Beacon Sept 2023

Page 10B THE BEACON September 2023
VERSAILLES/
RIPLEY CTY
By
Cheryl
Damon-
Greiner
Community
Correspondent
versailles@goBEACONnews.com
Summer days are turning
into ‘back to school’ days,
and the last big bash of
summertime, Labor Day
Weekend, is fast approaching.
This year, due to bad weather
on the 4th of July weekend,
the Fireworks and Cookout
at Versailles State Park will
take place on Saturday, Sept.
2 during Labor Day weekend.
Remember that the sun will
then be setting about 9 P.M.
The stormy weather this
summer has provided some
spectacular shows of its own.
The skies over Versailles
made even meteorologists
look up! Marie and Joe
White of Versailles aren’t
cloud-chasers but they had
to take notice when they
saw a spectacular arched
cloud moving across the sky,
looking as if it was scooping
up thunderstorm clouds! A
little bit of research makes me
think it was an Arcus cloud.
Apparently, these uncommon
formations are caused by
powerful cold downdrafts
ahead of a significant
thunderstorm. Granted, this
O
ur
tidbit of weather knowledge
certainly isn’t nearly as
helpful as counting ‘One
Mississippi, two Mississippi..”
until you hear thunder after
you see a flash of lightning to
judge its distance.
The out-of-business
Raiders gas station at the
corner of Main and Rt 50
in Versailles has seen better
days for sure. Certainly not
the best first impression as
you come around the bend
from the State Park. But
good news has arrived in the
form of a huge John Deere
excavator parked near the
pumps! Roxanne Meyer,
Town Council president, has
confirmed that the generous
grant money from the Office
of Community and Rural
Affairs (OCRA) and Rising
Sun Regional Foundation
has allowed the town to
buy the property in order
to proceed with demolition
before summer is over. With
so much activity taking place
on the Courthouse Square and
Main Street these days – a
new park, Farmers Markets,
concerts, new business - it
will be fitting to have a clean
slate to welcome visitors.
Speaking of grants, the
Ripley County Community
Foundation, which gives out
grants locally including for
the veteran remembrance
project Wreaths Across Ripley
County, was recently awarded
reaccreditation by meeting the
American Legion Post 452 New Alsace
Newly
remodeled
rental
facility!
parks
dearborn
county
the Dearborn County Parks Foundation.
A Gift For all Seasons!
www.dearborncountyPARKS.com
Perfect for Wedding Receptions,
Birthday Parties, Anniversaries,
Reunions, Holidays
Summer is here!
Need extra money
for vacation?
Join the Advantage
Home Care Team.
Reasonable rates, nice atmosphere
Contact Larry @ 812-623-3695
Next euchre party Sept. 24
Doors open 12 noon • Games begin at 1 • All are invited
Proudly serving our veterans and the community since WWII
$$$ Earn extra $$$
We have openings for
CNA •Home Health Aides •LPN • RN
Lawrenceburg/Versailles/Sunman/Milan/
Vevay/Rising Sun/West Harrison
Enjoy weekly pay, benefits package,
one-on-one care, competitive pay rates
All interested applicants please contact
ADVANTAGE HOME CARE
800-807-6839 • 812-537-0325
460 Ridge Ave. Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 EOE
Communities
Jill Miller, Milan Post Officer
nation’s highest standard of
excellence for philanthropic
foundations. Randy Royster,
a board member of the
Council on Foundations,
praised the RCCF for their
significant accomplishment!
Congratulations to Executive
Director, Amy Streator and
her staff and board!
There’s a lot of talk lately
about gender. Well, have
you noticed that the local
mailman is frequently not a
man? Female mail carriers
and postal workers are now
the norm in rural areas. The
women tell me that they are
in the majority at several
area post offices, in contrast
to national numbers that
show women are still in
the minority. In some cases
locally, four or five women
outnumber a single man on
many shifts. All I know is that
the USPS workers of both
genders are doing a tough
job and yet they have smiles
on their faces as they dodge
traffic, lug packages, work
twice as hard the day after a
holiday, and do it all while
driving from the passenger
seat! Thank you, Jill Miller,
our mail carrier!
I lost confidence in the
Internet recently when I was
doing some research on the
history of the Ripley County
RISING SUN/
OHIO COUNTY
By
PG
Gentrup
Community
Correspondent
risingsun@goBEACONnews.com
By the time you are reading
this, kids will be back in
school. Our grandson Kaden
is starting his junior year. The
twins, Grady and Carli, are
sophomores. Alex is in the
eighth grade, and Coleton, the
seventh grade. These kids sure
keep us busy with all the sports.
Sometimes things happen
that make you feel good.
Recently I was on my way
to have lunch with my World
War II buddy, Lawrence
Lyttle. As I was driving thru
Thuermer Hollow, I noticed
a van driving toward me with
flames shooting out from
underneath. I waved my arm
to get him to pull over, which
he did. The driver wasn’t
getting out, so I approached
the car and helped him get to
another car. I quickly moved
my car away from the fire
and called 911. By now,
the car was fully engulfed
in flames. The Rising Sun
Fire Department arrived and
quickly put out the fire. Thank
God the guy was safe.
