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 48
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
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Kopatiches to retire at year end
Tom and Janice Kopatich will retire at the end of the school year. Photo by Lois Gray
By Lois Mittino Gray After a 37-year career in education, Dr. Tom Kopatich announced his retirement as the Mount Vernon School Superintendent, effective at the end of the school year. His wife, Janice, will also retire at that time after a 30-year career. She is presently a physical education teacher at West Elementary School. The Mount Vernon School Board accepted both intentions to retire announcements with reluctance at the regular board meeting on November 19. The highly-respected superintendent started in his current position during the 2010-2011 school year. He was honored by his peers as District 7 Superintendent of the Year in 2016. He began his career with the district as a secondary school teacher in 1994, and was selected to be an administrator in 2002, until he moved into the superintendent’s office. Prior to that, he taught at Castle Junior High School from 1982 until 1987 and at Gibson Southern High School from 1987-1994. He also served as the head coach of the boys’ basketball team early in Mount Vernon. In saying goodbye at the meeting, the retiree thanked his wife and many people, including his three top administrators Director of Business Loren Evans, Director of Buildings and Grounds David Frye, and Direc-
tor of Technology Kyle Jones. “We are a great team and they made my job so much easier. They are my best friends,” he remarked. “Our building administrators are the best group we’ve had in a long time, and of course, the teachers and staff are top notch. We’ve been through so much. In my first year, we were $6.6 million in the red and with their help and cooperation; we are operating in the black after nine years.” Beside this fiscal success, Kopatich took the helm and steered the district in many areas, including leadership in one-to-one eLearning devices for all junior high and high school students, and an enhanced social media presence for each school on Facebook and Twitter. The “A-rated” district hosts 4-C’s Technology Conferences in June, hired eLearning coaches, and district network engineers. In curriculum, full-day kindergarten was instituted; Project Lead the Way in elementary schools, and a Resource Special Education Room was put in at West Elementary. At the high school, Work One, Credit Recovery, the Fine Arts Academy, JAG, an onsite IVY Tech Counselor and the Tour of Opportunity came into being. Increased Advanced Placement and dual credit courses are now offered.
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Rhoades remains self sufficient as recorder By Lois Mittino Gray The Posey County Council heard some good news at its November 13, meeting. It’s always great to find out that someone is saving money out of the county coffers. County Recorder Mary Hoehn Rhoades appeared before council members to submit a sworn statement attesting the fact that she will fund part of her office’s expenses from the Recorder’s Record Perpetuation Fund. It is required by
INSIDE TODAY MV and NP Winter Sports Preview
Briefly Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign seeks bell ringers Volunteers are needed to ring bells for the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign! We will be ringing every Saturday until Christmas in Mt. Vernon and Poseyville. If you would like to ring at another time or have questions, please call Beth at 812-838-6875. This is a great way to celebrate the season with family, friends, and co-workers. Two-hour shifts are available. Go to www. registertoring.com or call Beth at 812-838-6875. If you have helped before, let others know how much fun it is! All funds raised directly help Posey County families. Christmas on Main Street set The ninth Christmas On Main Street in Mount Vernon will be December 1. The first event of the day will be at 2 p.m. with a Elf Fun Run at Riverbend Park. Children ages 10 and under will have fun at this new event and will have prizes for best costume also. Next from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., the Children’s Christmas party will take place at the WSI Sport building at Water and Walnuts Streets. Games, crafts, letters to Santa, milk and cookies, a gift and photos with Santa will be some of the main highlights there. Between 5 and 7 p.m. that evening will be the main event for Christmas On Main Street and will take place along Water Street at the riverfront. This year lighted Christmas entrees will be placed on the street along with food, bake sale items and craft vendors. Another new event is the Ugly Christmas Sweater contest with sign up starting at 5 p.m. The trophy presentation will be at 7 p.m. for the lighted float entries. The Mount Vernon business and residential Christmas lights contest will be December 15 this year. For more information, please call Becky Higgins 812-204-7388.
