The Posey County News - February 1st 2011

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“Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain.” Since 1882 ~ Successor or ttoo The The Poseyville Poseyviille N News ews aand nd T The he N New ew Harmony Harmony T Times imes • New Harmony, Indiana Ind dianaa Posey County’s P C t ’ locally llocally-owned lly-owned d newspaper

Tuesday T d F February b 1 1, 2011

(USPS PS 439-500) 439-5500) V l e 130 Volume 0 Edi Edition i 5

New Harmony receives $500,000 grant Team to be honored Plans are being finalized to recognize the first Pocket Athletic Conference boys’ basketball champion from North Posey High School. The North Posey 1974 team will be honored on Feb. 18.

Orientation night set North Posey High School will host a Freshman Orientation Night on Wednesday, February 2, 2011. Registration will begin at 5:45 p.m. and will be followed with an informational meeting in the auditorium beginning at 6 p.m. Parents/students will then have an opportunity to meet with teachers and tour departmental displays in the classrooms. Students will receive freshman packets during school prior to Freshman Orientation on January 28, 2011. They will need to bring these packets to orientation. It is essential that parents of students who will be in the ninth grade in the 2011-2012 school years attend this meeting. Please feel free to contact North Posey High School Guidance Department at 673-6614 if you have any questions.

United Way meeting reset

Special to the News At a Statehouse ceremony this week, Lt. Governor Becky Skillman awarded a $500,000 Community Focus Fund grant to the Town of New Harmony to fund a Fire/EMS station construction project. The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) administers the grants, which are funded through the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Twenty-six communities and counties were recognized at the ceremony, with grant awards totaling more than $13 million. The Community Focus Fund grants are awarded twice annually through a competitive application process. Eligible projects include, but are not limited to: community and senior centers, special needs facilities, libraries, water system improvements, storm drainage projects, and sewer system improvements. “Grant opportunities, like this one, allow rural communities to undertake projects they might not otherwise be able to fund,” said Lt. Governor Skillman. “Updat-

Representatives from southern Indiana, particularly New Harmony, were on hand this week to receive $500,000 of the funds for a new fire station in New Harmony. Pictured are, Senator Jim Tomes, Jeff Pruitt, Representative Wendy McNamara, Grant Administrator Debbie Bennett Stearsman, New Harmony Town Council member Karen Walker, Lt. Gov. Skillman, New Harmony’s Joe Straw, New Harmony Fire Chief Scott Miller, Wylie Zeigler, Phillip Werry, and Town Council member Don Gibbs. ing infrastructure and completing other projects which improve quality of life for Hoosiers is crucial to the economic success of Indiana’s smaller communities.” The grant will fund the con-

struction of a new 6,500 square foot Fire and EMS station. The new building will consist of 3 drive-thru bays, EMS living quarters, ADA restrooms, training and utility rooms along with space for storage. This project

Learning Center celebrates 15th anniversary

The United Way of Posey County Annual Meeting is rescheduled for Tuesday, February 1, 2011, at 5 p.m. in the meeting room at the Alexandrian Public Library, 115 West Fifth Street, Mount Vernon, Indiana.

MVJH registration set Mount Vernon Junior High eighth graders will soon be involved in the registration process for high school. Below is a summary of the specific steps: February 7: Counselors will visit students in the social studies classes. February 10: Student convocation at 8:20 A.M. in PAC. February 14: Parent meeting in High School Cafeteria, 6:30 P.M. to learn about requirements. After the above three steps, the parents and the student will select the appropriate coursework to satisfy the needs and goals. For questions, please call the school’s counselors.

Make-up days set The make-up days for Mount Vernon Junior High School’s inclement weather days are as follows: Monday, February 21 (for Dec. 16), Monday, April 25 (for Jan. 11), Friday, May 13 (for Jan. 12), Friday, April 22 (for Jan. 20), and Thursday, May 26 (for Jan. 21).

Band Boosters to meet The Mount Vernon Band Boosters will meet Tuesday, February 1, 2011, at 7p.m. in the high school band room. All junior and senior high band parents are welcome to attend. Final plans for the Winter Formal will be made. If you have questions call Kristy at 270-1101.

will replace the current fire station constructed in 1899 and the EMS which was built in 1976. For more information about the Community Focus Fund grant program, please visit http:// www.in.gov/ocra/2374.htm.

