The Press-Dispatch

April 11, 2018

The Press-Dispatch

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The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, April 11, 2018 C-11 EAST GIBSON NEWS Submit school news: Email: egnews@ pressdispatch.net Deadline: Noon on Friday SENOR PRIDE DAY Senior Pride Day has been scheduled for Friday, May 4, 2018. This day has been set aside to allow our seniors to give-back to their school-community, by par- ticipating in a number of campus improvement proj- ects. Senior students should pick up a permission form from the high school office and return prior to April 27, 2018. MAKE UP DAYS In order to make up the four (4) days of missed school, due to the recent winter weather, our schools will be in session on the fol- lowing dates: Saturday, April 14, 2018 (Virtu- al Learning); Wednesday, May 23; Thursday, May 24; Friday, May 25. The second semester is now scheduled to end on May 25. OPEN OFFICE SESSIONS Once again this year, I will be utilizing a collabora- tive opportunity for all mem- bers – students, staff, par- ents, guardians, and commu- nity members – of the Wood Memorial School Communi- ty. With this said, I believe to be most effective with the development and growth of our students it is imperative that every stakeholder of Wood Memorial have an op- portunity to collaborate and provide input in any area/ aspect of interest involving our school(s) they may have. Thus, I will conduct month- ly "Open Office" sessions, fo- cused on providing time for GOT SCHOOL NEWS? Email: egnews@pressdispatch.net Wood Memorial CALENDAR Wednesday, April 11 Harmony Users Conference, French Lick, 8 a.m. HS Student Council Meeting, 12:15 p.m. WMJHS Spirit Club Meeting, 3:30 p.m. Golf vs. Vincennes Lincoln, 4:30 p.m. Tennis vs. Washington Catholic, 4:30 p.m. Softball vs. Tell City, 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 12 Prom Committee Meeting, 7:30 a.m. Spring Pictures, 2:30 p.m. Tennis at Tecumseh, 4:30 p.m. JHS Coed Track at North Posey, 5 p.m. Friday, April 13 Baseball at Dugger Union, 5 p.m. Spring Drama Performance, 7 p.m. Saturday, April 14 Virtual Learning – Snow Make Up Day, 9 a.m. – Noon Baseball at Evansville Bosse Invita- tional Tennis at Mount Vernon, 9 a.m. Spring Drama Performance, 2 p.m. Spring Drama Performance, 7 p.m. ADDITIONAL DATE OF NOTE Bass Fishing Registration for Patoka Contest, March 22 – April 15 WMJHS Spirt Club Meeting, April 11 Prom Committee Meeting, April 12 Spring Drama Performance, April 13 ISTAR, April 16 – May 18, ISTEP Part 2, April 16 – May 4 Area Academic Bowl, April 17 HS Student Council Meeting, April 18 WMJHS Spirit Meeting, April 18 Prom Committee Meeting, April 19 Student Advisory Council Meeting, April 19 Ivy Tech High School Night, 6 - 8 p.m., April 19 PLC – Staff Development, April 20 NHS Volunteer Day – New Lake, April 20 Reconnecting Youth Field Trip, April 20 Go Ivy Day, April 20 Indiana Bass Nation High School Event, Patoka Lake, April 22 ECA – Spring, April 23 – May 25, Jostens – Class of 2019 Announce- ment Selection, April 25 HS Student Council Meeting, April 25 WMJHS Spirit Club Meeting, April 25 Prom Committee Meeting, April 26 Music Department Awards Banquet, April 27 First Annual Walk for Child Abuse Prevention, April 30 Gibson County Department of Child Services, Princeton Courthouse Square, 1:30 p.m. Indiana Bass Nation High School Event, Brookville, May 6 Physics AP Assessment, May 8 English 12 AP Assessment, May 9 Senior Honors Night, 6 p.m., May 10 US History AP Assessment, May 11 Calculus AP Assessment, May 15 High School Chemistry Lab Day, at Vincennes University, May 16 English 11 AP Assessment, May 16 JHS Awards Day, May 24 End of 2018 School Year, May 25 2018 Graduation, May 25 With low unemployment, finding adult caregivers becomes more difficult By Janice Barniak Low unemployment and stagnant Medicaid reim- bursement rates have led to challenges in recruiting car- egivers to work in transition- al homes for adults with dis- abilities who want to be inte- grated into the community. Breeanna Goldsberry is a manager for the com- munity integration waiver homes with the ARC of Gib- son County, which has add- ed three waiver homes to its rolls since August. She said, right now, she could open three more homes for six to 12 adults if they could find caregivers to assist the adults who want to live more independently. A waiver home is a step up from a group home in offer- ing freedom to adults with disabilities—giving them a chance to pick their own roommates and set their own goals and schedules in a way group homes don't al- low. In Gibson County, though, it's become more difficult than ever to recruit caregiv- ers, because