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Since 1882 ~ Successor to The Poseyville News and The New Harmony Times • New Harmony, IN Posey County’s locally-owned newspaper
Tuesday November 13, 2012
Volume 135 Edition 46
Second major drug conviction ends ‘good week for Posey’ By Dave Pearce According to information provided by the Posey County Prosecutor’s office, Posey County residents won two significant battles against crime over the past two weeks. “Last week’s conviction in the case of Floyd “Junie” Stewart and this week winning a conviction on Michael Chamlee, it has been a good two weeks for the people of Posey County,” Posey County Deputy Prosecutor Jonathan Parkhurst said. Following last week’s conviction of cocaine dealer Floyd Stewart, this week, Michael Chamlee was convicted of Dealing in Methamphetamine, a Class A felony which carries a 20- to 50-year sentence. He was also charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, a Class B felony
Michael Chamlee punishable by six to 20 years in prison. He was also found guilty of possession of chemical reagents or precursors with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine, a Class C felony. According to Posey County Dep-
uty Prosecutor Jonathan Parkhurst, the conviction stems from the July 21, 2011 arrest of Chamlee at his residence. But the circumstances leading to the arrest leaves Posey County law enforcement in the opinion that they are making progress against illegal drug activity in Posey County. Parkhurst said members of the Posey County Drug Task Force, the Posey County Sheriff’s Department and Indiana State Police, along with Chad Forman, a special agent with the federal ATF, went to the Chamlee residence at 1000 Hastings Lane to serve an arrest warrant on Chamlee’s wife, Joanna. “They had information that they might also find firearms and a meth lab in the home,” Parkhurst said. Ultimately, Joanna Chamlee was placed under arrest on a misdemeanor battery warrant and officers
entered the home on a couple of occasions on that evening to obtain shoes for Mrs. Chamlee and positive identification for the booking. “When they were inside the home with her, officers saw some long guns. They then went and
obtained a search warrant. Posey County Superior Court Judge Brent Almon signed the search warrant authorizing the search of the home and the property for firearms and
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Posey Co. boasts state’s best overall sheriff’s dept. By Dave Pearce A few days ago, Posey County Sheriff Greg Oeth received notice that it might be a good idea to have representation at the 18th annual Indiana Criminal Justice Institute OPO Awards Banquet. The banquet took place on Friday, Nov. 9, 2012, at the Ritz Charles in Carmel, Ind. Hundreds of state and local law enforcement agencies were represented at the ceremonies, which honor officers and agencies making a difference in the safety of Hoosier motorists. Efforts conducted through the OPO program rely on a dual strategy involving high-visibility enforcement and heightened public awareness aimed at deterring impaired and dangerous
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GOP sweeps contested Posey County races Bell ringers needed It’s time for the annual Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign. Volunteers will be ringing bells on December 1, 8, and 15 in Mount Vernon and Poseyville. The group still need lots of bell ringers. This is a great community service project, or just a great way to get together with some friends and make a difference in Posey County. All funds collected are used directly to help local families. Call Beth Russell at 812-838-6875 to reserve your time to ring a bell.
Relay Christmas Bazaar set The North Posey Relay Christmas Bazaar will be held on November 17 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. at North Elementary School in Poseyville. Santa will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for pictures.
Girl Scouts collect coats New Harmony Girl Scout Troop 151 is collecting gently used coats for the Clayton’s Coat-a-Kid Program. There will be collection boxes set up at the following New Harmony locations: Old Mill Mart, Marathon, Chris’ Pharmacy and New Harmony Healthcare. The boxes will be there Nov. 5 through Nov. 30. Please help our girls meet their goal.
Chamber hosts seminar On November 13, 2012, the Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana, Small Business Development Center and Workone will host a seminar about ways to, “Grow Your Business.” The seminar will be held at Western Hills Country Club beginning at 7:30 a.m. Join area business leaders to learn about resources that can help your business grow. Please RSVP to Brittaney Johnson at 812-8383639.
Demo Club to meet The Posey County Democratic Women’s Club will meet at Democrat Headquarters on Thursday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. Everyone is invited. The agenda includes election of officers for the coming year.
Sponsors sought for singers If you enjoyed last spring’s performance of “Calling All Dawns,” you will have an opportunity to hear it again, twelve times, on Saturday, Nov. 10 in the choir room at Mount Vernon Senior High School. The Mount Vernon Senior High School Vocal Music Dept. will host a Sing-A-Thon in support of its upcoming trip to New York City’s Avery Fisher Hall and their performance of “Calling All Dawns.” Vocal Music director Dana Taylor notes, “we are thrilled at the opportunity to sing “Calling All Dawns” in New York but knew that we would need to create opportunities for students to raise funds to pay for the trip. The sing-a-thon was an easy choice and will show the community how dedicated the students are to making the trip possible”.
