MARTINSVILLE Needy Claws held a yard sale Saturday at Wigs and More. The organization raises funds to help pay medical costs for senior and special needs animals. The yard sale was a first for the organization. “We have had a couple other fundraising events. One of our other ones that we had was the dog swim, and we plan on having another one in the fall. This is our first attempt at a yard sale,” said Anne Kominowski, president of the board of directors for Needy Claws. Needy Claws was founded in 2015 and was inspired by the experience the board of directors had fostering animals. Its work helps owners keep their pets instead of surrendering them to a shelter because they are unable to provide medical care the animals need. “The goal of our organization is to help special and medical needs cats and dogs. And to keep them in their homes,” Kominowski said. Another benefit is that it reduces stress on shelters and allows them to focus on getting other animals adopted. Needy Claws works with a network of veterinarian clinics to provide the correct treatment plans to animals. “They’re surrendered oftentimes because people can’t afford veterinary care. So we kind of want to help supplement those costs,” Kominowski said. She said the yard sale had gone well and that the community was helpful with donating items to be sold. “We asked people in the community for donations and we had quite a few people step up. Angie Miller from Bars on Fire (Crossfit) donated a lot of really great stuff, and other people in the community did, too. We’re really grateful for that,” Kominowski said. She said she hopes the organization will grow so it can help more people in the future. The group had one of its special needs animals at the sale, a cat named Oliver Twist who had cerebellar hypoplasia, a disorder in which the cerebellum is not completely mature at birth. Animals with the disorder can have a normal lifespan, provided owners account for their pet’s disability. It’s a disorder that is caused in utero, typically by a bacterial or viral infection. Malnutrition, poisoning or injury while in utero are also causes of the disorder. Animals with the disorder are uncoordinated and suffer from tremors, jerky movement and often fall down, and they also have difficult walking. Animals can get used to it, compensate and go about their business just fine. Kominowksi said the sale had a pretty good turnout and the location was a big help for attracting shoppers. “Donna (Sigo) from Wigs and More generously allowed us to park ourselves right here and have this (spot), which is a prime location, I think, because of people coming in and out of town. I just can’t thank her enough. Hopefully we’ll have this event again,” Kominowski said. Jo Ellen Smith was one of the volunteers at the yard sale on Saturday and feels strongly about what the organization does for animals in need. “They’ve helped a lot of animals that probably wouldn’t have made it — they would have either been euthanized or just not survived,” Smith said. She said the work Needy Claws does is important because it helps animals that otherwise might not receive medical help due to the cost. “For them to have that ability to reach out to others that need the most, that have the most needs, I think that’s really great,” Smith said. For more information about Needy Claws, visit Facebook.com/NeedyClawsSanctuary.

MARTINSVILLE The Morgan County Courthouse square in downtown Martinsville looked a little different Saturday. Canopies dotted the square, the usual ones for the farmers’ market, but also ones for Step Into Stability, a fitness-centered event that raised funds for Stability First. Stability First is a faith-based local organization that helps those in need to get back on their feet. Its umbrella of support includes Magdalene House, which is a shelter for homeless women without dependent children, and Pike Street Bridge, which provides transitional housing. The group also operates the Lynay Center, where it provides services designed to lift people out of poverty. Saturday’s events included a 5K race, pickleball tournament, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, a strongman competition hosted by Reps Fitness and free fitness classes, including Zumba. “It’s been a blast. We had a great turnout, the weather’s held out. We thought it might rain, but it’s been a beautiful day,” said Shannon Townsend, manager of the Grand Valley branch of Home Bank. Townsend said she was happy with the number of people participating in the fitness events around the square and added that they seemed to be having a great time. She said she was grateful to all the companies and organizations that had sponsored the event. Several members of the Strength School are on the board of Stability First, which got Strength School owner Shane Reuter interested in participating. “We have a couple clients that are on the board of Stability First, so they’ve been talking to us for a few months and it seemed like a really good cause, so we wanted to support them,” Reuter said. Attendees of Step Into Stability got a small taste of the exercises offered by the Strength School and a chance to meet some members and the owner. “We have Saturday morning classes, normally, and we just transported part of the gym over here and had everyone come down and work out,” Reuter said. He said the Strength School had drawn a lot of interest from people attending the event. “A lot of people coming by the booth, we’re giving away a three-month membership so we’re getting a lot of people interested in that. And it’s been a really good time so far.” Poverty is a complex, multi-faceted issue, and for some, addiction just complicates the process of achieving financial independence. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 1 out of 6 Americans lives in poverty, and of those 48 million, 3.7 million of them suffer from drug or alcohol addiction — but less than a quarter of them get treatment. Addiction is sometimes tied to homelessness. A 2003 study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration estimated that 38 percent of homeless people were dependent on alcohol and 26 percent abused drugs. One of the requirements at the Pike Street Bridge — one of three programs offered by Stability First — is that women accepted into the program must be drug- and alcohol-free. That’s one reason the Morgan County Substance Abuse Council sponsored Step Into Stability and had a booth at the event. “We wanted to be here to show our support,” said Kristinia Love, program director of the Morgan County Substance Abuse Council. “We’ve been big supporters of Stability First and the whole process of them opening Magdalene House. We love what they’re doing with all of that, so we wanted to be here to show our support and see people in the community.” Love said they’d had several people stop by the booth. “We’ve had quite a few people come over as they finished the race and get water bottles and things that we have and kind of talk about our programs,” Love said. She said she hopes Step Into Stability will be a recurring event. “This one seemed really successful for a first time, and hopefully it’ll be something that continues and grows,” she said. “We’d love to continue to be here to support them.”

