Since 1882 ~ Successor to The Poseyville News and The New Harmony Times • New Harmony, IN
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(USPS PS S4 439-500) 39 9 500)) Posey County’s locally-owned newspaper
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Volume 133 Edition 43
North Posey proposes voting district changes By Valerie Werkmeister The MSD of North Posey is proposing a change in district alignment for upcoming school board elections. During an open forum meeting held October 15, Attorney William H. Bender explained the school district would like to move from the current three district alignment down to two districts. The lines for the district would “generally follow the current boundary lines for each elementary school. The move is necessitated by the consolidation and subsequent addition of New Harmony School District to North Posey School District. District 1 would consist of Bethel, Robb, Smith, Harmony and a split portion of Center North Townships. The southern portion of Center Twp. and all of Robinson Twp would make up the second district.
Community Calendar Holloween Parade A Halloween Parade sponsored by the Posey County Women’s Club will be held on Sunday, October 27 at 1:30 p.m. on the Community Center lawn in Poseyville. Sign in begins at 1 p.m. Monetary prizes awarded to the cutest, scariest, most original, and best overall. All children ages 0-14 are invited to attend. Call 812-582-2639 for more information.
Poseyville Kiwanis The Poseyville Kiwanis Club will be donating money to the North Posey schools. We will be giving $500 each to North Elementary and South Terrace School nurse’s funds, $500 each to North Elementary and South Terrace school principles to be used for the benefit of the students that need it, and two large coolers to the North Posey athletic department to be used at athletic events for the players. We will be presenting them Wed. Oct. 23, 2013 at Harold’s Restaurant in Poseyville starting at 6:15 p.m.
In creating the new districts, Superintendent Dr. Todd Camp explained their goal was to create fair representation and simplify the voting ballot and. All of the current school board members’ terms expire in December 2014. Two representatives from each district and one at-large member will be elected in November 2014. The number of votes will determine those members terms. The representatives with the highest number of votes will be allowed to choose whether they want a two-year or a four-year term. Historically, the board has always had staggered term limits to ensure continuity on the board. Bender explained the next step for the board will be the approval of a resolution creating the two districts during the November board meet-
ing. Following that, there will be a 120 day waiting period during which time public members may submit a protest to the resolution. A protest must be signed by 500 registered voters. If there are no protests, the resolution will be state to the Indiana Department of Education for approval. Bender stated the board would like input from the public now rather than during the 120 days following the resolution. “A protest would put the process in chaos,” he said. Eric Long, the district technology coordinator, gave an update on the district’s progress with gaining fiber optic cable and the proposed Virtual Desktop Integration. He informed the board of the difficulty and delays third parties have had with the installation of the new fiber optic cable. He had hoped the project would
be complete this summer. However, they are projecting on November 22, the system will be live and ready to go. This will allow more internet traffic and higher technology utilization throughout the district. In other business, the board approved the following: • A new five-year beverage contract with Pepsi products at the junior high and high school. • The purchase of a $5,610.45 Unox Combi oven from Wabash Food Service. • A fire protection service contract renewal with Vanguard Alarm Services for one year at a cost of $5,995. • The creation of a memorandum of understanding with Dr. Burkett for assistance with
Posey bands headed to Regional Arrest made In week six of marching band competitions, area bands took their first steps toward Lucas Oil Stadium State Competition by competing in ISSMA Regional Contests. At these contests bands compete for a gold, silver, or bronze rating. The top ten bands at each regional will move on to Semi-State competition. North Posey competed at Evansville Central High School along with 12 other Class D bands. Here the Vikings earned a gold rating and finished in tenth place earning a spot on the field next weekend at Franklin Central High School. Mount Vernon competed in Class C along with 15 other bands at Center Grove High School. The Wildcats earned a gold rating and finished in fourth place. Mount Vernon will perform at Decatur Central High School on October 26. Other Area Bands moving on to Semi-State competition are Class A – Castle; Class B- Jasper, F.J.Reitz, and Evansville North; Class C-Vincennes-Lincoln and Boonville; Class D – Paoli, Forest Park, South Spencer, Madison Feldhake, North Posey Drum Majorette and Mater Dei.
Posey County Extension Homemakers Want to learn to make beautiful pot holders? Posey County Extension Homemakers are offering a special interest to the public. Nancy Hasting will be sharing how to make Lone Star potholders. Cost of the program is $18. The pattern and fabric kits will be provided. Participants should bring a glue stick, sewing machine, sewing notions and a variety of colors of thread. Please register with Purdue Extension – Posey County at 838-1331 by October 28. Class size is limited.
Black’s Chapel UMC Chicken Supper Black’s Chapel UMC in Mount Vernon will host their annual Chicken Supper on Saturday, Nov. 2 from 4 - 7 p.m. Cost will be Adults $10, and children under 10, $5. Carry outs will be available. There will also be a country store with baked goods and crafts for sale. The newly remodeled church is located at 1800 West Fourth Street, in the former Keck Ford Motor Company in Mount Vernon.
Flag Retirement Ceremony The Annual flag retirement ceremony by Troop 386 and New Harmony American Legion Post 370 is scheduled for Nov. 10 at 2 p.m. It will be held in Murphy Park. If you have any worn or torn flags that need to be retired, please drop them off at the American Legion or contact one of the boy scouts in New Harmony. Public is invited and encouraged to attend.
Do You Have Questions About Medicare? Please Join us on October 23, 2013 at 6 p.m. New Harmonie Healthcare will be hosting a guest speaker from the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) to discuss Medicare and Medicare Replacements. Call Kayla George at 682-4104 to RSVP.
