Erika Malone 0:00

This week on Beyond the Headlines, teachers and 4-H'ers are recognized for their hard work. Princess Lakes receives funds to update their water system, and the local teacher is honored with a fly. From the Daily Journal, this is Beyond the Headlines, a local news podcast focused on story shaping Johnson County. How are you doing? I'm doing good. It's been a crazy week. It's been a really crazy week. Our editor is on vacation. Um, so we are picking up the slack, and but we've I think we're doing pretty well. Yeah, I think so too. Yeah. Um, but on some very, very sad news. Um, I think we should uh mention that Dolly Parton did die.

SPEAKER_02 1:01

Yes.

Erika Malone 1:02

Um this week, very sad. Um, the newsroom but fell fell silent for a little bit.

SPEAKER_02 1:08

Yeah, I was writing a story and I got a text from my brother uh saying that Dolly Parton had died, and I I was shocked.

Erika Malone 1:15

Yeah, was not expecting I've always been like a more like older country music fan, you know, like Loretta Lynn, Patsy Quine, things like that. And hearing of her passing, I've like it didn't really quite fit me at first, and then like later on, like in the evening, I was like, man, I was like, she really was like the kind of person that everyone loved. Like there was like I don't know, like it was hard not to like her, you know? Yeah. Even if you didn't want to. Like she was just a really good person.

SPEAKER_02 1:48

Like, I'm not even a big fan of um, like I I'm not a big fan of country music, but I'm I really respect her as a person. Yeah.

Erika Malone 1:56

So she was just a all around all around great person, did a lot of great things for the community, um, different communities, yeah, with Imagination Library and things like that. So rest in peace to Dolly. And also we can't forget uh forget Tim Curry as well. Tim Curry passed, yeah, and then this morning uh prolific voice actor um Peter Colen passed as well.

SPEAKER_02 2:17

Wow. Voice of Optimus Prime.

Erika Malone 2:19

So that was yeah, any or yeah, that's that was a lot of a lot of week. It's been a week, yeah. You can we'll say that. But um, let's get into into some news that we've had this week. Um and speaking of the passing, um, this was uh a nice way that Indian Creek was able to honor someone, a board member and teacher who passed um this past year with a plaque.

SPEAKER_02 2:44

Awesome. Yeah, tell me about that.

Erika Malone 2:46

Um so Indian Creek Schools honored a longtime educator and school board member Judy Mezenik with a memorial plaque unveiled at Indian Creek Elementary School. Yeah. I went there. Um, they had a little ceremony Monday morning, everyone was packed tightly into the little hallway there. Um, but it brought together students, uh, educators, administrators, and family and friends who knew her, um, you know, that and whose lives were impacted by her decades of service.

unknown 3:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:15

Sounds like a nice ceremony.

Erika Malone 3:16

Yeah, it really was.

SPEAKER_02 3:17

So uh who was Judy? What uh what did she do for the community?

Erika Malone 3:20

Yeah, so Mezenik, um, she devoted 40 years as a second grade teacher uh in Incredi Elementary uh teaching from 1970 to 2010.

SPEAKER_02 3:30

Oh my goodness. Yeah, that's that's quite the tenure.

Erika Malone 3:33

It's yeah, it's quite the tenure. Um, but after retiring, she continued serving the district as school board member, as a school board member for 14 years, uh, including terms as uh board secretary and board president.

SPEAKER_02 3:47

She's she's like, you can't I can't get out of here that easily.

Erika Malone 3:50

Yeah, yeah. She um she passed away uh in December at Fran uh Franciscan Health Indianapolis. And following her death, the friends created a small um little uh have you ever heard of a flat Stanley? Yeah. Um so it kind of a little cutout of her um to continue bringing her along on their travels, um, you know, uh and inspired a creative classroom project that she used um with her students. So um she has a what she calls a group called the Three Stooges. Um the other two are Jen and Jenny. Um so Jen, Jenny, and Judy. Um they were all a group and they've taken her little flat Stanley to group trips and stuff. Like never left. Yeah. Um, but beyond teaching and school board service, um, she was heavily involved in community organizations and school initiatives. Uh, she was a founding member of the Indian Creek Education Foundation and served on its governing board. She also volunteered as a weekend coordinator for the Ronald McDonald House and participated in numerous school and community activities.

SPEAKER_02 4:54

Well, it definitely seems like she stayed busy.

Erika Malone 4:57

Yeah, absolutely. Um, and friends and colleagues, um, you know, the people that I talked to uh remembered her as someone who was quietly support uh always quietly supporting others. She never really wanted the recognition for anything, um, and often helped people anonymously without seeking recognition.