MARTINSVILLE The Metropolitan School District of Martinsville is stepping into the future. Brian Friese, e-learning director for the district, gave a report on upcoming technology at Thursday’s school board meeting. The 2017-2018 school year will see some changes to the role technology plays with the school system, he said. “We will be officially moving full one-to-one for the school district in grades K through 12 at the beginning of the school year. Kindergarten through first grade are going to be using iPads in classroom, every student will have their own device. Second through sixth grade will be using Chromebooks — those devices will stay in house — and then seventh through 12th grade will also be using Chromebooks as well, those devices will be able to come home with the student,” Friese said. The district has launched one-to-one for grades seven through 12, and Friese said it was exciting to use those types of tools in the classroom. The district will launch a new district website, as well. Friese said the district will work with Nextfly, an Indianapolis-based web design company. The design of the new site will reflect feedback given from parents and staff, according to Friese. He said the main focus of the redesign was ease of use and the new site will be easier to navigate for users and will allow for more easily accessible information. Friese said Nextfly will put together a working site in the next two weeks and will seek feedback from the community regarding the soft launch with a survey. The official launch is set for early to late fall. Friese said desktops for staff members working in kindergarten through eighth grade had been updated and updates will soon take place for the remaining grades. “We’re looking to update high school staff members desktops — which are officially at end of life within the next year — in a three phase rollout for them,” Friese said. The district is in the process of getting 38 SMART Boards, Friese said, which will be used in kindergarten, first grade and special education classrooms. Friese said the district had purchased the SMART Boards at roughly 30 percent of the initial cost. Friese also said the district has worked on network stability to ensure a smooth rollout of the technology into the hands of students and staff. “We wanted to make sure that our infrastructure network-wise could handle that type of load,” Friese said. The district will also look into updating security systems for the district. Friese said an independent company will do an audit of existing systems and give the district feedback on camera placement. Other business State law requires school districts to make a report every six months on gang activity. Superintendent Dr. Michele Moore said there was no report of gang activity. The board voted to accept a $500 donation from retired teacher Wanda Dilley to Poston Road’s general account, to approve an Ivy Tech contract for a senior career coach, to accept 2017-2018 Education Foundation Grants, to approve of the disposal of old books at elementary schools, to approve the district’s non-certified support staff manual, to approve the updated five-year strategic plan and to approve the purchase of a trailer from Cardinal Trailer for the Martinsville High School marching band using funds from the Hendricks Endowment Fund. The board also approved student handbooks for John R. Wooden Middle School and Bell Intermediate Academy for the 2017-2018 school year. Prior to the vote, Tamara O’Dowd spoke, asking the board who would be listed as the principal for Bell. She received no response from the board. O’Dowd said the board’s treatment of Bell principal Suzie Lipps over the last couple of months has caused her to remove her four children from Martinsville schools. The board voted to table the motion to approve professional learning community times in order to get more feedback from parents. Board members also voted to approve acceptance of a $150 grant from Techpoint Foundation For Youth to be used to cover the registration cost of one robotics team for Smith Fine Arts Academy for the 2017-2018 school year. The board had a hearing on the additional appropriation for bond issue. The bonds will be used to renovate science class rooms at John R. Wooden and Martinsville High School. No public comments on the bond proceeds were made and the board voted to approve the additional appropriation for the bond issue. The board moved to adopt the final bond resolution, which involves the appointment of a bid committee. Eric Haenline, who spoke at the May 25 meeting and whose son is a sixth grader at Bell Intermediate Academy, spoke prior to the consent agenda vote. He questioned the amount of resignations on the agenda and the declining enrollment for the district. He also received no response from the board. Board members voted to approve the consent agenda, which included the minutes of the meeting on May 25 of the school board, payroll claims, budgetary claims and personnel matters. The latter included certified hires of Dawn Jones and Darby Dilley. Certified resignations included Dominic Stella, Justin Garner, Stephen Jarrod Burns, Samantha Sturgeon, Connie Harden, Paul Barnhart, Michelle May and Tina Wyrick. Non-certified resignations/terminations included Rebecca Stafford and Wendy Armstrong. Transfers included Dustin Huff, Riley Denny, Mark Yount, Lisa Collier Husted, Suzanne Hill, Greg Sigler, Jennifer Chapman, Amanda Bales, McChristie Brooking and Ronald Lanfair. Summer school assignments were also on the consent agenda. Eric Meyer was assigned to Martinsville High School TV duties, Susan Parker was assigned to MHS for summer technology work days, Tammy Huff was assigned to MHS for ESY from May 31 to July 27 and Pam Verhey was assigned to pre-K assessments on June 20. Also on the agenda were extracurricular activities resignations and hires. Resignations included Hunter Fenwick, Randy Worthington, Lisa Siderewicz, James Beck and Randy McKinney. Hires included Amy Purkey, Ann Smith, Andrew Lindsey, Christa Matthews, Cynthia Horan and Jessica Pence. The next school board meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. July 20 at the Central Education Center, 389 E. Jackson St., Martinsville.

