Sheriff called to remove surveyors
On Thursday, deputies were called to a property in the path of the Mid-States Corridor to remove four members of a Lochmueller Group surveying crew.
Bob Pfister and his wife, Kathy, own about 58 acres of classified woodlands northeast of Jasper in the Whoderville area. On maps posted on the Mid-States Corridor website, a portion of the Pfisters’ property falls within the 2,000-foot proposed path of the highway that cuts around to the east of Huntingburg and Jasper before reconnecting near Haysville. Survey crews are working to determine the placement of the 200-foot-wide corridor within that 2,000-foot-wide path. The final path of the road could cut up to a 10-acre corner out of the property. It also seems it will block the current access road to the property.
On May 23, Mr. Pfister refused to allow survey crews on the property after they notified him they would be there that day. Pfister contends the Indiana Department of Transportation and its contractor, Lochmueller Group, have to send him written notification by mail five days before coming onto the land.
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According to Mr. Pfister, as of Thursday, he had not received any notification other than phone calls and texts from Lochmueller Group.
Additionally, he is expecting to be back in Dubois County Circuit Court Judge Nathan Verkamp before any other actions are taken to enter his property.
In a series of messages between the State Attorney General’s Office and Pfister’s attorney, Russel Sipes, INDOT has stated it has the right to come onto the property based on the temporary injunction granted in court. Sipes says they need to go back to court before accessing the property to determine if Mr. Pfister is in contempt of that order.
Pfister was notified electronically that crews would be coming out this week, initially scheduled for June 4 but rescheduled for June 5. Expecting them on Thursday, he went out that morning but subsequently had to leave to pick up his son from the airport.
He asked Mark Nowotarski, a member of the Property Rights Alliance and the Stop the Mid-States Corridor Coalition, to check on the property to ensure no one had entered it while he was gone. However, while Nowotarski was away from the property between 11 and noon, the survey arrived and began their work.
After learning the surveyors were on the property, Mr. Pfister contacted Sheriff Tom Kleinhelter to report that the crew was trespassing.
Kleinhelter responded with a deputy, and, being unable to contact the crew directly due to bad cell reception, the pair began searching the woods for the group. After meeting up with one member, Jason Dupont, Lochmueller Group’s project manager on the Mid-States Corridor, the sheriff began using the loudspeaker in his vehicle to attempt to call the crew of three surveyors out of the woods.
Eventually, they succeeded, and Sheriff Kleinhelter asked them to leave.
Mr. Pfister was not on the property during the incident.
In a phone interview, Mr. Pfister read an email correspondence between his attorney and Wesley Garrett, the deputy from the Attorney General’s Office, regarding the situation. Sipes said he expected the state to file for relief with the court before entering Pfister’s property. “It may seem counterintuitive, but this process has avoided any serious conflicts or issues with access to survey, even though your filings indicated the state was very concerned with the potential impacts. Tell INDOT to go elsewhere to work Thursday and file something in court.”
The state responded, saying they were allowed access based on the Dubois County Circuit Court’s order, Mr. Pfister said.
“What more does my attorney have to say to them,” Mr. Pfister said. “I will take this up with the judge. They were trespassing.”
Mr. Pfister asserted it was inappropriate for them to come onto the property without him or a family member present.
“Do I have to sit out there every night until midnight?” he said. “Do I have to sleep in a tent to keep them off my property?”
He said he was going to ask the sheriff about filing trespassing charges. The sheriff declined to comment on the events.
A message was left with Lochmueller Group, and a subsequent email from Nicole Minton, Lochmueller’s Public Outreach Manager, stated INDOT does not comment on pending litigation.
