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“Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain.” Since 1882 ~ Successor to The Poseyville News and The New Harmony Times • New Harmony, IN Posey County’s locally-owned newspaper
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
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Volume 133 Edition 44
Phillips faces 100-year sentence on sex charges Special to the News Jacob Aaron Phillips was sentenced today in Posey County Superior Court after having been convicted of three (3) counts of Sexual Misconduct with a Minor, all Class B Felonies. A Posey County man has been sentenced to 100 years in prison after his conviction on pultiple charges of child molesting. The case began on April 27, 2010, when a 17-year-old family member went to Holly’s House in Evansville, Ind., and reported that she had been sexually assaulted by Phillips over an approximate 10 year period. The victim reported that the sexual abuse began shortly after she turned six (6) years old and continued until she was approximately 16. Evansville Police Detective Brian Turpin took a formal statement from the teenage victim and then obtained a confession statement
from Phillips as well. Phillips admitted that ny and Child Molesting as a Class C Felony. he had engaged in various sexual acts with A Class A Felony carries a possible sentence the child victim on an almost weekly basis of 20 to 50 years; a Class B Felony carries a while he and the victim resided possible sentence of six 20 years; in Vanderburgh, Warrick and and a Class C Felony carries a Posey counties. possible sentence of two (2) to Turpin arrested Phillips and eight (8) years in prison. he was formally charged in VanOn October 15, 2012, Philderburgh County with multiple lips was convicted in the Waroffenses of Child Molesting as rick County Circuit Court and Class A Felonies and multiple was sentenced by Judge David offenses of Sexual Misconduct 0. Kelley to a total sentence of with a Minor as Class B Felo35 years in prison. Judge Kelley nies, A few days later, on April found that the “harm, injury or 30, 2010, Phillips was charged in loss suffered by the victim was Jacob Aaron Phillips Posey County with three counts significant and greater than the of Sexual Misconduct with a Minor, all Class elements necessary to prove the commission B Felonies. Phillips was also charged on Sep- of the offense” and that “this was not a onetember 28, 2010, in Warrick County with the time event ... the Victim testified that it ocoffense of Child Molesting as a Class A Felo- curred as much as three times a week.” Judge
Kelley also found that Phillips had violated a ‘position of trust’ that he had previously shared with the child victim. On October 19, 2012, Phillips was convicted in the Vanderburgh County Superior Court and was sentenced by Judge Robert J. Tornatta to a total sentence of 50 years executed at the Indiana Department of Corrections. Judge Tornatta ordered that the Vanderburgh County sentence would be served consecutively to the Warrick County sentence. On July 25, 2013, Phillips pled guilty as charged in Posey County Superior Court to three counts of Sexual Misconduct with a Minor, all as Class B Felonies. The State of Indiana agreed that Phillips would be sentenced to 15 years in prison and that Judge S. Brent Simon would determine whether his Posey
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New Harmony to breathe life into school building By Valerie Werkmeister New Harmony Town Council members are hoping to breathe new life into the former New Harmony School building. During their October 17, meeting they hired Kennedy Hutson Associates of Monticello, Ill., to develop ideas for the structure’s use. Keddy Hutson delivered a presentation in which he explained his firm could tailor the feasibility study to the town’s needs. Hudson stated that Phase 1 will involve data collection to develop the master plan. He will begin the process through a series of interviews with council members or other towns folk the council deems appropriate. Next, he will create drawings to complement the information gained in Phase 1. Hudson pledged to work closely with the town coun-
Community Calendar Annual Community First Health Fair Free health services, screenings and flu shots will be offered Saturday, Nov. 2 from 9 a.m. – Noon at the annual Community First Health Fair at CK Newsome Community Center at 100 Walnut Street in downtown Evansville. This year, they are offering more than a dozen free screenings, services and education on various health topics, and are offering free flu shots, pneumonia and TDAP vaccines, giveaways, door prizes and food to those attending. The event is coordinated by a steering team from numerous community health organizations and staffed by representatives from those organizations, as well as many nursing/health students from Ivy Tech, University of Evansville and University of Southern Indiana. For more information, please contact ECHO at 812-421-7483.
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.
Bethesda Church Chili Supper Bethesda Church will hold their first chili supper on November 9 from 4 - 8 p.m. at the church at the intersection of Savah and Vines Road to help raise money to paint the exterior of the church. Eat in or carry out.
