SOUTH MADISON COUNTY — SOUTH MADISON COUNTY — This year in South Madison County was one of celebration — county bicentennial events and a new playground at Falls Park, to name a couple — and the continuing change associated with growth, including the arrival of new businesses and efforts to manage growth and maintain quality of life.
Below is a selection of stories published in The Times-Post, reflecting these and other developments and happenings from the past 12 months.
The full versions of these and other related stories are available at ptlpnews.com.
Originally published Jan. 12
A plan for Thomas Pendleton House
Tammy Bowman, executive director of South Madison Community Foundation, holds a preservation plan for the Thomas Pendleton House, located at 233 S. Main St. and owned and occupied by the foundation.
PENDLETON — A house built in the first half of the 19th century — by the family for whom Pendleton is named — is on the cusp of receiving a significant makeover.
Preservation work on the Thomas Pendleton House, located at 233 S. Main St., is set to start this year on what will likely be a multi-year project.
“The brick is failing because it’s original handmade brick, and it’s starting to disintegrate in some places,” said Tammy Bowman, executive director of South Madison Community Foundation, which has occupied the building since it was gifted to the organization in 2005. “The floor — I don’t want to overstate it — but it’s collapsing.”
In December 2021, Historic Fall Creek, Pendleton Settlement, a local preservation group, successfully applied for a $3,500 Efroymson Family Endangered Places Grant from Indiana Landmarks — a statewide preservation group of which it is a member — to help defray the $15,500 cost of the preservation plan for the building.
Originally published Jan. 19
Pendleton loses ‘a visionary’
PENDLETON — Doug Owens, who operated a law practice in Pendleton for decades while also supporting the Pendleton community in a variety of ways, died Friday, Jan. 13, at age 89.
“He was a visionary as far as things the community needs,” said Dick Creger, a friend and fellow Pendleton Lions Club member.
Doug Owens
“He was an individual people were comfortable to talk with about community needs and visions for the betterment of the community,”
Owens was instrumental in establishing South Madison Community Foundation, which was founded in 1992, as well as helping many other local projects get done, Creger said.
When the decorative fountain near the main entrance of Falls Park was broken down, Creger said, “they asked Doug about it; Doug brought it to the (Lions) Club. The club jumped right on it to get it restored and working again.”
Creger said Owens started the first iteration of a farmers market in town in the early 1990s.
In addition to the Lions Club and community foundation, Owens was involved with Pendleton Christian Church, Friends of the Falls Park, Historic Fall Creek – Pendleton Settlement, Pendleton Artists Society, Pendleton Business Association and more.
Originally published Feb. 28
Business group to be a Chamber
PENDLETON — It will take a while for the full changeover to occur, but one of the first things people will notice — and something that will be highly visible — is use of the new name: Pendleton Chamber of Commerce.
“One of the main reasons that we wanted to do this was for name recognition,” said Laura Shank, president of Pendleton Business Association, whose members voted Feb. 15 to become a Chamber of Commerce.
“With the anticipated growth and whatnot, when businesses search, looking for Pendleton as a new home, they’ll search for a Chamber of Commerce before they would search for a business association.”
About 20 members attended and voted at last week’s meeting to make the change, Shank said.
There was no one against the switch.
Pendleton Business Association had 144 business members in south Madison County last year and is in the middle of its enrollment period for this year, she said.
The full transition to a Chamber will require a lot of internal adjustments, including updating the organization’s articles of incorporation and bylaws and other “legal stuff,” Shank said.
That process likely won’t be complete until the end of this year.
Originally published March 2
Outfitters event attracts record donations
NOBLESVILLE — Outfitters’ theme for its annual benefit gala was “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes.”
From a fundraising perspective, the event turned out far better than organizers had hoped, if not dreamed.
The 16th annual event, which took place Saturday at Embassy Suites in Noblesville, played host to a record 315 guests and raised more money than ever for the Pendleton-based non-profit, which helps clothe children.
“We were hoping to break $100,000, but we did not expect to exceed it by that much,” Outfitters Executive Director Carrie Bale said shortly after the total was tallied.
