Successor to The Poseyville News & New Harmony Times
LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED SINCE 1882
“OUR LIBERTIES WE PRIZE, AND OUR RIGHTS WE WILL MAINTAIN.” Posey County’s ONLY Locally Owned Newspaper.
Briefly Salvation Army Bell Ringers needed It’s that time of year again - hear those bells ringing? Dollars collected in the red kettles are used in Posey County to help Posey County families. Please consider helping out by volunteering - only two hours - with friends, families, youth groups, and organization. This is a great way to get into the holiday spirit of helping others. Hours count as community service, as well. This year, you can register to ring online. It’s quick and easy. Call Beth Russell at 812-838-6875 if you have questions. Register early so you get the time slot and location you want. And feel free to share this with as many people as you can - we need lots of volunteers. Thank you. Go to https://www.registertoring.com/ WebPages/Default.aspx to register online.
Prayer Garden Dedication Ceremony rescheduled Due to unforeseen circumstances, Pastor John Adams of the Johnson United Methodist Church in New Harmony has announced a change in date for the Prayer Garden Dedication Ceremony that was planned for November 8. The new date will be Sunday, November 29 after the 10:30 a.m. worship service. A pitch in dinner and Jonah Blevins’ Eagle Scout Ceremony will follow immediately afterwards. JUMC offers Ham Loaves, Pecans The UMW of the Johnson United Methodist Church will again be selling our famous Ham Loaves in time for Thanksgiving. The price for each loaf is $2 and will be available for pick up on November 20 from 3 to 5 p.m., or at the church office from 9 to 11 p.m. Please contact Marsha Bailey at 812-682-4852 or the church office at 812-682-4648 to reserve yours today or to make alternative pick-up time. These sell out quickly so reserve yours today. We also have our supply of fresh pecans at $11 for a one-pound bag available for purchase immediately. Book Signing at the Working Men’s Institute Nancy McCaslin, editor of Jane Blaffer Owen’s ‘New Harmony Indiana; Like a River Not a Lake’ will be at the Working Men’s Institute on Saturday, November 21, from 1-3 p.m. for a book signing event. Mrs. McCaslin will also speak of her experiences in editing this book and of her recent trip and presentation at the Robert Owen World Heritage Site in New Lanark, Scotland. Copies of Mrs. Owen’s book will be available for purchase, with proceeds to benefit the WMI.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Posey County Council on Aging plans Nashville trip Posey County Council on Aging Nashville Tripwill be December 7-9, 2015. This is a three-day, two-night trip. The trip includes a visit to Opry Mills, then dinner at Nashville Nightlife Dinner Theater, guided tour of Nashville, photo stop at the Parthenon, a ride the Delta Flatboats inside Opryland Hotel, and backstage tour of the Grand Old Opry House. Cost is $319 for a double occupancy. Please call 812838-4656 to register.
(USPS S4 439-500) 39 500) Volume 135 Edition 46
Posey Jail renovation main focus of County By Valerie Werkmeister Have you ever tried to pay for a big ticket item without knowing all the financial information? It’s the type of scenario that could cause nightmares for a financial planner. Silly or not, that is exactly what members of the Posey County Council must do in order to determine how they will pay for the upcoming jail renovation and expansion project. Posey County Commissioners have entered into a contract with RQAW, an architect and design firm, to complete the design work for the expansion and renovation. They have estimated the total cost for the project at $11.5 million. During their meeting last Tuesday, council members heard from a representative from Umbaugh and
Associates as he presented them with some facts and figures to help narrow the decision. He also gave an overview of the three possible funding options the council could use to pay for the project. The first option is to establish a Public Safety Tax. However, funds generated from this tax would have to be shared among other public entities such as local fire departments. Posey County does not currently have this tax in place. Council member Tom Schneider pointed out at the last council meeting that previous councils had an opportunity to impose this tax and declined to do so because of the requirements to distribute the tax to other public safety departments.
Continued on Page A11
Charles Huck salutes the Flag of The Unites States of America during the Veterans Day Program at New Harmony Town Hall. Photo by Theresa Bratcher
Champlins opt for more simple life as hosts
Adele, Scott and Murphy Champlin are ready to embark on their travel adventure at the end of the month. Photo by Lois Mittino Gray
By Lois Mittino Gray On October 15, New Harmony Town Marshall Scott Champlin turned in his badge to begin a life going “whichever way the wind blows me.” Scott and his wife Adele are divesting their life of everything tying them down to one place so they can be ready to roll into retirement in a 33-foot used motor home pulled by a four wheel drive midsize Chevy Colorado pickup truck. Their brick home near the Posey County Fairgrounds is listed with a realtor and most all of their possessions have been sold or given away to friends and family. They will leave by the end of the month to go south to their first stop at the Padre Islands in Texas. “It will be warm and we get free camping by camping outside developed campgrounds. It’s called boondocking,” the intrepid traveler
explained. From there, the pair and their beloved dog, Murphy, a collie-border collie mix, will go to Florida to visit family near Tampa. By May 1, they need to be at the Rush-NoMore campground, a private facility two miles outside of Sturgis, South Dakota. They will get free camping in exchange for being the campground hosts there. Imagine having no property taxes, lawn mowing chores, or heavy house maintenance. The Champlins will look for other hosting opportunities as well. Future destinations include the East Coast and Boston area, where Adele is from and still has family, Alaska, and Bar Harbor, near Acadia National Park in Maine to “watch where you can see the sun rise in the East first in the United
Continued on Page A6
Nearly $2.5 million spent on 2015 road repair By Valerie Werkmeister Many Posey County roads received much needed attention this year. Highway Superintendent Steve Schenk delivered his Cost of Roads Annual Report completed this year to members of the Posey County Council last week. A total of 43.14 miles were either chip and sealed, recycled or had overlay placed on top of the existing blacktop or chip and seal.
