Erika Malone 0:00

This week on Beyond the Headlines, Franklin standout Max Clark returns home to Indiana to face the Indianapolis Indians. A World War I veteran was awarded the Purple Heart a century after service, and City of Greenwood considers a wheel tax in response to the new law. From the Daily Journal, this is Beyond the Headlines, a local news podcast focused on story shaping Johnson County. Welcome to Beyond the Headlines. I have a special guest here with me today. I have our sports editor, James, uh here to talk about Max Clark, his uh return to home. How are you doing, James?

SPEAKER_01 0:42

Good uh afternoon. Yeah, it is afternoon on a Friday.

Erika Malone 0:45

We've we filmed this on Friday and it comes out on Saturday.

SPEAKER_01 0:49

But I'm doing great, Eric. Glad to be here.

Erika Malone 0:51

Awesome. Yeah. Well, you had some interesting stuff happen in sports this past week. Yeah, we have uh um Franklin native, uh, you know, Max Clark, uh returning home to Indiana uh for his first time since being drafted, number three overall by the Detroit Tigers in 2023. And uh he's back playing with the Toledo Mudhens in Indianapolis. Interesting uh uh minor league baseball name there. Um for a five-game series against Indianapolis Indians over the weekend. Um and he opened the series with the leadoff home run Tuesday, uh, his second homer in the season. So uh what's it been like seeing him play?

SPEAKER_01 1:30

It was actually really nice. Uh so you know, I've just been here for my full first full year here. So getting to know some of the guys that have done things beforehand. And first off, I uh you know, Max was just a great, great interview, great person to talk to, great kid, like all the kids are here that I've talked to so far. But you can just tell he was excited to be home. You know, it's hard to kind of hamper it down, but as you're talking to him, and you know, you got a chance to be with his wife and his cat and all those kind of things. So he's just really, really, really happy to be here. But to then go out there in the first at bat when you come back home, and then to lead off with uh, you know, lead off with a home run like he did, that really made the moment special for him. I didn't get a chance to talk to him after the game, but just with everything beforehand, that that you know, you can't write a script better than that. Yeah, if you were gonna do this as a movie, hey, local kid comes back home first at bat, it's a home run. Yeah, that's a great story right there, no matter what happens for the rest of the game.

Erika Malone 2:22

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 2:23

It definitely had to be special. His family was there. We actually, the press box was actually by his family, so they were going crazy when it happened. So it was a great thing for, you know, so like that kind of as he likes to say, brings it full circle for a story for a kid coming back home.

Erika Malone 2:37

Yeah, and you had an interview with him, so we have some clips that we want to share with our audience too. Um, you know, and I think he talked a little bit about that too.

SPEAKER_00 2:44

So yeah, I mean it's beautiful. Um, anytime you get a chance to come home, um, you really just can't explain the feelings. Uh, I'm more than excited to play on the field again. Like I said, played there my junior and senior year. Um, got to spend time with family. My wife yesterday uh came in early, got to hang out with her and uh my cat. It was nice to sleep in my own bed, um, enjoy their time, but it's it's a special feeling, you know. This is the first time I've been back in central Indiana since 2023. So um it's a really cool moment for me. And it's it's really full circle too. Like I said, obviously playing here in high school and now playing here one step from the big leagues is is really special.

Erika Malone 3:16

Uh he uh played victory field actually during his uh junior and senior years uh in Circle City Classic and now returns as one of um baseball's top prospects.

SPEAKER_01 3:26

So he's like number 13 prospect overall in baseball, and it kind of I mean it may be anywhere from 10 to 15 depending on what you look at. But he was a third round, so baseball's weird in the sense that you know every all high round picks are are important, but when you're but you always have a choice for whether if you want to go back or play college or depending on your pick. But being the third pick overall in a draftman's Mac, you know, they they had the sides for Max to go far uh you know in the Tigers, in the Tigers organization. But yeah, he comes home. Uh in three years, he's already up to triple A with the Mud Hens. Uh, but it you know, he played Franklin uh with the Brother T. Cubs, played a victory field twice in a couple of series. So it's ironic again for him to be there as a kid. You know, and he talked about uh if you read the stories in the Daily Journal, if you read the stories in the Daily Journal, especially in Saturday's edition, or uh, I guess it was uh let's say uh so in uh uh the last edition, Tuesday been Thursday's edition, yeah, he talked about how he would come with his dad for games at 11 o'clock, uh, played in those games, and now he's here and he's one step away for the major leagues by playing here, you know, knowing that you know he's almost there in Chipotle, and this is part of that journey to get there. So all that for him was just an amazing thing.

