SINCE 1882 Successor to The Poseyville News & New Harmony Times POSEY COUNTY’S ONLY LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED NEWSPAPER
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Volume 136 Edition 31
Financial institution is in downtown MV future
Davis Jones takes to the slip and slide at Mount Vernon Community Church and First United Methodist Church’s combined Vacation Bible School. Photo by Zach Straw
By Lois Mittino Gray Members of the Mount Vernon Common Council heard details at its July 21 meeting on changes necessary to pave the way for the city’s newest downtown business. Heritage Federal Credit Union plans to build a branch on the southwest corner of Fourth and Main Streets. The changes requested involve vacating an alley and eliminating four parking spaces on Main Street, on the north half of the street’s west side, to allow for curb cuts. Ted Zeimer and project design engineer Rick Mills showed council members blueprints and answered questions. Zeimer is with the firm Bingham Greenebaum Doll LLP, representing Warehouse Services Number Five of Mount Vernon. They are the present owners of lots 91 and 92 to be sold to the credit union, contingent on the alley vacation.
The alleyway is 16 feet one-half inch wide and is located on the south side of lot 92. The space is necessary for the building’s parking lot and landscaped area. Barry Cox, President of Warehouse Services Inc., stated in documentation that the vacation of the proposed alley would not hinder or make difficult the furnishing of public utilities to the area or nearby neighbors. Fire Chief Wes Dixon said that emergency vehicles would have improved access on the site, as it will have a 24 feet wide space, instead of the 16.5 foot alley. “This whole project will benefit the city and make the square more attractive. It will create new jobs and use union workers for construction. It is a great business to have
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WMI gets chance with old school By Lois Mittino Gray New Harmony Town Council Members called a special meeting on Friday, July 22 to pass a joint resolution with the Working Men’s Institute on the transfer of the old New Harmony School property to the library group. “What’s our thoughts?” Council President Alvin Blaylock asked fellow council members after the WMI asked for a change in the wording of one section. After quick discussion, a motion was made to accept the requested change, amended to the satisfaction of both groups. It passed unanimously, with Councilman Roger Wade abstaining as he stated he was a WMI member. Councilman David Flanders then made a motion to pass the entire resolution as amended. It also passed unanimously with Wade again abstaining from the vote. The short morning meeting was over in a matter of minutes, but the business transacted can be long lasting. The passed amended resolution agrees to transfer the property to WMI via quitclaim deed with no money in-
volved in the transaction, if the WMI asks to have it at some time in the future. The WMI would like to develop and operate the property as the William Maclure Conservatory of Useful Knowledge. It would be modeled much like the former Hedges Central School in Mount Vernon with nonprofit organizations as tenants and classes available, making it a veritable community learning center. The property includes the school building, outbuildings, a baseball field, a soccer field, a softball field, and miscellaneous, totaling about 30 acres. The sticking point that was amended concerned what would happen to the property if the Conservatory did not work out and WMI wanted to give it back to the town. Originally, the town council said in discussions that it would not accept the property back once it gave it to the WMI. The resolution was amended at the meeting to include a reversion clause that states the town will accept a transfer of ownership should WMI
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Seven-year-old Brielle Joseph, daughter of Steven and Lucinda Joseph, gets her hair cut by Beautician Teresa West at the New Harmonie Healthcare Back-to-School Bash last Friday afternoon. Photo by Theresa Bratcher
Mount Vernon Main Street tracks to be repaired By Lois Mittino Gray Members of the Mount Vernon Board of Public Works learned at their July 21 meeting that those bumpy railroad tracks on Main and Walnut streets are slated to be fixed starting on August 1. Robbie Buchanan, Vice President and General Manager of Evansville Western Railroad, appeared before the board and promised “we’re going to make it better.”
He outlined a plan that should not encroach on public safety response time or affect traffic flow, except for large trucks. The Main Street crossing will be closed first on Monday, August 1 for about three days to replace the crossing. Sometime on Wednesday, repair crews will open Main back up and move over to Walnut Street to replace that nearby crossing. Public safety officials were asked if the closings would
affect their response time. “Not as long as either Walnut or Main are closed, we can’t have both closed at the same time. We cannot go over the bridge with our vehicles,” Fire Chief Wes Dixon replied. Big trucks cannot use Walnut at all and must use the bypass to get to GAF and CountryMark. Those
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Jeffries resigns second elected position in three years By Lois Mittino Gray M. Brian Jeffries submitted his letter of resignation as the Mount Vernon District One Councilman to County Clerk Betty Postletheweight on July 20. She said the resignation was effective immediately. District One is made up of Black Township voting precincts 5, 9, and 13. In his resignation memorandum to her dat-
ed July 15, Jeffries listed his reason as, “over the coming year or so, I will be engaged in enterprises that will require a high degree of my attention and travel, outside of the local area.” Jeffries had been elected to the MSDMV School Board before resigning that position to take a position on the Mount Vernon City Council. He did not answer frequent calls to
his office for details. Other council members were surprised by the news at the July 21 council meeting. District Two Councilman Larry Williams was appointed to take Jeffries’ place on the MV Board of Public Works at its meeting earlier in the day. Mayor Bill Curtis was not present at the council meeting for comment as he is vacationing in Alaska.
