Monday, March 31, 2025
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A GRAND PERFORMANCE
Mrs. Peggy Risley’s piano students performed at a recital last night, hosted at Hope’s Point Baptist Church. Front row (L to R): Mrs. Peggy Risley, Lily Redd, Victoria Washburn, Devyn Hurst, Owen Shively, Will Shively, Elliot Wung, Ema Tsuwano, Josie Wilkinson, Sam Wilkinson, Lydia Schutt and Ayaka Yamashita. Top row: Edward Wung, Elizabeth Washburn, Naomi Shutt, Aiden Morris, Julian Anspaugh, Jonah Anspaugh, Gideon Schutt and Barklee Goedde. | photo by KRISTIAAN RAWLINGS
State Legislators Provide Updates
The state legislative session is past the half-way mark of the session, and legislators were on hand Friday to discuss updates. Below are updates and comments from State Rep. Jenny Meltzer (R-73), Rep. Robb Greene (R-47) and State Sen. Jean Leising (R-42) from a Shelby County Chamber of Commerce/City of Shelbyville luncheon hosted Friday at the Shelbyville Central Schools administration building (photo below by Anna Tungate). There were 521 bills that originated in the Senate, of which 156 moved over to the House. There are 178 House bills that have advanced to the Senate.
In addition to yesterday’s coverage of bills authored by State Rep. Jenny Meltzer, she provided an update on HB 1167, which is moving forward. The bill clarifies that fentanyl test strips, used to test a drug to determine whether or not there’s fentanyl or xylazine in it and distributed by health departments, is not considered paraphernalia. “In an attempt to clarify the law and make sure that those who are in active addiction can be alive to get treatment tomorrow, we have removed them from the paraphernalia statute,” she said.
Leising authored a bill that would provide protection for farmers through the Indiana Grain Indemnity Fund. SB 461 would also require grain dealers to keep accurate records on their purchases and improve other regulations and procedures. “If you’re a farmer and you deal with a grain dealer, and for some reason that dealership gets on the wrong side of the market and finds himself in a belly-up situation, this fund, which is farmer-funded, currently has about $33 million,” she said.
HB1490, co-sponsored by Leising, would allow the Indiana Horse Racing Commission to issue a license for non-veterinarians to do the twice-annual job of filing horses’ teeth. The local track at Horseshoe Indianapolis has about 1,050 horses during peak season, Leising said, with only two full-time and one part-time veterinarians on staff. “I think it's going to be a big relief for our horse track, and if any of you say, ‘Gosh, why worry about that?’ Well, the equine industry is a $2 billion industry in Indiana, and there are only two racetracks, Shelbyville and Anderson, so it’s a pretty big issue.”
HB 1425, also co-sponsored by Leising, would establish a one-year moratorium on the sale of cultivated meat products, which Leising termed “fake meat,” in Indiana, and would require state departments to conduct a study on its safety. “A couple of our states are smart enough to ban this product - Florida and Alabama - and Mississippi is working on a total ban,” Leising said. She had hoped for a total ban, but landed on the study and moratorium.
Sen. Leising noted that property tax changes will go in effect next year. She said her personal property tax bill increased 20 percent this year. She also said the State Senate had reduced Gov. Braun’s original proposal to “about one-fourth of what the governer wanted.” She said a special session to resolve the matter is not out of the question.
Leising, a former nurse, expressed concern about pending “anti-hospital, anti-provider” legislation. “I think the legislature is filled with people who really don’t have much healthcare knowledge,” she said.
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NOTEBOOK:
The Community Treasure Series returns to The Strand Theatre this Wednesday, April 2, 7 p.m. Donna Dennison, with the Shelby County Public Library, will lead the presentation on “Laws of Shelby County and Indiana.”
Editor’s Note: The first Addison Times quarterly print edition of 2025 for supporters will go to press in April. Thank you to those who give online or via a check to The Addison Times, 54 W. Broadway, #13, Shelbyville, Ind., 46176. Thank you for your continued support of daily local news and history.
