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SOLAR MEETING - JANUARY 14 - 6 P.M. Inside This Week: Opinion ................A2 Obits ............ A3, A4 Retro ....................A4
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Church .................A5 General ................A5 Business Dir ........A8
Jump ....................A9 Sports ............B1, B2 PCSWCD .....B4, B5
Court News .........B8 Legals ...................B8 Classifieds............B9
SINCE 1882 Successor to The Poseyville News & New Harmony Times
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Tuesday, January 5, 2021
Volume 141 Edition 1
Opponents of solar energy farm in Posey unite to speak By Trisha L. Lopez Several Posey County residents say they have found themselves in a fight for the future of their homes. Letters from Nebraska-based solar energy company Tenaska started appearing in some Marrs Township area residents’ mailboxes around the week of Thanksgiving. Flyers were left on doors. Surveyors soon followed, walking property lines. Jerry Chastain Jr. and his wife Kimberly walked outside of their Darnell School Road home one Sunday to find a man had just left a flyer and was getting into a truck to drive away. “We walked out and somebody was in our driveway,” Chastain said. “He dropped a pamphlet saying ‘Sorry we missed you. We are excited to bring solar energy to Posey County.’ He didn’t even knock. He just got back in his truck. We are out here in the country. Somebody pulls up in a truck and you don’t know them...you wonder what’s going on.” Wondering “what’s going on” has led a group of 15-20 residents to unite in their quest for answers. While no formal requests have been filed with the Posey
County Area Plan Commission according to Area Plan Commission President Mark Seib, company reps said they are seeking between 2,500-3,000 acres of Posey County agricultural land for the future home of a solar farm. No permits have been requested, however, Tenaska has contacted Posey County landowners about leasing their ground for the endeavor and sent letters to neighboring homeowners with offers of annual $1,000 payments in “Good Neighbor” agreements. Capital Dynamics and Tenaska are developing a 300-megawatt solar project in Marrs Township. We have signed leases with more than 65 landowners for approximately 2,500-3,000 acres, although not all of this land will necessarily be utilized for solar panels,” Tiago Sabino Dias, president and CEO of Arevon Energy Management said. Arevon is an affiliate of Capital Dynamics. Dias said he anticipates construction to begin in 2022 and last about 14 months, adding more than 200 jobs during the building phase and five full time jobs during the 35 year lifespan of the project. The Marrs Township project is one of a several that the com-
pany has in development in southern Indiana. They are also looking to build in Pike, Knox and Gibson counties. Dias said he understands that “projects like this may be unfamiliar to the general public and we know there are questions.” He said they are in the process of hiring a community representative and establishing a local office to “help ensure an open dialogue about the project.” He urged landowners to reach out via email or call 812-573-0032 with any questions. The company also has a website at www.poseysolarproject.com for those seeking more information. “More than 65 local landowners have voluntarily leased land for this project and are eager to see this solar project become a reality. Our conversations with local leaders over the past nine months have been positive, and we see substantial benefits for the community through this project, including tax revenue, economic development payments, jobs and opportunities for local contractors and business to provide goods and services. We will be re-
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Chickens ruffle feathers here By Lynda Baker The last meeting of the Poseyville Town Council for 2020 was held last Tuesday. The Council once again expressed their appreciation to Clerk/Treasurer Christy Foster, Lori Motz, Charles Carter, and others who organized and assisted with the Christmas tree lighting, scavenger hunt, and golf cart caroling activities. Foster indicated that plans are being made to continue these activities in coming years. The Council approved a routine year end resolution transferring funds from unobligated line items to the general fund to clear the town’s books for 2020. There was a discussion regarding a shortterm loan with Crane Credit Union in the amount of $60,000 ($20,000 for gas, $20,000 for sewer, and $20,000 for water) at a rate of 4.25 percent for the purpose of maintaining town utilities until funds from the recent rate increase are sufficient to cover departmental expenses. Total interest on the loan is anticipated to be $212.50. Financial advisor Jim Higgins intro-
duced himself virtually to the Council. He was recommended by Pat Callahan, who is a long-time advisor to the Council regarding utility matters. Higgins had submitted a proposal to the Council regarding possible water and sewer bond issues. The plan is to renew amounts remaining on the current water bond, while adding $1,000,000 to a new bond. Midwestern Engineers had informed Higgins that the town would save money by refinancing the sewer bond at this time as well. The ultimate goal of these bonds is to prevent the need for any rate increases in the near future. Councilman Bruce Baker indicated that the current water bond would be paid off within the next 2-3 years, but the town has a pressing need to improve its water system. The town will need to determine whether tower changes need to be made or whether it would be more prudent to pipe water in from another source. There will also be additional chemical expenditures. The town is in
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Stewartsville resident George Cook took advantage of some Sunday afternoon sunshine to get his 1973 Mercury Cougar RX7 out for a drive. The vehicle is all original and has 33,000 miles on it. Photo by Dave Pearce
