Special Letters to Santa Edition
“Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain.”
$1.00 (USPS 439-500)
Since 1882 ~ Successor to The Poseyville News and The New Harmony Times • New Harmony, IN
Tuesday December 18, 2012
Posey County’s locally-owned newspaper
Volume 135 Edition 51
Posey man found guilty of horrific child molesting charge By Dave Pearce While the nation attempts to come to grips with the senseless shooting of 28 innocent people, 20 of them members of a first grade class in Connecticut, Posey County Prosecutor Travis Clowers dealt with tragedy on a smaller scale this week. Stephen Brakie, a 19-year-old Mount Vernon resident was convicted this week, by a jury of six men and six women, of Child Molesting, a class A Felony, causing serious bodily injury. The conviction came on Wednesday afternoon as the result of an investigation by the Mount Vernon Police Department
and more specifically, Detective Thomas Rueger. “Any time you have to put a child of that age on the stand to talk about such a horrific thing in front of 12 people she has never met, it is a very difficult and heartwrenching,” Clowers said. “While most children that age are enjoying and preparing to enjoy the holiday on the day before Halloween, this young girl will always have to remember the day before Halloween as the day she was molested. I cared very deeply about this case, especially after I got to know this young child and her family. This was one of the most horrific crimes against a child that I have
Stephen Brakie
ever seen.” On October 30, 2011, at about 6:30 p.m. Mount Vernon Police responded to a call of an alleged child molesting case at a Pearl Street home. Officers were advised that the suspect, then 18-year-old Stephen J. Brakie of Mount Vernon, Ind., had inserted an object (a tool) into the genitalia of the fouryear-old child. The child was taken to Deaconess Hospital for medical examination and treatment. The investigation continued and on November 1, 2011, Brakie was brought in for questioning. At 11:49 a.m. the interview with Brakie was concluded and it was determined that
probable cause existed to arrest Brakie and charge him with Child Molesting. According to the Probable Cause for Arrest, when police arrived at the residence, they met the father of the victim who told them that Brakie had been at their home approximately 40 minutes prior to the phone call to police. The father advised police that his fouryear-old daughter complained that her privates were hurting and that Brakie had dome something to her. The father advised that the girl was bleeding from the area. The child was taken to Deacon-
Continued on Page A3
‘Team Tanner’ gets behind St. Wendel student battling cancer By Dave Pearce All members of the Tim and Theresa Schickel Family will all be home for Christmas. For that, they feel blessed. Even though 12-year-old Tanner will be in between trips for radiation for a form of cancer on Christmas, his grateful family realizes that things could be worse. Tim, Theresa, Tanner, brother Tyler and sister Tori will enjoy Christmas together at home in St. Wendel. But on Friday at St. Wendel School, members of the Schickel family got to see firsthand the blessing of good friends and some of the rewards of a small school in a loving community. Members of the school presented Tanner with cards, prayers, and a check for $1,800 from fundraising efforts raised by “Team Tanner.” Tanner was like most 12-year-old boys, he enjoyed playing sports with his friends and “hanging out.” But a diagnosis this summer rocked the world of this young man and his family. “Tanner had mono back in May,” his mother explained. “He recuperated from it and we thought everything was going well. Then, we were at Holiday World and I noticed he had a lump on his neck. It was a small lump but we went to the doctor in August. He ended up having surgery to have it
removed. They sent it off to the Mayo Clinic and we got the results. We have been in a whirlwind ever since.” While the results were frightening because they contained the “c” word (cancer), Schickel said that despite the chemo and radiation, the prognosis for a full recovery are excellent. “He has a rare type of Hodgkins Lymphoma,” Theresa explained. “The doctor he saw originally had worked at St. Jude’s and he had only seen this type of cancer four times. But the rare is not a bad thing in Tanner’s case because it is very treatable. There is about a 99 percent success rate.” Tanner has been through three rounds of chemotherapy and now faces low doses of radiation in Indianapolis. But the family expects a full recovery. But there were tears and hugs enough for everyone on Friday at St. Wendel’s School Convocation. “It is a good thing we have such a strong support system,” Theresa explained. “This school and this community have amazing. We have had prayers and cards from people in South Carolina. His name has gone with someone who traveled over to Rome. He has
Continued on Page A3
Friends of Tanner Schickle, a St. Wendel School student undergoing treatment for a rare cancer, watch as he accepts one of several gifts in a convocationo held in his honor at the school on Friday. Photo by Dave Pearce
Santa brings presents, wish list for North Posey Schools By Valerie Werkmeister North Posey Schools will take a giant leap forward following the school board’s approval to upgrade its technology equipment. Board members heard a presentation by Eric Long, District Technology Coordinator, during their regular meeting Monday, December 10. Long illustrated the district currently operates using four T-1 lines, but the state’s mandated online testing necessitates big improvements with the district’s current bandwidth. While some may cheer the move that will inevitably allow faster and more reliable connections at all the schools, the accompanying price tag may have some long for the glory days of students and teachers simply using a paper and pencil. The board agreed to replace the existing wireless from point to point with an ENA fiberoptic cable that ties into the state via the high school. North Elementary (NES) and
