Friday, January 26, 2024
Soviar Enters Commissioners Race
Winifred “Winnie” Soviar files paper yesterday with county election deputy Jeff Sponsel to enter the Shelby County Commissioners Center District race on the Democrat ticket. | submitted
Winifred “Winnie” Soviar filed yesterday to run on the Democrat ticket for the Shelby County Commissioners Center District seat. Soviar and her husband, Steve, have lived in Shelbyville since 1990. Their daughters, Mindi, a teacher, and Stephanie, a news anchor in Houston, both graduated from Shelbyville High School and Ball State University.
Mrs. Soviar served several years as a registered nurse, including time as a school nurse for Shelbyville Central Schools, and has held positions with the Shelby County WIC program, Community East Hospital as an Industrial Nurse and 21 years with Eli Lilly and Company in drug safety and quality.
The Soviars are members of St. Joseph Catholic Church, and Mrs. Soviar has been a past member of Kappa Kappa Sigma social sorority, PEO and the former Shelbyville Community Theater. She is currently a fringe representative for the Shelbyville Plan Commission and board member for the Shelby County Health Department.
She believes it is vital to hear from the community, she said in a press release. “No one knows everything, but the voiced concerns and comments provide a constructive way to problem solve and come up with the best solutions to benefit Shelby County residents,” she said in the statement. “We need to partner together to move Shelby County into the future. Shelby County is a desirable place to live. We want people to stay here, work locally and live their best lives. The people in Shelby County make the difference! I look forward to engaging with you to progress Shelby County.”
Soviar is the only Democrat to file so far in the Commissioners’ Center District race. David Lawson has filed to run for the seat on the Republican ticket.
Students Experience StarLab 2.0
Shelbyville Middle School seventh grade student Braelyn Grant points out a constellation during her presentation.
The time-tested tradition of StarLab, the portable planetarium, returned to Shelbyville Middle School this week. Science teacher Scott Hughes, who taught with the old StarLab system years ago, rented the updated version, complete with a computerized sky that accurately syncs to any date and time desired. Several teachers brought classes and taught a variety of subjects, from the constellations to mythology, with topics also including moon phases, sun spots and a short film about telescopes.
Some seventh grade English Language Arts students learned the material in advance, then wrote an original myth in groups and presented to their peers.
“We had a great time brainstorming to come up with a story about Pisces,” Halle Parker said. She was in a group with Chloe Caldwell and America Leon-Torres. “We worked great together,” Parker said.
Once students crawled into the planetarium and sat along the edges in a circle, they first viewed the night sky. Teachers could fast forward to show the stars’ rotations, with the April 8, 2024 eclipse date a popular option. The connected constellations were then shown, with a further screen showing the graphics and names of major Greek and Roman mythological stories.
Reagan Dillon said she now knows what to look for in the actual night sky. Stormie Bolden liked studying the differences between the constellations, such as Canis Major and Canis Minor. Kat Ahmad enjoyed the whole experience. “My favorite part was lying down in the lab and looking at the stars,” she said.
For teachers and some students who experienced StarLab in elementary school, the class period brought back memories. And the process of creating their own myths for oral storytelling made for new ones.
“The way everyone was having fun and laughing while telling their stories - and even though I was scared of the dark - it was fun,” Ariza Zermeno said.
BELOW: StarLab is set up in the Shelbyville Middle School library.
BELOW: Shelbyville Middle School seventh grade students Amayah Horner, Elise Parker, Mary O’Connor, Stormie Bolden, Elle Shaver and Layla Kincaid prepare to participate in StarLab. (Photo taken in the dark with flash.)
BELOW: Shelbyville Middle School seventh grade students Alexander Caballero-Garcia, Wyatt Sharp, Kobe Rosales, Layden Fitzgerald, Adam Scott and Owen Shively prepare to participate in StarLab. (Photo taken in the dark with flash.)
NOTEBOOK:
Registration for Blue River Soccer Association's Spring 2024 youth soccer season is open. Birth years from 2008 to 2021 are eligible to register and play this Spring. The cost for the season is $70, but the price increases as of February 9, and registration closes completely February 15. Fields open for practice the week of March 11, and games are held mainly on Saturdays starting April 13 and ending May 18. Games are played at the BRSA fields at Blue River Memorial Park, 725 Lee Blvd., Shelbyville.