More information on these and other events inside today’s Posey County News
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law that she publicly state the use of these funds for the public purpose of funding the Chief Deputy Recorder’s annual salary of $37,996 and the Second Deputy’s annual salary of $35,600. The Chief Deputy is Barb Smith and Dana Baldwin is the Second Deputy. The Perpetuation Fund will also cover the part-time position held by Nicole Thompson. Now, money for these positions do not have to come out of the General Fund. “We have been able to cover Nicole’s position, too for the past several years, We generate income from user fees for recording deeds and mortgages and making cop-
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Santa made an unexpected early appearance following the Saint Wendel Golf Cart Parade on Saturday evening. Here he is pictured with Noah Vivrette, Adeline Hinten, Orianna Drury, Tilly Snyder, Hank Snyder. Katie Evans, Emma Richmond, and Natalie Evans. Photo by Dave Pearce
Free job training available through IN grant By Pam Robinson Nancy Heavrin, Vincennes University Transition Specialist, declares the free Work Indiana job training program is “the best kept secret in the state.” If she has anything to do with it, however, Work Indiana will become a household word in Region 11, which includes Posey County. Funded by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, Work Indiana aims to put people to work in the state. Heavrin says the Work Indiana grant became available to Vincennes University as the adult education provider in March for Region 11. Region 11 serves Posey, Vanderburgh, Warrick, Gibson, Knox, Perry, Spencer, Dubois and Pike counties. Work Indiana provides participants free training in the “Hot 50 Jobs,” where growth and demand require workers. All classes, books, and supplies are free, and help paying for transportation costs is available also. In 14 weeks or less, the under-employed or unemployed in Region 11 may earn certificates in one of eight areas. As Heavrin explains, participants need only have acquired no previous certificates or college degrees, and the program criteria specify no income guidelines. Participants may study to work as a certified nursing assistant, or
CNA; as a certified clinical medical assistant, or CCMA; in dental assisting; for CDL truck driving; for heavy equipment and mining; for phlebotomy; for welding; and coming in January, as a paraprofessional to be a teacher’s assistant. They attend classes at Vincennes University locations in Fort Branch, Tell City, or Vincennes, or at Newburgh’s Castle High School through Ivy Tech for welding. In discussing the certificate study, Heavrin explains the CCMA is “a step above the CNA, and they [CCMAs] make a little more money and have more responsibility.” She singles out the heavy equipment and mining certificate for comment also. “It’s three weeks,” she says, “and it gets them their MSHA and their OSHA certifications, and they actually use a heavy equipment simulator. . . .There’s a huge demand for miners right now in our area.” In January, Work Indiana will offer the paraprofessional certificate and will provide teacher assistants to EVSC from those who complete their certification and testing. “It’s going to be for just a few weeks, and we’re going to help people brush up on their skills, so they can take the parapro test and be teacher assistants for EVSC,” Heavrin
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Hitting the Jackpot Local physician claims good fortune has been on his side By Pam Robinson Long-time Mount Vernon resident Dr. David Julian believes he has hit the jackpot a few times in life without ever buying so much as a scratch-off ticket. “I feel like I’ve won a couple of lotteries,” he states. He explains the circumstances of his birth and his acceptance to medical school were both out of his control. These events turned out, nonetheless, in his best interests. At the beginning of a conversation with him, Julian expresses his gratitude for his happy circumstances. “I’m a happy camper most of the time. I have bad days like everyone else, but I’m a happy camper. I’m grateful to be a happy camper,” he emphasized. “I see others who’ve had a more difficult life than I’ve had, yet they are happy campers, too. I respect that.” The first winning lottery for Julian placed him in the arms of his parents, Jim and Jeannette Julian, on May 23, 1947. “I can’t say enough good about my parents,” he stresses. “They valued child rearing, and they valued
education. Some people don’t have that. How good is that? I woke up with those parents and a nuclear family of an older brother and later a younger brother. I just woke up to that.” Originally from Lynnville, Ind., Julian compares the small town with a population of around 500 people during his childhood to New Harmony. He focuses on the lottery theme once more in considering small-town life. “I could have been born at a different time or place. It was a good place and good time to be born. Again, it was not in my control,” he remarks. “I feel fortunate to have won that lottery also—really fortunate.” By the time Julian entered high school, his family had moved from Lynnville to nearby Elberfeld. There, his father stayed above ground in the parts department for Ditney Hill Coal Mine, an underground coal mining operation. Neither of Julian’s parents attended college, so they wanted to make sure their children had
The Golden Years
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Dr. David Julian