ABOVE PAR

Leadership Shelby County participants Jake Beaty, Tammy Achenbach, Angela Ridgeway, Brett Rice, Jeff Dickmander, Josh Eberg, Elizabeth Blue and Carol da Silva brought their own shovels to Sunset Park yesterday morning for the “unofficial” ground breaking photo of their disc golf course project. | photo by ANNA TUNGATE

Brett Rice appreciates the professional development and camaraderie of Leadership Shelby County, but make no mistake, he joined with disc golf in mind.

“I don’t want to say I joined Leadership Shelby County to do this, but I joined Leadership Shelby County to get a disc golf course down here,” Rice said yesterday morning at a Sunset Park work session.

After LSC administrators place participants into groups, the members must decide on a project. Once Rice shared his vision, his colleagues were sold.

“Every surrounding community has (a course),” Rice said. “Morrison Park used to have baskets in the late 70s.”

Those baskets have long since disappeared, and there isn’t space for a modern course there now, especially with the coming amenities. Blue River Memorial Park was considered, too, but the group ultimately landed on Sunset Park.

“We can totally can do some great stuff here,” Rice said. “You got the river, you got the woods, you got some distance. There's a lot of natural obstacles that make this park…I mean, it looks like it's really going to be a great disc golf course.”

The discs that go into the baskets are not Frisbees, and can be purchased locally at Walmart for just over $20. They are typically smaller and denser than Frisbees.

Rice and others are also establishing a local disc golf club, which will manage and improve the course. He said a ribbon cutting on the new course is expected in April, in time for summer play.

LETTERS TO THE HELBING

Dear readers,

As promised this week, I am featuring letters written by local children to Shelbyville’s giant modern art sculpture. The sculpture is the work of Shelbyville native Mike Helbing. The official name of the giant stainless-steel artwork is Blue River-Wind, Rain and Water. I call it “The Helbing.”

I know that some of our citizens are not fans of The Helbing. Even before it was installed along the banks of Blue River, there were many detractors. Since the beginning, I have been on a one-man crusade to promote The Helbing.

I have several reasons:

Mike grew up in Shelbyville.

Mike is a veteran of the Vietnam War.

When I was a youngster, I knew his brothers, Bill and Chris.

Mike’s parents, Butch and Patricia, lived here most of their lives and always contributed to the good of our community.

Now, on to the mailbag. Enjoy!

Dear The Helbing,

Bigger than Balser, you are all shiny twisted metal. I mean, so, what’s not to like. You are stainless steel. You could have been a million spoons and forks. You are worth $5 to me if this letter really appears in The Addison Times. My dad told me to not sign my name. He said it would bring me bad luck and subject me to endless ridicule. Also, if I sign my name, he won’t give me the $5.

Sincerely,

Taking no chances and safely remaining anonymous, but $5 richer.

Dear Anonymous,

Your letter is short. Do you think if Meltzer puts your letter in the paper every week for 10 weeks, you can get 50 bucks out of your dad?

Thanks for writing me,

The Helbing

Dear The Helbing,

As a “child” of Shelby County for 63 years, I believe that citizens of this county have always “stepped up” in times of need.

I would like to suggest that you be dismantled and donated to Ukraine for armament in this desperate time of need.

Sincerely,

Mike Bowlby

P.S. A small, covered bridge or some other more aesthetically pleasing welcoming display could be constructed in your place. 

Dear Mike,

Touché, you got that bow-tie-wearing columnist/lawyer Meltzer fair and square on a legal technicality. I understand that when you were Shelby County Sheriff, you always were a stickler for the law. Since Meltzer failed to put an age limit on his request for letters from children, your letter made his column. You can now collect on your bet with Jack Yeend.

Dear The Helbing,

Chinese philosopher Confucius famously said, “A picture is worth a thousand words. After looking you over really good, I had my mom, Kelli Nigh-Shuppert, take a photograph. Look closely and you will see that I am giving you a thumbs up. It is the official international sign of approval. Next time I’ll bring some snacks and stay for a longer visit.