South Terrace Elementary Schools (STES) would be tied in using a 100 Mb tail circuit. Long explained this will bump the district bandwidth up from the current 6 Mbs to 15 Mbs. Operating speed. The improvements will cost an annual fee of $8,516 at the high school and $7,332 for the elementary connections for a combined total of $15,848 per year. The current annual fee is $2,256 per year. The increased bandwidth will allow the implementation of the additional computer equipment acquired from the New Harmony School consolidation. A total of 20 ipads were distributed to NES and STES. In addition, 40 netbooks were given to NES. Approximately 50-60 desktop machines were given to the junior high and the remaining laptops were sent to the high school. It has taken a considerable amount of time to get all the equipment on the same page, technologically speaking. The next step is to increase the
bandwidth to support their operation. Scott Veazey from VPS Architecture delivered a presentation of three large-scale summer projects for the board’s consideration. The first proposal involved re-roofing the high school. It would involve the removal of approximately 850 square feet of the current EPDM material that will be replaced with a more recommended TPO material, a plastic polymer that is heat sealed instead of being glued. The current roof is approximately 20 years old and the new roof will have the same estimated life expectancy. A new, 4,500-square-foot, three-bus bay barn with a pit is also up for consideration. The current structure is damaged and has rotting roof rafters. It is also too small to accommodate today’s larger buses. Camp explained the corporation can only consider certain types of buses when seeking
Continued on Page A4
Stevens finds a home for the holidays...and beyond as CLC director
Jamie (Johnson) Stevens has found out there’s no place like home for the holidays. Stevens has recently taken over as the director of the Children’s Learning Center. Photo by Pam Robinson
ThePCN
By Pam Robinson To be home for Christmas carries special meaning for Jamie (Johnson) Stevens, the new director of the Children’s Learning Center, or CLC, located at 2100 W. Fourth Street in Mount Vernon. Stevens stepped up to the job on December 3. Her previous work experience includes a total of four and a half years at CLC, accumulated at different times in different positions. As a result, Stevens says, “I’ve always come back here. I feel at home here.” A student at USI, Stevens only needs two classes and student teaching to complete a degree in elementary education. Her new job at CLC doesn’t accommodate student teaching. Even it if did, however, Stevens is happy to switch to a general studies major and complete her degree in May 2013. “When I was studying elementary education, I never felt that’s who I was,” she explains. “I like daycare because I can grow up with the children and their families. When children come here as an infant and stay until age 12, I am part of their entire childhood. That’s special.” The Posey County native started
at CLC when she 19 years old as a caregiver in the infant classroom. At the same time, she worked with senior citizens in assisted living at Solarbron on the weekends. A year later, she and U.S. Navy shipmate Derek Stevens were married, and the couple immediately moved to Virginia. When Derek was deployed overseas a couple of years later, Stevens moved back to Posey County with their 2-year-old son, Connor. Once again, she worked at CLC as receptionist until Derek fulfilled his four-year commitment to the Navy and moved back to Posey County permanently. When the couple was expecting their second child, Stevens resigned from CLC to stay home with their daughter, Jacelyn. “I’ve always loved it here,” the new director says as she starts her third—and last—tour of duty at CLC. “I adore the staff and have a good relationship with everyone. I’ve just really found my place in life and my career.” Stevens seems perfect for the position, not only because of her background in elementary education, but also because of her lifestyle. Now 4 years old, Jacelyn comes to
Inside this issue... Retrospective ................... A4 Community ........... A5 Social ...................... A6 Legals ............................ B4-5 Deaths ................ A3 Sports ................... D1-4 Classifieds ..................... B2-3 Church .................. A7 Bus/Ag .................... A9
CLC with mom and heads for the 3- and 4-year-old classroom while Connor, now 7 years old, attends first grade at West Elementary. Her husband Derek works full-time as a lock operator at J.T. Myers Locks & Dam. Her new job allows her to remain close to and to support her immediate family as well as both sets of grandparents to the children, Jeff and Chris Johnson and Norm and Melinda Stevens, themselves all Posey County natives. Her love for CLC is evident in her praise of all her staff members. She appreciates the “lifers” for lending their education and experience to CLC ever since its start-up 16 years ago—assistant director Yvonne Lawrence and teachers Leah Hamblin and Alyson Moudy. She’s grateful for their assistance now. Even more, she believes her entire staff is dedicated to the education of young children. Stevens’ goals include maintaining the quality programs and events already at CLC. She points, for example, to the three events going on in the month of December: 1) the after-school class’s canned food
Continued on Page A3
Go to www.poseycountynews.com
457476310