MARTINSVILLE Members of the public took the opportunity during Thursday’s meeting of the Metropolitan School District of Martinsville Board of School Trustees to voice their opinions. The three speakers took slightly different tacks, but all were related to the matter of Bell Intermediate Academy Principal Suzie Lipps. Two of the speakers were critical of the board, while the other spoke as a show of support. Tamara O’Dowd spoke first in regards to the request to approve the student handbooks for John R. Wooden Middle School and Bell Intermediate Academy. “I would like to inquire about who is listed in the handbooks as the Bell Intermediate Academy principal for next year. Would one of the board members care to inform the public whether or not this is Suzie Lipps?” O’Dowd said. “The way Mrs. Lipps has been treated the past two months has upset the majority of Martinsville community members and parents. But you do not appear to be listening to us or care what we wish for our children. Your lack of effort to remedy this situation has driven me to remove all four of my children from the MSD of Martinsville, and I know I’m not alone.” O’Dowd said she was not alone and that for every student who was withdrawn, the district lost around $5,800 in state funding. “The people of this community deserve to be listened to by our elected officials, and we’re asking that you reinstate Mrs. Lipps as the lead principal for Bell Intermediate Academy. My children and I love Mrs. Lipps and are very driven by her passion to be a great leader. I’d like to believe ‘my children, my choice’ still matters in this town,” O’Dowd said. O’Dowd thanked the board for their time and consideration and was applauded by those in attendance. Eric Haenline spoke next. Haenline spoke at the May 25 meeting. His son is a sixth grader at Bell Intermediate Academy. “I am speaking tonight in regards to the consent agenda, specifically the eight certified resignations of one high school teacher, four middle school school teachers, two elementary school teachers and one elementary school principal. That seems excessive. I’d like to know why our people are leaving,” Haenline said. Haenline spoke about declining enrollment in the district. Haenline said the district has lost 383 students in the last two years and he was curious as to where they were going. “I checked the U.S. Census projections; it shows the population of Martinsville is pretty flat, changing less than one percent in that time frame. No, the people are staying, but they’re choosing to educate their children elsewhere,” Haenline said. Haenline said he wondered if the teacher resignations and students leaving by choice were related to leadership in the district. “Fewer students means less money. Those 383 I mentioned, at $5,800 a piece, that is over $2.2 million in lost funding. Pretty hard to balance a tight budget,” Haenline said. Haenline said that if the budget is kept in the black, the superintendent receives a cash bonus. “So long as we don’t dip into deficit spending, Dr. (Michele) Moore gets a cash bonus. If you picture the budget as a pie, the single biggest piece of that pie is salaries. So if someone wanted to cut that budget, you could start systematically removing those at the top of the pay scale — the veterans, the very best. Names like Debbie Lipps, Roger Cazee, Jeff Racy and Suzie Lipps,” Haenline said. “When others lose, our superintendent wins. Does that seem like a conflict to anyone else? At the very best, it puts us in a pretty awful environment — teachers and principals who know they’re on the chopping block, but don’t dare to speak out.” Haenline said the portion of Moore’s contract dealing with the bonus clause was missing from the district’s website. Haenline said it was required to be there by Public Law 148 and it was the only addendum missing from the contracts of the top 20 school administrators. “Public Law 148 was created by Indiana General Assembly several years ago to add transparency to contracts for educators. The law exists so that people like you and I — who don’t often read teacher contracts — have access to them in plain words and can understand how we’re being represented,” Haenline said. Haenline said he did not like how he was being represented. “And I know eight resigning teachers and 383 lost students who might agree,” Haenline said. The audience applauded when Haenline finished his remarks. The last speaker for the public comment section was Bill Mitchell, the Clay Township Trustee and Morgan County school bus driver. “You people here tonight, ridiculing this board right here, in 2008-2009, we lost 400 students. Was any teacher let go then? No,” Mitchell said. Mitchell said that the public was being unfairly critical of the current school board. “This bunch here is a solid board,” Mitchell said. Mitchell spoke of his conflicts with former assistant superintendent Randy Taylor, such as when Mitchell got a grant from the Community Foundation of Morgan County to put in a track behind Brooklyn Elementary School. “(Taylor) got all mad because he didn’t have control of that grant,” Mitchell said. Mitchell alleged that Taylor took money from the grant and used it in an improper fashion. Another incident of conflict with Taylor involved a tornado siren. Mitchell alleged that Taylor wanted the siren placed at Centerton Elementary School. “I said, ‘No, it’s for the taxpayers, not for Centerton School to give you gratitude for it,’” Mitchell said. Mitchell said that the school board from that era was handpicked and soft. Mitchell also brought up former superintendent Dr. Ron Furniss, who was charged with an OWI. Mitchell said the loss of students was related to the behavior of teachers. He said he had a student on his bus this past school year who was allegedly bullied by the children of a teacher. “A lot of things you guys don’t know, all you see is black and white and what you read in the paper or who your best friend was. And the good ol’ boys are a good bunch of boys, but you can’t blame the school board for the good ol’ boys who ran the school system,” Mitchell said. Mitchell said those who were critical of the board had short term memories and had forgotten about when Furniss and Taylor were in charge. When asked for comment about the status of Suzie Lipps — whether she had been reinstated and why that reinstatement had not been approved in a public forum or who the principal of Bell Intermediate Academy will be for the upcoming school year — Moore declined to comment “as the board does not comment on personnel matters.” Moore also said a date for a hearing her superintendent’s contract — which is up June 30 but has year roll over — has not yet been reset from its original June 13 date. The next school board meeting will be 6:30 p.m. July 20 at the Central Education Center, 389 E. Jackson St., Martinsville.

MARTINSVILLE Joanne Stuttgen headed upstairs following the monthly meeting of Rediscover Martinsville Tuesday for what she thought was just a public presentation of the art which will be displayed on the fencing outside the Kivett building. There was that, but there was also a surprise in store for her. Board members of Rediscover Martinsville, friends, family and Martinsville Mayor Shannon Kohl were present to honor Stuttgen with a plaque acknowledging all her hard work around town through Rediscover Martinsville. Stuttgen is in the process of moving to Minnesota, her home state. The surprise celebrated her indelible impact on Martinsville over the course of her 30 years in the city. "I appreciate all your hard and efforts, hope you can come back and visit us," John Badger, president of Rediscover Martinsville, said. Stuttgen was given a plaque acknowledging all her hard work and she made brief remarks to those who were gathered in the hall of Art Sanctuary. "We are having a hard time finding a house at the other end," Stuttgen said. "Good," someone in the crowd said to peals of laughter. "As my sister can attest, if we put our house up, it'll be gone within 24 hours and we'll be homeless. So we are here until we have somewhere to move into," Stuttgen said. Someone quipped that She could move into a shelter in the city. "We realized we would actually be eligible to move to The Retreat at Mineral Springs. I would love to live in a two-bedroom apartment in the sanitarium," Stuttgen said. She also thanked those in attendance. "Thank you all very much; you caught me totally by surprise," Stuttgen said. Kohl spoke of her friendship with Stuttgen and what she had done for the city. "Joanne has been a really good friend to me and she was one of the first people I told when I decided I'd run for mayor. I actually sat in her living room when we discussed it, so not only is she someone I've known for a long time, because our kids were friends, but we've grown into really good friends and neighbors. How many times have I lived by you? I've lived in like three houses by you," Kohl said. "So I'm going to miss you, but I'm also very excited for this new chapter in your life and thank you for everything you've done for the community." Rediscover Martinsville secretary Ron Stanhouse presented Stuttgen with framed memorabilia related to the Dixie Highway, a early highway that connected the Midwest with the Southeast. "Part of the lost history of Martinsville is what was known as the Dixie Highway, which is a collection of paved roads first conceived in 1914 that came through Martinsville and included what became Ind. 37 and a route from Montreal to Miami. So it came through Martinsville and it's so long ago, most people have forgotten about it, it's somewhat obscure history," Stanhouse said. Stanhouse said the Dixie Highway was very important for growing the town and that they wanted Stuttgen to have some obscure Martinsville history as a keepsake "I have to say that you guys did really good, because you're absolutely right: this was such a pivotal highway for us and it's so obscure that I never would have thought of it," Stuttgen said.

