Thursday, October 17, 2024

Oct 17, 2024

Republican officials and candidates gathered at a Jefferson Shreve for Congress fundraiser at the King’s home last night. L to R, Chris King, Kylie King, State Sen. Mike Crider, Mary Shreve, Jefferson Shreve, State Sen. Jean Leising and David Lawson. | photo by KRISTIAAN RAWLINGS

Policy discussion and comments from departing U.S. Rep. Greg Pence were on the docket at last night’s Republican fundraiser for Congressional candidate Jefferson Shreve, hosted at the home of Shelby County GOP Chairman Chris and Kylie King on West Washington Street.

After an hour of mingling, attendees, which included numerous local Republican office holders, gathered to hear Rep. Pence offer an effusive endorsement to his potential successor.

“With the Shreves, you’re getting experience. You’re getting people who have served on community boards, people who have a business,” Pence said.

Shreve in turn said he had “big shoes to fill,” lauding the area’s three most recent Congressmen, all Republicans: Greg Pence, Luke Messer and Mike Pence. He also thanked local office holders, promising to work with them who were “close to the customer.”

Shreve, who outlasted six opponents in the Republican primary in May and is “almost certain” to win the general election against Democrat Cinde Wirth, according to The Economist’s forecast, said the national debt is his major concern.

“What we spend on interest servicing the debt is now greater than what we spend on our national defense,” he said. “If we don't stay focused on these great big threats to our sovereignty and our national security, we’re not paying attention to what really, crucially, critically matters, and that's what I want to focus on.”

In response to an attendee’s question about “the forever war,” Shreve said the U.S. should support Israel, “our most important strategic ally in the Middle East.”

He also touched on other world conflict.

“In the Ukraine, we cannot have an open checkbook, but you can’t have a Russia, a Putin that moves unchecked from Eastern Europe into Western Europe,” Shreve said. “I'm not in favor of American isolation in our world. I'm not in favor of throwing up our borders and tariffing everything up. We can't carve the fat out of our deficit without concurrently growing the US economy, and trade creates wealth.”

Chairman King thanked Pence for “always being there for us” and expressed support for Shreve’s candidacy. “We are lucky to have a man like this who has built a business, who is incredibly intelligent and wants to solve problems,” he said.

MOONSCAPE

Last night’s full moon hovers above the old G.E. water tower on the east side of Shelbyville. | photo by JACK BOYCE

NOTEBOOK:

The Shelbyville Central Schools board last night approved Shelbyville Middle School and Shelbyville High School moving to the new Hoosier Legends Conference from the Hoosier Heritage Conference for athletic and academic competitions in approximately two years. Several officials spoke in favor of the change. “This is something that should have happened perhaps some time ago,” retired SHS teacher and athletic director Dennis Hearne said during the public comment section. “This is never a quick fix for winning or losing. All you’re doing is giving our students the opportunity they should have to compete at an equal level.” He added, “Over time, knowing students, this will bring our numbers back up. Because when students believe they can compete, the numbers in the programs will come back up where they should be.” Board member David Finkel said that while he had considered both sides of the issue, he agreed. “I do not think that we are taking a step down for the sake of competition. I think we are moving in the right direction,” he said.
Shelbyville Central Schools teachers ratified a new contract yesterday, giving qualifying teachers a $1,275 base salary increase, and ensuring the 3 percent health insurance increase will be split between the district and employees. “Our goal going into this was to get our base starting pay up to $50,000, and that's why the $1,275 number was used,” Superintendent Matt Vance, Ph.D., said.
The aforementioned negotiations kept in mind SCS’s declining enrollment and declining Education Fund cash balance, which is currently at 13 percent. “We have to be very careful. We don’t want that to keep dropping. That’s about as low as we want to go,” Dr. Vance said. “What we’ve tried to do with raises and negotiating is try to do the best we can, at the same time maintaining the cash balance,” he said. SCS had 3,604 students as of the recent Oct. 1 Count Day, down 57 students from last October, and down from over 3,900 in 2016, although enrollment has ebbed and flowed somewhat over the past eight years. Dr. Vance noted that many districts throughout the state are seeing declines.
West Street United Methodist Church is hosting a Beef Manhattan fundraising dinner this Saturday, October 19, 4:30 - 7 p.m. The dinner, which also includes choice of green beans or corn, slaw, drink and dessert, is $15.
NATIONAL NEWS: Cage-free eggs have risen sharply in popularity, rising from 5 percent of hens in 2012 to 40 percent of the U.S. flock as of March 2024. Cage-free is far from perfect, but egg producers appear to be preparing for it to be the dominant form of egg in the future. Multiple states are preparing bans on eggs from hens housed in the conventional factory environment, California’s already required eggs to be from cage-free hens, and the latest news is that Cal-Maine, the largest egg producer in the United States, is investing $40 million to ramp up cage-free egg production and build five new facilities to house 1 million cage-free hens by next summer. (Food Drive/Numlock)
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SHS Courier Archive Highlights:

