** SEE PAGE B8 FOR 2019 HALLOWEEN EVENTS **
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P C N SINCE 1882 Successor to The Poseyville News & New Harmony Times POSEY COUNTY’S ONLY LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED NEWSPAPER
Volume 139 Edition 42
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
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Posey 2020 budget approved By Lois Mittino Gray After weeks of analyzing numbers and hearing requests from all departments, the Posey County Council approved a final total of $26,302,540.36 for the 2020 Budget at its October 8, meeting at the Hovey House. Of those funds, $12,472,975 will be generated from the adopted tax levy at an adoption rate of 0.7503. Individual department budgets were read and passed upon item by item on September 11, 2019. In presenting the finalized total budget, Council President Heather Allyn remarked, “We all spent a lot of time working on this budget. We had many hearings to hammer out numbers and dove into them. Salary is always an issue. Three or four days are not enough time to look into every department salary and compare positions with other counties and how they handle them. We hope to start earlier next year for comparison purposes, and can make any necessary adjustments then.” Allyn said all county employees will receive a $750
increase in salary across the board, with the exception of the Sheriff Department’s staff, which uses a different pay scale system. Two new positions were added to the county roster. One is a full-time court reporter and the other is another employee for the jail, which was necessary with the additional inmates housed there from other counties, generating its own money for Posey County coffers. “We did make the new positions work,” Allyn noted. The county will be able to save money next year by going to ten vote centers, instead of the precinct system. This will require fewer judges and clerks to pay. Council members also made changes in health insurance coverage. “Health insurance costs have increased dramatically over the years. We can’t do 12 and 18 percent increases anymore,” Allyn told the audience. In the budget, the amount of money that can be spent on health insurance was capped. Any increases in cost may result
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Creek sentence sparks friction Special to the News Matthew Creek, of Mount Vernon, appeared in the Posey Circuit Court on Thursday, October 10, where he was sentenced after pleading guilty to two (2) counts of dealing in methamphetamine, both Level 3 felonies. Judge Craig Goedde of the Posey Circuit Court sentenced Creek to 12 years in the Indiana Department of Correction with the likelihood of early release after serving no more than three (3) actual years of his sentence. As part of his guilty plea, Creek, age 30, admitted to selling methamphetamine to an undercover confidential informant in Posey County in January of 2019, as well as participating in another drug deal in Posey County on November 14, 2018. Creek was arrested on April 26, 2019 in what was the largest drug raid in Posey County history. Creek pled “open” to the court without a plea agreement from the prosecutor. As such, Creek’s sentence was at the discretion of Judge
Matthew Creek Goedde. Creek faced from three (3) to 16 years in prison, with an advisory sentence starting at nine (9) years. Judge Goedde retained discretion to sentence Creek above or below the advisory sentence, depending on the aggravating and mitigating circumstances found by the court. At sentencing, Posey County Prosecutor Thomas Clowers argued that Creek should receive a sentence of 14 years in prison. Defense counsel
asked the court for a more lenient sentence. Clowers presented evidence at sentencing of Creek’s lengthy criminal history that includes five (5) prior misdemeanor convictions and four (4) prior felony convictions – including a prior Class B Felony conviction for dealing methamphetamine in 2013, just six (6) years ago. In addition, evidence was presented that Creek has also been convicted of Possession of a Controlled Substance, a Class A misdemeanor, in 2018; Domestic Battery, a Level 6 felony, in 2017; Counterfeiting, a Level 6 felony, in 2017; Theft, a Class D felony, and Possession of Precursors with Intent to Manufacture a Controlled Substance, a Class D felony, in 2012; Theft, a Class A misdemeanor, in 2012; Conversion, a Class A misdemeanor, in 2012; Conversion, a Class A misdemeanor, in 2010; and Criminal Trespass, a Class
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Term of 22 years imposed on Lopez Special to the News On the afternoon of Thursday, October 11, Carlampio Lopez, age 26, appeared in the Posey Circuit Court and was sentenced by Judge Craig Goedde to 22 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of Level 1 felony Child Molesting. As part of his guilty plea, Lopez admitted that he molested two children under the age of 14 around June of 2018. Lopez, who was 24 years old at the time, lived with the two young girls and their mother in Mount Vernon. According to police records, Lopez molested the children at night while their mother was at work. The children reported the abuse to a family friend, and they were ultimately taken to Holly’s House and participated in a forensic interview concerning the abuse. Detective Wes Kuykendall with the Indiana State Police was the lead investigator. Police records indicate that Lopez
Carlampio Lopez fled to Alabama after he was confronted with the allegations. A warrant was issued for Lopez’s arrest on June 27, 2018. In early July of 2018, Lopez was located near Austinville, Alabama, where he was taken into custody and transported to the Posey County Jail. Pursuant to his guilty plea, Lopez will be classified as a sexually vio-
lent predator under Indiana law, and he will be required to register as a sex offender for life. Lopez, an illegal alien from Mexico, is also detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Upon completion of his prison sentence, Lopez will be deported from the United States. “This is a heartbreaking case,” Posey County Prosecutor Thomas Clowers stated. “While there is nothing that can take away the abuse and trauma these two young girls suffered at the hands of Mr. Lopez, there can now be some measure of closure and justice. I applaud the courage of these two young survivors for speaking up, allowing law enforcement to hold Mr. Lopez accountable for his actions. I would also like to thank Det. Wes Kuykendall and Chief Deputy Prosecutor Javier Lugo for their work and dedication in this case.”
