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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 May 1, 2012
$1.00
Volume 132 Edition 18
Open house set for New Harmony EMS station Fair call-out meeting May 7 Be the next Posey County Queen, Duchess, or Princess. There will be a call-out meeting on Monday May 7 at 7 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Posey County Community Center at the 4-H fairgrounds. For more information contact Katie at kabeste@hotmail.com or call 838-1331.
Stamp Out Hunger day set Saturday, May 12 is National “Stamp Out Hunger” Day! Please put your food/toiletry items out by your mailbox and your postal carrier will pick it up and deliver the items to your local food pantry. The Food Pantry relies heavily on this drive to get through the summer. Clean out your pantries. Go buy some deals at the store. It’s an easy way to donate. Please pass the word and mark your calendars.
By Pam Robinson The New Harmony Town Council voted Thursday night to set the ribbon cutting and open house for the new fire and emergency medical services, or EMS, station. On Saturday, May 12, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the town will celebrate the completion of this much-needed station. Hot dogs and hamburgers, chips, and cold drinks will be served to welcome the public on this special occasion. Councilman Joe Straw added that within the next few days, officials will be signing off on the completion of the fire/EMS sta-
tion. He noted that EMS personnel are moving into the building on Monday, April 23, and that firefighters are already in the process of moving in. Special guests will include New Harmony/Harmony Township Fire Department volunteers, Posey County Emergency Medical Services personnel; M. Bud Erny, architect, Erny and Associates of Vincennes; Dan Jones, president, Danco Construction, Inc.; David White, president, Premier Electric, Inc.; Roy Ritzert, president, Ritzert Company, Inc.; and representatives of the Economic De-
velopment Coalition of Southwest Indiana. The 6,500-square-foot facility consists of three drive-through bays for fire trucks, living quarters for EMS personnel, an office and training room, ADA-equipped restroom, a utility room and storage/ maintenance space. The cost of construction was approximately $650,000 with $500,000 obtained through a Community Focus Fund Grant from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. The Community Focus Fund falls under the auspices of the State Community Development Block
Funkhouser to be honored In honor of Jerry Funkhouser and his 42 years in education, 39 of which have been in service to the Metropolitan School District of Mount Vernon, there will be an Open House on Sunday, May 6. This will take place at the Mount Vernon Junior High Cafeteria from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., with a special presentation at 3:30. Coordinators would like to invite former students, colleagues, or anyone else who knows Funkhouser and would like to be a part of this very special occasion.
Garden walk May 6 The Women’s Fund, a part of the Posey County Community Foundation, is sponsoring their 1st annual garden walk in Mt. Vernon on Saturday, May 5 from 1-4 p.m. The walk will include 5 gardens, with 2 of those featuring home tours in addition to the garden tour. Rain date is Sunday, May 6. Presale tickets are available for $12 at the following Mount Vernon locations: Hasting Plants, Mount Vernon Garden Shop, Guilty Pleasures,and IGA. Presale tickets are also available in Poseyville at the Little Crazy Daisy, Comptons in Griffin, and at the Golden Rose in New Harmony. Tickets are $15 on the day of the garden walk and will be available May 5 at the Mount Vernon Riverfront from 1 to 4.
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Fate of New Harmony School bldg. up to county
FOP to honor fallen Mount Vernon Lodge #133 of the Fraternal Order of Police, or F.O.P, will hold a memorial service for fallen law enforcement officers Saturday, May 12, 8:30 a.m., on the west lawn of the Posey County Court House. Detective Tom Latham of the Posey County Sheriff’s Office said after an introduction by speakers, a flag ceremony will ensue and the names of fallen Posey County law enforcement officers will be read. A wreath will be placed in honor of those fallen and taps will be played while officials salute. Latham provided the names of fallen Posey County law enforcement officers: Cyrus Thomas P.C.S.O. 1887; Robert Randolph M.V.P.D. 1934; Ralph Fisher N.H.P.D. 1955;”Mac” Buchanan P.C.S.O. 1969; John Hatfull I.S.P. 1987; Paul Capes M.V.P.D. 1988; Larry York P.C.S.O. 1991; George Nelson M.V.P.D. 1993; Robert Wood I.S.P. 1994; and Terry Cooper M.V.P.D. 2007.
