Successor to The Poseyville News & New Harmony Times
LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED SINCE 1882
E, “OUR LIBERTIES WE PRIZ L MAINTAIN.” AND OUR RIGHTS WE WIL
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Posey County’s ONLY Locally Owned Newspaper.
$1.00
(USPS S4 439-500) 39 50 0 0)
Volume 135 Edition 22
Police intervene in dog hoarding situation in Griffin By Dave Pearce According to Posey County Sheriff Greg Oeth, paperwork is being prepared to turn over to the Posey County Prosecutor Travis Clowers after an extremely large number of dogs were found inside a Griffin, Ind., home on Friday night. According to Oeth, some 72 dogs were found inside the home. Oeth indicated that between 20 and 25 of those were from at least two litters of pups that were still nursing. The nursing pups were sent to a site other than the county’s contracted site. Oeth said deputies had noticed a large number of dogs on the exterior of the residence over time. However, the dogs were inside a fenced in yard. “I will occasionally attend town meetings in Griffin, just to try to keep up with what’s going on there since they don’t have a police officer there,” Oeth said. “I can remember this particular issue being a topic at one of those meetings probably a year or so ago.” Oeth said that a complaint had been filed with the town board but that the sheriff’s office does not have the authority to enforce town ordinances. Oeth said between 12 and 15 dogs were found dead inside the residence. Oeth said that it was his understanding that the property owner had been told to remove the animals but that the animals were simply moved inside the home instead of being left in the fenced in yard. Oeth said it was his understanding that the property had re-
cently been acquired by a neighbor, whose property adjoins the home where the dogs were found. It was through their consent that deputies gained access to the interior of the home. He said that it was his understanding that some 15 dogs were removed from the property when one lady had left the home approximately two weeks ago. The woman was identified by neighbors as Carol Leach. Oeth said Posey County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Josh Brock, who entered the property to document the case, was equipped with a respirator just to take pictures. Oeth indicated that from everything he had seen, there was no way the home would have been considered even inhabitable. Neighbor Amanda Stone Morlock agreed. “Just the smell,” Morlock said of the nearby residence. “Now she lives across the street from me and my mom and next door to my sister with her mom who is on oxygen. She has dogs in the basement there and you can hear them barking. We figured she has around 100 dogs. They came two weeks ago and got 12 or 14, not counting the dead.” Morlock indicated this is certainly not a new problem. “This has gone on forever,” Morlock continued. “You could not stand to be even be near here or drive by the house. A couple years ago, they came and got some of them when she has them outside. Then she covered the windows and kept them all inside the house.” PC Pound Puppies held a fundraising event in Evansville on
Just a few of the 70-plus dogs taken from a home in Griffin over the weekend. Photo courtesy of Posey County Sheriff’s Department’s Josh Brock Saturday. It was scheduled before they learned about the situation in Griffin. They raised over $1,000 for the dogs. “It turned into something bigger, so we’ll be using these funds to pay the immediate expenses that we’ll now have,” said Amber Hoover, of PC Pound Puppies. “The immediate need is to find
Continued on Page A8
School officials excited by results of Community Clinic By Lois Mittino Gray Need any topsoil? Since the construction of the new Mount Vernon High School soccer field has been going full tilt, groundwork has created a mountain of topsoil behind the district bus garage. Members of the Mount Vernon School Board declared any unused and unneeded top soil or other fill material available now or in future excavations as surplus at their May 18 meeting. The crown of the hill on the field was removed to flatten it. Anyone wishing to purchase topsoil at $20 a cubic yard should contact the school office. “Twenty dollars is a good price for a pickup load,” said School Superintendent Tom Kopatich. “We will keep what we need, of course, but we have a real surplus.” Monies will go into the MSD General Fund. Kopatich updated the board on the construc-
tion project saying it was seeded this week and fencing is now going up. Another district construction project will be showcased at an open house on May 27 from 4 to 7 p.m. in the former Hedges Central Building. The Mount Vernon Wellness Clinic has moved to its refurbished rooms in the old school building. It has been operating since January 14 in a temporary location at the site. Ribbon cutting is scheduled for 4 p.m. Director of Business Loren Evans said, “We are so excited about this new facility. It is being used and saving the district money and serving our employees better.” With the move, an additional four hour block of time on Thursday mornings will be available to users, as well as Monday mornings
Continued on Page A8
From left, Loren Evans, Bob Stephenson, Jamie Gross, Scott Shouse, Lisa Gish, Mark Isaac, Heather Allyn, Tom Kopatich, Beth Higgins, Clarence Nelson, Amie Hillyard, and Meghann Funk attended the ribbon-cutting Wednesday afternoon at the new Health Clinic location in Hedges Central. Photo by Lois Mittino Gray
MV Building Corp shares good news
Peter Nowotny and wife Luci pictured at the ‘Meet and Greet’ held Saturday afternoon at The Red Geranium in New Harmony. Nowotny is the new general manager of Red Geranium Enterprises. He looks forward to implementing what he hopes to be “Only good changes.” Photo by Theresa Bratcher
By Lois Mittino Gray Nothing feels better than having debts paid off and planning the next building project. Members of the Mount Vernon Multi-School Building Corporation discussed future building projects for 2019 at their annual meeting held Wednesday, May 27 in the Junior High Library. The five member Board of Directors chose to retain the same officers as last year. Larry Williams will continue to serve as President, Gayle Vogel is still Vice-President, Michael Keene is Secretary and Michael Ashworth remains as Treasurer. The law firm of VanHaften and Farrar will represent the board with an attorney fee of $170 an hour established. School district Director of Business Loren Evans reported the balances in all three accounts. The Operating Reserve Account has $46,404.18 as of April 30. The Sinking and Construction Accounts are at zero as is expected at this time. Bonds taken out for the renovations done
at Farmersville and West Elementary schools will be paid off in 2018. What’s in store next was asked. Director of Buildings David Frye replied, “HVAC across the district. Things like boilers and chillers. We underwent audits and found many things to upgrade or fix.” He said, “We chip away doing some of the little things now,but we anticipate big things to come next.” School Superintendent Tom Kopatich updated the board on the soccer field project. “It is right on schedule. It was seeded yesterday and is being watered today.” The new Health Clinic project was just completed with the ribbon cutting ceremony held right before the meeting. Evans said they were also working on WiFi upgrades to support the enhanced technology in schools. “The community has shown us that it doesn’t mind us doing building projects as long as we pay off our debts on time,” Kopatich observed. The next meeting is slated for April 11, 2016.
