T
P C N SINCE 1882 Successor to The Poseyville News & New Harmony Times POSEY COUNTY’S ONLY LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED NEWSPAPER
Volume 138 Edition 39
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
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Radio issues raise concerns at Posey County council meeting
Cynthiana takes steps to win road repair funds
By Lois Mittino Gray The September 11, Posey County Council meeting started quietly with a moment of silence in honor of the first responders and people who perished on this fateful date seventeen years ago. From there, it was filled with activity on tax abatements for BWTX and Astra-Zeneca, many appropriations and budget transfers, and a lively discussion on whether the council was lied to by the vendor providing radios for the county emergency system. E-911 Director Sabrina Harms appeared before council with a transfer request in the amount of $30,000 from the County General/Dispatchers Fund into the CG/Overtime line. She explained that the overtime line is currently an inactive account, but should be re-activated as she needed to use it. When asked why, she said one person retired, and one person was on leave, so she had to use part-timers to fill the gaps. The situation has been remedied and she now employs 8 full time dispatchers and two part-time. The transfer was approved. While she was at the podium, Councilman Dave Pearce questioned Harms if the police and fire radios are still on schedule to be installed and ready to go by the end of October. She said the project was all “on target.”
By Dave Pearce The Cynthiana Town Board took the next step in the town’s quest to be granted a Community Crossings Grant to help repair several streets in town. During last week’s meeting, it was announced that the proper steps had been taken to give the town a shot at earning the grants. Should Cynthiana be able to procure the grants, several streets have been marked for repairs. Walnut Street from Joubert Street to Locust Street is first on the list. Mill Street from South Street to Main Street is second on the list. Poplar Street from Main Street to South Street is third on the list. Church Street from Garfield Street to Whiting Street is fourth on the list. The Community Crossing Grant requires the town to commit 25 percent of the funds for the project and the state to pick up the remainder of the costs. There will be three rounds of awarding the grants and three Posey County communi-
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A two-vehicle collision occurred at Highway 66 and Springfield Road in Wadesville over the weekend. Minor injuries were reported after Andrew Mitchell of Wadesville, in a white jeep, and Richard Greenwell of Poseyville, in a maroon truck, struck one another. Photo submitted
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25-year-old Local lawyer wins prestigious Gideon Award MV resident Gooden: There’s more to defense than meets eye killed in car collision Special to The News On Monday, September 17, 2018, Posey County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to a traffic crash that was reported as having resulted in serious injuries. At approximately 2:45 p.m. the Posey County 911 Dispatch Center began receiving multiple calls Heather B. Wease reporting the crash on State Road Full obituary 62 East, at for Heather the entrance of Marrs Wease Elemenappears on tary School. Upon arrival, Page A2 emergency responders found that two vehicles had collided at the intersection of State Road 62 and the school entrance drive. The preliminary investigation appears to show a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu, driven by 25-year-old
By Pam Robinson Mount Vernon attorney William “Bill” Gooden received the prestigious Gideon Award from the Indiana Public Defenders Council, or IPDC, in Indianapolis, on June 8. As IPDC Executive Director, Bernice Corley, commented in an email, “The purpose of the Indiana Public Defender Council’s Gideon Award is to honor an individual who embodies the attributes of a zealous criminal defense lawyer for poor persons in Indiana and has distinguished him or herself in cases or his/her career.” The IPDC has presented the Gideon Award annually since 1996, Corley advised. “The Gideon Award is named in honor of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 US 335, 344-345 (1963), which first articulated the right to appointed counsel in felony cases,” she explained.
Mount Vernon Attorney Beth McFadin Higgins nominated Gooden for the lifetime achievement award, and she said the nomination was easy to write for her colleague and friend of 31 years. “Bill loves to practice law and is passionate about upholding the Constitution,” she commented. A New Harmony native educated at New Harmony School and at Indiana University Bloomington Law School, Gooden has practiced law for 45 years. He served as Posey County Prosecutor from 1978 to 1990, but the better part of his career — 33 years — has been devoted to criminal defense. He estimates 60 percent of his criminal defense caseload is court-appointed. He represents primarily Posey County clients, but he serves Vanderburgh County clients also as a special public defender.
By Lois Mittino Gray There were no remonstrators or written questions submitted to the Mount Vernon School Board when it conducted a public hearing on the budget at its September 17, meeting. Bob Bullard, a citizen attending the meeting, requested an overview of the budget being discussed which was advertised in the newspapers. Director of Business and Finance Loren Evans obliged him with a visual
overview and quick summary of projected budgets, levies, and tax rates and answered questions. The board will now consider the 2019 district budget, the Bus Replacement Plan for 2019-2030, and the Capital Projects Expenditure Plan for 2019-2021 for adoption at the next meeting on Monday, October 1, 2018.
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Two Old Bags
Community Calendar
Business is booming for Posey County purse makers
Briefly MVHS Homecoming September 28, 2018 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. MVHS Parking Lot Stewartsville UMC Chowder October 6, 2018 - 4 p.m. Stewartsville JUMC Yard Sale October 6, 2018 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. 403 Raintree Street, NH More information on these and other events inside today’s Posey County News
(USPS 439-500)
William “Bill” Gooden
MV school board moves Completion of utility work ahead with new budget should improve Autumnfest
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This week’s Community Calendar appears on Page B2.
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By Pam Robinson Once Posey County native Charlotte Thacker and her daughter, Jackie, started sewing placemat purses a few years ago, they couldn’t stop. Anyone can tell from the name on their business cards — Two Old Bags — their hobby keeps the mother-daughter duo in stitches. “It’s a hobby. We were forced to start selling our purses to support our hobby,” Charlotte admits. “It’s something we enjoy doing. We make so many, we have to have an outlet.” The women choose to sell their purses on the craft show circuit with no more than six outings per year, primarily in Posey County. One New Harmony shop, The Antique Emporium, carries a small line of the purses as well. They have enjoyed selling at Kunstfest and at Christmas in New Harmony, where they set up their first booth about four years ago. In addition, they rent booths at two Posey County fundraising craft shows. Otherwise, they travel outside Posey County only twice a year: to Jasper’s two-day Four Rivers festival in October and to
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By Dave Pearce The Poseyville Town Board meeting was held on Wednesday afternoon at the Poseyville Town Hall. It appears that things are shaping up nicely just in time for this year’s Autumnfest. During the meeting, the board made it known that Duke Energy has completed the work in the North Elementary School/Poseyville Community Center area in preparation of changes to be made around North
Elementary. All utility services are being moved underground in the area and the services on the Community Center lawn have been upgraded. The work is completed and should make this year’s Autumnfest easier for venders who typically set up on the street to the east of North Elementary and to the vendors who set up on the grass in front of the Poseyville Community Center.
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Posey County native Charlotte Thacker (front) stands with her friend, Kay Bryant, at her Kunstfest booth filled with her beautiful sewn creations, placemats and purses. Photo by David Pearce