SPECIAL FOURTH OF JULY DISPLAY INSIDE
“Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain.”
(USPS 439-500)
Since 1882 ~ Successor to The Poseyville News and The New Harmony Times • New Harmony, IN
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Posey County’s locally-owned newspaper
$1.00
Volume 133 Edition 27
Posey County 4-H Fair planned for July 6-13 By Dave Pearce Organizers have worked long and hard to make 2013 the year of improvements at the Posey County Fair. The Fair will begin on Sunday with the queen pageants and will continue through the following Saturday. The Fair Schedule appears in today’s edition of the Posey County News. Fair organizers will be offering $3 meal discount tickets for every $5 gate fee paid, Monday through Thursday of the fair. This will allow fairgoers to save $3 on a meal and eat in airconditioned comfort at the Community Center building from 5 to 7 p.m. each evening. This discount does not apply to the purchase of Season Passes, which are $20 each and are good for admission from Saturday through Saturday of fair week. On Monday night, the Posey County Farm Bureau will be featuring baby back ribs, smoked chops, and sausage with all the trimmings, including homemade ice cream and brownies for dessert. In addition to the $3 discount ticket you receive at the gate when you pay, the Farm Bureau will be offering an additional $2 off the cost of the meal if you are an Indiana Farm
Bureau member. On Tuesday night, North Posey Relay for Life representatives will be preparing Barbecue and all the trimmings. The proceeds from this meal will help in the fight against cancer. On Wednesday and Thursday evenings, you won’t want to miss the outstanding meals prepared by the Posey County Extension Homemaker Clubs. Wednesday evening’s meal will feature fried chicken and minute steak, in addition to all the trimmings. Also on Wednesday night, all Veterans and Military will receive free admission to the Fair plus get the benefit of the $3 discount ticket for the meal. Discount meal tickets will be given at the register. On Thursday evening, ham loaf in addition to fried chicken will be served as the main entrée. For both nights, you’ll have your choice of the many wonderful ‘home cooked’ desserts they have to offer. This will be the second year for the annual Kid Zone that is held at the fair and located in the Commercial Building on top of the hill. This year, the group has added new entertainment and a few vendors to give the children different activities dur-
ing the week of the fair. Monday night, the Kid Zone will host Posey Humane Society as they have an Animal Talent show called ‘Posey Pets Have Talent’ at 7 p.m. Members of the Mount Vernon Food Pantry staff of volunteers will be out all week and will provide games for the children. The North Posey High School Dance Team will be out on Monday and Tuesday and will provide face painting for the youngsters. Only on Monday night, a Photo Booth will be set up with lots of fun hats, costumes and props to add to your photos. Fairgoers are encouraged to bring a group of friends and plan to have some fun pictures taken. The booth is sponsored by Ohio Valley Colon & Rectal Surgeons. Later in the week, starting on Wednesday, Pony Rides will be available for the youngsters. Pony Rides by Lil’ Rexing Pony Express will be at the fair through Friday night. After your child has a pony ride, those in attendance may also get some
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Farm land prices still on the rise
Special to the News An accelerated farmland sell-off at the end of 2012 has led to continued low supplies of premium quality property, according to Farmers National Company, the largest farmland and ranchland real estate company in the country. Last year’s rush, prompted by economic uncertainty and tax law changes, continues to have an impact into 2013. High quality land is still in demand, and buyers are competing for top acres that are currently in short supply. Competition for land has kept values strong, averaging 20 percent higher values over comparable land in 2012. Much of the continued rise is due to auction activity driving sales prices as purchasers vie for parcels of land. Mid- to high-quality properties are still seeing such rises in value, while lower quality land values are staying steady. “Values are still going up, but the pace has slowed overall,” said Derrick Volchoff, ALC, vice president of real estate operations at Farmers National Company. “Many transactions for high quality land are being sold via auction, which drives prices through competitive situations.” Auctions today have turned very competitive with bidding wars becoming the norm for high quality land sales. Areas