Sunday, June 1, 2025

Jun 01, 2025

DAR Announces Good Citizen Essay Contest Winners for 2025

(Left, then clockwise) Derreck Grant Uhls, Mia Abigail Rolon, Jaden Rose Freese, Allison Rene Marshall and Brooklyn Grace Hudnall were recognized by their schools as DAR Good Citizens. | submitted

by LuAnn Mason

Derreck Grant Uhls, a 2025 graduate of Triton Central High School, is this year’s Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen Essay Contest winner for Shelby County.

Mary Mott Greene chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) sponsors the Good Citizens Program and Scholarship Contest annually, which is open to all high school seniors enrolled in state accredited public or private schools. Guidance department staff or teachers select one student as their school’s Good Citizen who displays the following qualities: Dependability (truthfulness, honesty, punctuality and so on); Service (cooperation, helpfulness, responsibility); Leadership, and Patriotism.

Each Good Citizen participates by submitting contest requirements that include the option to prepare a written essay on a topic provided by the NSDAR.

A panel of judges then selects one of the Good Citizens to represent Shelby County at the state competition level. Judges review each Good Citizens’ personal accomplishments within school and the community during their academic careers, letters of reference, and future plans.

Mary Mott Greene chapter awards each Good Citizen a DAR Good Citizens pin, certificate and graduation cord at their school’s senior award’s program. Uhls, son of Cathy M. Uhls of Fairland, also received a monetary award having been selected as the county’s overall Good Citizen.

Now that his high school education is complete, Uhls’s career goal is to become an airline pilot. He hopes to attend Purdue University “to undergo the correct education and training” for this career. During his years at Triton, he was a member of the golf and tennis teams, the Ping Pong Club and Spanish Club, Student Council, National Honor Society, and the Mentor/Mentee Program. Uhls was also a founding member of Triton’s Students Against Human Trafficking organization.

Representing their respective schools as DAR Good Citizens are:

Allison Rene Marshall, Morristown Jr.-Sr. High School, daughter of Shelly Irene Marshall of Morristown. She plans to attend a liberal arts college to study biology and environmental science to become an environmental scientist.
Mia Abigail Rolon, Shelbyville High School, was a member of show choir, National Honor Society, Spell Bowl, the Go Kart team, a sound technician for musicals, football and wrestling teams manager, prom committee member, and is a certified trainer for White Castle restaurant.
Jaden Rose Freese, Southwestern Jr.-Sr. High School, daughter of Adrianne M. Freese, Flat Rock, plans to attend a four-year college to study in the medical and educational fields to become either a pediatric nurse, an elementary school teacher or take business courses to pursue a career in photography.
Brooklyn Grace Hudnall, Waldron Jr.-Sr. High School, daughter of Kristen Leigh Hudnall, Shelbyville, plans to attend college to study in the areas of Psychology and Criminal Justice to become a Criminal Psychologist and work in the field of law enforcement.

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NOTEBOOK:

Shelbyville High School graduates Ava Mummert and Karina Calderon will be interning with the Blue River Community Foundation this summer. Mummert, class of 2024, recently completed her freshman year at Ball State University and has been accepted into the university’s Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning for the fall term. Calderon, class of 2025, is headed to the University of Michigan this fall.
The Joseph Boggs Society Museum will be open Sundays, June 8 and July 6, 1 to 4 p.m.
HOOSIER NEWS: More than 200 employees are expected to be laid off at Ivy Tech campuses across the state as a result of the Indiana General Assembly’s decision to cut funding to the college system. This announcement was made by Ivy Tech's president, Sue Ellspermann, on May 30, as she broke the news to many who were affected by this sudden development. Layoffs began the same day and continue into next week. In Ellspermann's letter, she notes that the Indiana government's decision to cut 5% of the school allocated fund, on top of the 5% cut from the state budget agency, would equate to an expected loss of $54 million over the next two years. (IndyStar)
NATIONAL NEWS: Sports’ consumption of broadcast television continues to advance as scripted entertainment continues to retreat from schedules. This September, just 36 scripted series will air on the Big Four networks, down 45 percent from 66 scripted series eight years ago. Ratings aren’t great — the 97 primetime entertainment series averaged 414,228 adults per episode live-plus-same-day in the 2024-25 season — 88 percent of the audience that does show up isn’t in the adults under 50 demographic, which is the one that advertisers value particularly highly. Sports, though, is where the action is: while still a minority of overall broadcast time, in 2024, sports accounted for $13.2 billion in spend, nipping at the heels of the $16 billion spent on television shows. (Sportico/Numlock)
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SHS Courier Archive Highlights