Old rock finds new home in Posey County By Lois Mittino Gray There’s a new rock star in New Harmony and it weighs 16,000 pounds. Eight tons! Presently propped up with wooden planks while it is settling into the soil, the rock menhir was installed on a small plot of land at the corner of East and Church Streets by landowner Connie Weinzapfel. Weinzapfel, who regards the limestone monolith as a natural artwork, resides in a home on the adjacent corner across the street from the lot. “I want to look out my window and see this thing of beauty, instead of just the bare lot. I have always loved menhirs, since I first saw them in Brittany on a trip to France.” She explained that Brittany, a region on the west coast of France, has the world’s largest collection of menhirs, upright standing stones typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. The word menhir derives from Brittonic languages. The first half, maen or men, translates to “stone” and hir translates to “long”. “There are over 3,000 of them dating from about 4500 BC. That’s two thousand years older than Stonehenge in England. Many are in long parallel lines or stand alone. They are made of granite, the native bedrock of that area,” Weinzapfel said. She visited France, the home of her ancestors who hailed from Alsace-Lorraine, with her brother Stan, several years ago. Stan also loved the natural stone columns and helped
make it happen for her when she proposed putting one on the small lot she purchased three years ago. “First, I went to Indian Creek Stone Products, in Mitchell. It is the only place in the state to get big freestanding limestone pieces like this one. They took me around their lot and let me look at all kinds of stones and I selected this one that is thirteen feet tall,” she recounted. “I asked my brother if he knew someone who could put it in the ground for me and he immediately suggested Steve Wolf and his two sons from St. Phillips.” Mount Vernon engineer Barry Tanner drew up the design plan and the Wolf crew put in the megalith with their cranes on December 29. Two of the stone’s thirteen feet are buried underground in a concrete footer for strength and support. “We were going to put it in on New Year’s Eve day to welcome in the new year, but the weather forecast wasn’t promising, so we did it a few days earlier when it was dry,” she explained. Weinzapfel has been doing landscape work to enhance the site, too. “I had to take out many scrub trees and plants, such as a locust tree with Euonymus vines and mulberry. I planted over fifty trees on it of many different species, which I bought from local arborist Thomas Guggenheim. I’ll plant flowering shrubs and put grass in,” she described.
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Connie Weinzapfel stands with her menhir installed on the small lot across the street from her home. The wooden bracing planks will be removed this week. Photo by Lois Mittino Gray
Who says you can’t go home
Veteran teacher Oakley right at home with tough job
Amber Oakley
(USPS 439-500)
By Lois Mittino Gray First grade teacher Amber Oakley thinks this time period when students return to school after Christmas vacation will show a remarkable difference in their reading skills. “I think I will be shocked when they come back at how well they are doing. I was worried at the start of the school year that my beginning readers would be behind. They missed so much in person teaching last year in Kindergarten that I wondered, ‘How far back will I need to go?’ They just caught on so fast!” The veteran educator has tons of experience with young students and reading expectations, since she has taught at many levels from preschool to third grade. Presently, she teaches first grade at North Elementary School in Poseyville, a position she has rocked for nine years. Her journey to her goal
of teaching in the North Posey School District was a circuitous one, but she says she is exactly where she wants to be now. After graduating from the University of Southern Indiana in 2002 with an Elementary Education license and a specialized degree in Early Childhood, she accepted her first teaching position teaching a public preschool class in Russellville, Kentucky. Her fiancée at the time, Vince, was a high school history teacher there. When Vince was offered a position as an Evansville firefighter in 2003, they moved back to their native state and Amber taught Kindergarten for four years at St. James School in Haubstadt. From there, she did a two-year stint with the organization SINE, learning the mechanics of education and its nuances. She heard of a temporary open-
ing at North Elementary School for one year and took it, teaching third grade. “Mr. Woods made me aware that it was only a one year job, but I wanted to eventually get to North Posey and it was a foot in the door,” she recounted. At its termination, she found herself back at St. James teaching preschool for another two years. And then it happened! Amber was hired back at North Elementary School to start the general preschool program. She did that until first grade teacher Karen Davis retired and that’s how she moved into the present position that she loves. As for COVID concerns, Amber said she feels very safe. The school takes precautions cleaning and sanitizing often. The students wear masks and know how to socially distance. “I thought I would have to monitor them a lot at
first. They monitor each other, reminding to put on their masks and stay a stretched arm’s distance apart.” “I think with COVID there is a change in a teaching trend. In my day, there were more whole group lessons. Then, teaching went to mainly small groups. Now I think it’s swinging the other direction back to teaching the whole class at once from the front. I can also do one on one with them, as there is now so much individualized technology,” she explained. “They all have Chromebooks and are very good with them. Some teach me as much as I teach them,” she said with a chuckle. As for New Year’s resolutions for this year, Mrs. Oakley said she has no specific one in mind. “I always make it a goal to find things to make the school
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