‘YEAR IN REVIEW: PART 1’ IN THIS ISSUE!
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“Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain.” Since 1882 ~ Successor esso or ttoo The The Poseyville Poseyville N News ewss aand nd T The he N New ew Harmony Harmony T Times imes • New Harmony, Indiana
Tuesday December 28, 28 2010
Posey County’s P C t ’ loc llocally-owned cally-owned ll d newspaper
(USPS PS 439-500) 439-5500) Vl 129 Editi Edition 52 Volume
Loss of Owen, fall election lead stories of 2010 By Dave Pearce No matter how you look at it, 2010 brought a lot of changes to Posey County. Perhaps none was larger than the county’s loss of an icon, Jane Blaffer Owen. The 95-year-old New Harmony philanthropist died of heart failure during the year. Owen, whose generosity topped most lists of things done in Posey County, will never be replaced. But for her work here and across the country, she will never be forgotten. Owen’s death was perceived by the staff of the Posey County News as the single most important event of 2010. A close second was the November General Election which saw more Republicans win in one year than had won in the five previous elections combined. Leading the upsets locally was Travis Clowers’ upset win over incumbent Jodi Uebelhack for Posey County Prosecutor. Travis becomes the first GOP prosecutor in Posey County since local attorney William Gooden held the post in the middle 1980s. On a national and state level, Indiana Senator Evan
Bayh’s late announcement that he would not seek reelection led to a rash of changes in political ambitions and left most Democrats scurrying to find a new pecking order. In a year when approval ratings of Democratic President Barack Obama stood at less than 50 percent, Democrats apparently needed more time, especially in Indiana. Republican Dan Coats defeated highly-popular (especially in this corner of the state) former Vanderburgh County Sheriff and Congressman Brad Ellsworth for the Senate seat while Newburgh physician Larry Buschon defeated local attorney Trent VanHaaften for Congressman. And in an election that was certified only this week, Wendy McNamara defeated Bob Deig for State Representative. In third place in order of importance of stories in 2010 was the closing of Hedges Central Elementary School in Mount Vernon. The school was closed to help Mount Vernon’s financially-troubled school corporation attempt to meet future budgets. More than 20 teachers as well as other school employees found
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Jane Blaffer Owen speaks in late June in New Harmony.
Wabash River Toll Booth to be removed by January 1
Nominations sought Leadership Evansville is hosting is 16th annual Celebration of Leadership Awards and is seeking nominations from the public for individuals, youth, organizations, businesses that go beyond the call of duty to assist those in need and make our community a better place to live. Nominations will be accepted in the following categories: arts, education, environment, government/public service, health/social service, and neighborhood/community. All submissions will be reviewed for the local Celebration of Leadership Awards and the Jefferson Awards, which is a prestigious national recognition system honoring community and public service in America. More information about the Jefferson Awards can be found at http:// www.jeffersonawards.org/ Award nominations are due Jan. 19, 2011. The Celebration of Leadership Award Ceremony will be held on March 17, 2011 at 6 p.m. at the Centre in Downtown Evansville. If you do not have Internet access, call 812-425-3828.
PCN on Facebook The Posey County News now has a Business Facebook page. Many of the pictures that are taken but are not published are available for viewing and printing at Facebook: Posey County News. Please add us as friends and feel free to use the pictures for personal use.
DCP deadline is June 1 Greg Knowles, County Executive Director of the Posey County FSA, reminds producers that June 1, 2011, is the deadline for enrolling in the 2011 DCP program or the 2011 ACRE program. It is important producers contact the Posey County FSA office to set up appointments. Also wheat certification is also going on. The deadline to certify your wheat is May 31, 2011, and planting dates are required. If you have any questions, please contact the Posey County FSA Office at (812) 838-4191, ext. 2.
Sports passes available The following All-Sports Passes and Season passes are on sale in the North Posey High School athletic office: Basketball Pass - good for any 10 Varsity High School games and all Freshman game - Adults $30, Students $25; Winter/Spring All-Sport Passes - good for all Winter and Spring High School Athletic Events Adults - $40 Students - $30
Blood Drive is Jan. 5 There will be a Red Cross Blood Drive at the Library on Wednesday, January 5, 2011 from 1 to 3:30 p.m. This is an opportunity for you to give the “Gift of Life.”
