Monday, Feb. 15, 2021
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FINISHING TOUCHES
Work continues on the Blue River Career Programs’ first new home construction in over a decade, 823 Center St., on property previously owned by Habitat for Humanity. The building trades class originally started in 1973 under the direction of John Wall. At that time, classes met in the old Chambers building at the corner of St. Joseph and Miller streets. The class spent the first two years constructing classrooms, closing up some of the drafty windows and doors, and repairing the leaky roof. In 1976 the class began to construct a house as a project. The first house was built in Berwick and sold for $59,000. After Berwick Manor became full, the program moved to neighboring Clearview Addition. By the early 2000s, their homes were selling in the mid $160,000s.
GIRLS GETTING IN THE CIRCLE
Shelbyville High School wrestlers Angelique Kreider and Dakota Tingle are the first two girls to complete a season under Coach Adam Miller. | photo provided
Like most middle school students, Angelique Kreider was still discovering her interests in seventh grade.
“I was new, sports were new, and everything was new,” Kreider, now in ninth grade at Shelbyville High School, said. “I was adjusting to my surroundings, trying to fit in.”
When Kreider’s mom was late picking her up from “Junie B. Jones” musical practice one day, she found herself watching a friend on the wrestling team. “The next day, I decided to sit through one of his practices, and, just like that, I fell in love with the sport.”
Last month, the multi-sport athlete pinned a Rushville opponent in the 120-lb. class, above her weight. She also wrestled the top-ranked and fourth-ranked girls in the state this season.
Although the majority of school wrestlers are boys, Kreider’s experience is becoming less of an anomaly, SHS coach Adam Miller said. Kreider and Dakota Tingle, a junior, are the first two girls to complete a season under his tutelage.
“A lot of wrestling coaches are excited about having more girls in the sport,” Miller said.
He started volunteer coaching eight years ago while stationed at Camp Atterbury. Despite the starts and stops of this season in the pandemic, Miller is pleased that several girls are currently participating in wrestling at Shelbyville Middle School, building a solid base for the future.
Cora Flynn, an SMS seventh-grader, has found both a hobby and a practical reason to stick with her new activity.
“I had been looking for a sport to join during the winter season to stay in shape for track and cross country,” Flynn said. “My favorite part of this season is when we get to mess around, playing king of the mat, where we can see so many uncommon match-ups.”
Both Flynn and Kreider intend to return next season. “My goal is to show guys that girls can be just as good of wrestlers as they are,” Kreider said.
Coach Miller is already convinced. “Some of the girls are more aggressive than the boys,” he said, laughing.
NOTEBOOK
As of yesterday, the state reported 4,528 positive coronavirus cases in Shelby County, an increase of 12 from the previous day, out of 17,961 tests, an increase of 32 from the day before. The number of deaths for Shelby County remained the same, at 88.
HOOSIER NEWS: Lawmakers have proposed state guidelines for wind and solar farms — like how far they can be from neighboring property owners. Under a new state House bill, local governments wouldn’t be able to make ordinances stricter than those guidelines. Renewable energy companies said all of the different local ordinances in the state have made it difficult to build wind and solar projects in Indiana — especially for something like a wind farm that can span multiple counties. The bill’s author, Rep. Ed Soliday (R-Valparaiso), said there’s a market for renewable energy and Indiana could lose that revenue to other states willing to provide it. “Our 22 largest manufacturers — they all want renewable energy and they’re going to get it. They’re going to get it either through buying it from other folks and paying the transmission costs or we’re going to generate some of it." he said. Supporters of the bill said wind and solar farms attract new businesses and provide a cleaner source of power. Soliday said solar and wind projects can also help counties regain some of the tax revenue that will be lost as coal plants shut down. Henry County Councilor Betsy Mills said she’s not against clean energy, but she is against the state infringing upon the rights of local governments to decide what’s best for their communities. Counties would still be able to deny projects — though renewable energy companies could appeal that decision with the state. The Hoosier Environmental Council is also concerned that the bill would override local ordinances that require pollinator habitats in or around solar farms. The bill passed out of committee on Wednesday and now moves to the full House for consideration. (Indiana Public Media)
THIS DAY IN SHELBY COUNTY HISTORY
News around Shelbyville and the surrounding area as reported on or about this date in history. Selections are curated from the Shelby County Public Library Genealogy Department.
20 YEARS AGO: 2001
A small group opposed to plans for building a horse racing track in Shelby County joined forces with another group in Fairland that was against permitting a restaurant with a liquor license to open there. Nine people attended a meeting of CARD - Citizens Advocating Responsible Development - hosted at New Life Christian Resource Center in Shelbyville. Developers had recently proposed a 3,000-seat harness racing track near the Fairland exit on I-74.Christa Carson was named homecoming queen at Triton Central High School. Jeff Blettner was King.
