SINCE 1882 Successor to The Poseyville News & New Harmony Times POSEY COUNTY’S ONLY LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED NEWSPAPER
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Volume 137 Edition 6
Congested intersection discussed Accident spurs study of streets near Mischi’s By Lois Mittino Gray A recent accident in Mount Vernon resulted in a request at the February 2, 2017, Mount Vernon Common Council Meeting to study the involved intersection and look at ways to improve its safety. Councilwoman Becky Higgins introduced the proposal for a possible stop sign at the intersection of Second and Walnut Streets, where three or four vehicles were
involved in an accident damaging Mischi’s Hair Salon last month. “I know we have discussed this before. Now, with the recent accident in front of the salon, the owner has asked me to bring this up to council and see what we can do about it,” she told council members. Higgins explained that there are two aspects to the problem. There are no stop signs along Second Street all the way up to Canal
Street and this stretch gets drivers speeding up to 40 mph. The other problem is that it is a very congested area. “There is parking on all four corners and drivers have to pull out far at the stop signs on Walnut Street to see if traffic is coming,” she said. “There are often many trucks parked around the American Legion.” There was discussion if the area is dark and has a working street light at night. It was agreed that there is one in front of the Mount Vernon Democrat building. “I think it’s more a matter of it’s hard to see when you pull out into traffic,” said resident Nancy Sexton.
Higgins asked council members to visit the intersection before their next meeting. She said she would hate to remove more parking, and essentially it would only be shifting the problem further down the street. She added she spoke with Police Chief Alldredge who reported there have been 10 accidents at that intersection since 2011, and some of those were “not just fenderbenders.” Mayor Bill Curtis said he did receive a call from someone involved in that most recent accident, too. Councilman Larry Williams made a suggestion to have a recommendation from Street
Arts in Harmony Gala Auctions set The Arts in Harmony 2017 Gala Auction, to benefit the Arts In Harmony festival, will be held at Thralls Opera House on Saturday, March 4, and will begin at 6 p.m. The $20/35 tickets include cocktails, heavy appetizers and a chance to bid on a fantastic selection of works. Dress is evening smart ... a little black dress or a sport coat is perfect. Tickets are very limited and can be purchased at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/arts-in-harmonygala-auction-tickets-31274513913?aff=es2. If local artists/authors would like to donate work for this wonderful cause (paintings, sculpture, books, etc.), please connect with Tony Treadway at 63tonyt@ gmail.com. For more details, the Facebook event page can be found here https://www.facebook.com/ events/1837116146500586/.
NP Hall of Fame tickets on sale North Posey Hall of Fame will be held on February 25, at the North Posey High School Cafeteria at 6 p.m. Tickets can be purchased for $15/person by calling the Posey County News Office at 812682-3950. We are rapidly running out of space for reservations for this year’s Hall of Fame banquet. Please Make Reservations now or no later than February 10, 2017. Late reservations and walk-ins will not be taken this year due to food reservations and costs. Thank you for your support. Ribeyes for Ribeyre Dinner, Auction to be held February 25 The fourteenth annual benefit dinner will be held on Saturday, February 25, 2017 as the Ribeyre Gym Restoration Group (RGRG) presents the 2017 Ribeyes for Ribeyre Dinner and Auction. This benefit event will be held at Ribeyre Gymnasium in Historic New Harmony and boasts an interest for the entire family. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. A traditional live auction will begin at 6 p.m. Tickets are available at the door: $20 for steak dinner, $8 for hot dog dinner. Serving time is 5-6:30 p.m. Posey County 4-H Talent Show coming soon The annual Posey County Share-the-Fun Talent Contest will be held Friday, May 5, 2017, at North Posey High School. The event will begin at 7 p.m. The public is welcome to attend, and admission is free. Local 4-H members will participate in group and/or individual curtain acts, and 4-H trip and scholarship winners for the year will be announced. For more information on this or any other 4-H event, please contact the Purdue Extension-Posey County Office, 812-838-1331 or poseyces@purdue.edu. Children’s Valentine Party set for Feb. 10 Linda’s Free Mission and One Life Church are hosting a Children’s Valentine Party on Friday, Feb. 10 from 3 - 6:30 p.m. at the church located at 1001 N. Main Street, Mount Vernon. Special guest will be Chief Deputy Tom Lathem. For more information call 812-838-9833.
