November 10, 2020 - The Posey County News

Page 1

Inside Today

This Copy Reserved Especially For:

A SPECIAL SECTION HONORING AMERICA’S MILITARY VETERANS

Opinion..................A2 Obits ..................... A3 Retro ......................A4

T

Social .....................A5 Church ..................A8 School/Business ....A9

Jump ....................A11 Sports .................B1-2 Legals .................... B4

Court News ............ B4 Business Dir .......... B5 Classifieds ........... B11

SINCE 1882 Successor to The Poseyville News & New Harmony Times

P C N $1.00

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Volume 140 Edition 45

Posey County elects NP School Board members

Larry Kahle Vince Oakley By Dave Pearce By 9 p.m. on Election Night in Posey County, the last few stragglers were leaving the Courthouse. Local votes had already been counted and Party Chairmen were ready to go. That’s somewhat an accomplishment considering there was a nearly 73 percent

Amy Will voter turnout, the most in Posey County history. Of the 13,363 votes cast in this year’s Posey County election, 6,522 were cast before Election Day. On Election Day, there were 5,294 votes cast in Posey County and 1,547 Absentee votes were cast. This year’s election held no suspense or drama

for Posey County partisan candidates as there were no challenged races for county offices, even in a presidential election year. On the National front, nearly a week after the election, Joe Biden (and VP Kamala Harris) appear to have won the United States presidency. US President Donald Trump (and VP Michael Pence) claim that they will use every legal avenue to pursue the correction of what he termed “irregularities” in several states. The National popular vote favored Biden-Harris by nearly 3.5 million votes and most major news outlets have projected the Electoral College to favor Biden by a 60-plus vote margin. For as long as most can remember, there has not been a Posey County election like this one. There were no celebrations at either party headquarters… not even a get-together. The only thing that was actually decided in Posey County on Election Day would be which three of six candidates would win seats on the North Posey School Board. Despite an incorrect ballot early in the process,

Continued on Page A11

Mount Vernon Schools prep for projects, wash By Lois Mittino Gray Filling in for School Superintendent Matt Thompson, who was called away due to a family emergency, Director of Business Loren Evans, presided smoothly through the agenda for the November 2, Mount Vernon School Board meeting. Like the saying goes, it had “good news and bad news.” Charlie Seifert, Director of Buildings, Grounds, and Transportation, was the featured speaker of the evening updating the board on maintenance progress and proposed 2021 summer projects. He said an administrative review pointed out that the school buildings seemed dirty and could use some exterior power washing to brighten the stonework. Three companies were contacted for quotes to clean all schools and the district office, excluding Hedges Central and Booker T. Washington storage. Precision Power Washing was awarded the job with a low quote of $11,482. Mr. Sudsy submitted a figure of $19,364, while iShine Pressure Washing quoted the high figure of $38,053. “Precision Power Washing had many positive accolades and seems to be well established in their business,” Seifert noted. The low pressure washing will begin as soon as it can be arranged and may take several days’ time. “This is really a significant project. There is a lot of square footage in all these buildings,” Director Evans pointed out. Money will come from Operation Funds, as it is not a Capital Projects expenditure. Seifert reported he is still waiting on new fencing around the generator behind the high school cafeteria and the new gate and fence between the welding shop and agriculture building. He said wrestling room mats were received on October 27 and work on pads for roof-entry doors should be completed soon. To remain fiscally stringent, the only 2021 summer projects the district will pursue are reroofing ones deemed necessary on buildings. Quotes were submitted by October 27 as follows. Preferred Construction was low quote for the MV High School main gym, at $99,490; and Marrs Elementary at $57,900. Lehman Roofing was low quote on West Elementary School, at $156,900; and Farmersville Elementary School at $59,800. The last two schools may not be possible to do now since there are insufficient budget concerns. The plans will be revisited and the budget reviewed and brought back to another meeting. Lastly, Performance Services provided a preliminary report that showed good energy savings, as the firm originally promised, with their contract updates. They will be meeting with district administrators in the near future to explain what the next ten years of guaranteed savings might look like, including more precise data.“These are good numbers and the raw data already shows positive savings,” Evans commented. In other board action: • In personnel matters, several resignations were accepted and switched up to a new position. Geoffrey Collins resigned as assistant coach high school boys’

