Holiday World holding job fair tomorrow
As the summer vacation season approaches full throttle, Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari are preparing by hosting an Open Job Fair on Saturday. “This season is going great – in fact we believe we have our friendliest seasonal staff ever,” says Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari General Manager Matt Eckert. “We have about 100 more…
Indiana Conservation Officers investigate fish kill on Patoka River
Update: An Indiana Department of Environmental Management investigator has stated the low oxygen levels were more than likely caused by the heat and low water flow. Original: Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating a fish kill on the Patoka River. According to the report from the Department of Natural Resources, on Wednesday dead fish were found…
Greater Jasper School Board retains same officers
The Greater Jasper School Board met Thursday morning to reorganize. The board composition remained the same: Nancy Habig is president, Bernie Vogler is vice president and Mike Braun is secretary. Greg Eckerle and Ken Schnaus continue as members.
“Derecho”
The storm and wind that ran through the area on Sunday has an official name. Many call the high velocity horizontal winds “straight-line winds” but the proper term is “derecho”. “A derecho (pronounced “deh-REY-cho) is a widespread, long-lived wind storm that is associated with a band of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms. Although a derecho…
Huntingburg water production up to give Patoka Water leeway
Huntingburg Mayor Denny Spinner and Utilities Superintendent Tony Traylor met with officials from the Patoka Lake Regional Water and Sewage District on Monday. The district is requesting that Huntingburg cut back it use of Patoka Lake supplied water by 1.6 million gallons for the entire month of July. Huntingburg’s Water Treatment plant will increase production…
Jasper water supply up but still resticted
During the emergency Common Council meeting held on Monday in Jasper, Water Utility Manager Mike Oeding told the council the watering ban was working. Mayor Terry Seitz commended the citizens of Jasper and the volunteers that helped on Friday. He told the council the city was in much better shape due to the water ban….
More Dubois County towns issue mandatory water conservation
The following cities and towns have mandatory water conservation orders in effect: · Jasper · Ireland · Winslow · Dubois · Duff The mandatory orders in these cities mean that watering of lawns, landscaping and gardens with sprinkler systems of any kind is now prohibited – as is washing of vehicles and washing of outdoor…
Dubois County and cities declare state of emergency and issue fireworks ban
Faced with the threat of fires from personal use of fireworks Jasper, Huntingburg and the County Commissioners declared a state of emergency this morning and banned all fireworks throughout the county. The executive orders issued by Huntingburg and Jasper are effective for seven days. Indiana law allows unrestricted usage of consumer fireworks from June 30…
Jasper issues Emergency Water Conservation Declaration
The City of Jasper banned all exterior water usage in an emergency meeting of the Common Council and Utility Service Board on Friday. The Mandatory Water Conservation is effective immediately and bans the washing of cars, exterior surfaces (driveways, sidewalks, and homes) and all sprinklers. No hose watering is allowed in the city. Violators of…
Ireland has water problems
On Thursday, the Ireland Water Utilities asked customers to conserve water due to the town’s inability to keep up with the consumption. Ken Schnaus, secretary of the Ireland Water Board of Directors, said they are asking customers to cut back on the additional watering of lawns and gardens. “At this time we are asking for…
Fireworks law has teeth and could bite any local bans on personal displays (updated)
In what has been the driest June in history, Dubois County and its cities have their hands tied in banning personal displays of fireworks over the Fourth of July holiday to prevent fires. In 2006, Indiana’s commercial fireworks dealers pressured state lawmakers to approve a law making it legal for Hoosiers to shoot off fireworks…
Red Cross opens cooling stations in Huntingburg and Jasper today
With the expected hot temperatures and heat indexes predicted over 100 degrees, the American Red Cross is urging residents to take precautions against the heat now. To help offer relief to those without air conditioning during these periods of hot weather, the Red Cross will open locations throughout the Tri-State Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from…
Red Cross to open two cooling stations in Jasper
In response to the expected hot weather in the area for the rest of the week, the American Red Cross has plans to open up several cooling stations in Jasper. For those seeking relief from the heat, cooling locations will be open in Dubois County at the Jasper City Hall Building in the basement and…
Discarded cigarettes are the leading cause of unintentional grass fires
The Indiana Department of Homeland Security and Indiana State Police are reminding Hoosiers that proper disposal of cigarettes and safe handling of fireworks is critical to avoid accidentally starting a fire. “Two-thirds of Indiana’s counties have issued burn bans and numerous jurisdictions have placed restrictions on the use of fireworks because dry conditions are very…
Burn ban in effect
The Dubois County Commissioner’s and the Dubois County Fire Chiefs are reminding citizens that Dubois County is currently under a burn ban that will stay in effect until further notice. Due to the prolonged period of drought that we are experiencing and lack of rainfall there is an extreme fire hazard within Dubois County. The…
Charity Classic at Sultan’s Run raises money for uninsured and under-insured
On Monday, 12 golf pros paused in the PGA National Series to stop by Sultan’s Run to play in the Charity Classic put on by the Memorial Hospital Foundation. “When the course opened in 1992, Sultan’s came to us (Memorial Foundation) and asked if we would like to sponsor a golf tournament and bring in…
Jasper School Board seeking candidates for Jasper Library Board
The Greater Jasper Consolidated School Board will be appointing a new member to the Jasper Library Board in August. Current School Board appointee Kent Taylor’s term will end in August. He told the library board he would not be able to continue as part of the library board due to his increased responsibilities as the…
Party almost over, the eagle has flown
A little girl looked through Sam Voelkel’s camera and then back at her mother. The nine-year-old was excited to see the rare eagles nested at Huntingburg Lake. I want to do this mommy, she said referring to the camera and the wonder it pointed at, I want to grow up and do this. What is…
Medical emergency costs county
A medical emergency at the jail cost the county over $40,000 recently. Sheriff Donnie Lampert met with the County Council for approval of an addition appropriation of $150,000 for the Security Center’s medical fund after the incident along with other medicals costs depleted the fund this year. The fund normally holds $150,000 but was down…
County Council votes to reconsider I-67 money
On Monday the Dubois County Council voted to reconsider the petition by OFS CEO Hank Menke for $25,000 to help fund feasibility studies to support the I-67 initiative. At the end of the meeting agenda, Councilwoman Barb Mathies (D) told the council she had investigated the proposed I-67 initiative and its impact on the county….
