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Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Posey County’s ONLY Locally Owned Newspaper.
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(USPS S4 439-500) 39 500)) Volume 136 Edition 12
Western bypass plans get serious
Laura Foster Nicholson, left, Arts in Harmony Chairperson, and Luci Paradise, right, wife of New Harmony Inn manager Peter Nowotony, show off some of the hats worn during the Spring Folly Fundraiser for Arts in Harmony held Sunday, March 20, 2016 at Sara’s Harmony Way. Photo by Theresa Bratcher
By Valerie Werkmeister It’s full steam ahead for a bypass around the City of Mount Vernon. Posey County Commissioners Jim Alsop and Carl Schmitz issued a Notice to Proceed to American Structure Point on the preliminary surveying work for the bypass. Commissioner Jerry Walden was not present at the meeting. Alsop explained the legislature introduced a new road funding package. This release in funds will drive an increase in road construction and repairs. Posey County wants to be in the front of the line to secure the best possible contractor bids. Alsop explained they felt it was in the county’s best interests to move forward with the bypass project. “We’re extremely confident that Midwest Fertilizer is going to come to fruition and the project will begin
in the second quarter of this year, maybe into the third quarter, but we’re extremely confident that’s going to happen,” Alsop said. He went on to say they want the bypass to be completed by the time Midwest Fertilizer opens, if not sooner. The county will use the funding from the road package issued by the state that will later be refunded by Midwest Fertilizer. The county will have the option to stop the work if things do not come to fruition as they plan. Alsop stated they have spoken to American Structure Point and if plans change, they can issue a stop order and the county will only be billed for the survey work that has been completed at that time. Schmitz added an amendment to
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North Posey progress continues Cynthiana second town to By Valerie Werkmeister MSD of North Posey is gearing up for more major projects and renovations this summer. School board
Briefly Easter Egg hunt updates The Harmonie State Park Egg Hunt will be held March 26 at 10 a.m. Mt. Zion General Baptist Church, Wadesville will offer pictures with the Easter bunny, a craft, Easter Egg Hunt, and prizes on March 26 at 10 a.m. NH Class of ‘66 plans reunion, seeks help finding members A Class of ’66 Reunion is planned for Friday, May 27, 2016, the day before the Annual New Harmony High School Alumni Reunion. Twenty-three students graduated that year, but through the years prior to graduation we had friends who attended with our class but moved away. We have lost track of some of these and are seeking the public’s help in contacting them. They may have married and changed their name. Here is a partial list of persons who we would like to contact: Barbara Anderson, Randy Carter, Debbie Garrett, Barbara Hardesty, Dixie Short, and Rita Underwood. This is only a partial list so anyone who attended school then for even a short period of time, we want to hear from you. If you know any of these individuals, please let them know we want to hear from them. Contact: Margaret Axton Rapp 812-459-9851 or maggierapp@sbcglobal.net. Order MV Bicentennial Book now to receive pre-order price Just a reminder that the preorder price of the Mount Vernon Bicentennial book will only be available at $37.50 (plus tax) until delivery day. After that day the price will be $47.50 plus tax. To pre-order you can still go on line to Mt. Publishing to order by credit card. Or mail your check to - MV Bicentennial Book, 520 Main Street, Mount Vernon, IN 47620. An easy way, if your local, is to stop by Printcrafters, 304 West Fourth, Mount Vernon to place your book order. BMV announces Good Friday holiday hours Kent Abernathy, Commissioner of the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV), announced today that all BMV license branches will be closed Friday, March 25 in observance of the Good Friday holiday. All branches resume their regularly scheduled business hours on Saturday, March 26. Correction In the Don and Elizabeth Baier story published a few weeks ago it was mistakenly reported that the retirement event to be held
members gave the nod to proceed with an estimated $750,000 in projects costs during their meeting last Monday, March 14. George Link from VPS Architecture gave an overview of the projects they hope to complete this summer. Now that the new gym at North Elementary is complete, the multi-purpose room will be divided to house the library, additional special education rooms and will still provide cafeteria seating for up to 180 students at one time. The existing library, located in the sunken portion in the center of the school, will be transformed into a classroom with additional space for a speech room, Title 1 room, office and two small group rooms. There are also plans to raise the floor, but it will be bid separately from the rest of the
project in order to determine whether it will be cost effective. Link explained he met with North Elementary teachers and staff to discuss their needs and tried to incorporate their ideas and suggestions into the plans. Plans also include a complete renovation in the art room at the high school. Additional space, a new exhaust system, and a more user-friendly design plan will allow less disruption to additional classes. The board agreed to approve the service contract with VPS at a cost of $41,502. Not to be outdone, the junior high requested approval of a few projects of their own. Principal Steve Kavanaugh introduced students Zach Eagan, Hannah Brendel and DanTe Meri-
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Abuse halt comes home By Brooke Simpson Child abuse is not a subject that anyone likes to talk about, however it is a subject that deserves awareness daily. April is Child Abuse Awareness month and two organizations in Posey County are hoping to bring this subject into the public eye. On April 2, 2016 there will be blue pinwheels placed around the county. Several sites in Mount Vernon have been designated for the wheels, as well as a site in New Harmony. Prevent Child Abuse of Posey County is partnering up with
