T
P C N SINCE 1882 Successor to The Poseyville News & New Harmony Times POSEY COUNTY’S ONLY LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED NEWSPAPER
Volume 138 Edition 46
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
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Republicans take majority of Posey’s contested races Dems Latham, Denning, Rhoades are unopposed By Dave Pearce Posey County political candidates and County Chairmen weren’t in agreement on a lot of issues prior to this week’s mid-term election. However, there was one thing on which party chairmen, candidates, and party supporters did agree...no one expected the outcome of this year’s election. Although most Posey County races were deemed “clean” compared to some of the state elections this year, Posey County voters turned out in record numbers to cast their ballots. More than 60 percent of registered voters, unheard-of in a mid-term election, took advantage of early voting opportunities as well as efficient poll workers to cast their ballots. When the dust had settled, Posey County Republicans claimed a clean sweep of all contested races in the county. “At this point, Posey County Republicans control the Posey County Commission, the County Council, the County Clerk’s office as well as a majority of the county-wide offices, as well as a growing number of township trustee positions and advisory boards,” Posey County Republican Chair Greg Newman said following the announcement of the results. “We could not be in this position without each of you in this room or without the hard work and the dedication of the officeholders we have in place right now, the hard work and dedication of the candidates we have had on the ballot this year. But while asking the officeholders to
enjoy this night, Newman also reminded elected officials that a lot is expected of them from the people who voted for them, allowing them the opportunity to serve. “There’s a lot of work to do and I feel like we can accomplish a lot of things in Posey county,” Newman told the group. Newman deflected comments made regarding his leadership back to the roomful. “This was a group effort,” Newman said. “Everybody in this room contributed in some way to the victory we are celebrating tonight. We can continue to get Republicans elected in Posey County for years to come if we continue to give our all to public service.” Newman eluded to the passion and leadership of Betty Postletheweight, who has overseen the office of County Clerk as well as the last six elections. “We could not do this without vice-chair Nancy Hoehn, secretary Judy Whitten, and treasurer Kay Kilgore,” Newman said. “These ladies are amazing and they work behind the scenes so hard and I appreciate everything they do. David Whitten has been our election board member and president for several years now and David has done a tremendous job in this capacity and I can truthfully say that our election process is in great hands with David. In fairness, Scott Moye, the Democrat member, does a great
Water Improvement Fund. The $1,380,000 total project will improve the city water delivery in the area and address a city fire protection concern. During the Environmental Review Process the EDC is doing now, this second public hearing was required and Burkett went through the proposed timeline and budget, fielding questions from the council members and audience. With an audio tape
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Grants to help city woes
INSIDE TODAY
New ‘Wildcat car’ is SRO’s
By Lois Mittino Gray A spiffed up police cruiser for the SRO to use, new code enforcement software, and a heartfelt tribute to an unexpectedly deceased city employee, Animal Control Officer Gene Youngblood, were the focus of the November 8, Mount Vernon Board of Works meeting. Mayor Bill Curtis proudly passed out a flyer showing off the new graphics proposed for the vehicle assigned to Leo Gonzalez, the Mount Vernon School Resource Officer (SRO). “Can you imagine how good that is going to look parked in that first spot outside of school where everyone can see it?” he asked. The 2017 Ford Police Interceptor will sport a large Wildcat logo, the mascot of the local secondary schools and the words “Mount Vernon Police.” The Mayor asked Police Chief Tony Alldredge to look into getting the graphics on the vehicle after he saw them on Evansville SRO’s cars. Alldredge found a man from Posey County, of Highland Graphics, who would charge $400 for the materials, and was willing to donate his installation time. It was approved. Board Member Larry Williams asked if this was just for the one vehicle? The Mayor replied yes, just for the SRO. Williams generously pledged to personally donate $100 to the project. The Mayor said there are some organizations looking into possibly This Mount Vernon Police vehicle proudly displays the Mount Verdonating as well. non Wildcat logo. The vehicle will be drive by the School Resource Angie Kissinger, Officer. the City Code Enforcement Officer, appeared before the board to submit three quotes she collected to purchase a software program for use in her work. In code enforcement, there is a lot of paperwork. She and Denise Dike in the Clerk-Treasurer’s Office, created the process involved, as well as the documents themselves. “There are notices, and liens, and lien releases, and certifications of cost, and the list just goes on and on. People get overwhelmed.” Kissinger explained this software allows the field officer to use a tablet or other android device to take pictures and list a property to GIS, which then the software issues a case number, parcel number, and pulls all the required information together. The documents are then uploaded into drop-down menus. It creates reminder notices to check properties to see, for example, if the weed problem was taken care of in the required amount of time. “This increases efficiency and accuracy. No more counting days out on a calendar. All information is located in an Excel Spreadsheet,” she explained. She said that in two months’time, she dealt with 80 properties, just for weed violations.
