March Madness…Tribune style
March 26th, 2008, 2:17 pm · Post a Comment · posted by journalismrookie
It’s been about a month since I last blogged, so I figured I’d take a few minutes to share some of the things I’ve been up to. The month of March sure has been a busy one, but to me, that’s a good thing. I like staying busy.
To kick off the month, the Lutheran schools in Jackson County celebrated National Lutheran Schools Week March 3-8. Immanuel Lutheran, Lutheran Central, Trinity Lutheran High School and St. John’s Sauers all had activities planned throughout the week. I picked three things to go to. The first was the class cheering competition at Immanuel on Monday. About 17 classes participated and were judged on whose presentation was the best. It was neat to see the different creative things the kids came up with. There were several somersaults, three kids went airborne and were twirled above their classmates, among other things.
On Tuesday, I went over to Brownstown as LCS seventh-graders visited St. Peter’s Preschool as their community service project. Each class had a particular project to do as they visited nursing homes and other locations in town. Later that afternoon, TLHS students visited nursing homes, grade schools and Camp Lakeview to spend some time with kids and the elderly. Serving community and having pride in the opportunity to attend a Lutheran school are two main reasons for the specially-designated week.
The Seymour High School Music Department staged “Beauty and the Beast” as its spring musical. I had the opportunity to attend one of their dress rehearsals early in the month before their performances on March 7 and 9. I have covered the music and choir departments on several occasions and have been equally impressed each time. The students seem genuinely interested in it and are serious about it, and they still find time to have fun with it. “Beauty and the Beast” was no different. The stage designs and the costumes they were able to get were perfect and it really made things stand out. I was able to talk to several of the cast members and also snap some pictures. I will say I was totally impressed with everything. Also, January Wetzel reported on Brownstown Central’s production of “High School Musical.” She, too, got some great photos and wrote up a nice story after having the chance to talk with the cast. Great work to all of these students, directors and volunteers for keeping music and fine arts in the schools and producing a nice show for the school and public to enjoy.
Eleven inches of snow hit the area on March 6, causing schools to close or delay and making a messy situation on the roads. But with schools out, kids got their sleds and headed outside, including Burkart Boulevard hill, and also played in the snow or built a snowman. People also made a trip to the grocery store to stock up on the usual essentials. Reporter Jill Treadway and I got out and got some photos and video. And yes, it was really cold to be doing that, but we had a job to do. The snow canceled things Friday and Saturday. It was my weekend to work, but the scheduled things I was supposed to cover got canceled. So, free weekend for me.
On the morning of March 11, four doctorate students from Indiana University visited Medora Junior-Senior High School for an African studies outreach program. It was a very interesting presentation and display put on by the students. They shared information about Africa’s demographics, language, culture, dancing, clothing and more. It was a good thing for the kids to be involved in as they got to learn and do the gumboot dance and also try on African clothing. Some of the kids even made some African food to serve to the IU students and their fellow classmates. I was very impressed with it all and the students really seemed to enjoy it. It’s nice to see the IU students taking the time to share their relation to Africa (because each of them were from different African countries) and their knowledge on their respective subject.
On March 14, the grand opening was held for the Aisin Holdings of America Inc. Human Resources Development Center. It’s a new center adjacent to Aisin Holdings of America, and just down the road from Aisin USA in Seymour. The new center will be a learning and training facility featuring three state-of-the-art classrooms as well as a skills training area. The skills training area will be a place for others to come in and experience a “simulation of the shop floor.” President of AHA and the president of Aisin’s base plant in Japan were on hand for the ceremony, and they presented a $10,000 donation to the Jackson County Public Library.
That is one thing that has impressed me about Aisin. I attended the grand opening of Aisin Chemical Indiana LLC in Crothersville last year, and it was sort of the same scenario. There, they made a similar donation to the Town of Crothersville and Crothersville Community Schools. I think it’s amazing what Aisin has done for Jackson County. Not only have they provided jobs to people in the county and area with Aisin USA in Seymour and Aisin Chemical and Aisin Drivetrain in Crothersville, but they have provided an economic advantage for the county. Aisin’s business with the county is definitely a good thing, and I think of all places they could choose, they stick with Jackson County. That has a lot to do with local leaders’ efforts as well as Jim Plump’s efforts with Jackson County Industrial Development Corp. in getting companies to the county.
Continuing with successful business in Jackson County, Cerro Wire and Cable Co. Inc. was awarded the Indiana Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program award from the Indiana Department of Labor on March 17 at the plant. It’s a distinct honor, because of the 130,000 employers in Indiana, less than 20 have worked toward this award and earned it. What was neat about this ceremony is that all 93 employees got to attend the ceremony. And they deserved that. Through their dedication toward safety, they earned this and they were really the reason Cerro Wire was getting the award. So great work to all of them, and I’m sure the safe working habits will continue.
On March 18 at Seymour High School, the Taste of Home Cooking School was presented to the public. People here at The Tribune worked hard to pull this all together, and many vendors/sponsors took part in the event. Booths were lined along the hallways of the school and into the cafeteria, handing out and/or selling things, before everyone headed into the auditorium where culinary specialist Dana Elliott prepared and cooked up nine dishes. I took photos and some video of all of the action and January Wetzel wrote up a story. It all turned out to be a very successful show and we got some great feedback from it. I was impressed with how Elliott presented the cooking and interspersed humor throughout.
Finally, Freetown Elementary had a career day and celebration on March 20 after the school received the Four Star School award. This is the second time for FES to receive the great honor. All students gathered in the school’s gym for career day in the afternoon to listen to guest speaker Lee Eldridge, news director at WAVE 3 News in Louisville. He shared his story of how he got to where he is with his job, and what he is responsible for. The kids then got to ask him questions. Many were kind of funny questions not related to his job, but then there were a few asking about what he does. Then, the students headed over to the Freetown Community Center for a celebration with refreshments, cornhole, sandy candy making, coloring, face painting and they had the opportunity to release some energy by jumping in one of the inflatables. It was nice to see the school let all students join in and celebrate all of their hard work. Plus, you have to credit the principal, teachers, community and volunteers from the school for having a hand in the award. Congratulations to all at Freetown.
Wow…I think that’s about it. Of course, there were some other things that came along the way, but this is a good recap for you. I continue to enjoy the stories I get to do, and I enjoy meeting all of the people out there. Let me know if you ever think of something that would be of good news or feature value to our newspaper. I’d be glad to talk with you about it.
I think a majority of the “March Madness” is done as the month of March comes to a wrap.
Until next time…