Total donations for the night were $132,838. Last year’s event raised about $74,000.
Originally published March 30
Pendleton discusses plans for growth
PENDLETON — Pendleton leaders discussed town growth — and related challenges and opportunities — on Monday at the Community Building in Falls Park, during one of three public meetings planned for the issue.
In front of dozens of attendees, town manager Scott Reske, Planning Director Hannahrose Urbanski, and Town Council President Marissa Skaggs discussed Pendlleton’s potential for growth in the future and the town’s plan to manage it.
Reske started the meeting by stating the town knows growth is coming, it’s just a matter of when, where and how fast the growth occurs.
“Don’t deny that you’re going to grow,” Reske said. “That’s always mistake No. 1.”
According to the 2020 census, Pendleton had a population of 4,717. Reske said he believes that number to be just short of 6,000 now but said the town has the potential to support up to 40,000 if it were to acquire undeveloped land in the area.
Reske laid out the pitfalls that can arise from growth to the area, and they are all things the town is planning for, he said.
These include effects such as traffic congestion, strain on infrastructure, neighborhoods where homes look too much alike, displaced local businesses, social disconnect, municipal debt, stress on public safety and water supply burdens.
Originally published April 6
Cemetery customers have new options
PENDLETON — It’s a lot of money to spend on somewhere no one really wants to go.
But the community demanded it, town manager Scott Reske said.
Pendleton received delivery of its first combination columbarium/ossuary — an above-ground structure designed to hold urns containing cremated remains — at Grovelawn Cemetery on March 15.
“People requested it. We had a lot of people asking about it,” said Reske, who helped lead the project, which began several years ago.
The structure weighs about 16,000 pounds and is about 8½ feet tall with a diameter of about 8 feet, said Charles Eickhof, the salesman from Eickhof who completed the contract with Pendleton.
It can hold more than 800 sets of remains.
Around the outside of the structure are granite frontplates to 168 niches — or individual compartments — each of which has an interior space of about a square foot and can hold up to two urns. These comprise the columbarium.
There is also a space in the middle of the structure, behind the niches and not visible from the outside, for soft urns, or bags. It can house about 500 sets of remains. This is the ossuary.
Originally published April 20
Ingalls receives nearly $479,000 for roads
INGALLS — More than $2.4 million in funding for road improvements is coming to Madison County from the most recent round of a state matching grant program.
The funds are from Community Crossings, which the state bills as a partnership between Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) and communities.
Ingalls is the only town in South Madison County to receive funds in the most recent round, netting $478,662.
“This is the biggest one we’ve had in three years,” said Carl Marlett, Ingalls street superintendent and co-town manager, noting that’s how long the town has been applying for the funds.
Originally published May 11
Markleville police chief to step down
MARKLEVILLE —Markleville Police Chief Tim Basey is stepping down after more than seven years leading the department, announcing on the department’s Facebook page that he’s doing so for health and personal reasons.
Tim Basey
“Unfortunately this February it was discovered that I have stage 3 Esophageal Cancer,” Basey posted.
“After consultation with my doctors and my family I have decided to step down from my position effective June 30th. I have underwent Chemotherapy, Radiation and next an invasive surgery to try and give me a chance at living a normal life!
“I wanted to remain at the Markleville Police Department to complete 40 years in law enforcement. God has other plans! God wants me to enjoy life a little!”
Markleville Town Council President Daniel Roseberry said everyone at the town was “very sad” when Basey told them of his decision, calling him “a huge blessing to the community.”
Originally published May 18
Town approves new cemetery rates, fees
PENDLETON — Pendleton approved new rates and fees for Grovelawn Cemetery, including the prices for its new ossuarium, a large above-ground cylindrical structure that includes individual spaces for urns as well as an internal area with additional space.
The cost for traditional burial is increasing from $900 for a plot and $900 to open and close the gravesite, to $1,500 for a plot and $1,500 for opening and closing.
Those prices — which take effect June 1 — are set to rise $500 per year for the two years as part of a three-year phase-in at the town-owned cemetery.