Erika Malone 4:36

Yeah. Well, and he, I mean, in that interview, um, you know, in that clip, he talked about uh arriving early to spend time with his family, you know, uh got to enjoy sleeping in his own bed, which you know That's always a nice thing.

SPEAKER_00 4:47

That's always a nice thing.

Erika Malone 4:48

That's always a nice thing.

SPEAKER_00 4:49

Yeah, the unseen part of playing professional baseball is you miss a lot of holidays, you miss a lot of of family time, um, whether it's with your wife, with my with my family. So um just trying to enjoy those moments little by little. It's it's special.

Erika Malone 5:00

What does this kind of have to say about his journey to like where he is now and what he does every day, you know, for practice?

SPEAKER_01 5:06

So that's a great thing because that'll be in the story, uh, our story in Saturday's paper, just what day the day-to-day life of uh AAA is or baseball professional athlete. One of his quotes in there was that you know, they get that their games are at 7.30. So they get to the park about 1.30 every day, go through all their routines, uh batting practice, uh just getting ready, getting the training, things like that, and then they play at 7.30. Games usually go to 10:30, uh, then they have to do all the after stuff. They don't do any interviews, but they have to do all that after stuff, and then it's the next day. Yeah. Uh here he's playing five games. Interesting thing, it's all at 7.30, and then they have to travel on Sunday. So the Sunday game is at 1.30. So they flip it, everything's early, and then they travel to the next destination. They're going back home uh to uh uh to Toledo for a for a 10-game set. Oh wow. So you just talk about how it's a it is a daily grind because of course you're trying to get to an uh absolute level, which is Major League Baseball. So his daily grind began in Florida, uh the Florida Rookie League doing that every day, and then moving up and trying to get better when he moves up to get to the uh Lakeland Single A League and has to do that every day. Uh then goes up to the high A League in Michigan, has to do that every day. Then goes now with the Mudheads and is doing that every day. So every day is baseball. He calls it a grind, but at the same time, it's a grind that you love.

Erika Malone 6:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:23

You know, so he's gotten to travel, see a lot of great things, but also just the daily work of everything that goes through to become a you know a professional baseball player and all the levels he has to go through. So it it it it it's tough. I mean, people don't realize, I don't think, in baseball, especially because they have from seeing from rookie to triple A, all the different layers you have to get through, and a lot of the guys don't even get to that level to get there.

Erika Malone 6:46

So yeah, and he talked a little bit about that in your interview too.

SPEAKER_00 6:49

I mean, it's a grind, and that is like one of the I think minor league baseball has done an incredible job at making it better. Um, you know, with the new CBA in 22, where guys are getting paid more, they're not stressing and having to work second jobs. Like we do have it easier, but at the end of the day, it's it's still a grind. You know, we're at the field. I think it's we got here at 130 today, it's a seven o'clock game, um, and that's that's every day. Um, but it's not as much as a grind when you love it. You know, it's it's it's really easy for us because we have a great clubhouse, a great manager, um, great hitting guys. Like it's it's a good group to to be around to where you want to come to the field early and play cards or have have a you know just a good time. Um, and that makes it makes it really easy. It's a it's a good culture, it's a good group, um, but it is it's a day and day a grind of just not just physical warfare but also mental.

Erika Malone 7:33

And uh Clark, he was a a three-time Daily Journal player of the year.

SPEAKER_00 7:37

Yep.

Erika Malone 7:38

Uh three-time Indiana Gatorade player of the year, and 2023 uh Gatorade National Player of the Year. So a lot of accolades there. A lot of accolades, yeah. Um, and then the this pipeline that he's on right now, um, as Tigers top prospect and uh the number one or the number 13 overall prospect. Um he uh I believe in the interview he talked a little bit about his dreams kind of becoming a reality. Do you think um, you know, him being one step away from the major leagues, uh what are what you know, what did he have to say about that?

