Since 1882 ~ Successor to The Poseyville News and The New Harmony Times • New Harmony, IN
“Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain.” Posey County’s only locally-owned newspaper
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
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Volume 134 Edition 12
Mount Vernon selected as one of six Stellar finalists Special to the news Mount Vernon officials have been notified that they the town a one of six finalists in the Indiana Department of Transportation’s Stellar program. Stellar is a program made up of three state agencies, Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), Indiana Housing (IHCDA) and Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA)partnering together to invest major resources in a community to make sustainable changes to the community. City officials sent a letter of intent to officials of the Stellar program back in February and learned this week that they had been one of the six finalists selected to submit a full application. The projects in the Letter of Intent included a community center on Water Street, a pocket park on the upcoming revitalized Main Street, renovation of the courthouse lawn on Main Street, redevelopment of vacant city lots into attractive downtown parking areas for patrons and residents, partnering with the EMPO to develop a public transportation plan con-
Briefly KOLA hosts Ladies Night Ladies Night, presented by KOLA Property Mgmt., (Chris Laughbaum), will be Tuesday, March 25 beginning with a light supper at 6 p.m. at Sara’s Harmony Way followed by the movie ‘The Family Stone’ at 7 p.m. Ticket price is $12. Call 682-3050 for info. Imagination Station work days planned The Mount Vernon-Black Township Parks and Recreation is partnering with the SABIC Volunteers to host clean up and repair days at the Imagination Station playground, next to the Alexandrian Public Library. They will take place on Friday, March 28 and Saturday, March 29. The days will start around 8 a.m. and everyone is invited to help out. New mulch will be put down, and repairs and painting touch ups will be completed on the structures. A ‘re-opening’ party has been scheduled for the playground Saturday, May 3 with the purpose of inviting families to increase their usage of the facility. It will take place from noon to 3 p.m. Light refreshments will be available.If you are interested in helping out or have any questions please contact the Parks Office at 838.3691, or by email at mvparksandrec@insightbb.com. Volunteers sought for April 6 clean up New Harmony Day With thoughts of sprucing up New Harmony, the call is going out to volunteers of all ages seeking help to pick up trash along Maple Hill Road and East Church Street on Wednesday, April 2, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Anyone wanting to volunteer should show up at 4:30 p.m. at the parking lot of Maple Hill Cemetery. Gloves and trash bags will be provided. According to Andrew Wilson, who is heading up the project, lots of special activities are planned for New Harmony this spring and the community needs to look its best. “In addition to adult volunteers, school children and scouts are also being recruited to help with the clean-up,” Wilson said. “This gives the youth an excellent opportunity to fulfill community service badges, and the adults who participate are setting a great example for the youth.” If you have questions about the project, contact Karen Walker, 430-4148. Both Wilson and Walker are members of the New Harmony Town Council. Griffin Christian Church to meet Griffin Christian Church will hold their annual meeting on April 6. Questions call 812-851-3503. Spring into Action and ‘Get Fit’ for Relay Team Wassmer is sponsoring group exercise classes on Tuesday and Thursday from 5-6 p.m. beginning Tuesday, April 1. Cost is $5 per session with all proceeds going to North Posey Relay for Life. Classes will be held at St. Francis cafeteria in Poseyville. Certified instructors will provide cardio/strength on Tuesday and strength/stretch on Thursday. Please bring a mat or large towel and hand weights. Hand weights are not required. These classes are designed for those ages 16 and over. For more information, please contact Kim Wassmer at 874-2480 or Cinda Wassmer at 673-4744.
necting Mount Vernon to Evansville by utilization of a public transportation for education and health care, expansion of the Riverview Trail beginning at Fourth Street north to Sixth Street turning west on Sixth Street to College, going north on College to the Safe Route to School project and connecting to Brittlebank Park, residential homeowner rehabilitation, demolition of the existing fire department located on Sixth and Main streets and creation of a parking lot/city park, “I am thrilled,” said Mount Vernon Mayor John Tucker. “We assembled a great team to put together the Letter of Intent. We had a group of locals along with Southwest Indiana Development Coalition and Bernardin Lochmueller all working together to put together this Letter of Intent. “This is truly the catalyst that could bring unfathomable growth to this community. It is an unbelievable opportunity for Mount Vernon,” the Mayor stated with excitement. Tucker indicated that some communities spent thousands of dollars to hire firms to draft their letter of intent but there
was no cost for Mount Vernon as the locals, the Coalition and Bernardin Lochmueller all donated their time to assist the community. The City has submitted letters of Intent for the past two years but were unsuccessful at being selected a finalist. “But 2014 is going to be our year,” Tucker said optimistically. “We not only want to be one of six, we want to be named one of two of the finalists who receive this Stellar designation. We are going to need everyone in the community to be involved to receive this designation and I promise I am dedicated to being your Mayor to see these projects through to fruition. I believe Mount Vernon is a Stellar Community and we have Stellar people in this community and if we all come together we can make this not only a possibility, but a reality..”. The date of the announcement of the Stellar finalists has not yet been announced. There will be a workshop for officials of all six finalists in Indianapolis in April.