The cost for spaces in the ossuarium, which was installed in April, start at $400 and go up to $3,200, depending on location in the structure.
Originally published May 25
Growth talk turns to topic of merger
PENDLETON — Speaking to a standing-room-only crowd, town manager Scott Reske conducted the third Pendleton input meeting concerning Pendleton’s plan for future growth.
“We don’t want to lose our identity and history,” Reske said. “We want to make sure Pendleton still feels like Pendleton.”
He reviewed strategies for “steering development” — enhance quality of life, stay ahead of growth and protect the town from debt — and gave examples of how the town is pursuing each. A meeting originally planned by Pendleton to discuss growth within its existing boundaries quickly became a focused discussion about Pendleton and Fall Creek Township merging.
When Reske opened the meeting for questions, it became evident why there was a standing-room-only crowd.
Several Fall Creek Township residents had questions about the town possibly annexing them.
Reske said the town and township could merge.
He said forced annexation is against the law, and he had received several phone calls from people in the township who would like to be annexed.
Callers were concerned about water issues and also feared Anderson or Ingalls would eventually surround them.
Reske later said the possibility of the town and township merging had also been raised in April, at the second of the three meetings on growth, with some attendees suggesting it could solve some problems.
At the May 18 meeting, Reske said for such a merger to happen, both the town and the township would have to agree to a plan.
There would have to be three public meetings open to the public by each entity, he said.
Committees would also be formed to discuss such topics as public safety, utilities, farming and agriculture, taxes and financing.
Originally published June 1
Longtime council member dies
PENDLETON — The town of Pendleton is mourning the passing of one of the town council’s longtime members.
Councilman Chet Babb died unexpectedly early last Wednesday morning.
“Chet’s legacy of service and love for Pendleton will be felt in the Pendleton community for generations,” a statement from the town said.
Chet Babb
Babb was a member of the council for 13 years and played a big role in making Pendleton the town that it is today.
“Chet was a constant during my time on the council, and the one thing about him is that he always wanted Pendleton to reach its full potential — whether that was being the best place to live, the best place to visit, or the best place to work. Chet was relentless in his pursuit of Pendleton growing into its potential,” town council president Marissa Skaggs said.
Earlier this year, Babb stepped aside as town council president and handed the reins over to Skaggs, but he remained a member of the council and a close confidant of Skaggs.
A veteran of the U.S. Navy, Babb used his time on the town council to be the moving force in several major infrastructure projects and was a big believer and supporter of the police and fire departments in Pendleton.
Improvements to the town’s stormwater drainage system and the formation of South Madison Fire Territory stand out to town officials as big projects Babb played a major role in making happen.
Originally published June 15
INDOT lays out plans to public
PENDLETON — Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) shared preliminary details about an upcoming major road project involving U.S. 36 and State Road 9 in Pendleton.
The meeting, conducted in the Pendleton Heights High School cafeteria on Thursday, June 8, featured project displays and information stations. A short presentation informed the public about what the project will consist of, and there was time for presenters to listen to thoughts and comments from the public.
The plan, laid out by INDOT, consists of adding travel lanes, turn lanes, access management and pedestrian infrastructure along both roadways. The project is being run by the Greenfield District of INDOT along with the town of Pendleton.
The project will involve construction of additional travel lanes along U.S. 36 and State Road 9 from Madison Avenue to the bridge over Fall Creek.
Originally published June 22
Burmeister chosen for town council
PENDLETON — The town of Pendleton has a new town council member.
Jerry Burmeister was chosen on Tuesday, June 13, during a caucus called by Madison County Democratic Party to replace longtime Councilman Chet Babb, who died unexpectedly last month.
Vice President Cathy Pasko and President Jerry Burmeister.
“I’m very sorry that things happened the way they did. Chet can never be replaced. He was such a great guy and cared so much about our community,” Burmesister said. “But I’m excited, and I think Chet would be smiling down on me.”
Burmeister will serve the remainder of Babb’s District 1 council term, which ends Dec. 31.
“He’ll do a very good job,” Madison County Democratic Chair Tim Funk said at the caucus. “He’s a very energetic person.”