Speaking from the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia, Posey County Democratic Party Chairman Ed Adams explained the plan to replace Jeffries on the council. “The procedure is to caucus with the precinct committee chairmen from Black Township 5, 9 and 13. Since Brian was one of them,
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Bookmobile continues offer of travel without expense By Lois Mittino Gray Keaton Neth briskly walked out of his house and across the front lawn to enter a world of his favorite books waiting just outside his door. The large Alexandrian Public Library Bookmobile was on time as scheduled on a Thursday morning in the Lake Ridge Subdivision of Mount Vernon. The eager eightyear-old, soon to be a third grader at Farmersville Elementary, asked librarian Tyler Lemar about finding dinosaur books and yellow green/ light blue chapter books. If he reads eight books and makes his 10 summer journal entries, he can attend a party in the gym. Lemar has been the head of Bookmobile and Outreach Services for the Alexandrian Public Library for the past four years. A consum-
mate professional who loves her work, she received her Masters of Library Science degree in 2012 from IUPUI. Her undergraduate degree in art is from Webster University in St. Louis. The APL Bookmobile makes about 385 stops annually. The large vehicle can be seen parked at local schools during the school season, but in the summer she visits local subdivisions, pools and businesses. This includes Birdland and Lake Ridge in Mount Vernon up to St. Phillips and Silver Bell and South Terrace in the northern part of the county. She delivers 12 storytimes per month to local preschools. “I often go right into their classrooms and do a 30-minute story time for them, too. Sometimes I just deliver a basket of books on
the subject they are studying,” she explained. Lemar is quick to point out favorite titles to little visitors to the mobile. She showed Hannah Gray a painting colors book and Adam Gray’s eye shone when she found him a Star Wars book hidden away in a bin. “Although children are our main visitors, we have great materials for adults and teens,” she noted. There are audio books on CD, a section of large print books, and periodicals on many topics, including Girls’ Life, Sports Illustrated, Seventeen, Hot Rod, Outdoor Life and People. There is Wi-Fi Service on the vehicle and it is cooled and heated by a generator for a comfortable visit.
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Third grader Keaton Neth checks out a Goosebumps scary book on the bookmobile parked right by his house from librarian Tyler Lemar. Photo by Lois Mittino Gray
Briefly Town of Poseyville to flush water mains The Town of Poseyville will be flushing water mains beginning Monday, August 1 and will continue for the week. Brown water may be experienced until the flushing is complete. PC Solid Waste schedules Tox-Away Day The Posey County Solid Waste District monthly ToxAway Day will be Thursday, August 4, 2016 at the Mount Vernon recycling center from 2 until 6 p.m. Dispose of old pesticides, household cleaners, oil based paints, etc. For more information, contact the Solid Waste District at 812-838-1613.
$1.00
(USPS SPS 4 439-500) 3 9 5 00
MV Elks to hold a Party on the Patio Mount Vernon Elks Lodge 277 will hold a Party on the Patio on Saturday, August 20, 2016 from 6 p.m. to midnight. Grilled burgers and brats are available. Matt Sneed will provide music. There will be a Treasure Hunt drawing at 7 p.m. and a half-pot. The event is open to the public. Bring your friends and make some new ones. Get an application to join. The Elks Lodge is a non-profit fraternal organization that supports over 20 organizations in Posey County.
Talk to a Lawyer Clinic announced The next scheduled telephone clinic, known as Talk To A Lawyer, is scheduled for Thursday, August 4 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. central standard time, 5:30 to 8 p.m. eastern time. Volunteer attorneys will be available to answer general legal questions and give general advice and guidance regarding Indiana law during this time. Anyone with a question regarding Indiana law is welcome to call 812618-4845 or toll free at 888-594-3449. Talk to a Lawyer is co-sponsored by Indiana Bar Foundation, Evansville Bar Foundation and Volunteer Lawyer Program of SW Indiana.