Tuesday, February 20, 2024
HATS OFF TO CHARLIE
Vickie Zimny lets Charlie lead the way with sock hat in mouth as they near Ruby Drive on their afternoon walk. Vickie says Charlie is given her sock hat as they turn for home. This was Charlie’s first time to meet the paparazzi and be photographed. | photo by JACK BOYCE
TEAM PLAYERS
Loper Elementary second grade teachers Alyssa DeWitte, Michelle Page, Elyse Cory, Kristen Shively and Stephanie Branson chat before posing for a team photo yesterday. The resulting staged shot was used on the district employee page to highlight collaboration techniques. | photo by KRISTIAAN RAWLINGS
Company Pitches City Officials on Remote Worker Recruitment Program
Recent media reports have covered cities offering cash to entice remote workers to relocate to places such as New Castle and Noblesville. A spokesman with online recruiting tool MakeMyMove made a pitch at last night’s Common Council meeting to add Shelbyville to the mix.
“No one’s really picking up their family and moving for $5,000 or whatever the incentive is,” Ben Ledo, Vice President of Enterprise Sales for Indianapolis-based MakeMyMove, told the council last night. “It’s a way of capturing their attention and it enables us to highlight the place and things that are going on.”
Ledo said his program has facilitated 31 moves to Noblesville, totaling 81 new residents. Statewide, the number expands to over 330 households and 780 people. The average household salary of the incoming residents in Noblesville is around $140,000 and statewide, $108,000, he said. “We think of that as we brought in an employer that brought in 330 high-paying jobs to the state of Indiana.”
The company works with communities to offer marketing services and incentives to remote workers ranging from cash to gym memberships. The Indiana Capital Chronicle reported one community’s contract pays MakeMyMove $75,000 over a year for services and a $1,000 commission for each person who relocates.
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) has provided $2.2 million in matching funds for the program after Indiana lawmakers in 2022 passed Senate Enrolled Act 361 allowing city leaders to fund talent attraction and retention through local tax increment financing dollars. IEDC dollars must go toward those relocating from out-of-state, Ledo said.
The program would “tell the Shelbyville story” and put the city on remote workers’ radar, he said.
“If you think about this, you have these people who are looking to move to Toledo, Ohio, and show up and move their stuff and hope that a neighbor comes over, brings a casserole and says, ‘How can I help you get integrated?’ or you can do something like Noblesville, where they’ve created this program…and you have all these amenities that help lead you into the fabric of the community,” Ledo said.
Council members asked clarifying questions, but took no action.
In other business, the council heard an annual update from Shelby County Youth Assistance Program executive director Melissa O’Connor. The local at-risk youth program has received 970 referrals since starting in 2016, with 159 new referrals in 2023. There are currently 136 youth clients on the YAP rolls. The organization provided over 50 scholarships for club memberships and camp participation last year and partners with the Purdue Extension office and Girls Inc. to offer families financial literacy classes. They are also partnering with Knauf and Ryobi on an upcoming corporate challenge.
The Shelby County Youth Assistance Program is also now implementing a “Handle with Care” app with Shelbyville Central Schools.
“(It) is a notification system for when students are involved with law enforcement that could be a potentially traumatic event,” O’Connor said.
The app allows police to inform schools in the event of trauma, such as domestic violence at home, arrest of a relative or a violent crime, which could affect the child’s behavior or academic performance at school. Incident specifics are not provided to schools and the notification does not become part of the child’s permanent record, according to app development information. Rather, the referral allows the school to respond to “either immediate or potentially ongoing needs and make appropriate referrals,” O’Connor said.
In old business, the council on second reading approved extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), assigning city zoning classifications to approximately 375 non-contiguous acres in southeast Addison Township and northeast Shelby Township, and a petition from M/I Homes to lower the minimum square footage requirement to 1,400 square feet at the incoming Bear Run addition off Progress Parkway.
Also, council member Linda Sanders thanked the Street Department for an outstanding job clearing snow over the weekend.
NOTEBOOK:
Note to Members: The first quarterly magazine was mailed from the printer to members last Friday. It should arrive in mailboxes soon. (Again, my apologies for the delay.) Those who signed up within the past two weeks will receive a copy, albeit a few days’ delayed. I ordered extras and will repackage those and mail as soon as possible! - Kristiaan Rawlings
NATIONAL NEWS: Natural gas prices have fallen to their lowest levels since 1995, thanks to record production and the warmest American winter on the books, the Financial Times reported. US natural gas production reached its highest point in history in December, hitting 105.5 billion cubic feet a day in the Lower 48 states. Meanwhile, Americans haven’t felt the need to crank up the heat given the mildest winter since reliable records began in the 1950s. Surging supply and minimal demand have caused natural gas prices to plummet 50 percent in just one month. (Morning Brew)
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This Day in Shelby County History
2014: Local attorney Andy Eads announced his candidacy to run on the Republican ticket for Judge of Superior Court 1. Eads, a 1990 Shelbyville High School graduate, had 14 years’ experience as an attorney.
