County 6: Posey

One of the great things about traveling the state is seeing all the unique features of Indiana. We’re a Midwestern state, so it’s often noted that we don’t have mountains or oceans, but that doesn’t mean each community doesn’t have its own flavor.



Officials from Mt. Vernon show the
Lt. Governor a new park on the Ohio River.

The most successful communities are the ones that use their local landscape to their advantage and improve their “quality of place”. Mt. Vernon, in Posey County, offers a great example of that.

While visiting there on Thursday, I saw their work to demolish an old abandoned silo along the Ohio River and turn it into a beautiful riverfront park. The park is just a stone’s throw away from the downtown, and the historic courthouse – where I met with local elected officials earlier in the day – is visible from the new trails.



The project might not have been possible without the state’s Office of Community and Rural Affairs granting the funds to tear down the silo. That’s exactly the type of improvement I had in mind when creating this state agency in 2005.

I mentioned “quality of place” earlier, and some people ask what that means. Well you’ve heard of quality of life, how we measure the well-being of individuals. Quality of place is about the well-being of communities and whether local leaders are getting every ounce of potential out of their corner of Indiana.



Mayor John Tucker of Mt. Vernon shows
Lt. Governor Skillman plans for a community
and economic develoment project.



In Posey County – quite literally a corner of Indiana – I’m happy to report that it’s happening.