Nov. 4, 1966, Part II

“A mass exodus of all students of SHS was prevented by Mr. Brown on Tuesday, Oct. 25. Bravely holding back 1,200 students with a single finger, Mr. Everett Brown deserves a medal of honor. A malfunction of the fire alarm system called for someone to hold a small pin that slipped, controlling the alarm. If Mr. Brown hadn’t been there, the dikes surely would have broken, letting the flow of students quickly flood the construction now underway.”
Mike Gaffney, a freshman at SHS, had been chosen as a Boy Scout representative from the Salvation Army to go to England over the summer.
Mr. David Sebree, former SHS teacher, had spent the summer working at PGP before returning to his home state of Kentucky to resume teaching. Mr. William McFerran, a science and math teacher, moved over to Triton Central. Mr. Charles Linsmith, commerce teacher, had taken a teaching position in Bedford.
Miss Williams, art teacher at SHS for 20 years, had retired.
Those starring in the upcoming Mask and Dagger production would be Kathy Adams, Mike McVey, Myra Overman, Mark Thomas, Cydney Finkel, John Gaines, Kent Lockman, Pepper Higgins, Susan Holtel, Judy Phares, Marcie Fink, Duane Baker and Susan Worland.

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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: With construction of Shelbyville’s new fire station about to begin, work started on the fire department’s temporary home at the former Tasco Inc. building, 400 Industrial Park Drive. Workers were remodeling the structure, which included plumbing and electrical work to add adequate locker room facilities.

1995: Loper Elementary boys won the city track meet. Team members were Richard Brown, Ronnie Oldham, Scott Harding, Mike Wimmer, Rick Palmer, Cody Reed, Jeff Ketchum, Andy Kaiser, Dustin Koester, Daryl Baxter, Jon Hargrove, Brian Wanstrath, Nick McNeely, Joshua Orem, Brian Jones, Eric Peters, Austin Collins, Jeremy Willis, Jordan Baugher, Nick Conner, Ben Chappelow, Lee Nixon, John Wyatt, Patrick Keith, Kyle Hallgarth, Josh Walton, Josh Leffler, Michael Kelshaw, Curtis Gahimer, Derek Tucker, Alan Nash and Jason Covington. The coaches were Jon Orem and Lisa Henrichs.

Loper Elementary also won the city girls track meet. Team members were Anne Griffey, Darah Manning, Manomi Namekawa, Lindsey Miller, Olivia Stoneking, Jennifer Davis, Brandi Smith, Jill Harman, Casey Springer, Melissa Smith, Lana Christian, Ashley Walsman, Jette Martin, Amy Owsley, Laura Duerstock, Katie Wilkins, Allison Siebert, Sarah Nahre, Meghan Gleason, Stephanie Noel, Sabrina Salow, Laura Boon, Misti Lovitt, Brittany Davis, Ashley Coy, Megan Eiler, Ingrid Ash, April Kent, Sarah Myers and Amy Welty. Coaches were Jon Orem and Lisa Heinrichs.

1985: Mayor Dan Theobald was appointed to the Indiana Economic Development Council by Gov. Robert Orr.

The Lions Club held its annual broom sale, 5 to 8 p.m. The brooms were made by the Indiana Blind Agency.

1975: One hundred and forty local bicycle riders, including Mr. and Mrs. Tom Strawn on a tandem bike, raised $2,500 in a 25-mile bike-a-thon fundraiser for the Shelby County Heart Association. Frank Zerr oversaw participant registration.

1965: The A&P opened a new store in Belaire Shopping Center.

The A&W celebrated its 12th anniversary locally by giving out free root beer. “Please remember your friends and let them have a chance for your parking space and a free root beer,” the ad read.

1955: Griffey’s held a sale for beginning golfers. A set of four irons, a Spaulding wood, a golf bag, three golf balls and a dozen golf tees were $41 (about $500 in today’s money). “A small down payment will put you on the golf greens. Small weekly payments will keep you there,” the ad read.

1945: Shelby County native Everett Jackson, 49, died while fighting a fire at Ft. Benjamin Harrison. He had been a member of the Indianapolis Fire Department for a decade. Officials said he died of a brain hemorrhage after being overcome by smoke. The fire and a riot had been set intentionally by those in the disciplinary unit, although no one escaped.

1935: A clarinet trio composed of Joan Clark, Eleanor Benton and Carson King represented Shelbyville in a WIRE Indianapolis radio broadcast. They played Beethoven’s “The Finale.”

1925: George Cuskaden, 14, won the state health contest for boys, held at Purdue University. “Young Cuskaden had an average of 98.4 percent in the state health contest. A cavity in one tooth brought down his average,” the paper said. Cuskaden said he went “to bed at regular hours, not later than 9 p.m. He drinks much milk and eats fruit, and plays and works as does any lad his age,” The Republican said.

1915: Members of the local suffragist organization passed a donation pot around at local businesses. They started on S. Harrison St. and worked their way north. “The ladies are greatly pleased with the liberal response with which they met today and wish to express their most sincere thanks to all those who helped them,” The Republican said.