SPEAKER_01 8:08

Well, he talked about it's a surreal moment. Yeah, it's all like again, full circle being that fact that he's so close to being there and he's coming here to Victory Field and doing all that. But you know, he talked about the the work that it that he's glad he's doing the work now, he's learning everything. Like I said, he's gone to different levels, so he's improved every time the Tigers have put him in the position to get better, and he's done the things that they've asked him to do so he can move up to where they can consider him at some point. Maybe not this year, he might not be the 40-man roster, but maybe going into spring training next season, that'd be someone that they'll call up to just try to make the 40 man roster and make the big team. So but it's a process, like I said, it's every day. One of the things he said uh in the one of the quotes, uh it's not always just about going one for three at the plate. It's it's it's it's you know, doing the things that they ask you to. It's a lot of the analytical stuff, but just having the right mindset and working and listening to the coaches and listening to the things that they're telling you, but at the same time, remembering that it's a game that he played when he was 10 years old and keeping that love to keep him motivated to keep on through, that he also realizes not everyone gets a chance to do that. So he's chasing his dream as as much as he can.

Erika Malone 9:15

Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, I think uh, you know, we at least in Johnson County, we have a lot of good uh good, you know, players coming up, at least, you know, in high school and things like that, through uh, you know, football, basketball, things like that, baseball even. Um, what are some of what's some advice that he you know gave to young kids about you know where he is now?

SPEAKER_01 9:38

He just talked about again, it's it's it's it's remembering that they're doing it because they love the game. You know, we've got Grayson Gilliar going to Stanford, we got the kids from Cynthia and baseball going to University of Tennessee. We've got uh Bren, uh our Daily Journal of Softball Player of the Year, going to Indiana. We've got the kids from Franklin that went to Indiana uh in football. So we've got a lot of those kids that have done that. So there's a lot of examples to do that. But every time I've talked to him and talking with Clark, it's just remembering that again, this is the thing that you've wanted to do since you were a kid. So rem keeping that in the back of your mind in the sense of going, no matter what happens every day, a good day or a bad day, you're living the dream that that 10-year-old kid wanted to live.

Erika Malone 10:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:17

So I and and I and it it it might be, well, that's all you have to do. Well, you actually got to put the work in. And those are the things that you it comes with it. It comes with it. You expect that. But if you lose the love of the game that you had going into it, it's gonna make it harder for you to progress when something doesn't necessarily go your way.

Erika Malone 10:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:37

I think I think the biggest part is just understanding the love for the game and never losing sight of that. You know, there's there's times where this game is grueling and it's brutal and it's not necessarily fun. But digging as deep as you can to remember what it's like to be 10 years old and playing with your buddies in the backyard is is the most important part. Um, you know, like the spring for me was not fun, but I had to find a way to get out and compete and grind, and you know, that that little kid in me is what what really drove me.

Erika Malone 11:00

So well, this sounds really exciting, and like you said before, it definitely sounds like it needs to be a movie. So yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_01 11:07

Like I said, I mean, you know, I'm yeah, I'm I'm sitting there and you're you know, you're watching everything go through, and when you get a crack of the bat, you you look up, but you look it up and then you go, that's about to go out of here. Okay, that's the way to start a kick. So, you know, uh anytime a home run's hit, no matter what in baseball, it's a great thing. But when it's happening in the very first inning, and mind you, people are just getting to their seats, you know, they're just getting set down. So for everybody, it was kind of a shock. Even the press box. There's some people that were walking through, it's like, he just hit a homework. Yeah, there you go. Yeah.

Erika Malone 11:39

Franklin Boy hits a homer. Yeah. So awesome. Well, thanks, uh, thanks, James, for having an uh for coming on, telling us about Max. So, and we'll be right back. Want your business to reach our listeners in Johnson County and beyond? Reach out to the Daily Journal by calling 317-736-2730 to ask about our advertising opportunities. And we're back, and uh, I have a new another person here with me today. I have uh Hallie. How are you doing today?

SPEAKER_03 12:06

Hey, I'm doing good. How have you been?

Erika Malone 12:08

Doing pretty good. It's uh after holiday weekend, so we're getting back into the grind of things and you know, uh putting stuff out there, and we have uh a lot of stuff that happened this past week.

SPEAKER_03 12:17

Yes, we did. Yeah, so very busy.

Erika Malone 12:19

Yes. So let's go ahead and get into it. So uh someone was awarded a purple heart this past week. Um, more than a century after being wounded, a World War I veteran, Sam Sabatino, was awarded uh the Purple Heart during a ceremony Tuesday at the White River branch of the Johnson County Public Library. Yeah. Um, and his uh his grandson actually, um, Mark, uh he's a Greenwood resident, accepted the medal on his uh on his grandfather's behalf because he's not yeah, because he's no longer with us, unfortunately. But um this was uh Congressman uh Jefferson Shree's first time presenting um an award of such honor. Um and he emphasized that America does not forget those who sacrificed for their freedom.

