T
P C N SINCE 1882 Successor to The Poseyville News & New Harmony Times POSEY COUNTY’S ONLY LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED NEWSPAPER
Volume 139 Edition 53
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
$1.00
Changes proposed but original turbine edict passes in MV By Lois Mittino Gray Mount Vernon City Councilman Andy Hoehn continued his opposition to passing the new solar and wind amendment to the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Mount Vernon, the Town of Cynthiana, the Town of Poseyville, and Unincorporated Posey County at the December 19, Common Council meeting. The amendment barely passed first reading by a vote of 3-2 at the December 5, meeting, although it has already been passed by Poseyville and was tabled in Cynthiana. Hoehn urged his fellow councilmen at that time to read the entire 25
page document before this meeting to see if its requirements are fair and enforceable. Hoehn opened the legal portion of this meeting by making a motion to pass the zoning ordinance on second reading, with the following amendments being made to it. The first was to eliminate property value guarantees, as he feels that is unenforceable to promise rates will not lower in 20 years, reduce all setbacks listed at 2.5 times turbine height to 1.1 times, allow 20 hours of shadow flicker per year, and allow cities to determine the distance encroachment to their own city limits. Mayor Bill Curtis
asked for a second and there was none. Since the group is small, the Mayor said Roberts’ Rules allows him to continue to have discussion and a vote, without the second. Hoehn stated his suggested amendments put the ordinance in line with other counties in the state. He is not aware of any issues with their ordinances. He added there is no reason to enforce such strict change in the new PoCo ordinance and make it difficult to do business with Posey County and its residents. There was no other discussion. When the vote was called, Hoehn was the only yes
with four no’s. Curtis stated the motion did not carry. In turn, Councilman Larry Williams moved the ordinance pass on second reading, as presented. There was no discussion. Hoehn voted no to this, all others yes, and the motion passed. Williams then moved the rules be suspended, so they can pass the whole document with a third reading that night. Hoehn voted in opposition to the idea, and the others voted yes. Curtis stated the motion carried, but the vote to suspend
MV Street Dept. will reconstruct storage depot
Life skills class may soon be required By Lois Mittino Gray Members of the Mount Vernon School Board said ‘Hola’ to a new Spanish teacher at the high school and gave their seal of approval to a mandatory class for graduation at their December 16, meeting. All were in agreement that the course, Personal Financial Responsibility, is one of the most practical life skills classes offered at the school. Beth McFadin Higgins, participating electronically from afar, affirmed the decision onscreen. Instructor Jim Hatfield, appeared before the board stating, “I’m in my 41st year of teaching and I have never been more excited or passionate about a class in all these years. Let’s plant seeds in their young minds and give every student a life skill used every day by everyone here in this room to make better decisions financially.” At present, the one semester elective course is taken by juniors and seniors. Hatfield estimates it has been taken by 40 to 50 percent of each senior class dating back 12 years to 2008-2009. He proposes that, beginning with the present freshman class of 2023, it be a graduation requirement for 100 percent of graduates to take and pass the PFN one semester class. School Superintendent Matt Thompson told the board that he has talked with counselors and there should be no problem working the class in to the requirements, even possibly offering it online if need be. He said teachers and parents he has talked with are very supportive of this proposal. “I have heard no dissent, most feel it is a worthwhile endeavor,” he maintained. The course curriculum covers personal banking, establishing and managing credit, types of credit and credit scores, budgeting, wealth building and stocks, filing income taxes, financing schooling, estate planning, rental leases, debt reduction and buying a car or house. The class utilizes speakers from the business world, and includes a walkthrough of a house for sale with a realtor. Hatfield estimates the course could amount to a total annual savings of $3,006 for a money savvy person. School Board Member Joe Rutledge gave a personal testimony on the success of the popular course. “My son used to burn through money. Now I see him put his tips into a sealed jar since taking the class, so he can invest in stocks. Hats off to you, it’s working. I wish I had that kind of information in 1986 when I was just starting out.” School Board President and banker Mark Isaac noted, “I have been on this board for seven years and I’ve been pushing for something practical like this since the beginning. I’m all for it.”
