Top stories of 2019

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MADISON COUNTY — As the year comes to a close, here’s a look back at some of the top stories in the South Madison County area from 2019.

Friends of Falls Park

PENDLETON — After months of preparation, Friends of Falls Park conducted its first board meeting Jan. 14. The group organized throughout 2018 and was ready by early 2019 to begin helping to support and promote park efforts.

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Joey Patton, president, and 14 other members of the founding board of directors took the reins of the organization.

In short order, the board had discussed membership and volunteer developments, including interest from the Best Buddies program at Pendleton Heights High School and the local Tri Kappa organization, and progress in preparing to run one of the largest annual events in town, the Fall Creek Heritage Fair, which the group went on to plan and coordinate for the first time in late summer.

Pendleton Park Board member Brian Slick attended the Friends meeting and provided some words of encouragement at the start.

“We’ve been hearing great things about this group,” Slick said. “We’re just happy to see all the involvement.”

Piece of history restored

PENDLETON — A Conestoga wagon dating back more than 200 years — prior to the founding of Pendleton — was restored and is now part of the collection of Pendleton Historical Museum.

“John Rogers used that wagon,” said Jay Brown, who led the restoration effort, referring to the man credited with settling Pendleton in 1818.

Many people contributed to the restoration effort, including a Rogers descendant and an Amish craftsman.

Infrastructure improvements

PENDLETON — Infrastructure projects along State Street, from Heritage Way to west of Interstate 69, got significantly underway this year.

The projects — using local, state and federal funds — are adding traffic circles at the I-69 ramps and at Heritage Way and a dedicated pedestrian bridge on the south side of the overpass.

Some people have questioned the value of a pedestrian bridge at the site.

The town has said it was a good way to leverage federal funds — which might not always be available — to advance long-term goals of improved community connectivity.

Pendleton spent $718,424 on the bridge and intersection improvements at Heritage Way and Enterprise Drive, with the Federal Highway Administration paying $2,872,242.

For the bridge construction alone, Pendleton spent $205,485, with FHA paying $821,939.

Chief fired, demoted, reinstated

PENDLETON — The Town of Pendleton voted 3-2 to fire Pendleton Police Chief Marc Farrer in January because of controversial social media posts, causing a backlash against the council from Farrer supporters that included a rally, packed council meetings and signs of support in yards throughout town.

Farrer fought the move, and in March there was a negotiated settlement for him to stay on at the department as a patrolman.

In August, Farrer was made chief again after Councilman Shane Davis — who was appointed in April to fill the seat of Councilman Chad Wolfe, who resigned — made a motion to reinstate Farrer. That motion passed 3-2.

Man sentenced for murder

MADISON COUNTY — A Madison County judge weighed a defendant’s deep remorse over a friend’s death, and the amount of physical force used to carry it out. He cited both factors, the mitigating and the aggravating, as he sentenced Joseph M. Hartley, 30, to 10 years in prison.

Hartley, formerly of Pendleton, pleaded guilty Nov. 9, 2018, to strangling Uriah T. Wilson, 29, to death after a day of drinking and partying on the back lot of Hartley’s father’s property in Markleville on Dec. 7, 2017.

Hartley was charged with murder in 2017; however, a plea bargain agreement called for Hartley to plead guilty to the lesser charge of aggravated battery, a Level 5 felony.

In exchange for the guilty plea, the prosecutor’s office agreed Hartley would be sentenced to 3 to 16 years in prison.

Dog Park Opens

PENDLETON — Dozens of community members joined Pendleton Heights Class of 2018 students, Pendleton park staff and sponsors of Falls Bark Dog Park to celebrate the new canine amenity’s grand opening in early March in Falls Park.

“Their motivation was inspirational,” park employee Denise McKee said, describing how the students raised about $15,000 during their senior year to install the 175-feet-by-175-feet dual-section play area for dogs.