Ryan Haehl was named Golden Pineapple Customer Service Award winner by the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce; Ray Schebler, who had taught at Blue River Career Center for 30 years, won the Golden Apple Outstanding Educator Award; Murry DeCamp was Volunteer of the Year; and Dianna Pandak of Shelby Senior Services won Citizen of the Year.
2004: Cody Riggs, 15, who had taken an exceptional photo of the fire station on McKay Road, presented a framed copy to Fire Chief Todd Anderson to hang in his office.
“Brain Surgery, $299, *First 500 brains. Price may vary with IQ,” a Shelbyville News ad said before asking, “Would you pick a brain surgeon this way? Before choosing a Lasik surgeon for your eye surgery, call us for a free consultation.” The ad was from Borchert Optometry, where Dr. Gary Borchert and Dr. Linda Tower Borchert practiced.
1994: Kmart announced plans to build new buildings or renovate all existing stores, but no plans were mentioned for Shelbyville. Store manager Bill Beck said that wasn’t surprising. “The store managers usually don’t find out until about 30 days before they break ground on a new building,” he said.
1984: Jerry Robinson, 42, marked 15 years of operating a shoe repair business on S. Miller St. He had been repairing shoes since he was a young teenager. “You have to love this business because there isn’t much money to be made in it,” he told The Shelbyville News. Asked what the biggest problem was with shoes these days, he said, “Dogs chewing them up. There’s this one lady that gets the toes of her shoes chewed up every time she goes someplace and won’t take the dog along.”
Shelby County Court Judge Byron C. Wells announced he would run for Superior Court Judge, creating a primary contest between him and incumbent Judge Jonathan Palmer, who had been appointed by Gov. Robert Orr when Judge George Tolen retired.
1974: The first annual Labor Awards Program sponsored by the Shelbyville Central Labor Union, AFL-CIO, was held in Nugent Hall. Elmer Brattain, president of the local union, awarded Williams Stevens, Raymond Potter, Hazel Knight, Jane Moore and Dale Shrader. Knight, a KCL Corp. worker, was honored as labor’s Citizen of the Year. Shrader, a General Electric employee, received the community services award. Stevens, employed at Elanjay Corp., was honored for “organizing the unorganized.” Potter, a carpenter, was named labor’s senior member. Jane Moore, a Certain-teed employee, was labor’s outstanding junior member.
Nine Shelby County officials would be working IHSAA sectional events. They were Robert Laird, Dwain Laird, Bill Laird, Blake Ress, Roger McGriff, John Bush, Gary Coers, James O’Neal and Bruce Knecht. Former local men also officiating were Steve Cherry, Don Thompson and Ken Gorrell. Robert Laird had announced it would be his last season.
1964: Prosecuting Attorney Phillip W. Brown was named new treasurer of the Shelby County Democratic Central Committee, replacing Roscoe Bullard.
Robin’s TV held a 31st anniversary sale. The “tape-o-matic” tape recorder model 725 was on sale for $89.95 (approximately $900 in today’s money).
1954: Major John Anderson of the local National Guard held a swearing-in ceremony for several new recruits, including Charles Webb, William Scroggham, Lester Burton, Wayne Burton, Russell Sallee, Kenneth Gephart, Muriel Phelps, Lewis Sharp, Clayton Winslow, Kurtis Pool, Jesse Smith, Richard Dickson, Jackie Streeval, Tom Weinantz, John Schoentrup and Aubrey Scales.
Spears Dairy Sales announced it would start handling Golden Gift orange juice. The orange juice was fresh, not frozen and not concentrated, Spears officials said.
1944: Bertha Bowlby, with the Shelbyville Public Library, reported there were 6,683 card holders and that 69,468 books had been borrowed in 1943. The library had 18,940 books and subscribed to 71 magazines and six newspapers.
1934: Three men were arrested for public intoxication downtown Shelbyville. One was a “one-legged shoe string peddler,” The Republican said.
Over 200 city students and 600 county children were vaccinated against diphtheria at various school locations. Local schools visited by physicians were Charles Major, Thomas A. Hendricks, Walkerville, Booker T. Washington and St. Joseph.
1924: Kennedy Car Liner & Bag Company closed at 3 p.m. to allow employees the opportunity to attend the Shelbyville-Martinsville basketball game.
A Ku Klux Klan demonstration scheduled for Blue Ridge was called off due to bad road conditions.
1914: Several cars on a freight train were thrown off track near Acton. The wreck delayed traffic on the New York Central lines for two hours while a crew from Indianapolis cleared the wreckage.
