T
P C N SINCE 1882 Successor to The Poseyville News & New Harmony Times POSEY COUNTY’S ONLY LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED NEWSPAPER
Volume 140 Edition 4
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
$1.00
NP School Board OKs 2019 slate By Lynda Baker A moment of silence was held at the first North Posey School Board meeting of 2020 for Diane Smith, a former Speech and English teacher at North Posey High School for 44 years, who passed away on December 28, 2019 at age 72. The Board also recognized North Posey High School’s wrestling team’s Class 1A State Championship over Christmas break. Following a brief discussion regarding an email presented by Member Vince Oakley, the Board voted 4:1 to retain all officers for 2020, such officers being Geoff Gentil, President; Gregory Schmitt, Vice President; Amy Will, Secretary; Carol Lupfer as Corporation Treasurer; and Jayme Bender as Deputy Treasurer; Bill Bender as the School Board Attorney; Geoff Gentil as the President of the Board of Finance; Brett Stock as the Treasurer; Amy Will as the Policy Liaison; and Vince Oakley as the Legislative Liaison. School Board Member compensation for service for 2020 remained the same as last year. Each Member will receive $2,000 annually, along with $100 per meeting, for a total of $3,200. The Board is also entitled to receive a stipend for special meetings; however, the Board declined to receive the same. The following hires were approved by the Board: • Isaac Redman to teach English at North Posey High School for the remainder of this school year • Julie Gries as eLearning coach at North Posey High School for the remainder of this school year • Robbin Weber as junior/senior high school cafeteria worker • Lydia Hoops, Dianna Simkins and Haley Elpers as long-term sub-
stitutes to cover maternity leaves Dr. Todd Camp outlined the Summer 2020 Planning Projects, which included such items as galvanized pipe work, drainage work, asphalt work, high school cafeteria remodeling, fixture changes, and possible van replacement, along with general replacements and repairs. Board Members were supplied with copies of the Plan for consideration. The Board voted to renew its property and casual insurance package at a total cost of $109,437.51 for 2020. The next meeting of the School
Board will be held February 10, 2020 (executive session at 5:30 p.m.; public session at 6:30 p.m.). George Link will present an update on current construction projects at the next meeting. Gentil read the monthly Good News Report, honoring teams and exceptional individual accomplishments of students. The Board was informed that Vince Oakley will represent the Board at the February 2020 Legislative Conference. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
Oakley questions potential conflict of interest images By Dave Pearce Questions spurred by a statement read by North Posey School Board member Vince Oakley have swirled around the community since last week’s school board meeting. Oakley’s statement made reference to the fact that the school board attorney is now married to the school district’s Assistant Superintendent. Oakley indicated this week that efforts to discuss the situation as it stands in an open forum have been rejected. Oakley indicated that he had attempted to make his concerns known to School Supt. Todd Camp and other school board members but that his emails have drawn little response. Although Oakley was complimentary of what board attorney and local attorney Bill Bender has contributed over the years, his question was centered around avoiding appearance of impropriety by having nepotism involved in the formula.