Continued on Page A11

Poseyville Town Council named in IPA complaint By Dave Pearce According to information received this week from the Indiana Public Access Counselor, a complaint was recently filed against the Poseyville Town Council. Poseyville resident Roger Heathcotte filed the complaint, stating that information discussed and decisions made in a recent executive session should have been done in an open meeting. “It’s an important decision that has a significant impact on our water and sewer rates” Heathcotte stated. “I am concerned that discussions about the final utility rate study, and the resulting ordinance, took place in executive session.” In response to the complaint, the IPAC asked for clarification on Heathcotte’s claim. Public Access Counselor Luke Britt responded to Heathcotte’s contention with the following question, “Is your contention that the utility rate study was discussed in executive session?” he asked. “If so, that is not an appropriate use of executive session under IC 5-14-1.5-6.1 which is the executive session statute. Was there a notice of the executive session posted? And if so, what did it use as justification for the meeting?” Heathcotte’s response was as follows: “Yes, my contention is the study was discussed in executive session and changes to the study were decided by Council outside a public meeting. Their notice was included in their post to the town’s Facebook page. It gave no justification for the discussion in executive session.” He presented a copy of the announcement in the complaint. “Indiana’s public access laws are very specific about what can be discussed in executive session and a utility rate study is not one of them,” Heathcotte contended,

Continued on Page A11 BMV Announces Veterans Day Closure

Brooke Baehl holds a luminary in honor of her grandfather Michael Baehl during the drive-through luminary held at North Elementary School on Sunday evening in Poseyville. Photo by Dave Peearce

All Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicle (BMV) branches are closed Wednesday, Nov. 11 in observance of the Veterans Day holiday. Branches resume regularly scheduled business hours on Thursday, Nov. 12. For a complete list of branch locations and hours, to complete an online transaction, or to find a 24-hour BMV Connect kiosk near you visit IN.gov/BMV.

Student turned teacher is right at home

First-year teaching couple often compares notes

Savannah Snodgrass

(USPS 439-500)

By Lois Mittino Gray Savannah Snodgrass dressed up as Mrs. Potato Head on Halloween to the delight of her 16 first grade students at Marrs Elementary School. The Mount Vernon native is the new fresh face at the school, who revels in being the teacher she always knew she wanted to be. “It’s a no brainer, really. I’ve loved the thought of teaching since I was a young girl,” she enthused. To achieve this goal, Savannah attended the University of Southern Indiana, where she double-majored in Elementary Education and Special Education. She earned her degree in May 2020, with no commencement fanfare in these days of COVID. She was familiar with the Mount Vernon School District as she noted, “I was always in the buildings

substitute teaching during college, since I lived nearby.” Active in sports during her time at Mount Vernon High School, the Class of 2016 graduate also coached local district sports all through her college years. She is now charged with being the Mount Vernon High School soccer coach and the Mount Vernon Junior High School track coach, as well as her Marrs teaching assignment, so her days are very busy. She rotates recess duty with her fellow first grade teachers at the school every three days, too. Lessons are fun with a hands-on teacher like Mrs. Snodgrass. She enjoys taking her class outdoors to write their spelling words with colored chalk on the blacktop. “I plan to try shaving cream sometimes indoors on the desks with spelling

words. At least it will keep them nice and clean that way,” she said with a smile. This week her students are finishing up a Social Studies unit on our location on Earth, using maps and globes. “We talk about our county, our state, our country, our continent and our place on the planet. It puts everything in perspective for them. They just love the compass rose. For some of my students, there was no world beyond Mount Vernon.” Social studies is an interest shared with her husband, Riley, a history teacher at Mount Vernon Junior High School. He is also a first year teacher, so the couple often compares notes about what worked and what didn’t at the end of their day. They share their home with a rambunctious two-year old Golden Re-

triever mix named Nellie. Both tyro teachers feel safe from COVID in their teaching environment. “They do a good job with cleaning and sanitizing. There are many precautions taken, from hand sanitizing stations in the classroom to social distancing practices,” Savannah explained. “I was concerned at first as to how well the kids would do wearing masks at that young age. I was honestly surprised at how well they are wearing them.” Savannah wears a mask herself most of the day, especially when she is working one on one with a student. “I’ve learned to adjust to it and it is now part of my teaching,” she remarked. We welcome Savannah to the profession and hope the shaving cream turns out to be oodles of fun for all.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.