South Gibson Star-Times

Tuesday, Februar y 14, 2023 South Gibson Star-Times A-2 READER'S GUIDE Subscriptions: Change of address: subscribers changing addresses will please give old address as well as new one along with phone number. We cannot guarantee prompt change unless this is done. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Heartland Media Group, LLC, P.O. Box 275, Fowler, 47944-0275 or email hmgcirculation@gmail.com or call 765-884- 1902. Subscription rates as of Jan. 1, 2023: One year: $42 for Gibson County; $48 elsewhere in Indiana; out- of-state: $63. Paid in advance. Subscriptions tak- en after noon on Friday will not receive a paper un- til the second edition after their subscription date. About us: Published every Tuesday by Heartland Media Group, LLC Phone: 765-884-1902 P.O. Box 275, Fowler, 47944-0275 Entered in the Post Office in Fort Branch, Indiana for transmission through the mails as Periodical Mail, postage paid at Fort Branch, Indiana – published weekly. (USPS 205-620) Contact us: General News ����������������������� editor@sgstartimes.com Advertising �������������������������������ads@sgstartimes.com Sports ����������������������������������� sports@sgstartimes.com Phone: ����������������������������������������������������� 765-884-1902 Obituaries ELIZABETH "BET Ty" MAE SHANKS Elizabeth "Betty" Mae Shanks, 80, of Fort Branch, passed away at Deaconess Gateway Hospital in New- burgh , on Februar y 4, 2023. She was born to the late Mil- lard Lewis and Dorothy (Gilm- ore) Neidlinger on August 19, 1942, in Princeton . Betty was a member of Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Haubstadt . She worked as a hair stylist and in the cafeteria at Princeton Community High School. She enjoyed doing sudoku puzzles and watching the Hallmark channel, but her true joy in life was spending time with her grandchildren and her beloved dog, Rocko. Besides her parents, she is preceded in death by her lov- ing husband of 34 years, Alva Shanks and her brother, Tom- my Lewis, Sr. Betty is sur vived by her 3 children, Kimmie Stratman, Stacey (Jim) Hart, and Dawn Hartig all of Fort Branch ; sib- lings, Vickie (Mike) Spindler of Princeton , Terri (Russel) Hyneman of Haubstadt , Lar- r y (Audrey) Neidlinger of Evansville and Fred (Wanda) Lewis of Star, ID; sister-in-law, Darla J. Lewis of Fort Branch ; 10 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren. Funeral ser vices were Thursday, Feb. 9, at 2 p.m. at Stodghill Funeral Home in Fort Branch with Father Chris Forler as celebrant. Visitation will be on Thursday, Februar y 9, 2023, from noon until ser- vice time at the funeral home. Burial will be at Sts. Peter and Paul Cemeter y. Donations in her honor can be made to the American Cancer Society. Expressions of sympathy can be made at stodghillfuneral- home.com. ELVIR A NORMA KIEFER Elvira Norma Kiefer, 98, for- merly of Fort Branch, passed away on Februar y 9, 2023, at Heritage Center in Evansville. She was born to the late Vic- tor and Emma Lorene (Schul- theis) Meny on Januar y 6, 1925 in Haubstadt. Elvira was a member of Holy Cross Catholic Church, Wom- en's Auxiliar y of the VFW post #2714, Women's Auxiliar y of the American Legion post #194, St. Bernadette Auxiliar y #280 and The Haubstadt Area Historical Society. She was a bookkeeper for Hoosier Cardinal, Meny's Store, and Harr y Martin Oil. In her free time, she loved fam- ily gatherings, traveling, play- ing cards and doing puzzles. Besides her parents, she is preceded in death by her first husband, Jack Kiefer; her second husband, Jack Neidig; Son-In-Law, L yndell Karaff; and her siblings, Mar y Mag- dalen Meny, Kenneth "Bud" Meny, Gerald "Curly" Meny, Dorothy Hamerin, Annalee Lannert, and Imelda Balbach. She is sur vived by her chil- dren, Mar y (Corky) Ruiz of Albuquerque, NM, Howard (Jane Ann) Kiefer of Cynthi- ana, Suzanne Kiefer of Evans- ville, Bridget (Don) Richard- son of Fort Branch, Joyce (Kurt) Veerkamp of Albuquer- que, NM, Keith Kiefer of Fort Branch, and Beth (Neal) Carl- ton of Mebane, NC; siblings, Wilma Reidford of Evansville, Charles (Ross) Meny of Evans- ville, Bernenice Price of Evans- ville, Eugene "Gene" Meny of Haubstadt, and Joanne (Ed) Lamey of Haubstadt; 13 grand- children, and 22 great grand- children. