Mayor Dan Ridenour ordered the city to start paying out a 10% raise to those employees beginning this month. According to the Star Press, The raise is on par with the percentage pay increases given to city police and firefighters before the city election last year. Ridenour said he went ahead and gave members of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3656 the pay increase because “they deserve it” even though no overall contract agreement has been reached between the city administration and the union that represents civilian municipal employees.
MuncieJournal.com reports the Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County awarded $411,897 in Community Grants last week. Community Grants are announced quarterly. The Board of Directors of The Community Foundation approved 20 Community Grants, and you can see who received those grants by visiting MuncieJournal.com.
The recent tornado that caused damage in Selma and Winchester, also hit the small community called Maxville, located on highway 32 between Farmland and Winchester. Maxville has a cemetery named Woodlawn Cemetery. Perhaps as many as 100 or so headstones were toppled there as the tornado passed through on its way to Winchester. A local Muncie business, Wearly Monuments, is donating their time, as their schedule permits, to repair the headstones. Many have been fixed and their work will continue.
Despite a nearly four-hour weather delay—or maybe because of it—the Indy 500 averaged 5.34 million viewers on NBC, Peacock and NBC Sports digital platforms on Sunday, up 8% compared with the 2023 race. Sunday’s race peaked at 6.46 million viewers from 7:30 to 7:45 p.m.
Bette Nash, the world’s longest-serving flight attendant, has died. She was 88 years old. America Airlines wrote on X, formerly twitter…”We mourn the passing of Bette Nash, who spent nearly seven decades warmly caring for our customers in the air. She started in 1957 and held the Guinness World Record for longest-serving flight attendant. Bette inspired generations of flight attendants.” Nash died in hospice after a recent breast cancer diagnosis, and never officially retired from her role with American Airlines.
The Richard Roudebush VA medical center is delaying surgeries due to issues relating to its sterilization of surgical instruments. Many surgeries are being delayed or moved to other hospitals around the Indianapolis area. WTHR reports the issue was discovered last month. The VA insists “there have been no negative patient outcomes as a result of this situation” because all trays of surgical instruments are inspected before every surgery. Sterilization assistance is being handled by VA medical facilities in Fort Wayne, Marion, Dayton and Cincinnati.
The Anderson Museum of Art has announced a generous $5,000 donation from the Anderson Arts League to Phase One of their Under One Roof campaign. Phase One is dedicated to preserving the historic Carnegie Library building. The funds will facilitate critical repairs, ensuring the longevity of the library.
Former WRTV6 TV anchor Tanya Spencer from Indiana has died from cancer at the age of 53. Spencer, whose real name is Tanya Sumner, left an impactful message on Facebook before she died on Friday, May 24th in her home from an aggressive cancer that started in her colon. She wrote about what she found to be most important in life: Time and good health.
Popularity for the state’s school voucher program is at new highs as this academic school year comes to an end. The number of students taking part in the program is up 32-percent compared to the last school year, which is a massive increase. Before the school year lawmakers passed a rewrite of the rules of the voucher program essentially expanding income requirements to take part. This school year the state dished out roughly 440-million in voucher funds. The biggest increases were seen in the number of students attending private school.
A road patching project is going to close i-465 south for 3 weeks beginning on May 31st. The three-week closure of I-465 southbound on the southeast side is part of an effort to patch potholes and extend the life of the aging interstate. The Indiana Department of Transportation will close I-465 southbound between I-70 and I-65. Pavement patching, joint repairs and bridge work will be part of the 21-day project. INDOT decided to close the entirety of the southbound corridor so crews can work quickly without worrying about oncoming traffic.
The final beam was placed on top of the new downtown YMCA of Muncie earlier this month. The new facility is located in the heart of the McKinley Live-Learn Neighborhood. When it’s completed next year, the new YMCA will transform the skyline of Muncie and the campus of Muncie Community Schools. But even more importantly, it will serve as a transformational center of community, health, recreation, and more.
The Delaware County Fair will be from July 15th to 20th this year. Vendors who have an interest in attending and would like to reserve booth space in Heartland Hall are asked to complete the 2024 Vendor Hall Application. For your copy go to the Delaware County Fairgrounds facebook page to access the application link.
One person is in critical condition following a police shooting that stemmed from an armed carjacking at an east side apartment complex in Indianapolis yesterday. WISH TV says online police reports indicate the shooting happened around 9:30 a.m. in the 3800 block of Breen Drive. That’s in the Arborstone Apartments off 38th Street and Post Road. No officers were injured. That is the sixth police shooting in Indianapolis this year.
The Yorktown Indiana Chamber is hosting a free Lunch and Learn presented by Tisha Gierhart. The program will be on June 12th from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The workshop will work through scenarios with the goal of having a better understanding of others and ourselves as we interact, connect, and get work done. For more information, visit yorktowninchamber.org.
IU Health will be sponsoring a special presentation at Jay County Public Library on Tuesday June 4th at 6:00 p.m. The presentation is part of their “Seasonal Savor Cooking Series.” Registered dietitian Melissa Kanney will share tips on cooking with fresh produce and demonstrate deconstructed chicken kabobs and a tomato and cucumber salad. The presentation will be in the Community room at the library.
