SINCE 1882 Successor to The Poseyville News & New Harmony Times POSEY COUNTY’S ONLY LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED NEWSPAPER
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Volume 137 Edition 5
Town council approves new attorney Bauer hired in four to one vote in New Harmony By Lois Mittino Gray A specially-called meeting of the New Harmony Town Council was held on Tuesday, January 24 at 3 p.m. to appoint a new legal “counsel for the council.” After a five minute meeting with no discussion, the council voted four to one with rubber stamp speed to hire Erin E. Borcherding Bauer to represent them at a higher fee rate than other applicants. Councilman Gary Watson made the motion to hire Attorney Bauer as legal counsel for the town. Before
it was seconded, Councilman David Flanders piped in to make a substitute motion to hire Joshua Claybourn as town counsel. Council President Alvin Blaylock asked for a second to Flanders’ motion and after the silence of the four others, he declared the motion dead for lack of a second, allowing for no discussion of Flanders’ motion. Blaylock then went back to the original motion, which never had a second, so Roger Wade seconded it. There was no discussion and the vote
was taken. Bauer was hired by a vote of four to one with Flanders in opposition. A frustrated Flanders asked Watson why he preferred Bauer as the town attorney? “I don’t want to tell you. I don’t want to discuss it here,” Watson retorted icily. The gavel went down and the meeting was adjourned at 3:05 p.m. The spending of taxpayer money requires due diligence to get the best rate and public discussion of action taken. Flanders had a chart he made with the information on all three at-
torney applicants in front of him at the meeting, although there was no opportunity for him to discuss it. Claybourn charges $160 an hour, with mileage to attend meetings not charged to the council. Bauer charges $175 an hour, with one way mileage to the meeting charged. Bauer is a local woman who graduated from North Posey High School in 2001 and was admitted to the bar in 2008. Clayborn went to Evansville North and was admitted to the bar in 2006. Both attended Indiana University Law School. A third applicant who was not in the motions, Jeff Ayhlers, charges mileage to meetings and
NP Hall of Fame tickets on sale North Posey Hall of Fame will be held on February 25, at the North Posey High School Cafeteria at 6 p.m. Tickets can be purchased for $15/person by calling the Posey County News Office at 812-682-3950. We are rapidly running out of space for reservations for this year’s Hall of Fame banquet. Please Make Reservations now or no later than February 10, 2017. Late reservations and walk-ins will not be taken this year due to food reservations and costs. Thank you for your support. Kiwanis Ziti Supper planned The New Harmony Kiwanis have planned an All-You-Can-Eat Ziti Supper for Tuesday, February 7, 2017 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Catholic Community Center. Menu includes Ziti, Garlic Bread, Salad, Ice Cream, and Drinks. Adults $10; children up to 12 years $5; and under six are free. Tickets will be available at the door.
Saint Wendel Trivia Night set Gather your team (up to eight people) and join us for this unique fundraiser to benefit Saint Wendel Catholic School. Attendees will compete for prizes during eight rounds of trivia. On February 4 doors open at 5:30 p.m., with dinner starting at 5:45 p.m. Trivia will start at 7 p.m. Plan to stick around after trivia and enjoy DJ music and social hour. Cost is $35 per person. Proceeds from trivia and raffles benefit Saint Wendel Academic and Athletic Programs. Questions or to reserve your table please contact Laureen Cates at 812-430-6737. Posey County 4-H Talent Show coming soon The annual Posey County Share-the-Fun Talent Contest will be held Friday, May 5, 2017, at North Posey High School. The event will begin at 7 p.m. The public is welcome to attend, and admission is free. Local 4-H members will participate in group and/or individual curtain acts, and 4-H trip and scholarship winners for the year will be announced. For more information on this or any other 4-H event, please contact the Purdue Extension-Posey County Office, 812-838-1331 or poseyces@ purdue.edu. Intervention can be difference between life and death Narconon reminds families that an intervention can be the difference between life and death. Interventions are powerful tools that can be used when an addict refuses to get help or seek treatment. To learn more about how to conduct an intervention for your loved one and save their life go to http://www.narcononsuncoast.org/blog/the- power-of- an-intervention.html. Addiction Screenings: Narconon can help you take steps to overcome addiction in your family. Call today for free screenings or referrals. 877-841- 5509.