Bryson’s Tot 10 to help the cause. As of March 17, 2016 there have been close to 1,000 pinwheels donated for the gardens that will be on display for the month of April. The goal is to help prevent child abuse, and to bring aawareness that it happens more than aanyone would like to adm admit. The United States gover government defines child maltrea maltreatment as ‘Any recentt actt off failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical, or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation or an act of failure to
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give safety tax its blessing
By Valerie Werkmeister The Town of Cynthiana will have more funds to devote to public safety next year. Cynthiana Town Board members approved the 0.25 percent Local Public Safety Tax passed by the Posey County Council last month. The income tax will be used to generate funds to pay for the jail renovation and expansion project. The county will retain funds generated from the unincorporated areas of the county while the incorporated towns will get to keep their portion. Board attorney Jacob P. Weis of Bender Law Firm advised town members they will see an estimated $8,100 from the tax. The funds must be earmarked to fund public safety items. Posey County Sheriff Greg Oeth and commissioner Jerry Walden were both on hand to discuss the merits of the new jail. Oeth explained the idea of the jail expansion has been discussed over the past three years. Due to changes in the law, the Indiana Department of Corrections no longer houses Level 6 felonies. Instead, these prisoners must be incarcerated in local jails. This has caused an overcrowding jail population problem for all counties throughout the state. Oeth emphasized Posey County is not the only county facing the dilemma. He said the unfunded mandate places additional housing, food and medical costs on the county. The jail expansion proposal will increase the current 62bed facility to what Oeth hopes will be 208 beds. The exact size of the expansion will depend on the construction bids submitted by contractors. He added the situation is not as simple as moving prisoners to another jail. He gave an example that if 15 prisoners were moved from the Posey County Jail to the Gibson County Jail, it would cost Posey County $16,000 for a month.
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City OKs new truck buy By Lois Mittino Gray At the March 17 meeting of the Mount Vernon Board of Public Works, members decided to spend a little green on St. Patrick’s Day. With spring cleanup projects coming up fast, money was dispersed to make things run smoothly. Street Department Superintendent Max Dieterle brought in three quotes for a needed three quarter ton 4 by 4 pickup truck. A Dodge was quoted at $27,464, a Chevy at $30,894 and a Ford 250 pickup was quoted at $35,500. Dieterle said all three quotes
were comparable in terms of features offered on the truck, so the board purchased the Dodge model from Expressway Jeep/Dodge of Mount Vernon. Sewer Department employee Gene Carroll said that outdated chemicals at the sewage treatment plant need to be cleaned out and disposed of in an EPA-approved manner. “These chemicals, such as sulfuric acid and mercury compounds, can’t be dumped out just anywhere,” he ex-
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Hempfling finds WGU fast, affordable track By Lois Mittino Gray Charles Hempfling camps out in front of a computer every day at New Harmony’s Working Men’s Institute and goes to college. No ivy halls or student union building for him, the 2012 North Posey High School honor graduate is on the fast track to completing his degree in Business Management one year from now. The catalyst to his success is Western Governors University, an innovative and surprisingly affordable online university, advertised as a ‘New Kind of U.’ For a flat rate of about $3,000 a term, Hempfling can take up to 40 competency units (credit hours), depending on the pace he sets himself. “At a regular university, I can take at most 18-20 hours a semester,” he explained. “This program really fits my style. If I read a book, I can understand it and learn it quickly and then pass the objective assessment of mastery, the final exam.” Right now Charles is enrolled in three classes: Business Ethics and Law, Organizational Behavior and College Algebra. He plans to take the final exams for the first two this week and then focus on the algebra which is harder to master via computer. The University offers him access to its Hawkes Math Lab program for help. To pass a final exam, a score of 80 percent mastery is required so he must make an A or B grade on it. When all three
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are complete, he will sign up for more classes this term. Charles chooses to work at the local library, rather than at a home computer, because it makes him “focus just on content and it’s like going away to classes.” Charles also is assigned a one-on-one mentor who touches base with him every week and they talk about almost everything. “He is completely flexible and answers all of my questions and is very open. He has many experiences and offers me insight into business. He has been with Target for over 15 years and has his Master’s Degree from WGU where he has been a mentor for over six years,” Charles noted. Charles knows about attending traditional university as he attended the University of Southern Indiana for three years, but suffered a shoulder injury there that had him sitting out time and thwarted his military plans. “ I enjoyed my time there, but this will go faster for me and I will get my degree from WGU next year on track,” he said. A prospective student can enroll in the university on the first of any month, so Charles started on March 1 and will have earned credits by midmonth. He learned of WGU when the daughter of one of his parents’ friends attended and had success. He is the son of Nancy and Jeff Hempfling
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School ..................A8 Social .....................A6 Sports ...............B1, 3 TV Guide...........B5-6
Charles Hempfling works at his computer station in the WMI library on his college business management degree. Photo by Lois Mittino Gray of Poseyville. The ambitious 22-year-old works at the Red Geranium Restaurant to earn money for his classes Western Governor’s University, the one with the ads using the owl sitting on a young man’s bed
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