MOORESVILLE June is the first month of summer, though the solstice signifying the shift from spring to summer doesn’t happen until June 21. There are a number of things the western world associates with the month of June. For some, it’s a popular time for nuptials — the namesake of the month is Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage — and it’s also a time for tennis and strawberries. The latter is a popular dish at Wimbledon. That’s likely because the strawberry is in season this time of year. The strawberry is the earliest fruit to ripen. Glance at the social calendar for June in the state of Indiana and one is bound to find a strawberry festival. And Saturday was the day First United Methodist Church in Mooresville held its strawberry and barbecue festival. Volunteers from the church’s women’s group had their work cut out for them, as the line for strawberries remained steady most of the afternoon. “It helps being across from the park; a lot of people from the park came over and that’s great, too. I think we advertised fairly well, so people knew about it for quite a while,” said Mary Craig, a member of the women’s group. Craig said getting to meet the variety of people who attend the event was something she really enjoyed. “Just serving the people and seeing all the people who come in and the stories that they tell and how they heard about the strawberry festival, because they come from Monrovia and Martinsville, so that’s kind of neat to hear that,” she said. Craig said she also enjoyed getting a chance to speak with other volunteers as they worked together to serve people strawberry shortcake and other sweets. “The fellowship is great,” she said. “You can’t beat the fellowship of the people who come in from anywhere and everywhere, not just this church but from all the surrounding communities.” The annual event is a chance for members of the church to raise money for two separate groups: United Methodist Women and the Henderson Mission Team. The United Methodist Women group is posted in the kitchen and prepares the various strawberry confections, and the Henderson Mission Team is set up at the opposite end of the gym. Volunteers at the latter pop in and out of the kitchen, pushing their way through the double swinging doors as they reload on pulled pork and other savory fare for the barbecue booth. The kitchen is a flurry of activity at times, but if there’s stress, it doesn’t register in the faces or the words of the volunteers. Barbecue was a later addition to the event. The initial event featured strawberries only, but barbecue food seemed a natural fit with the strawberry dishes. Along with complementing the strawberries, it’s also a way to fundraise for two separate missions supported by the church. “It was very complementary to the strawberries and they’re completely different missions. The strawberries are for United Methodist Women and this is for our mission trip that goes into Appalachia,” said Dave Nance, a member of the Henderson Mission Team. Nance was pleased with the turnout for the event and that other events going on around town didn’t hurt attendance at the church’s event. “It looks like a very good day. Even though Relay for Life and there’s a lot of other events going on in town — which are great — we’re still getting a strong showing today,” he said. Like Craig, Nance said he enjoyed the camaraderie he experienced working with fellow volunteers, and he said there was a good balance of serving people and enjoying a good conversation. “With any event that our group does, my favorite part is the fellowship with the group. We tend to link better when we’re working together on a common goal. And the group is very good at turning out en mass so that we can almost always have half our time just to talk while the other half are working and then rotate out really well with each other,” Nance said. “That teamwork and teambuilding is probably my favorite part, and that’s true when we actually go on a mission trip. Yes, we’re doing something out there that’s positive for missions, but we’re also building unity inside the team.”

MOORESVILLE A change of pace was in store for this year’s Relay for Life. The entire event moved into the gymnasium of Mooresville High School. The gym had been used in the past in case of inclement weather and for some portions of the event, but never the whole of the event. One immediately obvious upside is climate control. No longer are walkers and other participants at the mercy of a capricious weather system. It was probably the right call, as several participants would attest. No threat of storms, sunburn, heat or humidity. Mooresville Relay for Life event leader Tina Jennison said “Weather. Temperature and just convenience” were what prompted moving the entire event indoors. Like last week’s Relay in Martinsville, this event was shortened in length, in this case from the traditional 24 hours to just 12 hours. “A lot of events are going to a shorter time. They’re hoping people will come and stay longer since they don’t have to stay overnight, for a whole 24 hours,” Jennison said. Jennison said the change to being inside was met with a range of opinions, but hoped participants would see it as a positive thing by event’s end. “It’s been a mixed response, but we’re hoping that today makes it a positive response. We saved a lot of money by moving inside,” Jennison said. One of the groups participating was Boy Scout Troop 231, which meets at First Christian Church, just across the street from Mooresville High School. The scouts were selling lemon shake-ups as refreshments for Relay participants. “What we do as Boy Scouts and part of what’s built into the program is serving your community — duty to God, duty to country and duty to your community,” said Shawn Heuchan, assistant scout leader for the troop. “So this is a great opportunity for us to come out and give back, and also, we’re practicing for the Old Settlers parade, where we’re going to be setting up the lemon shake-up booth as well. So this gives the boys good practice as well.” Heuchan said one advantage of being indoors was not having to deal with bees being attracted by the lemon shake-ups. “We’re indoors from the bees, but also it protects you from the weather and the unpredictable nature of the weather so you can plan more accurately for what you’re going to be dealing with. So for the Boy Scouts and us, we knew exactly what to prep for,” he said. Along with community service, personal connection was a driving factor in participation in the Relay for Life. Most people at the event have been touched by cancer in some way. For Crisstii Cross, it was a friendship that got her involved in Relay for Life as part of Team Ashlee. “Her family’s had a really hard time with it, she lost her brother earlier this year, so it’s really important to us,” Cross said. Cross said she’s participated in Relay for Life for six years. She said the team also participated in Decatur Township’s Relay for Life, which was June 3. Cross said the shift in location surprised her, but that ultimately it was good decision because of all the benefits of a climate-controlled environment. “It was quite a surprise, it’s very nice — we don’t have to boil on the concrete, it’s wonderful in that aspect. I heard last year they had to come inside at the last minute. So I can’t imagine scrounging and trying to get everything up,” she said. Cross said it was the personal connection that drove her involvement, and by attending the Relay for Life, she could bring in more money to fund cancer research. “Being here for people who need us, bringing in extra money for teams and the cause, that’s my favorite thing,” she said. As of Saturday afternoon, the Mooresville Relay for Life had raised $27,385.95.

