SINCE 1882 Successor to The Poseyville News & New Harmony Times POSEY COUNTY’S ONLY LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED NEWSPAPER
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Briefly Gospel Music group, Diplomats, to perform at MZGB Mount Zion General Baptist Church in Wadesville will be hosting a night of Gospel Music featuring the Diplomats at 7 p.m. Wednesday evening August 17. Come and invite your friends. For more information contact the church office at 812-783-2337. The Clothes Hanger to open August 27 ‘The Clothes Hanger’ a children’s clothing bank operated by Old Union Christian Church, is set to open Saturday, August 27 from 8 a.m. to noon at our location in the old Town Hall Building on Cale Street in Poseyville. The store provides free clothing, new and gently used children’s sizes newborn through 18, for area families needing assistance. Jackets and shoes are available in limited sizes. For more information call 812-454-1797. Come check-out the large selection. Please park on the south side of our building. New Harmony to flush water lines beginning August 22 On the evening of August 22, 2016, the Water Utility will be flushing water lines. As a result of the flushing, you may experience discolored water. Please check your water before using. The discoloration may be cleared by running a cold water tap until the water clears. Water line flushing will continue on subsequent nights until all hydrants are flushed. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. MVHS Marching Wildcats to hold annual Tag Day The MVHS Band, the Marching Wildcats, is having its annual Tag Day on Saturday, August 20. We will be canvassing Mount Vernon neighborhoods, asking for community support. Money collected helps us travel to competitions in the local area and as far away as Indianapolis and Tennessee. It helps pay the royalties on the music we perform on our marching show, concerts, jazz band, and in spring concert festivals. All of our concerts are free and open to the public. In the fall, our marching band performs at home football games and they compete on weekends. In winter, our Drumline and Winter Guard compete at competitions as far away as Tennessee. In spring, we turn our attentions to concert band, preparing for spring concerts and the spring music festival. Through out the year, our jazz band enjoys performing at many community events. Tag Day makes all these things possible. Thank you for your support. Clarification An excerpt from the July 26, 2016 story titled ‘Bridge meeting gets heated’ - This caused Blaylock to retort, “Are you seriously supporting putting New Harmony in danger of bankruptcy and in jeopardy taking over the bridge?” Flanders responded in the affirmative and Blaylock answered, “Well then, let’s agree to disagree and hopefully move on to what’s next on the agenda: open forum.” According to transcripts and Flanders, this was the statement in full: Alvin Blaylock: “I understand what you’re saying David. Are you serious about wanting to put the town of New Harmony in jeopardy of possible bankruptcy to take over the bridge?” David Flanders: “I’m not suggesting the answer is taking over the bridge. But we don’t know the answer to that question. We don’t know the revenue stream we could identify. It’s not a question of putting the town into bankruptcy. We’re not even close to that decision. The decision in the end might be that the bridge isn’t worth restoring. That is, the calendar is working toward that answer. But simply putting up resources at this point isn’t a decision to buy the bridge and is not a decision to put the town into jeopardy of bankruptcy. So I disagree with your argument.”
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Volume 136 Edition 33
Midwest Fertilizer chief Chorlton retires By Lois Mittino Gray Michael Chorlton, the dynamo driving the development of the state-of-the-art fertilizer plant being built in Posey County, has stepped down as CEO and President of Midwest Fertilizer Company LLC, effective July 1. His longtime associate, financial manager Les Wright has been appointed interim president and CEO. In a phone interview, Chorlton said he will remain involved as a consultant with the company working one week out of every month at the Indianapolis headquarters and traveling to project sites and
Les Wright
conferences. The remaining three weeks will be spent at his residence in Vancouver, Canada or at his summer house up the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. “As I approach my 66th birthday, this is a natural time for me to move forward with the next chapter of my life where I will enjoy retirement with my wife, our daughters and their families,” said Chorlton. He looks forward to spending more time with his four wonderful grandchildren, two boys and two girls, with the last one just born in May. “I enjoy cycling and sailing. I just returned from going out on my boat
to get some Dungeness crabs,” he said. Chorlton plans to be in attendance for the site groundbreaking ceremony set for the end of 2016. “I expect the commercial operation of the three billion dollar plant to start up in 2020. I still have many good years left in me, but in four years by the time it’s finished, I’ll be in my 70s. I thought it was time to pass the baton to a younger person to build the plant.” “That younger person is Les Wright, who I think will do a great
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Carter is named new Poseyville Marshal
New Poseyville Town Marshal Charles Carter (originally from Texas) is married to Kelsey Carter (daughter of Stuart Davis; son of Marijon and David Davis). The Carters are members of St Paul’s United Methodist Church. They have three daughters, Addalynne, Aubreigh and 2-month-old Annaliese. Carter moved to Poseyville in 2011 and fell in love with the close-knit community. He has been working with the Posey County Sheriff’s office for nearly five years, after six years in restaurant management.