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MV Council OKs property rezoning on Mulberry Street
Briefly
Ribeyes for Ribeyre Dinner, Auction to be held February 27 The 14th annual benefit dinner will be held on Saturday, February 25, 2017 as the Ribeyre Gym Restoration Group (RGRG) presents the 2017 ‘Ribeyes for Ribeyre’ Dinner and Auction. This benefit event will be held at Ribeyre Gymnasium in Historic New Harmony and boasts an interest for the entire family. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. Hand-cut Dewig Meat’s ribeye steaks will be cooked on-site and served with our famous salad, baked potato, roll, dessert and drink; hotdogs will also be available. A traditional live auction will begin at 6 p.m. All are encourage all to attend this fun event and help support one of New Harmony’s oldest landmarks. Tickets are available at the door: $20 for steak dinner, $8 for hot dog dinner. Serving time is 5-6:30 p.m.
$190 an hour for law firm partners and $150 hour for an associate member to attend meetings. Bauer will replace Thomas Clowers, who resigned to work in Vanderburgh County DA offices, at the regular council meeting held a week earlier on Tuesday, January 17. At that meeting, Blaylock was re-elected council president and meeting times were changed to 8:30 a.m. on the third Tuesday of each month, from 8 a.m. Committee assignments were read aloud for the five council members.
The 2017 North Posey basetball royalty, queen Cidney Colbert and king Noah Scheller, are all smiles after receiving the honor during homecoming festivities on Friday night at North Posey high School. South Knox rained on the Viking homecoming, handing the Vikings their first setback in seven games. See story on Page B2. Photo by Dave Pearce
By Lois Mittino Gray In a very short January 19 meeting of the Mount Vernon Common Council, the second ordinance of the new year was unanimously passed to rezone 802 Mulberry Street from RT (residence-townhouse) to RMF (residencemulti-family). Ordinance 17-2 passed on second reading with Councilman Andy Hoehn making the motion to waive rules to speed things up. Hoehn asked if there had been any remonstrance and Mayor Bill Curtis said not that he was aware of. Councilman Larry Williams said there was none at the Area Plan Commission meeting either. With that being said, the ordinance name was read again for the third and final time and enacted into law. The decision was an easy one to make as Mindy Bourne, representing the Area Plan Commission, appeared before the council at the last meeting for the first reading of the ordinance. She explained that right now, the property is a duplex which is not allowed under the designation RT. “The owner wants to make some changes and refinance it and it needs to be in compliance as multi family. This is not a detriment to the neighborhood as there are many multi-family units around there. It passed 7-0 at the commission meeting,” she informed the council. Another legal action was the second reading of an ordinance of additional appropriations into the newly-created Community Crossing Grant Fund. The added appropriation includes matching funds for street paving in the city to
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Wild ride in Washington Inauguration school trip is one for the books By Valerie Werkmeister The North Posey High School group that traveled to our nation’s capital to see the inauguration of President Donald Trump knew it would be an unforgettable trip. They just didn’t expect some of the reasons why it would turn out to be so unforgettable. By all accounts, the trip was a wonderful experience. A few even characterized the trip as the best one they’d ever been on. Rachel Goedde, a senior, said she was wowed by the sights. “I had never been on a school trip like this before with all my friends. There were so many historic sites and it was amazing to see all the monuments.”
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This group from North Posey High School attended the 2017 Presidential Inauguration of Donald Trump in Washington DC. Photo submitted
Spirit signs: New Harmony resident shares unusual gift By Lois Mittino Gray Joni Mayhan was astounded when she moved to New Harmony last May and sensed that there was a ghost(s) present in every building she moved through. She pinpoints the Fauntleroy Home as the ‘most haunted’ house in town, but lists many others such as the Granary, Dormitory Number Two and the Arbor House. The paranormal investigator tells the story of entering the Arbor House Gift Shop one day and being aware of a spinster schoolteacher presence on the stairs. She walked out and said to Barb, the owner, who was sitting on a bench outside, “I think I just met your ghost,” Barb smiled and replied, “Which one?” Barb told her a spinster schoolteacher is one of the alleged apparitions sensed there.
Mayhan is a seasoned paranormal author, with fifteen books to her name, who is presently working on two more. She would like to publish “Haunted New Harmony” by May or June. She has posted flyers about town asking if anyone has a good ghost story to recount, with ways to contact her or visit her Facebook page. “I haven’t received any calls yet, but I’m always open to listen,” she noted. “I can walk into any house at any time and tell you if a ghost is there.” Mayhan is a Wadesville native who writes that she “grew up on forty acres of lush farmland.” She attended school there and in Mount Vernon and then graduated from North Posey High School in 1982. She moved to central
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Joni’s book signing at Clementine’s Bookstore was well attended as visitors flocked to learn more about the paranormal. Photo submitted