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Since 1882 ~ Successor to The Poseyville News and The New Harmony Times • New Harmony, IN
“Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain.” Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Posey County’s ONLY Locally Owned Newspaper.
Briefly
Christmas on Main Street meeting scheduled Mount Vernon’s ‘Christmas On Main Street’ committee will have a meeting on Thursday October 30 at 5:30 p.m., at Silverwood Restaurant. Any one interested in being involved in this year’s event, please try to attend. For more information please call Becky, 812-204-7388. MV American Legion to holds Flag Retirement Ceremony American Legion Post 5 in Mount Vernon will hold it’s annual ‘Flag Retirement and Disposal Ceremony’ on the court square in front of the coliseum, November 11 at 5 p.m. This is an event that parents and grandparents should bring the children to, it teaches one more step in respecting our countries flag. If you have a flag that is unserviceable please take it to the American Legion at 203 Walnut Street or to City Hall and we will add it to the count. You may also bring them to the ceremony. MV Elks holds Comedy Show for Cancer research The Mount Vernon Elks Lodge 277 will have a comedy show on Saturday, November 8 at 7 p.m., to raise money for Cancer Research, the Indiana Elks State Project. This is open to the public. Seating will begin at 6 p.m. Seating is limited to 100 people. A spaghetti dinner with side salad and garlic bread will be available beginning 5:30 p.m., for $10/person. Please call 812-838-3361 for reservations. Admission is Free, but we will be taking monetary donations for the Elks Cancer Charity. 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.) 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. 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.
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Volume 134 Edition 43
Mount Vernon’s water boil order remains in place By Dave Pearce Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink. That’s probably how many residents of this Ohio River town have felt this week as a series of water main breaks caused Mount Vernon Water Supt. Church Gray to issue a boil order advisory that will apparently be in effect until at least Tuesday. All the water in the Mulberry Street tower was lost but at no point were Mount Vernon residents in danger, according to Gray. “No untreated water entered the distribution system. All water treated was chlorinated at 3.5 ppm for a minimum of four hours,” according to information on the Mount VerKaylie Will of St. Wendel spent Sunday afternoon handing out candy non Water Facebook Page, estabat St. Francis Xavier Church in Poseyville at their annual Trunk or Treat Continued event. Photo by Theresa Bratcher
lished and managed by Gray. “Turbidity, which is the measurement for suspended particles briefly hit 1 - 1.5 NTUs. We want to be below .3NTU’s for 95 percent of the month. That alone would be enough for me to declare a boil order. However the pressure loss is my main concern. We do not know if the mains were compromised. Until I am comfortable, the boil order will stay in effect.” As of a little after noon on Sunday, the site indicated ‘we are up to 83 pounds of pressure at the plant. That’s about as high as we want that to get. Finished water is currently .028 NTUs. Anything below .300 is good. Mulberry tower is full again. We are running as well as can be expected. The water mains are our
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Technology ‘Nightmare’continues for Posey By Valerie Werkmeister Posey County Commissioners learned of yet another costly critical technology event the county must face with their busted budget. Dispatch Director Sabrina Harms delivered the news to commissioners Jim Alsop, Carl Schmitz and Jerry Walden during their last meeting on Tuesday, October 21. Harms stated that sometime during the county council meeting on October 14, the generator kicked on at
the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) building. When that happened, it blew out half of the dispatch controls and computers. She stated it was due to a networking problem and explained there are wires everywhere they don’t know what they belong to. She described the situation as a nightmare and, “we can’t operate like we are.” Automated Office Solutions (AOS) has solved the problem temporarily and was able to get the af-
fected side back in operation. However, the entire system needs to be rewired and networked properly. Harms stated she received a quote from AOS for $14,500 that will solve the problem. She requested approval to proceed with the project. She added that she hoped she could put this request off until next year, knowing the difficulty the county has had
meeting its technology needs and bills. However, this recent event forced her to make her request now. She stated, “This is just a band-aid fix now.” Alsop stated they would need to work with the council to find funding for the project. Schmitz added, “The IT budget is busted and then some.” The commissioners agreed to
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Poseyville will get (another) new Main Street coating By Valerie Werkmeister The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has agreed to construct a new asphalt overlay on Main Street in Poseyville. This announcement comes after INDOT resurfaced the road this summer and applied Ultra Thin Wearing Bonding Course (UWBC), commonly known as chip and seal down Main Street. Business owners, residents and members of the Poseyville Town Council were displeased with the chip and seal work through the heart of the town. Baker voiced his concerns with INDOT officials and met with them on a few occasions in July to point out the problems the chip and seal cre-
ated. Some felt the chip and seal is better suited for rural roads where it is more commonly used. Baker also pointed out to Vincennes District Deputy Commissioner, Russell Fowler, that Main Street was milled and had new asphalt applied just a few years ago. INDOT Communications Director at Vincennes, Brandi Jittjumnongk, stated that INDOT looked at the situation seriously and took into consideration the concerns voiced by Baker as well as other citizens.
