Tuesday, June 18, 2024
A DAY AT THE POOL
Scenes from the Meridian Park Family Aquatic Center yesterday show locals having fun in the sun. | photos by JACK BOYCE
City Council Rezones Two Properties
The Shelbyville Common Council last night approved on first reading a request to rezone property (see above) adjacent to the Valero gas station and convenience store at 603 Colescott Street to Business General to allow the business to expand. Birpartap Saini, one of the owners of K & B Partners, which owns the station, said current plans are to construct a new building to allow for expansion of food options. Saini thanked locals in the neighborhood who have supported the store over its eight years in business.
In other action, the council approved on first reading a request to rezone 2021 S. Riley Highway, at the intersection of S. Riley Highway and McKay Road, to Institutional to potentially allow Souls Harbor Church to relocate and operate a daycare at the property, formerly the home of Family Services and Prevention Programs.
In other action, Mayor Scott Furgeson read a proclamation proclaiming tomorrow, June 19, as Juneteenth in the city of Shelbyville.
NOTEBOOK:
Shelby County’s broadband efforts received a substantial boost with the announcement of Indiana Next Level Connections (NLC) Round 4 awards, a county press release announced. With $2.2 million of state funding and $8.6 million of private investment pledged, the $10.8 million awarded to Shelby County’s broadband efforts placed the community fourth out of 50 projects throughout the state in funding committed. Out of the $81 million in NLC Round 4 awards, Shelby County’s broadband expansion efforts received over 13 percent of the latest funding announcement. “Shelby County has diligently pursued broadband investors for the latest round of state broadband grant funding, and as a result, won one of the largest total investments in the state,” Scott Rudd, Rudd Consulting, said. The county has retained Rudd and Greg Lannan as broadband consultants. The next goal is built off this award via the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, a federal initiative created to expand high speed internet access by funding planning and infrastructure deployment in all 50 states. With Indiana allotted $868 million in BEAD funding, Shelby County’s NLC award will be used to make the case for further closing the broadband access challenges that many county residents face.
HOOSIER NEWS: Last weekend saw the U.S. Olympic team trials take place in a temporary pool constructed in Lucas Oil Stadium — an engineering marvel in its own right — in Indianapolis, the home of the Colts. Competitive swimming has had capacity problems in previous venues and is an increasingly popular sport, so an audacious plan by U.S. Swimming to put a pool in a football stadium was carried out. Engineers from Dodd, Myrtha and Spear Corporation built two pools on top of the turf, raising the floor of the venue by 9 feet and building 50,000 square feet of decking. To simply fill two pools, the company pumped 1,200 gallons of water per minute for 13 hours from fire hydrants. (Wall Street Journal)
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Foundation Endowed Scholarship Funds See Significant Increase
SUBMITTED
Blue River Community Foundation’s scholarship program receives a great deal of attention at the end of the school year. During this period of time, our scholarship director, Julie Alvis, and our scholarship committee have recently finalized a long exercise of working tirelessly to complete the evaluation process for the most recent graduating seniors, current college students and nontraditional students who applied for BRCF administered scholarships. Once the committee determines these selections, Mrs. Alvis alongside BRCF staff and committee members attend all five county high school awards programs to present these awards. A process that is in the spotlight for just a few months, the scholarship program is actually an ongoing effort all throughout the year.
In the spring of 2024, 140 Shelby County students were presented with 203 individual scholarships totaling over $465,000. This year’s program was one of the best yet with BRCF again sharing award announcements that are always exciting and rewarding for students, families and schools. However, something special was happening behind the scenes during this year’s process that is just as astonishing as the amount and number of scholarships that were distributed. Significant efforts were being made to continue strengthening and growing this educational opportunity for Shelby County’s future generations and are worthy of sharing with the community.
In late 2023, BRCF reached out to our existing scholarship fund holders to share a special opportunity to grow their endowments. The Foundation offered donors a 1:1 match of up to $5,000 per scholarship fund to help bolster future awards from these investments. Like all calls to action that we’ve encouraged our donors to join, they responded with great excitement and generosity. Upon the match deadline of June 1, $213,543 had been received by old and new donors consequently resulting in $122,294 in match dollars from BRCF. As a result, the endowed scholarship program assets increased by $335,837 in just six months. Remarkably, during this same time period, five new scholarships were established. The Foundation now administers 104 scholarship funds established by individual donors and other community groups.
“The response of our donors to this special match is both a testimony of our community’s philanthropic spirit and the dedication and thoroughness of Julie, our scholarship committee, and our board of directors,” Jennifer Jones, BRCF executive director, said. “The results also serve as evidence of Shelby County’s commitment to education. The program continues to grow because BRCF strictly abides to the intent and criteria of our donors’ scholarship agreements, and we conduct an objective, nondiscriminatory process. The decision making of this committee can often be challenging and stressful due to the number of highly qualified and deserving student applications that we receive annually. The Foundation greatly appreciates the time and significant effort the committee puts into this meticulous process. The initiative is a true collaboration of donors, BRCF staff, scholarship committee members, board members, school staff and students.”
This year’s BRCF scholarship committee included Beth Case, Rita Mohr, Jody Butts, Keyen Macklin, Sandi Landwerlen, Jane Thurston and Linda Warnecke.
In late 2024, BRCF will again conduct the annual Together We Give match campaign. This year’s focus will be to build the newly established Scholar Alumni Alliance Scholarship Fund. This new endowment’s criteria was created by the Scholar Alumni Alliance, a group of past BRCF scholarship recipients who are passionate about giving back to the Foundation and community who helped support them through their college careers and to help invest in the future of Shelby County.