30 YEARS AGO: 1991
Our Place, the former Chicken & Steak Inn, once a landmark in Shelbyville, closed. Marsh Supermarkets bought out the restaurant’s lease and the property. In its heyday - the late ‘50s and 60s - there were 40 employees at the 1137 E. Michigan Road restaurant, which included a drive-in. It could seat 250 customers. Before World War II, Carl Kremer and his brother, Lawrence Kremer, had operated a little drive-in restaurant on South Harrison Street across from Compton’s Dairy. They bought four acres outside of town and built the original 30-by-50 restaurant. The Kremers operated the new restaurant successfully until the war came along, and Carl was drafted. His brother was not able to keep the business going. So Raymond Zinser bought Lawrence’s half interest, and when brother-in-law Carl returned from service, they re-opened Chicken & Steak Inn on Labor Day weekend 1945. Zinser’s wife, Mary Ann, and his sister, Pauline, helped run the establishment. In the 1950s, General Electric built nearby and business picked up. In 1955, the restaurant was remodeled and kitchen facilities were enlarged. In 1959, two additions were added - the Terraza Room and a new front to the building. When Carl Kremer died in 1976, Zinser stayed with the restaurant only a short time before retiring in 1978. Zinser’s son, Martin, and Kremer’s son, Tom, took over and eventually leased it to Waffle House. It became Our Place in 1989.
40 YEARS AGO: 1981
About $600 was taken in a burglary at the Klubhaus racquetball facility at I-74 and N. State Road 9, manager Jack Tindall said. Burglars also broke into the Mideastern Restaurant, 540 E. Hendricks St., and removed an undetermined amount of change from a pinball machine and a jukebox.
50 YEARS AGO: 1971
Edwin Webber, manager of Hook’s Drugstore, and Mrs. Ford were honored at an awards banquet for Hook’s employees. Webber received the Golden Key Award for excellence in store management; Ford, a cashier at the local store, was recognized for 10 years of service.The metal siding was painted green on the new 20,000 square foot addition at Welsh Kitchens, 484 E. South St.
60 YEARS AGO: 1961
The new body jack donated to the emergency ambulance came in handy as Russell Mason, the attendant, used the jack to free a little girl’s hand from the wringer of a washing machine. The instrument was usually used to pry apart twisted metal of car bodies in order to free accident victims. However, it worked well on the washing machine, Mason said. The hand was likely to heal, but Mason admitted, “the washing machine will never be the same.”70 YEARS AGO: 1951
The first annual Valentine dance for Shelbyville and Shelby County junior and senior high school students was held at the Rec following the SHS-Seymour game. Rev. E.L. Ford, manager of the Rec, was in charge. A Columbus band, the Music Makers, provided entertainment.“Gaping chuck-holes on main Shelbyville thoroughfares which have jarred the teeth of more than one local motorist resulted in more extensive damage to one automobile today,” The Shelbyville News reported. A woman complained to the City that her clutch went out when the car dipped into a hole on Harrison St. between Broadway and Jackson Streets. Street Department officials said the State was responsible for the road’s upkeep.
80 YEARS AGO: 1941
Cortez Peters, of Washington D.C., an “outstanding Negro speed typist” gave a demonstration at Paul Cross Gym for students. He typed 138 words per minute on a portable typewriter but held the one-minute test record of 319 words per minute. The event had been organized by Miss Margaret McKenney of Fairland High School for 350 students from Shelbyville and the seven rural high schools.
90 YEARS AGO: 1931
After being forced at gunpoint to hand over $65 to a gunman who visited the Kroger store at Jefferson and S. Harrison Streets, manager Hubert Perry, his wife, and Earl Metz, 16, were ordered into an automobile in which an accomplice transported the group to State Road 29 and let them out near the mausoleum. The vehicle, a Model A Ford, had been parked in front of the VanWay shop nearby.
100 YEARS AGO: 1921
Charles Shaw, near Flat Rock, reported that he had shot at a would-be chicken thief several times. The thief was seen wading across Flat Rock River and disappearing in the underbrush on the other side.Two local youths were taken into custody by police on charges of taking bicycles from in front of “moving picture theatres here and from racks at certain of the local furniture factories,” the Republican reported. The teens were given “the basement treatment” by their fathers on order of Mayor Lee Hoop. “One youth took his medicine in the basement of the city hall, and the other was taken home, where he got his,” the paper said. The headline of the article was “Whippings”.
OBITUARIES
None today