TRAFALGAR The Dixie Melody Boys will bring their dulcet tones to Miss Betty’s Music Hall, 107 S. Pleasant St., Trafalgar, this Friday. The gospel quartet has a long and storied history. Ed O’Neal joined the group in 1961. A few years later, he became the owner and manager of the group. Those subsequent decades have been marked with numerous successes for the group, including a Grammy nomination as well as many fan awards from “The Singing News Magazine,” a publication focused on southern gospel music. O’Neal himself has been recognized several times for his musical endeavors, including in October 2004 when he was inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame. “That was a tremendous honor. Then we have an award that’s given to special people who have done things in the community and so forth called the Marvin Norcross Award. I received that in 2000,” O’Neal said. Music, particularly gospel music has been part of O’Neal’s life for a long, long time. “I was so young, I don’t remember when I started. My mother’s side of the family was real musical and I went as a kid with them,” O’Neal said. Though the group continues to travel to perform around the country, O’Neal said these tours are more limited in scope. “I’ve slowed down a little bit, as far as distance wise, we used to go up the West Coast once a year, spend a few weeks out there. I don’t do that anymore, we work Midwest, all the way back east,” O’Neal said O’Neal might not be crisscrossing as wide a swathe of the U.S. as he did in his younger years, but he still enjoys performing. “You get to see people’s lives change. The biggest percentage of our audience is probably Christian people, but we have other people come. Some of them like the entertainment involved in it: the way you sing your songs and the arrangements you put on your songs. And we try to affect everybody that way,” he said. The repertoire of The Dixie Melody Boys includes popular hymns as well newer gospel songs. “I do love the hymns of the church, but we do more new songs, new southern gospel songs,” O’Neal said. Gospel has a strong tradition in the south and many beloved singers got their start singing gospel music, such as Sam Cooke and Lou Rawls, who began their musical careers in gospel groups. Elvis Presley grew up singing hymns in church and had a large collection of gospel records at Graceland. “We started singing in church and most of the time the groups you hear singing now started around church,” O’Neal said. There have been multiple changes in lineups of The Dixie Melody Boys over the years and O’Neal has a simple way of trying out new members to see if the chemistry is right. “I get the ones who are really interested in it and they take a weekend and go with us to the concert and that way I can watch them perform on stage, I can see how people react to them and if it gives me more information to go on,” O’Neal said. A stereotype about gospel music is that it younger people don’t tend to listen to it. “I hear them talk that young people don’t like what we do as much as the older people do and they don’t come to the concerts as much, because I think they don’t know what it is. Most of the ones that come, quite a few of them turn into really good fans,” O’Neal said. The Dixie Melody Boys will play at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Miss Betty’s Concert Hall, 107 S. Pleasant St., Trafalgar. General admission is $20 and doors open at 6 p.m.

MARTINSVILLE The Indiana Department of Education once again named Centerton Elementary School a four-star school May 26. There were several criteria a school had to meet to receive the honor. A school had to receive an “A” in accountability from the Indiana Department of Education in the 2015-16 school year and be in the top 25th percentile of schools in two ISTEP-based categories. When the first round of four-star schools was released on May 12, Centerton was not on the list. Principal Reneae Staley said that the initial list was just one page and typically it’s around seven pages. “So we were a little bummed, not gonna lie, because we’ve kind of had a streak going here, but then round two was released and we were listed then, so we were really excited and very happy to continue that streak,” Staley said. The streak Staley referred to is the number of times the school has been named a four-star school by the Indiana Department of education — which dates back to the 1996-1997 school year. The four-star award was introduced in 1988. “We really pride ourselves in academic excellence and high expectations for our kids, it’s really built into our culture. I think what it means for our parents is that it kind of reaffirms that they believe in the school and that everybody is doing a great job and their kids are receiving the best education possible,” Staley said. “It’s really nice to see a Martinsville school on that list where you have lots of Carmels and Westfields and Zionsvilles and things like that. To see Martinsville on that list is pretty exciting.” It’s not the only award Centerton has received during that streak. The school was named a National Blue Ribbon School in the 2007-2008 school year. The award showcases schools for exemplary achievement for either being a high performing school or being exemplary at closing the achievement gap. It’s an honor Centerton has twice earned. Like the four-star school award, the criteria for the Blue Ribbon award is focused on standardized testing and how students compare to their peers across the state. “It’s an application process. There’s a lot of documentation involved, but you have to have the achievement to back that up. There’s not many schools across the nation that are able to meet the criteria for that and Centerton’s done that two different times,” Staley said. Centerton was known for its high achievement in academics, she said. “Parents will come into the building to enroll their students and they’ll say ‘We really saw this is a high achieving school,’ and they’re proud to have their students go where there is an expectation of excellence and there is achievement to back that up,” Staley said.

MARTINSVILLE As participants lined up on Jackson Street, between the main branch of the Morgan County Public Library and First Christian Church, Jennifer McKinley told the runners and walkers what to expect on the route. After the participants took off, she moved to monitor the intersection of Jefferson and Jackson streets, to make sure no wayward vehicles interrupted the fifth annual Dewey Dash 5K run/walk. Barriers were in place to dissuade motorists, but some choose to ignore their presence. “So much of it depends on the weather,” McKinley, the assistant branch director, said. “If we’re having beautiful weather like we’re having today, we normally have pretty good numbers. It’s pretty steady; we always try to get at least 100 participants. That’s kind of our goal. Most years we get pretty darn close, if not over.” The Dewey Dash is the biggest fundraiser for the county library system, and McKinley said that when brainstorming ideas for it, they started with a name and went from there. “You know it’s funny, we kind of came up with the name first as we were thinking of the Dewey Decimal System and what kind of fun ways we could play off of that,” she said, adding she and the library director at the time came up with the idea together. “The library director and myself at the time were really involved with running 5Ks and doing the mini-marathon and other things. So we were thinking, ‘How can we bring the fun of that event here to our town?’ And one of the most simple ways to do that was to start our own.” McKinley said the 5K was a great fit for the fundraising needs of the library because of the popularity of the events. “It’s become kind of a popular thing, I think, as people become more aware and more aware of being physically fit and these local things — it makes it fun to support something in your community,” she said. For several participants in the Dewey Dash, the combination of it benefiting a good cause and being a 5K were attractions. “It’s a good cause, a good fundraiser for the library,” participant Dianna Boyer said. Boyer and Melissa Ice ran in the first Dewey Dash 5K, but had been unable to run in subsequent races. “We haven’t been able to because of travel during the summer. We’re happy to be here today,” Boyer said, adding she occasionally runs in other 5Ks, but the appeal of the Dewey Dash was simple: “It’s our hometown.” Ice had a similar reason for her involvement: the relationship she and her son have with the Morgan County Public Library system. “He practically grew up in the library. So we did the library programs and we used to be able to walk here. It’s sentimental as well,” Ice said. For more information on the programs funded by the Dewey Dash at all branches of the Morgan County Public Library system, visit morgancountylibrary.info.

