The fight of his life - See Lifestyles, Page B1 This Copy Reserved Especially For:
Inside This Week: Opinion ................A2 Obits .................... A3 Retro ....................A4
T
Social ....................A5 Church .................A8 School/Business ..A9
Jump ................. A11 Business Dir ........B2 Sports ............... B4-5
Legals ............... B8-9 Court News ..... B8-9 Classifieds..........B11
SINCE 1882 Successor to The Poseyville News & New Harmony Times
P C N $1.00
Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Volume 140 Edition 46
Indiana takes step back in Covid reopening plans
Special to the News Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb Friday signed Executive Order 20-48 to implement pandemic requirements for all Hoosiers and targeted restrictions for counties that have high levels of COVID-19. Local governments may impose more restrictive guidelines. “We must do all we can to protect our hospital capacity, so our health care professionals can protect and care for patients,” Holcomb said. “Not only for those who have COVID, but for the cancer patient, the heart patient, and the other Hoosier patients who need care in our urban, rural, and suburban hospitals all across the state of Indiana.” The Indiana Department of Health has established a color-coded county map that measures weekly cases per 100,000 residents and the seven-day positivity rate for all tests completed. Each county is assigned a color based on the average of scores for the two metrics. Restrictions are assigned based on the map, which is updated each Wednesday at www.coronavirus.in.gov. An in-depth description of the requirements for all Hoosiers and targeted restrictions for counties appears at the following web address: https://www.in.gov/gov/ files/Coronavirus_Response_Requirements.pdf Among the requirements are:
to make the visits to folks that are the victims of crimes. Throughout this process, you know, many of you are aware that one of the deputies was spat on by someone that had tested positive for Covid. The person was also resisting arrest at the jail, resisting confinement within the jail. Much of my staff has been indisposed several times, just as many throughout society have. Throughout this entire time, countless times, my staff have stepped up to take more and more responsibility throughout this whole Covid experience,” Latham explained. “I just think that what these guys have had to endure throughout this process has been significant against not only their work environment, but their home environment. They bring this stuff home. It affects their family and their family’s work. Just as everyone else. I’m not going to say that our office is any more important than any other government office. We’re all just as important as one another, but the danger factor does play in to the position that both the jail and the deputies hold. I just wanted to bring this to this board. I believe that I would have the money within my budget to fulfill that obligation of the $1,500 per employee stipend with the exception of me. I would not include myself with that. I do think the funds are there and I want to present it to the board for that option.” Several board members expressed concerns that approving Latham’s request might not be fair to other public workers who have been exposed to stressful conditions as a result of the virus but whose departments might not have the extra funds at their disposal to be able to afford to provide stipends. Councilman David Pearce said that while he understood the issues facing the
By Lynda Baker At last week’s meeting, the Poseyville Town Council voted to withhold 10 percent of the final payment to J H Rudolph until the street repair punch list has been completed to the Council’s satisfaction. Town Marshal Charles Carter indicated that he had received several reports of local break-ins. He urged everyone to remember to lock their vehicles, garages and other equipment as well as possible. He also announced that his department would be organizing a Christmas toy drive for 150 local children this year and requested that everyone consider a monetary or toy donation. You may contact his department for more information. Councilman Bruce Baker praised the Relay for Life organizers for their creativity in adapting their activities to protect the public from the pandemic this year. The Council also expressed their apprecia- Austin Ahrens tion to Marshal Carter for his assistance with the Relay for Life drive-thru project in front of North Elementary School. Fire Chief Jeff Droege announced that the department’s 2020 election had been held, with Austin Ahrens to serve as Chief, Jason Kohle as Deputy Chief, and Jeff Droege as Assistant Chief. Droege told the Council that it had been a pleasure serving the community as Chief, but felt he needed to spend more time with his family. The Council expressed their appreciation to Droege for his excellent service. Baker and Councilman Justin Collins approved a project at the fire department for outdoor lighting and new lighting in the ambulance bay at a cost of $3,525. Councilman Mike Baehl abstained from voting, as he is employed by Mounts Electric, the company that will be doing the work. Town personnel reminded residents not to pile leaves into the streets and to keep them away from storm drains as the leaf collection process begins. Town Clerk Christy Foster indicated that, due to the wildfires in western states, the cost of rubber had increased by 150 percent. This will affect the cost of work to be done at the park on
Continued on Page A11
Continued on Page A11
Continued on Page A11
Health Department asks MV City Council to comply By Lois Mittino Gray At the November 5, meeting of the Mount Vernon Common Council, Posey County Health Department Nurse Martye Fitts encouraged City Council members to support the executive order passed by the County Commissioners earlier in the week. It states that no more than 150 people be allowed at group gatherings, and she would like to see the city go along with that as well. They must pass a separate order as the city is an incorporated area and the county isn’t. “Mount Vernon has the biggest number of positive cases and it is starting to affect the EMS, the MV Street Department, the MV Fire, and the MV Police, our everyday working people. There were 20 new cases today, of those, 18 were from the City of Mount Vernon,” she reported. Councilwoman Jillian Brothers asked if churches are included in this order. Fitts replied yes, but they are not asking them to cancel services; rather conduct them in a safe manner. There are two churches in Mount Vernon currently with outbreaks, 11 positive cases at one with nine being hospitalized. Brothers commented that if the city agreed to go along with this, the county health department would allow it anyway, so she really does not see the point.