It was weird that I was
even there because I thought
the people I was meeting for
lunch were picking Lawrence
up, but they thought I was.
Had I remembered to pick
him up, I would have been
past there much earlier. I was
just thankful it turned out like
it did. You can replace a van.
Another incident happened
at a Reds game where our
Southeastern Indiana Honor
Guard “Presented the Colors”
on the field for the National
Anthem. I almost didn’t
go but Mike LaFollette,
Ron Spurlock, Kevin
A storm cloud in Versailles.
Amy Streator
Courthouse. I had been to
several places gathering
information and then I started
to put my thoughts down
concerning the very beginning
days of the courthouse. I
vaguely remembered reading
that the cost to build the
original courthouse was
about $16,000. I wanted to
be accurate but I couldn’t
find my notes. Hoping
to confirm my memory,
I decided to ask Bing’s
AI - Artificial Intelligence
search engine. The Internet
can find anything, right?
Wrong! Not only did it give
me wrong information but
it got cocky with me, too!
AI said its sources said the
cost was $392,000 in 1860!
About $12 million in today’s
dollars! I answered it that it
was wrong and it replied ‘I’m
sorry you feel that way. If
you have another source of
information, please share it
Thomasson, Jerry Kinnett,
and I went. Another case
where I was where I needed to
be. I was walking to my seat
when I saw what I thought
was a tissue package, and
I kicked it twice. I picked
it up to throw it away and
noticed a zipper on top. It
was a little purse that had
a driver’s license in it, two
credit cards, a debit card, three
$100 bills, and other items.
And, I almost threw it away!
The driver’s license was for
a lady from Wisconsin, so
I knew it was a Milwaukee
Brewers fan. I sat down and
looked and noticed on her
license she was the same age
as my daughter, Kelli. I got
on my phone and found her
on Facebook. I sent her a text
message and got no answer.
Two names on her friends
list were the same as her last
name, so I sent a text to them.
One contacted me and said
she was a sister and would
get in contact with her. Soon
my phone rang, and it was
the lady who lost the purse. I
walked to where she was with
a friend of hers. When I gave
her the license and the purse
with everything still in it, she
started crying and hugging
me. I was wearing my 25th
Infantry Division hat and she
told me her dad is a Purple
Heart recipient from Vietnam.
I told her that’s what Veterans
do- we help each other and
do what we can to help others
too. I told her she could rest
easy now and enjoy her trip to
Cincinnati. Hopefully, she will
have the opportunity to do the
same and help somebody.
I was sorry to hear that
State Representative Randy
Frye was stepping down
from the Indiana General
Assembly and retiring. He
has served since 2010 and
has been a good friend to
me and our Veterans. He
was the chairman of the
House Veterans Affairs and
Public Safety. His dedication
has made a huge impact in
Get it All at www.goBEACONnews.com
Raider gas station
with me. I’m always willing
to learn new things and ended
with a smiley face! Well, the
gloves were coming off! I
found the document I needed
and referred AI to the correct
information. AI acknowledged
that I was right but still
wanted to argue about it. Then
it offered some suggestions
for me to use as my follow-up
reply: “It’s OK, I appreciate
your effort”, “Can you find
another source?” and my
favorite, “You are just a dumb
machine”. I took the high
road and logged off but made
a note to myself that I will
never order lunch from one
of those fast food places that
plan to replace the employee
behind the drive-through
microphone with artificial
intelligence. I can see it now –
“But I don’t want pickles” and
its response “I’m sorry you
feel that way” followed by an
evil laugh.
Indiana.
Take some time and stop
by the library to see a new
mural painted by Christian
Dallas. Amy King chose Mr.
Dallas to do the project. You
probably have noticed some
of his other work at the feed
mill in Aurora.
The Rising Sun American
Legion Post 59 Ladies’
Auxiliary is always busy
helping others. Nancy
Parks coordinated efforts to
help Boy Scout Troop 605
purchase new tires for their
trailer. Funds were presented
to Life Scout Duncan
Uhlmansiek and Mike
Macku, the assistant Hoosier
Trails Council Commissioner.
Congratulations to Noel
Houze Jr. and Noel Houze
Sr., for being honored at
the Great American Ball
Park by the Cincinnati
Reds. They were nominated
by Ron Spurlock, who is
highly involved with getting
Military Hometown Heroes
introduced at games. The
Houzes are retired Indiana
State Policemen. They have
dedicated their lives to serving
Southeastern Indiana and have
touched many lives during
their careers. Congratulations,
and well deserved.
Welcome to the new
executive director of the Ohio
County Historical Museum,
Andrew Young.
My granddaughter, Carli
Walter, had a very successful
softball season and is very
proud of her teammate, Kori
Cornett, for being named All-
State for the Softball Coaches
Association of Indiana. She
will be playing softball this
year at Wilmington Ohio
College.
Grandson, Grady Walter, is
taking a liking to the game of
golf. He even purchased some
new clubs so he’s getting
serious.
I still pray for all of you to
have good health and continue
to Live the American Dream.
God Bless you.