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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 50
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
$1.00
Latham assembles team to lead Posey’s police Fortune, Rutledge, Seitz, Collins will man new posts By Dave Pearce The election of Chief Deputy Tom Latham as Posey County’s Sheriff for the next four years leaves a big void at his former post. But between reviewing Standard Operating Procedures and a myriad of other tasks that come with the territory of the county’s head law enforcement officer, Latham believes he has been able to assemble an exemplary team to assist him in his job of working for the people of Posey County. Latham complimented the posi-
Tom Latham
tive pool of current deputies as more than capable to handle the tasks at hand. But when it came to the position of chief deputy sheriff, one individual stood out above all others. Jeremy Fortune will serve as Latham’s right-hand man, chief deputy. “Jeremy brings over 20 years experience at the sheriff’s office operations,” Latham said on Sunday. “In addition to investigative skills and personality skills, he brings strong qualities of leadership.” When it comes to familiarity
with the responsibilities of the sheriff’s office, Latham would have been hard-pressed to find anyone with as many well-rounded experiences as Fortune. “Jeremy has served as a reserve deputy, jail officer, road patrol, and a variety of investigations,” Latham said. Fortune has been a staple in the fight against drugs in Posey County for several years. In his new role, less time will be allotted for those
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Jeremy Fortune
Street repairs, cemetery care set to improve in New Harmony
Band members relay elation of high finish to school board
By Lois Mittino Gray New Harmony Town Councilwoman Virginia Alsop announced at the November 20, meeting that the Town of New Harmony has been awarded a Community Crossings Grant for 2019. The matching grant amount is over $87,000 to be used for street paving. These awards were announced on November 8 by Governor Eric J. Holcomb and INDOT Commissioner Joe McGuinness. In 2018, 444 communities applied for funds making this year’s call for projects highly competitive. 283 Indiana cities, towns and counties received a combined $100 million in state monies for local road, bridge and sidewalk projects, including New Harmony and Poseyville. In other ‘good news,’ Council President Alvin Blaylock reported that the town’s Charles Ford Home owns a number of lots at Maple Hill Cemetery that were purchased in the 1960s and are still unused. With their lifetime care program no longer offered, there are no prospects for use at this time. The assisted-living home’s board voted in October to donate them to the town to sell to generate income for cemetery maintenance. The council voted to accept the generous gift and transfer the deed to the town. All cast a vote in favor, except Councilman David Flanders, who abstained due to being a member of the Charles Ford Home Board. Any persons wishing to purchase a plot in the rapidly-filling cemetery may inquire at the Town Hall. The council also approved renewing employee health insurance with Anthem proposed plan one. This will result in a four percent premium increase for next year. Premium costs are shared between the town and the employee, so each will
Special to the News The Posey County Community Foundation has announced that Logan Bryant of Poseyville is the recipient of the 2019 Posey County Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship. The scholarship provides full-tuition, required fees, and an annual stipend of up to $900 for required books and equipment for four years of full-time undergraduate study leading to a baccalaureate degree. Logan is the son of James Bryant and Daphne Bryant. He is a senior at North Posey High
By Lois Mittino Gray If you have a child in the Mount Vernon School District, get out those new 2019 calendars you just bought to mark a date. The School Board of Trustees approved at its December 3, meeting a half day off school next year for students on Wednesday, January 16. School Superintendent Dr. Tom Kopatich announced that due to the fact that Mount Vernon is designated a ‘Performance Qualified District,’ it can offer a half-day professional development training for staff on that January date without having to make it up. Students will attend school only the morning half and will be dismissed at staggered times to allow for efficient bus pick up. Dismissal times are elementary: 12:25 p.m., junior high: 12:35 p.m. and high school: 12:45 p.m. While traveling out of town, Board Member Mark Isaac participated electronically and watched on his monitor as High School Band Director Joe Stone and senior students with the marching band and color guard addressed the board. They told members what winning seventh place at the ISSMA State Finals in November was like. This is the highest the band has ever scored at state and many students were elated to have bested their siblings, who were also in competition at state contests. Morgan Bannister, Mark Garman, Kailyn Nolan, Rachel Price, Kaytlyn Shell, and Bralyn Shripka presented about their experiences through the years in MVHS music. In personnel matters, the board confirmed the employment of Ashley Nichols as an Administrative Office Secretary, and Lauren Hayden as a part-time teacher assistant in Special Education
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Bryant named Lilly Scholar
Logan Bryant
County Highway Departure
INSIDE TODAY Letters to
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Mount Vernon High School’s 2018-19 basketball homecooming queen Megan Ghrist celebrates with king Yuxuan Bai. Photo by Garry Beeson
Long-time county employee to go ‘part-time’ at 82 The Golden Years
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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 Mount 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.
More information on these and other events inside today’s Posey County News
(USPS 439-500)
Bettye Moore By Pam Robinson After 43 years in office administration for the Posey County Highway Department, Bettye Moore will retire at the end of this year. She admits she’s seen changes in office procedures, department buildings, equipment sophistication,
and even in employment screening. She has held down a position in the workforce her entire adult life, and the 82-year-old will miss her coworkers, especially her daughter, Tamyra, and the fulfillment the job affords. Bettye concedes to her daughter, though, she will not miss getting out on cold winter days, particularly in ice and snow. The Wadesville native was born one of six children to Doyle and Addie Motz on August 1, 1936. She recalls her mother saying the summer of ’36 was one of the hottest ever. Bettye notes her parents brought her home to “no electricity, no nothing.” She elaborates saying the family carried water a distance to their home, heated and cooked with wood, and used an outhouse. Several years later, Bettye’s dad wired the home himself for electricity when service was extended to their area. “We had been waiting for the day the electricity would be turned on. We knew the day. We were so excited,” Bettye recalls. “My dad flipped the switch - nothing. We were so disappointed.” Her dad had pulled the breaker to prevent the lights from coming on, so it turned out electricity was no joke for the family. Her school days started out on a sour note.
“I didn’t like school at first,” Bettye says, “because it took me away from my mama.” Later, she was proud to say, like her dad, she graduated from Wadesville High School. Her high school class of 1956 ended with only 10 students out of the 25 or so who started freshman year with her. Bettye explains children had to sacrifice an education at times to work and help their families survive. After high school, Bettye worked in office settings before she hired on with the county highway department. She continued to work even after her marriage in 1957 to Richie Moore. For a time, she worked near Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where her husband was stationed in the Army. Once Richie completed his Army duty, the couple returned to Posey County, and they settled in rural Mount Vernon. He devoted his career to Farm Bureau Insurance until his passing in 2000. Richie and Bettye saw the birth of three children - the oldest passing five days after birth. Next to arrive were their son, Jeff, and their daughter, Tamyra. Bettye counts now also five grandchildren and eight great grandchildren, the latter ranging from age two to age 15. In addition to her work for the county highway department, Bettye has served as a member of the Lions Club, as Secretary of the Coliseum
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