meeting is 8:30 a.m. Mon- day, June 4 in the court- house auditorium. By Andy Heuring Petersburg native Andrew Sparks recently retired from the Navy. His retirement was celebrated last week with a ceremony at the Pe- tersburg VFW. During his 22 years in the Navy, Sparks earn four Navy and Marine Corps Commen- dation Medals, five Navy and Marine Corps Achieve- ment Medals, six Good Con- duct Medals and numerous individual campaign and unit awards. Chief Petty Officer Sparks joined the Navy in 1996 and attended Seamanship Ap- prentice training prior to be- ing assigned to the USS San- ta Barbara. When the San- ta Barbara was decommis- sioned, he was assigned to the USS Taylor in Mayport, Fla., where he advanced to the rank of Boatswain Mate Third Class. Sparks was honorably dis- charged from active duty in October 2000, but in Sep- tember 2001, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserves and then converted to ac- tive duty in January 2002. He then attended Master-at- Arms "A" School in San Di- ego and then was assigned to Commander Navy Re- gion Southwest Naval Boat Police, where he advanced to Petty Officer First Class. Upon completion of his tour of duty, he was assigned to Naval Support Activity in Souda Bay, Crete, Greece from June 2005 to July 2007. In August 2007, he was as- signed the USS Simpson as the Chief Master-at-Arms until September 2010 and qualified as an Enlisted Sur- face Warfare Specialist. In October 2010, he was assigned to Naval Personnel Command, in Millington, Tenn., as a Master-at-Arms. During this assignment, he was initiated into the Chief Petty Officers MESS. In January 2014, he was assigned to the Coastal Riv- erine Group Tow Detach- ment Bahrain. While there, he was Mission Command- er for Embarked Security and Intelligence Team Sev- en, and qualified as an En- listed Expeditionary War- fare Specialist. His final tour was on the USS Gerald R. Ford from February 2015 to June 2018, during which time, he spent 12 months on the USS Har- ry S. Truman. He and his wife, the for- mer Missy Wilkinson, have been married for eight years and have five children. Andrew Sparks Sparks retires from 22 year Navy career SOMETHING NEWSWORTHY? Give us a call: 812-354-8500 or email news@pressdipsatch.net