While 43 miles may not sound like a lot, the price tag to complete that amount is astounding. Schenk stated the cost was $2,449,637. Schenk largely credited the availability of EDIT funds (Economic Development Income Taxes) as the major funding source. A total of $1.8 million in EDIT funds were used to pay the lofty sum. The remaining $600,000 was taken out of the county’s motor vehicle highway
fund. Less than one mile of roads were chip and sealed. They include: Benthall Road from Sailer road to the dead end; Darnell School Road from Caborn Road West and Lower Mount Vernon Road from Lamont Road East. Almost four miles of roads received overlay on the existing blacktop. They include: County Line Road from Gries Road to
the Vanderburgh County Line and from Baseline Road to Emge Road; St. Wendel Road from Highway 65 to Watertank Road; Haines Road from Brandt Road west 1000 feet and Elpers Subdivision, Ruby Lane, AJ Drive and Emerald Lane. Overlay placed on existing chip and seal roads accounted for a bulk of the expenditure. Twelve miles at
Continued on Page A11
Wiggins to face charges
MV Moose Lodge to host Fish Dinner The Mount Vernon Moose Lodge 497 will be having an All You Can Eat Fish Dinner with potato, baked beans, slaw, and hush puppies this Saturday night, November 21, 2015 starting at 5 p.m. at the Lodge, 711 West Second Street. $10 per person, (Children $5 12 and under). The Public is invited to attend. Call ahead for carry outs, 812-838-3664. PC Historical Society to meet The Posey County Historical Society will meet Saturday, November 21 at 10 a.m. in the Collections Room (Door Four) at Hedges Central. Members and friends are asked to bring a ‘Show and Tell’ item with an historical story (a photograph, a collectible, news item or any treasure with historic significance). This is the last meeting of the year, so this would be a fine time to pay your dues for 2016. All members and friends are welcome to the meeting.
$1.00
Phillip Bell holds son Vincent so he can toss flags into the fire during the Mount Vernon American Legion Owen Dunn Post 5 Flag Retirement Ceremony held November 11, 2015. Photo by Theresa Bratcher
Special to the News tic bag containing Meth between Friday, November 13, 2015 at the driver’s seat and center console. approximately 10:54 p.m., Trooper A series of field sobriety tests Brent Gramig was patrolling SR 62 revealed Wiggins was impaired. when he observed a Further investigation vehicle with an exrevealed she was under pired temporary tag. the influence of Meth. Gramig stopped Wiggins was arrested the driver of the veand taken to the Posey hicle on Lakeview County Jail where she is Drive at SR 62. The currently being held on driver was identified bond. as Michelle Wiggins, Arrested and Charges: 40, of Mount Vernon. Michelle Wiggins, 40, While talking to Wig- Michelle Wiggins Mount Vernon, Ind.; Posgins, Trooper Gramig detected an session of Meth, Level 6 Felony, odor of marijuana inside the vehi- Driving While Intoxicated (Meth), cle. A search revealed a small plas- Class C Misdemeanor.
‘Frankenstein’ comes to MVHS stage By Brooke Simpson Get ready to travel back to the 1800s and come see an interesting twist on a classic story. Mount Vernon High School drama students will have opening night for the play Frankenstein on Thursday night at 7 p.m. The play is showing on November 19, 20, and 21 at 7 p.m. each evening. No there will not be a large green monster with bolts coming out his neck in this version of Frankenstein. With a cast of 11 students, a child, and a dog this play promises to deliver quite a bit of excitement and twists that do
Bus/Ag .................A9 Classifieds ........ B 7 - 8 Community...........A4 Church...................A7
not come with the traditional high school performance. Kevin Roach is the director of this year’s production and has brought much of his acting experience into the process of preparation for the fall performance. Roach has performed with Delto Studios of Performing Arts, The Evansville City Center, as well as web-films, just to name a few. This is not a play for the faint of heart, as Roach advises it can get a little scary at times, but the story behind the play is a ‘melding of the two, the black and white film that came out, with the electric-
Deaths .................... A3 Legals ...................B4 Opinion ................A12 Retrospective........A5
ity, staying true to the book, while adding excitement of the film.’ Even on the high school level this production offers a battle of good and evil, with characters who are not likeable from the beginning, and also ones who can be related to on a personal level. Dana Taylor has introduced projection screens, and some modernized yet older looking props for the production. With about 20-25 participants working collectively to make ‘Frankenstein’ a possibility, this is a fairly big production for the High School. Roach wanted to give students the opportunity
School ....................A8 Social .....................A6 Sports ...... .........B1-3 TV Guide...........B5-6
to have fun with the play, and by adding projections and newer props, it definitely gives the students the opportunity to do something new and non-traditional of a high school theater event. Three main characters to look for are Victor Frankenstein, played by Lane Blankenship, the ‘Creature’ played by Matthew Evinger, and Henry (also known to many as Igor) played Patrick Gerton. In addition to the three main characters, Kiara Jesch, Alyssa Junker, Whitney Schaefer, Joseph Julian,
Continued on Page A8