Since 1882 ~ Successor to The Poseyville News and The New Harmony xxxxTimes • New Harmony, IN
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Today’s paper is our way of inviting you to try the PCN If you received a copy of the Posey County News in today’s mail and are not accustomed to receiving our newspaper, please accept our free gift. At the Posey County News, we are proud of our weekly publication. We endeavor to cover all the events that are newsworthy in Posey County and invite you to give the Posey County News a try. We think you will enjoy receiving the newspaper. If you would like to subscribe or have questions, please call our New Harmony office at 812-682-3950. Enjoy your gift and please see our Election Section and be sure to vote! Historical Society offers Bicentennial Coin It was 200 years ago that Posey County, Ind., came into existence, and the Posey County Historical Society wants to mark this important occasion with a Bicentennial Coin that will be made available in limited supply. The Society has had only 500 die-struck bronze coins produced. When they are gone, there will be no more. Preorders are now being taken for the coins, which will be available on Saturday, November 1 when the Historical Society will host a Birthday Celebration from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Athaneum in New Harmony. Pre-orders may be placed with Becky Higgins at Printcrafters, 304 West Fourth Street in Mount Vernon. The coins are $10 each ($12, if mailing is required.) Inaugural New Harmony Golf Cart Poker Run scheduled Carts Gone Wild of Haubstadt, Ind., will sponsor the inaugural New Harmony Golf Cart Poker Run in New Harmony on Saturday, October 25 with proceeds from the event going to the New Harmony Food Pantry. First card draw at the Park. Registration from 12-1:30 p.m., carts out at 2 p.m., $10 per person. For more information call 812-615-5050. Call Wilson Auction Realty 812682-4000 for cart rental if needed. North Elementary to host School Board debate North Elementary PTO will host a ‘Meet the School Board Candidate Night’ on Tuesday, October 28, at 6:30 p.m. in the North Posey High School Auditorium. This will be a great opportunity to learn more about the candidates who are running for a seat on the MSD of North Posey School Board. Candidates will have a chance to discuss their stance on important issues. Questions from the audience will also be posed through a moderator. Students have already been sent home with papers to return with questions. Questions will be collected during the event. Historical Society to meet on Saturday The Posey County Historical Society will meet Saturday, October 25 at 10 a.m. at Alexandrian Public Library in conjunction with the program ‘1812: Remember the Raisin.’ Featured will be Kentucky author and performer Eddie Price who will present his multi-media program which deals with Kentucky’s role in the War of 1812. The program is suitable for all ages. Model Train Show Club meet, swap is set The Evansville Train Show Club will present its second annual Model Train Show and Swap Meet on Saturday, November 8. Dealers from six Midwestern states will offer train items in all scales and sizes. This will be a good opportunity to start or add to a holiday train layout. In addition to dealers, the show will feature an interactive operating train layout, a safe play area for young children, and free parking. Food will also be available. The show runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at St. Paul’s UCC Gymnasium, 2227 West Michigan Street, Evansville, IN 47712. Admission is $3 for adults, and free for children 12 and under if accompanied by an adult. For more information, visit evansvilletrainshow.com or call 812-426-2989.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
$1.00 (USPS 439-500)
Volume 134 Edition 42
Special committee will give bridge advice By Valerie Werkmeister Posey County Commissioners appointed six individuals to a special committee that will advise them on the Harmony Way Bridge during their meeting on October 7. The commissioners agreed to take over the ownership of the bridge from the White County Bridge Commission in August. There are still many unresolved questions and concerns regarding how to get the bridge back in service. The newly
appointed committee will serve as a ‘recommending committee,’ according to commissioner Jim Alsop. Commissioner Jim Alsop suggested several individuals to appoint during the commissioners’ meeting on September 23. However, the appointments were not made as commissioner Jerry Walden indicated he also wanted to speak to the individuals. Commissioner President Carl
Schmitz urged for Walden to complete his due diligence so that the members of the committee could be appointed during their October 7, meeting. Commissioners agreed to appoint seven members, including one representative from the commissioners, county council and New Harmony Town Council. Alsop suggested commissioner Jerry Walden to represent the commissioners.
The list of other possible choices included Ryan Rapp, Linda Henning, Andrew Wilson, Zach Weinzapfel, Michael ‘Spud’ Egbert and David Brown to serve on the committee. The county council would make their appointment during their October 14, meeting. When Alsop suggested a motion to approve the aforementioned names, Walden asked to table the
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New Harmony to learn flood plain outcome By Valerie Werkmeister While most of the nation has their eyes fixed on the upcoming November 4, election date, residents of New Harmony are just as concerned about the day after. November 5, is the official date the county’s new flood plain maps go into effect. The town was hit hard with the news that more than half of the town is designated in a Class A flood plain. Those who attended the New Harmony Town Council meeting last Thursday, October 16, asked the council many questions regarding the situation. Council members explained they have taken every possible step and done everything they can think of to alleviate this situation for their town. Council woman Linda Warrum stated that they have sent letters to each of their representatives including Congressman Larry Bucshon, Senator Dan Coats and U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly. Additionally, they have sent letters to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Chicago and Washington, D.C. Andrew Wilson explained the only way to get the maps changed is for the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a new study with current data. Wilson said the town has been informed there are currently no funds allocated to do a study. He suggested residents continue to contact their representatives to request funding for a study. Andrew Wilson suggested the board move forward on making a decision regarding future plans for the former New Harmony School building and property. The council has plans created by Kennedy Hutson Associates of Monticello, Ill., that provided ideas the town may consider. All three of the plans suggested creating more residential development. “I think it’s imperative we start the discussion for this property,” Wilson said. Council members discussed the possibility of razing the school building and liquidating any possible assets still within the building.