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, Feb- ruar y 23, 2023, at 11 a.m. at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Fort Branch with Father Gar y Kaiser as celebrant. Vis- itation will be on Thursday, Februar y 23, 2023, from 9:00 a.m. until mass time. Burial will be at Holy Cross Ceme- ter y. Donations in her honor can be made to the Hunting- ton's Disease Society of Amer- ica Indiana Chapter, PO Box 40464, Indianapolis 46240. Envelopes will be available at the funeral home. Expressions of sympathy can be made at stodghillfuneralhome.com. SHIRLEy ANN K ASPRZAK Shirley Ann Kasprzak, 73, of Owensville, passed away at her home surrounded by her fami- ly on Februar y 6, 2023. She was born to the late Kel- ly "Carl" and Mar y Lou (Palm- er) Sparacino, on September 14, 1949, in Chicago, Ill. She was catholic in faith. She was a beautician for over 10 years before taking a job at Garofalo's as a meat wrap- per which she did for 15 years until they closed in 1991. She worked for Newly Weds Foods until her retirement in 2016. She loved her "Big Italian" family immensely. She was a ver y strong independent wom- an, she loved hard, she was al- ways willing to help family or friends any way she could with a heart of gold. She loved to dance, in her younger years to the Wipe Out and had a smile so big and beautiful. She could cook feasts like you would not believe. Her cooking was al- ways the best and you would never leave her house hungr y. She will be extremely missed by all. She is sur vived by her daughter, Kelly Kasprzak of Owensville; and many nieces and nephews. Besides her parents, she was preceded in death by her eight siblings, Betty Rutledge, Joe Sparacino, George Spara- cino, Angelo Sparacino, Ger- trude Sparks, Mar y Sparks, Carl Sparacino, and Sam Sparacino. Funeral ser vices were at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Februar y 11, 2023, at Stodghill Funeral Home, with Father Andrew Thomas officiating. Burial was in Owensville Cemeter y. Visitation was from 11 a.m. until ser vice time. Expressions of sym- pathy can be made at stodghillfuneralhome.com. Gibson County Health Dept. Jan. food inspection reports These summaries of the Gibson County Health Depart- ment's inspection reports are made public after restaurants and food stores had 10 days to respond. Re-inspections are done at the inspector's discre- tion. Corrections noted in pa- rentheses were obser ved by the inspector. FOOD INSPECTIONS The Palace Cafe, 124 West State Street, Princeton — Jan. 20 — One Critical Violation — Bare-handed contact with ready to eat food — Two Non-Critical Violations — Chemical spray bottles not marked for contents — Boxes of food stored on floor of walk- in freezer Dollar General Store #16414, 1011 South Main Street, Princeton — Jan. 20 — No violations obser ved Dollar General Store #1156, 901 West Broadway Street, Princeton — Jan. 20 — One Critical Violation — (Re- frigerator holding containers of milk temping at 47-48 de- grees. Milk moved to properly working unit — corrected) Dollar General Store #23137, 5721 East Ind. 64, Francisco — Jan. 25 — No vio- lations obser ved Circle J, 201 West Main Street, Francisco — Jan. 25 — Two Non-Critical Violations — No thermometers in coolers or freezer — Missing/broken ceiling tiles in back storeroom Dollar General Store #21969, 405 West Grave Street, Patoka — Jan. 25 — No violations obser ved Trade-Mart, 502 West Grave Street, Patoka — Jan. 25 — Two Non-Critical Viola- tions — (Reach-in refrigerator holding deli-style sandwiches temped at around 51 degrees — corrected) — Raw chick- en in reach-in refrigerator in kitchen not date marked White River Inn, 301 High- way 56, Hazleton — Jan. 25 — No violations obser ved Arby's #8720, 2000 West Broadway Street, Princeton — Jan. 25 — No violations obser ved Lin's Garden Buffet, 108 West State Street, Princeton — Jan. 25 — No violations obser ved Casey's General Store #2438, 330 South Main Street, Princeton — Jan. 25 — One Non-Critical Violation — Ice cream bars not 6 inches off the floor Johnny B's LLC, 404 West Broadway Street, Princeton — Jan. 27 — Approved to operate Psi Iota Xi news By Jackie Bent Father/Daughter Dance planned for April 1 Zeta Gamma Chapter met at the home of Mo Dix, National President, on Tuesday, Feb. 7. Eight members were present with President Lesa Bond lead- ing the opening verse. Minutes were read and approved. Jack- ie Bent reported cards were sent to Sandy Birch, Debi Phillips, Laura Auxier, Margie Beal, and Linda Hensley. Sandy Birch reported on the upcoming Father/Daugh- ter Dance. The date is set for Saturday April 1 at the Fort Branch Community School Gym. Time for the event is 5:30 to 8 p.m. Dads and Daugh- ters will receive a picture, light refreshments, a gift for the daughter with music furnished by DJ Randy Weber. Make your reser vations through Event Brite. Dix reported on the 2023 National Psi