“Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain.”
(USPS 439-500)
Since 1882 ~ Successor to The Poseyville News and The New Harmony Times • New Harmony, IN
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Posey County’s locally-owned newspaper
$1.00
Volume 133 Edition 20
Woman who delivered infant who died is charged By Dave Pearce A rural Middle Mount Vernon Road resident has been arrested and charged with Unlawful Practice of Medicine, Osteopathic Medicine, Midwifery, or Acting as a Physician Without License, a Class D Felony. According to the Probable Cause Affidavit, an arrest warrant was is-
GE, SABIC retirees to meet The General Electric and SABIC retirees biannual luncheon will be held on May 15, at 11:30 a.m., at the Red Wagon in Poseyville. For more information, please call Charles Crabtree at 812-437-1353.
Softball sectional tickets here North Posey High School girls’ softball advance sectional tournament tickets are on sale now in the high school athletic office. Season tickets (good for all sessions) are $9, and single session tickets are $6 and may be purchased at the gate. The Sectional will be held Monday, May 20, through Thursday, May 23, at Forest Park. North Posey will play Forest Park on Tuesday, May 21, at 5:30 p.m. (cst).
Historical Society hosts author Author and journalist Angela Mason will be the featured speaker at the May meeting of the Posey County Historical Society. Her book ‘Death Rides the Sky’ is the detailed account of the tornado that Posey County residents know as the ‘Griffin Tornado.’ But it was much more than that. This killer tornado actually began in Annapolis, Mo., and dealt death and destruction across all of Illinois, crossing the Wabash River and coming into Indiana, virtually destroying all of Griffin before moving into Gibson County. The meeting on Saturday, May 18 is open to the public; of course, members are urged to be present. Those who want to join the group for breakfast at The Red Wagon in Poseyville are asked to come by 9 a.m. Mason’s program will begin at about 10 a.m.
sued on Thursday, May 9, 2013, through the authority of Posey County Prosecutor Travis Clowers and Posey Superior Court stating that Alice M. Gates, of 10340 Middle Mount Vernon Road, Evansville, Ind., had been charged with
Alice Gates
the offenses. The charges stem from an investigation which began in December of 2012 when Indiana State Police Officer Toni Walden learned that an infant female had been transported by ambulance from a rural
Posey County home to St. Mary’s Hospital in Evansville. The infant was pronounced dead upon arrival. Walden said she was asked to assist in the investigation and drove to the home of Annika and James McDonald at 10032 Wolfinger Road in rural Posey County and met with the parents of the infant. According to court records, the
McDonalds told police that Annika had given birth to a daughter, Mara Josephine McDonald, at around 4 a.m. on Dec. 20, 2012, in the couple’s Posey County home with the assistance of a midwife, later identified as Alice M. Gates. The McDonalds told police
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TRADITION UNEARTHED Mother’s Day means new start for Pearison garden By Dave Pearce The seeds of a lost art for a generation were replanted (literally) on Mother’s Day afternoon at the Pearison Family farm in rural Posey County near Cynthiana. Thelma Pearison and her husband, Robert, had planted a garden on the same family plot for some 55 years before he passed away nearly five years ago. Since then, the garden area could have been described in farm terms as ‘setaside’ acreage. But on Mother’s Day, Jay and Jamie Pearison and their families decided to resurrect the family tradition. After a ‘dress up’ lunch at the Red Wagon in Poseyville, Thelma, her son Chuck, her grandsons Jay and Jamie, and their children
gathered at the old garden site and began to cultivate a new generation of gardeners. Thelma will celebrate her birthday on Wednesday. “Before my husband died, we were down here one day and he was sitting over in the truck watching while I was putting out the garden,” Thelma explained. “When I got back over to the truck, he was sitting there crying.” She had no idea what was wrong. “This is such hard work and I am not able to help you anymore,” Thelma’s husband told her. “I don’t want you to do this anymore. It’s just too much work.” So Thelma took her husband’s advice and the land lay dormant for
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Above right, Jay Pearison is told which planting wheel is the right one for the Blue Lake green beans he prepares to plant on Sunday afternoon. Below, Christy Pearison watches as Carter and Sophia Martin cover the seeds. In the backgroud, Jay uses the planter while Jamie makes sure the seeds are sufficiently covered. Also helping, at far right, is Pandora Rowles. Photos by Dave Pearce
NP honors program is May 16 North Posey High School will hold its annual Honors Program on Thursday, May 16, 2013, beginning at 8:15 a.m. in the main gym at the high school.
