SINCE 1882 Successor to The Poseyville News & New Harmony Times POSEY COUNTY’S ONLY LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED NEWSPAPER
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Briefly Posey, Vanderburgh to hold Legislative sessions The Posey and Vanderburgh County Farm Bureaus and Southwest Indiana Chamber will host a new event soon.The first of four “Cracker Barrel Legislative sessions will be held this Saturday, Jan. 14 from 9 until 11 a.m.. Legislators from southwest Indiana have been invited to participate in this event. The session, moderated by Randy Kron, the president of Indiana Farm Bureau and a Vanderburgh County resident, will give everyone an opportunity to ask questions of their legislators. The event will be held on the University of Southern Indiana Campus, Wright Administration Building, Forum Wing, Forum II. Parking is available in lots A and B. Information on the remaining sessions will be available soon. BMV announces holiday hours Kent Abernathy, Commissioner of the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV), announced that all BMV license branches will be closed Saturday, Jan. 14 through Monday, Jan. 16 in observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. All branches resume their regularly scheduled business hours on Tuesday, Jan. 17. Online transactions can completed on www. myBMV.com. Saint Wendel Trivia Night set Saint Wendel Trivia Night on Saturday, February 4, 2017 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. 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. Saint Philip Men’s Club schedules annual Sausage Sale The Saint Philip Men’s Club annual Sausage Sale will be on Saturday and Sunday January 21 and 22, 2017. The Sausage will be available after the Saturday evening 5:30 p.m. Mass and after the Sunday morning 9:30 a.m. Mass in the Hall located behind the Church. Bulk sausage, Links, Smoked Links, Brats, Liver Sausage, and Soup Bones will be available for purchase. Community invited to Saint Francis Relay For Life event You are invited to the St. Francis Relay for Life Team and Friends’ Brunch for Relay. This year’s menu will be grilled sausage, biscuits and gravy, fried potatoes, egg casserole, fruit and drink - all for only $8 for 13 and over; $5 for those 12-3; and two and under are free. Serving from 7:30 - 11:30 a.m. Sunday, January 29. New Location: Poseyville Community Center, 25 West Fletchall Street, Date set for NH Fire Department Sausage Supper The Annual Sausage Supper to benefit the New Harmony Fire Department is set to be held at the Posey County Community Center on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017 beginning at 4 p.m. Clarification In last week’s story on Matt Schneider, it was reported that the budget was approved for 2018 when in actuality, the policies have been approved but the budget itself will not be approved until March or April. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
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Volume 137 Edition 2
Dems take control of Commissioners Price welcomed, Schmitz takes gavel By Lois Mittino Gray The Posey County Commissioners began the new year by welcoming Jay Price to the dais at the Hovey House at its January 3 organizational meeting. The newly-elected District Three commissioner was sworn in by Judge James Redwine on December 21 and was eager to start his four year term, replacing Jerry Walden. After routinely approving minutes, claims and payments for the new jail construction, a motion was made by Commission President Carl Schmitz to elect Commissioner Jim Alsop as the 2017 President. After the vote, Schmitz handed the gavel over to Alsop saying, “It’s yours now. Take it from here.” Alsop did just that running quickly through a se-
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Commissioners, from left, Jim Alsop, Carl Schmitz and Jay Price, along with Posey County Auditor Sara Beth Meighan, meet for the first meeting of 2017. Photo by Lois Mittino Gray
Material to make explosive devices Kuhn’s found in Posey County man’s home Engine 5 Jody Harl facing several charges Special to the News A rural Posey County man was arrested on Sunday and faces at least two felony charges as the investigation is still under way. According to Posey County Chief Deputy Sheriff Tom Latham, deputies of the Posey County Sheriff’s Office were notified of a family fight at 10429 Eastgate South in Posey County. According to the report, 83-year-old Hester Harl, grandmother of 34-year-old Jody Harl, was able to contact police and stated Jody threatened to harm her and spat on her. Hetser also notified authorities Jody had a gun with him. Latham said deputies were able to