SPEAKER_03 13:02

Definitely, definitely. So what did uh Sam Sabatino uh what did he do? Who was he?

Erika Malone 13:06

Yeah, so um he actually had a really cool story. So um the Mark, he kind of talked about his grandfather um a little bit about what and what he did. Uh he was actually born in Naples, Italy in 1882. Um, and he immigrated to the United States in 1911 um and chose to serve his adopted country um during World War I, actually. Very noble operate. Yeah, absolutely. Um, and he actually served as a private first class with Company G, uh 125th Infantry Regiment in the 32nd Division of the American Expeditionary Forces in France. Yeah, which um I I've never heard of I'm I've never heard of that before, so I think that's pretty cool. Um and uh, you know, he was actually on October 5th, 1918, um uh Sabatino, he was shot in the left arm uh by machine gun fire while leaving his trench to rescue a fellow soldier. Oh yeah. Um and then during that time he also suffered exposure to mustard gas during his service. So he went through um he went through a lot, but and uh after recovering, he was declared 65% disabled and carried the pain from his arm injury for the rest of his life.

SPEAKER_03 14:18

Oh man, but he's in for such a noble cause.

Erika Malone 14:20

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 14:22

Yeah, if I if I was in Mark's shoes, I'd be very, very proud of learning about everything that my grandfather did. Yeah. Um, what did this mean to Mark to receive a purple fire on behalf of his grandfather?

Erika Malone 14:32

Yeah, uh, so uh actually his family members, um, you know, Mark said that um his grandfather rarely ever complained about his injuries, actually. Instead he he really just wanted to focus on raising like his family, you know, um working hard and just enjoying his retirement throughout his life. Yeah. Um, and then Mark said he knew his uh grandfather, um, he knew he'd been wounded, uh, but only later learned that he never received a purple heart for um for that heroic act that he did. Um, so you know, through genealogy and stuff like that, he found, you know, the honorable discharge paperwork. Um and he worked with Shri's office to secure um this award, calling it um a final way to honor his grandfather's sacrifice. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. Uh so the Sabatino family, um, they've actually uh he was telling me he they have members that served in both World Wars um and like every American warrant that you could think of. Um so he there's a lot of uh military history within that family.

SPEAKER_03 15:30

And coming from Italy too.

Erika Malone 15:32

Yeah, absolutely. Um, and then making the um so this kind of like made the recognition a lot um a lot more special. So yeah. Uh local veterans were also there to show support. A lot of the local um, you know, VFW chapters are in DAVs were there. You know, they all attended the uh ceremony in solidarity. Yeah, I got to ask him actually um uh what young people should take away from his grandfather's story. Um, and he thinks that uh his grandfather's story just shows that freedom is not free. Um and it just encouraged future generations to view military service as an honor.

SPEAKER_03 16:10

Definitely.

Erika Malone 16:10

Yeah, so uh yeah, it was a pretty good it was a pretty nice story. So um, and then there's some there was also some news up in in Greenwood um as well. So uh what do you got for us there?

SPEAKER_03 16:22

Yeah, so uh the city of Greenwood, uh, they're considering a wheel tax. Greenwood residents may see two new vehicle-related taxes beginning in 2027 to boost road funding and offset revenue loss caused by sweeping tax reform. So they're discussing a $40 municipal wheel tax, a $95 municipal wheel tax excise tax, um, and they are coupled by state law. Some municipalities cannot implement one without the other.

Erika Malone 16:49

Right.

SPEAKER_03 16:50

Uh and wheel tax would apply to buses, recreational vehicles, semi-trailers weighing more than 9,000 pounds, uh, and trucks and tractors weighing more than 11,000 pounds. But there are exceptions for vehicles owned by local governments and schools.

Erika Malone 17:04

Yeah. And this actually got um quite a bit of conversation on our social media from what I saw. So um why uh why is this happening?

SPEAKER_03 17:12

Yeah, so city officials say the taxes are needed to uh maintain eligibility for state road funding grants, uh, offset revenue concerns tied to Indiana's recent property tax reforms. Under House Enrolled Act 1461, uh, most cities must adopt their own wheel tax to continue to continue receiving money through the community crossings match and grant program, which helps fund local road and bridge projects. Uh and big funding is as a Greenwood currently receives about $1.5 million annually from community crossings.

Erika Malone 17:42

Yeah, so a lot of money.

SPEAKER_03 17:44

Uh the state matches the city's local contribution dollar for dollar, and losing the program would significantly reduce the city's road improvement capacity.