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Public Works board hears requests for winter training
Briefly
South Terrace PTO Winter Carnival planned The South Terrace PTO 5th Annual Winter Carnival will be held on Saturday, February 25, 2017 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at South Terrace Elementary School. The Carnival is a family event open to the public and includes games, food, fire truck rides and raffles. $5 raffle items include Walt Disney World Tickets, Holiday World Tickets, an American Girl Doll, Visit Indy package, Explore St. Louis package, a Dyson handheld vacuum from Martin Sales and Service, and an Escalade Atomic Foosball Table. Drawings will occur at the Carnival and you need not be present to win. There will be many $1 raffles for items donated from local businesses including restaurants, museums and sports teams. $5 raffle tickets can be purchased prior to the event at the following locations: South Terrace Elementary, Barton’s Automotive, and Froggy’s Restaurant, or by contacting the PTO at SouthTerraceElemPTO@gmail.com. If your business would like to donate, please contact the PTO.
Commissioner Max Dieterle and Chief Alldredge ready for the next meeting. In other council action: • Mayor Curtis opened a public hearing on a proposed ordinance to make additional appropriations in the Community Crossing Grant Fund. There were no remonstrators or questions so the hearing was closed and the Council went into third reading of the ordinance. It passed as Ordinance 17.3. The fund has money from the state grant to pave roads and matching funds from LOIT (Local Option
Trey Dorsam and Ashley Knight hit the dance floor Saturday night at the Posey County Community Center for the fifth annual Sweetheart’s Of The Fair dinner and dance, presented by Hawg ‘N’ Sauce. Proceeds of the event go to games and rides for the Posey County Fair. Photo by Michelle Gibson
By Lois Mittino Gray Use of the city credit card was the main topic of the February 2, 2017, Mount Vernon Board of Public Works meeting as three department heads asked to use the plastic for trainings. Professional development training is often offered in late winter months, when staff is not so busy. Police Chief Tony Alldredge brought three requests to the board to use city vehicles and the card for food and hotels, if an overnight is required. The first is to send three officers to Crisis Intervention Training in Evansville for five days on February 7, 8, 9, and 14 and 15. He asked to send one officer to Remington 8-70 Armor Training on March 7 and 8 in Saint Louis, Missouri. Alldredge himself needs to attend Police Chief Executive Training per state statute. It will be held on March 27- 28 in Plainfield. All three requests were approved by board members. Mayor Bill Curtis reminded him to organize and save all receipts for filing. Fire Chief Wes Dixon wanted to make the board
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Closing up shop: Local barber retires By Lois Mittino Gray The decision to hang up his clippers and close the only barber shop left in Mount Vernon came quickly to Steve Burris. “I walked into the kitchen last week and surprised my wife by saying I was going to close it by Friday. I had been thinking about retiring and it was on my mind. I opened the shop in January of 1971, so I decided to close it in January 2017,” he said. The veteran barber did his last cut on an old friend, Jack Knox of Mount Vernon, on January 27. He closed up at noon and walked away from
MV port shatters record
his career of 52 years in this city. The shop, located on the corner of Second and Main Streets, was open for business 46 years. Burris, a Mount Vernon native, grew up in Evansville and graduated from Bosse High School. He studied at Henderson Barber College and returned to Mount Vernon in 1966 to work with Clyde Straw at his shop on Fourth Street. “At that time, there were seven barbershops in Mount Vernon and at least a dozen barbers. I
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Steve Burris
Positively upbeat Merrick’s attitude helps her in class, in life
Special to the News The Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon handled nearly 2.5 million tons of cargo during the fourth quarter of 2016 shattering the port’s previous quarterly record, set in the fourth quarter of 2014. The port’s 2016 fourth quarter volume was a 44 percent increase over the 2014 record and is the highest quarterly volume for any port in Ports of Indiana history. “Coal shipments surged during the fourth quarter giving 2016 the highest annual coal tonnage in the port’s history,” said Port Director Phil Wilzbacher. “Alliance Coal seized an opportunity to ship coal from its Southern Indiana and Illinois mines through its port terminal to export
By Lois Mittino Gray “Attitude is everything” proclaims a banner on top of Kim Merrick’s classroom board to remind her students and herself about the power of positive thinking. Kim, a Special Education teacher at Mount Vernon High School, is a paragon of positiveness who exhibits a real “can do” attitude in the face of adversity. What a role model she is for her students. Kim, a Murray, Kentucky native, started teaching in Mount Vernon in July 1984. By January of 1986, she was full-time at the high school teaching a learning disabled curriculum and coaching girls’ basketball. Right now, she has about 27 student caseloads and teaches in a self-contained classroom with
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Kim Merrick stands next a board in her classroom where her race numbers and medals for half marathons are displayed. Photo by Lois Mittino Gray