Successor to The Poseyville News & New Harmony Times
LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED SINCE 1882
E, “OUR LIBERTIES WE PRIZ L MAINTAIN.” AND OUR RIGHTS WE WIL Posey County’s ONLY Locally Owned Newspaper.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
$1.00
(USPS S4 439-500) 39 500)) Volume 135 Edition 1
New officials give opportunities for public input By Valerie Werkmeister Is 2015 the year you have decided to become more involved in your community and local politics? If so, then here is your one-stop guide to all of the local government and board meetings happening in Posey County. Posey County Commissioners - meet on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 9 a.m. in the Hovey House in Mount Vernon. Carl Schmitz serves as the president and can be reached at 812-781-2316. Jerry Walden is the vice president. He can be reached at 812-838-0403. Commissioner Jim Alsop can be reached at 812-431-3926. Posey County Council - meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 9 a.m. in the Hovey House. Bob Gentil serves as the council president and may be reached at 812-673-4665. Council members include: Dave Pearce 812-459-4206; Martin Redman 812- 6824213; Tom Schneider 812-838-4756; Ralph Weinzapfel 812-985-2073; Don Mattingly 812-319-1267 and Stefani Miller at 812-985-3239. Mount Vernon City Council - will have their first meeting of the year on Thursday, January 8. They meet the second and fourth Thursday of every month in the City Hall Annex immediately following the Water Utility Board meeting at 7 p.m. Mayor John Tucker may be reached at 812-618-7228; Becky Higgins at 812-204-7388; Steve Fuelling 812-838-5912; Andy Hoehn 812-838-4515; and Bill Curtis 812-838-5755 Auditor Kyle Haney (at right) shares a laugh with Judge Jim Red- serve on the council. Mount Vernon Board of Works - meets at 4 p.m. wine during the recent swearing-in ceremony at the Posey County on the second and fourth Thursdays of every month. Courthouse. Photo by Zach Straw
Mayor John Tucker and councilmen Fuelling and Curtis also serve on this board. Mount Vernon Water Utility Board - meets at 7 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursdays of every month in the City Hall Annex. All members of the city council serve on this board. Mount Vernon Black Township Parks and Recreation Department holds their meetings on the third Monday of every month at 6 p.m. in Entrance 16 at Hedges Central School. Mount Vernon School Board - Heather Allyn, President may be reached at 812-431-8961; Kathy Weinzapfel at 812-985-5906, Beth McFadin-Higgins at 812838-9720, Clarence Nelson at 812-459-2992, and Mark Isaac at 812-499-4084. New Harmony Town Council - meets the third Thursday of each month at 5 p.m. in the New Harmony Town Hall. President Joe Straw can be reached on his cell at 812-307-0008. Council members and their contact information include: Don Gibbs 812-305-7638 or 812-682-3260; Linda Warrum 812-682-3948; Karen Walker 812-682-3390 and Andrew Wilson 812-4579909. Poseyville Town Council - meets on the second Wednesday of each month in the Poseyville Town Hall. President Bruce Baker can be reached at 812457-5379; Councilman Ron Fallowfield at 812-4994226 and Councilman Steve Ahrens at 812-598-3175. North Posey School Board - meets on the second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the school cor-
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Posey’s 2014 goes out like a lamb, 2015 is in like a lion By Dave Pearce Posey County Sheriff Greg Oeth and his Chief Deputy Tom Latham are hoping that the first few hours of 2015 are not the sign of things to come in Posey County. According to Oeth, there was a noticeable contrast in comparison to the uneventful arrival of 2014 and the liveliness at the beginning of this new year. “Yes, sheriff’s deputies found the arrival of 2015 to be a bit active between the period of midnight and sunrise,” Oeth said with a gri-
mace. During the mentioned period, deputies dealt with traffic issues, criminal complaints, personal injury crashes, disturbances, and a well-being intervention. Oeth reported that the Dispatch Center began receiving calls 58 minutes into the new year. “The first call of the new year sent deputies responding to an occurrence of road rage between a divorced couple on State Road 62 east of Mount Vernon,” Oeth said. “Next, deputies intervened and assisted in the matter
of a suicidal subject, which was followed by a complaint of stolen prescription medication alleged to have occurred from a residence hosting a New Years Eve party. A response was made to a residential panic alarm and dispatchers sent deputies to investigate two personal injury vehicle crashes which occurred on opposite ends of the county. Deputies transported two impaired drivers to the Posey County Jail resulting in the first driving while intoxicated arrests of 2015.” With all the excitement of the new year, not
all the news was bad, however. “I’m happy to report that Deputy Josh Brock was fortunate to avoid a head-on crash when a vehicle crested a hill and crossed into Deputy Brock’s lane of travel on Haines Road,” Oeth reported. “The driver was found to be intoxicated. The midnight shift then welcomed the first sunrise of the New Year.” After the eventful first few hours, Oeth could only shake his head and say, “The Posey County Sheriff’s Department wishes everyone a safe, happy and prosperous 2015.”
