Thursday, August 29, 2024
BIRTHDAY BREAKFAST
Regulars at Chaperral Café celebrate owner Shirley Bailey’s birthday with a card and gift yesterday morning. Mark McNeely hands Bailey the present while (next to Bailey, then clockwise around the table) Kip Schnaiter, Dick Kiefer, Don Wanstrath, Ray Wetnight, John Wetnight, Steve Fair, Larry Ricketts and Bob Tobian join the celebration. | photo by JACK BOYCE
North Riley Highway Work Begins Next Week, Road to Remain Open
Work begins next week, Tuesday, Sept. 3, on improvements to North Riley Highway (formerly State Road 9), between N. Michigan Road and Rampart Street. Traffic will continue to flow, with the outer two lanes shut down for work to begin on curbs and a multi-use pedestrian trail running the entire 1.3 miles. The center lane will remain open as a turn lane and one lane will run each direction. The project (concept provided above) will eventually include sidewalks and trails, landscaped medians, street lighting and intersection improvements. It will eventually include two roundabouts, but work on those won’t begin until March 2025.
In other construction news, Lee Blvd. will be closed next week, Tuesday through Friday, Sept. 3 - 6, for the bridge to be painted. The bridge will be transformed from desert rose to earth tones.
Also, milling and paving on W. McKay Road will be completed next week, with the project concluding at the end of the week, weather-permitting, city engineer John Kuntz said.
NOTEBOOK:
Kevin Kredit, Superintendent at the Shelbyville Water Resource Recovery Facility, is stepping down. His resignation was approved yesterday by the Shelbyville Public Utility Board. Long-time plant employee Shelly Higdon has been appointed interim director.
The Shelbyville Board of Public Works approved closing Harrison St., from Broadway to Franklin St., and Washington St., from the bank parking lot to the alley just west of the square, Sunday, Sept. 1, 6 a.m. to midnight, for Shelby County Cornstock.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Shelby County announced its inaugural Teen Night, August 31, 6 to 10 p.m., at the newly established Teen Center located at the Shelbyville Club, 710 S. Miller St. The free event is open to current members in grades 6 and above, who are encouraged to bring friends. Current members in attendance will have a chance to win a $150 gift card through a drawing. The Teen Night will feature a variety of activities including open gym, Virtual Reality adventures, a Xbox gaming in the new ExerGame room, and, of course, delicious pizza. Teens and their parents can register as members on the club’s website. The Teen Center, made possible by the grant from the Lilly Foundation, aims to provide a safe, fun, and engaging environment for the youth of Shelby County. For more information about the event or the Teen Center, contact Jennifer Huesman, 317-398-6734.
NATIONAL NEWS: The decline in inflation and the expectation of an imminent interest rate cut have Americans feeling better about the economy than they have in a while, according to the latest update of the Conference Board’s consumer confidence index. On the other hand, consumers are worried about the softening labor market. While the unemployment rate remains below historical standards at 4.3%, it has increased for four straight months - likely enough to convince the Fed to cut rates in September. (Morning Brew)
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580 West Taylor St.
Editor’s Note: The following is the next installment in a serialized version of “580 West Taylor Street,” by Joseph E. “Joed” Landwerlen.
by JOSEPH E. LANDWERLEN
Civil Air Patrol
Ever since Mrs. Ford, my fourth grade home room teacher, set the book “God Is My Co-pilot” on the desk in front of me and told me to read it, I had wanted to fly airplanes. Dad had already taken me on my first airplane ride in a Stearman biplane at the Weir-Cook airport in Indianapolis. It was an open cockpit plane, and since I don't remember it - I was three - I can only assume that I sat on Dad's lap, and he held me there.
After World War II, the U.S. Government did many things: among them was selling surplus airplanes, small Piper Cubs, Aeronca Chiefs, and Taylorcrafts. They also enhanced the Civil Air Patrol to make the citizens a part of the defense of our country. They had a Cadet Program that a young man could join once he turned 12 years of age. I was among the first in line to join. When I joined, the Shelbyville Airport was one grass runway running southeast to northwest about where the Loper school is now. Our job was to report any airplane activity to headquarters by a dedicated phone line. We were in the middle of the Cold War, and if a Russian plane made it all the way to Shelbyville, Indiana, our goose was cooked anyway. We would scan the skies and when we spotted a plane we were to go in the office and pick up the dedicated phone and were immediately connected to a person that said, "Please report". We were to answer, “This is Echo-Kilo-One-Three- Black” - these are actually the call letters, I still remember them - “with the sighting of a large aircraft heading southeast at 8,000 feet, sir.” His answer was "Noted, thank you,” and he would hang up. We would then go back to scanning the skies. There were no jets flying at that time, so mostly small aircraft at low altitudes.
