“Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain.”
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Since 1882 ~ Successor to The Poseyville News and The New Harmony Times • New Harmony, IN Posey County’s locally-owned newspaper
Legion Post 5 to renovate American Legion Post 5 kitchen will be closed Friday, April 5, for renovation. Normal schedule will resume on Friday, April 12. Thank you for your patience during our post home renovation. Volunteers are needed for Thursday April 4, to help Team Depot with renovations at Post 5. If you can make it for the whole day, or just part of the day, your help will be greatly appreciated. Renovations are funded by the Home Depot Foundation and coordinated with the Team Depot volunteers.
Maple Hill trash pick-up set
By Dave Pearce Posey County Republican Party head Greg Newman indicated this week that he believes a lawsuit filed by Democratic Chairman Ed Adams is nothing more than a political maneuver. The suit was filed recently when Chris Harp, who was elected in the November general election, stepped down due to problems securing the required $300,000 bond necessary for the job. A Republican Caucus was held and Justin White was named to replace Harp and he was promptly greeted with the lawsuit. “Chris filed for her bonding on
GMVA tells Council that city needs to attract youth
Deadline set for ISFA workshop
By Lois Mittino Gray Mel Levin feels a key to economic development is that the city needs to attract younger residents and those people who work in Mount Vernon should reside in Mount Vernon. The former school superintendent made this point as he addressed the Mount Vernon Common Council at its March 20 meeting. Levin represents the Greater Mount Vernon Association, an organization which has been in existence for quite some time. The Association, also represented by Mike Ashworth, Mary Weintraut, and Jim Swinney, was established to assist with economic development in the community and to help local businesses. The organization supports the city’s efforts to date and acknowledges that it has done much with limited funds and a lot on its plate. “Population is declining. The city is losing its young people and that is the future of our community” he said. “A focused effort is needed to attract young people.” To appear more family-friendly, Levin said the appearance of the Main Street Business District must be addressed aggressively and be top priority. To revitalize the district, he suggested removing or upgrading empty buildings along Main Street. Mayor John Tucker thanked the group and noted it is great to have taxpayer support as the Board is moving aggressively to enforce ordinances. In the past five years, Building Commissioner Willis has addressed over 69 dilapidated buildings at code hearings. ClerkTreasurer Sitzman’s office handles between 150-200 weed notices every summer. Last summer the Street Department had to mow 63 in which the owner did not comply. He added that two of the main issues he heard about most during his campaign are being done: Fixing up the Riverfront, and getting
MVYB raffle tickets available Every child who plays MVYB will be out trying to sell raffle tickets to help pay for uniforms, equipment and other things needed to play baseball. Please help them and us out by purchasing one or more of these tickets. Each ticket costs $5 with a chance to win $500. Tickets are available from players or any MVYB board member.
Johnson UMC sale set JUMC-United Methodist Women in New Harmony is holding its annual Geranium Sale. Orders need to be placed by Wednesday, April 3. Color choices are red, salmon, pink, fuchsia, and white. They will be $4.50 each. To purchase geraniums you may call the church office from 9-11 a.m. Monday thru Friday at 682-4648 or e-mail your order to: JUMC@ att.net. They will be ready for pickup on Saturday, April 20 at JUMC from 10-12.
Relay meeting is April 8 North Posey Relay for Life (NPRFL) will hold its annual card party on Monday, April 8, at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church Cafeteria in Poseyville. Doors will open at 5 p.m. A chili supper, including vegetable soup, sandwiches, hot dogs, chili dogs and deserts will be served from 5 – 7 p.m. The card party will be held from 7 – 8:30 p.m. There will also be a live auction, egg rumble and a new game, heads and tails that promises to be loads of fun. The cost is $5 per person and all proceeds benefit NPRFL. Call ahead for tickets by contacting Judy Baehl at 812-568-3988, baehl@tds.net or Mary Peach at 812-483-0848, marypeach@dishmail.net.