Public input sought for SR66 improvement project in Jan. 7 meeting Special to the News The Indiana Department of Transportation will hold a hearing on January 7, 2015 to collect public comment on a proposed State Road 66 intersection improvement project at Rexing Road/St. Phillips Road/CR 1100 East. The hearing will begin at 6 p.m. in the South Terrace Elementary School Library, located at 8427 Haines Road in Wadesville, Ind. About the project
The SR 66 project proposes to add a westbound SR 66 right-turn lane onto Rexing Road, 6.2 miles east of SR 165, and replace a box culvert just west of the intersection. The project would require the purchase of approximately four acres of new right-of-way, and INDOT anticipates that no homes or businesses will be displaced. INDOT anticipates that traffic would be maintained during construction. A temporary traffic sig-
Briefly Pop into 2015 at your Library The weather may not be great in January, there may even be snow, but the staff at the Alexandrian Public Library hopes all their loyal patrons and lots of new ones will ‘pop in’ to join them for Patron Appreciation Week, January 5 through January 9. There will be free popcorn all week long, and anyone who checks out an item will receive a thank you gift for their continued support and patronage. Thanks for being a patron of Alexandrian Public Library. HCAMPS applications continue to be accepted Applications continue to be accepted for this year’s HCAMPS (HealthCare Academy for Middle School Pupil’s Success) – a weeklong program for middle school students interested in a career in healthcare. Application deadline is January 12, 2015. This year’s program will take place Monday, June 8 – Friday, June 12 and is open to Vanderburgh, Warrick, Gibson or Posey county students entering eighth grade who have a minimum 3.5 grade point average. Interested students must submit a teacher’s online evaluation, a 150 word essay, and a recent school picture. The deadline to apply is Thursday, January 12, 2015 at 4 p.m. The cost of the program is $100. Financial aid is available. For more information, please contact: Margaret L. Moutseous, Project Director HCAMPS, 812-485-4221 or mlmoutseous@stmarys.org. To apply for the program, please use this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HCAMPS2015. Annual Winter Art Show Scheduled The Visual Art Department of the Mount Vernon High School Fine Arts Academy will present the Annual Winter Student Art Show on Monday, January 12 and Tuesday, January 13, 2015. The show will be open in the visual art room, F102, both days from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Monday evening from 6-8 p.m. Art Show admission is free. The Art Show will feature student works created first semester. Paintings, drawings, computer graphics, photography, sculpture and ceramics are some of the mediums students have worked in. For more information about the Art Show or about MVHS Fine Arts Academy you may call the MVHS office at 838-4356 or email Stephaine Sharber at sharbersl@msdmv.k12.in.us. Red Wagon Restaurant begins Winter Hours Beginning January 5, 2015, until March 1, 2015, the hours of operations for The Red Wagon Restaurant in Poseyville will be as follows: Monday 6 a.m.-2 p.m.; Tuesday-Thursday 6 a.m.-8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 6 a.m.-9 p.m.; and Sunday 6 a.m.-8 p.m.
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nal would allow alternating traffic directions to share one lane during box culvert installation. Temporary pavement and lane shifts would allow for the SR 66 intersection to be rebuilt with the new westbound turn lane. The tentative timetables for construction will be discussed at the hearing during the formal presentation. Public input opportunities The purpose of the public hearing is to offer all interested persons an opportunity to comment on the proposed State Road 66 intersection improvement project at Rexing Road/St. Phillips Road/CR 1100
East. Following a formal presentation, public hearing statements will be recorded. All written statements and recorded verbal statements will be evaluated and addressed in the final environmental document. The preliminary plans will be available for anyone interested in talking with the engineers about the project before and after the formal presentation, however those conversations will not be part of the official record. With advance notice, INDOT can make special accommodations for persons needing auxiliary aids or services of interpreters, signers,
readers, or large print. If hazardous winter weather conditions are forecasted, the hearing will be rescheduled the same time and location on Wednesday, January 14, 2015. Written comments also may be submitted at any time through January 22 to: Public Hearings, Indiana Government Center North Room N642, 100 North Senate Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46204. The environmental document, preliminary design plans and other project materials available during the hearing may be viewed at the following locations:
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Tri-state fitness site is ‘kicking’ By Valerie Werkmeister It happens every year. Santa brings that new pair of “must have” jeans that you have been eying all year. You can’t wait to admire your derriere in the mirror as you slide on…er…grab hold of the suddenly stubborn jeans and try as hard as you can to hoist them on. After a few minutes of sheer focus while writhing and dancing around your room, the jeans are up and now you collapse on your bed in hopes of sucking in enough breath to pull the zipper up and fasten the button. Can it be possible that the jeans are the accurate size? More than likely, the jean struggle is a result of too many of Grandma’s famous cookies. You thoroughly enjoyed the holidays…and like the gift that keeps on giving, the proof is now on your hips. The start of a New Year often triggers a desire, or a necessity to tackle those personal goals that may have been pushed to the wayside during the holiday season. It may be difficult to know just where to start as you plot your new fitness challenges. Fortunately, there is a website operated by an energetic and communityminded North Posey High School history teacher that will help you find just the right fitness challenge to meet your needs. Brandon Barrett is the site administrator for www. tristatefit.com. He developed the site in December 2013 and as the site has just past its first anniversary, Barrett reports its success has far exceeded what he initially thought. The site profiles and reports information on races within a 100-mile radius of Evansville. Within just a few months of its launch, the number of hits on the site exploded. During last summer and fall, the site would garner as many as 400 hits per day. He also had as many as 600 hits in one day. The year ended with a whopping tally of 81,000 hits. Barrett says he developed the website as a one-stop shop for area runners to easily find information on tristate area races. His site includes information for triathlons, biking events, walking and running events. Ac-
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Brandon Barrett announces information to runners prior to last year’s Valhalla 5K event at North Posey High School. Photo by Valerie Werkmeister cording to Barrett, he lists information for 98 percent of all running events that occur within the tri-state area. As the Greater Evansville Runners and Walkers club (GERWC) disbanded, many avid runners were left searching 10-15 different websites trying to gather information for upcoming events. Barrett was one of those left frustrated by the constant searches required to keep up with local event dates. “I figured that if I was frustrated, then there’s got to be others who are frustrated too,” Barrett said. As a race director for three local races himself, (Valhalla 5K in March, The Patriot Race on July 4, and the Otters Race in October) he also wanted to ensure that
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