T
P C N SINCE 1882 Successor to The Poseyville News & New Harmony Times POSEY COUNTY’S ONLY LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED NEWSPAPER
Volume 137 Edition 29
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
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Downtown grant project offered Outdoor facade upgrades coming By Lois Mittino Gray Ed Adams spoke at the July 6, Mount Vernon Common Council meeting to make an offer too good to refuse that will improve the face of downtown. Adams, the current president of the Redevelopment Commission (RDC), explained that his group passed a resolution to offer a new façade grant program to property owners in the
CountryMark CEO and President Charlie Smith has some words with Indiana Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch during the celebration of the new biofuel loading rack at the Mount Vernon facility on Wednesday. Photo by Dave Pearce
CountryMark celebrates biodiesel improvements By Dave Pearce Following an extensive half-million dollar expansion and change in the way biodiesel fuels are handled at CountryMark in Mount Vernon, company officials and a variety of employees and biodiesel guests were on hand Wednesday at the CountryMark Pavilion to give guests and opportunity to see first-hand the improvements that have been made at the Mount Vernon facility.
Area residents can expect to see biodiesel-blended fuels more readily available in the tri-state area, according to information provided at the celebration. CountryMark has made a major investment in its biodiesel-blending capabilities which is making this American-made renewable fuel more convenient for farms, families and fleets to purchase.
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downtown TIF district. With the Main Street Grant Project in place to begin in the near future on the street and sidewalks, this façade grant program will spruce up the look of downtown store and office fronts. “Anyone in the downtown TIF area, roughly Main Street from Water to Grant Streets, can apply to fix up their façade (face) with new front doors, new awnings, handicap accessible areas, or other
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Man arrested for attempted murder By Dave Pearce A rural Posey County man is being held in the Posey County Jail on a $50,000 cash bond. Jason Haggard, 41, was arrested following an incident at Haggard’s residence at 3500 Pfister Road. Haggard faces charges of Attempted Murder, Criminal Confinement, Kidnapping, Battery Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, and Strangulation. According to information released by Posey County Chief’ Deputy Tom Latham, on July 12,
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Jason Haggard
Court requests more funds for Pauper Attorney fees Additional $50,000 approved By Valerie Werkmeister They say it doesn’t pay to do crime. That’s certainly true once criminals are caught by the police and put in jail. However, if those criminals are poor, their attorney’s fees are free. That is certainly not new information, but the cost of
Briefly Antique Machinery Show: Keck Gonnerman August 4-6 See page A5 for more info Book Signing: Martha Conway July 18, 2 - 4 p.m. Alexandrian Public Lib., MV Riverbend Market: Southwest Indiana Chamber July 20, 4 - 7:30 p.m. Mount Vernon Riverfront Spaghetti Dinner: NH First Baptist Church August 5, 4 - 6 p.m. East Tavern St., NH Summer Social: St. Philip Catholic Church August 12-13 St. Philip, IN 4-H Fair: July 16 - July 22 4-H Fairgrounds Ice Cream Social: MVCC July 22, 4-7 p.m. 1800 West Fourth Street, MV
More information on these and other events inside today’s Posey County News (USPS 439-500)
these fees may be of surprise to Posey County taxpayers. During the Posey County Council’s meeting last Tuesday, July 11, a representative from the Circuit Court appeared to request an additional $50,000 in funds to pay for Pauper Attorney fees. It
is unknown if that amount will be enough to last through the end of the year. They were already budgeted $200,000 for this year. Council member Bob Gentil recalled the council only approved $200,000 of their requested $250,000 budget during discussions last year. It is difficult to determine just
how much will be needed since there is no way to know which criminals can afford their own attorney. During the month of April, there was only $7,000 in claims. However, that figure jumped considerably to $25,000 in June. They have gone through $50,000 alone in just the past six weeks. To date, there has been 206 claims submit-
ted for Pauper Attorney fees. Council members approved the additional appropriation request. Questions were raised on the construction of the new Coroner’s Building as ventilation problems were brought to the council’s attention. Coroner Heath Rigsby re-
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Oeth named Indiana Sheriff of the Year By Dave Pearce Posey County Sheriff Greg Oeth was named the Indiana Sheriff’s Association’s Sheriff of the Year this weekend during the annual Summer Educational Conference in Muncie, Ind. Although the honor was not a total surprise considering the numbers that Oeth and his team have been able to put up over the past two or three years, especially. Oeth said he found it ironic that during the course of the conference, while talking about the possibility that he could win the award, sheriffs from other counties found it amazing that he has an excellent relationship with the Posey County Commissioners, the Posey County Council, and Posey County Republican Prosecu-
tor Travis Clowers. “In my opinion, this is the reason we have been able to achieve what we have,” Oeth said. “We communicate well and everyone recognizes the issues that we have here. We all work together to get the goals that are going to make us continue to be progressive.” Oeth said all nominees are accepted anonymously and judges then review what the sheriff has done in the community and what has been done to progress the individual agency. Interviews were held on several levels, especially including multiple interviews with Posey County Chief Deputy Sheriff Tom Latham.
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Posey County Sheriff Greg Oeth, pictured with his wife Melody, was named the Indiana Sheriff’s Association’s Sheriff of the Year this weekend. Photo submitted
Double digits: River Days celebrating tenth year By Bryana Schreiber River Days will once again bring a bustling crowd to Mount Vernon’s revitalized riverfront as it celebrates its tenth anniversary this year — a decade of bringing the community together. Since it began in 2008, this community celebration has grown from a 3-block festival to a more than 7-block street festival packed with all kinds of things for people of all ages to enjoy. Thousands of
people are expected to come out and enjoy this special event September 8, 9 and 10. The milestone 10-year anniversary celebration this fall will bring people together to enjoy many familiar favorites and some exciting additions, including a newly announced Pay it Forward award and Lewis and Clark travelling expedition. Held each year for the last decade at Mount Vernon’s riverfront, River Days has become a
staple fall event that many look forward to as the festival fills the streets near downtown and The Landing along the park overlooking the scenic Ohio River. The tenth anniversary event will fittingly stretch from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. This annual local street festival is a major fundraiser for a
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