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 ” Posey County’s only locally-owned newspaper
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
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(USPS S4 439-500) 39 5 0 0) Volume 134 Edition 26
Illinois man dies in Interstate 64 wreck near Griffin Special to the News A southern Illinois man is dead and all five passengers in the minivan he was driving were injured in an accident on Interstate 64 this week. According to Posey County Sheriff Greg Oeth, at approximately 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday, June 24, 2014, Posey County 911 Dispatch Center received notification of a vehicle crash that had occurred on Interstate 64 in northern Posey County. Posey County Sheriff’s Deputies, along with emergency medical responders, were sent to a location just east of the two mile marker, where it was reported that a semi-tractor trailer had collided with a passenger minivan. Upon arrival deputies found both vehicles at rest in the median. The preliminary scene investigation indicates that a 2004 Honda Odyssey (operated by James J. Fauver, age 53, of Pittsburg, Illinois)
This was the scene of a fatal accident on Tuesday evening at the two mile marker of Interstate 64 just west of Griffin. was westbound on Interstate 64. was traveling in the passing lane of a ‘blow-out,’ causing the driver in the path of the semi-tractor trailThe Honda Odyssey was traveling the interstate. The minivan was re- to lose control of the vehicle. The er. in the passing lane of the interstate. turning with a group that had been minivan traveled north across the The front of the Freightliner Following behind the minivan was on a church-sponsored recreational normal driving lane, impacted the truck made impact as it collided a 2007 Freightliner truck (operated event. guard railing on the northern edge with the driver’s side of the miniby Vincent T. Weatherly, age 31 of As the minivan approached the of the interstate and ricocheted van. The minivan was occupied Wilmore, Ky., who was the single two mile marker, apparently the back across both westbound travContinued on Page A11 occupant of the truck) which also rear driver’s side tire experienced eled lanes where it crossed directly
Decision to redo northern Posey roads made by INDOT By Valerie Werkmeister A state road resurfacing project in Poseyville caused anger and irritation for many residents and business owners last week. Main Street lost its smooth asphalt pavement. It was replaced with a coating commonly known as chip and seal. Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) crews began roadwork last Monday that stretched from SR 65 in Cynthiana to SR 68 and SR 165 in Poseyville. Their work and lack of notification to the Town of Poseyville drew the ire of many. INDOT spokesman, Will Wingfield, stated they sent a press release and used social media as notification. He was unsure if the press release was sent to the Poseyville Town Hall. Town Council President Bruce Baker stated that attempts to contact INDOT to discuss the project were made, but his calls were not returned until after the project had already begun. “I don’t understand it. Just three years ago, they milled the road from Wadesville to Poseyville all the way to I-65 and paved it with asphalt. It was a very good street before. There were no holes or cracks. I don’t see how this is an improvement. We will be contacting INDOT to get this fixed,” Poseyville Town Council President Bruce Baker said. Baker also contacted State Senator Jim Tomes who came out and surveyed the project. He agreed with Baker and helped him make contact with INDOT officials. In an e-mail obtained from INDOT describing the scope of work, vague wording has left many questioning whether the work should have even been done on Main Street. The e-mail states: INDOT maintenance crews are currently working on a seal coating process on SR 68 from SR 165 in Poseyville to the junction of SR 65 in Cynthiana. By this description, the work should have started at One Stop gas station and onto SR 68 towards Cynthiana. Instead, the work started at Hwy 165 near the Posey County Co-op on the west side of town. “The town hall and I have received many complaints. Through word of mouth, people were told to avoid Poseyville. That doesn’t do very well for our businesses,” Baker said. When asked why Main Street was included in the project, Wingfield responded that state records did not show the road had been repaved three years ago. Their records showed the last time the road had any work done was in 2000. Wingfield added that the state was trying to be proactive in regards to
Continued on Page A11
North Posey High School is added to Four Star list
Students learn nature, first-hand By Lois Mittino Gray It was a blazing hot summer day, but junior high students attending the ‘Wild About Nature’ wildlife adventure camp thought it was very cool to find a bobcat track in the creek mud in the deep shady ravine near trail two in Harmonie State Park. They watched intently as Park Naturalist Amelia Wildeman demonstrated how to make plaster casts of the unusual track to take home. Making plaster casts of real animal tracks and learning how to use rubber molds to make them was only one topic in a two-day camp for students in grades six, seven, and eight. Two sessions of the camp were offered on June 18 and 19 and on June 25 and 26 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ten to twelve students attended each session at no cost and learned about nature, received a tee shirt and enjoyed free swimming in the late afternoon. The event was generously sponsored by the Friends of Harmonie Group to develop park appreciation through education. Many of the
At left, Rose Overton discusses the importance of planting milkweed for Monarch butterfly survival. Seen here, Rose is showing a monarch egg in the underside of a leaf to several of the camp participants.
