Beacon Oct 2023

October 2023 THE BEACON Page 11B
VERSAILLES/
RIPLEY CTY
By
Cheryl
Damon-
Greiner
Community
Correspondent
versailles@goBEACONnews.com
It seems that just a few
weeks ago we were wishing
for the corn rows to be “knee
high by the fourth of July.”
Then the stalks shot up to
be “high as an elephant’s
eye.” That first phrase is a
Midwestern adage, and the
second one is actually from a
song in the play “Oklahoma!”
but it sure describes midsummer
crops in Indiana,
too. The bounty at area
farmers markets this past
summer showed that corn
isn’t the only veggie that
local gardeners are good at
growing. As the seasons are
changing, bushels of apples
and frost on the pumpkins are
coming to mind for those of
us in or near the farmlands.
And that is pretty much most
of us since nearly two-thirds
of Indiana’s twenty-three
million acres are farmland!
Autumn means area festivals
with themes ranging from
Arts and Apples to Music,
Pumpkins, and Wine. Lots
of good reasons to venture
outdoors to munch on funnel
cakes, sip hot cider, and
marvel at the colorful trees.
The Ripley County Tourism
office has dates and locations
for lots of fun events. (See ad
on page 10A)
Situated between the
MILAN
By
Sialia
Swainson
Community
Correspondent
e
milan@goBEACONnews.com
The dog days of summer
are coming to an end and it
occurs to me that we have
been lucky here in southeast
Indiana regarding this summer’s
weather. While we’ve
endured some Canadian wildfire
smoke, we have not had
the sweltering heat waves that
plagued much of the country.
We’ve been lucky to get
rain regularly and as a result,
enjoyed lots of fresh produce.
Nothing beats the taste of a
fresh vine-ripened tomato,
especially on a BLT!
The streets of Milan have
been kept lovely this summer
thanks to the hard work of
a group of ladies that attend
the many planter boxes and
baskets around town. Thanks
to Sis Call, Linda Caplinger,
Coylean Denton, Leslie Allen,
and Sally Gosmeyer for
donating their time and green
thumbs to keep things looking
nice.
With the arrival of fall
comes one of my favorite
things – Friday night lights.
Nothing compares to the
sights and sounds of a cool
brisk evening in the bleachers.
What makes it even better
is that the Milan Indians are
playing for a cause- a project
called Turnover Hunger. The
Indians and the Batesville
Bulldogs participate to raise
money for the Weekend Backpack
Program. Donors can
pledge a dollar amount for
every turnover forced by the
varsity team during the season
or make a flat one-time donation.
Funds raised go towards
providing food that is distributed
(by each of five local elementary
schools) to students
at risk for lack of enough safe
O
ur
Roger Greiner serving chili
samples.
Community Center and the
original red brick home of
Versailles patron, Uncle
Jim Tyson, is Pocket Park
on the Courthouse Square.
It is finally completed
with lots of features that
were worth waiting for.
Local involvement by the
community touched every
step of the way. Ideas for
the park came from the
#iwishthiswas campaign that
gathered input during local
events. Crowd-funding for
the Holdsworth Pavilion
exceeded its goal to get a
matching $50,000 grant.
Ripley Youth Outreach
and South Ripley Art Club
contributed to the design
and painting of the murals.
Additional funding came from
the SEI READI (American
Rescue Plan Act) and grants.
Holly Wehr, Director of
Community Development for
Versailles, orchestrated all of
the daily details. The result
has been met with excitement
and cheers. The park includes
and nutritious food for normal
growth and development.
Though the football season is
well underway, there is still
time to donate by going to
rccfonline.org or calling 812-
933-1098.
Implementation of the
backpack program at MES is
handled by the school nurse,
Victoria Reynolds, and cafeteria
manager, Ginny Shannon,
along with many other
helping hands to prepare the
sacks. According to Travis
Rohrig, Principal at MES,
approximately fifty students
leave school each Friday afternoon
with bags containing
meals for the weekend.
I commented recently to
someone that giving has
Communities
BINGO
a splash pad, percussion
musical corner, Share-a-
Bikes, a public restroom,
murals for selfies, swings, a
Little Library, picnic tables,
benches for relaxing, and a
Never Forget Garden and
flagpole. Overlooking it all is
the new Holdsworth Pavilion
that has been used for popular
summer concerts.
The town of Versailles and
volunteers worked together
to raise awareness and funds
for the Versailles Fire and
Rescue. The entire street
was filled with giant, cool
Touch-a-Trucks, a dunking
booth, inflatables, games, and
food. Soup chef, Michelle
Meador, provided samples
of her What’s Soup With
You? Chili. She donated $1
to Versailles’ fire department
for every pint of soup or chili
sold that day (firefighters
and chili go together, right?)
In the past ten years, Fire
and Rescue have responded
to an increasing number
of calls- 373 incidents in
become contagious in Milan.
A prime example is that additional
funds from the Legion,
the Sons of Legion, Legion
Auxilary, VFW Auxiliary, the
PTO, Moving MES Forward,
and a retail chain were used
this school year to purchase
ALL of the school supplies
for ALL elementary students.
A wonderful gift for
the student body and their
families! We are grateful to
all of those involved in the
organizations.
As we turn the corner into
autumn, take time to absorb
the sights and sounds of the
season and as always, if you
have news to share please
contact me at milan@go
BEACONnews.com.
Every Friday at 7:00 P.M.
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fire department’s mission
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many ways to improve our
communities is a donation to
our local Fire and Rescue.
Ten years and counting!
The annual Hassmer Fest- a
celebration of Mountain
Biking in Versailles State
Park- will be held on Sept.
22nd-24. The mountain bike
trail system in Versailles State
Park extends over twenty
miles. Most of those trails
have been built by SIMBA
volunteers since 2016. For
Hassmer Fest information go
to www.bikesimba.org or call
the park at 812-689-6424.
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