Burmeister, who has owned Burmeister’s Old Towne Antiques in downtown Pendleton for 22 years, has already been very involved in the town and community in the past by serving on boards and committees, such as the Waterworks Board and the Board of Zoning Appeals. He currently serves as secretary of the Board of Zoning Appeals and vice president of the Waterworks Board.
Originally published June 29
Falls Park expands by 38 acres
PENDLETON — Falls Park, Pendleton’s natural gathering place, is growing to accommodate the town’s growing population with the purchase of 38 acres contiguous to the Pendleton Sports Complex area for future development.
“The public has consistently asked for more green space for recreation, and we’re working hard to provide it,” Pendleton Park Board President Bryan Williams said in a press release. “This property is a key segment in a line of park land from Pendleton’s eastern boundary all the way to downtown.”
The property, a farm owned by Prairie Creek Partnership, has been sold to the Fall Creek Board of Parks and Recreation by the heirs of the estate of Dr. Robert Begley.
The final price — $760,000 — reflects a discount of $240,000 from the appraised value, Burris said.
The purchase was made with bond proceeds, and the balance is being paid on contract for the next three years.
Fall Creek Board of Parks and Recreation expanded Falls Park with the purchase of 38 acres from the heirs of Dr. Robert Begley. Pictured at the closing in Anderson on June 23 are (front row, from left) Brian Begley, son of Robert Begley, and Park Board President Bryan Williams; and (back row) estate attorney Ron Fowler, park attorney Bill Davisson and Park Director Aaron Burris.
Originally published July 13
Scores show up for blessing of Baby Box
PENDLETON — Pendleton has joined a movement that’s giving mothers in crisis a new, safe option for surrendering their babies.
To a crowd of nearly 100 people on Monday, the Pendleton Safe Haven Baby Box was unveiled and blessed at South Madison Fire Protection Territory Station 81, 100 S. Broadway St.
“We’ve had a busy year, and we never know where we will get a call from saying a baby was surrendered. Our trust is in a system we have made that we are seeing successfully protect women in crisis and their infants,” Safe Haven Baby Box Founder and CEO Monica Kelsey said.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes is the only organization in the nation dedicated to providing an anonymous surrender option for mothers in crisis. It allows for the legal, safe and anonymous surrender of an infant provided under the Safe Haven Law.
The box, located on the west side of the building, features three silent alarms alerting first responders to the presence of a surrendered infant.
Pendleton Fire Chief Chris Nodine, left, and Beckie Kahl embrace by the new baby box at the Pendleton Fire Department during a special ceremony on Monday, July 10, 2023.
Originally published July 13
Hit and run victim making strides
HANCOCK COUNTY — Hancock County Sheriff’s Department shared an encouraging social media post during the weekend.
It stated the 13-year-old boy left in the road in Wilkinson after being hit while riding his bicycle is making a remarkable recovery.
Jasper Young, Markleville, was listed in critical condition with a traumatic brain injury for several weeks following the hit and run crash on June 17, and doctors feared the worst.
However, good news came from Young’s mother and then posted by Pendleton Heights FCA Middle School and High School that states Young is making huge strides.
The post read, “Jasper’s doctors are calling him a miracle.”
The news came after an MRI showed the area in his head where doctors were most concerned was healed.
“All vessels previously blocked have blood flow,” the post stated. “His carotid artery is also healed. Even his neurosurgeon is in disbelief.”
Originally published July 20
Airstrip bought for testing, research
PENDLETON — Anderson resident Pete Bitar is working on several cutting-edge forms of transportation, including a flying car.
The recent purchase of an old airfield in Pendleton is a big step in helping him reach those goals.
“I just needed more space to do testing and some research and development activities,” Bitar said.
“That’s the main application for the space because both the property and the building fit those needs really well.”
Along with the land in Pendleton, Bitar has a hangar at Anderson Municipal Airport, but the size and restrictions on test flying limit him there. The land in Pendleton — a narrow, more-than-eight-acres parcel running north-south near County Road 600 South and County Road 425 West — allows him more freedom and the space to develop and test his products.