binoculars, bird guides and field equipment used came from a grant received last year from the Posey
County Women’s Foundation.
Continued on Page A11
Final tolls collected at Wabash Effective July 1, the Indiana Department of Transportation will stop collecting tolls for motorists crossing the Wabash Memorial Bridge in Posey County. The decision comes after INDOT evaluated a number of factors, such as traffic volume and the maintenance and operational costs associated with the bridge. “While tolling is a responsible and acceptable approach to covering the longer-term cost of infrastructure maintenance and operation, our recent evaluation demonstrated it wasn’t right for this particular bridge, which has a very low volume of traffic,” said Karl Browning, INDOT commissioner. Officials say only about 4,000 cars a day cross the Wabash Memorial Bridge, with about one-third coming from Indiana, the additional two-thirds coming
from Illinois. INDOT will refund those individuals who have any unused tolls prepaid on their Wabash Pass accounts. Additionally, the agency will collect on delinquent tolls not paid prior to July 1. Wabash Pass account holders can verify their account balance and confirm their mailing address for refunds by visiting www.wabashpass.comor calling 1-855-Wabash1 (1-855-922-2741). Since 1956, the Wabash Bridge has been a vital link for motorists traveling between White County, Ill.,, and Posey County, Ind. INDOT says its goal is to maintain this bridge as a key link for area residents who work, shop or travel in west central Illinois or southwestern Indiana.
By Dave Pearce On the letterhead atop communications from the Indiana Department of Education imbedded in the outline of an apple with an Indiana-shaped profile in the middle is inscribed these words, ‘Imagining the possibilities. Making them happen.’ Beneath the letterhead in a correspondence to North Posey High School Principal Scott Strieter this week was the announcement at North Posey High School is a Four Star school. The high school joins South Terrace Elementary School and North Posey Junior High School achieving Four Star status for the current year. Principals at South Terrace and at North Posey Junior High were notified earlier this year they had achieved the status, however, due to an error, North Posey High School was erroneously left off the list. In order to achieve this designation, a school must be in the top 25th percentile of schools in ISTEP+ testing results. A total of 313 schools received the award throughout the state, with three from the North Posey School Corporation alone. “I have been informed by our IT department that their staff has discovered that an error existed in the script to calculate Four Star Schools for the 2012-2013 academic year,” this week’s letter read. “As a result, North Posey High Senior High School should have been included on the original list of Four Star schools.” Dr. George Grant, Director of the Office of Accreditation for the Indiana Department of Education said the script, involving math ECA scores, has been corrected and was limited to a few high school only, not any lower grades. Grant said the error was ‘deeply regretted.’ Indiana School Superintendent Glenda Ritz congratulated the school. “I am honored to name these schools as our Four Star Schools for this year,” said Ritz. “Winning this award required excellent work by CountryMark donated $125,000 to the Mount Vernon Stellar Communities Fund on Thursday mornteachers, administrators, students and parents throughout the year and on behalf of the entire Indiana Department of Education I send them my ing. Mount Vernon Mayor John Tucker accepted the donation in front of the nearly completed CountryMark Pavilion building. Photo by Zach Straw sincere congratulations.”
Retrospective ...... A 4 Legals ............... B 5 - 6 Classifieds ...... B9-10 Community ......... A 7
Deaths .............. ...A3 Church ................ A 8 Social .................. A 5 School ................. A 6
Sports ............... B 3 - 4 Bus/Ag ................ A 6 Opinion ............. A 1 2 TV Guide........ A9-10