Teachers, support staff, honored during ‘last day’ meal By Lois Mittino Gray Contests among tables is standard fare at the annual Mount Vernon School District’s last day of the school year breakfast for teachers and support staff. Competition
is intense as everyone scrambles to answer the five witty and fun questions projected up on the screen. This year’s event was held on Tuesday, May 26 and three teams tied for first place. The tie was bro-
Briefly
NPHS to host suicide prevention presentation North Posey High School is hosting a suicide prevention presentation for parents and students on Thursday, June 4, 2015 from 6-7:30 p.m., in the auditorium. Everyone is welcome. The speaker will discuss the warning signs of suicide and also what students should do if they feel suicidal or know of a friend who might be contemplating suicide. Adult support of youth is an important protective factor, and it’s important for students to feel free to talk about their worries and concerns. Suicide hotline numbers that can be used in situations outside of school are 812-422-1100 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
St. Matthew PTA Rummage Sale scheduled The St. Matthew PTA Rummage Sale will be June 5, 6, and 7, 2015 in the St. Matthew Gymnasium. Friday, June 5, is an early bird sale with $5 admission from 4-6 p.m. Saturday, June 6, the sale will be from 7 a.m. -1 p.m. Sunday, June 7, 10 a.m. 12 p.m. and then from 12 - 1 p.m. there will be a ‘fill the bag for $1’ Sale.
PCPP hosting bus tours PC Pound Puppies will now be hosting bus tours from September 13-19. The group will be going to New Orleans.The cost of the trip is $579. The trip will include a tour of New Orleans, a Louisiana Plantation, the WWII Museum, and a riverboat trip on the Mississippi River. The down payment of $75 is refundable until two weeks before the trip, with no obligation. According to organizers, for every 40 individuals who go on this trip, PC Pound Puppies will receive $1,000. Organizers urge residents to take an autumn trip and help the puppies at the same time. Sign up by calling Cathy Powers for more information at 812-963-3890
Retrospective........A4 Legals.................B5-6 Classifieds ...... B9-10 Community...........A5
ken by the team guessing closest to the number of Skittles in a jar. A group from Mount Vernon High School was nearest the 301 target with 240. One question honored Food Service Supervisor Thelma Sebree who is retiring after 39 years. Given math facts, the question asked how many chicken legs she served to students during her career. The answer after calculations? 280,800. Besides Sebree, other retirees feted were Janet Jackson (36 years), Ken Miller (10 years) and Martin Redman, a bus driver for 16 years. Teachers were given years of service awards from one year pins to a 35 years of service rocker bar for Lisa Schum. Schum, a Special Education teacher at Marrs Elementary, received a standing ovation as she accepted her award. Standing ovations were in order as staff from Farmersville and Marrs Elementary schools were called up front to get ‘A’ rating pins and four star school star pins recognition for Farmersville. The breakfast invocation was delivered by Director of Business Loren Evans. As attendees feasted
Deaths .................... A3 Church...................A8 Social .....................A5 School ....................A9
on fresh fruit and donuts, the high school groups Angelus and Cul provided entertainment. The welcome was delivered by School Board President Heather Allyn who said she “was proud to be a Mount Vernon mom.” Her oldest just graduated, but she warned that three more were still in the system. School Superintendent Tom Kopatich delivered a ‘farewell to the school year, hello to summer‘ speech. “When you get quiet time, think of your daily successes with
students. That should bring a smile to your face.” He said success is not all about test scores and awards. Daily success might be the first time a student learned to tie his own shoe or became the class leader for the day or didn’t get his clothespin taken away. “You are laying the foundation for the future and their dreams. What you do every single day is so important. Relax and have a wonderful summer.”
The teacher group from Marrs Elementary was one of three groups who guessed how many Skittles were in the jar to break the contest tie at the end-of-year breakfast. From left are: Janet Werner, Amy Beshears, Monica Collins, Connie Jesch, and Krista Cartwright. Photo by Lois Mittino Gray
Sports ............... B 1 - 4 Bus/Ag .................A10 Opinion ................A2 TVGuide.............B7-8