Memorial Hospital and LifeFlight celebrate 30 year partnership
Memorial Hospital Emergency Services staff gathered on Wednesday evening to celebrate a partnership spanning three decades and numerous emergency events. The LifeFlight was scheduled to arrive at the hospital but in a demonstration of how critical the service is, it was diverted to an emergency. In 1982 Memorial Hospital partnered with LifeFlight in providing a…
Huntingburg to Celebrate a 175 years with Comedian Tim Cavanagh
Huntingburg will be having its 175th Anniversary Celebration Kick-off on July 13th at the Huntingburg Event Center. This is going to be a special, fun-filled evening with a progress update sprinkled in and you are invited to attend this once in a lifetime event. Here are some of the activities for the evening: Doors Open…
Southridge Students will return to continued construction
The Southwest Dubois County School Board was notified that the earliest completion date for the school remodel would be in November. Current plans have returning students being able to use the main entrance to the school and the administration back in the front office area, but students will still be using temporary classrooms. Tony Heath…
Dubois County under a burn ban
A burn ban will go into effect in Dubois County today. According to Emergency Management Director Tammy Miller the area is ten inches behind on rainfall causing very dry conditions and forcing the burn ban. Residents cannot have open burning of any kind including campfires and fire pits. The only exceptions are charcoal and gas…
Patoka Lake boat ramps open
Patoka Lake and all 11 of its ramps are open for use by boaters. Due to a lack of spring rains, Patoka Lake in southern Indiana remains near winter pool levels of 532.7 feet above sea level, instead of the guideline level of 536 feet above sea level. Consequently, the DNR has closed the beach…
Portions of Ferdinand affected by boil order
A water main break forced Ferdinand to issue a boil order for customers living on Missouri Street between West 16th and West 17th and customers in the Country Plaza area. The break was likely caused by the dry conditions that have already caused issues with concrete pipe in the town. The boil order will likely…
County Courthouse center of shooting simulation
A couple caught up in a drama outside the Dubois County Circuit Courtroom turned into a bloody shooting during the hostile response exercise Tuesday afternoon. Sheriff’s Department Detective Tom Kleinhelter and Emergency Management Director Tammy Miller portrayed the fighting couple. When the exercise began they broke into a realistic argument that culminated with Kleinhelter pulling…
Jasper Utility Service Board meeting June 18
Jim O’Neil of WITZ provided most of the content for this article. The DC Free Press spoke with Gas and Water Manager Oeding last week about the water situation and that information has been added to the story. The Jasper Utility Service Board met Monday night for their monthly meeting and during the course of…
Patoka Lake Beach closed until further notice
The beach and beach area located at Newton-Stewart Recreational Area at Patoka Lake has been closed until further notice due to unsafe swimming conditions. The low level of the water has exposed the irregular shape of the shoreline under the water’s surface. Unseen drop-offs make swimming or wading unsafe. DNR continues to caution boaters due…
Democrats pick new Dubois Township Trustee
From Gary Eck, Dubois County Democratic Central Committee Marion Township Democratic Precinct Chairpersons caucused on Monday, June 18 at the Dubois Library, and selected Brad Terwiske of Dubois to finish the term of current township trustee Darlene Wible. Wible’s letter of resignation to the county clerk is effective June 30. Dubois County Democratic Chairman Gary…
Huntingburg Park Board makes third request for splash park cost analysis
The Huntingburg Park Board voted unanimously to contract with Benchmark Engineering to have an “apples to apples” comparison completed on the two sites being considered for the Huntingburg Splash/Spray Park. This is the third time this year the Park Board has requested the Parks Director have the cost analysis completed. Director Jim Rueger was instructed…