Oct. 29, 1953

SHS alumnus Hal Wilkins (’55) had been painfully burned when the US Aircraft Carrier Leyte exploded in Boston. Hal’s twin brother, Harry, had been home on furlough. He was awaiting shipment to Germany. The brothers had enlisted seven months’ prior.
Val Lauder, columnist for the Chicago Daily News, spoke at an SHS convocation about how she had advanced from a copy girl to her journalist role. She relayed stories from interviewing famous people and reminded students “there will be setbacks in life, and when you think you’ve reached the top, you’ll be pushed down and will have to try again.”
Thirteen students were helping in the cafeteria, which was located on the northeast corner of the building on the first floor. The students were Barbara McGuire, Darlene Theobald, Imogene Heck, Donna Bowers, Rosalee Meek, Jean Sanders, Melba Russell, Beverly Hasecuster, JuWana Gaines, Reba Jones, Sonya Stafford, Beverly Tucker and Thelma Farthing. Lunch was 30 cents, including milk. Cokes and desserts were extra. New glass covers on the counters and new formica had been installed over the summer. Miss Bodem supervised the cafeteria. Cooks were Mrs. (John) Patterson and Mrs. (Raymond) Bowell. Mrs. (Marlo) Grubb was a substitute cook.
Susan Kolkmeier, editor-in-chief of Squib, Marge Clay, Karlene English and Clara Jarrell attended the Indiana High School Press Association Convention, held at Franklin College.
JHS students would receive one page of The Courier for reporting. Seventh grade reporters were Linda Bonner, Freda Fleener, Karen Hirschauer, JuWana Gaines, Deborah Scott, jean Ann Nelson, Paul Allen DePrez, Sharon Beckley, Charles Kysar, Kenneth Lawson, Stephen Moberly, Phillip Tinney, Betsy Thurston and Judy Wagoner. Eighth grade reporters were Beverly Beatty, Billy Bass, George Stubbs, Patty Patterson, Nancy Hiatt, Bob Greensburg, Roland Stine, Joan Morris, Mina Sue Smeltzley and Jean Sanders.

Seniors Hold Varied Jobs During Summer

Work activities, varying from farm jobs, clerking in department stores and serving food, to upholstering furniture or serving as nurses’ aids occupied SHS seniors during the summer months.

Quite a few of the boys acquired healthy coats of suntan working on the farm. These included Carroll Thurston, Jon Webster, Nile Coers, Joe Cutsinger, Dick Hawn, Coit Holbrook, Bob Mullen, Dave Ramsey, Maurice Scheffler, Hal O'Dell, Jim Meadows and John Schoentrup.

Department stores employed a large number of the girls and a few of the boys. At Goodman's this summer were Linda Cortelyou, Carolyn Davies, Marge Clay, Karlene English, Bobby Gottlieb, Susan Kolkmeier, Patty Page, Nancy Taylor and Gene Van Cleve.

Murphy’s clerks included Phyllis Binford, Edna Clements, Janet Fair, Marilyn Kelsay, Wilma Kepple and Marilyn Mohler.

Bill Amos and Linda Lewis worked at Penny’s, and Joan Waldkoetter was at Woolworth’s.

Gaining valuable experience in hospital work at the Major Hospital were Kathy Schnieder, Mary Kay Yoder and Sheila Siefert.

Selling and serving foods kept a number of the seniors busy. Mary Kay Lux was at Ross' Food Market and Pat Lawrence at Compton's Dairy Bar.

Marilyn Allison and Mary Ann Jaus were employed at the Chicken and Steak Drive Inn, and Barbara Wells at the Star Dust Drive-In.

Supermarket employees included Bob Taggart, Ken Dow, Steve Hendricks and Curtis Thompson at the A and P; Mac McClain, Bill Ogden and Bill Tichenor at Kroger's; and Tom Boyle at the Thomas Food Market. Roger Willis was at the Hubler Meat Market.

At the pumps in local filling stations were Phil Kelley at Newby's Standard Service and Larry Eckstein at Brown's B and B station.

Several of the boys were helping their fathers who owned business concerns, including Dick Bishopp at Bishopp's Hardware, and Ronnie Biddle at the Shelby Auction Company.

Sandy Sirkus was at Paul's Shoe Store, owned and operated by his dad, and Ernie Conrad at the Conrad Dry Cleaners. Dick Trueb and Dave Watson also helped dads at the Trueb Electric Service and Watson Recapping Service respectively.

