T
P C N SINCE 1882 Successor to The Poseyville News & New Harmony Times POSEY COUNTY’S ONLY LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED NEWSPAPER
Volume 137 Edition 15 $1.00
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Russell retires as high school principal Thompson appointed to take on position By Lois Mittino Gray The top leadership of Mount Vernon High School will change at the beginning of the next school year, but the new principal will be a familiar face to students. The retirement of current principal Tom Russell was regretfully accepted by the Mount Vernon School Board at its April 3 meeting. Matt Thompson, the current assistant principal, was appointed to the principal position for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 school years on a two year contract. Russell has been principal at the high school for the last five years and has done a ten year
stint as assistant principal year there since 2002. Prior to that, he was an educator in the South Gibson School Corporation since 1981. Thompson has been assistant principal at the high school since 2014. Before his move to Mount Vernon, he taught social studies in the North Spencer District in Lincoln City. The retirement of Dan Guthrie as a high school counselor and assistant boys’ basketball coach was also accepted, effective at the end of the school year. In other personnel matters, the board accepted the resignations from Tim Alcorn as as-
Tom Russell
Matt Thompson
sistant athletic director at the high school and Marc Hostetter as a high school physical education teacher. Both are effective at the end of this school year. John Schelhorn, Ryan Stemple,
and Jake Warrum, all assistant football coaches, submitted resignations effective immediately and they were also accepted. The board confirmed the employment of Riley D. Snodgrass as assistant coach for boys’ track at Mount Vernon Junior High School, replacing Kevin Slaton. He currently works as a supervisor for Mount Vernon Parks and Recreation and is active as a volunteer coach for youth programs. In other board action: • Adopted a resolution permitting six staff members to attend four events, including district livestock judging in Loogootee, Indiana
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NH pharmacy owner foils robbery attempt
Members of the Posey County Alliance of the Southwest Indiana Chamber of Commerce met Wednesday evening at the New Harmony Inn Conference Center. The organization honored four Posey County entities at the annual awards program. Honored this year as the Teacher of the Year is David Purvis. Honored as Posey County Business Professional of the Year is Beth McFadin-Higgins, Honored as Posey County’s Young Professional of the Year is Brittaney Oeth Johnson while the Small Business of the Year honoree was Barton Automotive. Old National Bank CEO Bob Jones was the featured speaker. Photo by Dave Pearce
By Dave Pearce A New Harmony pharmacy has been robbed … again. According to Posey County Chief Deputy Sheriff Tom Latham, at around 8:20 p.m. on April 4, deputies of the Posey County Sheriff’s Office were notified of, “shots fired,” at Chris’ Pharmacy in New Harmony, Ind. But this time was different from the others. Owner Chris Kissel was actually in the store at the time of the break-in. Kissel’s believes his emergence with a gun from his office from beside the pharmacy counter helped startle the intruder and his time in the store was short-lived. “It was around 8:20 p.m. or so and I was in here finishing up some stuff,” Kissel said. “Our hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. so we were closed. The sign said ‘closed’ and the door was locked. There was no one else here and I was
Jason Spieker not expecting anyone. There are no meetings or appointments.” Kissel explained he was engulfed in his paperwork when he heard a loud bang from the front part of the
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Public works board moves to purchase new street sweeper By Lois Mittino Gray Street Commissioner Max Dieterle held the spotlight at the March 30 Mount Vernon Board of Public Works meeting in preparation for the Spring season cleanup. He said that Brown Equipment Company brought a Global M3 Street Sweeper down from their Fort Wayne business yesterday to demonstrate its features for the mayor and other officials to spruce up city streets. Mayor Bill Curtis asked them to clean the
street in front of City Hall for the demo. “I was impressed with how much gravel it picked up and it did a really good job,” he said. Board member Becky Higgins liked that it had so much glass and made it easy to see what it was picking up from all sides, as well as in front. Dieterle said they cleaned several streets and showed how to make minor adjustments for each. Everyone was pleased with the performance and Board member Larry Williams felt it was reasonably priced.
