Poseyville Autumnfest - September 28 an 29
T
P C N SINCE 1882 Successor to The Poseyville News & New Harmony Times POSEY COUNTY’S ONLY LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED NEWSPAPER
Volume 139 Edition 39
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
$1.00
Clean Mount Vernon water supply called into question By Lois Mittino Gray Marilyn Scurlock mysteriously moved up to the podium carrying something large in a plastic bag at the Mount Vernon Water Utility Board meeting on Thursday, September 12. “I came to show you this,” she proclaimed, pulling a gallon jug of very dirty water out of the bag. “This is what I’m drinking about every month-and-a-half at times,” she said. “I don’t buy water to drink. My doctor tells me to drink a lot of water for bladder infections, but this?” Scurlock said the rusty water at her home on 724 East Lincoln Street dirties commodes and appliances and ruins laundry. She has been to the Water Department three or four times with her complaint. “Chuck gives me stuff to use to wash it out. It works, but it is a hassle. I’m requesting your assistance to tell me what I can do, as it’s ruining my appliances, hard to clean and unhealthy. I can see it in the water when I take a shower.” The disgruntled homeowner said she talked to four people in the neighborhood, residing at 701 and 614 East Lincoln and 1305 Fairview. The others have had trouble, too, after lines were flushed, but not to the same extent. She asked for help, assistance, and guidance with this issue. Flushing the lines seems to help, but she would like some answers. In response to her question, Mayor Bill Curtis deferred to Utilities Superintendent Chuck Gray. He agreed that her problem happens pretty often. “Iron pipes rust. The iron pipes in her area are over 100 years old and rust sediment builds up. I live around the corner from Marilyn and I’m not seeing it in my water. It’s all due to the elevation where she’s at. It’s in a lower lying area and Mount Vernon resident Marilyn Spurlock dramatically showed off sediment collects there when we flush the lines,” he explained. “The lines need her jug of rusty brown drinking water from her tap at the Water Utility Board Meeting while Mount Vernon Mayor Bill Curtis listens In the Continued on Page A6 background. Photo by Lois Mittino Gray
New Harmony to host Relay; old school sells Cameras approved to help enforce local traffic, golf cart laws By Lois Mittino Gray The North Posey Relay for Life is moving, cameras are coming to town, and the former school building is finally sold. Members of the New Harmony Town Council conducted business on many topics at the September 17, morning meeting. After 20 years using the football field at North Posey High School, Relay For Life Chairman Rhonda Beuligmann appeared before the council to request the use of Murphy Park on June 20, 2020 for the event. “With the new football field turf, we can no longer put up tents around the end zone or use spike signs around the inside of the track,” she explained. “It is a very popular event in the county and we need a new location. Last year, we had 29 teams with 276 participants and raised $87,000 for cancer research.” The council wholeheartedly supported the charity event and stipulated that the fee for using the park shelter house would be waived as well. Beuligmann said the Survivor Brunch preceding the relay will be held at the Catholic Community Center and the day may also include a 5K race and a car show. All insurance papers are in place.
Council President Alvin Blaylock announced the old school sale is now complete. “The deal is closed, keys have been turned over, and full responsibility for the property has been accepted by the new owner, Indian Mounds East, LLC.” Signs and cameras were approved for purchase to help control speeding and running stop signs on Main Street and golf cart use on Church Street. Town Marshal Aaron Straub presented his case for buying solar-powered cameras, which are portable, and can be placed at different locations around town. “For example, we can move them around vendor booths at festivals for added security and put them around stop signs or at problem locations.” The cameras have eight AA batteries for backup power on poorly lit days and can send high quality pictures and minute and a half videos to Straub’s phone. Straub said he worked with these cameras hands-on with the Poseyville Town Marshal, who uses these models. The cameras cost $549.99 each, with a monthly user fee of $20 per unit. Councilman David Flanders asked Straub
Continued on Page A5
Posey Sheriff’s Dept. adds canine to force
Sandy Milligan buys an ample supply of colorful gourds for the upcoming holiday season from John Siscel of Ella-Bugs Honey of Evansville during Kunstfest on Sunday in New Harmony. Photo by Dave Pearce
By Lois Mittino Gray The Posey County Sheriff Department will have a new officer on the force, but this one will have four legs and a wet nose. The Posey County Commissioners passed an ordinance on first reading at their September 17, meeting that will form a K9 unit fund within the Sheriff’s Department. Posey County Sheriff Tom Latham addressed the commissioners with details on the program. Officer Dan Montgomery had a K9 partner, but that officer has recently retired, leaving a void. Latham said he currently has the following commitments from the community in support of acquiring a new canine. They are $10,000 committed for a dog purchase, $10,000 committed for kennels, and $40,000 committed for a K9 Vehicle. Hearing this,