Bitar purchased the property (which he said has been known by many names, including Huntzinger Field, Fuller Field and Hannah Field) in March. It includes a 7,400-square-foot hangar complex.
Originally published Aug. 24
Legacy project mural includes wordplay
PENDLETON — While off in the distance throngs of children, parents and grandparents put the new Falls Park playground to the test, a smaller group of people gathered Friday afternoon around a small brick building next to the creek, commonly known as the “duck barn.”
On the west side of the structure — in large lettering of various fonts and colors, in a design measuring 14 feet wide and five feet tall — appears the phrase “Fall in LOVE with PENDLETON.”
It’s Pendleton’s Madison County Bicentennial legacy project, something former state senator and chairman of the bicentennial committee Tim Lanane described as, among other things, inspirational and long-lasting.
“The history here in Pendleton and Fall Creek really make this a county project,” he told the crowd.
Pendleton’s Madison County Bicentennial legacy project is a mural by artist Brock Forrer of Lapel, concept by Christi Kelly of Pendleton.
Originally published Aug. 24
Event celebrates history, architecture
PENDLETON — James and Amanda Wallace live in McCordsville, but on Sunday afternoon they decided to ride their bikes through the streets of Pendleton.
Their goal was to hit all the stops on Pendleton Porch Party, a Madison County Bicentennial event that included 13 private homes and a handful of public locations, where participating homeowners and others shared stories and information about their home and the town.
“I adore Pendleton. I feel it’s like stepping into a Hallmark movie,” Amanda Wallace said. “It’s just so cozy and warm — I just love it.”
“I’m enjoying the day and the beautiful old architecture,” James said.
The Wallaces had been to several homes on Broadway Street and had just arrived at South Madison Community Foundation in time for the second set of historical presentations by a trio of guest speakers.
Amy Turner, Pendleton site coordinator for the Madison County Bicentennial Committee, said she thought Pendleton Porch Party “went very well,” with some spots reporting visits from 125 people.
“That’s exactly what we wanted to see happen, is people coming out and having conversations with each other,” she said.
The porch event was Pendleton’s second and final county bicentennial affair — “our signature event,” Turner said, with the first event being a mural unveiling, which took place Friday.
Tim McClintick, shares some information about his Broadway Street home with Terri and Jerry Graham of Fall Creek Township, on Sunday, Aug. 20 during Pendleton Porch Party.
Originally published Aug. 24
Playground dedication
PENDLETON — If you showed up to the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Falls Park playground with hopes of being one of the first to play on it, you would have been greatly disappointed.
The perimeter security fence reportedly came down days earlier, and people were playing on it long before the official opening late Friday afternoon.
But the early access didn’t dull the enthusiasm for the occasion, as people of all ages came out to celebrate the new $1.5 million playground, complete with areas designed for different age groups, common areas, musical instruments, and a landscape design incorporating precisely 1,669 plants.
“It’s been a true labor of love,” Park Director Aaron Burris told the crowd, citing Context Design, Fredericks Contractors and park staff as major contributors to the successful completion of the project.
He also said it was the team’s goal to make the park ADA compliant and to include components “that people of all abilities can use.”
The new playground project began after the 2019 tornado, which damaged the old equipment. Designing, figuring out financing, and acquiring and installing the new playground took place the following years, with its expected opening in the spring delayed by unforeseen circumstances, the biggest of which was the discovery of more extensive bedrock that had to be cut to install drainage.
Pendleotn Park Board President Bryan Williams speaks to the crowd during the opening ceremony at the new Falls Park playground.
Originally published Oct. 26
New home tour a success
PENDLETON — Erich and Mary Ragna Yetter of Anderson said they never had time for things like home tours when they had a family at home, but as empty-nesters, that has changed.
On Saturday they toured the six houses on Pendleton Home Tour, the first of what is planned to be an annual event organized through Pendleton Business Association.
“We were blown away. We had a great time. So glad we did this today,” Mary said while standing in the backyard at 346 S. Broadway St., home of Tracy and Dennis Humphrey.
This was their last stop, having seen all the homes.
