SINCE 1882 Successor to The Poseyville News & New Harmony Times POSEY COUNTY’S ONLY LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED NEWSPAPER
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Volume 136 Edition 52
NH Board OKs Straub as new cop
Judge James Redwine’s courtroom was filled with excitement on Wednesday afternoon, December 21, 2016, as recently elected/ re-elected/appointed members of Posey County government were sworn in. Family and friends were in attendance for the ceremony and reception held afterward. Those pictured with Redwine will take office beginning January 1, 2017. Pictured are, front row, left to right: Redwine, County Commissioner District One Carl Schmitz;
By Valerie Werkmeister Sweat and hard work pays off for both the community and North Elementary School (NES). Thanks to the dedication of Zumba instructor and personal trainer, Amanda Smith, and her faithful students, the school’s physical education department will receive $1,045 to go towards new equipment. Smith is a fitness expert and personal trainer at Bob’s Gym in Evansville who is concerned about the health and wellness of our youth. She said she has read that today’s generation of children is not expected to outlive their parents. That sobering fact led her to want to do more to promote physical fitness and health. She wanted to inform the community of what they can do to better themselves. She decided to offer her services as a Zumba instructor to NES Principal Shannon MacMunn who happily agreed. Zumba is an aerobic fitness program set to peppy beats of music, usually Latin American inspired music. “I thought it was a fantastic idea. She contacted me and said she wanted to do something for the school and donate all the proceeds to the PE. I think it’s just great,” MacMunn said. In September, Smith began holding weekly classes open to the community in the new gym at the school. The $5 charge for the weekly classes was collected and the sum was kept a secret until it was revealed during last Tuesday’s class. Smith kept coloring a paper thermometer showing the progress made towards the $1,000 goal, but no one knew if they made it until the final amount was revealed. NES PE teacher, Julie Butler, was happy to hear of the amount of the dona-
By Pam Robinson The New Harmony Town Board has selected a new town marshal, Max Aaron Straub, a Mount Vernon native. Councilman Gary Watson announced the selection last Tuesday, December 20, at the coun- M. ‘Aaron’ Straub cil’s regular monthly meeting. Watson said members of the board hired Straub during the previous meeting, a special meeting held December 13. Start date for the new town marshal is January 1, 2017. During open forum at the December 20 meeting, former Town President David Campbell questioned Straub’s appointment. Campbell asked about the background and experience of the new town marshal and the number of applicants interviewed. In addition, he asked about providing Straub training through marshal school for only three weeks. He concluded by suggesting council “look further and deeper and get somebody to meet some of the needs of the town.” Town President Alvin Blaylock responded first to Campbell’s concerns. Blaylock stated six applicants were interviewed. Of those six, five had no law enforcement experience. He explained one applicant had served as a special deputy in northern Indiana several years ago, but had no actual police experience. Regarding the marshal training, Blaylock stated Straub would complete computer training on duty in addition to marshal classroom training near Indianapolis, providing a 12-week training process. He added the marshal training would allow Straub to transfer only as a marshal in another town like New Harmony whereas the police academy training, typically provided, sets up an employee to transfer to a sheriff’s department or a city police department. “This group was elected last year to represent the Town of New Harmony,” Blaylock commented. “We feel that the selection we made is the best at this time. That is the decision
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County Treasurer, Justin White; County Council Member AtLarge, Heather Allyn; County Surveyor, Adam Bigge; Black Township Trustee, Jerry Walden; and First Deputy Treasurer, Vicki Peerman. Back row left to right: County Coroner, Heath Rigsby; County Comissioner District Three Jay Price; County Council Member-at-Large, Aaron Wilson; and County Council Member-atLarge Robert Gentil. Photo by Theresa Bratcher
Mount Vernon school plans move forward By Lois Mittino Gray The MSD of Mount Vernon School Board met on December 19 for the final meeting of the year and awarded several major contracts looking ahead to a busy 2017. The meeting began with warm recognition for board members Heather Allyn and Clarence Nelson for their years of service and dedication to the children of Mount Vernon as this was their final meeting on the board. David Frye, Director of Buildings and Grounds, presented recommendations to the board after opening bids in early December for three major expenses. The board accepted the best bid from MacAllister, including air conditioning, for $103,985 to purchase one 2018 Bluebird 30 passenger special purpose bus. Kerlin Bus Sales won the bid for a 2018 Thomas Saf-T-Liner HDX 84 passenger transit school bus at a cost of $112,813. Bus prices are the delivered price, minus trade-in, and should be ready by the upcoming school year.
Danco won the bid for renovating the office at the high school, for $205,000, plus Alternate 1 Athletic Office in the amount of $61,500, for a total of $266,500. The base bid entails work in the general office, while alternate one includes the work in the bookstore and adjoining classroom to convert them into the Athletic Director’s office suite. The board also accepted the bid from ECI in the amount of $157,500 for Phase III of the Soccer Complex renovation. It includes the soccer field entrance building with press box and gate and will be done next summer. The board accepted the proposal for financial services from United Fidelity Bank as per the recommendation from Umbaugh Cash Advisory Services, LLC discussed at the last meeting.