“There is no doubt Mr. Bender has provided admirable service for the MSD of North Posey for many years. He has served numerous school boards under several different superintendents. I am in no way questioning the service he has provided for all of these years,” Oakley said in the statement he read during the board meeting. “What I am uncomfortable with is the potential for perceived or actual conflict of interest his service could provide in the future.” Oakley cited the fact that his wife, a teacher at North Elementary, was told she could no longer serve on district level committees when he was elected to the school board. Oakley indicated he nor his wife had a problem complying to that request. However, he sees the current situation as the same. “When I came on the board, I was made aware that my wife would have
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Shawn and Melanie Will were banking on the Luck of the Irish to help them at the Saint Wendel Catholic School Athletic Committee Trivia Night on Saturday evening. Photo by Theresa Bratcher
Broadband could be in Posey County’s near future By Lois Mittino Gray Do you live in a ‘dead zone’? Does your residential area have no access to the internet or slow speeds? You can do something to help the situation by taking a survey to tell two agencies about the inadequacies. Jenna Richardt, Director of the Posey County Economic Development Partnership and Audrie Burkett, with the Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana, are working hard to improve rural broadband access in southwest Indiana. The pair appeared before a joint meeting of the Posey County Commissioners and the Posey County Council at a January 22, morning meeting to explain the results to date of the survey and to discuss a possible grant opportunity to improve county services, using that information. Richardt said data from the online 12 question survey was collected from September 2019 to January 2020, with 2,518 responses received so far, representing three counties. 67 percent were from Posey County. While access is spotty all over the county, the main areas identified as ‘dead zones’ with little to no ac-
cess are Parker Settlement, near the University Parkway, Solitude and down Springfield Road. “We feel better broadband access will improve the quality of life and economic development in our county. We need it especially to grow and attract and retain millennials. We are told to treat broadband opportunities like you would any economic development deal,” the directors said. If someone has not taken the survey yet, everyone is urged to take a minute and do so. “Your feedback is needed to make a change. The more surveys taken, the more data and support we have to give to providers looking to serve our area and obtain grant funds,” Richardt noted. If a person does not have access to the internet to take the survey, Richardt said to call the PCEDP office 812-838-6500 to take the survey over the phone. In response to a question on whether internet service, other than on a personal cell phone, is currently available at their location, 32 percent of residents responded they do not have fixed
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Down on Main Street... Posey County News is on the move, has new downtown home From Staff Reports Owners Dave and Connie Pearce announced last week that after nearly 11 years at 641 Third Street in New Harmony, the business has moved to 606B Main Street in New Harmony. Several factors went into the decision to move from the office that was located inside the Koester Construction Building. “It was a very hard decision because Jeff (Koester) and Chris (Laughbaum) have not only been great landlords but have also become
great friends and supporters of the newspaper,” Dave Pearce said over the weekend. The Posey County News was purchased in 2008 from Donna Kohlmeyer a couple of years after the death of her husband and long-time newspaper owner Jim Kohlmeyer. The original plan called for the Pearces to run the business with their son, Eric Morlock. Upon his graduation from Murray State University, Morlock accepted a position in the Lexington, Ky., area where he lived until August of this year. He has
Connie and Dave Pearce (holding Layton), Jacy and Eric Morlock (holding Addie).
(USPS 439-500)
returned to this area with his wife, Jacy and two children, Addie and Layton, ages three and one. “It was always in the back of my mind to have a nice, quaint office on Main Street in New Harmony,” Pearce said. “However, Chris and Jeff worked with us and made an affordable environment until we could establish and build the paper. I’ll be forever grateful for their hospitality and friendship.” The new location opened up when Rick Huffman’s Dulcimer Shop relocated just up the street and although the space is slightly smaller, the main street location is picturesque and hopefully will allow for the company to be a more active part of the New Harmony community. Managing Editor Theresa Bratcher said she is excited about the possibilities that come with locating in a more central location in New Harmony. “We have a large picture window and can watch and be a part of some of the many activities that go on in New Harmony during the year,” Bratcher said. “With almost everything being done on computer, it’s not mandatory for us to have the space that was once required. I think this will be a good move for us.” Connie takes care of the routine bookkeeping while Sally Denning is the office manager and manages the daily operations of the company’s business.
“The people of Posey County still enjoy seeing their children and grandchildren on the pages of a newspaper,” Connie said. “I’m so happy that through the help of the community and advertisers, we are able to continue that here. Many communities no longer have that newspaper presence. We will continue to do it as long as the people appreciate it and feel a need for it.” So far, the Posey County News has been able to buck the trend of a reduction in subscribers. Although an on-line version is available, the print edition is far and away the mainstay of the paper. Over the past 10 years, the Posey County News has been able to nearly triple the number of subscribers of Posey County’s other newspaper and is now ahead of the Evansville Courier in penetration of the print edition. The News remains the only locally-owned newspaper in the area. “One thing that has kept us going is the fact that we have people who are willing to work hard and they take tremendous pride in their work,” Dave Pearce said of the staff and it’s contributors. “Everyone loves Lois Gray and she continues to provide us with a diversity of stories and pictures. Chris Morlan and his sports writing in Poseyville has made it possible for me to be able to do more in the com-
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