cil to develop a mutually beneficial timeline and stay within the town’s cost limitations. The council approved the $10,000 expenditure for Phase1 of the project. Council member Karen Walker advised other council members she has been searching for an engineering firm to complete a feasibility study for the sewer plant. She would like the qualifying firm to identify and log assets, determine the present condition of the plant and the suitability of the assets. She also wants to identify any vulnerabilities and develop a plan to address the needs of the plant in a proactive manner. She stated she has sent out Requests for Proposals (RFP) to six engineering firms, four of whom have responded. After review, she felt that Commonwealth Engineering would best fit the town’s needs. She stated she will work with Commonwealth to define the scope of work and present it at the next meeting. Town employee, Bobby Grider, advised the council he was still waiting on a part to arrive to repair the leaf vacuum machine. Once the part arrives, the street department will begin picking up leaves. Town Marshall Scott Champlin asked residents to pick up dog waste as it has become an unsightly problem in town. Those who walk their dogs in public areas, the park or near others’ yards should pick up after their pet. Champlin also announced that anyone with vandalism or crime reports should contact him as soon as the crime occurs. He
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City drug policy gets teeth By Lois Mittino Gray Members of the Mount Vernon Common Council passed several ordinances into law on third reading and discussed nuisance neighborhood problems at their October 17 meeting. After residents complained en masse about their West Ninth Street neighborhood several meetings ago, the area is being monitored by extra patrols as council members and police work to rectify the situation. Several residents were in the audience at this meeting to hear Council Member Bill Curtis give his usual up-
date on progress under old business. “I have nothing specific to tell since last meeting, but I spoke with others at a recent conference and nuisance properties are an issue in many cities and towns.” he said. “The main reasons are excessive emergency calls made to the area and weed control. South Bend has an ordinance on this and we’re going to take a look at it.” He asked City Attorney Beth McFadin Higgins to look up the ordinance
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Posey redevelopment commission organizes By Valerie Werkmeister Members of the Posey County Redevelopment Commission have met twice in the past two weeks to elect new officeholders and hire an attorney. The changes come on the heels of the recent Posey County Commissioners’ vote to appoint three new members to the board. Commissioners Carl Schmitz and Jerry Walden felt the lack of meeting activity from previous members necessitated their removal. The commission will need to meet more frequently in coming months as plans for the new Midwest Fertilizer plant develop. Up until this point, some have argued there has not been a need for the commission to meet. The commission’s first order of business during their October 15, meeting was the election of officers. George Postletheweight was elected as president, William Gillenwa-
ter III will serve as vice-president and Linda O’Risky, the board’s lone non-voting member, was chosen to serve as the secretary. Other members include Terry Gottmann, Rodney Wade and Gary Thiem. Following the election, Postletheweight charged each member to do their homework to learn their expected duties and responsibilities. He also expressed his interest in moving the county forward through their work on the board. Jonathan Weinzapfel of Faegre, Baker Daniels had been chosen on June 13, by the previous commission members to represent as counsel. However, Postletheweight announced during the October 15, meeting that the board may want to consider hiring a new attorney. Weinzapfel was present at the meeting and addressed the new members by giving
a brief timeline history of the new Midwest Fertilizer Plant. He explained the county offered 90 percent of the expected tax increment to be generated by this property. The project total at that time was approximately $1.2 billion and the tax increment was approximately $143 million. “With a project like this, you establish an economic development area, you set the baseline assessed value, so any investment made afterwards is going to result in an increase in assessed value. What the redevelopment commission can do through the economic development area is capture all the property taxes associated with that increased assessed value,” Weinzapfel said. Since the project announcement, the in-
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Glowing eyeballs on tombstone more than a myth By Lois Mittino Gray A carload of teenagers slowly cruises past a tall tombstone on the top of the hill in Maple Hill Cemetery in New Harmony on a moonlit October night. Their eyes are riveted on the tombstone’s bronze plaque bearing the somber likeness of John Ribeyre. One passenger gasps as she sees what appears to be a golden glow coming from his eyeballs. Another remarks with a shudder that the eyes seem to follow the car from all angles as it moves past. One skeptic bravely declares that he doesn’t see anything at all.
MV Lodge ‘Smoking Daze’ Mount Vernon Moose Lodge #497 to host ‘Smoking Daze’ with the famous smoked pork chops on Nov. 2 from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. at West Second Street. Call in orders and carry outs available 838-3664.
Helping their parents watch their bingo cards at Sunday afternoon’s Trunkor-Treat at St. Francis Church in Poseyville are Autumn Effinger and Kennedy Markwell. Photo by Dave Pearce
Retrospective ...........A4 Legals .......................B5-6 Classifieds ..............B7-8 Community ..............A5
This eerie escapade has been a ritual for young people to do around Halloween since the early 1900’s, with only the modes of transportation and the cast of characters changing through the years. Grandparents still probably tell the tale of their first ride by the Ribeyre Monument at night with just as much enthusiasm as the teens who just visited it this
year. I first heard of this ritual years ago when Judy McIntyre, a high school senior at the time, told me she saw the eyes glow the night before. “I stood right in front of the stone and I could see the pale yellow color in the eyes. It’s very light,” she recalled. She placed the time of her visit at somewhere between 10:30 or 11 p.m. on a night with some moon-
Deaths ........................A3 Church ........................A7 Social ..........................A6 School .........................A8
Sports .......................B1-4 Bus/Ag ........................A9 Opinion ....................A10 www.poseycountynews.com
light. Legend has it that Mr. Ribeyre’s eyes will glow with light and follow you because he ‘stays up all night’ to protect the cemetery and the vast landholdings he once owned in New Harmony. His tombstone faces the Cutoff Island in the Wabash River that he bought for $8,500 from Robert Dale Owen in 1849. Today the island is labeled Ribeyre Island on modern topographic maps. At the time he purchased the 2,759 acre tract, it was part of the
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