To learn more about the Blue River Community Foundation scholarship program or to find out how to establish your own scholarship fund with BRCF, visit https://www.blueriverfoundation.com/brcf-scholarships, or call our office at 317-392-7955.
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: Shelby County’s amateur radio operators in the Blue River Valley Amateur Radio Society announced plans for an event at the Hendricks Cabin at Shelby County Fairgrounds. Field Day would be part of a nationwide event conducted by the American Radio Relay League, which began in the 1930s as a way to test field preparedness and emergency communications abilities. The society had about 25 members. Larry Hill was president.
2004: The Shelby County Swiftwater Rescue Team saved a man from the Flatrock River in Geneva whose rubber raft had capsized after going over a dam just north of the bridge on Vandalia Road. Waldron volunteer firefighters and personnel from the Indiana DNR assisted.
1994: Triton Central High School graduate Jennifer Woods was the only graduate in the county with perfect attendance throughout her educational career. “People think, ‘Who in their right mind would want to come to school every day?’ But I enjoyed school. I liked my teachers and associating with my friends,” Woods told The Shelbyville News. She had even been one of nine seniors who did not participate in Senior Skip Day.
Traffic on Vine Street was backed up in front of Compton Dairy Store No. 2 due to a 6-foot, 11-inch python in the middle of the street. The snake’s owner, Tammy Crane, eventually caught it.
1984: The annual Muscular Dystrophy Street Dance at Grandview Addition raised $1,100, and four bands entertained a crowd of 500 throughout the day. Door prizes were awarded to C.P. Burk, who won a 10-speed bike; Tracy Shaw, a 12-inch TV; and Jean Young, a Jerry Lewis collector’s watch. A newspaper photo showed Bridget Carter, 12, signing door prize tickets and Anne Thurston volunteering.
1974: Joe Trueblood was named head basketball coach at Waldron High School, succeeding Dave Omer, who had resigned to take a coaching post at Corydon. Trueblood, who had been one of 30 applicants for the position, had been coaching in the Washington, Ind. school system. As a standout high school player in Medora, he had been named to the Kentucky-Indiana Athletic Conference all-star team.
A giant “wiggle worm,” a new piece of playground equipment, was installed at Sunrise Park.
1964: The Shelbyville News reported that a Sept. 3 show by the Beatles at the 1964 State Fair was already a sell-out, even though the tickets had not yet been printed.
The Shelby National Bank announced its purchase of 43 Public Square from Nate Kaufman. The building was adjacent to and on the west side of the bank, and occupied by the Firestone store. The two-story building, which extended from the Public Square to W. Jackson St., was purchased for possible future expansion, bank officials said. In the meantime, Firestone would remain.
1954: Officials with the Shelby County Mental Health Association said they were considering the feasibility of acquiring and preparing a room at Major Hospital for mentally ill people waiting to be transported to a state facility, in lieu of the county jail.
Taxes had been paid on nearly 1,000 dogs in Addison Township, trustee Leona Leap said. But she said there were still 150 dogs out there whose owners had not paid their dog tax.
1944: Due to a mechanical breakdown at the Daniel DePrez Mfg. Co., there would be no new ice in the county for a week. While the company kept back-up ice in storage, it would only be sold in small amounts for the preservation of food items. Company officials asked that no drinks be iced during this period. Service to taverns was also cut off.
1934: Paul Richardson won fishing honors for the weekend from the Floyd & Griffey Store with a black bass he caught from a gravel pit in Flat Rock. Dalton Spurlin’s fish was second, which he caught out of the same gravel pit.
1924: Doctors from surrounding counties came to visit the new Major Hospital building. They brought flowers purchased from Cossairt & Sons as gifts, which were used to decorate the rooms. Major officials said a clean-up day would be held on Saturday before Monday’s official opening.
1914: Mayor Schoelch left a man in jail while he pondered the evidence of whether the man was guilty of wife desertion. The man’s wife said she was left with the kids and $4.50. She then moved into her parents’ home. The man said he hadn’t sent money because he didn’t have any. Also, he had actually asked his father to take care of the children, but his father had forgotten to mention that to the defendant’s wife. Finally, it wasn’t true that he hadn’t been in contact since leaving. He had, in fact, sent his wife a postcard from Chicago.
OBITUARIES
Jean E. Fansler, 83, of Shelbyville, passed away Sunday, June 16, 2024 at the Willows of Shelbyville. Born in Rushville on September 22, 1940, she was the daughter of Vonnie Wright and Vera Wright. Survivors include a daughter, Janet Beyer (Kenny Pike) of Shelbyville; a brother, Donald Wright of Illinois; a sister, Judy Callahan of Tennessee; five grandchildren, including very special granddaughter MiKayla Pike of Shelbyville; and several great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, three children, Jon Fansler, Julie Fansler, and Jarad Fansler; and three brothers, Joe, David, and Jimmy Wright.
Mrs. Fansler was a lifelong resident of this area and graduated from Rushville High School. She had been employed as a CNA at Heritage House for 10 years and had also been a receptionist for Human Services for several years.
Private graveside services will be held at Forest Hill Cemetery. In lieu of flowers please make contributions to Main Street Hospice, in care of the funeral home. Online condolences may be shared at glennegeorgeandson.com.
Bravo 👏🏻 BRCF!