“Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain.”
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Since 1882 ~ Successor to The Poseyville News and The New Harmony Times • New Harmony, IN Posey County’s locally-owned newspaper
Tuesday April 19, 2011
(USPS 439-500)
Volume 130 Edition 17
North Posey to offer ‘early learning initiative’ in fall By Valerie Werkmeister For some, it’s a year too late. For others, it’s ‘none too soon’. Regardless of where you fall, North Posey School administrators hope their decision to offer all-day kindergarten proves to be a popular one. During last Monday’s school board meeting, the board passed what they called an “early learning initiative.” It involves a package of programs designed to help children be successful in school during their early years. In addition to all-day kindergarten starting this fall, North Posey also intends to offer a head-start program, pre-school program and a latchkey kid program. According to Superintendent Dr. Todd Camp, demand for each program will determine the number of teachers they will need to hire. Approximately 50 students signed up for kindergarten during North Elementary’s (NE) registration last week. South Terrace
Elementary (ST) will hold their kindergarten registration tonight (April 19) at 6 p.m. Staff numbers needed for this program could be presented as early as the May board meeting. Official job postings would come after the board’s approval. “We’ve had a lot of push from the community to do an all-day kindergarten program,” Camp said. He explained that things fell into place financially for this to be an opportune time for the MSD of North Posey to offer it. The state offers grants that pay $1,000 per student. Camp stated three teachers have announced plans to retire at the end of the school year. This will help the district save money since entry-level teachers who would replace the retirees will not receive the same high salaries. Camp feels that with the combination of state grant funds and the reduction in salary payouts, all-day kindergarten will be cost
neutral. A head-start program will be available to children ages three to five years old based on poverty- level income qualifications. It is a federally funded half-day program, so parents will not need to pay a fee. However, they will need to provide their own transportation. The school district is still in discussions with the county Head-Start program and all plans are still in the preliminary stages. The latchkey kid program will provide after school care in a safe environment for students. School officials are currently in discussions with the YMCA to administer this fee-based program. Again, parents will need to provide their own transportation. The pre-school program will benefit children ages three to five-years-old. Tentative plans are to hold a three to four-year-old class on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. – noon. Children will also have the opportunity
to eat lunch at school at an additional cost to parents. The class will have no more than 15 children. Plans for a five-year-old class would be Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the same time frame. Fees have not been finalized yet, but the initial plans include $80 for the three to four-year-old class and $120 for the five-year-old class. The cap for the fiveyear-old class is tentatively set for 20 students. A minimum of 10 children will need to enroll for each pre-school class in order for the program to begin this Fall. Currently, the three teachers who have announced their plans to retire at the end of the school year include long-time high school art teacher, David Rodenburg, ST teacher, Pamela Titzer and NE teacher, Janet Spahn.
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Posey to be part of Drug Take-Back Day
Werkmeister named Sergeant
On Monday, Indiana State Police Superintendent Paul Whitesell, Ph.D., promoted Master Trooper Russell Werkmeister of Poseyville to the rank of Sergeant to serve as a District Squad Leader. Werkmeister is a native of Harrisburg, Ill., and a 1989 graduate of Harrisburg High School. He later attended Blackburn University where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. In June 1995, Werkmeister graduated from the Indiana State Police Recruit Academy and was assigned to the Lowell District. He transferred to the Evansville District in 1997 and primarily patrolled Posey County until he was reassigned to the Criminal Investigation Division in 2008. Werkmeister and his wife, Valerie, reside in Posey County with their two children.
North Posey honors day set
North Posey High School will hold its annual Honors Program on Wednesday, May 18, 2011 in the high school main gym. The program will begin at 8:15 a.m. with the presentation of academic and scholastic awards.
NHS registration set
Parents wishing to register new students for New Harmony School’s next school year may come to the office anytime to do so. These would be new pre-school, kindergarten, and other students new to the school.
Poll worker training set
Training for clerks, judges and inspectors working the polls in Precinct 7 and 11 will be held Monday April 25 at 6 p.m. at the Hovey House in Mount Vernon. Early voting is now taking place at the Courthouse Election room Monday thru Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Election room will also be open Saturday, April 30 from 8 a.m. to noon. There is only one contested race in the primary between Democrats Ed Adams and Al Gibbs. The primary winner will face Republican Andy Hoehn in the general election November 8.