Iota Xi Conven- tion. Lisa Dunkel and several members worked and com- pleted the table favors for the convention. Raffle items are being prepared as items come in. Registration packets will be sent to all chapters by March 1. Approximately 300 ladies will be attending the conven- tion to be held at the Old Na- tional Events Plaza. Double Tree Hotel will be hosting the chapters. Dawn brought the auction item won by Jan Schmitt. The next meeting will be the March Social on Tues- day, March 7 at the home of Jackie Bent. Social committee will prepare the meal. Trenda Ridge has the auction item. I would like to tell you that the story ended well, but the valuable time lost bypassing the bridge now led to dark- ness and the loss of invalu- able air support against the en- emy. Friendly aviators could no longer protect the convoy and were forced to helplessly watch as the convoy continued to be battered along its way. As the number of vehicles in the convoy dwindled (ultimate- ly to about 15), many soldiers deserted the convoy and ran for personal safety. Sgt. Garrigus however, committed to the mission, re- fused to join them. Sometime around midnight, the lead convoy truck was hit by tre- mendous machine gun fire, disabling it and blocking the road, essentially dooming the convoy. Garrigus died at the wheel of his truck of enemy fire and the entire convoy was eventually overrun. By war's end in July of 1953, Garrigus and more than 54,000 other American troops would die in defense of free- dom in a faraway land that ma- ny today could never find on a map. To compound the col- lective Garrigus family heart- break for the loss of their be- loved Charles, his body was not recovered. His grief-strick- en parents would never again see him. For his heroic actions during those five fateful days in 1950, Garrigus was posthu- mously awarded our nation's second highest military hon- or, the Distinguished Service Cross. For those unfamiliar, this medal ranks second only to the Medal of Honor. In a ceremony at the Princ- eton Armory (now the Gib- son County Youth Center on S. Hart St.), on December 8, 1951, Garrigus' parents, Glad- ys and Charles Garrigus Sr., were presented the medal on his behalf. The accompa- nying citation read in part… "His valorous conduct and consummate devotion to du- ty were an inspiration to his comrades and reflect utmost credit on himself and the hon- ored traditions of the military service." It is with great joy though that I can tell you Charles' re- mains were eventually locat- ed, identified, and will be re- turned to Indiana for a hero's burial. Immediately following the June 2018 summit between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un, the North Kore- an government returned to the United States 55 boxes pur- ported to contain the human remains of American war ca- sualties. Those remains were moved to Joint Base Pearl Har- bor-Hickam, Hawaii where scientists began the pains- taking process of identifying them. Four long years later, on August 2, 2022, Charles Garri- gus was positively accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. He will be returned to Indi- ana and will receive the mil- itary honors he so justly de- serves at a burial service scheduled for March 10, 2023 at Greenwood, Indiana, the home of his last remaining sibling. His selfless service to our nation will forever be memori- alized on the Korean War mon- ing families to ser ve them. An even greater concern is high- lighted by Billy Flynn of Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition. "….nationally, more than half of foster parents quit foster- ing within the first year, with another significant dip in the second year. No matter how many wonderful families step up with big hearts and good intentions, it will never be enough to meet the demand if only 40 percent continue after the first year." Foster families are the first line of attack to help reverse the over whelming risk factors for the children in their care. They help heal trauma, shift paradigms, and introduce new dreams, hopes, and possibili- ties that these children might other wise never consider for their futures. When we improve the care given to children in need of foster care, we change many challenging statistics for our communities. "Under-ser ved children in foster care are more likely to require welfare assistance as adults and con- tribute to statistical risk factors such as unplanned pregnancy, single parenthood, and home- lessness." said Mauriell Ame- chi, founder of Foster Youth Empowered. Duke Energy's support lets ever y child in need