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North Elementary receives Zumba proceeds
Zumba instructor and personal trainer Amanda Smith, pictured back, left, provided classes at North Elementary School and donated proceeds from class fees to Physical Education teacher, Julie Butler, (back, middle) during last week’s final class before break. North Elementary School Principal Shannon MacMunn was also present for the donation. Pictured in front are Charlotte Smith, Olivia Wildt, Evelyn Smith, Lily MacMunn and Riley Wildt. Photo by Valerie Werkmeister.
Posey company reports over $400,000 in theft losses By Dave Pearce An Evansville man employed by a company located in Posey County has been arrested and charged with embezzlement of over $400,000. According to Posey County Sheriff Greg Oeth, the investigation was triggered when the president of In-
Briefly Usher in 2017 with First Day Hikes Usher in 2017 with other outdoor lovers at one of the many First Day Hikes offered January 1 at Indiana’s state parks. First Day Hikes are a healthy way to start 2017 and a chance to get outside, exercise, enjoy nature and connect with friends. DNR’s Division of State Parks is hosting 32 First Day events throughout the state. Information on First Day events in Indiana is at dnr.IN.gov/dnr/ parklake/2420.htm. Harmonie State Park will start their walk at 10 a.m.: Meet at the pool parking lot for a two-mile walk on a paved trail with slight hills. The hike should last about 90 minutes, and strollers, pets and hikers with wheelchairs are welcome. Cookies and hot cocoa will be available afterward.
$1.00
(USPS SPS 4 439-500) 3 9 5 00
ternational Logistics Solutions, located at 2101 South SR 69 in Mount Vernon met with police officials and reported that David Elliott Short, of Ruston Avenue, Evansville, could be guilty of embezzling large amounts of money over time. The parent company of ILS is Warehouse Services, Inc., located in Mount Vernon. The losses to Mount Vernon’s GAF facility are believed to be in excess of $180,000 while the losses to ILS and its parent company, WSI, Inc., are believed to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $236,000. The president of the company and an employee of his company, told police they believed Short to have been falsifying bills of lading as well as time sheet invoices for the past several years. The result was a loss
David Elliott Short not only to ILS but also a significant loss to GAF Industries in Mount Vernon. The investigation was conducted primarily by Posey County Sheriff’s Detective Jeremy Fortune with cooperation from the ILS staff. “A case of this nature is so com-
plex and literally thousands of pieces of paper have to be scanned in order to build the case,” said Posey County Sheriff Greg Oeth. “Jeremy Fortune did an excellent job working the case.” The documentation covers more than 6,000 pieces of documented evidence of the fraud and theft carried out primarily in smaller amounts by Short. The records produced by ILS indicate they owe GAF Industries $180,000 in false claims paid to ILS to cover the cost of Short’s overbilling of services provided to the company. The records also indicate that ILS has lost $56,000 due to overpayment to Short since 2014 for filing false time sheets and bills of lading. Short’s employment with ILS has been terminated due to the findings
of theft and fraud. According to the probably cause affidavit, Short did not show up for a scheduled meeting with company officials regarding the overpayment discrepancies. According to another company employee, Short contacted the company’s president a couple days later and admitted he had stolen the money and falsified the documents for financial gain. Short reported to the Posey County Jail last week and after processing, posted $10,500 cash bond through the Posey County Clerk’s office. Short faces charges of theft, forgery, and counterfeiting. The investigation is continuing and a court date has been set for January 25, 2017 in the Posey Circuit Court. Watch the Posey County News for further developments in this case.
Poseyville gas prices down, firemen numbers up By Valerie Werkmeister As the cold winter weather sets in, Poseyville utility customers will be glad to know of a recent decrease in natural gas prices. During last Wednesday’s Poseyville Town Council meeting, it was announced that the recent gas tracker price will decrease by 6.7 percent over the next three months of utility bills. Fire chief Sam Martin requested approval on $5,000 of equipment purchases and a $300 expenditure on books for an upcoming Firefighter I and II class that will begin January 8. He stated he has four individuals interested in taking the class that will last through August. Classes will be held in New Harmony. The council approved his requests. Martin also informed the council that 2016 will have a higher number of emergency call runs than in previous years. He stated as of Saturday,
December 10, the department had already made 250 runs which was the same amount for the entire previous year. Council members also approved a request by the American Legion to post a sign outside the community center to show the location of the legion office. The council requested attorney Jacob Weis to prepare an ordinance that will restrict traffic movement out of the horseshoe at North Elementary School to a right turn only. Town Marshal Charles Carter advised this would be the simplest approach to re-routing heavy morning traffic to not cause bottlenecks in that area of Fletchall Street. Cars exiting the horseshoe in front of the school will only be allowed to
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