MARTINSVILLE The Relay for Life returned Saturday to Martinsville for another year of raising funds to fight cancer. There was a slight tweak to the Relay’s format this year: a trimming of time. Previous events lasted a total of 24 hours; the 2017 event was slimmed down to 13 hours. It’s a change that Ashley Hammer — people lead and co-chair for the Martinsville Relay for Life — said was a necessity to better fit the needs of participants. “We had a major change. Traditionally, it’s 24 hours, but due to changing with the times, people are a lot busier than they used to be when they started,” she said. “We’ve cut it down to 13 hours. So we’re 11 a.m. to midnight (Saturday).” Hammer said she had been involved in Relay for Life for four years and got involved for personal reasons. “My husband is the general manager at Texas Corral, and the owners’ father passed away from cancer, so that year we just kind of threw together a team really quick to just see what it was all about,” Hammer said. “And we just fell in love with the event, just how awesome it is and just seeing the community come together.” The community is one of the major draws of the event for Hammer. “I love the community involvement. I love that every team has a story — everybody who’s here has been touched by cancer in some way, shape or form, and I love that they feel so moved by it and compelled by it to come and rally together,” she said. The Martinsville Relay for Life is the fifth and final one of the year for Melissa Pressler, community development manager with the American Cancer Society. Pressler handles the events going on in south central Indiana. “When I first started at ACS, I had sought out a job that helped fight cancer on a bigger level. I was a longtime participant in other fundraising efforts for cancer. I lost my dad to cancer when I was 21,” she said. Pressler said she was attracted to her current position because it allows her to address the issue on a greater level. “I felt like I could be making a difference on a bigger level than just me by myself, fundraising as an endurance athlete participant. Instead of maybe fundraising $5,000 a year, I help communities fundraise almost $300,000 a year,” she said. Like Hammer, Pressler values the community aspect of Relay for Life events. “Watching the passion that people have and putting out everything they can into fighting cancer and just watching the community come together and have a great day — it’s just really great to see the community be engaged, come together and fight cancer,” she said. One community group that came out to participate in the Relay for Life was the Martinsville High School cheerleading squad. “(The cheerleading squad) has done it before in the past,” said Lauren Ka, a Martinsville High School sophomore. “We’re sophomores, so we haven’t done it yet, but our cheer coach has done it in the past. She wanted to do it this year.” The squad pledged to walk all 13 hours of the event, working in shifts to ensure no one got too fatigued. “We have different ages doing different shifts,” Ka said. Like Hammer and Pressler, there’s a personal connection for her that drives participation in the Relay for Life. “Well for me, personally, my aunt passed away from cancer, and I just like coming here. I’ve done this in the past and supported this event,” Ka said. Slightly more than $30,000 had been raised by participants in Martinsville’s Relay for Life as of Saturday, as fundraising continued. Nearly two dozen teams signed up ahead of time to participate. For more information about the 2017 Martinsville Relay for Life, visit main.acsevents.org/site/TR?fr_id=81235&pg=entry.

MARTINSVILLE The Stierwalt Cemetery was vandalized sometime between the weekend of Mother’s Day and May 23. The cemetery is home to a number of older graves, some of which were defaced, including ones belonging to Patty Dow. The vandals stole the iron fencing, which had stood around the graves of Dows’ ancestors for more than a century. “Of course, then when I found out that the wrought iron fence around my great-great-great-grandparents had been stolen in the last two weeks, it just…I can’t describe the feelings I went through in finding that that has been taken. That fence had been there for over 130 years. It’s on the farm that William and Lucinda Sandy owned,” Dow said. Dow said it was the caretakers of the cemetery who first took notice of the missing fence. She said the fence was most likely stolen for financial reasons. “This wrought iron fence was probably stolen for money. I don’t know if they realize what they’ve done, that it’s an antique and that it could be worth quite a bit of money or whether they sold it for drugs or something,” Dow said. Dow is a member of the Morgan County History and Genealogy Society, a group which helps repair, restore and reset tombstones in graveyards that have been damaged or shifted through age, the growth of the root system of plants or vandalism. Dow’s interest in cemeteries began at an early age. “I’ve always been interested in the cemeteries. Back when I was a child, my great aunt Bernice Marsh Milhon used to take me to the Hall cemetery. On Memorial Day, they’d take collections to help take care of the cemetery. Then my husband and I started, probably six or seven years ago mowing the Samaria Cemetery and taking care of it,” Dow said. It’s not the first time someone has vandalized gravestones belonging to a relative of Dow. “About four years ago, some young men came in and vandalized about 30 of the historical tablet stones in the Samaria Cemetery, which upset me very much,” she said. “Some of that was part of our family then, too. Most of them were the family of Whitaker stones that were back there that had been maintained in very good condition until then.” Dow said they were able to find the vandals because they were seen trying to break into the nearby church. “There was a person who saw them. And then they weren’t too wise, they went to bragging about it on the school bus and the bus driver heard them. And she reported them, but nothing came of it,” Dow said. Since they didn’t have insurance on the cemetery, they weren’t able to get anyone to come in to fix the damage. Repairing and restoring tombstones is a labor-intensive process, in many cases the cost of the work can total in the four figures. Dow said she and other members of the Morgan County History and Genealogy Society attended a seminar to learn how to repair tombstones. “The Ten O’Clock Line chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution — which I’m a member of — took over the Williams Cemetery and cleaning and restoring stones out there. So that was the first time I actually cleaned any stones, was when we went out there to do that. And then the Hilldale Cemetery here in Martinsville the Daughters of the Union — it’s the Oliver P. Morton chapter, it’s the oldest in the United States — came down and helped the Ten O’Clock Line clean stones in that cemetery here this month. And then the Morgan County History and Genealogy Society went out to Scroggins Cemetery out on Ind. 44 and cleaned out there and restored some cemetery stones,” Dow said. Dow said about half of the stones which had been vandalized in the Samaria Cemetery have been fixed, but there were still more that were in need of repair. “We’ve still got about 11 of them that can be fixed; a few of them cannot be fixed, we just lost them. So my interest in genealogy and the history of my family and these old cemeteries, it’s just a passion that I have,” Dow said. Dow has been trying to get the word out about the stolen fence and has searched in places the fence might have gone in the hopes of recovering it. “I’ve been all over Martinsville. I’ve been to Adkins (Recycling). I’ve been to some of the auction houses. I’ve called down to scrap yards down in Owen County. I’ve hung posters up trying to find this fence,” Dow said. Dow said she is offering a reward in the hopes that it might draw out some information. “It’s very difficult to catch these people. That’s why I’ve offered a reward for the return of this fence, hoping that somebody will say, ‘Hey, I know something about that,’ and will come forward, “ Dow said. Dow said it would be very difficult to find the culprits behind the vandalism due to the location and nature of the cemetery. “Where do you start with something like this? How do you find out who it was that did it? It was likely done at night, there’s no house with direct view of the cemetery,” Dow said. Anyone with information regarding the missing fencing may contact Dow at 765-537-2010.