Continued on Page A11
Cynthiana Town Marshal James Harrington and his K-9 Jagger rolled into Cynthiana Sunday early evening after making a large drug arrest earlier in the day in Pike County. Photo by Dave Pearce
Council tables request for Covid stipend pay By Trisha L. Lopez Posey County Sheriff Tom Latham asked the Posey County Council to consider a motion that would allow him to give his employees stipends for their work during the Covid-19 pandemic during the council’s November meeting on Tuesday at the Hovey House. Latham, unable to attend the meeting in-person but present via telephone, told the council that his department has the funds to offer each employee $1,500 spread out over three to four pay periods. “Many sheriffs throughout the state have made inquiries into some counties rewarding stipend pay during this Covid experience,” Latham told the council members. According to an article published on www.ems1.com in April, several cities and counties in states throughout the country have approved some form of hazard pay and/or stipend pay for first responders and public health officials. Cities and counties in Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Guam, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas were included in the website’s article. Some cities approved hourly pay increases and some approved one-time payments in response to the added workload associated with the global pandemic. In Indiana, Elwood approved a $1,000 hazard payment for each of the city’s first responders in May. “Unlike some offices, you know we’re not able to shut down. We are a 24-7 operation. We are emergency services. We cannot take calls over the phone. We have
Poseyville break-ins reported; Ahrens is fire chief
Uda Uya Eskspa Igpa Atinla... Veteran educator joins MVHS staff to teach Latin
Joy Alldredge
(USPS 439-500)
By Lois Mittino Gray Joy Alldredge may be a fresh new face in the halls of Mount Vernon High School, but the veteran educator can still remember her days teaching Latin to high schoolers. She thinks that no school in Southern Indiana teaches the subject anymore, except perhaps in New Albany, and that teacher just passed away last November. Alldredge taught English and Latin at Reitz High School for 19 years before accepting a teaching position in Mount Vernon. She has five classes to plan for now teaching English and Language Arts to freshmen and sophomores, with the freshman classes being part of Freshman Academy. Her one hour classes average twenty students. “Teaching has really transitioned over the years from primarily lecturedriven to one in which the teacher is a facilitator, overseeing the use of tech-
nology,” she observed. “It’s I do, then we do, then you do,” she explained. Feedback can be immediate on lessons in that manner and is very hands-on. The instructor feels that state academic standards in her field have remained fairly consistent through the years, so what she teaches has not changed that much. “We still have a lot of speaking, writing, and reading components. We just finished up a large research paper and we do narratives, argumentative, and journal writings. Each level has groupings of books to select from and read.” Her freshmen read the “Secret Life of Bees” and Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” Sophomores read “Fahrenheit 451” and Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar.” “That’s my favorite one by him,” she added. At times she will show the class video clips from films made from these famed works.
The Boonville native was graduated from Boonville High School in 1988. She attended the University of Evansville and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education: English and a Master’s Degree in Teaching with Technology. She resides in Mount Vernon with her husband, Mount Vernon Police Chief Tony Alldredge, and their two sons. She sees both at the school as Bryce is a senior and Max is a freshman. Another family member is her sister’s cat, Elsa. The family enjoys camping and hiking as hobbies. They have a camper stored in Townsend, Tennessee and often sojourn down there to enjoy the natural beauty of the Smoky Mountains. “We used to go to Harmonie State Park often when the kids were small, but now we mostly head down there to get away.” She enjoys traveling and her favor-
ite international trip took the couple through Spain, France, Monte Carlo and Italy. “It was just amazing-the sights, the food, the people. I would definitely go back anytime I could. My dream is to go to southern France with a backpack,” she enthused. Joy feels the school system is awesome supplying everyone with sanitizer and wiping the school down with disinfectant. She wears her mask all day long and notes that her students are very compliant with it, knowing the seriousness of COVID-19. Alldredge enjoys the change of scene teaching in the town she resides in and meeting all the students. Does she miss the Latin class? “Next semester, I will teach etymology, the study of the Greek and Latin roots of words. It helps so much with vocabulary and doing well on standardized tests. That will be nice.”