Middle school earns ‘Four Stars’

PENDLETON — Hard work, diligence and investment from the staff are among the reasons Pendleton Heights Middle School is back where it belongs, its leader said. According to then-principal Dan Joyce, those attributes put his school among the elite that achieve Indiana’s 2017-18 Four Star School Award.

Indiana Department of Education released its list of 234 schools statewide to receive the designation. The award, originated in 1988, reflects academic excellence among students, educators and the administration.

To earn Four Star status, a school must receive an “A” on the state’s A-F accountability system and have excellent Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress (ISTEP) pass rates in English/language arts and math.

Teague gets his due

PENDLETON — Representatives from Indiana Historical Bureau and Historic Fall Creek Pendleton Settlement gathered outside Carnegie Learning Center, 424 E. State St., Pendleton, in the spring to dedicate a historical marker honoring Walter Dorwin Teague, an industrial design pioneer who grew up in Pendleton.

“He attributed his success to the libraries that were here,” settlement member Bob Post said during a brief speech about Teague.

He said Teague often donated to local libraries and corresponded with local librarians.

The historical marker recognizes “Teague’s lasting contributions to the field of industrial design,” Historical Marker Program Director Casey Elizabeth Pfeiffer wrote in an email prior to the ceremony, which she attended.

The marker program is overseen by Indiana Historical Bureau, a division of the Indiana State Library.

“Through his work, he showed that functionality and aesthetic went hand in hand in creating beautifully designed products and helped popularize the field,” Pfeiffer wrote.

The new marker states Teague advanced industrial design “through writings, lectures, the formation of The Society of Industrial Design, and a 1941 court case which established industrial design as a profession.

“By the mid-1940s, Teague had industrial design offices on the East and West Coasts. He supported his hometown through regular donations to the Pendleton Public Library.”

Tornado strikes Pendleton

PENDLETON — Utility crews, police and firefighters, emergency management officials and residents in town were hard at work cleaning up in the days after May 27, a date that for many residents, lives in infamy. They were also doing damage assessments after a tornado passed through the Pendleton at about 8 p.m. that Monday night.

It was an EF-2 tornado — with winds between 111 and 135 mph — that came through town, damaging hundreds of homes and uprooting trees across a six-mile stretch starting west of Pendleton and heading northeast toward Anderson.

It knocked down trees and power lines, tore roofing off of homes and other buildings, and toppled the steeple at Pendleton First United Methodist Church.

There was one injury, a person who was treated for a cut across the forehead, and no deaths.

About 4,200 customers in South Madison County were without electricity immediately afterward.

South Madison Community School Corp. canceled classes on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Pendleton Heights High School was set up as a shelter for people affected by the storm.

The community rallied as neighbors helped neighbors, and organizations and help poured into town from near and far to help get things cleaned up.

More than three months after the storm, many people were still working to get some aspects of their lives back to where they were before the storm. Several people discussed the storm at that time, reflecting on what happened and how they can be better prepared should there be a next time.

“Oh, lots of lessons learned,” said Pendleton resident and renter Kelly Harris, who lives on South Adams Street. “Never take a storm lightly.

“Just get to shelter,” she said.

Joe Baker, who lives nearby, said there was a lot of confusion in the storm’s immediate aftermath, with people being uncertain about whether they should hunker down in their houses or evacuate because of a gas leak.

He said his advice is “to prepare yourselves more. … you can’t depend on the government to be there to help you, you have to prepare yourself.”

For Jeanette Isbell, that would have meant ensuring she had a safe spot to get to fast.

“I wish I’d had a spot cleared out of my closet,” she said, noting her safe place was packed full of possessions at the time she needed to go into it.

Sue Patton, who handled tornado case management for South Madison Community Foundation along with Pendleton’s Long-Term Recovery Team, said 159 property owners filled out intake assessment forms, which have helped governmental agencies assess the needs of residents in Madison County who were impacted by the storm.

Of the 159 forms, 75 homeowners listed structural damage, 56 noted roof damage and 61 noted tree damage.