Your friend,

Griffin

BELOW: Future art critic Griffin Nigh-Shuppert gives “The Helbing” a thumbs up.

Dear Griffin,

Thanks for the thumbs up. In the few years that I have been here in Shelbyville, you are definitely my best-dressed visitor. You should give Meltzer the name of your tailor.

Hope to see you again,

The Helbing

NOTEBOOK:

Triton Central repeated as boys basketball sectional champions last night with a 40-35 win over South Ripley. Caleb Miller was named sectional MVP. In Section 60 action, Jac-Cen-Del defeated Hauser.
The 30th annual Shelbyville Rotary Club Gala Charity Auction is set for Saturday, April 30, at Blessing Opera House. Doors open at 6 p.m. A silent auction will be followed by a live auction at 8 p.m. Admission is $50. Through the auction, the club has raised more than $350,000 for local organizations, charities and scholarships. Club officers are Amy McQueen, Rebecca Benesh, Linda Sanders, Max Ward and Beth Prince.
The mother accused of abandoning her nonverbal autistic 5-year-old son in Ohio last month will be extradited to Hamilton County, Ohio, where she faces additional charges, The Indianapolis Star reported. Heather Adkins, 32, of Shelbyville, Ind., signed an extradition waiver Tuesday in Scott County, Kentucky, court records show.
ON THE DOCKET: Look for coverage of yesterday’s candidate forum, held in northwest Shelby County, in tomorrow’s edition.
HOOSIER NEWS: One of the most anticipated and critically acclaimed movie of the year, "The Batman," opened in theaters nationwide Friday. But if you're searching for the biggest “Caped Crusader” fan in the world, you don't need the “bat signal” to find him — that's because he's right here in Indiana. At one time, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, Kevin Silva had the biggest Batman collection you’d find anywhere in the entire world. Five years ago, Kevin sold nearly all of his Batman collectibles to the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. Staff from the Children's Museum came to his house to remove 3,252 pieces from his collection in March 2017. (WTHR)

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HAPPY TRAILS

The Blue River Cross Country course “welcomed” engaged couple Brooke Clark and Nathan Lyon - and Zoey - for a beautiful afternoon walk yesterday. Clark is a program director at Girls Inc. and Lyon is employed with the Edinburgh Fire Department. Zoey came from the Shelbyville-Shelby County Animal Shelter. Clark and Lyon are looking forward to a Sept. 2023 wedding. | photo by JACK BOYCE

This Week in Shelby County" works by George L. Stubbs Sr. are owned by the Shelby County Historical Society (Grover Center) and used with permission.

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: 2002
Shelby County Clerk Cathy Laird, 37, passed away (March 5). She was married to Roger Laird, former chairman of the Shelby County Republican Party. Mrs. Laird had fallen into a coma after being in a car accident and developing a blood clot. Laird had called in the accident herself on a cell phone, and Sheriff Thomas K. Debaun was the first to respond. Debaun took Laird’s daughter, Emily, 5, on to school after ambulance personnel had tended to Cathy. (Mary, 9, was not in the vehicle.) Laird had been elected County Clerk in 1994 and re-elected in 1998. She had not planned to seek another term. “She always felt guilty about being a working mother. She wanted to be an at-home mom,” Roger Laird told The Shelbyville News. Laird was remembered as a cheerful and supportive supervisor. Shelby County Assessor Donna Nolley had started working with Laird in 1986, and the two had become close friends. Sometimes their laughter was contagious. In fun, Judge Sanders once had the two escorted to his office to discuss their “giggling.”

30 YEARS AGO: 1992
Shelbyville Mayor Bob Williams and Shelbyville Common Council President Ernest W. Conrad Jr. left to attend a congressional city conference in Washington, D.C.

