$1.00
“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 Posey County’s locally-owned newspaper
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Volume 133 Edition 19
Mount Vernon lauding merits of chickens Poseyville town-wide yard sale Get your closets and the garage cleaned out. The St. Francis Relay for Life team is sponsoring the town-wide yard sale in Poseyville on May 11. There will be multiple sales throughout the town and the surrounding areas. Maps will be available in the Posey County News and at the usual locations.
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.
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.
By Lois Mittino Gray Aga Tenbarge announced at the May 2 Mount Vernon Common Council meeting that she was there to “ask you to consider bringing backyard chickens back to the city limits of Mount Vernon.” While she said she was prepared for the strange looks from the audience, she earnestly spoke about the ‘Green Movement’ across America and in her hometown and felt the community should consider this as environmentally responsible. She would like to see families trying to eat more natural and have a few chickens, no roosters, under a contained moveable chicken coop. Tenbarge, the mother of three children, explained that she had to give up their six pet chickens when she moved inside city limits to Mulberry Street. “They have names and personalities and are our pets. They live in a brightly painted clean moveable coops and give us free eggs, eat our bugs naturally, and help clean up our table scraps. They are not dirty,” she explained. “I am aware of property value. I don’t want the Wild West in Mount Vernon, or want to live like Hoarders.” Board members asked questions, but said it was a zoning ordinance and animal control ordinance issue. She was told to meet with Mindy Bourne in the zoning office to see about getting a variance. When told it may cost as much as $100 plus to do this, she said she was not enthused about doing the paperwork, but could afford the fee. Her concern was the child in 4-H or the poor parent who could not afford $100 for a variance. She encouraged board members to consider
a license fee like $15 to have three chickens in town as a way to control total numbers and get some revenue, too. “Don’t lose sight of my big picture message,” she remarked. “You want to get young families here, families who want to live more natural and organic. You can have chickens in Evansville. Why not make this a green town and family-friendly?’ In conclusion, the Polish-born mother stated, “It shouldn’t be that hard to live in America and have a chicken in your back yard.” In other board action: Financing options for the Police and Fire Station are being prepared by Umbaugh and Associates. Attorney Beth McFaddin Higgins explained they hope to dovetail a financing plan with letting the bid packages out, so bids don’t expire while they determine financing. By next meeting, everything should be ready and a timeline developed. Councilman Bill Curtis said he is working with the Black Township Trustee on the final transition of the property and it should be deeded to the city by next week. Councilman Andy Hoehn asked how much will be in the financial estimate. Attorney Higgins said the project estimate is $921,000, minus $120,000 from the Black Township Trustee’s Office, minus any contributions and $100,000 from EDIT funds. They will be looking at 10-year
Continued on Page A3
May 12 dedication of ‘The Landing’ planned
NP Babe Ruth to open North Posey Babe Ruth will kick of the season on Sat., May 11, 2013, at Viking Field. That night, members of the 2013 North Posey Vikings will be recognized. Opening ceremonies should begin at around 4:40 p.m. The opening night game will also be played live on ESPN radio.
Crosswalk service set CrossWalk Fellowship will be having a special service on May 19, at 10:30 a.m., with the Rev. Rick Clendenen. Rick is a powerful preacher who brings fresh revelation from God’s Word with humor and passion. CrossWalk Fellowship is located at 1510 North Cullen Avenue in Evansville, Ind. For further information call 812-464-2446.
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 hold 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.
Boy Scouts to serve food Boy Scout Troop 387 will cook and serve hamburgers and hot dogs during the Poseyville Town-wide Yard Sale on Saturday, May 11, from 7 a.m. - 1 p.m. North Posey High School senior Kendra Brandenstein was in the parking lot at St. Paul’s United crowned prom queen during festivities at Cambridge on Saturday Methodist Church. A Schwan’s Food Service truck will also be on hand from evening. She is pictured here with her date, Jake Lannert. George DeSantiago was prom king. Photo by Dave Pearce 9 a.m.- 1 p.m. with a portion of the sales being donated back to the troop. Please help support the scouts and stop by the church for food and drinks while bargain hunting.