Briefly First Baptist Church: Spaghetti Dinner April 29, 4-6 p.m. East Tavern Street, NH Keck Gonnerman: Spring Tractor Drive April 15, 9 a.m. Keck Gonnerman Building Salem UCC: Choral Performance April 12, 6 p.m. Pin Haven Nursing Home Good Friday April 14, 7 p.m. Easter Egg Hunt April 15, 10 a.m. Easter Sunday April 16, sunrise service at 7 a.m., breakfast at 8 a.m., Sunday school at 9 a.m., worship at 10:15
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Englebright celebrates 40 years with IGA By Dave Pearce Almost everything has changed at the local Mount Vernon IGA store over the past 40 years, but one thing has remained the same. Shoppers will help IGA employee Rick Englebright celebrate his 40th year of employment on Thursday. “I was a freshman in high school when I started,” Englebright recalled of his early days. “My brother was working there and when I got old enough, I went up and talked to Howard Roberts and Harold Meier. They were the owners then.” Englebright said his first job was that of a “carry-out” boy. But
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dishes and sample them afterwards. The dinner event was a fabulous fundraiser to support the Women’s Fund of Posey County, sponsored by the Charles Ford Memorial Home of New Harmony. Women’s Fund Chairman Cheryl Potter introduced the Ford Home
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Starting as a freshman in high school, Rick Englebright has been “part of the package” at the IGA store in Mount Vernon for the past 40 years. Photo by Theresa Bratcher
Relay For Life: Ribeye Sandwich Cookout April 13, 10 a.m. McKim’s IGA Chef Chad Howard
By Lois Mittino Gray “My grandfather once told me that if you find a job you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. As a youngster, that didn’t make sense to me, a job is work. Now I totally understand what he meant,” Chef Chad Howard told the group of fifty ladies assembled at the Catholic Community Center on Tuesday, April 4 to watch him make some special
Bridge bids approved at April 4 meeting By Valerie Werkmeister The Posey County Commissioners met for the first of their two monthly meetings last Tuesday, April 4, and approved bids for a new bridge as well several invoices for the new jail project. Highway Superintendent Steve Schenk reviewed bids after they were opened and recommended the low bid from DK Parker at a cost of $397,052.30 for Bridge 95 on Springfield Road. Chuck Thompson was given approval to purchase two new electronic tablets for the emergency medical services department at a cost of $2,718. Jim Bush of Rise Up and Run addressed the commissioners regarding the upcoming Peace, Run and Harmony Half on May 19. He requested assistance from the Posey County Sheriff’s Department to assist with crowd control and blocking roads for traffic. Bush estimates there will be 1,000 walkers and runners for the event that begins at 8 a.m. and ends at 11 a.m. The run starts in the Town of New Harmony and will go to Harmonie State Park and return to the starting line. The commissioners approved his request. Invoices for the jail project were
Chef finds fulfillment, family at Charles Ford
McKim’s IGA: Meat sale April 13, 7 a.m. 1320 Main Street
(USPS 439-500)
the interest rates on the two local banks were the same, but ONB had a $500 document fee. United Fidelity did not have this fee and was chosen to finance the sweeper purchase for a three year term. Commissioner Dieterle continued his report by explaining there are many usable items at the limb yard. “It has become a dump site for the state when they clean road shoulders and
In for the long haul
North Posey Junior High: Peter Pan April 28, 7 p.m. North Posey High School
More information on these and other events inside today’s Posey County News
Williams moved to purchase the street sweeper from Brown Equipment Company at $189,000, after a $10,000 trade in was allowed on the old model. The city will put $100,000 down and finance the balance. Dieterle brought in three quotes for the financing, Both Old National Bank and United Fidelity Bank quoted 2.75 percent for three years, while TCF Equipment Finance quoted 3.21 percent for three years and 3.53 percent for five years. Attorney Beth McFadin Higgins noted that