Children’s Learning Center Director Mark McDonald stands with the two staff members (L to R), Allison Thomas and Yvonne Lawrence, who have worked at the facility since its doors opened 15 years ago. Children’s Learning Center will host a community celebration of its 15th anniversary Tuesday, Feb. 15, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

By Pam Robinson The Children’s Learning Center of Mount Vernon is inviting all families of the children it serves as well as all townspeople to come celebrate its 15th anniversary in the community. The celebration will take place Tuesday, Feb. 15, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Children’s Learning Center, located at 2100 W. Fourth Street, across the way from Mount Vernon Medical Center. Children’s Learning Center Director Mark McDonald promises food and cake, door prizes and games and time to visit with neighbors and friends. Two staff members at Children’s Learning Center will be celebrating their growth along with the childcare facility— Yvonne Lawrence, assistant director of finance, and Allison Thomas, the lead teacher for the 3-year-olds known as the Happy Campers. The two women have worked there since the day the doors opened and provided them with a workplace right in their backyard. “I wanted a full-time job, and I liked children. I have three children, so I thought it would be exciting to work around children,” Lawrence says.

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Fine Arts Academy to open in Mount Vernon By Pam Robinson Anyone with doubts about the future of the Metropolitan School District, or MSD, of Mount Vernon can put them to rest. The district has announced two new educational initiatives to prepare students for the 21st century. This fall, Mount Vernon Senior High School will open the doors to its Fine Arts Academy. The doors will open to students all over the TriState, not just those in the Mount Vernon area. Students may enroll part-time and remain in a school outside the MSD of Mount Vernon, or they may enroll full-time and enjoy their full curricular focus at Mount Vernon Senior High School. The Fine Arts Academy will capitalize on its award-winning students, teachers already on staff and programs, operating at no additional

cost to the school district. Areas of emphasis will include instrumental music, technical theatre, vocal music, theatre arts and visual arts, both traditional and digital. MSD of Mount Vernon Director of Curriculum, Grants and Testing Jody Pfister emphasizes, “We have a lot of courses that were already in place way and above many of the other districts around us or any other school corporations close to us. We decided to put all that together and offer it and market and advertise it to students all over the Tri-State so they could further their career, or begin a career, in, for example, TV production and music and theatre. Students would be able to be prepared for post-secondary endeavors in an arts-related career.” Pfister notes the MSD of Mount Vernon offers over 40 events in the arts each year. Its award-

winning students are hired regularly by several Evansville schools as well as area arts organizations just to design and build their sets for performances. “Technical theatre is something most schools don’t offer,” Pfister says. “We have schools in Evansville actually have our tech theatre students come over and set up the lighting and set design for their plays because they don’t have the expertise. Our tech theatre students also do the Peppermint Pops, the Philharmonic Orchestra, and the “Nutcracker.” Of course, they get paid to do these things because they’ve got the skills to do it.” Those skills are evident in the recognition Mount Vernon Senior High School has received

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Winter gala set The Mount Vernon High School Winter Gala Formal Dance is to be held Saturday February 26, 2011, at the Posey County Fairgrounds Community Building from 7 until 11 p.m. This year’s theme is “A Red Carpet Affair,” with new DJ services and a light show. R&W Photography will be offering photo packages for $15/$20, payable that evening with a portion of proceeds to benefit MVMW. Tickets are $13 for a single and $22 per couple.

MVJHS on Facebook Mount Vernon schools continue efforts to find ways to communicate with various publics – students, staff, parents, grandparents, community members, etc. In addition to our school’s website at http://jh.msdmv.k12. in.us, we are now on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mvjhs.

Members of the North Posey High School homecoming court are, in front, Makenna Bryant and Kade Bender.Pictured are Maddison Werry, Courtney Crowder, Jillian Koester, Kelsey Teel, queen Shelley Schmitt, Jessica Mason, Natalie Thomas, Kendall Beuligmann, and Jordan Werry. In back are Taylor Brown, Alec Werry, Alec Beard, Nick Scheller, king Luke Emory, Conner Cain, Tyler Roedel, Kyle Voegel, and Michael Bender. Photo by Dave Pearce

Inside this issue...

ThePCN

Retrospective.................. A4 Legals........................ B6-13 Classifieds ................. B6-7

Go to www.poseycountynews.com Community........... A5 Social...................... A5 Deaths................... A3 Sports................... B1-5 School................... A6 Business/Ag .......... A6

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