The tour took place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. One of the houses on the tour is being renovated for use by a local non-profit and PBA member, Acton Academy. The others are residences.
Pendleton residents Donna Wood, Alicia Lowe and Josie Lowe — representing three generations of their family — were among the other more than 130 people who paid the $12 ticket price to participate in the tour.
The tour started with check-in at Citizens State Bank, which was a main tour sponsor with REMAX Legacy.
Alexa Chamberlin, co-chairwoman of the event, PBA vice president and Citizens State Bank branch manager, said she heard similar glowing feedback from everyone she spoke to on the tour.
She said the plan is to have a new slate of homes, ideally increasing the number on tour to six or seven.
“We want everyone to get something different each year, and for different people to have the opportunity to show off their houses.”
Homeowner Tracy Humphrey (left) talks to home tour participants Erich and Mary Ragna Yetter about a plant in the backyard.
Originally published Nov. 2
Bicentennial Tree Planting kicks off
PENDLETON — Step one of the Madison County Bicentennial Tree Planting project took place Oct. 24 in Falls Park.
The project, cosponsored by Madison County MS4 Stormwater Quality Partnership and Anderson Rotary Club, involves the planting of 200 trees across a dozen Madison County communities and other locations to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the county.
On Tuesday, Oct. 24, trees were either picked up or distributed to participating communities — Alexandria, Anderson, Chesterfield, Edgewood, Elwood, Frankton, Ingalls, Lapel, Markleville, Orestes, Pendleton, Summitville and unincorporated Madison County.
“We were trying to come up with ideas, and the thought of trees came up and how much they help us with stormwater management,” said Denise McKee, Pendleton Planning and Zoning Administrator and county stormwater partnership member. “We just thought with the bicentennial coming up that it would be great to plant some.”
The stock of 200 trees cost a total of $8,500 and was fully funded by Madison County Bicentennial Committee.
Originally published Nov. 9
Election changes council composition
PENDLETON — A challenger and an incumbent won in the two contested races in Pendleton in Tuesday’s election.
Democrat Jerry Burmeister defeated incumbent Republican Shane Davis 395-319 in a race for Pendleton Town Council, at-large.
“I’m disappointed at the low numbers that voted,” Davis said. “All we can do is hope that the town keeps moving forward.”
Davis has been on the five-person council for six years. Burmeister has been a councilman for six months, appointed to complete a District 1 term that expires Dec. 31.
A call to Burmeister was not returned by press time.
In the clerk-treasurer race, incumbent Republican Willie Boles defeated Democratic challenger Joe Noel 449-291.
“I’m really glad the people of Pendleton saw fit to come out and vote for me (again),” Boles said.
Noel said despite the loss, he was happy he ran.
“I think all races should be contested,” Noel said. “It elevates the conversation.”
Republican newcomer Cory Hall and Democratic incumbent Steve Denny ran unopposed for town council districts 1 and 2, respectively.
Originally published Nov. 9
Bozell resigns from town council
LAPEL — After nearly two years on the Lapel town council, Noah Bozell has resigned from his position as a member of the five-person board.
Bozell’s resignation was effective Tuesday, Oct. 31.
“I really enjoyed being on the council and serving the community, but I feel right now at this time I’m better served to serve families and the town at the funeral home and not necessarily on the council,” Bozell said.
Bozell joined the town council in 2021 after being appointed to replace Tom Marvel at a Madison County Republican Party caucus.
He won the election to retain the seat in 2022 and had been serving as the town council’s president since early this year.
He said he resigned to concentrate on the funeral home, his career and his family.
Noah Bozell
Originally published Nov. 16
Roberts resigns from town council
PENDLETON — After serving about a year on Pendleton Town Council, District 3 representative Jennifer Roberts has stepped down.
Madison County Republican Chairman Russ Willis said Roberts indicated she was leaving because of new demands that would make it difficult to serve the town.
Her resignation was effective Friday, Nov. 10, Willis said.
Roberts defeated Democrat Joe Noel in November 2022.
They were vying for a seat that became open after longtime Republican Councilman Bob Jones decided not to run for re-election.