SPEAKER_02 5:16

Those are the best kind of people, I think.

Erika Malone 5:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:18

Um, how did other people describe her?

Erika Malone 5:20

Yeah, so superintendent Matt Rosecki, um, he described Miznik as a pillar of the Indian Creek community whose dedication helped shape generations of students.

SPEAKER_02 5:29

I'll say you're teaching for 40 years.

Erika Malone 5:31

Yeah, that's uh and I'm sure she saw a lot of change too.

SPEAKER_02 5:34

Yeah.

Erika Malone 5:35

So, um, and then former Indian Creek superintendent Tim Etsell was there. He is uh now the superintendent over at Clark Pleasant. Um, he praised her compassion, generosity, and unwavering commitment to helping children succeed. Yeah. And I spoke to uh school board member Kelly Neal. She uh first worked with Mezenik as a classroom assistant and said she was the embodied uh and she embodied the spirit of Indian Creek and made everyone feel valued.

SPEAKER_02 6:02

Well, teachers who can do that, I think are they're kind of superheroes in a way.

Erika Malone 6:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:11

Valued in the classroom. That's that's incredible.

Erika Malone 6:14

Yeah, absolutely. And I agree with that too. I mean, like, there's still teachers that I think about like to this day of like, wow, they had like such an impact on me. I wouldn't be I wouldn't be in the job I am today without them, you know, or found my passion. So um family members, uh her second cousin was there to witness the unveiling, um, described her as the glue that brought the family together. And the turnout at the ceremony demonstrated the tremendous impact she had on the community. Yeah. Yeah. So um, yeah, it was just a nice little ceremony. Um, and I was glad to be there and you know talk to different people and hear her stories. Yeah. So had you met her prior? Um I didn't get the chance to meet her um before she passed. Um, but from what I've heard, she was, you know, an amazing human. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:06

Oh, that's great. Um that's great that they were able to honor her.

Erika Malone 7:09

Yeah, I agree. Yeah. Well, we're gonna take a quick break and 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.

SPEAKER_02 7:28

So, shifting gears, um, Princess Lakes, they received a grant to update their water system.

Erika Malone 7:34

They did, yeah. And uh tell me let's talk a little bit about that.

SPEAKER_02 7:37

Yeah. So Princess Lakes has been awarded a $750,000 federal community development block grant to help modernize and expand its water distribution system. Awesome. Uh the town was one of 19 rural Indiana communities selected to receive a share of more than 14.2 million in grant funding uh announced by the Indian Office of Community and Rural Affairs. So And as far as I know, they were the only community in Johnson County to get that. Yes, they were the only community in Johnson County. Oh wow to get this funding. So that's that's incredible.

Erika Malone 8:11

Yeah, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 8:12

So this project, it's uh designed to improve water quality, water pressure, water flow, and reliability of the town's water supply.

Erika Malone 8:20

Yeah. And um, what will the funding go towards?

SPEAKER_02 8:23

Yeah, so funding will be used to install an additional water line that can bring public water service to areas currently relying on private wells. Uh the project will also replace some older undersized water mains that currently restrict water flow within the system. Um, town officials uh they hope to put the project out for bids as early as December. Um, but any construction could begin in late spring or early summer of next year.

Erika Malone 8:47

Oh, nice. I remember Trafalgar has a little part in this too, because they kind of share, um, they get their water from Princess Lake. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:54

Um that's actually uh Trafalgar is one of their biggest customers.

Erika Malone 8:58

Ah, gotcha. Well, uh, why is this being done?

SPEAKER_02 9:00

Yeah, so officials say that the upgrades will help accommodate Trafalgar's current growth and future development uh by ensuring sufficient water capacity. Uh the improvements could also position Princess Lakes to expand water service into other parts of Johnson County uh that currently lack public water infrastructure. Um Utility Superintendent Scott Blackwell said that the investment uh will help prepare the system for long-term growth over the next several years. Because if you don't have water, you can't really expand too much without bats.

Erika Malone 9:28

Yeah. And I imagine they've been working on this for quite a while.

SPEAKER_02 9:31

Yes, they have.

Erika Malone 9:32

So, um, but how long?

SPEAKER_02 9:34

Uh they have been working on this for about five years. Oh wow. Um but the total project uh it's estimating to cost about uh three million. So Princess Lakes uh previously secured about um five hundred twenty-four thousand dollars uh from the Department of Defense in 2021. Uh that covered just the engineering part of the project. Um, and after several unsuccessful attempts to fully fund the project through other federal gift programs, uh town leaders pursued the Oakra grant uh and they successfully secured that award. Uh and more could be on the way, though.

