Sunday, February 21, 2021

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Construction on Shelbyville’s Public Square is visible through the second-floor windows of the former Conger’s Bradley Hall Furniture building. The storefront now serves as a connection between the parking garage and the Square.

• Shelby County Commissioners return to their regularly-scheduled Monday, 8 a.m. meeting tomorrow. The drainage board, following the Commissioners’ meeting, will consider a request to reduce a drainage easement at 5590 W 900 N, Fountaintown.

• The Shelbyville High School boys basketball team defeated East Central last night, 61-56. Mitch Yeend scored 29 points and Hunter Hounshell added 15. Southwestern High School boys also won, beating Rising Sun, 65-43.

• Former Golden Bear ZaLeeya Martin broke her own Hanover College record yesterday with a 60-meter dash run of 7.92 seconds. The college sophomore is one of the top NCAA D3 runners this season.

• As of yesterday, the state reported 4,570 positive coronavirus cases in Shelby County, an increase of 11 from the previous day, out of 18,096 tests, an increase of 33 from the day before. The number of deaths for Shelby County remained the same, at 90.

• EDITOR’S NOTE: Two weeks ago, after much consultation and consideration, I announced The Addison Times would remain in publication. I also told those who inquired that I expected subscriptions would drop off a bit; requiring every subscriber to “re-up” would be the likely cause. I was, not surprisingly, wrong. Thanks to your tireless promotion and personal support, we’re in a stronger position now than before. Again, thank you so much for supporting this effort. Today is the final daily edition for all on the distribution list. If you see the following at bottom of your email - “You’re on the free list for The Addison Times. For the full experience, become a paying subscriber” - and you wish to remain on the daily edition list past today, just let me know. Former subscribers can let me know to charge the payment on file; some may have a check in the mail. Whatever the case, I can take care of it. You may also subscribe today with a credit/debit card or mail a check to The Addison Times, 310 W. South St., Shelbyville, IN, 46176: $6/mo. or $60/annually. (Again, if you mail a check, please let me know so that I can keep your email on the list while the check is en route.) We will continue to send Sunday’s edition to everyone on the distribution list. Thank you again for your support of this product, local journalism, and for all you do. - Kristiaan Rawlings, editor

• HOOSIER NEWS: A series of accidentally posted office videos has become an unexpected viral hit on TikTok. The most popular shows a series of Orange County, Ind. municipal employees bidding farewell to beloved Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson, who is retiring. The sudden internet fame has been a whirlwind for the clerk’s office, which was not even aware the videos were being posted online. The @deputyclerk account, which was only launched this week, has already amassed over 5,000 followers, despite having only eight videos, all of which are variations on the same goodbye message. The videos have inspired a wave of spinoff content, as users look to put their own spin on the burgeoning meme. In most cases, users take on the role of Connie, imagining themselves to be as loved and appreciated as her. Based in Paoli, Indiana (population 3,677), the clerk’s team is still unsure why the videos have attracted so much attention. “We didn’t know that it was on TikTok,” says Elizabeth Jones, who leads the clerk’s office for Orange County. “Somehow it got in the for you page, and it got sent to a lot of people.” (The Verge)

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  A VIEW FROM MY SCHWINN: A Valentine’s Day Miracle

  

   Dear Readers,

  This week certainly began with some bad news. I received a call from an investigator with the Social Security Administration. My social security number had been hijacked and was being held for ransom. Lucky for me, the entire matter could be cleared up by just sending the investigator a gift card from Walmart.

  Driving through the snow to Walmart reminded me of the blizzard of ’78. I decided to entertain my millennial readers with a few riveting stories from that time. Arriving back home, I was making a huge mess looking through drawers for a photograph of me standing next to a giant snowdrift. I knew I needed a photo to draw the attention of millennials to my column. Sandy then told me that most millennials had probably already been forced to look at photos of snowdrifts taken by the old-timers in their own families. I know Sandy said that just to get me to stop looking for the photo, but she was right. I decided instead to bring you this story about a heart-shaped spud.

  Do you remember back in 2004 when the Golden Palace casino paid $28,000 for a piece of toast? No joke, it really happened. Diane Duyser of Miami Florida was making herself a grilled cheese sandwich one day like she did every Tuesday. The griddle was smoking. She flipped the sandwich, and the image of the Virgin Mary was miraculously burnt into the bread. If you nerds in the audience were wondering, that’s $39,573.00 in today’s money.

