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Tuesday, November 10, 2015
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(USPS S4 439-500) 39 500) Volume 135 Edition 45
New faces, ideas will make up area town councils By Valerie Werkmeister This year’s election will bring some new faces to local government throughout the county. Town council elections were held in Mount Vernon, New Harmony and Cynthiana. There was no opposition to the council members in Poseyville, so they will retain their seats. However, Julie Mayo will leave her utility office manager position in January to assume Stan Forzley’s role as the new Poseyville Town Clerk/Treasurer. In New Harmony, the only incumbent to retain his position on the town council is Don Gibbs who received at total of 158 votes. Joe Straw’s bid to retain his seat as the New Harmony Town Council President was quashed. He received 85 votes, the lowest number out of all the candidates. A total of 250 ballots were cast. Newcomers to the board include Roger Wade who received 169 votes; David Flanders who received 153 votes; and Alvin
Blaylock with 127 votes. Gary Watson will rejoin the board. He has served eight years in the past. When asked about his approach to government, David Flanders responded, “My approach to governing is simple: to be thorough in my analysis; to be inclusive and respectful of all views; to muster the best problem solving skills within myself and others; to work with my colleagues to find solutions and to compromise as necessary.” Over 21 percent of Mount Vernon’s registered voters went to the ballots to exercise their democratic rights. According to Posey County Clerk Betty Postletheweight, that number seems to be a little higher than in past non-presidential year elections. The stats also showed 56.15 percent of Democrats and 43.85 percent of Republicans went to the polls. Democrat Larry Williams will join Republican Andy Hoehn now join the Mount Ver-
non Town Council. Williams defeated opponent Brett A. Newman with a total of 181 votes to Newman’s 63. He will serve District 2. Hoehn received 145 votes to defeat Thomas L. Rueger, who received 131 votes. He will continue to serve District 3. “The biggest issues gripping Mount Vernon are the dangerous and dilapidated buildings in the downtown area and the lack of a growing tax base (new homes and new businesses). Also, there is an undercurrent of drug use in the city bringing many other problems with it,” Hoehn said. Hoehn intends to lead discussions at the table to solve Mount Vernon’s most pressing problems. Williams also shares some of Hoehn’s concerns regarding dilapidated buildings and growing the tax base. He currently serves on a number of municipal and volunteer boards and touts that if he is unable to find a solution to a problem, he will find someone who can.
Williams said he plans to, “Listen, be accessible, learn the issues, be respectful of my fellow council members, attend as many meetings as possible, not just Council meetings but other committee meetings as may be assigned, work hard to identify and fix the City of Mount Vernon’s needs and work hard to fix them. I’ll also look forward to identifying our wants and work out ways to fund these wants, keeping in mind the burdens on the taxpayers.” In Cynthiana, a total of 80 voters turned out at the polls to elect two new members to the town board. Gary Smith is the only incumbent to retain his seat with a total of 42 votes. Newcomer Todd Kennedy will join the board. He received a total of 64 votes. Carolyn Price will be the other new face to join the three-member board as she received a total of 55 votes. Patti Wilson and Scott Cox were each defeated with a total of 40 and 31 votes, respectively.
After dinner surprise sends two to jail By Dave Pearce A Mount Vernon family had finished their dinner on Monday in their upscale home when they were shocked to hear voices coming from the inside area of their home that is a devoted laundry room “Basically, my husband George was taking out the trash when he began to hear a loud belligerent discussion coming from the laundry room,” said Mount Vernon resident and New Harmonie Heathcare Administrator Debbie Morgan. Carl Strobel So while Debbie called 911, George held the door to the laundry room shut and son, Ben, made sure he and his dad were armed to face whatever might be awaiting them on the other side of the door. Finally, George allowed the door to be opened and
he saw a male and a female, accompanied by a large Rottweiler in the middle of the family home. According to Morgan, when asked what the couple was doing in the Morgan home, the pair told the homeowner that they had purchased the home just the day before. “Do you lock the doors of your home at 7 p.m.?” Morgan asked, when talking about the incident. Morgan indicated that the only positive to come out of the incident was that what could have been a very bad ending for either Amy Neighbors the family or the burglars was diffused and although the Morgan family was shaken, no one was injured as a result of the break-in. “They had been in our garage and had gone through
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Donation to enhance communication By Lois Mittino Gray Members of the Mount Vernon School Board were delighted to learn at their November 2 meeting that four staff members would be flying to Washington, D.C., to pick up banners, plaques and certificates for Farmersville Elementary School’s National Blue Ribbon School award. The National Blue Ribbon School Ceremony began Monday, Nov. 9 and closes today, Nov. 10, 2015, at the historic Omni Shoreham Hotel in the nation’s Capital. Attending the event will be current principal Dr. Elizabeth Johns and former principal David Frye. On Sunday afternoon, Scoutmaster Tim Wiley helps Scouts during Kindergarten teacher Kelly Jones their flag retirement ceremony held at Murphy Park. Photo courtesy won the drawing among teachers of Dana Huntsman Pate
