T
P C N SINCE 1882 Successor to The Poseyville News & New Harmony Times POSEY COUNTY’S ONLY LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED NEWSPAPER
Volume 139 Edition 21
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
$1.00
Carnegie Library Board to seek $550,000 for updates By Dave Pearce While mostly routine items were being handled at this week’s meeting of the Poseyville Town Council, two unusual requests were heard by the Council. Poseyville Carnegie Library Director Heather Morlan and several of the library’s board members were on hand to seek the Town Coun-
cil’s support for a general obligation bond to make some $550,000 in improvements at the library. The Summer Reading Program begins June 1. “We have been looking into some of the things that need to be repaired at the library,” Morlan told the board. “The new addition is 20 years old now and the flat roof is leaking so
it has really damaged a lot of the times on the inside. One of the major things we are trying to come up with is money to put a new pitch roof on. The old roof is very old and needs to be repaired. The whole roofing system needs to be repaired along with the inside ceiling tiles. We have some cracks on the inside. Our heating and air is over 20 years old and needs to
be replaced. We have light fixtures that need to be repaired and the carpet is over 20 years old and with a lot of people in and out, it is getting really worn and needs to be replaced. We have a large list of things that need to be repaired so that our library can continue to run efficiently
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New Dollar General location is source of safety concerns
The new Posey County Executive Director of Economic Development Jenna Alka is surrounded by Michelle Hudson, Joe Neidig and Mount Vernon Mayor Bill Curtis. A opportunity to get to know Jenna was hosted at the Hudson home this week. Photo by Dave Pearce
By Dave Pearce There’s a new weapon against crime and vandalism in Poseyville. Poseyville Town Marshal Charles Carter told the Poseyville Town Council in their meeting on Wednesday that two remote cameras have been purchased with high quality imaging to help fight incidents in the town. Carter reported during the meeting that a few reports of vandalism have been reported, particularly in the downtown area recently and the new cameras will be two more sets of eyes helping keep watch from random spots. The cameras can easily be moved from one spot to another to help curb the vandalism problem. Carter said there has been incidents of broken glass and some rooftop incidents reported. While Carter will have help with watching
downtown, he was also asked to begin keeping a closer eye on foot traffic headed to the new location of the Dollar General Store in Poseyville. Town Board member Ron Fallowfield reported that subjects walking or riding bikes along the highway to and from the store’s new location have little to no room along the sides of the road to get out of the way of traffic. Since there are no sidewalks in the area, pedestrians are forced to walk on the dangerous roadside or cut across private property to reach the store. Fallowfield suggested that one possibility could be to reduce the speed limit all the way out to the store’s entrance. “State law allows pedestrian traffic as long as they are going against oncoming traffic. I don’t
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Safe Haven Baby Box finds a permanent home here By Lois Mittino Gray Mount Vernon Fire Chief Wes Dixon generated guffaws from the audience when he said the most frequently asked question about the Safe Haven Baby Box is, “Can I put a teenager in it?” He was speaking to a sizeable crowd in attendance at the Tuesday afternoon, May 14 dedication of the box imbedded in the wall of the Mount Vernon Fire Station. The “No blame, No shame, No names” box is for safe surrender of a newborn. It is the eighth one installed in Indiana, the nearest other one being three hours away. While his comment added some levity, Dixon was serious about everyone’s commitment to the project who was involved in it. “When I first heard about the box, I said I’m 100 percent in right away. Fire service is all about saving lives and this box may do that. Like others, I hope we never have to use it, but it is ready if we do,” he observed.
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From left Mayor Bill Curtis, The Rev. Allen Rutherford, Deanna Goossens, Reverend Jamie Kent, Senator Jim Tomes, the box, Black Township Trustee Jerry Walden, Monica Kelsey, Fire Chief Wes Dixon, Janice Martin, and Tom Kirsch, Right to Life. Photo by Lois Mittino Gray
Nix, Legion Post No. 278 refurbish cemetery cannons
Taking a part in the refurbishing of the cannons are, in front, Nix Welding employees Bill Nix, John Dike, Jeremy Will, Brad Burton, Zach Taylor, and Curtis Cleek. In the back are Poseyville American Legion Post 278 members Ronnie Ellis, Dave Morlock - Sgt. At Arms, Robert Robinson - Commander, Mel Paul, Dennis Knowles, Charles Elpers, Jim Hunt - Finance Officer, and Jim Tepool - Post Adjutant. Photo by Theresa Bratcher
By Lois Mittino Gray Two recently refurbished M5 anti-tank guns from World War Two will be the focal feature of the Poseyville Memorial Day ceremony on Monday. The heavy cannons have been on display at the Poseyville Veteran’s Memorial for many years and have been spruced up to sport shiny new looks. Charles Elpers spearheaded the movement to get them fixed up and back on display. They were acquired from the government and donated to the American Legion. “The guns still belonged to the Army and had serial numbers on both the cannon and the carriage. The Legion received a letter from the government telling everything we needed to do to decommission the cannons. We needed to weld parts together to immobilize everything to attain ownership. Rick Fischer of Mount Vernon really helped us
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Hopelessly Devoted Well-traveled New Harmony woman now rooted and grounded here The Golden Years
Marsha Bailey
(USPS 439-500)
By Pam Robinson New Harmony artist Marsha Bailey has set forth her best strokes in the canvas of her life. Her devotion to her family, her friends, and her art reflects the light of love and the shadow of loss. An intricate picture emerges of a woman moved to tears, hugs, laughter, and prayer. A timeline helps to keep track of Marsha. The second of two daughters born to Ralph and Marcilla (Bushong) Marsh, she started out in Alexandria, Ind., about an hour north of Indianapolis, still home to Christian music artist, Bill Gaither. When she reached third grade, Marsha and her family moved to Anderson, Ind., then a boom town with the GM plant employing 21,000 workers. She graduated from the largest of four high schools in the town, Anderson High School, with the Class of 1960. She lived and worked in Anderson for 10 years until her marriage
in 1970 to New Harmony native Kenyon Bailey, who was employed at Delco-Remy. He left Delco-Remy to become a professional in the Boy Scouts. Once Marsha and Kenyon married, they moved north, then east, where work led them, before retiring in New Harmony. The couple settled in their first home together in Winchester, Ind.,, the county seat of Randolph County, where Ken developed training materials still used in Indiana and Ohio for the Boy Scouts. A promotion meant traveling out-of-state to Battle Creek, Michigan, then to Kalamazoo, Michigan, where Kenyon settled in as District Head of the Boy Scouts. A move to Maryland satisfied the desire to join his brother-in-law as a partner in an electrical contracting firm. The Baileys lived in a DC feeder suburb for 20 years before moving back to Indiana. For 14 years this coming August 1, Marsha will have nested in New
Harmony. Her older sister (by 17 months), Sue Ely, came to Mount Vernon two years after Marsha moved to the area. As the saying goes, “You can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl.”
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INSIDE TODAY
Posey County
Graduation 2019