Rhett Snodgrass and Ellie Bush were crowned Mount Vernon High School football homecoming king and queen on Friday evening, just prior to the Mount Vernon win over Princeton. The Wildcats will host Jasper’s Wildcats on Friday night with the final Big Eight Conference championship on the line. Photo by Garry Beeson
Schmitz: Turbine funds may exclude schools By Lois Mittino Gray The key words in redevelopment are tax increment financing (TIF) and when the Posey County Redevelopment Commission met on September 30 it took care of several TIF action items on its agenda. Posey County Commissioner President Carl Schmitz spoke first and gave an update on several county projects involving TIF funds, as well as his opinion on TIF use on wind power farms in the northern part of the county. Establishing TIF districts is a public financing method that is used as a subsidy for redevelopment, infrastructure, and other community-improvement projects in the United States. A TIF district essentially reallocates funds from property taxes to encourage investment within the district as a result of an increase in property values. New money goes into the TIF fund and can be used for a wide range of purposes within the TIF to promote redevelopment. “If the windmills are to come in and be approved, it will generate TIF funds, as they are taxable improvements to the land. TIF will capture 100 percent of the funds which may be $5 to $10 million,” Schmitz said. “I would like to see that money used for the people who will have to look at them, for improvements such as better roads and high speed internet. The school system has been promised these funds and I know they will be ready to hang me for saying this, but I don’t think it should be used for the schools. They already have raised taxes by 7 percent without asking us, which will get them money.” Schmitz requested that the PCRC back up his opinion on this issue. He said the Posey County Commissioners have not made a formal decision on the wind farms as of yet. “We have a lot of questions before we vote yes or no. Our decision depends on how these wind generators affect Doppler radar and it is being researched right now. There is some question if it disrupts tornado spotting, and the radar that steers our tractors and combines and WASS uses.” “The final draft of the Area Plan Commission report comes out this week. It will be our first look at it, other than the four on the committee. It has to be approved by the commission and advertised for three weeks. There will be a public meeting in November out at the Fairgrounds. I hope everyone with concerns pro or con will go. I expect our final vote as the commissioners will be in December,” he explained, when asked about a timeline on the decision.
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Schenk reunion highlights Saint Philip roots Family celebrates elegant effect on Posey community church
Those in attendance at the reunion are, in front, Brandon Thread holding Gideon Thread, and Jaclyn Thread holding Georgia Thread. In row two are Linda Myers, Kenny Myers, Harold Paul (Horsepower), John Aramowicz, Bonnie Aramowicz, and Jerry Paul. In back, standing, are Tonna Schenk Hooker, Don Spaitti, Mona Spaetti, John Spaitti, Brenda Spaetti, Izaac Robinson, Traci Aramowicz, Ron Schenk, Shari Aramowicz Thread, Wanda Schenk, Stefani Myers Miller, Rhonda Paul, Becky Paul Burton, Dina Schenk Miller, Jane Paul, and Mark Miller.
(USPS 439-500)
By Ruth E. Baize Almost every family has one—the Family Historian. This is the person to whom everyone sends, gifts, or bequeaths any tidbit, any morsel of news clippings, any old dish or bowl or table or chair or lace or potato masher with the note that this was Great-Aunt Henrietta’s or Uncle Joe’s. Yes, all of it goes into the Depository of the Family Historian. I was privileged to meet the Schenk Family historian, Ron Schenk, of Nacogdoches, Texas, October 3 at Saint Philip Catholic Church. It seems that the Schenk family helped build and paid for this well-established building of worship way back when, and, so they were having a big reunion. This reunion began on Thursday night with Ron Schenk presenting to other branches of the family a talk about the origins of their family. Ron’s third great grandfather was Johannes Franciscus Schenk, who came from Anrochte, Westphalia, Germany. Johannes (Franz) Schenk’s son, Adam, preceded the family to American when he was twenty-one. He came in 1834 through New Orleans and went to Pennsylvania. He stayed there for about two
years and then came to Posey County in 1836. He was the “advance scout” for the family. His father, Franz, had fought in the Battle of Waterloo. Historian Ron thinks that he was afraid that Adam would be drafted, so Adam was the logical choice to send. In late 1836, he wrote his parents to come. He had found the place. After a hard voyage of three months to New Orleans, Franz, his mother Elizabeth, and sister Francisca, and four brothers: Antonius, Franciscus, Eberhardt, and Franz Joseph arrived. Having met the ship, Adam escorted them by steamboat to their new home in Posey County, the frontier of Indiana. They began to clear land, farm, and build this land that probably reminded them of their land in Germany. Eventually, another branch of the family from Germany came to the Saint Philips area. The patriarch of that family, Gaudens Schenk, also helped the area to prosper. In 1847 a crude log chapel had be built for worship. But by 1857 the Parish had grown so much that they needed a proper building
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