By Valerie Werkmeister Poseyville has a new marshal in town who plans to continue to foster the close-knit community ties. Charles Carter was sworn in as the new town marshal during last Wednesday’s town council meeting. He replaces Doug Saltzman who recently retired after serving the community for 30 years. Carter has worked as a correctional officer in the Posey County Jail since January 2012. Prior to that, he worked in the fast-paced business of restaurant management and traveled to different Pilot truck stop locations. Carter said that although he enjoyed the work, the long, inconsistent hours were not conducive to raising a family. Carter and his wife of five years, Kelsey, have three daughters. Addalynne is four, Aubreigh is two and Annaliese was born June 1. Carter was raised in Houston, Texas, but it was his wife who brought him to the Poseyville area. He said he had not experienced a community like Poseyville before his arrival and related a funny story. He and Kelsey were painting the
nursery in preparation for their first daughter’s arrival when he decided it was time to stop for a bite to eat. He suggested they go out for something in town. Kelsey looked at him wide-eyed and astonished as she explained they had already missed their window. Charles didn’t realize the town’s only grocery store closed at 5:30 p.m. and other restaurants were already closed at the time. Despite the reality of small town life, it didn’t take long for Charles to embrace Poseyville and come to love the deep sense of community the town shares. He commented on how the town comes together for its citizens, even during hard times. There’s no better example of that than the recent Fourth of July storm and the fire at St. Francis Church. Folks seem to drop when they’re doing in order to come to one another’s aid. The community values fall in line with Carter’s own of God first, family and then work. Although Carter has not always wanted to be a po-
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Pharr chosen to represent familiar district By Lois Mittino Gray Posey County Jail Commander Mark Pharr was chosen by a Democratic Party caucus to fill the vacant District One seat on the Mount Vernon Common Council. The councilman position opened when M. Brian Jeffries resigned the elected office in July. Pharr was sworn into office on Friday morning at City Hall by Judge Brent Almon. As he bent down to sign the official documents, the new councilman joked, “I know this district well. It was my paper route for years when I was a kid.” He officially starts work at his first council meeting on Thursday, August 18 and his term lasts until 2019.
Pharr has mulled the idea of holding a public office around in his head for years, but with the children grown now, and the position opening up quickly, the time seemed right to apply for the job. He credits his father, Elmer as the inspiration for his decision. “Dad was a giving man and loved people. He was very civicminded, serving on multiple boards and elected overwhelmingly. By taking this on, I am honoring my dad and the community he loved.” Pharr is a strong family man who has been married to his wife, Tammy, for 35 years. They have five children, all graduates of Mount
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Posey Circuit Court Judge Brent Almon administers the Oath of Office to the newest member of the Mount Vernon City Council, Mark Pharr. Pharr, representing District One, replaces M. Brian Jeffries who resigned his seat in July. Photo by Lois Gray
New NPHS multi-purpose facility is discussed By Valerie Werkmeister Plans for facility improvements continue at MSD of North Posey. During the school board’s regular meeting last Monday, August 8, George Link of VPS Engineering discussed proposed plans for expanded facilities at the high school. The proposed projects are possibilities for construction during next summer and include a new 8,000-square-foot multi-purpose facility
that could house an indoor tennis area, a space for indoor golf practice and a new weight room. High school principal Dr. Scott Strieter suggested there would be room for cardiovascular equipment in the new weight room facility, which the school currently does not possess. Board president Geoff Gentil asked for a design layout that would show the footprint of where weight lifting machines would be placed
in order to ensure the new facility is accurately sized. The current weight room would become additional space for the wrestling room that would double its size and allow two full-size mats inside. Link stated the current design would cost between $630,000 to $650,000.
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Three from Posey take walking tour of England By Lois Mittino Gray Three adventure-loving ladies trekked through England’s picturesque Cotswold region enjoying two weeks of historic paths, quaint bed and breakfasts, local pub fare, polo matches, art and flower shows and even what was billed as a ‘fun dog show’ along the way. Local plant shop owner Nancy Hasting teamed with Lynn Clark, who owns Lowry’s Hollow in New Harmony, to do the walk. They invited Lynn’s friend, Barbara Stanley, formerly of Mount Vernon and now residing in Pennsylvania, to join them on an 85-mile trek from Banbury to Bath offered by Contour Walking Holidays. Since the ladies opted to deviate from the path given to them by the tour company, they actually walked about 122 miles total, only 45 of those being on the assigned route. Hasting recorded it on her Fitbit as 276,977 steps on what she called, “the greatest trip I’ve ever taken.” The trio left the USA on July 15 and returned on July 29. They chose to modify the original route to see more of the smaller towns and local color. They still stayed at the bed and breakfasts the company arranged for them. The company moved the one piece of allowed luggage from place to place, so the women did not need to carry a heavy backpack as they walked the public pathways.
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Nancy Hasting, Barbara Stanley, and Lynn Clark at Banbury Cross. Photo submitted