of foster care know that their commu- nity sees their potential as so much greater than their cir- cumstances. Any questions may be di- rected by email to Marcia@ TheIsaiah117Project.org. We have been able to thor- oughly review the camera sys- tem. The individual entered the door of the FACS [Fam- ily and Consumer Sciences] room. He was in the kitchen and then left. He re-entered the same door a second time. He never left the area he en- tered. The room is 3 separate spaces and the one he entered had no one in the room and the door was shut. The teach- er was notified that a person was seen through a door win- dow and the individual had left before the staff could see him. He was in his car in the park- ing lot at this point as seen by the staff member. A staff member approached his car to determine why he was in the parking lot. The staff called 911 as the per- son drove away and he reen- tered our front parking lot and was met by police. He was de- tained and later taken by am- bulance for evaluation. The door had been checked by an SRO [School Resource Officer] the previous Thurs- day and was locked at the time. The door was inspected after the entry by the custodi- an and had a broken lock and was fixed and locked again by a custodian yesterday and is locked today. We are having a professional go through the door lock to ensure it is func- tioning properly and remains locked. We met this morning to re- view the steps that were tak- en and how the incident re- sponse could be improved. We do this after any issue with security. The schools' lockdown protocols were re- viewed and addressed and changes were made. Yester- day teachers were instruct- ed to keep students in the school until released by the administration for dismissal. Moving forward we will im- plement the appropriate lock- down protocol. We will also continue to work to get infor- mation out as quickly as pos- sible. The school resource of- ficer program is a priority for all concerned. The availabili- ty of off-duty officers is limit- ed due to staffing issues in law enforcement. The South Gib- son School Board and Gibson County Sheriff's department are committed to the SRO pro- gram and supporting schools with SROs. We have been and will continue to work towards SROs in our schools. While we are not pleased with the event yesterday, we will continue to seek avenues to ensure the safety of stu- dents and staff." Do you have a coming community event? Send the details to editor@sgstartimes.com THIS WEEK Merit board meets today The 2023 meetings of the Gibson County Sheriff's Mer- it Board are at 12:30 p.m., the second Tuesday of ever y month the Gibson County Community Corrections Con- ference Room, located at 112 E. Emerson Street, Princeton. FBCS Winter Concert is Thursday Ever yone is invited to attend the Winter Concert at Fort Branch Community School on Thursday, Feb. 16 at 6 p.m. in the school gymnasium. The theme is "Winter Wonderland." There will be performances by stu- dents in kindergarten, second and fourth grade as well as the middle school choir and the Bells of Harmony English Handbell Choir. The elementar y classes, middle school choir and the Bells of Harmony are under the direction of Mr. Derek K. Barton. VFW announces events VFW Auxiliar y will ser ve breakfast on the second Satur- day of the month through March. Ever yone welcome, call 812-753-4161 for carr youts. Ser ving sausage links, scram- bled eggs, hash browns, biscuits and gravy and a beverage for $9.00. Treasure Hunt ever y Monday with the drawing at 7 PM with jackpot over $29,000 and kitchen is open from 4-7pm with weekly specials. Watch for VFW kitchen specials on Facebook. Taco Tuesdays, specials on Thursday and Fridays from 4-7 pm. VFW Auxiliar y will have their annual Mardi Gras party on Februar y 25 open to the public. Food, live music, bead contest and fun starting at 5 p.m. MARCH EVENTS Journey Men's meal coming up The Journey Men's group of Holy Cross, Fort Branch will host their annual fish fr y on Friday, March 3 between 4 and 6 p.m. for Alaskan pollock, macaroni and cheese, green beans, slaw, and cornbread. Dine-In and Carr y-Out options available. Holy Cross School, 202 S. Church St., Fort Branch. Daughters of the American Revolution to meet March 4 The General John Gibson Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution will meet on Saturday, March 4, at 1:00 pm, at the Hazleton Community Church, for their monthly meeting. Bulletin HERO Continued from page 1 DUKE Continued from page 1 SCARE Continued from page 1

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