Charles Price and Bob Weakley both worked at the Ritz Theater. Bill Carney, Janet Stine and Darlene Clark worked for Radio Station WSRK.

Other working seniors and places of employment included Helene Brackman, Dr. Richard’s office; Jim Ceil, Lemmon Upholstering Company; Dick Evans, Shelby Motors, Bill Hart, Bausback Fertilizer Company; Jim King, Haag Drug Co.; Bill Kramer, Borden’s Ice Cream Co.; Bill Martin, Pittsburg Plate Glass Co.; John Mount, Inlow Construction Company and Jack Tuley at the Degelow Machine Shop.

Employed on the city recreation staff were Mick Hinshaw at Kennedy and Bill Latshaw at Morrison Park.

Two seniors, Pat Kennedy and Larry Wilson, found work out of town, both in Indianapolis. Pat worked for the Civil Service and Larry was at Central Motors.

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: Editor’s note: Due to a microfilm processing error, the 2014 section for the next couple of weeks will serve to memorialize a local individual who passed away that year.) Kenneth W. Gahimer, 65, passed away March 15. He was born in Rush County and had graduated from Manilla High School in 1966. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving in Vietnam. He retired from Sears Automotive Center in 2008, with over 40 years of experience.

2004: Approximately 150 people attended a showing of “Young Frankenstein” at the “new” Strand Theatre, the former Cinema 3. Chris Nolley, a board member of MainStreet Shelbyville, and Eric Grayson, a private film collector from Indianapolis, had organized the event at the newly opened-up, partially-renovated one-screen theatre. Runnebohm Construction had donated $19,000 worth of renovations to The Strand’s structure.

1994: Robert Gardner, Shelbyville, was introduced as the new Indiana High School Athletic Association’s commissioner. Gardner was a Sunday school teacher at First Christian Church and frequent golfer at the Elks Blue River Country Club. His wife, Beverly, was a guidance counselor at Shelbyville School. Their daughters, Kelly and Kim, had both graduated from SHS.

1984: Home building contractors said Shelby County’s five-acre law had restricted growth and hurt the local construction industry more than any other regulation on the books. Phil Haehl, president of the Shelby County Home Builders Association, said the restriction should be re-examined. Earl Wilson, a realtor and home builder, said that by the time couples saved to buy five acres, they weren’t able to afford the down payment on a house.

1974: The bankrupt Penn Central Transportation Company made a formal request to abandon three segments of local tracks: an 8.8-mile segment extending from Flat Rock into Columbus and including Flat Rock and Clifford; a 4.2-mile segment extending north from Fenns into Shelbyville; and a 14.3-mile segment starting near Rays Crossing and extending to Rushville, including stations at Rays Crossing, Manilla, Homer and Rushville. Penn Central said the lines were “in poor condition.”

1964: The Country Lad, East 421, held a 10 for $1 hot dog sale.

“City police were moving swiftly today to nip in the bud formation of a juvenile gang called the ‘Jets’ after two ‘charter members’ of the club were involved with five other juveniles in a gang fight which ranged over several blocks of the city (near the junior high school),” The Shelbyville News reported. Seven teens were questioned regarding the matter. Capt. Robert Phares had received a copy of the charter of the Jets, colorfully printed with different shades of crayons on a sheet of lined paper. The groups by-laws included, “If caught, don’t say anything” and “no running unless it’s an emergency.”

1954: Local Democrats held a rally at the St. Joseph Gym, with a parade starting from the fairgrounds at 7 p.m. prior to the event. John Walsh, Democrat candidate for Congress, was the featured speaker.

1944: Funeral services for former presidential candidate Wendell Willkie were held in Rushville, with burial following in East Hill Cemetery.

Funeral services for Pfc. Logan Chappelow, Shelby County soldier who had died in New Guinea, and Pfc. Russell Pike, who was killed in England, were held at the Bengal Christian Church. Pike was a member of the church and Chappelow was a member of the church Sunday school. Rev. Herbert Owens, former schoolmate of Pvt. Chappelow, and Reg. Edgar Gearhart, pastor of the church, officiated the service.

1934: A week after losing to Jefferson High School, 25-0, the Shelbyville High School football team defeated Columbus, 58-6. It was the fifth win in six games for Coach McKeand’s team.

1924: The Colored Coolidge Club hosted Ernest Tidringerton, Black attorney from Indianapolis, in their meeting at City Hall.

1914: H.C. Sorden, Ralph Edwards and Morris Sleeth, purchased an automobile hearse.

OBITUARIES

None today.

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