By Dave Pearce While President Barack Obama enjoyed a narrow victory among the popular vote to return for four more years as President of the United States on Tuesday, Posey County’s Democratic Party did not fare nearly so well. As a matter of fact, the Posey County GOP swept the five contested races as Thomas Washburne defeated Mark Norton for State Representative in District 64 (mostly northern Posey County; Republican incumbent Wendy McNamara retained her seat as State Representative in District 76, Chris Harp (6,062) won the battle of political newcomers over Roy Maynard (5,681) for the position of Posey County Treasurer; Carl Schmitz ((6,498) easily outdistanced incumbent John Sherretz (5,279) for Posey County Commissioner in District One, and in perhaps the biggest surprise of the night, Republican Jerry Walden (6,256) defeated former Posey County Democratic Party Chairman and incumbent Scott Moye (5,476) to represent Posey County’s District Three as Commissioner. Democratic wins came in a couple of state-level races where Joe Donnelly turned a tight race into a one-sided victory during the final
Everyone at the GOP headquarters at the Mount Vernon Elks Club was happy following the announcement that the party had swept the contested races in Posey County. Pictured are newly-elected commissioner Carl Schmitz, State Representative Wendy McNamara, new Posey County Treasurer Chris Harp, and new Posey County commissioner Jerry Walden. Photo by Dave Pearce 10 days of the election in the race Instruction. shon won a return trip by a wide Otherwise, Greg Zoeller easily margin. Posey County Circuit for United States Senator. Democrat Glenda Ritz upended incum- maintained his position of Indiana Judge James Redwine will retain bent Tony Bennett in the race for Attorney General while Eighth Continued on Page A2 Indiana Superintendent of Public District Congressman Larry Buc-
Number of ambulance runs lowest in Poseyville By Valerie Werkmeister Posey County Commissioners met Monday, November 6, a day earlier than their usual schedule, due to election day. There were only a few articles of business to discuss, and most of the topics were not new. The short agenda made for a very short meeting. Yet, the commissioners did want to urge citizens to continue contacting Keeley Winiger at 838-1311 in regards to the bridge construction behind the Wesselman’s Shopping Center in Mount Vernon. The bridge has been closed since December 15, 2008, and it has taken until now to save the necessary amount of funds required to build the bridge. While some are anxious to see it re-open, others are skeptical it is needed. Winiger has previously stated that she often fields phone calls from residents inquiring when the bridge will be back in service. Highway superintendent Steve Schenk stated there are other bridges in the county that also need to be re-built. He cited one at John Mills Road and another at Black River on Eastville Road as two examples.
Specific permits had to be acquired from the Department of Natural Resources and the Army Corps of Engineers. Schenk stated that if the bridge is to be completed before the permits expire, they will need to begin work on it this winter. The commissioners tabled making a decision until their next meeting on November 20. The commissioners did approve Schenk’s request to approve a contract with J.H. Rudolph to store salt at their plant facility on Ford Road. The agreement is $100 per month through the months of December – March. Storing salt and sand at the site helps the county cut down on time and fuel when working on clearing snow from the roads. The October animal control report included 82 complaints, 18 animals were picked up and there was one bite report taken. Commissioner Jim Alsop read the ambulance run report that includes the total number of runs to date. There are a total of 1,888 runs. Mount Vernon claims 52 percent of those, for a total of 983. New Harmony has 344, St. Phillip has 330 and Poseyville has 231 runs to date.
New Harmony prepares for fall art and antique stroll The New Harmony Fall Art & Antique Stroll on Saturday, November 17 from 4 until 7 p.m. will include art galleries, antique and specialty shops which will remain open so that visitors can stroll along the streets of New Harmony enjoying the art and meeting the artists, viewing the antiques and shopping for that special item. The event is free and open to the public with many venues offering complimentary refreshments. Art Exhibit Opening Receptions include: The Hoosier Salon presents the annual “Home is where the heART is” Holiday Exhibit which features the art of twenty-one local and regional artists. The popular “Snowflake Art” of artisan Denise Rapp will create a festive holiday display and include hand-cut snowflakes
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for purchase. And for the first time, the Hoosier Salon will host a Countywide High School Senior Art Show, featuring two and three dimensional artwork of twentyfour senior art students from North Posey High School and Mt. Vernon High School. The University of Southern Indiana, New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art, will host the opening of “Threaded Interface” by Annica Cupetelli. Creation Station will feature an exhibit of new pottery by Brent Wallace of Lexington, Kentucky, new oil on canvas works by Owensboro artist, Alalesa Huffman, and new abstract sculptures by award winning Oakland City native, Bob Zasadny. Lena Feiner of the Women’s Institute and Gallery located on Gra-
nary Street invites you to “Dream of the Planet” by artist Martha Kaplan. The New Harmony Artists Guild at the Owen Community Center will feature “A Retrospective of the Art of Clem Penrose” of fifty pieces of original art and reproductions of work that Penrose has created since returning to New Harmony. Participating antique shops include The Antique Showrooms in the Mews, The Antique Emporium, The Cookie Jar Antiques, and Firehouse Antiques. Also open for the evening are The New Harmony Soap Company that has relocated to 512 S. Main Street and the newest addition to New Harmony downtown, Vintage Harmony, which can be found at 527 Church St.
Go to www.poseycountynews.com
Inside this issue... Retrospective ................... A4 Legals ...............................B5 Classifieds ..................... B6-7
While in New Harmony plan to stay and have dinner or a drink in one of the many friendly restaurants or bars around town. Offering a variety of cuisine for every palette are the Red Geranium Restaurant and the popular Grapevine Bar, Samuel’s Pizza and Italian Restaurant, The Yellow Tavern, Pop’s Grill and Old Fashioned Ice Cream Shop and the American Legion. We encourage you to come for the weekend and spend the night at the renowned New Harmony Inn or a cozy B&B. For a complete list of participating venues and a map, you can contact the coordinator at hoosiersalon@sbcglobal.net or pick one up at a participating venue. For more information on New Harmony businesses and events go to www.newharmony.biz or www. newharmony.org .
Community ........... A5 Social ...................... A6 Deaths ................... A3 Sports ................... B3-5 Church .................. A7 Bus/Ag .................. A11
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