  Anyway, one of my loyal readers had her own food miracle last week. She wants to remain anonymous. As she said, “When some folks hear about stuff like this, they can’t resist stopping by to take a peek.” She told me that she will always remember it as “The Valentine’s Day miracle.”   

  It was a cold day, so she thought potato soup sounded good. When she pulled the first potato out of the bag, she couldn’t believe her eyes. It was a miracle of nature.  It was heart-shaped. She isn’t sure what she is going to do with the heart-shaped tater, but she sent me a photograph. She said, “Some folks who read your column think you just make stuff up, so I have enclosed a photograph of this wonderful freak of nature.”

  Editor’s note: The Social Security Administration, the IRS, or any other government agency, including the police, never call with instructions to send money. If you ever receive a phone call from someone asking for money, your social security number, or banking information, hang up. 

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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 from the Shelby County Public Library Genealogy Department.
  
  20 YEARS AGO: 2001
  Shelby County Commissioners, acting as the drainage board, voted to annex a 1,450-foot private drain near Boggstown in an effort to improve drainage to the area.

  County officials discussed putting the prosecutor’s office temporarily into the former Civitas bank building, 25 Public Square. The office was located in the courthouse, which was undergoing an extension renovation expected to last another year-and-a-half. Officials also looked at the Methodist Building, but Prosecutor R. Kent Apsley told The Shelbyville News that he was concerned about the wiring infrastructure. “My bet is the last phones that were in that (Methodist) building were rotary phones,” he said.
  
  30 YEARS AGO: 1991
  Residents of Flat Rock and Hope met with county and state officials to discuss a proposed extension of State Road 252 from Flat Rock to State Road 9 at Norristown. Shelby County Commissioner president Maurice Leap said he hoped to keep the project moving. State Road 252 and State Road 9 were connected by Flat Rock Road, a heavily traveled, two-lane road with a number of sharp curves.

  Rick’s Warehouse, 433 Amos Road, switched from selling electronics and appliances to selling home furnishings. Rick Wells, 43, had bought the warehouse from Don Becom, 40. Wells had laid off four Shelbyville employees, leaving the store with six. “Retail has been slow since the war kicked off,” Wells told The Shelbyville News. “It’s just a poor economy.”
  
  40 YEARS AGO: 1981
  Shelbyville’s Joe Turner, 68, served as an Indiana House page for State Rep. Stephen C. Moberly. At 68, Turner, 123 Third St., may have been the oldest page in House history. “Sixty-eight is not so old,” a state senator assured him, “you’re still younger than the President.” Turner came up with the idea after hearing about an 80-year-old page in the State Senate.

  Eric Hilt opened the H&H Sales and Service store at 48 Public Square. The sign was installed by Brent Drake and Ron Spalding of Drake Electric Company.
  
  50 YEARS AGO: 1971
  A 16-year-old Shelby County boy who had been in jail picked the lock of his upstairs cell and escaped. As of the end of the day, he had not yet been found. The teen had removed a piece of heavy wire from the springs of a bed in his cell and managed to pick the lock of the upstairs juvenile detention cell. He was discovered missing when the evening meal was served. A fellow youth in the cell said he had been asleep when the young man escaped, at approximately 3:30 p.m. When he awakened, he noticed the cell door open but assumed jailors had taken his cellmate away and forgotten to lock the door.
  
  60 YEARS AGO: 1961
  Shelbyville firemen put out a fire at the Indiana Quick Shop Service Station on N. Harrison St., when gasoline ignited while pumps were being repaired.

  Craig Brothers Barber Shop, located at 16 N. Harrison St. for the previous 10 years, moved to 209 S. Harrison St. The business was owned by Carroll and Ernest Craig of Sugar Creek township. The new site was north of the Strand Theatre in a building previously occupied by Maria’s Pizza.

  70 YEARS AGO: 1951
  While other county schools were closed because of the road conditions, school was held at Addison Township. Mrs. Leonla Leap, Addison Township Trustee, said that due to the fact there were so many paved roads in the township, the seven school buses serving the school were able to make two-thirds of their routes. Children who lived on gravel roads were instructed to walk to cement roads to meet the buses. Only 40 of the school’s 240 students were absent, Leap said.
  