the commissioners passed ordinance 2019-09-17-01 unanimously on its first reading and it will be addressed again at the next meeting. Latham said he will research dog breeds and shop for a supplier. The officer chosen to be the handler in the next few weeks will have several animals brought in to interact with and test out to see which one “meshes the best.” The Sheriff gave the jail housing report, as of that morning, as follows: Vanderburgh County has 51 inmates, Sullivan County has four inmates, and the Department of Corrections has 10 inmates. All those pay per diem rates to Posey County for housing. The other 57 incarcerated inmates are from Posey County, for a
Continued on Page A5
MV voters will cast ballots on Main Street Plan to go to voting centers delayed until fall of 2020 Special to the News In the upcoming November 5 election, Mount Vernon voters will enjoy the convenience of voting at one location. The Mount Vernon Baptist Church at 1117 Main Street, is a large facility with adequate parking that can easily accommodate the voting equipment and workers needed for what is expected to be a small election. In the last election 57 percent of votes cast were placed prior to Election Day. This will save taxpayers money while maintaining the spirit of Vote Centers; which, in the 2020 Primary Election will allow Posey County voters to cast a ballot at one of ten locations most convenient to them. Although the Posey County Election Board had planned to begin implementation of their Vote Center Plan this fall, the process required under state law didn’t permit the plan to be submitted to the Indiana Election Division in time. In light of this, County Clerk Kay Kilgore, in consultation with the Indiana Election Division of the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office decided it was in the best interest of voters to assign all Mount Vernon municipal voters to one polling location. The alternative would have been to open multiple polling locations; which would have resulted in voter confusion and could possibly have put some voters at risk of having to cast a Provisional Ballot; while at the same time incurring additional election costs that would ultimately be borne by the Mt. Vernon taxpayers. According to Clerk Kilgore, “Although I regret that we will not be officially using Vote Centers this November, I feel that this is the next best outcome for our voters.” Kilgore stressed that all registered municipal voters will be mailed a postcard notifying them of the November 5 election day polling location and all the other early voting method’s; such as 28 days of early voting at the Courthouse (8 a.m. - 4 p.m.), absentee ballot applications, Traveling Board voting, as well as Saturday, October 26 and November 2 (9 a.m. - 4 p.m.) early voting at the Courthouse.
The Amazing Race... Freddy Krueger’s ‘Nightmare’ akin to Joseph’s survival adventure
Joseph Kruger and his bike reaches the apex of one of the obstacles to his excellent adventure. Photo submitted
(USPS 439-500)
By Lois Mittino Gray Mount Vernon resident Joseph Kruger challenged the ‘Monster’ this summer and came back a winner. The ‘Monster’ is the nickname for the Colorado Trail Race, what many consider the hardest bike race in the United States. 75 cyclists started the race at the Grand Depart on July 28 in Durango, Colorado and 33 dropped out in the first two days. 42 finished the arduous bikepacking route through the Rocky Mountains, 540 miles in length. Joseph pedaled into Denver on August 10, having completed the grueling journey, spent in body and “running on fumes,” but exhilarated in spirit. “I did it!” The intrepid forty-year-old tossed the idea of doing the race around in his head for three years before deciding to give it a go. Four prior high alpine mountain bike riding trips created an addiction to the idea. “I wished I could do the race someday. Then I would stop and think, I can’t do that, it’s over my head. It haunted me for three years to try, wishing I had the courage to go on an adventure like that. I finally decided to get on the starting line and see what I’m capable of doing,” he explained. “On the trail, you find yourself worrying about the basics of life, so very busy trying to stay alive
in remote areas.” The Colorado Trail winds through eight mountain ranges, 17 mountain passes, six wilderness areas, five major river systems, and six National Forests. It is rated a nine out of 10 in difficulty, with its high altitude trails above timberline, loose scree rocks, staircase-like descents, and afternoon storms in the summer monsoon season made dangerous with pelting rain, threatening lightning bolts and hailstones. Snow pack at high altitudes results in frozen feet and cold hands when wet. “You can’t really plan how far you will get each day as that depends on nature. One day I could go twelve miles, another eighty miles in the day,” he said. Altitude sickness is a very real danger on the trail, especially to a lower altitude Midwest state dweller. To offset altitude sickness and prepare his body for the arduous experience, Kruger went out to Colorado one week early and drove up to the top of Mount Evans at 14,000 feet to get exposure to the thin air and build up his red blood cells. He did this three times for three days in a row and got the headache and other
Continued on Page A9