The process of adaptation is a fascinating one. What works in one medium doesn’t necessarily translate to another form. This a challenge that “Shrek The Musical” faced as a musical translation of a film — itself based on a book by William Steig. “Shrek The Musical” succeeds by blending the familiar lines, gags and story beats of the 2001 film with new songs and new plot elements. The musical opens with Shrek at the age of 7, being sent off into the world by his parents. Similarly Princess Fiona is sent to live in a dragon-guarded tower. It’s a good setup for later when the two realize they have a lot more common than they previously thought. Musical theater is more restrictive than computer animation as far as costuming and set pieces are concerned, but the Beef and Board production of “Shrek The Musical” does so with aplomb. A great example of this is an amusing and recurring visual gag is that of Lord Farquaad. In the film, the character is noticeably short and the musical recreates this by having the actor — in this case John Vessels — walk around on their knees and tiny legs attached to the costume complete the illusion. The “Shrek” film lampooned fairytales and Disney musicals alike and eschewed original songs for then contemporary music as well as music of the past. “Shrek The Musical” fully embraces the Broadway musical model, but with tongue-in-cheek lyrics and book that wink at and play loving homage to the clichés and tropes of stage musicals. “What’s Up, Duloc?” sung by Lord Farquaad and other cast members feels like a loving parody of showbiz musicals like “A Chorus Line.” David Lindsay-Abaire’s book and lyrics for the show do an excellent job of balancing heart and caustic wit. “Big Bright Beautiful World” is a great example of this. When performed at the beginning, it suggests isolation and pain, but at the end the mood changes and suggests connection and joy. One of the best songs in the entire musical is “I Know It’s Today,” which is a trio featuring Young Fiona, Teen Fiona and Adult Fiona. The melody is memorable and the vocal performance of the three actresses — Emery Allen, Reagan Minette and Emily Grace Tucker — is great, particularly when all three sing together. The three leads — Peter Scharbrough as Shrek, Emily Grace Tucker as Fiona and Julius Thomas III as Donkey — have really great chemistry together. Thomas III captures the spirit of Eddie Murphy’s performance without being derivative. Thomas III also has a great voice and he gets a nice range of moods to play with in his songs. “Don’t Let Me Go” is a great moment between Scharbrough and Thomas III that really displays their chemistry, it’s a moment that reveals the heart at the core of Shrek, both the character and the musical. Scharbrough and Tucker have such excellent chemistry, it’s easy to see why the two characters fall for each other and develop their rapport. The core message of “Shrek The Musical” is one of empowerment and feeling comfortable in one’s own skin. Lord Farquaad banishes the fairytale creatures to Shrek’s swamp because he views them as freaks, they are reminders of his own flaws and imperfections and he doesn’t want that around. The fairytale creatures come to embrace their unique traits and stand up to Lord Farquaad. It’s a journey that both Shrek and Fiona experience. Both were given expectations by their parents of what their lives would be. The two characters struggle with and eventually embrace a life different from they initially thought they wanted. It’s an empowering message that’s part of a witty and lighthearted night at the theater. It’s a wonderful evening of entertainment for children and adults.

MARTINSVILLE Those who fancy themselves the outdoor type will have a new challenge to face this July with the Fritsche Nature Challenge, which benefits the William Ryan Fritsche Scholarship fund, awarded to Morgan County students seeking a career in public service The event will be held in honor of the late William Ryan Fritsche, who went by Ryan. A staff sergeant in the U.S. Army, Ryan was killed on July 29, 2007, when his unit was ambushed by a group of insurgents in Afghanistan. He was awarded the Purple Heart, as well as a Bronze Star Medal. He was a member 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Vicenza, Italy. July is a rough period of time for the Fritsche family, which is why Ryan’s mother, Volitta organizes activities and events to take the family’s minds off the somber memory. Volitta said in the past, activities for “Camp Fritsche” included family get togethers at the Fristche’s home, as well as skydiving, an activity chosen as a nod to Ryan’s service in the 173rd Airborne. Volitta is shaking things up with a brand new event for the tenth anniversary of Ryan's death: the Fritsche Nature Challenge. Ryan loved traversing the woods surrounding the Fritsche’s home on Wilbur Road and the event will help honor his memory while giving participants a little taste of what Ryan loved doing. Volitta said she hoped the event would be a good way of sustaining the scholarship started in memory of her late son. “I’ve got all this land and these beautiful hills and stuff, so why dig it up and why not do everything natural? Because this is where Ryan played. This is where Ryan was raised and he loved these woods and the creeks and I thought ‘We got it all right here, God already did it, let’s just go with that,’” Volitta said. “And then we decided everything would be natural and so even our challenges, we want them all to be natural.” Participants in the challenge will make their way through hills and hollers in the woods surrounding the Fritsche property, traversing logs across creek beds, making their way through creeks and completing challenges. Each challenge will have three levels — the more difficult the challenge, the greater the number of points. The challenges will be marked in red, white and blue and each color will be associated with a numerical value. Volitta said the color scheme was a nod to the colors of the American flag, as well as 4-H ribbons. Fifteen points are awarded for the most difficult version of a challenge, 10 points are given for ones a little less strenuous and five are earned for the easiest task. Competitors will have three chances to attempt a challenge and if they fail to successfully compete a challenge, they will be awarded zero points. Some of the challenges include spear throwing — featuring spears crafted by Volitta and Indiana Dream Team members — and tree climbing challenge known as 'skinning the cat.' The challenge lies in maximizing points from obstacles and finishing the race in a timely fashion, according to Volitta. Prizes will be awarded to teams and individuals who have the fastest race time, as well as the highest point total from completing obstacles. Volitta said she had already selected trees to be used, the variance in species and size determining the difficulty and point value awarded for them. It’s quite a task to ready the property for the nature challenge. Assisting Volitta are Indiana Dream Team members Austin Glenn, Erik Hendricks, Jr., Jake Owens, Brandon Tapp and Keegan West. Volitta and the IDT members have been hard at work on the challenge for two months. Safety is very important for the course; the goal is to give participants a challenge while minimizing risk. West said he enjoyed being involved in every step of getting the challenge ready, part of which entails testing out the various challenges that have been designed for the course. “I feel like it’ll give me an edge on race day,” West said. The IDT will take part in the challenge as a team and West feels that knowing the ins and outs will help him and his teammates to compete in the event. “It’s definitely hollers and hills, so accumulating the logs for some of the challenges and obstacles is a little difficult, sometimes you have no option but to just use manpower. That’s a little challenge, but like I said the motivation you get from the charity and what you’re serving and serving Volitta is just enough to get you through it, so it’s enjoyable,” West said. Along with the nature challenge, Volitta said there would be food served out of the small cabin on her property close to the start line of the challenge. Guests will also have the opportunity to throw knives and hatchets and pan for gold. Participants must be 18 years of age minimum and sign a waiver form to compete in the event. Cost to register for an individual is $35 and $100 for a team of four. The Fristche Nature Challenge will be from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 29 at 2540 W. Wilbur Road, Martinsville. Participants for the ladies’ challenge must arrive by 8:45 a.m, participants for men’s challenge must arrive at 9:45 a.m. and participants in the co-ed challenge must arrive at 1:45 p.m. For more information about the event, visit facebook.com/events/2060618004165075/ and to register online visit GOO.GL/M6Ljgb.