Fire territory improves rating

MARKLEVILLE — Adams-Markleville Fire Protection Territory recently earned an improved score on its latest Public Protection Classification.

The result not only means the area is receiving significantly better fire protection but also could mean reduced insurance rates for property owners, town leaders said.

A review of the department by the Insurance Services Office (ISO) — a statistics and underwriting service used by many insurance companies to determine insurance rates — revealed the department’s public protection score had moved the agency from Class 9 to Class 6.

The scale for the system ranges from Class 1 to Class 10, with one being the highest and 10 being the lowest.

The classification shift takes township residents out of the high-risk insurance category, which ranges from Class 7 to Class 9.

“It’s kind of unheard of to go all the way to a (PPC Class 6) in a rural department,” said Dan Fesler, president of the fire territory board. “It’s a huge deal.”

Brookside Park completed

LAPEL — It was six years in the making, but after grants, donations and a lot of volunteer work, in the middle of this year the Lapel Youth Softball League finally had a place to play.

Brookside Park is the newest of four town parks — joining Woodward, Memorial and Central — and home to the town’s softball league.

Six years ago the league had two diamonds located across from the Lapel High School, but the town sold the land to the Lapel Stony Creek Fire Territory. After the fire territory built its new station, there was just one field left to play on.

So, then-softball league president Bill Hutton came up with a plan. He developed the Lapel Park Board to apply for a grant from the Department of Natural Resources to create Brookside Park.

The new park has four softball fields, along with a playground, walking trail and shelter.

There were plenty of hurdles along the way, including generating money to build the new facility.

With the development of the board, the town could apply for a grant.

It received $200,000 from the DNR along with another $50,000 from the town’s Olevia Cascadden Fund, a trust left by the late Lapel resident after her death in 2015.

Residents’ frustration boils over

PENDLETON — Pendleton Town Council had an agenda for its meeting June 27 — including a proclamation thanking all who helped with tornado cleanup, and related presentations by representatives of South Madison Community Foundation and Madison County Emergency Management Agency.

But a few dozen residents had an agenda of their own, coming to the meeting to voice concerns — or to support those who were to speak — about how they feel the town is being run, especially in light of a list of complaints a group of employees filed and the town has investigated.

Sammi Thatcher was the first of more than half a dozen residents to speak of such concerns during the public comment section of the meeting.

She said there appeared to be a lack of transparency with how town decisions are made and that residents’ concerns are not well received.

“I think these meetings need to be a little more open … not slam the gavel down,” she said.

“Please listen to us. Please listen to our concerns. We are all valuable people.”

Other residents proceeded to speak, sharing concerns they have with a few town employees, saying they at times have been rude, derelict in their duties, or not properly supervised or disciplined.

Similar issues were shared at other council meetings throughout the year.

Since then, the town has made some changes, including posting meeting minutes in more prominent place on the town website and in a more timely manner.

Lifeguards honored for response

PENDLETON — They came in as lifeguards and left as heroes.

Five teenage lifeguards — Emily Brown, 17; Ella Dixon, 17; Grace McKinney, 15; Madison Painter, 17; and Preston Dixon, 19 — put their training to use when a 16-year-old female swimmer was face down and unresponsive shortly after diving into the Falls Park Alvin D. Brown Memorial Swimming Pool on June 27.

Pool manager Londa Bennett and Pendleton Emergency Ambulance chief Donnie Meyer replayed the events to Pendleton Park Board prior to its July 24 meeting.

After the two recalled the youths’ acts of bravery, Community Hospital Anderson President and CEO Beth Tharp and VP Community Engagement/CFO Tom Bannon presented each lifeguard with a Community Hero Award.

“None of us had ever worked together, but we came together and helped save that girl’s life. It was amazing,” said Preston Dixon, a graduate of Pendleton Heights High School and sophomore at Ball State University. “The five of us will have a bond now that we never had before,” he added.