By Lois Mittino Gray It’s spring and thoughts of finishing landscaping projects, mowing and tree cutting were at the forefront of the May 2 Mount Vernon Board of Public Works and Safety meeting. Funds to complete and put the final polish on the riverfront project before the Dedication Ceremony on May 12 were appropriated. Board member Steve Fuelling requested $8,740 to do electric work, core drilling for the stage, flags and banners etc. He added this total excludes any vandalism that may occur or unexpected expenses. Board Member Bill Curtis agreed saying “let’s tie up loose ends on this great project”. Money was spent on a new mower to replace a 13-year-old one that Street Superintendent Cecil Waters said would cost more to fix than buy new. After opening four bids, the Board purchased the low bid from Arctic Cat for a 2013 Dixie Chopper 2350 Commercial Grade Mower at $5,248.95. Waters also presented three quotes on the annual tree removal and stated if the low bid, Wabash Valley Tree Service at $2,700 can meet the insurance requirements, he would like to accept their quote. Attorney Beth Higgins will review insurance and if they do not qualify, the second lowest bid R & R Quality Tree Service at $3,000 will be hired. In other board action: --Fire Chief Wes Dixon was contacted by Vincennes Fire Chief Tim Smith about entering into an Interstate Mutual Aid Agreement involving all regional counties in Illinois, Kentucky, and Indiana. All departments in Posey County are going to join it. The mayor needs to sign the agreement, but tabled any action until Attorney Higgins has a chance to review it. Mayor John Tucker noted that the city has done mutual aid agreements in the past, but “it’s unusual to cross state lines.” --Sewer Superintendent Rodney Givens requested permission to use a city vehicle and credit card for two employees to attend certification training to maintain their wastewater treatment licenses. Dennis Givens, the Pre Treatment Director, and Gene Carroll will attend four courses on May 11, May 18, June 1 and June 8 at Ivy Tech to get 10 CEU’s. The course cost is $145 and licenses are good for two years. Givens was also given permission to purchase software for office use. -- Anna Hyman representing At The Cross Mission requested permission to hold a bucket donation fundraiser May 11 at the intersection of Fourth and Main streets from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 8 will be the alternate rain date and it was approved as long as workers wear proper safety vests --Givens led a discussion on a letter received from St. Matthews Child Ministry on problems with sewer lines backing up. St. Matthews called Roto Rooter twice over the issue and incurred expenses and would like to be reimbursed. Givens reminded the board, the city is responsible for the main and the owner for the lateral. Since there is a question of who should pay the bill, it was tabled for future review and information gathering
Continued on Page A3
Geocaching fun catching on in Posey
By Lois Mittino Gray Two retired Mount Vernon elementary school teachers set off for New Mount Vernon Elks #277 will have a Harmony last Wednesday to search for hidden treasure. Sometimes they fundraiser to benefit Relay for Life on found it, sometimes they found it was stolen or moved around a little. At Saturday, May 18, from 11 a.m. until 2 all times, Teresa Branson and Sondra Torcewski agreed it was a whole lot p.m. Menu includes grilled pork chop of challenging high-tech fun. or filets of fish, oven baked beans, The detective duo were hunting for several of the nine geocaches American potato salad and bread. placed around New Harmony by persons participating in the internaCost is $8 per plate. Canned drinks are tional game of using GPS technology to locate a hidden stash of treasure available for $1. Orders will be taken with a catchy name and a log book to sign. There are dozens more placed Tuesday through Saturday after 3 p.m. by calling 838-3361.Delivery available around Posey County in Harmonie State Park, Poseyville, Mount Vernon, local cemeteries and all around the countryside. Geocaches are now hidfor orders of eight or more. Walk up orders will be taken while supplies last. den in most every accessible area of the world and a person can log onto www.geocaching.com to locate the ones in an area they visit as a fun activity to do on vacation. Reality store planned After logging in to the website, Terri and Sonie found the list of loThe Purdue Extension office is cal geocaches and a description for each. The description tells the exact again assisting with the Reality Store North and West coordinates of latitude and longitude for the site and you experience at Mount Vernon Junior can walk to those numbers using a hand held GPS unit or a cell phone. High School on Wednesday, May 8, for all eighth grade students. Students Once you are in the area, the description will tell if it is a micro or nanofrom the host school as well as North cache (very small) or a large one to find. Sometimes a hint is encrypted Posey Junior High, St. Phillips, and St. there, a level of finding difficulty and walking terrain is given, and a map. Wendel will be participating again this The game rules are that the caches must be hidden well and weatheryear. Volunteers are needed to staff the proof, but not buried into the ground. various booths throughout the day. Both ladies hunted for ‘What’s Shaking?’ a cache hidden in the woods Helpers are needed from 7:30 a.m. behind the New Harmony Inn. Upon finding the site numbers, they pulled until 2:30 p.m. Lunch will be provided. out an ammunition box filled with brochures and info on earthquakes, To volunteer, please call the Purdue since it was placed there to educate by a geological group. They signed Extension Office at 838-1331 or email Sonie Torzewski, left, and Terri Branson finding the ‘What’s ShakJane Jett, HHS Educator at jjett@ Continued on Page A3 purdue.edu. ing’ geocache behind The New Harmony Inn. Photo by Lois Gray
Elks hold Relay benefit
ThePCN
Inside this issue... Retrospective ................... A4 Community .......... A5 Social ...................... A6 Legals ............................... B7 Deaths ................ A3 Sports .................. B1-3 Classifieds ..................... B4-6 Church .................. A7 Bus/Ag .................. A9
Go to www.poseycountynews.com
457476310