MARTINSVILLE Artists will get a chance to refine their porcelain painting skills when the Porcelain Art School of Indiana sets up shop July 16 through 21 at the Morgan County Fairgrounds. This is the first time the Porcelain Art School will host its annual event in Morgan County. The school has previously been held at Anderson University, but that changed when the university began hosting training camp for the Indianapolis Colts. “(The school) went to various hotel locations that would accommodate us, but one of the tricks on that was, we do our firing on site. We have these kilns and we have to get a situation to fire those kilns and not every place is comfortable with that or has the ability because of the electrical and everything for that,” Ellen Wilson-Pruitt, director of the Porcelain Art School of Indiana, said. Wilson-Pruitt said the school was most recently held at the Sheraton in Indianapolis, an expensive proposition for the organization. “It was so expensive for our costs as a school and for our students, that the last two or three years we had been looking to find another location. And I don’t know why it never came to me to have it at the fairgrounds, ‘Gee, we could set the kilns up in the Merchants Building and fire them there, with the generator and we could use the auditorium as the classroom space,’” Wilson-Pruitt said. Wilson-Pruitt said since the school had moved locations, it had received a lot of support from the community of Morgan County. “We never received anything from Indianapolis or anything like that. The county CVB and the local businesses and so forth and the media are supportive of us and that’s great, because as a nonprofit, you can’t replace that kind of exposure and support. We’re real excited about our new location,” Wilson-Pruitt said. Wilson-Pruitt said that she was happy about the new location because it would give members of the public a chance to observe the students at work. “We’re going to be open the entire week for the public to come and stop in and see what we’re doing. Whereas when we were in downtown Indianapolis, people are not going to come and pay to park downtown to just come and have a look see. In being available to the public to come have a look see, then in 2018 we’re going to reintroduce an introductory class and try to get more people involved in china painting,” Wilson-Pruitt said. Wilson-Pruitt said there were currently 60 people signed up for the school. She said that years ago, the enrollment was well over 100. The event is also a chance to showcase Morgan County to visitors, she said. “We have two international teachers that are coming and we have at least one international student that’s coming,” Wilson-Pruitt said. Wilson-Pruitt said when she began porcelain painting, there were porcelain art schools across the country. Currently, there are only five or six still in operation. Though it’s an art form that’s become less popular, it has deep ties to the state of Indiana. “President (Benjamin) Harrison’s wife Caroline was a china painter. She was the First Lady that instituted the White House china collection and so she painted and fired porcelain while they were in the White House. Indiana has a rich history in that regard,” Wilson-Pruitt said. “And we have done two different projects for the state of Indiana, we’ve painted a set of dining service for the state and a few years ago, Mrs. Pence contacted us about doing a painting project for her First Lady’s charitable foundation.” Students can attend two, three or five days of the school, depending on their preferences and financial needs. Cost for the five-day tuition is $450, three days costs $335 and two days is $265. Tuition includes classes, firing and lunch, but does not include hotel accommodations, class china or other meals. A $75 non-refundable deposit must accompany the registration form. Full tuition must be paid by today or class placement preference will be forfeited. To register for the class, visit porcelainartschool.com/Registration-Form.html to download a form. Checks should be made payable to: Porcelain Art School of Indiana. Payment should be sent to Caroyln Jung, 4301 E. CR 150 N., Avon IN 46123. Contact Jung at 317-242-8742.

MARTINSVILLE When a beloved family pet goes missing, it’s a difficult time for a family. Pet owners want nothing more than to reunite with their furry friend. They take advantage of available resources which might allow them to reconnect with their wayward family member. There is a new resource for Morgan County pet owners — a Facebook group which helps to spread the word about missing animals. Prior to the creation of the group, Morgan County pet owners made use of Indy Lost Pet Alert, which wasn’t the ideal way to find wayward animals. “Your heart just stops and there’s no place right now for people to go other than the Indianapolis lost Facebook page to put there cries for help out there,” Stephanie Dyer, a Morgan County Humane Society board member, said. Owners would also contact the Morgan County Humane Society by phone or post to the humane society’s Facebook page. Dyer said the need for a page was discussed at a board meeting as the humane society has received many calls from people with lost pets and the Facebook page regularly gets posts from people who had lost pets or had found animals and were unsure of what to do with them. “It was kind of becoming a clog in our Morgan County Humane Society regular Facebook page for this kind of communication and it wasn’t really allowing the humane society to showcase their adoptable animals, which is really what we wanted to focus our Facebook page on with actually showing animals who are in there and who are just ready to go home,” Dyer said. Emily Alfred, a volunteer at the shelter, recommended the page be a group instead because it would make sharing information easier than with the page and would allow users to more easily post their information. Dyer said that Alfred is the administrator for the page and she approves all the posts and checks it once a day. Dyer said it was a good way to make sure only relevant posts were posted on the page and it helped prevent spam posts and posts that were otherwise inappropriate for the page. Some users of the page opt for the template used by Indy Lost Pet Alert. It helps the missing pet notices stand out from texts with photo and is easily shared. The graphics are helpful because they can be updated if the animals are found. Dyer said people using the service should include the location where the pet was last seen, among other information. “You could put contact information and information about the pet, the date and time that the pet was lost. What kind of animal it is and they would give a very general description if they didn’t have a picture to put on there. If there’s any collar information, if the animal has a collar or any identifying information, if they’ve been microchipped,” Dyer said. “The ones that have been found have a big home across their picture." Dyer said that the shelter was always in the need of volunteers and that anyone interested in getting involved should contact the shelter. The Morgan County Indiana Lost and Found — Pets can be found at facebook.com/groups/374784362862619/ and facebook.com/Morgan-County-Indiana-Lost-Found-Pets-520695764804357/. The Morgan County Humane Society is located at 690 W. Mitchell Ave., Martinsville, and can be contacted at 765-349-9177.