HOOSIER NEWS: A San Diego-based military contractor plans to spend $50 million to construct a 68,000-square-foot facility at Crane to test and improve hypersonic weapons. The contractor, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, announced the plans Tuesday at Westgate@Crane Technology Park in Odon, Indiana, about 35 miles southwest of Bloomington. Company executives said they expect to hire more than 100 people, from machinists to engineers, who will earn an average of $80,000 a year. Kratos Senior Vice President Michael Johns said the company is working on partnerships with academic institutions and already has signed research agreements with Notre Dame, Purdue and IU. (IndyStar)
NATIONAL NEWS: A new global survey from Pew Research Center sought to find out the percentage of respondents in a given country who said they have switched religions and that their current religious situation is different than the religious category in which they were raised. In the United States, that figure is 28 percent, which actually comes in around the middle of the pack, alongside Italy, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Colombia. In Mexico, 21 percent of adults had switched religions, in Greece the figure is just 14 percent, in Kenya 7 percent, in Hungary 6 percent and in India 2 percent. On the other end of the spectrum, 34 percent of people from Australia, Japan, Germany and France are in a different religious category compared to when they were as kids. That is 38 percent in Canada, 40 percent in Spain and a remarkable 50 percent in South Korea. In most of those countries, the big winner was “religiously unaffiliated.” (Numlock)
Thank you to every donor for your continued support of The Addison Times. Donors of $100 or more receive a quarterly print publication in the mail. Please consider a one-time or monthly donation to The Addison Times, either online or via a check to The Addison Times, 54 W. Broadway, #13, Shelbyville, Ind., 46176. Thank you for your continued support of daily local news and history. I appreciate each of you. - Kristiaan Rawlings, Editor
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SHS Courier Archive Highlights
November 1993
The Academic Team was preparing for the Academic Superbowl, led by advisors Mr. Tom Davis and Mr. Perry Page. Student team members were Roger Owens, Erik Miller, Chip Bennett, Chris Sparks, Dan King, Matt Wilson, Tony Scarzo, Daniel Moore, Stephanie Craig, Melanie Davidson, Sommer Ogle, Sara Peters, Jennifer Lisher and Wendy Gahimer.
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Carousel” was coming to SHS. Senior Roger Owens and junior Amanda Lawson had lead roles. Other major roles would be played by Deirdre Wildman, Kelly Boyce, Kris Copes and Willandra Macklin.
Girls golf season ended, with the Bears holding an 8-3 record and winners of the sectional. Top players Julie Meyerholtz, Kim Gardener and Deirdre Wildman were all graduating. Boys tennis season had also concluded. Kyle Linville had gone to Regionals. The team would be losing Linville, Travis Sosbe, Andy Michel, Spencer Davis, Eric Haehl and Kevin Lenser to graduation. Cross Country runners who had advanced to semi-state were Jeri Meyerholtz, Matt Holbrook, Jason Brandt and Jennifer Kuhn.
World Championship Wrestling (WCW) came to SHS. Lord Steven Regal wrestled Davey Boy Smith (the British Bulldog) in the main event. Flyin’ Brian Pillman also wrestled a match.
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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 by The Addison Times from Shelby County Public Library Genealogy Department materials.
2005: In a customer-satisfaction survey, Major Hospital’s emergency room ranked in the top 18 of 925 hospitals across the U.S. It had been a large leap from being ranked in the 50th percentile a few years’ prior.
Following complaints, Bartholomew County officials told the owners of White River Truck Repair and Yard Art in Edinburgh to move concrete sculptures of nude figures, including a replica of “Venus di Milo,” to the rear of the property.
1995: Central Soya Co. announced plans to build a processing plant in Morristown, which was expected to employ 50 people.
The owner of the former Aliby’s Restaurant began repairing the building. He had closed Aliby’s in May 1994 due to problems with electrical wiring.
1985: The local post office was short five staff members and struggling to keep up with service needs. Local officials said they were working on hiring, but the on-boarding process was extensive and time-consuming.
1975: The annual Easter Egg Hunt was held at the Belaire Shopping Center. Hundreds of children turned out for the event. “Requests that parents not help the children in finding and gathering the eggs went generally unheeded,” The Shelbyville News reported.
A local Easter tradition was ending. For years, Dr. Bill Tindall had helped patients and personnel at Major Hospital celebrate Easter morning by taking a number of small colored chickens to the hospital. The previous year, an accreditation inspector took exception to the practice and wrote it up at length in her report, intimating that future accredition would be jeopardized if the practiced continued.
1965: The Shelbyville News had published the name of a woman arrested for driving drunk. The problem was that the woman arrested had used not used her actual name, instead identifying herself as another woman in Shelby County. The woman’s false impersonation had not been caught by the courts and was only caught when the victim’s husband called the newspaper report that his wife had not been arrested.
1955: Plans were announced for a new residential development two miles north of Shelbyville. Beechbrook addition would cover a 20-acre wooded area near U.S. 421 of W. Walser Road. The ground was platted for 40 building lots.
The Skyline Drive-in Theater, at U.S. 421 and State Road 44, opened for the season. Harlan Walts was president of the company. The Skyline would offer shows on weekends through April, then play films nightly for the remainder of the season. A new 100 feet by 40 feet screen had been installed, replacing a 38’x58’ screen.
1945: Sgt. Frank Robinson had been liberated from a German prisoner of war camp, the War Department notified his parents on Walker Street. Sgt. Robinson had participated in D-Day and was taken prisoner on June 7, 1944.
1935: Company officials with Plee-Zing Grocers visited Shelbyville for a meeting at the Strand Alcazar. George Walker was the Plee-Zing wholesaler for the Shelbyville district. Clyde Kennedy was president of the local group.
1925: The J.O. Parrish Lumber Co. offered materials to build rose trellises. “Make a hit with your wife; build that rose trellis early,” the ad read. Lattice was one cent per foot.
1915: The Parent-Teacher Club of School Building No. 1, the Franklin Street building, purchased a Victrola with the $112 raised from a bazaar and reunion. The club had previously purchased art to be installed in classrooms.
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OBITUARIES
None today.