  80 YEARS AGO: 1941
  The Republican newspaper received word that a new club of high school girls had formed a "Shelbyville Bored of Education” that met at various homes to keep themselves entertained after a long day at school. Members of the club were Janice Long, Colleen Moore, Carolyn Pherigo, Mary Lou Schuler, and Ann Ruth Gephart.

  Thieves broke a window and stole cash from the Bruce Wright filling station at 215 E. Broadway, Shelbyville, overnight.
  
  90 YEARS AGO: 1931
  A pair of bandits in a Model A Ford coupe staged two “road holdups” at the viaduct over the Big Four railroad, southeast of the city. The men stole cash and told victims they were searching for “booze.”

  An Oakland sedan was stolen from its parking place in front of the Masonic Temple. The car was later found, apparently abandoned due to motor trouble, near Osgood.

  100 YEARS AGO: 1921
  Despite reports to the contrary, sheriff’s deputies found no evidence of gambling or the sale of “intoxicating liquor” at Dillard Huffman’s “soft drink place” in Fairland. Sheriff Ray Sexton and deputies handled the investigation.

  A group of men met at Hotel Shelby in a second attempt to form a local Kiwanis Club.

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  OBITUARIES

  (revised)

  Our beloved husband, father and grandfather, Robert P. Inlow, M.D., passed away on February 16, 2021. Bob was born in Shelbyville, IN in 1930 to Norma and Dr. William DePrez Inlow. He was a proud graduate of Indiana University where he obtained his bachelor’s degree in 1951 and his medical degree in 1956. IU is also where he met his wife of 70 years, Roberta Graber Inlow. Bob completed his medical internship at the Ohio State University and his residency in surgery at the Mayo Clinic. Bob was also immensely proud of his service as a Captain in the United States Army.

  One of Bob’s proud professional achievements was his work at the Inlow Clinic which provided medical services to the greater Shelbyville community for 68 years. The clinic was started in Shelbyville by his father, Dr. William DePrez Inlow, and uncles Herb and Fred in 1923. Bob joined the clinic in 1963, served as President and put his heart into the organization until it closed its doors in 1991. Over the years the clinic employed 40 different doctors and served countless patients in Shelby County. Bob was also proud to continue the tradition of the Mayo Clinic Priestly Society which bestowed the “Inlow Award” annually for top surgical research by a fellow in the surgical training program. Even after his retirement he continued his medical pursuits in the Medical Reserve Corps and CERT in Redondo Beach, California.

  Another proud professional achievement was his service with the American College of Surgeons (ACS). He served on the Board of Directors of the Indiana Chapter ACS, and was President of the Indiana Chapter of ACS 1994-1995. He was elected to the national Board of Governors in 1995 and served as Governor at Large for Indiana from 1995-2001.

  However, Bob’s proudest achievement was his family. He is survived by his wife, Roberta, their three children, Barbara Inlow-Childress (Kenneth), Dan Inlow (Laura), and Diana (Dee Dee) Inlow Pare (Thomas), as well as seven grandchildren, Amanda, Andrea and Christopher Childress, Kevin and Connor Inlow, and Claire and Thomas Pare, Jr. He was preceded in death by his brothers, William D. Inlow, Jr. and James N. Inlow.

  Bob loved to travel and was an avid genealogist. He was outgoing, gregarious, and loved a good laugh. He especially loved Thanksgiving when he, ever the surgeon, always carved the Thanksgiving turkey perfectly and was surrounded by his kids and grandkids. His favorite pursuits after retiring were watching his grandchildren’s school and sporting events and watching his beloved Hoosiers.  Bob touched many lives personally and professionally and will be forever in our hearts.

  Due to COVID, only a family memorial will be scheduled at this time. Services have been entrusted to Freeman Family Funeral Homes and Crematory, 819 S. Harrison St. in Shelbyville. Interment will be at Forest Hill Cemetery in Shelbyville. Memorial contributions may be made in Bob’s honor to the Cancer Association of Shelby County, PO Box 844, Shelbyville, Indiana 46176. Online condolences may be shared with Bob’s family at www.freemanfamilyfuneralhomes.com.