Since 1882 ~ Successor to The Poseyville News and The New Harmony Times • New Harmony, IN
“Our lib “O liberties ti we prize, i and d our rights i ht we will ill maintain.” i t i ” Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Posey County’s only locally-owned newspaper
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(USPS S4 439-500) 39 5 0 0) Volume 134 Edition 24
Posey Council OKs county funds for Mount Vernon grant By Valerie Werkmeister In an unprecedented move, members of the Posey County Council pledged $450,000 to the Mount Vernon Stellar Grant project during their meeting last Tuesday, June 10. Council members discussed the matter for quite some time before deciding where the funds would come from and just exactly how much they felt they could afford to pledge. The pledge is contingent upon Mount Vernon receiving the grant which is the state’s highest designation for a city. Judy Thomann of the Lochmueller Group addressed the council to explain the various improvement projects Mount Vernon hopes to accomplish if they are awarded the Stellar Grant. According to Thomann, Mount Vernon is one of six Indiana cities chosen as finalists. Other cities include Huntingburg, Marion, Nashville, Decatur and Wabash. Each city was required to submit a letter of intent and the mayor from each community had to attend a mandatory meeting. City officials recently updated their Downtown Redevelopment Plan from 2008. They gathered responses from citizen surveys and compiled a list of projects to complete if they are awarded the Stellar Grant. Thomann explained that while
wastewater or storm sewer projects are important, only projects that are visible above ground are viable. One of the proposed projects includes the construction of a new community center with capacity for 400 people at Kiwanis Park. The current Senior Center will remain on site but the addition of the new community center will entirely revamp the park. Another project involves adding a little more curb appeal to the courthouse with the addition of benches and greenery. Thomann stated the beauty of the courthouse seems a little uninviting and they hope to create a ‘plaza-type look.’ A trail will be extended from Water Street all the way up to Brittlebank Park. The current police department and fire station building will soon move to its new home at a former car dealership on the other side of town. Once their move is complete, that building will be razed to make room for a new park to be called McFadin’s Park. The name is a nod to what the city was first called when it was founded in the early 1800’s. There will be additional space for additional city hall parking as well as greenery, a pagoda and a monument honoring the McFadin’s who founded the city.
Finally, a trail will be extended from Fourth Street to Sixth Street and then to Munchoff Street and extending down to Kiwanis Park. A spur will be added to Fifth Street and the Alexandrian Public Library and Imagination Station. It will also extend past the Vectren substation and a walking bridge will take the trail all the way to Brittlebank Park. Thomann explained the importance of county-wide support for the project. “It is critical that we are able to demonstrate huge support for this project,” she said. She added that she would like to see council members as well as county commissioners and industry leaders attend events planned during the July 7, site visit. Stellar Grant officials plan to visit the city at that time to gauge community involvement and score the city on its projects. Thomann and other community leaders have formed a committee to spread the word and garner community support. She said Sabic has pledged to give $100,000 over the next three years. To date, they have received $700,000 in pledges
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Two sentenced in bank fraud case
Wanda Bennett and Gail Carlisle look over some of the items that were on display on Sunday at the Antique Show in New Harmony. Photo by Dave Pearce
Two area residents were sentenced recently in Posey County Circuit Court as both admitted to fraudulant activity involving a Posey County bank. Randall A. Randall Hoehn Hoehn of Princeton, Indiana and April M. Harvey of Oakland City, Indiana were each charged in the Posey Circuit Court in January 2014 with one count of Fraud on a Financial Institution, a Class C Felony and one count of Forgery, a Class C Felony. On January 22, 2014, Randall A. Hoehn went into the Poseyville branch of Community State Bank and opened a bank account using a fraudulent payroll check. As required
by law, the bank released partial funds to Mr. Hoehn from the check once the account was set up. On January 23, 2014 at approximately 9 a.m., Hoehn then went into the Cynthiana branch of ComApril Harvey munity State Bank and cashed a fraudulent payroll check. Hoehn then proceeded to the Poseyville branch of Community State Bank at approximately 9:15 a.m. and cashed a third fraudulent payroll check. April M. Harvey accompanied Hoehn to the Poseyville branch where she also opened an account using a fraudulent payroll check. A teller at the Cynthiana
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Nine separate contractors will construct new building By Lois Mittino Gray Members of the Mount Vernon Board of Public Works approved ten packages from nine separate contractors for the new Police and Fire Department building on Third Street and work will begin immediately. All contractors will meet one time all together on Friday, June 13 at a pre-construction meeting in the city hall. Terry Burnworth of Pyramid Engineering made the recommendations to the board for the contracts. He explained that packages were advertised and many different contractors were contacted for bids. The final tally for all ten packages amounted to $587,718.19 with a total of $49,000 in allowances included in the cost. Low bid for concrete work went to Su-
perior for $95,100; TMI will do rough carpentry at $100,000 and the drywall at $25,000; Southern Indiana will do insulation at $21,215.16 and Evansville Overhead will do the doors at $22, 068.40. Dan Belwood will do the painting for 425,200 and flooring is by Funks at $26,034.63. Sanders won the plumbing contract at $36,800 and HVAC will be done by Rodney Shephard at $99, 500. The biggest contract was awarded to Dieg Brothers for electrical work at $136, 800. Mayor John Tucker was thrilled that the work would begin in time for the Stellar Grant inspection team to see on July 7. “The steel arrives the first week of July and the big crane will be out there ready to go for all to see,” he said.
digital cameras costing $999.80 for use by his department and the animal control officer for documentation purposes. • Sewer Superintendent Rodney Givens reported that the heavy rain in past weeks has led to many pipe cave ins. “We just had one on Locust Street, but now there is a big one popping up at the Pecan Hill Apartments on east Fourth that is too big for us to do.” He was given permission to make all repairs and get license plates for the new pull behind trailer. • Street Commissioner Max Dieterle requested use of the city credit card to go to the Street Commissioner’s Conference in French Lick on August 19-21. The fees are $150 for registration and $119 for rooms. Jamie Miller will accompany him.