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The cast and crew on the set of ‘The Colors of Emily’ share a laugh between takes while filming at Fester’s Sports Bar, formerly known as The Stucco House. Local first responders served as extras during the smoke-filled fire scene. Photo by Zach Straw
INDOT, Mount Vernon partner for trails Special to the News The Indiana Department of Transportation and the City of Mount Vernon, Ind., will partner to complete their newest trail project that will go from the City’s riverfront on the Ohio River in Southwest Indiana through the heart of the community. The trail is one of many quality of place projects on tap for the City through 2017. The City of Mount Vernon in partnership with the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) announced today the continued development of the City’s
trail system that weaves throughout key sections of the City. With a total investment of over $6 million, the new phases of the Riverbend Trails will extend from Mount Vernon’s newly developed riverfront to Brittlebank Park, a total of two miles including streetscapes and a neighborhood pocket park. The Riverbend Trails project was recently submitted to INDOT and received the highest rating in a statewide competitive round of funding. The city was
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Poseyville Fire Dept. gets pagers, cadets By Valerie Werkmeister Stray cats have become a bit of a problem in Poseyville. During the October 8, Poseyville Town Council meeting, President Bruce Baker urged citizens to not feed any stray cats, particularly those found loitering by Dollar General. Baker stated he has received several complaints from citizens about the number of cats who gather in the alley by the business. He has also personally asked people to not feed the cats when he has witnessed them
doing so. Council members Ron Fallowfield and Steve Ahrens agreed the cats could pose a health issue if they are sick and bite someone. Instead of finding their own food source, the cats have learned they will be fed nearby and gather in the evening. Baker also stated that the county animal control unit does not pick up stray cats, so it remains a local problem.
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Cynthiana latest flood plain map victim By Valerie Werkmeister Cynthiana Town Board members learned during their regular meeting on Tuesday, October 14, that a small portion of property located at the edge of the city limit is now designated a flood plain area. This news brought many questions and concerns with few answers that evening. Posey County Area Plan Direc-
tor, Mindy Bourne, was the bearer of bad news to council members as she is the flood plain administrator for Mount Vernon, Poseyville, Cynthiana and unincorporated areas of the county. She explained the town is not currently in a designated flood plain area. However, new maps are set to go into effect on November 5, and a piece of farmland located at
the south end of Oak Street is now included in the flood plain area. Council members and residents are familiar with the situation that New Harmony is currently in regarding the new flood plain maps and expressed concern whether they would be in the same boat too. Bourne stated she learned Cyn-
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Halloween Pranks from days of yore By Lois Mittino Gray Pulling off pranks at Halloween was standard practice around these parts long ago. Reminiscing with some oldsters, their stories of yesteryear left me in awe at their sheer audacity as they met the challenge each year to go bigger and better. OK, first off, I confess. It’s true. I’ve pulled my share of Halloween tricks in my youth. I’ve toilet papered trees and given out dog biscuits to unwary little beggars who ventured upon my poorly lit front porch after I ran out of candy. Why, one year, I even threw some ice cubes into the sack of an ornery little neighborhood boy who taunted me. I heard him say ‘oh no’ a few doors down as the cubes melted and made the bottom and all his candy fall out of his brown paper sack. Mea culpa. But those transgressions pale next to these memories…. Mayor John Tucker and the Mount Vernon Town Council proudly anClassmates Donna Creek and nounced the more than six-million dollar contract with INDOT to com- Jayne Overton remember that teenplete Mount Vernon’s Riverbend Bike Trail. Photo by Zach Straw age boys, including Jayne’s broth-
Retrospective ...... A 4 Legals ...................B 7 Classifieds ...... B9-10 Community ......... A 5
Deaths .............. ...A3 Church ................ A 7 Social .................. A 6 School ................. A 8
Sports ........... B1, 3-4 Bus/Ag .............. A 1 3 Opinion ............. A 1 2 TV Guide........ A9-10
er, pulled elaborate pranks at the old Poseyville School at Halloween. One year, they entered through the fire escape and carried in all the parts to reassemble a giant farm wagon in the hallway. Hay was strewn throughout the halls on both floors and for the grand finale, live goats and a cow were let loose in the building. The next day, administrators made all the school children clean up the mess, but what a memory that is. Overton remembers that one year, she and a girlfriend were watching the school pranking in the hallway and the cops came. “We saw them coming and had to jump out the school window about six feet down. My friend hurt her ankle and I had to drag her to a nearby cornfield to hide until the cops left,” she said with a smile. Anne Baker recalls that a farm wagon always seemed to end up on the roof of the second story old New
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