Erika Malone 10:09

Oh, really? Um, what do you mean by more funding could be on the way?

SPEAKER_02 10:13

So as we mentioned earlier with um Princess Lakes and Trafalgar kind of working together, uh they're jointly seeking an additional 1.04 million in community project funding through Cron Congressman Jefferson Shreve's office.

Erika Malone 10:25

Uh yes, this is what um I remember writing about this. Um, you know, because this is something, again, they're teaming up to kind of hopefully get um better water service. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:35

So um, and if approved, those funds would help modernize aging water mains and fire hydrants connected to the share system. I believe just in Trafalgar, uh, but it will definitely help. Um the funding requests, it's already advanced through the House Appropriations Committee Committee, but still requires congressional approval.

Erika Malone 10:53

Yeah. Well, we'll wait and see, but um awesome that they got that grant. Yeah. Uh, you know, they'll finally be able to get some work done.

SPEAKER_02 11:01

So you know they say try, try again.

Erika Malone 11:03

Yes, we do. Um, and then uh more education news. Lots of lots of education stuff happened uh this week. Um two local teachers were recognized among Indiana's top educator uh educators, um, which is a statewide recognition through the 2027 in uh Indiana Teacher of the Year program. Yeah, so uh Amanda Ray, she's a fifth grade math teacher at Custer Baker Intermediate School in Franklin. She was named among Indiana's top 10 educators of the year. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:34

When you think about how many teachers are in Indiana, that's incredible.

Erika Malone 11:37

Yes, absolutely. And then Dayton Camp, she's a physical education teacher at Wyland Elementary School, and she was selected as one of the state's top 25.

SPEAKER_02 11:46

I think this really says something about the quality of education in Johnson County.

Erika Malone 11:51

Absolutely. I mean, to have two teachers within the top 25 is definitely um something to boast about for sure. Definitely. Yeah. Um, but a little more background information on the teacher program. Uh it's uh it recognizes outstanding educators across the state for more than 60 years. So it's been doing this a while. Um, candidates go through a rigorous application process that includes essays, a sample lesson plan, speech interviews, um, and professional credentials and experience as well. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:22

When you have so many to choose from, yeah. Imagine it has to be rigorous.

Erika Malone 12:26

Yeah. Um, Amanda Ray, she's uh she actually taught math. Uh she's been teaching math at Custer Baker for 25 years and says her passion for teaching began as a child when watching her mother teach kindergarten said that she had um her own little like play lesson books and lesson plans. It's so cute. Things like that. So um, but her focus, um, she tries to focus heavily on collaborative learning, uh, placing students in small groups to solve math problems together. Because that was one of the questions I asked her. I was like, How do you keep kids engaged in math? Because math isn't always fun for some people. So what's what's your way to keep them engaged? Um, so that's the way that she does it. Um, Ray believes uh students learn more effectively when they can share ideas, test strategies, and feel comfortable making mistakes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:14

And our I know I wouldn't will would. I did make a lot of mistakes.

Erika Malone 13:19

Yeah. Um, but beyond the classroom, she builds relationships through activities such as um the fellowship of Christian athletes and the math bowl as well. Um, she emphasized the importance of creating a safe, supportive environment where students can learn despite challenges they may face outside of school. Yeah. Um, and when I asked her, uh, you know, what does a Indiana teacher of the year look like to you? She said, um, a great teacher isn't someone who has all the answers, but someone willing to continuously improve and meet students' needs.

SPEAKER_02 13:52

Great question and great answer.

Erika Malone 13:53

Yeah. Um, and then Dana Kemp, I actually got to sit in on one of her PE classes, um, which is really fun. Did it take you back to the school? It did. They had the little parachute, if you remember, the rainbow like parachute. Um, they were doing a routine with that, but Dana Kemp, she's entering her 35th year in education and her 20th year um in in teaching physical education. So a total of 35 years and 20 of that is just in PE. Yeah. Um, she's yeah, she's taught at five different states and spent the first half of her career in traditional elementary classrooms before transitioning into PE.

SPEAKER_02 14:33

Wonder wonder what that transition was like.

Erika Malone 14:36

If you're going from a classroom that is a classroom and has desks and stuff, and then you're switching over to PE and Well, she always had a passion for physical fitness and also just kind of wanted like a change of a change of pace. Yeah, that means um too. So uh, you know, she and also she desired to be a teacher for a long time, you know, playing school when she was young. Um and her approach to physical education is quite simple, actually, and that's to turn exercise into fun games. Um, so she believes students are more willing to be active when they focus on a game rather than a workout. Yeah. So um, and I got to see uh she had different stations set up of kids um playing, you know, jump rope or there's a little rock wall in the gym, which I think is cool, yeah, that they got to play on and things like that. And they were getting active too um while doing that. So um, because she often works with students for up to six years, uh, she has the opportunity to develop long-term relationships and watch their growth over time as well.

