Thursday, April 3, 2025

Apr 03, 2025

Program Provides Car Seats, Safety Checks

photo by JACK BOYCE

More than a dozen car seats have been placed over the past two months through a new program that makes it possible for qualified parents to have a new, free car seat installed by one of six members of the Shelbyville Fire Department who has been trained and certified for the task.

Bekah Gardner, City Community Navigator, (pictured above) has helped spearhead the project, which received car seats thanks to the Shelby County Health Department and includes a car seat inspection program.

Those interested in the program can call Gardner at Fire Station No. 1, 317-392-5119, or visit the program webpage.

ADDISON TIMES MAJOR SPONSOR: FULL CANOPY REAL ESTATE

NOTEBOOK:

The following building permits were filed in the City of Shelbyville last month: a new storage building at 1022 Springhill Road; new event center at the horse track; in-ground swimming pool at 1311 Pebble Pointe Dr.; install 20 floor jacks at 2501 Executive Drive; remodel 154 W. Hendricks St.; and construction of 10 new homes.
With the threat of local flooding, the Shelby County Emergency Management Agency will have sandbags available for pick-up at their office, 1310 N. Michigan Road, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. If the flooding becomes severe, the office also will open over the weekend for pick-up. Contact EMA at 317-392-6308 with questions.
The Decatur Shelby County YMCA announced the appointment of Shelby County native Rebecca Jones as the new Executive Director for the Shelby County branch. She will begin her duties May 1. As Director of the Tennis Center at Indiana University, Jones recently led large teams, managed operational changes, and built strong community relationships, the YMCA said in a statement.
MainStreet Shelbyville is hosting a brief volunteer information meeting for those interested in making a difference in the downtown area. The meetings will be held Tuesday, April 8, at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the Shelbyville Public Library, Meeting Room C. Those who wish to be involved but cannot attend can contact mainstreetshelbyvilleevents@gmail.com.
The Waldron Jr.-Sr. High School Drama Club is presenting “Little Women” tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday, April 4 and 5, 7 p.m. Tickets (adults $10, and students $5) are available at the door.
The Fairland Historical Society is hosting two upcoming events. Stories & Symbolism Found in Cemeteries will be Wednesday, April 9, 6:30 p.m., at the Grover Center, 52 W. Broadway, Shelbyville. Early Transportation of Central Indiana will be covered on May 4, 2 p.m., in the Moral Township Government Center, Fairland. Both events are free and open to the public.
Editor’s Note: The first Addison Times quarterly print edition of 2025 for supporters will go to press in a few days. 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: Narrower streets and wider sidewalks, more trees and less parking highlight Noblesville’s big plans to give people on foot a little more room to gather safely on its historic downtown square. Design plans released by CrossRoad Engineers, of Beech Grove, show artistic renderings of a square that favors pedestrians over vehicles with rounded, curbless street corners that can be crossed in seconds, and more outdoor restaurant seating space on Conner and Logan streets. The concept has been on the drawing board for at least seven years as a way to modernize the square and bring it in line with consumer, tourist and visitor preferences. The design of the project’s first phase will be completed in 2025, and construction is expected to be completed in 2026. (IndyStar)
NATIONAL NEWS: Rates for home loans have ticked down fractionally, remaining stuck in a narrow range that isn’t helping – or hurting – the housing market. In the week ending March 27, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.65%, according to Freddie Mac. That’s down from 6.67% last week, which was up from 6.65% the week before. Those figures don’t include fees or points, and rates in some parts of the country may be higher or lower than the national average. Even as mortgage rates tread water, Americans are still trying to buy homes. In the most recent week, applications for mortgages to purchase a home, not refinance, were at the highest point in almost two months, according to the weekly tracker from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Home contract signings were also 2% higher in February, the National Association of Realtors reported. (USA Today)
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