to attend and Kyle Jones will accompany the group as the representative for School Superintendent Tom Kopatich. The event will be videotaped and brought back for all to see at school celebrations. The board learned they also received an ‘unplanned donation, but a welcome surprise’ when the police and fire communications tower was declared surplus and ownership was transferred to the school district at a recent Board of Public Works meeting. “We are looking to make great usage of this 120 foot tower. We will be able to be in constant communication with our buses and it is a safety issue. With the 40-foot advantage, we can get signals way
out by West Franklin and get over Reitz Hill to stay in touch with our buses carrying students over to the Career Center,” explained Director of Business Loren Evans. “We are using analog now and may switch to digital with the additional broadcasting ability.” “The tower is also a great disaster recovery link. We can use it for data backup if the Internet goes down. For example, if a fiber gets cut at Marrs Elementary, it can work.” The tower will be placed on the Hedges Central School property in an area with an anti-climb fence. The school district agreed to pay all
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Runyeon brings Bible to life on Posey stage
By Lois Mittino Gray Actor Frank Runyeon will be performing his own creation, ‘Luke: Stories on the Road’ on Sunday, November 15 at 1:30 p.m. at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Mount Vernon. “This will be like coming home again to be back in southern Indiana,” Runyeon noted. “My mom’s side of the family is from near Evansville. I remember my grandma lived along the river.” Acclaimed by critics, scholars and pastors of every major denomination in America, Frank Runyeon tours his dramas and comedies to 40 states a year. More than 2,000 Catholic and Protestant churches have hosted his Frank Runyeon presents ‘Luke: Stories on the Road’ on Sunday, productions and given rave reviews. November 15 at St. Matthew Catholic Church. “The Luke story is my wife’s favorite one,” the ac-
tor said in the deep voice of an accomplished actor. Runyeon lives in Los Angeles with his wife and three children and Frank Runyeon Productions is a full-time occupation for the actor. Starring at the performance flyer for the local event, Runyeon’s face may look familiar to soap opera fans. He starred for seven years as Steve Andropoulos on ‘As the World Turns’ opposite Meg Ryan, a storyline that garnered the second highest ratings in the history of daytime television. “It was like a Romeo and Juliet plot that drug out for years. All kinds of obstacles got in the way of our romance,” the actor reminisced. A
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Colorful bikes much more than means of transportation By Brooke Simpson Most people look at bicycles and think of them as a great form of exercise, or a recreational activity. Take a stroll through the town of Mount Vernon, and you will see several bikes have popped up in different places. A stray bike on one corner, and maybe another one a little further down the road would not be enough to stop and look at. Yet if those bikes were older models, they would be a bit more interesting. However a painted bike, would definitely be worth inquiring about. Recently painted bikes were a fairly common sight around Mount Vernon, until a week or so ago. In front of Cloverleaf Apartments there is a bike painted lavender with many ribbons of various colors tied to it, and a bright yellow balloon. This beautiful bike is so much more than just something pretty to look at, it tells a story for many people. Terri Irvin has been the Director of the Housing Authority for Cloverleaf Apartments for the past 10 years. She wanted to do something to remember those who have fought cancer and won, and those who have fought and lost to the disease that knows no age, race, religion, gender, or size. There are so many people that have been affected by some form of
Bus/Ag .................A9 Classifieds ........ B 7 - 8 Community...........A4 Church...................A7
cancer. John Pierce an elderly gentleman who is retired and paints bicycles in remembrance of his daughter who lost her battle with cancer. He contacted Terri several months ago about having a bicycle for the facility. Terri took this to a whole different level. The bike was painted lavender to represent all cancers, and she then decided they would tie ribbons to the bike and anyone who chose to participate could write the name of anyone they wanted to remember on the ribbon. In just a few days time Terri says that there were between 150-200 names. There was a small ceremony and each name was read and then the ribbon tied onto the bike. The ribbons are all different colors and they too represent the particular kind of cancer the named person is facing. For some this was a time of prayer, for others a time of remembrance. So many times when a loved one passes their names are rarely spoken because they are no longer present. One lady thanked Terri after the ceremony for reading the name because she was able to hear her brothers name and he was acknowledged that day.
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Deaths .................... A3 Legals ...................B3 Opinion ................A10 Retrospective........A5
This bike sits on the grounds of Cloverleaf Apartments in remembrance of those who lost and those fighting for life. Picture courtesy of Terri Irvin, and Chemo Buddies.
School ....................A8 Social .....................A6 Sports ...... .........B1-2 TV Guide...........B5-6