HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY 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 30, 2015
Posey County’s ONLY Locally Owned Newspaper.
$1.00
(USPS S4 439-500) 39 5 0 0)
Volume 135 Edition 26
Upgrades will help with MV Police Dept. training By Lois Mittino Gray Mount Vernon Police Lieutenant Darrin Lemberg would like to upgrade his training equipment to give city officers more realistic live training scenarios. He attended the Mount Vernon Board of Public Works meeting June 26 to request monies for things like a Taser training suit and Generation Three radar for his police car. “With regard to the terrible tragedies throughout the country, we need to make sure we do not get caught off guard. The men need to train using scenarios they might encounter. It is a new training and I’ll need new equipment for it,” he told the board. The board was supportive of the request and Councilman Brian Jeffries told Lemberg to put together a training plan on paper, confer with Chief Beloat, and “we’ll run through it and you’ll get your equipment money.” Sources will be from COIT and LECEF funds and internal funds already budgeted.
Jeffries also made the motion to purchase the Generation Three radar unit from MPH Industries for $1,270. All new police cars have this latest model, but Lemberg has to train the men using the 20-year-old Generation One model in his police car. The board also made a motion to reject the sole bid received for the East Side Gravity Flow sewer project. When opened at a prior meeting, the bid was considerably higher than the engineer’s estimate. The bid rejection was put on hold until the board could be assured that SRF funds would still be available. Sewer Superintendent Rodney Givens presented the board with an email from Shelley Love assuring the city that the needed funds could still be extended for a year so the board felt more confident in rejecting the bid. Givens said that $912,736 remains in the fund for use on the project.
Continued on Page A3
Don Temme, left, and Darrell Creek stand in front of Don’s antique tractor at the KeckGonnerman Red Wagon Day on Saturday. A total of 23 tractors were on display at The Red Wagon in Poseyville. Photo by Theresa Bratcher
Posey fathers meet to unify plans By Valerie Werkmeister Posey County Commissioners and Council members met side by side in a joint meeting this week to discuss a few points of county business. The meetings have become a regular habit as county officials work towards open communication between each entity. One of the discussion points involved the desire to create job classifications for county employees. It has been noted that newer employees who receive salary in-
creases will often meet the salary of other employees who have been working a longer period of time. Auditor Kyle Haney stated that the creation of job classifications will help determine salary increases in the future. He added it would be necessary to determine which employees are considered ‘exempt’ and ‘non-exempt.’ As a general rule, ‘exempt’ means those employees are unable to earn overtime pay. Elected office holders who are able to make decisions on their
own would be considered ‘exempt’ employees. County officials feel that in order to rectify this situation, they must first create job descriptions and classifications for each employee. A new budget discussion will begin in August and they would like to have something in place by then. County council member Dave Pearce stated he has contacted Warrick County to
Continued on Page A3
Cynthiana future appears brighter By Valerie Werkmeister Members of the Cynthiana Town Board met last Tuesday, June 9, and discussed routine matters on their agenda. They decided to replace the town’s aging lawnmower with a new Scag Cheetah commercial grade mower from Nix Equipment in Poseyville. Council member Patti Wilson stated she favored the Scag mower over other quotes from John Deere and Gravely mowers. She stated the Scag mowers are better-built and will have the longevity the town desires. Wilson also stated that Adam Nix agreed to provide service on the mower. The board approved the $6,635 purchase. Town employee Steve Sims informed board members that his computer encountered some problems and is no longer working. He took the computer to PC Innovations in Wadesville and they were able to retrieve important files and reports from the hard drive. Sims stated he is currently using a personal laptop to complete his work and requested the town purchase a new laptop in the near future. The board agreed they would search for a reasonably price laptop for Sims. Sims also reported that he recently passed his certification tests as a water operator for the town. They will notify the Indiana De-
partment of Environmental Management of his certification. Sims also discussed problems with several drains in town. The clay tiles of a drain at 11000 North Street have collapsed and will need to be replaced. Sims stated it drains across the state highway and much of it has collapsed. He was able to temporarily patch it, but said the problem is not solved. Sims also noted a similar problem on Elm Street. During heavy rains, flooding occurs around the drains in that area. He asked the board’s permission to notify the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) of the problem so the project can be slated on their schedule for repairs. The board agreed to allow Sims to contact INDOT. Town marshal Andy Porath reported that he has received numerous complaints about speeding vehicles on North Street. He informed the board he has been watching the area and will be enforcing the speed limit and ensuring vehicles make a complete stop at the stop sign. The board approved a request by Turning Point Christian Church to use the park shelter and facilities on July 18, for a block party. The next board meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 14, at 6 p.m. in the town hall.