New Harmony’s Plein Air Paint Out to begin April 8 By Valerie Werkmeister Spring is in the air and what better way to catch its emerging beauty than by attending the 16th annual Plein Air Paint Out in New Harmony? The event, titled ‘First Brush of Spring,’ brings hundreds of artists to the area anxious to hone their skills, compete in competitions and show their work. This annual event is sponsored by the Hoosier Salon and The Indiana Plein Air Painters Association. Music will be provided by the New Harmony Artist Guild. The event kicks off on Tuesday, April 8, with a panel discussion on ‘Visual Language’ at the Atheneum led by Indiana artist, C.W. Mundy. Other workshop instructors include: Carolyn Anderson of Havre, Montana; Laura Robb of Taos, New Mexico; Scott Christensen of Victor, Idaho and Quang Ho of Denver, Colorado. On Wednesday, April 9, the Hoosier Salon Gallery will host a Field to the Finish reception from 5 - 7 p.m. This exhibit features a field study completed by the artist along
with a studio painting of the same subject also completed during the year. The public will be able to meet with over 30 artists who participate in this event. The juried exhibit awards will be presented at 6 p.m. The display will continue until May 25. A quick draw event will be held at Holy Angels Community Center, located on South Main Street, on Thursday, April 10, at 5 p.m. Those who want to participate must bring a blank canvas or paper to the site to have it stamped. Artists must keep their canvases blank until the signal is given to begin. Entries will be judged at 7 p.m. and a reception will follow. Anyone interested in purchasing new pieces of art will have the opportunity to do so at the art sale on Saturday, April 12, from 9 a.m. – noon at the Ribeyre Center, located on Main Street. Also on April 12, school age artists are invited to participate in a two-hour workshop from 9 - 11
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Cody Joe Brown, 23, of Poseyville was taken into custody Thursday evening after authorities in two counties were notified of an SUV driving erratically. Photo by Theresa Bratcher
Brown faces variety of charges According to information provided by Posey County Sheriff Greg Oeth, the incident occurred on Thursday March 20. At approximately 7:24 p.m., Posey County 911 Dispatch Center informed officers of a call where a complainant reported a maroon SUV driving erratically on Main Street In Poseyville. Poseyville Marshal Doug Saltzman located
Farm implement on highly traveled road creates fuss
Poseyville native Justin Rutledge was nominated by coworkers and received Officer of the Year award in Henderson, Ky., this week. Photo submitted
By Valerie Werkmeister Posey County Commissioners heard concerns from citizens about a local farm equipment company testing its products on county roads during their Tuesday, March 18, meeting. Local resident, John Finch, of Lower New Harmony Road, addressed the commissioners stating his concerns about ATI, a Mount Vernon company that manufactures modular track systems for farm tractors. Finch said the tractor drives on the road seven days a week and starts as early as 5:30 a.m. He stated the tractor is a safety hazard and is often difficult to pass due to the layout of the road. He
also presented pictures which he felt showed damage to the road. Highway superintendent Steve Schenk briefly reviewed the pictures and stated it was difficult to ascertain whether the damage was done by the tractor or by the county’s snow plows this winter. Commissioner Jerry Walden acknowledged Finch’s concerns and stated he was recently invited to ride along with the driver on the tractor to gain a better understanding of the situation. He explained the company tests the tracks by seeing how long they will hold up while being driven on asphalt roads.
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the vehicle a short time later, near the intersection of Main and North Water streets in Poseyville. The driver was non-compliant, slumped over for the steering wheel with the vehicle running, his foot on the brake, and the vehicle in gear. Deputies arrived and attempted to communicate with the driver, who became verbally abusive toward the officers. When asked to exit the vehicle, the driver reached in his pocket for a large folding knife. Officers restrained the individual and secured the vehicle as the subject was taken into custody. Posey County Deputy Sheriff Matt Henrich arrested the subject who was identified as Cody Joe Brown (age 23) of Poseyville. Brown was transported to the Posey Jail where he remains lodged. Browns Charges are as follows: Count 1, Resisting Law Enforcement; Count 2, Possession of Marijuana; Count 3, Possession of Paraphernalia ; Count 4, Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated; Count 5, Possession of Marijuana Felony Enhancement. Agencies involved in locating the vehicle were the Posey County Sheriff’s Department, Poseyville Police, New Harmony Police, and the Indiana State Police.
‘Blended’ support lands Brandenstein ‘dream’ By Dave Pearce Jace Brandenstein was clearly the center of attention on Wednesday afternoon at North Posey High School. Brandenstein was being honored by a reception to announce his signing to continue his education and soccer career at Greenville College in Illinois. However, the modest Brandenstein was clearly uncomfortable being the center of attention and turned attention away from himself at every opportunity. But there was a lot of love, pride, and support in the room for the North Posey High School honor student and all-time leading scorer in Viking men’s soccer. And after an interview involving his ‘extended’ and ‘blended’ family, it was clear that Brandenstein had the best of both worlds. When asked about his records, Brandenstein took absolutely no credit, instead foregoing any positive answers about himself to take the opportunity to pass credit along to his teammates, coaches, and parents for presenting him with opportunies. All he had to do was finish. “I watched Jace growing up and when he was an eighth grader, he and his friend Reed Heathcotte came down to a University of Evansville camp,” Hines said. “That was really the first time I had watched him play.”
Retrospective ...... A 4 Legals ............... B 5 - 6 Classifieds ........ B 3 - 4 Community ......... A 5
Members of the Jace Brandenstein ‘official signing party’ this week are, left to right, Jake Lannert, grandmother Diana Higginson, Kendra Brandenstein, Jason Brandenstein, Bee Brandenstein, Jace Brandenstein, North Posey Asst. Principal Erin Koester, Coach Andy Hines, Kohen Hines, Kamryn Brandenstein, Carol Butrum, Libbi Butrum, and Scott Butrum. Photo by Dave Pearce So was college soccer in his future at a young front because we needed him there. And all he did age? was broke the school scoring record.” “Probably his strongest asset is his versatility,” Finish will be the key word for the 17-year-old Hines said of Brandenstein. “He is probably a Continued on Page A11 better defender than scorer but we put him in the
Deaths .............. ...A3 Church ................ A 7 Social .................. A 6 School ................. A 8
Sports ...................B 2 Bus/Ag ................ A 9 Opinion ............. A 1 0 www.poseycountynews.com