Cynthiana loses board member, employee
Briefly MV Elks opens to public for Corn Hole Tournament Mt. Vernon Elks 277 will be open to the public on Saturday, June 21 for a corn hole tournament. This blind draw, double elimination competition begins at 6 p.m. The cost is $5 per player. Players must be 13 years of age or older. It will be followed with a couple’s single elimination competition. Cost for the couple’s competition is $5 per couple. Pizza and wings will be available for purchase. Call 838-3361 with questions. Calling all Posey County Residents Are you thinking about making healthy living part of your 2014 goals? Join Marion VA Nutrition Services along with Posey County Health Department and Purdue Extension for the Move! Towards a healthier you classes. This free eight week series covers eating well, sleeping better, moving more, and finding your healthy weight. This program will meet weekly on Tuesdays from 4:30-5:30 p.m., at the Alexandrian Public Library July 8 - August 26. To register or for more information, please contact Kristina Carter, Posey County Public Health Nurse at 812-838-1330 Certify-By date set for Spring planted crops Greg Knowles, Posey County Executive Director, would like to remind farmers to certify their Spring planted crops by July 15, 2014. Planting dates are required to complete this process. Sign up for the 2014 Farm Program hasn’t started yet. Indications are that sign-up will start in the Fall. When the sign-up date is announced, it will be publicized. Please contact the Posey County FSA Office at (812) 838-4191, ext. 2 if you have questions. Legion to meet The Poseyville American Legion Post #278 will hold their monthly meeting on Thursday, June 19 at 7:30 p.m. Correction In last week’s Mount Vernon School Board story, David Reese was mis-identified as David Ries and the Ag students will travel to Purdue rather than Indianapolis. We apologize for any inconvenience that may have caused.
Retrospective ...... A 4 Legals ...................B 5 Classifieds ........ B 6 - 7 Community ......... A 7
In other board action: • Andy Sucharitakul, Project Manager for BLA Engineering, spoke on work at the Country Terrace on change orders and the final billing. • The Waste Water Master Plan was discussed and soon available so that all information will be organized in one place on location and condition of the system and prioritization of repairs. • Police Chief Grant Beloat was given permission to purchase a color copier from Commonwealth Technology for $995 with a $62.50 quarterly maintenance fee. Councilman Bill Curtis asked if the department needed color copies for accident reports and police business and Beloat replied in the affirmative. Money was also approved for five
By Valerie Werkmeister The Cynthiana Town Board conducted its June 10, meeting with one less member. Jim Sheets submitted his resignation to Scott Cox, town board president, following the adjournment of the May 13, meeting. The resignation comes after an altercation occurred between Sheets and town employee, Jason Gee. During an argument between the two, Gee got very close to Sheets who responded by pushing him back. The police were called to the incident but no charges were filed against either man. Sheets felt his resignation was the best way in order to move past the incident. He declined to comment further. In a surprise move, board member Gary Smith read a statement at the end of the meeting to terminate Gee. Cox approved the motion and the meeting was quickly adjourned. Gee shouted obscenities at the two men when he realized what they had done. He left the
town hall refusing to turn in his keys when Cox requested him to do so. He later relinquished the keys when Cynthiana Town Marshall, Andy Porath, and Cox went to his home. Ed Adams, Chairman of the Posey County Democrat Party, stated he is looking for someone to replace Sheets. Once a viable candidate is found, a caucus will be held. Adams hopes the seat is filled prior to board’s meeting in July. In other business, Cox read a letter from Craig and Laura Egli regarding the drainage problem on their property. Craig had appeared at the May meeting to request action in determining a resolution to his problem that he said, “had taken an excessive period of time to get to be addressed.” Since the meeting in May, Gee had worked with the
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PC Community Foundation Hires New Director The Community Foundation Alliance is pleased to announce Monica Spencer has been hired as the director of the Posey County Community Foundation. Spencer holds a Bachelor’s degree in public relations and marketing from Bradley University and a Master’s degree in public service administration from the University of Evansville. Spencer has over ten years’ experience in non-profit fundraising and project management, most recently serving the University of Evansville in its Alumni and Parent Relations and Annual Giving departments. While at UE, Spencer worked on annual giving and capital gifts and developed relationships with donors, alumni and students. Spencer says she enjoys fundraising because of its opportunities to, “make a difference
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in someone’s life, whether it’s helping a donor meet his or her goals for giving or working with the wonderful charities in our area. I’m looking forward to talking to people about the Posey County Community Foundation and how we can accomplish great things together in this community.” The Posey County Community Foundation, a partner of the Community Foundation Alliance, is a nonprofit organization devoted to helping people make meaningful gifts that improve life in Posey County today and forever. The Community Foundation helps donors make a difference where it matters by supporting local charities and students with grants and scholarships from endowed funds. For more information, visit www.poseycommunityfoundation.org or call 812-838-0288.
Sports ............... B 3 - 4 Bus/Ag ................ A 6 Opinion ............... A 2 TV Guide........ A9-10