T
P C N SINCE 1882 Successor to The Poseyville News & New Harmony Times POSEY COUNTY’S ONLY LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED NEWSPAPER
Volume 140 Edition 25
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
$1.00
Added legal duties come to PCN as the MV Democrat closes By Lois Mittino Gray During the Legals portion of the June 18, Mount Vernon Board of Works meeting, the Posey County News was designated the newspaper to use for advertising legal public notices and other board business. Mayor Bill Curtis said this action was necessary, since the Mount Vernon Democrat will publish its last edition on June 24 before closing down production after 153 years in the information business. The motion passed unanimously. In a controversial Legal, Hugo Tellez with Village Real Estate approached the board with a request for reduction of outstanding weed liens on 724 West Sixth Street. Building
Commissioner Sheri Willis stated there are current liens of $8,098.84 that have accumulated on the property site, when the city has to mow, it if the owner will not. Liens in the amount of $7,696.69 were released on the property before it was purchased by his company at the Fall of 2017 tax sale. Mayor Curtis pointed out that amounts to over $15,000 in liens. Tellez asked if city workers were currently mowing the property. Building Commissioner Sheri Willis stated yes and they are getting ready to send another notice that it needs to be mowed again soon. They are the
Continued on Page A5
Susanna Wesley staff members, students, friends, and family honored “Miss Lisa” Frye with a surprise drive-by parade on Thursday evening in honor of her retirement after 25 years of dedication and service. Miss Lisa has held every position at SWNS including director, teacher, and aide. She has always had a passion for teaching young children. Miss Lisa enjoys teaching about the love of Jesus, watching children’s expressions light up in response to science experiments, and instilling the love of books to children. She has been a blessing to many Posey County preschoolers and their families. Lisa and her husband, David, together have over 65 years of dedication to education in Mount Vernon. Pictured in front is Rachel Wheaton. In back l to r: Rhonda Simpson; Beth, Finley and Evie Dickens; Jon Stallings; Jerry and Stephanie Erbacher; Michelle Wheaton; Beth Robinson; Lisa Frye; Melinda Robinson; Elizabeth (Frye) Blegen; David Frye; Kim Merrick; and Tom Moore. Photo by Theresa Bratcher
Plan for reopening schools is on the table By Lois Mittino Gray Graduation ceremony procedure, textbook fees, computer use plans, and new hires for the upcoming school year were highlights of a very positive June 15, Mount Vernon School Board meeting. Details are starting to fall into place to plan for a possible reopening of schools to begin in August. School Superintendent Matt Thompson announced that four tickets to attend the graduation ceremony on Saturday, July 18 at 10 a.m. in the gymnasium will be allotted to each family. If a senior’s family is larger than that number, additional tickets can be requested through the high school office, after it is verified that the family does consist of a higher number. He reminds everyone that the ceremony will be live on Facebook, so everyone can watch it and listen to the speeches. A virtual prerecorded ‘Plan-B’ ceremony is still a possibility, if meeting together is not allowed, due to COVID restrictions at that time. As for the upcoming school year, Thompson said the IN-CLASS recommendations from the state Department of Education concerning opening schools are very lengthy and will be almost impossible to adhere to all of them. “The State has asked that we work with the County Health Depart-
Continued on Page A5
NH groups agree to restroom cleaning
Long-time Poseyville fireman Mike Knowles is honored on Monday morning as fire vehicles from around the county gathered to pay their respects in Poseyville. Photo by Dave Pearce
By Randy Pease Bathrooms The New Harmony Town Council Tuesday approved a motion to split costs of cleaning and maintaining the Ribeyre Gymnasium bathrooms between the town and the New Harmony Business Associates. The council agreed to shoulder half of the $300 monthly cost if the Business Associates would agree to pay half. The offer comes just in time for the expected seasonal influx of tourists. Prior to Tuesday’s vote, the town had been picking up the entire tab, an arrangement council president Alvin Blaylock did not think was equitable. Jeff Smotherman, representing the NHBA, said that the Business Associates had agreed at a June 10 meeting, to pay a “reasonably negotiated rate” for cleaning and maintaining the restrooms. The motion to share costs, made by Virginia Alsop, passed 4-1, but only after some lively and occasionally contentious