Watchers, Onsite Health & Safety Services, Deaconess Cross Pointe, Bob’s Gym, United Way of Posey County, Youth First and Pro Tex All. The wellness fair schedule calls for participants to visit the exhibitors from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. Participants will collect signatures from 15 different exhibitors on their green card to become eligible for the grand prize drawings—the Kinect for Xbox 360 (Xbox not included) and a Kindle—at 1:45 p.m. Immediately following is the drawing for door prizes. Those prizes include two $50 gift certificates to Dan’s Comp, two lawn chairs from Pro Rehab, one-month free membership to Bob’s Gym, two first aid kits from the Posey County chapter of the American Red Cross, two cookbooks from the Purdue Extension office, and several more. From 11 to 11:30 a.m., participants may signup and practice for the cornhole competition, which takes places from 11:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. At the same time, the strong of heart, young and old alike, may
Posey County Sheriff Greg Oeth has announced participation in the Second Nationwide Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. The event, in partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration, will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous unwanted prescription drugs. Prescription Drug Take-Back Day will be held on Saturday, April 30, from 9 a.m. until noon. Posey County collection sites will be located at the Posey County Sheriff’s Office, and the Poseyville Police Department. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Prescription drug abuse in the United States is increasing at an alarmingly high rate. Studies now show that more Americans currently abuse prescription drugs than the number of those using cocaine, hallucinogens, and heroin combined. The majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, with the supply often coming from medicine cabinets found in the home. Preventing these readily available and potentially deadly drugs from being diverted and misused is something each of us can do to help reduce the epidemic of prescription drug abuse. The overwhelming public response to the first Take-Back event last fall not only removed potentially harmful prescription drugs from homes, but was an unprecedented opportunity to educate everyone about the growing prescription drug abuse problem. Sheriff Oeth encour-
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Wilson of Edinburgh, Ind., paints his rendition of New Harmony’s downtown during the Plein Air Paintout held this week in New Harmony. The event was very successful as thousands of students and visitors alike became familiar with our quaint community. Photo by Dave Pearce
Wellness Fair slated for St. Philip School By Pam Robinson St. Philip School in Posey County will host their second Community Wellness Fair, Hooked on Health, Saturday, April 30, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. All local schools, churches and the general public are cordially invited to participate in Hooked on Health. Last year, the fair drew over 300 participants. Event organizer Jon Day, the physical education and health teacher at St. Philip, is encouraging even more participants to attend this year. St. Philip’s Teen Power is partnering with the Healthy School initiative, a program of the Welborn Baptist Foundation, to offer the fair at no cost to anyone. Twenty exhibitors will provide general wellness information and wellness checks. All participants will also receive a free lunch. Exhibitors include Dan’s Competition, Marrs’ Township Fire Department, Purdue Extension, Pro Rehab, St. Philip P.T.O., Posey County Red Cross, St. Mary’s Community Outreach respiratory therapist, St. Mary’s Community Outreach dietician, Holly’s House, Weight
Poseyville Legion meets
The Poseyville American Legion Post 278 will meet Thursday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the Community Center.
Outdoor gospel concert set
On Saturday, August 27, New Harmonie Healthcare Center is planning an out door Country Gospel event to raise money for the Alzheimer Association. We are asking for your help to get us started. Items needed: Tents, Volunteers to set up tents, chairs, park cars and removal of all items after the event. If you have a group that would like to help please call Sandy Morris at 812-845-2312. If your group or organization would like to participate in the entertainment, please contact Sandy.
ThePCN
Nominated for Mount Vernon High School prom queen on Saturday evening at The Centre in Evansville are MacKenzie Nesbitt, LaTosha Toliver, Carley Redman, Marissa Putney, Hannah Varner, Samantha Rowe, Jenny Lyke, and Kaci Turner. In back are king
Inside this issue... Retrospective ................. A4 Legals .......................... B7 Classifieds .............. B10-11
candidates Jason Stemple, Jacob Ewers, Damon Chase, Aaron Choate, Dylan Rubenacker, Sam Johnson, David Barton, and Ben Zickmund. Elected king and queen were Marissa Putney and Aaron Choate. Photo courtesy of Prestige Photography
Go to www.poseycountynews.com Community ........... A5 Social ...................... A6 Deaths ................... A3 Sports................... B1-6 School................... A9 Business/Ag ............ A8
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