Briefly
MV to light up the sky with July 3 fireworks show
Madison and Marissa Moles enjoy some time in the fountain at the Mount Vernon riverfront on Sunday afternoon. Photo by Dave Pearce
Fireworks ‘remotely’ beautiful
The Lions Club will sponsor the annual fireworks show Friday, July 3, 2015 at the Mount Vernon Riverfront. Boy Scouts will be selling hotdogs and drinks with the show beginning around 9 p.m.
BMV announces holiday hours All BMV license branches will be closed Saturday, July 4, 2015 through Monday, July 6 in observance of Independence Day. All branches resume regularly scheduled business hours on Tuesday, July 7, 2015. For a complete list of branch locations and hours, please visit myBMV.com.
Riverdays scheduled for September 11-13 The Mount Vernon River Days Committee is busy preparing for another fabulous fun filled event in 2015 which is set for September 11-13, 2015. Popular events that will be returning include historic demonstrations, food booths, Smoke on the Ohio, pet parade, Bike Show, Classic Car Show, children’s events, and musical talent. A parade is set for Saturday, September 12. Saturday evening’s fireworks, a sure crowd pleaser, will follow Wolfgang’s Concert on the riverfront. You can follow the event and get the latest updates on Facebook at Mt. Vernon River Days or www.mtvernonriverdays. wikispaces.com. We are still accepting vendors, Guide sponsors, entertainment, activities, and especially volunteers. If you would like to join us then please call 812483-2922.
Posey 4-H Fashion Revue is July 7 The public is invited to attend the 2015 Posey County 4-H Fashion Revue and Extension Homemakers’ Style Show at no charge on Tuesday, July 7, starting at 7 p.m. in the Community Center of the Posey County 4-H Fairgrounds. Four-H youth members and Extension Homemaker adult members will show off their creations at this time, and awards will be presented to all participants. For more information on this or any other 4-H Fair or Extension activity, please contact the Posey County-Purdue Cooperative Extension Service by calling 812-838-1331 or emailing poseyces@purdue.edu.
Brittlebank schedules Midnight Swim Brittlebank Pool’s Midnight Swim will be July 3, 2015. Swim under the stars until midnight. Pool will open at 11 a.m. and stay open until midnight. Pool fee is $3, four and under swim free.
Live animal show coming to APL If you like meeting strange animals and discovering new facts about animals you already know and love, you will want to attend the Alexandrian Public Library presentation of Silly Safaris featuring Amazon John on Wednesday, July 8 at 2 p.m. A Silly Safaris live interactive animal show is educational fun for all ages. Plus Silly Safaris offers select volunteers from the audience an opportunity to become directly involved. And most of all it is free and no registration is required. This event will take place at the Parks and Recreation gym at Hedges. Please enter through door 11 on Eighth Street.
Retrospective........A4 Legals.................B7-8 Classifieds .... B11-12 Community...........A5
Bob Jarrett holds a large ball shell at a Pyrotechnic Guild International Convention. This one is much larger than the ones he will use in the Mount Vernon show Friday night, but gives readers an idea of what the shells look like. The flat part on the bottom provides the necessary lift energy. Photo submitted By Lois Mittino Gray Bob Jarrett is as excited as a little kid about the upcoming fireworks show scheduled for Friday, July 3 at the Mount Vernon riverfront. But instead of sitting in a lawn chair to do his oohing and aahing, he is planning to sit on the big rock by the pavillion at the top of the hill with a remote control in his hand pressing the buttons to make the orchestrated show happen. Bob, owner of Jarrett Pyrotech-
Deaths .................... A3 Church...................A6 Social .....................A5 School ....................A7
nics, designed last year’s July 4 and River Days Festival fireworks shows in Mount Vernon and promises this Friday’s show will be even bigger and better. An Evansville native and Harrison High School graduate, he has been buying fireworks, planning his own shows and doing all the wiring for them for 27 years. A pyrotechnic pro deluxe, he has been using electronic firing mechanisms since 1994. “I take my time and get personal
Sports ............... B 1 - 3 Bus/Ag .................A7 Opinion ................A10 TVGuide...........B9-10
and really think about what will work the best where. I have planned five stations for Friday night’s show. There are three stagings near the front of the viewing area, one in the middle of the hill and one in the back against the river bank for the really big ones at the end,” he explained. “That’s the problem with these big companies that come in and use barges or just one launch site. The fireworks come out of one place, one right after another, and that gets so boring. They don’t design and get into it. These past few weeks I have been sitting in my warehouse till 2 or 3 a.m. listening to music, wiring the control boxes and stuffing shells into tubes loving every minute of it.” Once Bob gets a budget from the Lions Club sponsor, he orders fireworks from catalogs all over the world. This year’s show has some American-made works, but ninety percent are from overseas, including Portugal and the Orient. He orders different size fireworks making different shapes and colors. Some are made to be buried in the ground, some above, some require hand lighting, others have to be lit by remote control. Bob will have about seventy to eighty percent of his show wired to go off when he pushes the correct buttons wirelessly following his script. An assistant will be near the middle stage lighting the remaining
Continued on Page A3