debate. Tom Williams, who cast the lone dissenting vote, argued that, given the hardships imposed by the COVID-19 virus, the town ought to pick up a greater percentage of the cleaning costs. He suggested picking up two-thirds of the bill, an arrangement that had been in place several years ago. “Downtown New Harmony is in a time of need. We ought to be more hospitable to our business owners,” said Williams. “Everyone benefits from a thriving business community. Farmers and Artisans Market The responsibility and liability of the town also came into play during discussion about the proposed relocation of the New Harmony Farmers Market to McClure Park. In past years the farmers market operated on Tavern Street across from Murphy Auditorium, but with the University of Southern Indiana closing of all its New Harmony properties due to the Corona Virus, vendors have been forced to seek a new location. In lieu of a permanent site, vendors have been selling their wares at a private residence on June 6 and 13. At issue is a liability release drafted by town attorney Erin Bauer that would absolve the town of any insurance liability which might be incurred at McClure Park. Patti Beagle, one of four market masters responsible for overseeing the farmers market, said administrators were unwilling to sign the document as drafted, arguing that perceived health insurance requirements for vendors and customers could not be ensured or enforced. She added that signing the waiver would likely void the group’s existing insurance policy. Bauer said she was willing to tweak the agreement and clarify language in hopes of reaching a mutually acceptable agreement. She sug-
Continued on Page A5
Home is where the heart is Naturesque design puts Leverenz on the Posey county map By Lois Mittino Gray If you had to design a logo to represent Posey County, what feature would you include in it? Of the 64
entries received in the Posey County Logo contest, most all of the youthful participants chose rivers and fields, pastoral rural scenes. “Naturesque,”
Heather Allyn, Posey County Council President and PCEDP Board Member, Kaden Leverenz, Posey County Logo Contest Winner, Maegen Greenwell, Posey County Auditor and Carl Schmitz, Posey County Commissioner President and PCEDP Board Member celebrate a new Posey County Logo. The three officeholders served as the judging panelists for the contest. The finalists included: Alexis Adamaitis, Maria Santoro, and Kaden Leverenz. Photo submitted
(USPS 439-500)
was the one word Jenna Richardt, Executive Director for the Posey County Economic Development Partnership, used in summing up the designs. The PC Logo Contest fulfilled two long-range goals of the County Commissioners and County Council. For several years now, its members have looked for opportunities that would engage the younger generation within the community and also find ways for individuals to identify with Posey County. “What better way to get young people interested in our community and what it has to offer than to design a logo to promote it?” Richardt said enthusiastically. In early 2020, guidelines were created and working in tandem with both high schools in the county, the contest was rolled out by the PCEDP. Some teachers challenged their students with the contest as an assignment. Some simply provided the information for those students who might be interested. Richardt would like to especially thank teachers Kendra Glaser and Kevin Krizan of Mount Vernon High school and
Heath Howington of North Posey High school. After submissions were accepted by the end of March, Richardt said her group “worked through a process to get it to three finalists.” The next steps included several tools to narrow down the final concept. One was a community survey; another was getting feedback from county government on what they are looking for in a logo; and another was utilizing the expertise of a local marketing specialist, Curtis Mohr. “From 64 entries, we narrowed it to 10 and then to five. From there, marketers helped picked the final three to call them in for interviews. Once the contest was down to the three finalists, we went through an
interview process with PCEDP and three county officials. Interviewing judges were Posey County Commissioner Carl Schmitz, Posey County Council President Heather Allyn, and County Auditor Maegen Greenwell. The finalists were asked to describe their vision for how their logo was developed and also what was their vision on how to engage the younger generation within the community. All three finalists did an outstanding job on both concept and interview,” she remarked. The winning logo was submitted by Kaden Leverenz, who won $500 as first prize. Runners-up are Alexis Adamaitis and Maria Santoro, who received $50 VISA gift cards for their efforts. All three winners are students
Continued on Page A5