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Mount Vernon man guilty of molestation By Dave Pearce A rural Mount Vernon man, Melvin Charles Hamilton, 59, was found guilty this week of three Class A felonies, Child Molesting. The trial, which began Wednesday in Posey Superior Court, wrapped up on Thursday afternoon. Hamilton had faced three felony charges of Class A Child Molesting and one Class C felony Child Molesting charge. The jury acquitted Hamilton of the Class A, lesser charge. A jury of seven men and five women took less than two hours to come back with the guilty verdict. Clowers said that although the
court convicted Hamilton of the charges, a case such as this one is never easy to try. “Any time a five-year-old has to take the stand and talk about those types of things it is very difficult,” Clowers said of the actual trial. “Any time a child that young can give details about things that are outside their normal range of understanding, it is very powerful evidence.” The charges stemmed from allegations made by family members after two children, ages nine and Evansville Western Railway closed Fourth Street in Mount Vernon for a few days to repair the railroad crossing next to the Posey Counfour. Co-Op. For more information on INDOT’s southwest district closContinued on Page A14 ty ings, be sure to www.facebook.com/INDOTVincennesDistrict.
Posey woman dies in single-engine airplane crash By Dave Pearce A rural Mount Vernon woman has died as the result of a small single-engine plane crash on Friday evening around 5:15 p.m. According to Posey County Sheriff Greg Oeth, the Posey County 911 Dispatch Center be-
gan receiving calls reporting a plane crash near the three-way intersection of Copperline, Base, and Crab Orchard Roads at around 5:12 p.m. “Emergency responders who arrived at the location shortly after receiving the call, reported that
the wreckage of a small plane was in flames in a farm field near the edge of Crab Orchard Road,” Oeth disclosed. “First responders were unable to rescue the pilot, who was found entangled in the burning wreckage.” The plane was identified as a
Zenith STOL CH 701, which has been developed as an ‘off-airport’ short take-off and landing aircraft. Eyewitness accounts assisted Posey County Sheriff Deputies with information of the events that
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Halloween puts those with food allergies on alert By Valerie Werkmeister Halloween is just a few days away and it should be a time where all kids, young and young-atheart, get to enjoy dressing in costumes and trickor-treating. But for some, the event is worriing some and life-threatening. Those suffering from food allergies must be very careful to favoid treats that could make them ill, suffer an allergic reaction or event result inn h. something no one wants to discuss: death. Food allergies are nothing new, but an afe idea to help keep those with allergies safe y. It is gaining momentum across the country.
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is known as the Teal Pumpkin Project. The idea seems simple: paint a pumpkin teal and place it outsi outside to alert trick-or-treaters that you’ll be providing non-food treats or allergy-free treats kid for kiddos who have food allergies. It has spre like wildfire on social media and spread ne stations have been running stonews ri and also discussing the project. ries The project has been met with s some controversy instead of open a arms. Those who are not familiar with fo allergies do not understand that food for some, just being in the vicinity of the
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item they are allergic to can cause problems. Three-year-old Samuel Oakley is one of those kids. His parents, Amber and Vince Oakley, learned he was allergic to peanut butter shortly after he turned one. They gave him peanut butter on a waffle for breakfast and he broke out in a raccoon-like rash on his face. Samuel’s doctor advised them to avoid peanut butter for another six to nine months. When the time came to try peanut butter again, they rubbed it on his skin since they knew he had
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