Grant (CDBG) program. This program is funded by Title I of the federal Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. The New Harmony Fire Station and EMS facility was also completed using approximately $150,000 in non-CDBG funds, which were derived from the Town’s General Fund, along with several philanthropic gifts, including major donations from the University of Southern Indiana, the Robert Lee Blaffer Foundation, and a Posey County Community Foundation
billing service was first presented, that the county would continue to handle the billing. Then, after a period of time, the billing service would take over attempting collection on bills that weren’t paid. Chuck Thompson explained that was not the case and the billing service has done a much better job collecting money for the ambulance service than they have ever done. In the past six months, a total of $668,000 has been collected. This is just about
By Valerie Werkmeister It would appear that the fate of New Harmony School is now in Posey County’s hands. New Harmony Town Council President David Campbell has approached both the Posey County Council and the commissioners in hopes of persuading them to pay $40,000 to help maintain the property. As it stands now, the MSD of North Posey will take possession of the New Harmony School building and property assets after June 30. Campbell stated he had spoken to New Harmony School Board President Jim Scarafia, who noted that North Posey officials are not interested in utilizing the school building. They would be required to maintain the property for a period of four years, an expense they do not relish. Campbell stated that Indiana code allows for the school to transfer its assets to a government entity for a nominal fee. The Town of New Harmony would like to take control of the school now in case future developments could be determined. “We don’t have plans for it now, but we also don’t want to wait until 2016 when it has deteriorated,” Campbell said.
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Bryce Koester (l) and Jessica Smith (r) are defended by Colton Motz and Charles Hempfling (in center) during Judge James Redwine’s Law Day, held Thursday at the Posey County Courthouse. Photo by Zach Straw. See more of this set on our Facebook page: The Posey County News.
County discusses collection processes By Valerie Werkmeister Posey County has received its fair share of mishandled state funds. Posey County Auditor Nick Wildeman reported to the Posey County Council members on April 10, that $1,016,773 was received from the Indiana Department of Revenue. At the time of the meeting, he was still awaiting word from the state on how to disburse those funds to the various areas throughout the county. After some debate, Posey County Council members approved $50,000 in additional appropriations for the
Emergency Medical Services Department. The funds will be used towards the ambulance billing service that collects for the county. Councilman Ralph Weinzapfel explained his position on why he voted against the measure when it was first presented. “I just wondered why can’t the county collect as well as the billing service can and also the concern for the county worker who is employed in that position,” he said. Bob Gentil stated he thought that when the idea of using the ambulance
New Harmony students make final trek to Washington DC By Pam Robinson New Harmony School, or NHS, officials and students faced another poignant experience during the send-off Sunday night for the school’s week-long Washington, D.C., trip. Better known as DC VI, the sixth school trip to D.C., brought out school supporters to witness the last NHS group leave. All the travelers wore a special tshirt, “Thank you for sending me to D.C.,” and smiled to hide the tears on this special occasion. Speaking Sunday night were NHS teachers Fred Frayser and Rick Johnson. Both teachers have accompanied students on every D.C. trip. In fact, the D.C. trip is Frayser’s brainchild. School board
president Jim Scarafia also addressed the students. NHS Principal Doug Mills, the group leader, is one of eight adults acting as chaperones on the trip. His colleagues include Sue Saxe, R.N., Fred Frayser, Don Kissell, Rick Johnson, Jessica South, Michelle Keepes and Ashley Temple. They will direct 44 students, grades 8 through 11, until they return to New Harmony on Saturday, May 5. The senior class has already traveled to D.C. as freshmen for the inauguration of President Obama. Unlike the previous five DC trips, DC VI was put together in just a little over three months instead of the typical two years of planning and fundraising. Since
NHS sixth-grade teacher Fred Frayser organized the first DC trip, all subsequent trips until now have coincided with the Presidential inauguration. DC VI is taking place six months before that auspicious event. As a result, students will enjoy springtime at the Capitol and follow a bit different itinerary than earlier groups. Stops include the Smithsonian, the Capitol building, Arlington Cemetery, the National Cathedral, Lazy Susan Dinner Theater, Ford’s Theater, Twilight Tattoo performance, Lincoln Memorial, Korean Memorial, FDR Memorial and the Pentagon Memorial along with a number of special restaurants. As always, stu-
dents will visit the Vietnam Memorial Wall and honor fallen soldiers, including Rappite James Alexander Myer. Principal Doug Mills said the total cost of the DC VI trip for the 52 travelers totaled roughly $46,000, or around $880 per person—all donated by the community. He singled out school board president Jim Scarafia and others for raising the largest portion of the cost through the Harmonie Hundred bike race. In addition, he noted that Fred Frayser, the Kiwanis and Tim Tilford (corporate liaison) were instrumental in fundraising. The DC VI group will return, no doubt to a hero’s welcome, on Saturday, May 5.
NP Honors and Graduation North Posey High School will hold its annual Honors Program on Thursday, May 17, 2012 in the high school main gym. The program will begin at 8:15 a.m. with the presentation of academic and scholastic awards. Graduation is May 25 at 7 p.m. in the gymnasium.
The entire New Harmony School prepares for their final trip to Washington D.C. The group got a huge send-off from townspeople
as the last group to take part in this New Harmony tradition. The school will close at the end of the year. Photo by Pam Robinson
Inside this issue...
ThePCN
Retrospective ................. A4 Legals.............................. C5 Classifieds .................. C2-3
Go to www.poseycountynews.com Community ........... A5 Social ...................... A6 Deaths ................... A3 Sports ................... B1-8 School.................... A8 Bus/Ag.................... A9
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