XC course dedicated

PENDLETON — Just prior to the girls race of the Arabian Roundup cross country meet this summer, participants and fans gathered at the start line to honor a former Arabians coach who was instrumental in making the Pendleton Heights running program what it is today.

John Rhoades, a teacher and coach for 39 years, died in March, but his legacy remains ingrained as part of Pendleton Heights history.

To honor his contributions, the girls cross country course was dedicated to Rhoades on Wednesday, Aug. 28, with the unveiling of a plaque naming the course The John R. Rhoades Girls Cross Country Course.

Rhoades’ wife, Judy, and other family members were on hand for the ceremony.

Judy’s voice wavered at times while she read her statement to the crowd.

She talked of how much her husband loved what he did with the team.

“Starting the cross country team made these girls over all these years part of our family. PHHS was his life and our family’s life.

“He would be humbled and honored for this dedication, and I know he is with us.”

Ingalls says ‘no’ to Newco

PENDLETON — After a three-and-a-half-hour meeting listening to proposals and remonstrators, it took the Ingalls Board of Zoning Appeals just minutes to make its decision.

By a vote of 5-0, the Ingalls BZA said no to Newco Metals on Oct. 21.

The company, located off State Road 13 near I-69, was seeking a land use variance for the development of Element 13, which according to representatives of the scrapyard would be a casthouse or remelter for recycling aluminum.

Alex Intermill, an attorney representing Newco, told the board and the nearly 400 people in attendance at John Lord Gym at Maple Ridge Elementary School, that Element 13 “is not a smelter.”

“Refining and smelting are not the same thing,” Intermill told the board.

Leading up to the meeting, protests of the development had grown, with people expressing concern about health and emission risks and the potential impact on property values.

Man shot dead in Pendleton

PENDLETON — A Pendleton man was shot dead in his home Oct. 18, and police later arrested an Anderson man on a charge of murder.

Michael Beard, 33, of 112 W. Water St., Lot 3, was found by his girlfriend at about 1 p.m., Pendleton Police Chief Marc Farrer said.

He had been shot in the head, Farrer said.

Video footage from a camera inside the home didn’t capture the shooting, which took place in the bedroom, but did show a person coming and going from the home, giving police “an image of a possible suspect,” Farrer said.

Austin Frawley, 26, of Anderson was arrested at about 11:30 p.m. the same day at a house in Anderson, Farrer said.

First Community Day at park

PENDLETON — About 225 helpers turned out Oct. 19 for Community Day at the Park, performing a variety of service projects in Falls Park and offering a community fair for the public.

“To give back to the community,” said David Murphy, safety manager at Tractor Supply Co. Pendleton Distribution Center, when asked why they were there raking, grading and spreading straw over an area near the park gazebo. “Lots of our workers, staff, live in Pendleton, call this place home.

“I take my son here all the time,” he said.

The event was co-hosted by Falls Park and the Pendleton Urban Forestry Committee and designed to foster a sense of community and pride in the park, while also getting some work done.

Bill Cundiff was one of two Cub Scout leaders with Pack 232 who brought four children to help with the labor.

“We try to get the kids involved with as many service projects as we can,” he said, noting it’s a goal to get people into the habit of helping out when they’re young.

During the day, participants planted 15 trees and 2,500 tulip bulbs; painted the bridge over the falls, the restrooms east of the Community Building and trash barrels at the golf club; cleaned up litter and limbs; raked, backfilled, seeded and placed straw over stump holes; and more.

At midday, there was a welcome ceremony, during which a tree was planted in memory of the Memorial Day tornado.

At various times during the day, people also hung small memorial plaques on trees in memory of loved ones.

A tree-mendous effort

PENDLETON — Once upon a time, there was the trunk of a 100-plus-year-old tree, an idea and a group of dedicated volunteers. That’s how the story of the Lending Tree Library in Falls Park begins.