Posey Demo Women meet The Posey County Democrat Women’s Club will be meeting at Weinzapfel’s Tavern on May 21, 2013, at 6 p.m.
Viking graduation set North Posey High School Graduation will be held on Friday, May 24, 2013, at 7 p.m. in the gymnasium.
Chamber Luncheon set The Posey County Chamber Quarterly Luncheon, featuring guest speaker Phil Wilzbacher, will be held on May 22 at noon. Wilzbacher will update those attending on the Ports of Indiana-Mount Vernon. The event will be held at Western Hills Country Club in Mount Vernon and the cost for the event is $15 per person. For more information, please call Brittaney Johnson at 838-3639.
Elks hold Relay benefit Mount Vernon Elks No. 277 will have a fundraiser to benefit Relay for Life on Saturday, May 18, from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Menu includes grilled pork chop or filets of fish, oven baked beans, American potato salad and bread. Cost is $8 per plate. Canned drinks are available for $1. Orders will be taken Tuesday through Saturday after 3 p.m. by calling 838-3361. Delivery available for orders of eight or more. Walk up orders will be taken while supplies last.
With sequestration over, Posey ag payments resume Special to the News U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Juan M. Garcia announced this week that farm payments, which had been temporarily suspended due to sequestration, resumed on May 8. This includes payments for the 2011 Supplemen-
tal Revenue Assistance Payments Program (SURE), the Noninsured Crop Assistance Program (NAP) and the Milk Income Loss Contract Program (MILC). “I’m pleased to announce that farmers and ranchers can expect to begin receiving their payments beginning May 8,” said Garcia. “We
appreciate the producers’ patience during the delay. We’re working diligently to get these payments out as quickly as possible.” On March 4, 2013, FSA began a temporary suspension of FSA program payments in order to assess the impact of sequestration and determine the least-disruptive
Free physical night at MVHS The annual Mount Vernon High School free Athletic Physical Exam Night has been set for Wednesday, May 15, 2013. There will be no makeup date. This exam is made possible through the cooperation of doctors and nurses from our community who volunteer their services to our athletic program. Students who are planning to participate in any junior high or high school sport during the 2013-2014 school year should make every effort to be present on the above date.
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Michael Harshbarger, Scott Royer, Steve Fuelling, Bill Curtis, Dennis Noon, John Taylor and Jerry King cut the honorary ribbon at the Grand Opening of Mount Vernon’s The Landing. Photo by Zach Straw
Inside this issue... Retrospective ................... A4 Community .......... A5 Social ...................... A6 Legals ............................... B9 Deaths ................ A3 Sports .................. B1-5 Classifieds ..................... B7-8 Church .................. A7 Bus/Ag .................. A9
process possible for carrying out required cuts. The Department will use the Secretary’s limited authority to transfer funds to avoid reducing these program payments. Producers should be advised that program sign-up periods currently underway have the following enrollment deadlines: 2013 Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) Program – June 3; 2011 SURE – June 7; and the 2013 Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program – August 2. Producers should contact their local Farm Service Agency office as soon as possible for appointments to enroll in these programs before the deadlines. USDA has made a concerted effort to deliver results for the American people, even as USDA implements sequestration – the across-the-board budget reductions mandated under terms of the Budget Control Act. USDA has already undertaken historic efforts since 2009 to save more than $828 million in taxpayer funds through targeted, common-sense budget reductions. These reductions have put USDA in a better position to carry out its mission, while implementing sequester budget reductions in a fair manner that causes as little disruption as possible.
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