as unemploy- ment in the county drops to record lows, ARC is compet- ing with other local, high- er-paid industries for work- ers, even as the company can only offer as payment the amount Medicaid offers for caregiving—a rate that hasn't changed since 2010. Director of Marketing Melissa Walden said that's a problem because the econ- omy was at a very different place in 2010, the tail end of the recession, than it is now. The work, though, is ful- filling, and the women say the independence offered by waiver homes is something they see benefiting their cli- ents every day, and benefit- ing the community, too, as it draws attention to stere- otypes of what people with disabilities can do for them- selves. "People with disabilities want to be integrated into the community," said Golds- berry. Walden added that they also want to be treat- ed like everyone else. For example, some people don't realize that people with dis- abilities are allowed to have the same rights, for exam- ple, to vote in the elections or to make their own deci- sions. People have called ARC to report things like a client riding a bicycle by them- selves, or smoking (while above the age of 18), or re- porting them even standing outside their own house. "They're allowed to do all those things," Walden said. People have asked if the clients live at the ARC workplace. When the cli- ents go out, they get stares and occasionally people re- spond to them in a way they would never respond to a ful- ly-abled person. For example, she said people might walk up to a developmentally disabled client who is shopping and hug them out of the blue, then wonder why they re- spond with confusion or an- ger, which she said is a nat- ural reaction. They also face a stereo- type that they are cheerful all the time, when they have good and bad days like any- one, Walden said. "We have someone who can count out her own change when she's in the checkout line, and some- times people will be impa- tient or will walk up and try to do it for her. You wouldn't walk up to any other per- son and try to count their money, but people think it's ok to do that to them. That makes her feel like less of a person," Walden said. With waiver houses, peo- ple in the community get an opportunity to become neighbors with people who have disabilities, even as those people set goals for independent living. One client, for exam- ple, wanted to live with his friends after living his entire life with his parents. Now his mother is surprised he does the dishes every night with his roommates—some- thing she had always done for him before. The clients are coming not just from family homes, but from institutional set- tings and group homes, both of which are far more struc- tured. Clients might set goals like tying their shoes, sweeping weekly or micro- waving their own food. "It's the least restrictive measure within which we can provide service," she said. "If they want to come home and take their shoes off and sit on the couch, they can do that." They also choose their roommates, and many have jobs, with ARC's enclave in Toyota, for example. They have a lease in their names and pay their own bills. One group is in the middle of planning a Wrestlemania party for their friends, she said. "When you're with them, in some ways it's like any group of guys hanging out, talking about wrestling or basketball," Goldsberry said. "You wouldn't know they were disabled unless maybe you ask one to read something and he can't." Many of the adults volun- teer for causes like the Toot- sie Roll Drive and Reindeer Runs, or participate in Spe- cial Olympics. Goldsberry is hoping more people will step up to work as caregivers, which she said is a great job, for people in their 40s or 50s whose children have grown. Parents are well-suited to the job, she said, because like parenting, the end goal is to help and teach another person be independent. The staff members drive the clients anywhere they want to go, from the Dream Car museum to Holiday World. "It takes a special person to do this," Goldsberry said. "It's a very rewarding job, and it can be fun. You don't always know what you're going to do. You might be bowling, grocery shopping, going to the movies, or hav- ing lunch. It's not glorified babysitting." The caregivers who work in the field get to be friends and companions more than they might in other settings, and the caregiving varies depending on what the cli- ents need—some have just physical issues, other have developmental. "The end goal is com- munity integration. If you see our consumers, say "hi," be their friends. They just want to be treated like everyone else," Goldsberry said. "I take my daughter to the