Volume 133 Edition 14
GOP calls ‘foul’ on treasurer’s lawsuit
Volunteers are invited to help with the annual Maple Hill Road Walk on Thursday, April 11, beginning at 5 p.m. We’ll pick up trash along both sides of the road going south out of town to Highway 69. Meet at Maple Hill Cemetery; gloves and trash bags will be supplied. Scott Champlin will provide traffic control. Please mark the date and time and plan to help out! We have lots of fun and usually finish in about an hour. Registration is now open for the 2013 Indiana State Festivals Association South Workshop on April 13, from 8:30 a.m. - 4:15 p.m. in Vevay, Ind. Forms found at IndianaFestivals.net
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
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December 4 with everyone else and it was well into January before she found out that her bond had not come through for the full amount,” Newman said in a weekend interview. “Even Posey County Commissioner Carl Schmitz indicated that steps were being taken to secure the proper bonding but rather than dragging her family and the county through this, Chris stepped down and Justin White was then named the Chief Deputy. Then, during the March 18 caucus, two people had shown interest in the job. Justin White was selected.” But White hardly had time to take his seat before he was met
with opposition from the Democratic Party. “I find it very odd that Ed Adams would say in an interview that he didn’t want Chris to step down when (Democratic Commissioner) Jim Alsop asked her to step down,” Newman said. “Then Ed turns around and files a lawsuit against her. It’s an example of the kind of political bullying that people are tired of.” Newly-appointed Posey County Treasurer Justin White was seated in mid-April, following a Republican Party caucus March 18. But Newman said Harp had already began moving the office in a posi-
tive direction before White replaced her. Therefore, Harp was named First Deputy in the Department to which she was elected. “In just his first two or three weeks in office, the website for the treasurer’s office has been completed and the office is becoming modernized,” Newman said. “Justin and Chris are working hard and are doing a great job, just like the people of Posey County elected them to do.” The lawsuit, filed by Posey County Democratic Party Chairman Ed Adams, asks the courts to
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In celebration of Easter, friends and members of the New Harmony Ministerial Association participate in the annual Good Friday Cross Walk. Photo by Zach Straw
APL, Historical Society to host Special to the News Indiana University professor Eric Sandweiss will present a program entitled ‘The Day in Its Color: A Posey County Photographer and the World He Left Behind’ at the Alexandrian Public Library in Mount Vernon on Saturday, April 27, at 10 a.m. The program is cohosted by the Posey County Historical Society and the Alexandrian Public Library and is presented free to the public. The event is sponsored by Baier & Baier, Attorneys-at-Law, of Mount Vernon. Professor Sandweiss is the author of a new book entitled ‘The Day in Its Color: Charles Cushman’s Photographic Journey Through a Vanishing America.’ The book introduces readers to the extraordinary work of phographer and Poseyville native Charles Cushman using a recently unearthed archive of photographs that is the largest known body of early color photographs by a single photographer, 14,500 in all, most shot on vivid, color-saturated Kodachrome stock. The collection includes hundreds of photographs shot in Posey County. Professor Sandweiss is Carmony Chair and Associate Professor of History at Indiana University where he edits the quarterly Indiana Magazine of History. Prior to
his arrival at IU, Sandweiss served for a decade as Director of Research at the Missouri Historical Society in St. Louis. Sandweiss’ teaching and research center on two primary topics: the built American landscape and the practice of public history. In addition to writing The Day in Its Color, he is the author of St. Louis: The Evolution of an American Urban Landscape; co-author of Eadweard Muybridge and the Photographic Panorama of San Francisco; and editor of St. Louis in the Century of Henry Shaw: A View Beyond the Garden Wall. He
is currently at work on a study of the history of city museums in Europe and the U.S. Sandweiss earned a B.A. in Folklore from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in architectural history from the University of California at Berkeley. He lives in Bloomington, Indiana, with his wife, Lee, surprisingly well-adjusted sons, Noah and Ethan, and a Scottish Terrier named Nessie. Copies of Sandweiss’ book, The Day in Its Color will be available for purchase at the event and the author will be available for signing.
MV School approves 13-14 calendar By Lois Mittino Gray Families in the Mount Vernon School Corporation can plan Christmas and Spring Break vacations way in advance with the adoption of the 2013-2014 school calendar at the School Board meeting on Monday, March 18. Staff must report on Monday, August 12 and school bells will ring Tuesday August 13 for students. The first semester ends with a full two week Christmas Break from school dismissal on Friday, December 20 to January 6. Spring Break is slated for the last full week in March. There are standard holidays and five snow days built in to the calendar with the projected end of the second semester set for Thursday,
May 22 for students and May 23 for staff. This will total the required 180 days. The Board also discussed a proposed 2015-16 school year calendar for action to be taken at an upcoming meeting. School Superintendent Tom Kopatich explained, “I know this is three years in advance and not set in stone, but I would like to see the starting date and Christmas and Spring Breaks Okayed so families can plan ahead”. Dates were also announced for nine youth summer camps to be taught by staff members. These include baseball, football, soccer, volleyball skills, girls’ and boys’ basketball, tennis, wrestling and Lady Cats softball. Dates and fees
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vary, with several starting as early as May 28 and the latest are finished by June 28. Check the office or school websites for a complete list of dates, instructors and fees. Kopatich stressed that cost should never be an issue if a student wants to participate and cannot afford it. “Please call the coaches and discuss it with them. We have money available for students in these cases”, he explained. In other board business: --The Indiana School Boards Association recognized Board Member Beth McFaddin Higgins in achieving the Master Level in their Certification/ Awards Program.
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Peyton Seessengood snatches up eggs during The Charles Ford Memorial Home’s 2013 Annual Easter Egg Hunt. Photo by Zach Straw
Inside this issue... Retrospective ................... A4 Community ........... A5 Social ...................... A6 Legals ............................... B8 Deaths ................ A3 Sports .................. B1-4 Classifieds ..................... B5-7 Church .................. A6 Bus/Ag .................. A7
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