The St. Joseph girls basketball team won the city elementary tournament after an undefeated season. Team members were Anita Nigh, Danielle McQueen, Melanie Wiley, Brooke VanNatta, Angela Mullen, Mindy Spaulding, Brittany Fischer, Amanda Gahimer, Bianca Chappelow and Amanda Houchin. Coaches were Ed Moody and Mark Fischer.

The St. Joseph boys basketball team also won the city elementary tournament after an undefeated season. Members of the team were Nathan Graves, John Ciciura, Michael Livingston, Mark Drake, Derek Harrold, Brady Claxton, Jacob Cord, Patrick Creel, Josh Winkler, Doug Bergman and Shane Poe. Sean Drake was ball boy. Coaches were Bob Claxton and Randy Livingston.

40 YEARS AGO: 1982
The March issue of the NEA Reporter national magazine featured an interview with Coulston teacher Joyce Benge about the effects of the Reagan budget cuts on education. Her students began calling Benge “cover girl.” A picture inside the publication showed four Shelbyville residents who attended the teachers’ rally for school funding in Indianapolis. Teachers Bill Benson, Pearson Elementary, and Barbara McNeely, Hendricks Elementary, and Carla and Sara Klinck, daughters of Marion Elementary teacher Tina Klinck, were shown with posters displayed at the rally.

50 YEARS AGO: 1972
Texas, led by Shelbyville native Harry Larrabee, earned a trip to the NCAA tournament in Las Cruces, N.M. after winning a share of the Southwest Conference basketball championship. The opposing team’s coach was quoted as saying, “Texas has speed, quickness, muscle, height and good shooters, plus the soph of the year - Larrabee - and good play from about seven kids.” The coach noted, “Larrabee wasn’t a starter when we beat ‘em in Dallas.”

60 YEARS AGO: 1962
Shelbyville Desk Company, 403 S. Noble St., purchased the property at Hendricks and Noble Streets formerly occupied by the Shelby Lumber Company. The purchase from the J.O. Parrish Lumber Company involved 1.9 acres, two buildings and a lumber shed.

Loper Elementary teacher Pauline Jones had been teaching a daily 10-minute Spanish lesson to her first grade students for the past five years, The Shelbyville News reported. Jones, who had taught here almost 20 years, didn’t use a book nor write any words on the blackboard. “The children are just learning English, and I don’t want to mix them up. I teach them the language by speaking it,” she said. She had recently started using “Spanish for Children” records. Jones had been traveling to Mexico for the previous 12 summers. “I want these children to understand the country as well as the language,” she said. “That way, I feel, we will not have so much communism.”

70 YEARS AGO: 1952
All 3,475 tickets for the Shelbyville regional tournament were disposed of, including the local allotment of 1,011 tickets. After priority groups had received tickets, 401 other local fans were given the opportunity.

80 YEARS AGO: 1942
Stokely Bros. & Co., of St. Paul, announced plans to can peas for the first time. The decision was in line with the government’s request for a step-up in food production during the war.

A reception was held at Waldron Methodist Church in honor of Dr. J.E. Keeling, of Waldron, who was celebrating 50 years of medical practice.

90 YEARS AGO: 1932
Mayor L.E. Webb was named chairman of the local Citizen’s Reconstruction Organization, which was working for the “restoration of confidence and the return of idle money to circulation.” He encouraged locals to redeposit money in banks. Reconstruction Bonds were given as an enticement. Webb noted that Indiana was the seventh-wealthiest of the 48 states.

100 YEARS AGO: 1922
Myrtle Hatton, a 10-year-old evangelist, preached at Calvary Baptist Mission, at the corner of Colescott and Dunn Ave., after recently recovering from influenza.

Police apprehended three young men who had allegedly been disturbing services at the Nazarene church, at Noble and Jackson Streets. The boys had been held by the church custodian until police arrived.

OBITUARIES

None today

The Addison Times

Sunday, March 6, 2022