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Back row (L - R): Jacob Johnson, Andy Johnson, Marshall Powers, Brendon Schmitt, Brandon Nolan, Matt Meador, Darrell Brown, Austin Colson, Alex Axton, Lane Blankenship, Patrick Gerton. Middle row (L-R): Haley Biggs, Daylinn Hunt, Laci Robison, Morgan Mansfield, Kaitlyn Railey, Tyler Sellers, Denise King, Matt Zoch, Bailey Shumate. Front Row (L-R): Nathan Nolan, Darin Petrig, Kaitlin Whaley, Melanie Davis, Devyn WIlson, Elizabeth Dunlap
Conflict brews over replacements By Valerie Werkmeister Posey County Commissioner Jim Alsop read a statement in which he described he’d had several sleepless nights following the surprise removal of the three commissioner-appointed members of the Posey County Redevelopment Commission during the October 1, commissioner’s meeting. “I believe a great disservice has been performed for Mr. Ashworth, Mr. Rust and Mr. Scarafia by publicly insinuating they were not performing their required duties and then replacing them without discussing their concerns.” Alsop also clarified a few statements made by commissioner president Carl Schmitz in which Schmitz
stated the reason for the replacement was the availability and lack of minutes and the members were not active. “This is not totally true. He also said that Mr. Postletheweight was not aware of the meeting, which was actually in June, not July (as Schmitz stated). Mr. Postletheweight was aware of the meeting; he couldn’t attend because he was out of town,” Alsop said. Schmitz admitted he mistakenly said that statement and knew that Postletheweight had been invited to the meeting. The minutes of the June Redevelopment Commission meeting are not available because they have not been approved. However, Michael Ashworth, one of the members removed
during the October 1 meeting has the minutes. Alsop commented that if Ashworth had been contacted, at least a draft of the minutes could have been made available. Alsop then took a play from Schmitz’s playbook by asking a few questions in regards to Schmitz’s comment about the need for a transparent government. Alsop stated he found it interesting that a resolution to replace the members was prepared prior to the October 1 meeting. Alsop stated that if Schmitz and fellow commissioner Jerry Walden were concerned about the members of the Redevelopment commission
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in passing of ‘funny’ money
Special to the News An arrest has been made following the discovery of counterfeit money being passed in Posey County. Posey County Sheriff Greg Oeth has released information regarding a counterfeit $20 bill being passed at a local business in Poseyville. The counterfeit currency was offered in exchange for merchandise. According to Oeth, October 4, two men entered a business in Poseyville and by creating a distraction were able to pass the counterfeit $20 bill to a cashier during a purchase. After the two had left the establishment, the cashier had an opportunity to examine the bill more closely and felt the appearance of the bill was suspicious. The cashier then notified management. On October 5, Posey County Deputy Sheriff Frank Smith was assigned to investigate the matter. Smith took custody of the bill in question and notified the local Secret Service Office to verify that the bill was indeed counterfeit currency. Through the investigation, Smith was able to gain information that the payer had attempted to pass the bill at one other establishment near Poseyville. As the investigation progressed, a person of interest was developed. Smith was able to establish the identity of the individual and obtained an arrest warrant through the office of Posey County Prosecutor Travis Clowers. On Friday October 18, Timothy M. King (age 39) of Cynthiana, Ind., was located and taken into custody after being served with a warrant for his arrest. As a result of the arrest, King was additionally charged with possession of Schedule II drugs and possession of marijuana. King is currently being held in the Posey County Jail with no bond. As this investigation continues, Oeth stresses if any other business or individuals in the county have reason to suspect that they have come into contact with counterfeit currency, please notify the Sheriff’s Office at 838-1321.
Christmas Carlton is District’s Principal of year Annual Bazaar is Nov. 23 On Sunday, November 24, 2013, the Indiana Association of School Principals (IASP) will recognize Kelly Carlton, Principal at South Terrace Elementary School in Wadesville, Ind., Carlton will be hnored as the 2013 Elementary Principal from IASP District 11. District 11 is located in southwest Indiana and is made up of Daviess, Dubois,Gibson, Knox, Martin, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh and Warrick Counties. The recognition ceremony is a part of the 2013 Principals of the Year Recognition Celebration, a part of IASP’s annual Fall Professional Conference. The award will be presented at a dinner at the Indianapolis Marri-
Retrospective ...........A 4 Legals .......................... B 5 Classifieds .............B 6-8 Community ..............A 5
ott Hotel at 6 p.m. with the IASP State President, Tim McRoberts, presiding along with Todd Bess, Executive Director. District Elementary Principals of the Year are elected by their peers. One principal is honored from each of the 12 districts. From these 12 District Elementary Principal winners, one is chosen as the 2013 State Elementary Principal of the Year. The State winner will be announced at the award celebration. The Indiana Association of School Principals is a not-for-profit, professional association serving over 2,100 building level administrators in the state of Indiana.
Deaths ........................A 3 Church ........................A 7 Social ..........................A 6 School .........................A 8
Kelly Carlton
Sports .......................B1-4 Bus/Ag ........................A 9 Opinion ....................A10 www.poseycountynews.com
The St. Francis Relay for Life team and friends in Poseyville will be hosting their Annual Christmas Bazaar on Saturday, November 23 from 9 – 3 p.m. at North Elementary School in Poseyville. Multiple vendors will be on hand so you can get some early Christmas shopping done. Santa will visit for story time and pictures. The SFX Men’s Club will be grilling fresh sausage; chili and other food items will also be available. Limited table space is available for a $20 donation to Relay for Life. Contact Jeri Ziliak at 449-7445 or email to rjziliak@yahoo.com for more information.