SPEAKER_02 15:39

That has to be very rewarding.

Erika Malone 15:40

Yeah. Um, and I mean, both of them stressed that that teaching extends far beyond academics. Yeah. Uh Camp shared a message that she often gives due teachers um saying students may forget specific lessons or test scores, but they will remember who encouraged them, supported them, and celebrate their successes.

SPEAKER_02 16:00

Very true.

Erika Malone 16:00

Yeah. And we just we just talked about that earlier. So um, and yeah, Ray kind of echoed the same thing about um emphasizing grace and empathy when helping students overcome barriers of learning. Yeah.

unknown 16:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:13

That's what makes a top Indiana teacher.

Erika Malone 16:15

Yeah, absolutely. So, and then uh congratulations to those teachers. You know, uh, hopefully uh the we'll hear about a winner uh here soon in the next few weeks, and maybe it's one of uh our Johnson County educators. So we'll see. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:30

The fact that they've been in teaching for as long as they have, I think, is worth congratulations. Yeah. On its own.

Erika Malone 16:37

Absolutely. Yeah. Well, we'll take a quick break and be right back. Like listening to this podcast, you can help support it. Subscribe to the Daily Journal at subscribe.dailyjournal.net to support your local newspaper and this podcast. Your support helps make everything we do possible. And we're back with our round table and uh a little bit more about Dolly, um, you know, and all the things that she did um for just the different communities, especially her imagination library. Um, Habitasher Artisan Distillery, uh, they're actually supporting the Imagination Library of Johnson County through a special fundraising promotion honor honoring her legacy.

SPEAKER_02 17:20

Awesome.

Erika Malone 17:21

Yeah. Um, so the distillery, they're gonna donate $5 for every specialty-made dolly cocktail sold this week to the Imagination Library of Johnson County. Um, which if you don't know what that is, it's a program that provides free books to children to improve kindergarten readiness and early literacy.

SPEAKER_02 17:39

It's a great program. Yeah. What's a dolly cocktail what's in a dolly cocktail? I wanted to show you.

Erika Malone 17:43

She don't know what's in a dolly cocktail. They posted it on their Facebook page, but it looks really good. It's it's pink, obviously, which you know, if she like she liked pink. Um, so and I'm sure it's good. And you know what? You get a support of the Imagination Library through it. So um, for more information uh about the uh Imagination Library of Johnson County, you can visit their website at imagination libraryjoco.org. Awesome. Yeah. Um, and we got some other big news, uh, some fair news actually at the state fair.

SPEAKER_02 18:15

Yes. So um two Johnson County 4-H members, they capped off their careers with some of the state's highest honors at the 2026 Indiana State Fair.

Erika Malone 18:24

Awesome.

SPEAKER_02 18:24

So we have uh Colton Kepphart of Indian Creek. He was named uh grand champion in the prestigious um 4-H Grand Drive with his meet goat weather. Uh, and then Grace Ellis of Indian Creek also. Uh she earned reserve champion in the 4-H Supreme Drive with her percentage dough.

Erika Malone 18:43

Yeah, these uh these different goat names uh or classes, I guess. I never really understand them, but um but I like I think it's cool that their names are thinking about that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:55

So the Grand Drive and Supreme Drive, they're considered the championship events of the Indiana State Fair livestock competition, with State Fair officials describing the event as the greatest show on dirt. Uh it brings together top exhibitors from counties all across the state. Uh Colton Keart's victory, it treated a full circle moment in his 10-year 4-H career. So during his first year in 4-H, one of his goats was named grand champion, and he finished his final year by winning one of the state's top awards. So it really is just a full circle moment. That's awesome. He described the achievement as like a as a movie-like ending to his time in 4-H. So that's just incredible. So he showed goats throughout his entire 4-H career and said that the animals taught him lessons in patience, consistency, discipline, and balance. And I imagine with working with goats, you probably do need to be very patient.

Erika Malone 19:48

Yes. They uh uh they don't always like to listen to directions, just much like any other animal. So no.

SPEAKER_02 19:55

Um, but years of working to improve his showmanship uh have helped him reach his long-term goal of winning at the state level. So finally did it.

Erika Malone 20:03

That's awesome. Well, what does he plan to do after 4-H?