NATIONAL NEWS: In 1960, about 4 percent of Americans said they would be displeased if their child married someone from the other political party. By 2020, that had grown to nearly four in 10. Indeed, only about 4 percent of all marriages today are between a Republican and a Democrat. (New York Times)
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The first quarterly Addison Times print magazine is set to mail next week. This edition is centered on exclusive local government articles, with never-before-seen photos of the 1972 Sesquicentennial celebration included. The magazine will be mailed to supporters of at least $5 a month or $60 a year. Please click below or send a check to The Addison Times, 54 W. Broadway St., Suite 13, Shelbyville, IN, 46176. Thank you to each donor who makes The Addison Times possible! - Kristiaan Rawlings, editor
This Day in Shelby County History
2014: An event featuring 15 bands played at Crosstown Bar and Grill to benefit the Shelby County Cancer Association and the Shelby County Animal Shelter. DL Sanders was one of the organizers.
2004: The No. 1-ranked Waldron Mohawks stayed perfect (12-0) with a two-point win over Hauser. Waldron’s Justin Bernard scored 30 points and twin brother Jordan Barnard scored 29.
Plans were in the works to convert Lora B. Pearson school, which operated from 1939 to 2000, and Thomas A. Hendricks school to senior housing.
1994: The Shelbyville News reported that of 25 people interviewed downtown Shelbyville, a majority said they were fans of President Clinton’s recent comments on welfare reform. They also praised Clinton’s proposal to tax cigarettes and alcohol to pay for health care reform. “I smoke,” Dillard Priddy said. “But I agree with that.” Shelbyville Common Council member Edghill Moore called it “a brilliant speech.” Some, though, were not as impressed. “I don’t trust Clinton, he says what he wants to say,” Lowell Williams said.
1984: The Shelby County Home Builders Association met at Fiddler’s Three and announced repeal of the five-acre law would be their focus for the year. Newly elected officers were Paul Mohr, president; Phil Haehl, vice president; Greg Griffith, secretary; and Karen Kremer, treasurer. Other board members were Mike Wheeler, Earl Wilson, Ralph Kuhn and Warren Goodrich.
Shelbyville native and artist Jeffrey Becom had his first Indiana showing, at Keystone at the Crossing.
Jo Ann Tracy of Morristown was named Good Citizen of the Year in Shelby County. Nick Runnebohm, president of the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce, said Tracy had received many more votes than anyone else. Tracy had been founder and president of the Shelby County Animal Shelter Commission and taught Sunday school for many years, in addition to other activities. The previous year’s winner had been Steve Moberly.
1974: County Clerk John Thomas reported there were 815 people paying child support in Shelby County.
A Shelbyville Motors newspaper ad encouraged customers to trade-in their compact cars, which were “worth more than ever” due to national energy issues. “It’s a fact,” the ad read, “intelligent people always benefit from a crisis.” A photo in the same edition showed a packed Shelbyville High School parking lot, and the caption wondered whether students were really cutting back their fuel consumption.
1964: The Shelbyville News noted that a semi truck and a load of logs, which spilled from the overturned semi on State Road 44 in Sept. 1963, were still on the side of the road, on top of a destroyed section of fence on the Wayne Branson farm.
1954: Episcopalians organized a new church under the name of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. Joseph Ross was chairman of the founding committee. Other members of the committee were Frederick Miller, Bernard Dabney, Mrs. John C. DePrez and Mrs. Loren Glass.
1944: A group of local women met at the Inlow Clinic to make 18,000 four-inch medical gauze sponges for army medics. Ethel Keeney was in charge of the project.
A bomb shelter display was set up at Paul Cross gym. A demonstration involved putting 40 volunteers in the shelter who then were “sealed” inside and phonographic sound effects simulated an air raid, which had been recorded from the actual blitz on London.
1934: A 1931 Ford Victoria coupe belonging to Ward Graham, local Ford dealer, was stolen from outside his home at 1012 South West Street. Also, a radio was stolen from the Indianapolis & Southeastern bus lines office on North Harrison St.
1924: Two interurban cars collided outside Shelbyville, breaking window glass but causing no injuries. One of the cars was full of Shelbyville fans attending a basketball game in Indianapolis.