OBITUARIES
Marjorie R. Elmore, 95, passed away on February 16, 2024. Born on September 23, 1928 in London, IN to Donald and Hazel (Noe) House she was also known as Marge and affectionately called “Granny” by so many. She married Morris “Bud” Elmore in 1964 and he preceded her in death in 1984.
A lifetime Shelby County resident, Marge was a 1946 graduate of Moral High School where she was a “yell leader.” She later became a true fan of her beloved Triton Central Tigers. All three of her daughters and all five of her grandchildren are graduates of Triton where she was always present and cheering on her family at their sporting events and school activities. In her later years, she would even be spotted at her great-grandchildren’s games proudly supporting them, regardless of what school they attended but would still wear something kelly green.
Marge worked for over 50 years at Robinson’s Grocery in Fairland, which later became Mr. T’s. She walked to and from work every single day and retired when she was in her 80s.
Marge was a founding member of the Northwood Christian Church in Fairland and continued to be an active member until her passing. She was a very religious person and would always offer a prayer when needed.
Family was always the center of Granny’s heart with cooking and baking following behind in a close second. She loved her family dearly and was always so humble yet proud each May on her special “Granny Day” where the entire family gathered around a meal and shared why their Granny was so special. Her kitchen was her comfort place and countless people were the recipients of her delicious food which was always made with love as the main ingredient. For years, she baked pies for the Fairland Fish Fry and even made sure the volunteer firemen had their own to take home. Marge’s front porch was “the place to be” for the annual Fish Fry parade. She enjoyed gardening, canning/freezing vegetables, and her home was always elaborately decorated for holidays.
Marge was the proud mother of Gloria Elmore Judah of Shelbyville, and Jenice (Robert) Elmore Brown and Marcia O’Brien Linton, both of Fairland. Granny will be greatly missed by her five grandchildren Amy (Justin) Judah Shaw, Robb Judah, Laurie (Martin) Abel Roesli, Nesha (Brandon) Abel Anderson, and Jenni (Matt) Linton Haehl. She touched the lives of her eleven great-grandchildren: Kristen (Brandon) Rager Weidner, Grant Rager, Dottie (Trey) Rager Brown, Jorja Rager, Madalyn Judah, Gabriel Roesli, Benjamin Roesli, Blake Anderson, Steven Anderson, Brock Pitman, and Sydney Haehl. She was also a loving Granny to all of her grand and great-grand fur babies. Many nieces and nephews will also miss their Aunt Marge.
Marge was the last living sibling of the eight House children of London, IN. Preceding her in death are Mary House Clegg, Shelby “Buck” House, Charles “Pete” House, Robert “Snook” House, Harriette House Click, William “Bill” House, and Dorothy “Aunt Dort” House Shaw. Also preceding her in death are her parents, her husband, and sons-in-law Dr. Robert Judah and Doug Linton.
Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sunday, February 25, 2024, at Freeman Family Funeral Homes and Crematory, Carmony-Ewing Chapel, 819 S. Harrison St. in Shelbyville. Funeral services will follow at 2 p.m., Sunday, at the funeral home, with Pastor Joel DeLashmit officiating. Interment will be at London Cemetery in Shelby County. Memorial contributions may be made to the Fairland Fire Department, 400 W. Carey St., PO Box 225, Fairland, Indiana 46126 or Northwood Christian Church, 4851 WCR 500 N, Fairland, Indiana 46126. Online condolences may be shared with Marjorie’s family at www.freemanfamilyfuneralhomes.com.
Mildred R. Followell, 84, passed away Sunday, February 18, 2024 at Morristown Manor. Born January 29, 1940 in Middleburg, Kentucky, she was the daughter of Ernest Vanoy and Elnora (Randolph) Vanoy. She married Robert Lee Followell, and he preceded her in April of 2002.
Survivors include two sons, Wayne Followell (wife Rachel) of Manilla and Timothy Followell (wife Kerensa) of New Salem, Indiana; a sister, Darlene Qualls of Junction City, Kentucky; eight grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren, and eight step-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, her spouse, one sister, four brothers, and a granddaughter, Stacie Dixon.
Mrs. Followell had lived in this area for 60 years after moving from Kentucky. She had been employed as a seamstress at Elanjay for 22 years and also had worked at the Manilla Mini Mart for seven years. She was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Shelbyville. Mildred enjoyed attending services at the Temple, reading the Book of Mormon and knitting.
Funeral services will be at noon on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 114 Rampart Road, Shelbyville, with Bishop Andrew Homer officiating. Burial will be in Manilla Cemetery. Friends may call on Wednesday morning from 11 a.m. until the time of the service, at the church. Memorial contributions can be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, in care of the funeral home. Online condolences may be shared at glennegeorgeandson.com.