Newly elected Posey County Clerk Betty Postletheweight watches as her chief deupties are sworn in during ceremonies on Wednesday at the Posey County Courthouse. Photo by Dave Pearce
New plan, board take effect in Mount Vernon By Pam Robinson Word quickly reached the public about the Mount Vernon School Board’s vote to accept the proposed 5 percent salary cut for teachers and administrators and the $25,000 one-time retirement incentive provision at their Monday, December 20, meeting. As Superintendent Tom Kopatich outlined, the new salary agreement with teachers and administrators along with the retiree incentive provision will mean a savings of $1.2 million, adding stability to the school corporation. Board members along with Kopatich expressed deep gratitude to teachers for the new agreement that will protect programs and keep the best interests of students first. School board member Beth McFadin Higgins spoke about the teachers’ commitment to the school corporation—and how others should look to the Metropolitan School District of Mount Vernon as a leader in weathering the current crisis in state education funding. “I’d like to thank the teachers and all these groups for working together,” Higgins stated. “We have worked together in the past, and as a returning member next year, I look forward to working with NEA— the teachers, the staff and other groups—not only with what we’ve started here tonight, but I also think we work together on a more global aspect, that is the state of education funding in the State of Indiana and
where that’s headed and how it’s affected us. I think that’s another area I look forward to sharing resources and information that we have so that perhaps while we think of this bold step, we can also be a lighthouse for some creative thinking, perhaps to share with the state. We put education first, and so we want the state to put education first as well.” In a statement on behalf of the National Educational Association, or NEA, of Mount Vernon, Leigh Ann Latshaw commented, “A huge step was taken. . . .It was taken carefully and knowingly, and while a financial positive for the district,
it comes with some adverse effects as well.” Latshaw then named those adverse effects as the burden placed on teachers, the possibility of teachers looking elsewhere for primary or secondary jobs and the negative impact on the local economy due to reduced teacher buying power. She added that losing veteran teachers to early retirement would mean sacrifices in the classroom. She concluded by expressing the NEA’s desire that the best young teachers would be sought for the
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Outgoing Mount Vernon school board members Dennis Angel, Cindy Bippus, and Jesse Montgomery are honored for their many years of work on the board. Photo by Pam Robinson
Powell appointed Poseyville Clerk-treasurer By Valerie Werkmeister It didn’t take long to find a replacement for the open Clerk-treasurer position in Poseyville. Diana Powell was appointed as the new Poseyville Town Clerk-Treasurer following a closed caucus that was held Monday, December 20. The office had been vacated by Chris Lupfer, who resigned earlier this month for personal reasons. Following her resignation, John
Sherretz and Bill Hopf, the precinct committmen, were notified. It was their job to choose and appoint someone to fill in for the remainder of Lupfer’s term which ends in 2011. Town council members received the news of Powell’s appointment after convening their final meeting of the year. Council members, along with Julie Mayo, current acting Clerk-Treasurer, gathered at
the Poseyville Town Hall to await the news. Poseyville Town Council President Bruce Baker stated he was pleased with the appointment. Powell currently serves as the assistant in the Poseyville Utility office. She has served in that position since 2003. Powell will assume her new duties after she has been sworn in by Posey County Judge Jim Redwine.
Inside this issue...
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Dismantling and removal of the toll booth on the Wabash Memorial Bridge west of Mount Vernon, Ind., was scheduled to begin Monday. Removing the booth is part of the Indiana Department of Transportation’s implementation of the new electronic tolling system starting Jan 1. On Monday, crews closed one lane of Indiana 62, and flaggers will control traffic through the work zone. The lane closure will continue through Thursday. Flagging operations will begin at 8 a.m. and last through approximately 3 p.m. each day. Inclement weather could alter the work schedule. At 10 a.m. Wednesday, INDOT plans to close the road while crews remove the overhead structure and the building from the roadway, which is scheduled to be complete by noon. Motorists should avoid using S.R. 62 during this time. Law enforcement officials will be on site to redirect traffic during the closure. The detour will re-route motorists to Indiana 69 and Interstate 64. In order to maintain a safe work environment for motorists and INDOT employees, bridge tolls will not be collected Monday through Friday. Tolling will resume when the new system becomes effective at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 1. The “Wabash Pass” is the new electronic tolling system that allows users to place a transponder on the front windshield of their vehicle and is scanned by an overhead reader. This will make crossing the structure a stop-free process once all equipment is operational. The electronic tolling option also allows motorists to load money on their account to pay their tolls which eliminates the need of carrying cash or purchasing advance tickets. Beginning Jan. 3, office hours will be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time. The office will close at 4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 28. Motorists may continue to call and sign up for an account and transponder by dialing 1-800-279-5758 and asking for the “Wabash Pass.” After Jan. 1, it is anticipated motorists will also be able to access their account and add money by visiting www.wabashbridge.com.
Retrospective.................. A5 Legals............................. B6 Classifieds .................. B7-8
Diana Powell
Go to www.poseycountynews.com Community........... A7 Social...................... A4 Deaths................... A3 Sports.................. B1-5 School................... A9 Business/Ag .......... A8
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