“Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain.” Since 1882 ~ Successor to The Poseyville News and The New Harmony Times • New Harmony, IN Posey County’s locally-owned newspaper
Wednesday September 21, 2011
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(USPS SPS 4 439-500) 39 500)
Volume 131 Edition 39
All four North Posey schools earn state’s ‘A’ rating By Valerie Werkmeister It’s always good to be recognized for the hard work you do and all four North Posey schools recently received a well-deserved pat on the back from the state. Each received an “A” rating for the Adequate Yearly Progress standard of the federal government’s No Child Left Behind Act. In third grade through eighth grade, results from standardized tests such as the spring ISTEP scores and attendance are used to determine the rating. To make AYP in high school, performance in algebra and English as well as graduation rates are determining factors. North Elementary School Principal Tim Teel and South Terrace Elementary School Principal Kelly Carlton reported on progress in each school regarding the new early learning initiatives programs. This fall
marked the start of all-day kindergarten and pre-school. Before and after school programs are being administered by the YMCA’s Y-Care program. According to Teel, there are 377 students enrolled in North Elementary. The school has just reached a benchmark that may qualify it for Title 1 funding. Teel stated that 40 percent of the students are now receiving free and reduced meals. Carlton noted there are 279 students attending South Terrace Elementary this year. She stated enrollment is slightly up as they received seven new students who transferred in. There are currently 26 enrolled in their pre-school program with 15 in the prek class and 11 in the three-year-old class. Jenna Wilson was hired as the pre-k teacher for this new program. South Terrace also
has two kindergarten classes with 19 students and 21 students in each class. What do all these numbers mean? Enrollment figures are an important topic for school administrators as state funding is generally based on those figures. A specially designated day, known as “Count Day” is set aside by the state to determine the amount of funding each school receives based on the number of students in attendance that day. According to superintendant Dr. Todd Camp, North Posey’s total enrollment is currently 1,298. A new Assistant Activities Coordinator position at North Posey was created with an approved stipend amount of $4,020. Matt Wadsworth and Tracy Stroud were approved to split the position duties and the stipend. The position was created to help
alleviate some of the many duties taken on by the current athletic director, Virgil Ferguson. In other business, the board approved: •Camp’s request for a contract with Apex Learning for a credit recovery program at a cost of $6,400. The Y-Care agreement which provides before and after school care by the YMCA. Space is the only thing the school must provide as the YMCA handles all aspects of the administration of the program. This program also satisfies the requirements for Latch-Key legislation. •Three student transfers between North Elementary and South Terrace by parent requests
Field of Dreams helps keep Viking band afloat as season heats up
Poseyville Fire truck is nearer reality as price heads downward By Valerie Werkmeister A new rescue truck for the Poseyville Fire Department is coming closer to reality, but it also comes with a heftier price tag. Mid-America, the sales dealer with the winning bid , was approved for the contract during a regular meeting held by the Poseyville Town Council last Wednesday, September 14. The final tally for the new rescue truck comes in at $251, 843, that’s approximately $11,000 over what the town hoped to come in under. Poseyville Town Council President Bruce Baker said the town and Robb Township would split the amount to fund the additional cost. Baker was undaunted by the price tag and felt that it was a lot better than it could have been. A company called, Ferrara, will build the rescue truck and the town will hopefully see it running in its fleet within the next six months. Town council members Ron Fallowfield and Steve Ahrens also approved a $12,000 expenditure towards the grant administration contract for the rescue truck to the Economic Development Coalition of Southwestern Indiana. These fees were built-in to the original fee structure and the approval was just a formality. Baker explained the Safe Routes to School project is finally advancing. Bids were received and opened by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT). The low bidder, JBI construction of Evansville, was accepted in the amount of $151,000. Baker explained a pre-construction hearing is slated for October which means work may not be completed until next year. Baker also said that INDOT has extended the completion deadline to July 2012. Sidewalks, painted crosswalks and flashing lights will be installed on a marked route from North Elementary School, down Fletchall Street and then south on Sharp Street. A complete map is available at the town hall or Baker’s office at Fifth Third Bank in Poseyville. The eventual goal is to make a complete loop around town making a safe place for children to walk to and from school. The town has already applied for a grant to start the second phase of this project . A decision has not yet been made regarding that grant request. The fire department will hold an open house on Sunday, October 9, from 1 p.m.– 4 p.m. Refreshments will be served, a Chinese auction and the survive-alive house will be on hand for the day. Posey County Emergency Management Services and the Posey County Sheriff’s Deparment will also be present. The public will be able to look at various fire trucks and equipment. The next town council meeting will be held October 12, at 4:30 p.m. in the Poseyville Community Center. The meeting is open to the public.
