Painting the town

Thumbs up to the 13 students at Trinity Lutheran High School who recently spent about three hours painting a spring theme on downtown storefronts in Seymour. While serving as a fundraiser for the school’s Art Club, the Paint the Town event was designed to brighten up the storefronts and help people feel the joy of spring and Easter.

Qualified

Thumbs up to the Immanuel Lutheran School robotics team of eighth-grader Lauren Bode and her brother, sixth-grader Daniel Bode, and the Seymour Middle School team of seventh-graders Micah Yee and Nikita Cox for qualifying for the VEX Robotics World Championship that starts May 3 and ends May 12 in Dallas, Texas. The Bodes advanced after placing 10th in the state contest in Indianapolis, and Yee and Cox also had a strong showing at state and rank in the top 2.135% in the world for skills and programming.

A related thumbs up to the Trinity Lutheran High School robotics team of Simeon Bauman, Preston Kovener and Conner Sims who advanced to the world championship at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. Because of prior commitments, Bauman is the only one of the trio who will able to head to Dallas. Some of his younger teammates, however, may be making the trip to assist him.

Good Samaritans

Thumbs up to passersby who help people in need after they have been involved in crashes.

On a mission

Thumbs up to the group of volunteers from Brownstown Christian Church who recently traveled to the Bluegrass State to do their part to help three families in Benton, Kentucky, rebuild their homes after a tornado devastated the area Dec. 10. The mission work included hanging drywall, pouring concrete, painting, picking up trash and demolishing parts of one house for reconstruction.

Scholarly

Thumbs up to everyone who contributed to the inaugural Jackson County FFA Scholarship Dinner on April 2 at the Seymour Ag-Science and Research Farm in Seymour. The event raised about $18,000 for a scholarship endowment at the Community Foundation of Jackson County. The scholarship is designed to help members of the Brownstown Central, Crothersville, Medora, Seymour and Trinity Lutheran FFA chapters who plan to continue their education after high school and recognize them for their efforts in FFA.

Earning a workout

Thumbs up to Trinity Lutheran High School guard Bailey Tabeling, who was recently invited to the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association’s Top 100 workout following her junior year. Tabeling averaged 18 points this past season to help lead the Cougars to a sectional title. She also led the Cougars in rebounds (7.8), assists (4.7), steals (3.0) and blocks (1.4). Tabeling now has 1,583 points through her junior year at Trinity and ranks third on the school’s career scoring list.

Accountability

Thumbs down to motorists who leave the scene after being involved in a crash instead of staying to take responsibility for their actions.