of the country that normally do not run auctions, such as the Delta region, are now seeing them on a regular basis, according to Volchoff. “Despite an overall moderation in the number of sales transactions since the end of last year, there has been noticeable growth in the size of parcels being sold per purchase,” said Volchoff. Moving into the third quarter of 2013, Farmers National Company expects the number of transactions being closed to increase, based on activity seen in the past 60 days. “During the first two quarters of 2013, there has been a hiccup in activity based on the surge at 2012 year-end,” said Volchoff. “However, the trend seems to be shifting upward again and transaction numbers for the balance of the year should remain relatively steady.” Investors are sticking with land as a safe, long-term investment while farmers are putting cash from past yearly profits back into operations. Built up cash reserves for farmers are prompting farm operators to buy premium land when it becomes available to add to their inventory and to accommodate the return of younger family members to farms. For both groups, economic uncertainty is still driving purchase decisions. Farmers are looking for premium land on which to expand, while investors may purchase properties based on price and projected return on investments. “Even with recent drops in crop size for farmers, profits are still at
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MVHS class of ‘93 to meet The Mount Vernon High School class of 1993 will have a planning meeting at the west side Hacienda on Sunday, July 7 at 2 p.m. If you have any ideas and would like to help plan the reunion please come join us at Hacienda. Please RSVP to Michelle Rider 812-604-1721 or melizabethr75@gmail.com. There is also a Facebook group, MVSHS Class of 1993. If you have a Facebook page please feel free to join.
Improvement meeting set
In attendance, among nearly 300 fellow Wadesville School graduates, was members of the Wadesville High School Class of 1937 Ralph Schneck and Alvena Knowles. The reunion was held over the weekend at the Wadesville VFW and drew a capacity crowd. These two classmates will turn 94 in November, Schneck on November 11 and Knowles one week later on November 18. Photo by Dave Pearce
Clean-up of Cynthiana is priority By Valerie Werkmeister Cynthiana Town Board members met for their monthly meeting last Tuesday, June 11, and discussed a number of nuisance ordinance violations. Board members are vigilant in their duties to make its residents comply with their efforts to take pride in their town. All new complaints must be filed on a written form at the town hall. Homeowners have the right to request a copy of the form for review once a complaint has been filed against them. Bill Rogers of 10308 Gum Street will be sent a letter requesting tree limbs to be trimmed back away from the street. A letter will also be sent to 10458 Mill Street to clean up garbage and trash piles on the property. A request to mow tall grass and weeds will be sent to property owners at 10256 Evansville Street, 10300 Whiting Street and 11400 North Street.
Remnants of a home and garage at 10965 Highway 65 North will be demolished once the state fire marshal’s office has completed its investigation of the fire. Board members agreed not to pursue any action against the homeowner, Jackie Sinay, at this time due to the situation. Clean-up of the home and property at 10260 Whiting Street is in progress as new residents work to move into the home. The previous residents left the home and property in complete havoc. A letter will also be sent to the resident at 10819 Main Street regarding complaints of a dog barking causing a nuisance. A special spring clean-up day will be held for Cynthiana residents on Saturday, June 22, beginning at 8 a.m. A dumpster for garbage will be available at the water plant. A special recycling service will also be on hand
to accept a number of items including: computer, stoves, refrigerators, water heaters, washers, dryers, microwaves, bed frames, coffee makers, toasters, blenders, tin, gutters, table saws, grinders, chop saws, band saws, window air conditioners, central air conditioners, furnaces, grills, chest freezers, stereos, aluminum doors and windows. In return, the town will receive $.02 per pound reimbursement. Posey County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director, Larry Robb, presented information about the county’s Code Red emergency alert system available to county residents. He explained that interested participants should visit the county’s website, www.poseycountygov.org, and click on the Code Red link. A person’s name, address and home phone and or cell phone should be entered.