the troubled economy provided little consulting work, so Wilson turned to odd jobs, such as working part-time at the Alexandrian Public Library and cleaning a house in New Harmony. Then one day, Ken Meyer, Lifestyle Tours’ owner and longtime New Harmony School Board member, called to talk with Wilson about a job opening. She signed on with Meyer in August 2010. “It was perfect timing, and it’s the perfect job,” says Wilson, who can build her tours around the needs of her family, whom she still puts first. “It gives me an opportunity to do some amazing trips and see shows in locations I would never have been able to go otherwise,” she adds about her stateside tours that have taken her as far away as Broadway. Her international tours, however, usually generate much more conversation. Wilson had never left the United States until she started working for Lifestyle Tours. In fact, the farthest she’d traveled from her native Evansville had been the East Coast. In October 2010, Wilson made her first international trip to London and Paris on an 8-day tour with clients. She explains that her job entails managing the logistics of trips. She ensures, for example, that clients get checked in at the airport and that they move smoothly from site to site on tour. The actual tour presentation is delivered by speciallytrained tour managers with Collette Vacations. The tour managers provide an outline and then fill in the details about the history and current events at each international destination. Her second international trip, known as a “familiarization trip,” took her to the Canadian Rockies on her own without clients. For 10 days, she explored the “breathtaking, beautiful,” landscape so
By Valerie Werkmeister The start of the school year is well underway and while most of the fall sports have already played several games, there is one North Posey organization that just saw the start of their season on Saturday, September 10. The North Posey Marching Vikings Band performed in not one, but two separate competitions that day. They started out at Reitz High School and competed against four other bands in their class. They earned a second place distinction and were also praised with the best drum line overall. That evening, they competed at Central High School against nine other bands in their class. They placed third, but were again awarded with the best drum line rating. North Posey is among 168 high schools and over 16,000 students that will participate in marching band performances this season. They are sponsored by the Indiana State School Music Association, Inc. Scott Schmitt and Matthew Carnagua return to lead as directors for the Marching Vikes. This year’s show title, “To the Left”, is performed to the music of Scriabin’s Piano Nocturne for the Left Hand. The 40-member band is led by this year’s drum major, Curtis Cleek. One of the largest fundraisers the band organizes is their annual Field of Dreams event that was held this past Saturday, September 17. The event began at 4:30 p.m. at North Posey High School and brought in 15 bands altogether. The North Posey Vikings were not competing in the event but rather served as hosts while performing in exhibition. The Marching Band is one of the many extracurricular activities that is not supported with funds through the MSD of North Posey. They operate solely on the funds they raise themselves through their concession stand at football games, gate proceeds at the Field of Dreams event, their annual chili supper and the raffle for a Cub Cadet. They also hold several other fundraisers throughout the year, including the sale of candles, cookie dough, umbrellas and pizzas. Without the support of their fundraisers, the band would not be able to exist. A special fundraising committee staffed by Heather Martin, Penny Kramer, Donnarae Woolston, Joan Jaley and Stacy Ahrens also works hard trying to develop new ideas that will continue the band’s success. Two fundraisers upcoming in the next few weeks include the sale of special order frozen pizzas from Sandy’s Pizza in Ft. Branch and North Posey Viking umbrellas. The pizzas will be made fresh at Sandy’s Pizza and then frozen for delivery. Large golf-size umbrellas will be sold for $20 and regular size will cost $15. They will be a good quality umbrella in red, white and black with the North Posey Viking logo on them.
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Sebastian and Aiden Huffman, nephews of local Creation Station’s Rick Huffman, enjoyed the Kunstfest this weekend in New Harmony. Photo by Dave Pearce
Lifestyle Tours opens new doors for teacher turned travel agent
Tracy Wilson By Pam Robinson Ireland, London, Paris, Tuscany—these places may fill our dreams, but we’d never believe we’d be paid to go there. Just so, Mount Vernon resident Tracy Wilson has become a jetsetter over the past year as a part-time tour director for Lifestyle Tours based in New Harmony. No blarney. A teacher by trade, Wilson left her first grade class at New Harmony School a few years ago to work as an educational consultant. As it turned out,
Inside this issue...
ThePCN
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Retrospective ................. A4 Legals .......................... B7-8 Classifieds ................. B9-10
Go to www.poseycountynews.com Community ........... A5 Social ...................... A6 Deaths ................... A3 Sports .................. B1-6 School.................... A9 Bus./Ag .................. A8
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