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Since 1882 ~ Successor to The Poseyville News and The New Harmony Times • New Harmony, IN
Tuesday December 20, 2011
Posey County’s locally-owned newspaper
Volume 131 Edition 52
Roofless Church reroofed Kevin Brown (left) operates the lift while Chris Koester nails the final shingle to New Harmony’s Roofless Church. Maintenance of the Roofless Church is performed by Koester Construction and funded by the Blaffer Foundation. Photo by Zach Straw
Plans announced for new town hall on Main Street in Poseyville By Valerie Werkmeister It looks as if Christmas is coming a little early for residents of the Town of Poseyville. Members of the town council unveiled plans to build a new town hall during their regular meeting last Wednesday. The new 2,099 square-foot structure will be built on the currently vacant lot at the corner of Church and Main streets. The property will be purchased for $50,000 from Poseyville Properties, owned by attorney Bill Bender. Bender stated for the record that he did not solicit the property to town council members. On the contrary, they approached him regarding the possible sale. Bender is currently the council’s attorney, but he will not represent the town during this transaction. “It’s a prime location, it’s the only location. It’s a fair price and we think it’s time to move forward. We appreciate him selling this to us,” said council president Bruce Baker. The current building was built in the 1920s and has a damp basement, which is the only place most of the town’s records can be stored. Hirsch’s Department Store owns most of the lot surrounding the town hall, leaving no available space for expansion.
The new building will house a meeting room with a seating capacity up to 28 people. A special safe room will be added for record storage. It will also consist of four offices, a large reception area, a work area and clerical area. A drawing of the proposed structure was created by Erny and Associates, P.C. of Vincennes. Baker explained they plan to secure funding through a bond issue. The town does not currently have any loans or debt service. Council members approved the contract presented by Bender to purchase the property. They are hopeful that construction will begin this spring after bids have been received. Continuing with the flow of good news, fire department member, Jeff Droege, informed the council that the new rescue truck will be in service sooner than expected. Members should be able to go pick it up around January 25. They hope to have it in service in mid-February. The council and fire department discussed options for the old rescue truck and both agreed to advertise to received sealed bids. The truck will be sold to the highest bidder.
As seen from above; over 24,000 individual cedar shingles we cut and hand nailed to the structure of the building. Photo by Zach Straw
Evidence ties Ky. inmate to Posey County burglaries
By Dave Pearce An Evansville man, currently being held in the Daviess County Jail in Owensboro, Ky., has been named a “person of interest” in at least two, possibly as many as four, Posey County burglaries. An arrest warrant in Posey County awaits Continued on Page A3 Cook. According to information provided by Posey County Sheriff Greg Oeth, there is now scientific evidence to connect Danny Lee Cook, 36, in connection with a home burglary of a residence located on Ford Road North. The burglary occurred on September 1. Cook is also a person of interest regarding two other burglaries that occurred on the same day in Posey County. Crime scene processing by deputies, lead to the analysis of items at the crime lab, which made the connection to Cook. Cook is also charged with burglary in Kentucky also. According to information provided courtesy of the Owensboro Messenger-Enquirer, Two Evansville men were charged with burglary Wednesday after allegedly breaking into a home in West Daviess County near Stanley. Town Council President Bruce Baker (left) and council members Ron Fallowfield and Steve Ahrens Capt. Bill Thompson, head of show drawings for a new Poseyville Town Hall. It will be constructed at the corner of Church and Main investigations for the Daviess County Sheriff’s Department, said Streets. Photo by Valerie Werkmeister
Danny Lee Cook two juveniles were home around 9:30 a.m. at a residence in the 7200 block of Oakford Road in Owensboro back on November 23 when the 8-year-old heard a vehicle pull into the driveway and saw a gray van she did not recognize. Thompson said the juveniles heard someone attempting to open the home’s back door. The oldest juvenile, who was 13, told her sister to hide in a bathroom. The 13-yearold then went to her room, retrieved a baseball bat and listened in the hallway as someone attempted to open the front door and then managed to open the back door.
Continued on Page A4
Maple Hill board dissolves, New Harmony Board oath renewed By Rhys Mathew At the Dec. 15 meeting of the New Harmony Town Council, the Maple Hill Cemetery Board was dissolved. Town Council President David Campbell said, “We’ve had difficulties finding people to serve and the decisions always come in front of the board, so the Cemetery Board voted to dissolve itself.” Town Council Member Linda Warrum provided an update after the tree count held earlier this fall. “There are 50 new trees in New Harmony; those came from the Chili Cook-Off, the tree farm and other donations.” An update was also given on the completion date of the new fire station. “We are shooting for February, and everything is moving along,” said Council Member Joe Straw. Many positions were renewed or reappointed. Scott Champlin, Linda Warrum and Karen Walker will serve again on the Plans Commission, Jeff Smotherman and Don Williams will serve on the Board of Zoning Appeals and Barb McConnell was reappointed to the Parks Board. Nathan Maudlin was reappointed as the town attorney. The Town Council Members were also sworn in for another four years. Ray McConnell provided new information on the Bicentennial Commission. At the latest steering committee meeting, the winning entry for the Bicentennial Seal was selected from the 12 entries. Two new members left to right: Karla Atkins, Clerk-Treasurer, swearing in Town Council members Karen Walker, Joe were also approved for the commission, one representative from Harmonie Straw, David Campbell, Linda Warrum, and Don Gibbs taking their oath of office as New Harmony Continued on Page A4 Council members.
Inside this issue...
ThePCN
Retrospective ................. A4 Legals.............................. B6 Classifieds ................. B7-8
Go to www.poseycountynews.com Community ........... A5 Social ...................... A5 Deaths ................... A3 Sports ................... B1-6 School.................... A8 Bus/Ag.................... A7
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