Shortly after results came in on election night in 2022, Roberts said, “I’m just really thankful to be elected into this position. It’s humbling, and I don’t take that responsibility lightly. I have big shoes to fill following Bob Jones, but I’m excited for the opportunity and I’m up to the challenge.”
Jennifer Roberts
Originally published Nov. 23
Council approves plan for future
MARKLEVILLE — Markleville Town Council accepted the town’s new comprehensive plan at last week’s November meeting.
The council unanimously voted Monday, Nov. 13, to accept the Maximize Markleville 2035 Comprehensive Plan that was recommended to it by the town’s Plan Commission the week prior.
“The idea of this is it gives us citizen feedback on what our directive should be based on what the citizens want,” town council president Daniel Roseberry said.
Created with the help of Madison County Council of Governments, the plan is supposed to last until 2035, but revisions can be made as the town sees fit.
The plan is intended to guide the future of Markleville for the next 12 years according to input from residents and stakeholders.
Originally published Nov. 23
Superintendents discuss goals
ANDERSON — The Madison County Chamber State of the County luncheon typically focuses on towns and businesses, but this year a priority was put on schools.
Town leaders still spoke and updated attendees on the happenings in their towns, but a panel of superintendents from area school corporations was the main event.
Dr. Mark Hall from South Madison Community School Corp., Joe Cronk from Anderson Community Schools, and Melissa Brisco from Alexandria-Monroe Community Schools capped off the annual luncheon on Wednesday, Nov. 15, at Harrah’s Hoosier Park in Anderson.
During their time in front of the large crowd, the trio echoed the need to prepare students for jobs in the real world.
“What we have to do is change the way we teach and what we expect of our students. How do we teach our students so that they’re learning, developing their critical thinking, their problem-solving, and their ability to communicate with others?” Brisco said. “When we prepare workers for you, they need to show up on time and be able to solve their own problems. Those are skill sets that we need to pivot to teaching in the classroom.”
At South Madison Community School Corp., meeting with local businesses and helping to provide employees for them are one of the ways they help prepare students for life after high school, Hall said.
“When we make comments that we want to prepare students for the real world, we need to make sure that we know what that is,” he said. “We go out to local businesses and love to come out and see what’s going on and how we can help provide employees or get kids on the right direction.”
Dr. Terry Truitt (left) moderates the discussion panel at the Madison County State of the County Luncheon. From left to right: Dr. Joe Cronk, Dr. Melissa Brisco, and Dr. Mark Hall.
Originally published Nov. 23
Grill is ready to serve
PENDLETON — The Pendleton location of Wolfies Grill, 700 W. State St., Pendleton, opened for business on Monday after months of construction and a friends and family night on Saturday.
The Pendleton restaurant — the sixth location for Wolfpack Restaurant Group, which operates locations in Noblesville, Carmel, Geist and Fishers — will offer familiar menu items but a different look, a company press release states.
“The initial vision we had for Wolfies was for it to be the neighborhood hangout,” Scott Wolf, owner of Wolfpack Restaurant Group, said in the release. “We wanted it to feel homey, offering a variety of familiar classics with a bit of ‘small town charm.’ The Pendleton location lays the groundwork for our brand as we enter our 20th anniversary in 2024.”
Wolfies Grill is just the latest of several new businesses to establish a location on State Street near Interstate 69. Others include 3Rivers Federal Credit Union, which opened in the summer, and Starbucks, which is midway through construction.
Originally published Nov. 30
Facility marks milestone
PENDLETON — Pendleton Correctional Facility is like a community unto itself, Warden Dennis Reagle said. There are 1,550 offenders residing in the maximum-security facility located on Pendleton’s south side.
“A 30-foot wall does a good job of keeping people in,” he said.
But on Wednesday, Nov. 15, Reagle and the some of the staff played host to an event just outside those walls, commemorating the facility’s 100th year in Pendleton.
The event was for the staff — which currently numbers about 440 — as well as local residents.
Attendees could visit the historical room in the facility’s training center and wander around a temporary display set up in a nearby Outside Dormitory (OSD), a minimum-
security unit not currently in use; the training center and OSD are both located outside the main walls.