Since I was now a cadet, it was necessary for me to spend a lot of time at the airport, so I became acquainted with a lot of the pilots that had bought some of these surplus planes. The government decreed that if the Civil Air Patrol pilots would stay proficient in finding downed aircraft, the government would buy their gas and oil to operate their planes during SARCAPs, or Search and Rescue Civil Air Patrol missions. These missions were always set up for a Saturday or Sunday morning and entailed someone going out somewhere in Shelby County and placing a wing and some other aircraft parts to make it look like an aircraft accident.
The county would be divided into sections, and a pilot and his observer were drawn for a section to hunt. The sections were laid out with physical landmarks. As there was no GPS, a typical description would be: your assigned search area is from Shelbyville, East of North St. Rd. 9, then south of U.S. Hwy 40, then west of St. Rd. 3 and north of St. Rd. 44 back to base.
The pilots (aircraft owners) just wanted to fly their planes, and what better way than to have someone else pay for your gas and oil. I just wanted to fly. It took me a long time and a lot of pleading to get permission to go on these as an observer. I think I was 14 before I was able to get that permission. Everything was sailing along great, until a little ceremony where some of us cadets were getting our brass Civil Air Patrol Cadet (CAPC) collar pins. Mom and Dad both came out to the airport, and the three main pilots I remember were Louis Schlick, Jap Hester and Charlie Williams. Charlie was kind of giving a little background on what we were doing and was explaining why we cadets were getting our brass. (I still have mine).
Everything was going great until Charlie said, “...and with the doors off, when we turn, you can see the ground really good.” I could feel Mom bristling up and she turned to me with a look that could not only kill but could turn you to stone. I guess I had forgotten to mention that during these missions it was customary to remove the doors so that you could see better. I don't remember, or maybe I want to forget, what all went on when we got home, but it was a long time before I was allowed back at the airport.
SHS Courier Archive Highlights:
September 21, 1995, Part II
Mr. Mike Eineman and Mr. Scott Olinger were new administrators in the building. Eineman was a former teacher and basketball coach at Southwestern, Hanover and Indian Creek. In 1987, he led Southwestern to the regionals, only to be knocked out by Bedford and Damon Bailey. He had been athletic director at Hanover for eight years. He was from Greensburg. Mr. Olinger, an SHS graduate, had previous experience with Principal Jamie Orem. He told The Courier that his worst day in school was when he left school to go out to lunch his senior year. His punishment from Orem was three days in-school suspension. He said his favorite teacher had been Dennis Hearne. Olinger was a Butler University graduate.
The Courier staff asked Mr. Orem why there were very few doors on restroom stalls. Orem said the doors had been removed years ago due to vandalism, but he could “see the need for privacy” in the girls’ restroom, and plans were in the works to renovate the bathrooms anyway for ADA accessibility.
The first girls soccer team had formed, coached by Mrs. Ellen Etienne. Most of the girls on the team had never played before.
With yearbooks arriving, the staff offered the “hidden meanings” behind common yearbook signatures. “Follow your dreams” was interpreted as “I do not know your dreams. I barely know you. I don’t care! When does the bell ring?” The phrase “See ya next year” equaled “Maybe I will run into you at Marsh, but that’s about it,” and “Call me sometime” meant “I sure do hope this takes up space.”
Courier staff were Editor Erin Rees, Liz Applegate, Beth Bernard, Jim Burnes, Luci Pettit, Courtney Smith, Tracy Solomon, Adam Vassar, Beth Werner and Jennifer Williams.
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.
2014: Southwestern Junior-Senior High School introduced Google Classroom throughout the building. Students in grades 7-9 were each assigned a new Chromebook and high school students in grades 10-12 could check out a Chromebook from the library.
2004: Funeral services were held for Dr. William Deupree. He had graduated from Shelbyville High School in 1949 and from Indiana University School of Medicine in 1957. He was a U.S. Army veteran and had owned his own practice, in addition to being a staff doctor at various hospitals, including Major.
Local band Exit 113 warmed up for Phil Dirt & the Dozers at the Bears of Blue River Festival. Dean McNamara, Exit 113’s bass player, ran through the crowd handing out bracelets at certain parts of the show.
1994: Tony Nading, 33, a Southwestern High School and Indiana State University graduate, cruised to easy victories in both the 5K and 10K Bears of Blue River Festival runs.
Rachel Rairdon, 4, was crowned the overall winner of the 1994 Bears of Blue River Festival Little Miss Contest. Tari Williams, 11, was crowned 1994 Junior Miss. The winners were chosen by penny votes. The pageant raised about $2,000 for pediatric AIDS care, education and family support.
1984: Category winners in the La Leche League baby picture contest were Derek S. Foster, Sabrina Dawson and Daniel Witt in the newborns to 8 months division; Brandi Everhart, Mark Treon and Tara Shonte in the ages 9-16 months division; and Kendalyn Lackey, Heather Wagner and Kyle Meal in the ages 17-24 months category.