SPEAKER_02 20:06

Yeah, so now he's beginning his freshman year at Purdue University, where he plans to study engineering, and I'm wishing him the best of luck because that's a tricky track of fillets to go into. So and then we have uh Grace Ellis, who wrapped up her 14-year journey in 4-H by earning reserve champion honors at the State Fair. That's awesome. Uh her livestock journey began with uh hairful cattle before she discovered and fell in love with boer goats. And what started with a single pet goat eventually became a family passion and a major part of her life. It always starts with one goat. As the old saying goes, yeah, with one goat. Um, one of the biggest lessons uh that 4-H has taught her uh was the importance of surrounding herself with supportive people and building strong relationships. Uh she credited much of her success to her family, fellow exhibitors, and mentors within the logstock community. Uh after qualifying for the State Fair competition, uh Ellis spent extra time preparing and acclimating her goats for the larger stage. Uh and she said that the Indian State Fair makes exhibitors feel special and gives young people a chance to showcase their hard work. Um, so she'll be starting her freshman year at Western Kentucky University, where she plans to study animal science with a pre-veterinarian focus. Yeah.

Erika Malone 21:20

So far farther south for sure.

SPEAKER_02 21:23

Yeah. Uh her goal is to become a large animal veterinarian, and I'm also wishing her luck.

Erika Malone 21:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:28

That is incredible. That's a good goal to have.

Erika Malone 21:30

That's awesome. Well, I'm I I'm glad that uh these two were able to uh, you know, take home some wins. Yeah. Um, and yeah, it's gonna be interesting to see how their future goes.

SPEAKER_02 21:42

Yeah. Yeah, both of them they emphasize uh that 4 H is about much more than ribbons and trophies. Um throughout years of raising, training, and showing livestock, they developed skills and responsibility, work, work ethic, goal setting, leadership, and perseverance. And they both also highlighted the friendships and sense. community that comes from participating in show.

Erika Malone 22:02

Yeah. And I think we heard a lot of that uh when we covered the fair too. So it's it's yeah, it's always nice to hear that from uh you know from the kids. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:12

So we've got a lot of accomplished people.

Erika Malone 22:14

We do, yeah. Um and then some in interesting news for uh a specific uh community um there's a new foundation that created to meet uh the needs of Sikh children uh and the community so um tell me about that yeah so there's a new nonprofit the Sikhum uh unity foundation has launched in Greenwood with a mission to help local Sikh youth build healthier wealthier and wiser futures the organization officially launched August 19th and is led by a coalition of local professionals including business owners doctors engineers and finance experts quite a variety yeah SKF plans to work with at least 160 children ages seven to 17 this fall through community programs designed to support youth development yeah and then rather than assuming what the community needs foundation leaders are conducting surveys of children and parents to guide future programming as well so and then this is really cool within the first hour of the foundation's launch more than 60 surveys have already been completed.

SPEAKER_02 23:18

Wow so I get the need's there yeah the need is there um organizers say they want programs to be driven by data and community feedback rather than top-down decision making that's really noble that they're instead of being like we're gonna dictate what the community needs we're gonna find out what they need specifically specifically help them.

Erika Malone 23:38

Yeah absolutely and yeah and the foundations their guiding pillars are health wealth and wisdom of course um leaders believe those three areas will help prepare young people for challenges and opportunities in the future um one of their first major initiatives is a basketball program for the local youth which it's nice to see you know want them to create different activities so they hope to eventually expand into other sports like soccer volleyball and youth athletic leagues um organizers see athletics as a way to build confidence create community connections develop leadership skills and keep young people engaged in positive activities not only that but physical education yes absolutely activity as well that's awesome yeah um they say this uh ongoing needs assessment will help determine whether families want additional programs such as financial literacy education career guidance academic support and mentorship programs as well um and they hope that these activities will steer youth away from negative influences such as gangs and drug use yeah as well foundation leaders emphasize that the Sikh community actually shares many values common in central Indiana including strong work ethic family focus community involvement and a desire to create better opportunities for the next generation which really should be a value shared by all of us yes yeah uh they hope SKF not only strengthens the Sikh community but also builds stronger relationships between different communities throughout central Indiana yeah what a great what a great foundation yeah I wish them the I wish them all the luck. Yeah it's nice to see um you know the different communities out here um you know trying to help serve the needs in their own community so yeah um yeah and hopefully maybe it expands on beyond the beyond the C community and yeah um well thank you all so much for tuning in to this episode of Beyond the Headlines and let us know what you would like to hear by submitting your thoughts to news tips at dailyjournal.net and follow wherever you get podcasts and leave a review. We and we hope you tune in next time.

SPEAKER_01 25:39

Yep see you then