Members of the Columbus Meridian Kiwanis Club recently visited Karsen Allman’s home to assemble a Rifton adaptive bicycle, two rocking chairs and a firepit. From left are Allman, Mike Kell, Lyle Leitholt, Doug Stinder, Jeff Blasdel and John Asel.
Submitted photo
Granting a wish
Thumbs up to Jessica McBride with Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana for helping make Karsen Allman’s wish a reality. The 17-year-old girl has Angelman syndrome, a rare neuro-genetic disorder that occurs in one in 15,000 live births or 500,000 people worldwide and is caused by a loss of function of the UBE3A gene in the 15th chromosome derived from the mother, according to angelman.org. A patio was added to the back of her family’s Seymour home, and an adaptive tricycle, two rocking chairs and a fire pit were assembled to complete the backyard makeover. A related thumbs up to Chandler Christopher for creating the patio and the five members of the Columbus Meridian Kiwanis Club who volunteered their time to assemble the tricycle, rocking chairs and firepit for Karsen and her family. The Kiwanis Club members helping out were Mike Kell, Lyle Leitholt, Doug Stinder, Jeff Blasdel and John Asel.
Promoting patriotism
Thumbs up to the Columbus City Band for making its annual trek to Brownstown on Sunday to provide a patriotic concert. The band’s roster includes talented musicians from Jackson County. If you missed the performance, the band — chartered by the Bartholomew County Commissioners in 1847 — also will perform a free concert at 7:30 p.m. July 26 in the pavilion at the Jackson County Fair in Brownstown.
Top administrators
Thumbs up to the two Jackson County administrators who will be recognized later this year by the Indiana Association of School Principals for being outstanding school leaders for 2022. They are Daniel Mendez, principal of Seymour Middle School, and Chrystal Street, former principal of Brownstown Elementary School and current superintendent of Crothersville Community School Corp. Mendez was recognized as the 2022 Middle School Principal of the Year for District 9, which includes Bartholomew, Brown, Jackson, Johnson, Lawrence, Monroe and Morgan counties, while Street was recognized as the District 9 Elementary School Principal of the Year. Each year, the association recognizes educational leaders acknowledged and elected by their peers for the exemplary contributions they have made to the profession.
Raising fun — and money
Thumbs up to the organizers of the 17th annual Cars and Guitars event held Saturday in downtown Seymour and those who brought the 200 or so vehicles of various makes and models for car lovers to see. Proceeds from Cars and Guitars are used to purchase handicap-accessible playground equipment for Seymour parks. Over the years, more than $90,000 has been raised to buy equipment.