The Shelbyville Board of Public Works hired Clarence Helbring as the new city engineer. Helbing was a chemical engineer with Knauf Insulation and had a Ph.D. from Notre Dame University. Dr. Helbing succeeded Steve Soller, who had accepted an engineering job with the Department of Defense and would be relocating to West Germany.
1974: A newspaper photo showed Samuel Terrell Jr. and his sister, Dana, children of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Terrell, 718 Center St., holding giant onions their father had grown. The diameter of Samuel’s yellow onion was 16 inches and Dana’s white Bermuda onion was over 14 inches.
Mr. and Mrs. John Fox, R.R. 2, Shelbyville, met celebrity Charlie Rich, a country-western singer. Rich had given two performances at the Indiana State Fair, and Fox was a member of the state fair board.
1964: Back to School shopping sales were held throughout the city. Penney’s remained open until 9 p.m. Griffey’s offered Converse All Stars gym shoes for $8.50.
1954: Three girls were chosen to represent Shelby County at the Indiana State Fair girls’ school of home economics. They were Marilyn Ray, Beverly Ray and Joan Hall. The three were chosen by representatives of the women 4-H Club leaders.
1944: “Beer and soft drink trucks will be among the casualties of the rubber shortage unless they carefully conserve their tires,” The Republican reported. The state had prioritized “essential” trucks, such as those hauling food, ice and coal, above beverage trucks.
The following ad appeared in The Republican:
1934: The local Salvation Army asked residents to donate clothing for needy children who were attending school.
1924: Police had raided several “bootleggers” at the Shelby County Fair with no success. Rumors of liquor being dispensed in a cornfield near the fairgrounds and at the east end of the amphitheater yielded nothing of note.
1914: The Shelbyville Wardrobe Co. caught fire, destroying the building on South Noble Street. Six men had been trapped by the flames and smoke, being unable to reach the stairway. Four were able to get down a ladder. Clyde Stainbrook hung by his fingers from a third-floor window for five minutes before he was rescued by firemen. Alonzo Comstock jumped from the third floor, injuring himself in the process.
OBITUARIES
Carolyn Christina Hensley, 74, of Greenfield, passed away, Tuesday, August 27, 2024, at Hancock Regional Hospital in Greenfield. She was born January 4, 1950, in Indianapolis, the daughter of Arvin and Gladys (Calloway) Stidd. On July 19, 1987, she married her husband of 37 years, Sidney Hensley Jr., and he survives. In addition to Sid, Carolyn is survived by her sons, Robert Hiner, Scott Hiner, and wife, Erica, Sidney Hensley III, and Stuart Hensley; daughter, Courtney Hiner; brother, Art Stidd; sister, Mildred Pritchard of Ohio; and numerous grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents.
Carolyn enjoyed cooking. She loved animals and throughout the years she had many pets including her cat “Peaches and Cream.” She was formerly a member of the Veteran’s Auxiliary. Carolyn loved to fish.
Visitation will be from 1 to 3 p.m., Saturday, August 31, 2024 at Freeman Family Funeral Homes and Crematory, Frazier Chapel, 124 E. North St., in Morristown. Funeral services will follow at 3 p.m., at the funeral home. Interment will be at Asbury Cemetery in Morristown. Online condolences may be shared with Carolyn’s family at www.freemanfamilyfuneralhomes.com.
Brenda Joyce Higgins, 79, of Shelbyville, passed away Wednesday, August 28, 2024, at Morristown Manor. She was the daughter of Marion & Edna (Lenoir) Thomas. She married Wilbur E. Higgins Jr. on December 28, 1962. He was the love of her life and could always put a spark in her eyes.
Brenda loved gardening, rug hooking (with her favorite group of girls), and her daily walks with Wilbur and Ellie. Most of all, she loved spending time with her daughters, grandchildren, and their families. She was a longtime hairdresser in Shelbyville, owning her own shop, “Brenda's House of Beauty.”
Brenda is survived by her husband, daughters Kimberly Ross (Chris), and Lori Burnett; granddaughters Katie Ross (Max Pierson), Bailey Burnett-Schnur (Alex), and Madison Burnett (Jacob Broaddus); brothers Buddy, Reed, Doug, Kenny, and sister Susie Sheets. She was preceded in death by her parents, in-laws Wilbur E. Higgins Sr. and LuVena Higgins; a son Kyle Eugene; grandsons Cole Ross, Mitchell Burnett; and a brother Reggie.
Funeral services will be 12 p.m., noon, on Tuesday, September 3, 2024, at Glenn E. George & Son Funeral Home, 437 Amos Road, with Rev. Bill Horner officiating. Burial will be in Forest Hill Cemetery. Friends may call on Tuesday morning from 10 a.m. until the time of the service, at the funeral home. Memorial contributions can be made to Alzheimer's Association, in care of the funeral home. Online condolences may be shared at glennegeorgeandson.com.