homes at times, so Ella knows all consumers. She said to me, 'they're just peo- ple too mom.' My three year old gets that. I wish every- one could." Bill Earles washes dishes with his roommates at the community integration waiver home, where he lives with assisted independence. Audiences say 'I do' to weekend's comedy Set in the lobby of a wed- ding reception hall in the 1970s, Kiss the Bride pre- miered this weekend at the Princeton Theatre and Community Center, bring- ing audiences a madcap comedy that puts the shot- gun into wedding. The lead character Stan, played by Rod Vickers, on- ly wants to leave the wed- ding his wife dragged him to after the groom mis- takes him for the coat- check man and keeps winking at him. Unknown to him, the groom, played by Kody Koberstein, believes he's signaling the assassin the groom hired to kill his very rich bride after the wed- ding. The ensuing farce of mistaken identities and mounting missteps puts the "hit" in "hitman" as the audience watches the real contract killers, mul- tiple brides, and poor so- cially-awkward Stan try to get through the wed- ding where everyone is re- quired to "kiss the bride." Vickers, in the lead, is acting under the direction of his son, Logan Vickers, who is also known to South Gibson locals as a member of the team working at R'z Cafe and Catering. Celeste Walker, play- ing his wife, teaches sev- enth grade social studies at Princeton Community Middle School, while the Rev. Robin Overby plays the inept hitman, whose back often fails him. Haub- stadt's Maria Weaver plays his wife, a sassy moll with morals. Kody Koberstein plays the plotting husband of the rich bride, played by Lori Lloyd, who is from Fran- cisco and works at Toyota Tshusho. US Army Veteran Chris- topher MacKay plays the detective who attempts to sort out the mess, with fur- ther cast that includes Gen- nie Adams, Aaron Weeks, Rex Charles, Rachel Jen- kins, Grace Luttrell, Aa- din Lovett, Gavin Eddings, Holli Nelson, Nick Deffen- dall, Carsten Cutsinger, Gary Schmidt and Terra Schmidt. For those who missed the opening weekend, the production continues at 7 p.m. April 13-14 and at 2 p.m. April 15. Lori Lloyd's character tells Rod Vickers, playing the comedic lead, that everyone has to "kiss the bride" in the 1970's-era production continuing this weekend at Princeton Theatre and Community Center. Wood Memorial's Kilian named IBCA Administrator of the Year in District 3 Wood Memorial Ju- nior-Senior High School athletic director Steve Kilian has been named the 2018 Indiana Basket- ball Coaches Associa- tion's Administrator of the Year for District 3. Kilian – along with Middlebury Community Schools superintendent Jane Allen, the District 1 honoree, and Beech Grove City Schools' direc- tor of transportation Steve Cox, the District 2 hon- oree – will be presented with plaques recognizing them for their support of programs at their schools during a ceremony on Friday, April 20, during the IBCA's annual clinic at Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis. Kilian is completing his 16th year as athletic direc- tor at Wood Memorial Ju- nior-Senior High School and his 39th year on staff at Wood Memorial High School. In 2013, Kilian was named the District 6 Ju- nior High/Middle School athletic director of the year by the Indiana In- terscholastic Athletic Ad- ministrators Association. He was also named the IIA A A Junior High/Mid- dle School athletic direc- tor of the year for the state of Indiana in 2013. Kilian graduated from Jasper High School in 1975. He then attended Indiana State University and graduated in 1979. He received his master's de- gree from Indiana State in 1984. A fter college, Kilian was hired as a teacher and coach at Wood Me- morial High School. He was head football coach for 12 years. He also was the boys' basketball coach for four years, guiding the Trojans to a 34-60 mark from 2008 -12 that includ- ed a Class A sectional ti- tle in 2011. Kilian also was the school's baseball coach previously for 13 years. Recently, he came back to coach baseball again and has been the Trojans' baseball coach for the past three years. Kilian and his wife, Ju- dy, are the parents of five adult children. They al- so have seven grandchil- dren. such collaboration to occur. I encourage you to come meet anytime to review items of interest you may have. You may schedule a meeting by calling 812-749 - 4757 and requesting a time. In keeping with the theme of collaboration and com- munication, I want to invite Wood Memorial stakehold- ers to follow the happenings at the junior high and high school by joining us on twit- ter at WMTrojans1.

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