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Mount Vernon creative in funding By Dave Pearce Funding for the new police and fire station, annexation, and the upcoming yearly budgets dominated the June 27 meeting of the Mount Vernon City Council. The Council voted that funding for the police and fire station will be as follows: a blend of CCDF/EDIT; $20,000 from CCDF, and the remainder from EDIT funds. The term of the loan would be 15 years and a building corporation would have to be utilized to enable borrowing. The Council continued passed on second reading their intentions to annex West Ridge, Lakeview Place ‘B,’ Lots 12 through 19, and Western Hills Country Club. City Attorney Beth Higgins stated the Public Hearing on the annexation ordinance will be held on August 22, followed by third reading. The Mount Vernon Redevelopment Commission is looking for a few good people. Mount Vernon City Attorney Beth McFadin-Higgins told the Mount Vernon City Council this week that the group will need to have an organizational meeting very soon. The Mayor has three appointments and the Council has two – they need to make those appointments now. Again, they need to meeting in the first couple of weeks of July and whoever they choose will also need to be
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bonded, so they need to get started on that. Posey County Democratic Party Chairman and Mount Vernon resident Ed Adams was asked to serve on the committee and agreed to take on the responsibility. Mount Vernon Mayor John Tucker indicated that he has, so far, chosen Mount Vernon businessmen Larry Williams and Mike Ashworth. •Clerk-Treasurer Crist Sitzman stated she has received tax settlement from the county and all departments got through spring not needing a loan. Hopefully they will do as well and not need one before fall installment is received. Councilwoman Higgins stated at the last meeting she suggested a stop sign at Locust and East Water Street. She added that traffic counters had been utilized and that the intersection does not meet the requirements for a stop sign. Higgins continued by stating she would like to add crosswalks instead at Mulberry and Water and Walnut and Water streets. Dieterle stated the speed limit in the area is 30 and maybe the council could look at lowering that to 20 MPH before the pedestrian walkway.
On Tuesday, July 16 at 3:30 p.m. join with the Family Matters office to share your passion for our community and learn more about ways that you can be part of helping Posey County be a safer, healthier place to live and work. We all enjoy having great parks and safe places to go and feeling good can change your whole outlook on life. Meet with us on July 16 to learn about new and exciting opportunities to transform Posey County into a healthier, safer and more family friendly community, through the Community Transformation Grant from the Center for Disease Control. Family Matters is located at Hedges in Mount Vernon. Please direct questions and comments to Sara Goad at 812-838-6875.
Food auction planned Plan to attend the 2013 Posey County 4-H Fair and support this year’s 4-H Food Auction. The selection of goodies will be better than ever, and everyone, from individuals to businesses and community organizations, is welcome to bid. The 4-H Food Auction will be held Monday, July 8, 2013. It will start at 6 p.m. in the air-conditioned Posey County Community Center on the Posey County 4-H Fairgrounds. All proceeds go to support the educational activities of the Posey County 4-H Youth Development program.
Easter Seals contest set On July 3, the ‘Beat the Deadline’ contest ends for the Easter Seals ‘Cool Car, Cold Cash’ Contest, a fundraising raffle. A new vehicle is the grand prize. For each ticket purchased by the ‘Beat the Deadline’ cutoff of 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 3 the ticket-buyer is entered in a random drawing of all ‘Beat the Deadline’ entries. One lucky ticket buyer will win an extra chance at the 2013 Dodge Challenger SXT valued at $27,335 and donated by Larry Bennett’s Audubon Chrysler Center. The raffle will also award a second prize of $5,000 and a third prize of $1,000. Tickets are $50 each, or three tickets for $100 and are available Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center, 3701 Bellemeade Ave., Evansville or by calling 812-437-2627.
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Inside this issue... Retrospective ................... A4 Community .......... A5 Social ...................... A6 Legals .......................... B11 Deaths ................ A3 Sports .................. B1-3 Classifieds ..................... B8-9 Church .................. A9 Bus/Ag ............. A10-11
Go to www.poseycountynews.com
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