May 20, 1959, Part III

SHS alumnus Phil Kelley had recently played the role of Warden Holt in the play “The Valiant” at Indiana Central College. “Most SHS students are familiar with the play, as it is in the freshman literature text.”
Stewart Ryan was elected president of Forum. Kay Crafton, Rita Sandman and Betsy Burton were the other officers.
Mr. Winchester’s agriculture classes had recently toured the stockyards and the Kingan Meat Packing Plant in Indianapolis.
Mr. Lawrence Thompson, SHS science teacher, was awarded a six-week fellowship at Brigham Young University by the National Scientific Foundation. Mr. Thompson would be gone over the summer studying with Dr. Harvey White, who had a science TV show at 6:30 a.m. weekday mornings.
Mr. Ray Orem, JHS English teacher, had also received a National Scientific Foundation fellowship. He would attend the six-week Institute for Junior High School Science Teachers in West Virginia.
Miss Marion Chenoweth, Courier sponsor, had been awarded a fellowship for graduate work in journalism by the Wall Street Journal.
Doc Barnett’s baseball team remained undefeated, 7-0, with a win over Columbus. Dan Thurston hit a home run, and Doug Lackey and Chuck Barnett scored. The Bears won again later in the week against Franklin, with Tom Graham pitching the entire game.
The six sophomores chosen to be prom servers were Trudy Haley, Janet Hester, Janet Stiles, Tom Graham, Dick Schoelch and C.M. Hepp.

ADDISON TIMES MAJOR SPONSOR: MAJOR HEALTH PARTNERS

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: Shelby Materials’ Beech Grove plant won the Comeback Kid award from the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, which recognized the local company for its improvement of a plant site. The Beech Grove plant had been abandoned by an industry in the 1970s and redeveloped by Shelby Materials after purchasing it in 1999.

1995: Joe Kerschbaum, Shelbyville High School student, published the second issue of “Hit and Run,” a free newsletter of short stories and poems. Students quickly snapped up the 100 copies, which he designed out on the school’s Macintosh computers. His English teacher, Marilyn Jones, had encouraged him to follow through with his goals for the project.

1985: A Flat Rock bridge, only 15 years old, was closed when the sinking of two of the bridge’s three piers caused the concrete to split apart. Ronnie Tennell, a member of the Flat Rock Fire Department, said he was not surprised that the channel under the bridge was washing out. “Last summer, kids were jumping off that thing. They said it was so deep there, they couldn’t touch bottom,” he told The Shelbyville News.

1975: The Shelbyville Optimist Club’s Knothole team served as pages for Sen. Robert Sheaffer. Pages were David Nolley, Phil Fisher, Steve Sheaffer, Kevin Elkins, Damon Henry, Scott Coers, David Conrad, Mark Craft, Ricky Bryan, Mark Staten, John Marshall, Floyd Hastings, Paul Collins and Greg Poehner.

1965: A fire of undetermined origin caused considerable damage at Becom’s Service TV, 21 W. Jackson St., and likely postponed a remodeling sale scheduled at the firm. The entire building was filled with smoke at 6 a.m. when firefighters intervened. Someone had been working at the firm until 4 a.m., after which the fire had started beneath a work bench.

1955: Despite a “howling blizzard” to close the month of March, parking meter receipts downtown had remained steady, City Clerk-Treasurer Eleanor Vatchett reported to The Shelbyville News.

1945: Mrs. Betty Long, Gwynneville, received notice from the government that her husband, Pfc. Carlos Long, who had been listed as missing in action, was a prisoner of war in Germany. The German government had notified the U.S. that Long and others were “sleeping in heated barracks and receiving good treatment.”

1935: A salesman who was attempting to persuade courthouse employees to purchase pens filled with tear gas accidentally set the pen off. “Like steam from a locomotive exhaust valve, the gas was blown into the face of Deputy Sheriff Worland. The cap on the (pen) cut a gash in (the saleman’s) wrist,” The Republican said. “People on the second floor of the Shelby County Courthouse had tears and more tears.”

1925: Mrs. Wallace Land, described as an elderly woman who was learning to drive, drove her vehicle into a telephone pole in Waldron. A passenger, Mrs. Lydia Land, was injured. She was taken to the Kolkmeier home, where she was treated by Dr. S.B. Coulson.

An East Jackson St. man filed for divorce from his wife. He said she “smokes continually” and “always had a cigarette in her mouth.” He also claimed he recently returned home to find her intoxicated on their bed. He said she told him that she “had been raised to smoke and drink and intended to do so as long as she lived,” The Republican said.

1915: Greenbury Fields Burgess, 95, one of the oldest residents in the county and a significant land owner, died. He came to Shelby County from Virginia in 1847 and cleared 100 acres by himself. He eventually owned 214 acres. He was married three times. He had remarried after each of his first two wives passed away. His third wife, Margaret (Jacobs), 54 years old, survived him.