The project, which was largely completed this fall, has transformed the tree trunk — stripped by the Memorial Day tornado — into the focal point of a fanciful area where people will be able to go to read, relax and reflect.

“It took on a life of its own,” said Friends of the Pendleton Community Library President Coco Bill, describing the effort just south of the park entrance off Pendleton Avenue.

The trunk — which has a circumference of almost 13 feet — is fitted with a built-in cabinet for books, which people will be able to take or leave; a has cedar-shingled roof structure with dormer window and chimney; and lighting tied into the parks electrical system, which will light up the structure at night.

The project got its start months ago, with help coming from a variety of sources, forming what Bill called a “dream team.”

It included members of the library and Falls Park Friends groups and other interested and skilled volunteers.

The project also was facilitated by a $2,640 grant from South Madison County Community Foundation to both Friends groups.

The votes are still in

PENDLETON — Voters in Pendleton voted for two political newcomers — one for town council and another for clerktreasurer — on Nov. 5, even as they re-elected a veteran council member and voted for an appointed incumbent.

In one of the three council races, Democratic challenger Steve Denny defeated Republican incumbent Jessica Bastin by a vote of 797-378 in District 2, which represents the southwest part of town.

In the District 5 at-large race, Republican incumbent Shane Davis defeated Lisa Floyd, a Democrat, by a vote of 611-566.

In District 1,10-year Democratic incumbent Chet Babb defeated challenger Michelle Skeen, a Republican, by a vote of 778-400.

In the race for Pendleton clerk-treasurer, Republican incumbent Matt Roberts fell by a vote of 621-546 to challenger Willie Boles, a Democrat.

In Ingalls, two of three incumbents retained their at-large spots in a closely contested race for three Ingalls town council seats.

But newcomer Republican Melanie Johnson, 65, president of the town’s Board of Zoning Appeals and Plan Commission, was elected to her first term on the town council with 102 votes, the most of the five candidates.

Democrat Teresa Egerton with 82 votes and Republican Scot Lawyer, with 81 votes, retained seats on the council. Egerton and Lawyer, who was on the board previously from 1996-99, had been appointees from their respective parties.

Town council president Justin Gardner was not re-elected. Gardner had been a part of the council since being appointed in January 2017. He had 77 votes, just four shy of Lawyer’s third and final spot.

Democrat Terry Moody was fifth in the voting, receiving 70 votes.

In Lapel’s only contested race, a familiar face come out on top.

Republican incumbent Dennis Molina retained his position as clerk-treasurer, defeating Democrat Trisha (Mosley) Bousman in the lone contested race in the Lapel election.

Three Republican at-large council candidates, selected in the May primary, did not face challengers in the General Election.

Jason Kleinbub, a current councilman, and newcomers Chad Blake and Teresa Retherford will be sworn in in January to the five person council.

Blake and Retherford will replace town council President Deb Wainscott and Vice President Tony Pearson.

Wainscott did not move on to Tuesday’s election after losing her bid for one of the spots in the primary.

Pearson did not seek reelection.

On Nov. 5, Retherford received the most votes, 181, followed by Blake (158) and Kleinbub (153).

Marijuana ordinance put on hold

PENDLETON — After streamlining a proposed ordinance to prohibit “commercial marijuana activity” in town, Pendleton Town Council decided it would be too rushed and premature to approve the ordinance.

Instead, the council voted 4-0 to table the issue until a future meeting. The next council meeting is set for Jan. 9.

“I just have a problem jumping into it this quick,” Councilman Chet Babb said at the Dec. 12 meeting. “I think we need to pull back a little, wait until next year.”

“I agree with Chet,” Council President Jessica Smith said.

The town has been working on an ordinance as a preemptive strike against marijuana retailers setting up shop in town in the event the state legalizes marijuana.

The lone prohibition in the revised ordinance brought to the council Dec. 12 — which would take effect only if the state legalized marijuana and allowed for local control of it — reads “Commercial marijuana activity shall be unlawful in all areas of the Town.”

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