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North Posey High School senior Josiah Ricketts, already the school’s all-time leading basketball scorer, is on pace to beome only the 55th player in Indiana High School basketball history to score 2000 points in his high school career. He led the Vikings to three victories this week. Photo by Dave Pearce
Poseyville meeting schedule changes By Lynda Baker December 26, 2019 was the last board meeting for Councilmen Steve Ahrens and Ron Fallowfield, and Clerk/Treasurer Julie Mayo. Town Board President Bruce Baker thanked them all for their many years of service to the community. Town Councilman-Elect Justin Collins submitted his letter of resignation to the Poseyville-Robb Township Volunteer Fire Department. Justin expressed his enjoyment of his ten years of service. His resignation was accepted by the Department and the Council. Baker announced that the Town of Poseyville was officially celebrating its 175th birthday on the exact day of the meeting. According to Poseyville Historian Chad Williams, the State Legislature authorized the Town being named “Poseyville” in 1844. The Town’s name was known as “Palestine” for the first four years of its existence. The name change became necessary when the town applied for a post office and it was discovered that there was another town named Palestine in the State of Indiana.
Eagle Scout Candidate Hunter Straw appeared before the Board to request permission to construct a container for American Flags set to be disposed of per proper flag protocol. The container will be placed in the lobby of the Town Hall once the project has been completed. The Council commended Hunter’s project and approved the same unanimously. It was announced that the swearing in of the incoming Town Councilmen: Mike Baehl, Bruce Baker and Justin Collins, as well as incoming Clerk/Treasurer Christie Foster, would be held on Monday, December 30, 2019, at 5:30 p.m. The Council officially changed the day of the week and time of future Town Council meetings. Beginning in January of 2020 the meetings will be held on the second Tuesday of the month at 5:30 p.m. The next meeting of the Council will, therefore, be held on January 14, 2020, at 5:30 p.m., at the Poseyville Town Hall. There being no further business, the Council adjourned its final meeting for 2019.
Posey County has two new certified deputies eager and ready to serve our community. Mark A. Pharr and Tyler Ritzert graduated from the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy on Saturday. Pictured left to right are Dustin Seitz, Sheriff Tom Latham, Mark A. Pharr, Tyler Ritzert, and Chief Deputy Jeremy Fortune. During the ILEA graduation ceremony, Deputy Mark A. Pharr was presented the Academic Achievement Award. Pharr obtained the highest GPA out of the 162 graduates.
By Lois Mittino Gray Mount Vernon Street Commissioner Max Dieterle was given an early Christmas present at the December 19, meeting of the Mount Vernon Board of Works. It was the green light to rebuild the street department storage building, located at the corner of Kimball and Sycamore streets, that was totally destroyed by fire last July. Mayor Bill Curtis explained that the building, previously covering two lots, needed a zoning variance to combine the two for the rebuild. The city had to go to the Area Plan Commission to request the variance and it was granted at the last APC meeting. Funds have been received from the insurance company to pay off the rebuild, so Commissioner Dieterle contacted three builders requesting quotes. Curtis opened the two that were submitted in the order received at the meeting. D C Metals quoted $66,250 and Graber Post Building quoted $79,400. Both of the companies are based near Montgomery, Indiana. Mayor Curtis added the quotes are comparable, using comparable materials to build the rectangular wooden structure. Comm. Board member Larry Williams stated both companies have good reputations, and he made the motion to proceed with the lowest quote, pending legal review and it passed unanimously. The insurance settlement money will cover the cost of that with no problem. Dieterle said he and his crew welcomed the decision to get started on the building which will house city equipment, such as packer trucks, graders, leaf pickup machines, and snowplows. “Snowplows are so much easier to start on a cold day when they have been kept inside,” he observed. Also moving to completion is the final work on the East Side Gravity Flow Sewer Project. The Blankenberger contractors are officially finished with the project, though there are a few minor things left on the list to do these next few days. The last two pay applications in the amounts of $124,147.90 and $34,229.86 were approved by the board to send to the State Revolving Fund (SRF) for payout. The total cost of the project was $684,497.20. Williams asked if there is still enough money left in the SRF account to pay the final two and Utilities Superintendent Chuck Gray assured him there was a sufficient balance. In other board business: • Police Chief Tony Alldredge requested permission to send Officer Corbin Sellers to the Indiana Drug Enforcement Association Conference in Indianapolis from February 18 to 21, 2020. He was approved to use the city credit card for food and hotel and use of a city
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