Erika Malone 17:52

Yeah, I could see that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:54

And Greenwood has used community crossings funding um to rebuild some of its worst roads, including projects in the count country air subdivision.

Erika Malone 18:03

Yeah, they have. Um, and so you know, with this uh with this wheel tax, uh, kind of tell me how much revenue uh could it bring in?

SPEAKER_03 18:13

Yeah, so it could uh city officials project that uh new taxes will generate approximately 1.2 million per per year. That money would be dedicated to roads and infrastructure. Uh it would not be used for salaries or other city expenses. Uh Greenwood leaders cited Indiana's 2025 property tax overhaul is another reason for concern, saying changes could reduce some local government revenue streams and make future bonding more difficult. Uh and several council members expressed frustration that residents would now pay the second wheel tax at the municipal level. Um Councilmember Erza Hill called the situation disappointing uh disappointing and said local governments feel forced into raising taxes to keep roads funded. Uh Vice President Linda Gibson said she doesn't like the appearance of double dipping because Greenwood already receives county wheel tax revenue.

Erika Malone 19:01

Right.

SPEAKER_03 19:01

Uh controller Greg Wright said Greenwood effectively has little choice if it wants to continue receiving estate matching grants and maintain its current level of road improvements. And we we do need road improvements.

Erika Malone 19:11

Yes, we do.

SPEAKER_03 19:12

Um so the ordinance passed unanimously on first reading Monday. Uh but council members delayed a second reading to a lot more discussion and consideration. So final approval is expected next.

Erika Malone 19:22

Okay. This is kind of becoming a trend, too, isn't it?

SPEAKER_03 19:26

Yeah, other Johnson County communities, including Franklin, Barkersville, and New Whiteland, they've already enacted similar wheel tax uh and vehicle excise taxes in response to the new state law.

Erika Malone 19:37

So Yeah. Yeah, I can uh definitely see why this would um maybe ruffle some feathers a little bit, um, especially because no one likes no one likes more taxes. But um I think uh, you know, we're starting to see uh a lot of local communities kind of trying to figure out um new revenue options and new revenue streams based on the new property tax reform bill. So yeah, uh we're seeing it in local government schools. Um, you know, so we're just gonna keep on seeing how this develops.

SPEAKER_03 20:06

So yeah, but road improvements are needed because otherwise we can't complain about potholes.

Erika Malone 20:10

Yes, that is true. Yeah, so uh we're gonna take a quick break and be right back. Like listening to this podcast, you can help support it. Subscribe to the Daily Journal and at subscribe.dailyjournal.net to support your local newspaper and this podcast. Your support helps make everything we do possible.

SPEAKER_03 20:31

All right, and we're back with our round table. So we were just talking about property taxes, so let's explore it a little bit more.

Erika Malone 20:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:38

Um, because lawmakers next week they're hosting a conversation on property tax elimination.

Erika Malone 20:43

Yeah, yeah. It's uh um, I hear it's uh state reps JD Prescott and Michelle Davis. So uh what are the what's uh kind of this event designed to do?

SPEAKER_03 20:53

Yeah, so they're gonna be hosting a property tax listing session in Whiteland on Wednesday. Um this event is designed to gather public feedback on potential long-term property tax reform in Indiana. Uh Prescott has been holding similar meetings around the state throughout the summer. But a key pro a key topic uh will be Prescott's proposal to eliminate Indiana property taxes and replace them with an expanded sales tax.

Erika Malone 21:16

Okay, gotcha. All right, what's um yeah, tell me about a little more about his plan.

SPEAKER_03 21:21

Yeah, so under that plan, uh property tax assessments would end after 2027, with 2028 being the final year property taxes are owed. To replace lost revenue, Indiana's seven percent sales tax would be expanded to cover most services, while keeping exemptions for health care and education. Legislative estimates project the expanded sales tax can generate 13 billion to 15 billion annually, and revenue would be distributed to schools, local governments, libraries, townships, and fire districts through state formula. About forty five percent of the funding would go to schools.

Erika Malone 21:54

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 21:55

So the proposal includes a reserve fund intended to help stabilize local. Government funding during economic downturns. Existing school referendums will be converted into a fee paid by homeowners. The plan would prohibit local governments from taking on new debt and could eliminate or restructure many assessor positions. Um supporters argue the system would be more transparent and predictable, but critics have raised questions about implementation and impacts on local government funding.

Erika Malone 22:23

I can I can see both sides to that for sure. So when is uh when is this listening session?

SPEAKER_03 22:27

Yeah, that's gonna be 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Pleasant Township Trustee Office in Whiteland.