1914: The Singer Agency opened on the west side of Public Square. Sewing machines could be purchased or rented by the week or month, and repairs were offered.
OBITUARIES
Roberta Inlow, beloved widow, mother, and grandmother passed away in January, 2024, in Torrance, California. Roberta was born in 1931, in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Ruth and Willard Graber. She received her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and obtained a teaching certificate from Butler University shortly afterwards. While studying at Indiana, Roberta met her husband of 70 years, Robert Inlow.
Roberta spent most of her early years in Clay County, Indiana living on a multi-generational farm that is still in the family. Initially, she and her sister lived with extended family after their mother passed away and her father supported the family in the US Postal Service. Eventually, the Graber family settled on the farm where Roberta spent her childhood and graduated from high school. Roberta then attended Indiana University (IU) where she studied social studies and education and pledged Delta Gamma sorority. After graduating IU and later completing her teaching certificate from Butler University, Roberta taught school in Indianapolis for several years.
Roberta often said that meeting Robert (“Bob”) Inlow was the best thing that ever happened to her. Married in 1951, in Bloomington, Indiana, she stayed on campus to complete her degree while Bob went to graduate school and medical school. Together, they moved several times over the next years as Bob completed medical school in Indianapolis, his internship at Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio, residency at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and Army service in Columbia, South Carolina. Eventually they settled in Shelbyville, Indiana for over 50 years where Bob practiced medicine at the Inlow Clinic and later at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Their partnership defined their lives, and they were very devoted to each other.
Roberta spent the early years in Shelbyville raising the family and participating in civic activities such as AAUW, Tri Kappa and the Coterie. In later years she and Bob spent time with the family in Southern California, and travelled to the Caribbean, British Isles, Europe, Russia, Lake Victoria, Africa and Mexico. Of course, there were also visits to IU for football games to visit the alma mater and watching IU basketball on TV.
Roberta was also a devoted mother of three children and seven grandchildren. Roberta is survived by Barbara Inlow-Childress (Ken), Daniel Inlow (Laura), and Diana (Dee Dee) Inlow Paré (Thomas Jr.) as well as seven grandchildren, Amanda, Andrea and Christopher Childress, Kevin and Connor Inlow, and Claire and Thomas Paré, III plus nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert, and her sister Patricia Stoner.
Private graveside services were entrusted to Freeman Family Funeral Homes and Crematory, 819 S. Harrison St. in Shelbyville.
Randall Leon "Randy" Blackledge Sr., 72, of Flat Rock, IN passed away on January 22, 2024 at his home. He was born on October 8, 1951 to Fred Robert Blackledge and Rosie (Cornelius) Blackledge. He met Katherine (Payne) Blackledge when they were 7 and 5 years old. They married on June 10, 1972, and she survives.
Other survivors include his children Melissa Isgrigg (husband Bryan) of Flat Rock; Randall Blackledge Jr. (wife Carrie) of Florida. His six beloved granddaughters Chelsey Blackledge (partner Coty Miller) of Florida; Miranda Blackledge (fiancé Tyler Endicott) of Shelbyville; Alexis Blackledge of Florida; Bryttany Isgrigg (partner Jared Cazzell), Zoey Isgrigg, and Izabell Isgrigg, all of Flat Rock . One brother, Fred Allen Blackledge of Indianapolis.
Randy served in the US Navy. He spent most of his career working in auto parts. He most recently retired from Adam's Glass, after working there for 10 years. Randy enjoyed going to Hot Wheels Shows, watching NASCAR races, and spending time with his family.
He is preceded in death by his parents. Memorial contributions can be made to Our Hospice of Central Indiana 2626 E 17th Street Columbus, IN 47201. He was a wonderful brother, husband, father, and papaw. We love him to the moon and back.
Visitation for family and friends will be held on Friday, January 26, 2024 from 4 to 7 p.m. at Flinn and Maguire Funeral Home, 2898 North Morton Street, (U.S. 31 North) in Franklin. A Celebration of Randy's life will be conducted on Saturday, January 27, 2024 at 1 p.m. at the funeral home. Burial will follow at Rest Haven Cemetery in Edinburgh, Indiana where military honors will be conducted. Expressions of caring and kindness may be received to the family at www.flinnmaguire.net