The displays reached as far back as the facility’s founding, which occurred after a fire in 1918 damaged the Indiana Reformatory in Jeffersonville, beginning a process that saw it moved to Pendleton. The reformatory in Pendleton was officially dedicated Sept. 15, 1923.
Dan Fountain — who worked a as corrections officer, sergeant and counselor during a 34-year career at Pendleton Correctional Facility — talks with visitors to the historical room at the reformatory training center on Wednesday, Nov. 15. Fountain, who has served as unofficial historian with the facility for about 17 years, holds an architectural drawing for the facility that he purchased a couple of years ago from a document collector.
Originally published Nov. 30
Fouse fills open Lapel seat
LAPEL — The spot on Lapel Town Council left vacant by the recent departure of former president Noah Bozell has been filled.
At a Republican Party caucus conducted Nov. 16, Roger Fouse — who has tried a couple of times before to win a spot on the council — secured a seat on the body.
He was elected over another candidate, Blane Trinkle, and attended his first town meeting as a member of the council that same night.
Fouse lost a bid for a seat in the May primary election to Chad Blake, Brian Robertson and Gary Shuck. Last October he was defeated by Robertson in another caucus after the departure of Teresa Retherford.
Fouse, who moved to Lapel in 2012, currently serves on Lapel Park Board and works for Noblesville Parks Department. He was previously a member of the Lapel Stony Creek Fire Territory as a volunteer firefighter/EMT for five years, and has more than 20 years of experience in the field.
Originally published Dec. 14
Williams joins Pendleton council
PENDLETON — As three winners in November’s election wait for January to start those terms on Pendleton Town Council, the town’s elected body received its newest member last week following a recent Republican caucus.
Bryan Williams, 57 — a lifelong Pendleton resident and an attorney who has been on the town’s park board for about a decade — was sworn in to the council on Wednesday, Dec. 6. His first meeting on the council is set for 6 p.m. today at Town Hall.
“I really didn’t have any intention of (running for council),” Williams said on Tuesday. “The timing just, it all just lined up, when Jen contacted me and told me that she was resigning her position.”
Jennifer Roberts was elected to the town’s District 3 seat on the council last year.
She resigned effective Nov. 10 for personal reasons, Madison County Republican Chairman Russ Willis said.
Williams said as he prepares for his first council meeting he doesn’t have an agenda but rather just a desire to serve the town.
“I don’t think there’s anything specific that I have, that I’m motivated by. I mean, Pendleton, I love it, obviously. I’ve lived here my whole life. I absolutely love the Town of Pendleton.
“Certainly with all of the growth happening, it’s an important time for Pendleton right now and planning for the future. And, you know, to be encouraged to be part of that that is, you know, appreciated and humbling.
Originally published Dec. 21
DAR leads inaugural local wreath event
PENDLETON — A wreath with a red bow can be a simple decoration, but on Saturday at Pendleton’s Grovelawn Cemetery, the wreath represented remembrance and thanks for those who served in the armed forces.
“The freedoms we enjoy have not come without a high price,” U.S. Army Col. David Skalon said during the first local Wreaths Across America event.
“In these graves and cemeteries throughout this nation are men and women who gave their lives so that we may live in freedom and without fear. We honor them today with a symbol of our gratitude.”
About 100 people attended the event. After the ceremony, dozens of family members, friends and other volunteers dispersed through the cemetery, placing about 200 wreaths at the graves of late service members.
The event was organized by Kikthawenund Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, a non-profit organization based in Anderson that serves all of Madison County.
Wreaths Across America is also a nonprofit organization, founded in 1992 to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.
According to the organization, Grovelawn — as well as Maplewood Cemetery in Anderson — was among 4,225 participating locations nationwide on Saturday, which it calls Wreaths Across America Day.
Mylasia Turner (left) and Jessica Marin, members of Navy Junior Officers Training Corps, pause after placing a wreath on the grave of a veteran in Grove Lawn Cemetery on Saturday, Dec. 16, as part of the Wreaths Across America program.