Erika Malone 22:32

So if you want to hear more, if you wanna hear more about his plan, then you know you can go come on down. Yeah. Yeah. Well, uh speaking of Whiteland, uh there's also um some fun news that happened as well. Uh I got to talk to uh a local Whiteland kid who actually went to the NASA space camp.

SPEAKER_03 22:50

Oh, that's awesome.

Erika Malone 22:51

Yeah, so um, if you like space, uh you'll probably like this story too. So uh Clark Pleasant Middle School student, uh Ezra Montague, um, he's a rising eighth grader actually from Whiteland. He attended the prestigious NASA Space Academy in Huntsville, Alabama. He was a scholarship winner, um, which allowed him to go to this uh space camp. He was um one of only 10 academic excellent scholarships, um, which covered the full cost of attending the program. And the scholarship, uh, he talked a little bit about the process and it required um a lot of work actually. So he had to write um some essays uh for it. Uh he had to design his own mission patch, so that's like the patch that you see on uh astronauts, um, and also a science project submission too.

SPEAKER_03 23:35

What'd he draw for his patch design?

Erika Malone 23:37

It was a I believe so he wanted to represent his love for sports in 4-H. So he drew a goat wearing a spacesuit catching a football. Yes. Which I now I'm like, can NASA like start making like cool patches? You know, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:52

That would that that's so cool.

Erika Malone 23:54

Yeah. Um, so in his essays, actually, Montague wrote about interviewing um Albert Einstein, something that he would always, you know, want to do um if he was given the chance to. Um, he praised the printing press as one of history's most important inventions, which we can, you know, we can yeah, I would vouch for. Yeah, I would I would agree with that. Um and uh he argued NASA should actually invest heavily in technology and AI development, actually, you know, uh something that they should invest more money into. Yeah, yeah. And then uh his science project that he submitted, um, it was a classroom project demonstrating uh tectonic plate movement using graham crackers and icing, which I never got to do that in school. That sounds fun. Um, I probably would have learned more about tectonic plates if there were graham crackers and icing involved.

SPEAKER_03 24:42

Yeah, and afterwards he can eat the graham crackers.

Erika Malone 24:45

Yeah, yeah. Uh and then he later discovered the video um was actually being shown during camp orientation. So yeah, I bet that was um he was excited about that. So uh during the whole experience, the week-long academy, uh, he got to study stars, planets, constellation, actually launched a model rocket. Oh, have fun. Yeah. Um, so and one of his proudest moments was actually being selected as mission commander during the lunar mission simulation, uh, just because of his leadership skills. He was praised for being a good leader and um, you know, giving good direction.

SPEAKER_03 25:20

That's something he can take into his life wherever he ends up, not even if he goes into if he goes into space.

Erika Malone 25:25

Yeah, absolutely. Uh he also got to meet some former astronauts too and heard the like first hand stories of their perseverance in space exploration. Um, and he told me that uh he wouldn't have been uh able to uh probably go to space camp if it wasn't for his grandmother, encouraging him and challenging him throughout the application process. So that's awesome. Yeah. Um and I know he's just an eighth grader or about to be an eighth grader, but uh he hopes to attend MIT in the future um to eventually earn degrees in engineering and chemistry. Wow. Yeah. So um if anyone, if any other students out there want to shoot for the stars, um he just says to follow your dreams because the reward is going to be the best part.

SPEAKER_03 26:08

Yeah.

Erika Malone 26:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:10

Oh, I bet when he gets back to school, people are gonna be like, What do you what did you do over the summer? I went to space camp.

Erika Malone 26:15

Oh yeah. He uh I in one of the pictures, he like got like a cool like jumper too from NASA. I'm like, I yeah. I was like, I would like be showing people at school about that.

SPEAKER_03 26:25

Yeah, that's something that he's gonna take with him for the rest of his life. That's awesome.

Erika Malone 26:29

Yeah. Well, we had uh a lot of good news this week, and uh there's more to come because fair is coming up in a few weeks. Yes, it is. Yeah, so we'll uh we're gearing up for that, and you'll probably see more coverage um on the fair the in the coming weeks.

SPEAKER_03 26:43

So you've got a lot coming, so keep an eye out.

Erika Malone 26:46

Absolutely. So thank you all so much for tuning in to this episode of Beyond the Headlines and let us know what you'd like to hear by submitting your thoughts to news tips at dailyjournal.net and follow us wherever you hit podcasts and leave a review. And we hope you tune in next time.