that time. Deputies then conducted a protective sweep of the home and observed several items they believed to be drugs and drug paraphernalia. The Posey County Drug Task Force was notified and a search warrant was granted. The task force was on the lookout for several items believed to be in the home, including drugs, drug paraphernalia, and firearms. The Drug Task Force and Posey County deputies executed the search warrant and retrieved drug paraphernalia and multiple firearms. During the search, deputies located items they believed to be used as explosive devices. Deputies exited the residence and obtained consent from Hester Harl, the home’s owner, to
years. The reorganized board set regular meeting dates for the first and third Monday of each month at 5:45 p.m. in the Mount Vernon Junior High School library. School board salaries were set at $1,936 per year, $109 for the second regular meeting of each month, and $60 for special meetings. These figures reflect no change from last year. Business mileage reimbursement was set at .46 cents per mile, also a continuation from last year. Something new adopted for this year is a mileage reimbursement chart for athletic outings and extracurricular activities. Board adoption of these mileages allows the State Board of Accounts to accept them in place of personal odometer readings. Weinzapfel asked how the distance figures were derived and Evans said they used Google Maps data. Mary Buchanan was reappointed treasurer and Loren Evans will continue as deputy treasurer. A resolution was adopted allowing the two to use signature stamps and sig-
By Lois Mittino Gray Fire Engine Number 5, a year in the making by Pierce Manufacturing of Appleton, Wisc., is ready for its introduction to the public. Mount Vernon Fire Chief Wes Dixon proudly announced at the January 5 Board of Public Works meeting that the dedication of the new fire pumper is set for January 15 at 2 p.m. at the city’s Public Safety Leonard Kuhn Building. The new $590,000 vehicle will be named for Chief Leonard L. Kuhn, who passed away on August 9, 2013, after serving 23 years with the Mount Vernon Fire Department. Kuhn was a local hero whose obituary noted that ‘he will be truly missed by family, friends, and especially at closing time at Bud’s Hardware.’ “I know that this is going to be on a Sunday, but it is his birthday, and his wife, Una, requested it be that day,” Dixon explained. “I think
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Jody Harl obtain a phone number for Jody and called him. Deputies made arrangements with Jody to exit the home, which he did with no further incident. Jody was taken into custody at
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Higgins elected board president By Lois Mittino Gray Beth McFadin Higgins was elected President of the Mount Vernon School Board at the annual reorganization meeting on January 3 of the new year. She accepted the position wholeheartedly and conducted the election of other officers, as well as the business meeting. Kathy Weinzapfel will serve as Vice-President and Mark Isaac was elected Secretary. Higgins, who won another four year at large term in November’s election, and the two ‘newbies’ of Joe Rutledge and Don Julian took their oaths of office, administered by Business Director and Notary Public Loren Evans. Rutledge also won a four year at large term in November and Julian was appointed to fill the remainder of the two year term representing district two vacated by Heather Allyn’s election to Posey County Council. Rutledge and Julian are both Mount Vernon High School graduates and have children in the school system. Julian is Director of Pharmacy at St. Mary’s Hospital and Rutledge is an Issue Resolution Specialist at SABIC. Rutledge’s father, Jerry, was on the schoolboard for sixteen
unveiling set this month
Political pros: Students shine in regional competition By Lois Mittino Gray Imagine being an eighth grader and being savvy enough to teach your parents about national politics. All of the students in Mark Kirkman’s social studies class at Saint Philip School are able to do just that after successfully competing at regional and state level in the ‘We The People’ middle school contest. Kirkman, who is in his seventh year educating teams on American government and its history, said this year’s class is outstanding and hardworking. Not one small group struggled with its topic, which was a first for the educator. “It’s really funny to realize that you can talk with a parent and tell them about politics these days,” said Brennan Epley. Emphasizing that point, Eigth grade students from Saint Philip School, front row from left: Rachael Greenwell, Kasey Seibert, Chloe Miller added, “Whenever I would talk to my mom about what I Audrey French, Chloe Miller, Esther Wannemuehler, Mallory Weber, Madi Boehman, and Julia Daswas studying, she had no clue what sel. Second row from left: Josh Perkins, Greg Mayer, Jackson Wannemuehler, Hunter Schenk, Dale Hile (at the podium), Scott Fitts, Nolan Schapker, and Brennan Epley. Third row from left: Teacher Continued on Page A4 Mark Kirkman, Ethan Mulherin, Sam Weinzapfel, and Zane Renfroe. Photo submitted