Audrie Burkett records Paula Rudibaugh’s comments to submit with the Wolflin Street grant application at the meeting. Photo by Lois Mittino Gray
By Lois Mittino Gray Audrie Burkett, representing the Economic Development Coalition of Southwestern Indiana, conducted an extensive public hearing concerning the water system improvement project at Eighth and Wolflin streets at the November 8, Mount Vernon City Council meeting. Her organization is assisting the city in submitting a $700,000 CDBG grant request due by November 30, 2018. The local match will be $680,000, to be taken out of the City of Mount Vernon
An exhuberant Kay Kilgore, center, raises her hand into the air after winning the office of Posey County Clerk during Tuesday’s election. Kilgore will join several Republicans taking office at the first of the year. Photo by Dave Pearce
Variety is the spice of life
Babillis has enjoyed a generous slice of fun experiences
See Honor Rolls on Pages B5 and B6
The Golden Years
Briefly Fall Property Taxes The Fall Deadline for 2018 Property Taxes is, Tuesday November 13. You can pay your property taxes at any Old National Banking center in Posey or Vanderburgh County. You may also pay your taxes in person, by mail, online at www.poseycountytax.com or via the drop box located at the corner of Third and Walnut Street.
More information on these and other events inside today’s Posey County News (USPS 439-500)
Dodie Babillis By Pam Robinson By her own admission, Wadesville native Dolores “Dodie” Babillis is “a woman of few words.” That being said, her life story allows one to “read between the lines” and glimpse her strong Protestant work ethic and her love of people.
Dodie was born on September 9, 1940, as the baby of five children born to Russell Allyn and Opal Marie (Montgomery) Kincheloe. The closest in age to her, brother Bob, was eight years her senior. She tenderly recalls three of her siblings’ passing: Geraldine Becker at age 93; Russ Kincheloe
at age 96; and Bob Kincheloe at the early age of 69. Her sister, Lucy Reineke, age 93, lives near her in Mount Vernon. At 78, Dodie herself has a generous start on a long life. She believes farm life has played no small part in her disposition. She learned the meaning of work from turning the soil with a plow on her little Ford tractor at age 11 to plucking the feathers off a slaughtered chicken for Sunday dinner. “You had fun when you grew up on a farm,” Dodie declares. “There was not as much mischief to get into.” As she points out, she lived in an era without electronics. Instead, the team of horses, Bonnie and Bess—aging by the time Dodie
came along—provided entertainment when she was a child about age 7 to 10. “You really entertained yourself. We had a couple of work horses, Bonnie and Bess. My favorite was Bonnie. She was real, real gentle. I could lead her up to the fence, jump on her back, go to the woods, and spend all day until it was time to eat. That was my favorite thing to do,” Dodie reminisces. She spent her days also with the neighbor girls who lived about a mile-and-a-half from her home. After attending Wadesville School for grades 1-12, Dodie graduated from high school with 20 classmates in the Class of 1958. That same year, her family moved off the farm, and her dad opened Kincheloe Motor Sales in New Harmony. Dodie used her education well and kept the books for
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