T
P C N SINCE 1882 Successor to The Poseyville News & New Harmony Times POSEY COUNTY’S ONLY LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED NEWSPAPER
Tuesday, August 1, 2017
Volume 137 Edition 31 $1.00
Proposed fertilizer plant plans advance Facility construction to bring more than 2,500 jobs to area
The high school bookstore will be open from August 1 through August 7 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m, with Saturday’s from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The bookstore is at the Circle Drive Entrance of the high school this year due to office construction work. Before the board meeting, members toured the remodeling work being done to the main high school entrance to view its progress. The financial report figures for the year were also released. Receipts for the 2016 year were $25,491,238.3, with a total tax rate of .7556. Expenditures came in at $26,327,658.12. Enrollment total for the year was 2,087 students. There are 160 full and part-time certified employees, 201 full and part-time noncertified employees, and
Special to The News According to information released this week from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, new steps have occurred in the proposed fertilizer plant in Posey County. Midwest Fertilizer Company LLC announced another step forward in its plan to establish a $2.8 billion state-of-the-art manufacturing plant. Construction of the facility, which will begin in 2018, is expected to support more than 2,500 jobs, and the company plans to create up to 185 new, high-wage jobs by the end of 2021. “From regional investments to our long-term plan for improving the state’s network of roads and bridges, Indiana is an active partner with the business community in supporting economic growth,” Governor Eric J. Holcomb said. “I offer my enthusiastic support for Midwest Fertilizer’s plans to advance in southwest Indiana, and I look forward to seeing increased highquality job opportunities for Hoosiers.” Midwest Fertilizer will construct a major nitrogen fertilizer production plant on 220 acres in Posey County to serve farmers throughout Indiana and across the Midwest region. This new facility will be a major source of U.S.-produced fertilizer, working to reverse the need to import nitrogen fertilizers from overseas. In recent years, more than 50 percent of U.S. nitrogen product consumption has been imported. With operations expected to begin in 2022, the facility will produce about 2 million tons annually of ammonia, urea ammonium nitrate solution
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Posey County responders work with two of the three people involved in this one-vehicle accident just east of the Poseyville Exit (Exit 12) on Interstate 64 on Saturday evening. According to Posey County Sheriff Greg Oeth, three Warrick County residents were injured in the accident that stopped west-bound traffic on Interstate 64 for nearly 30 minutes. Shelia Wiseman, 34, was the driver of the green Ford truck while the passengers were DeeAnn Folz, 58, and Alexander Wiseman, 8, all of Boonville. All were transported to Deaconess Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Photo by Dave Pearce
MSDMV avoids meal price increase Indiana’s ten cent fee raise waived By Lois Mittino Gray Food prices may be on the rise in this area, but good news is Mount Vernon’s school meal prices will stay the same next year. Members of the Mount Vernon School Board learned at its July 17, meeting that the state’s Department of School and Community Nutrition target lunch fee raise of ten cents per meal will be waived. “Since the operating balance in our School Lunch Fund is above the USDA’s target operating balance, we have requested and received a waiver for this year to remain at the same price,” said School Superintendent Dr. Tom Kopatich. “This year, even adult prices can remain the same.” The last
Briefly Antique Machinery Show: Keck Gonnerman August 4-6 See page A5 for more info 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 ‘Woodlawn’ movie night: MVCC-Black’s Chapel August 12, 8 p.m. 1800 W. Fourth St, MV First Day of School: MSDMV and MSDNP August 10 See Pages A8 and A9 for more info
Corrections: Some on the contact information was incorrect/ omitted in last week’s Damsel In Defense story. Website: mydamselpro.net/susanhinton; Email: mspepperminja@gmail. com; Contact number: 812449-8801. Kainan Haggard was misidentified in the Boy Scout Troop 386 photo.
More information on these and other events inside today’s Posey County News (USPS 439-500)
increase of ten cents per meal was is 2014. The approved prices for the 2017-18 school year are: student breakfast $1.25, reduced breakfast $0.30, and adult breakfast $2.10. Lunch prices for type A meals are: elementary $1.95, junior high and high school $2.10, reduced lunch $0.40, and adult meals $3.40. The new school year fast approaches and Kopatich reminded the board that the junior high and high school opened to the public on July 26. Elementary schools open to the public today. The first day of school for all staff is Wednesday, August 9, while students will stream through the doors on Thursday, August 10.
Wabash River Bridge study ‘very positive’ By Lois Mittino Gray The engineering study on the Wabash River Bridge is in and preliminary findings indicate it is feasible to open the aging bridge to vehicular traffic. Marsh Davis, President of Indiana Landmarks, appeared before the New Harmony Town Council meeting on July 18, with the news, but not the detailed study, as yet. He said he just recently received the engineer’s report on the bridge that was done as part of the Regional Cities Grant. Audrie Burkett, Vice-President of the Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana, a group that oversees the grant, spoke at the June meeting to update the council on the study’s progress. She told the council it should be received by July 7.
Mr. Davis asked the engineers to prepare an executive summary of the report. This would be easier for non-engineers to interpret and puts it all in layman’s terms. He told the council it should be ready for their August meeting. Lora Defries Arneberg, who was present at the meeting, has done much of the legwork to get the grant. She felt the report was “very positive.” “We just need to get our funds in place, now that we have the report in hand,” she said. She reminded that these Regional Cities Grants were created to enhance ‘quality of life’ for citizens. If the bridge reopens, it will need to have at least one pedestrian lane for walkers or be totally pedestrian.
In legal business, the council passed Ordinance 2017-4 after Town Council President Alvin Blaylock read it in full. This amends the town’s existing animal ordinance to require that all dog owners clean up their pet’s dog waste. Councilman Roger Wade, who introduced the ordinance, asked if a fine needs to be included in it. Blaylock said he hoped dog owners would cooperate without the threat of a fine. Councilman David Flanders was curious if the exemption for service dogs that is included in the ordinance is common in other similar communities. Attorney Erin Bauer said she has not researched the issue, but would be happy to do
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New in town: Mary Scott’s Kitchen opening soon By Lois Mittino Gray Mary “Alisha” Costin is living the dream. “I always dreamed of owning a restaurant in a small town and here it is,” she said with pride, as she pointed around the refurbished interior of New Harmony’s newest eatery. Mary Scott’s Kitchen, located at 518 Main Street, in the building that formerly housed Woody’s and Sass and Poss, is slated to open on August 15. Mary, and her husband, Scott, the other half of the business’ name, moved to their New Harmony home on Steammill Street on Halloween last year. The pair located up here from Nashville, Tenn., when Mary accepted a position at the new Doubletree Inn in downtown Evansville as the Executive Chef/Food and Beverage Director. “I liked the job, but it wasn’t my dream of a small town restaurant. Then, at the end of May, everything fell in place when Mr. Schelhorn accepted our bid on this place,” she said. “I fell in love with this town when I saw it. We rented a golf cart and drove around for hours. How cool is this we asked ourselves, wanting to simplify our life. It warms my heart to see kids
outside playing on a summer day, riding to the pharmacy to get a candy bar and a soda with no helicopter parents hovering around. It reminds me of how I grew up in Memphis and not modern times in the city.” To top it all off, while designing their new restaurant’s logo, they both Googled the words “old fashioned stove.” Each
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Mary “Alisha” Costin and her husband Scott stand out in front of their new restaurant “Mary Scott’s Kitchen.” Photo by Dave Pearce