Finishing a dream
Thumbs-up to officials with the Jackson County Learning Center and all of the volunteers who worked to ensure that a project to build a shelter house for students at the center became a reality. The late Aaron Greathouse of Seymour had proposed and designed the shelter house and planned to raise funds to build it before he died in a wreck Oct. 18 near Brownstown. A related thumbs-up goes to those who contributed materials or donated money for the project.CaringThumbs-up to the 1,000-plus volunteers who gave of their time to work the 160-plus projects for the 20th annual Jackson County United Way Day of Caring. Many of those projects would not have been completed any time soon without Day of Caring.
Making an impact
Thumbs-up to Seymour High School senior Jacob Wieneke, who recently decided to give his kindergarten teacher, Daphne Waskom, an unexpected gift — a quilt her mother had made when Wieneke was a student in her class in 2003-04 at Seymour-Redding Elementary School. During a school auction that year, Wieneke won that quilt, which incorporated pictures he and the other 44 students in Waskom’s morning and afternoon classes had drawn. Wieneke said he decided to return the quilt to Waskom because of the impact she had made on his life.
Top nurses
Thumbs-up to Teresa Smith of Columbus for being recognized as Registered Nurse of the Year by Schneck Medical Center and a related thumbs-up to the other nurses at the Seymour hospital who received awards May 10 during a National Nurses Week recognition ceremony. They were Venetia Green, Nurse Leader of the Year; Christine Prentice, Licensed Practical Nurse of the Year; and Anita Collins, Advanced Practice Nurse of the Year.
Celebrating diversity
Thumbs-up to Southern Indiana Center for the Arts for organizing the second Cinco de Mayo Fiesta on May 5 and the Latino Council of Jackson County for organizing the third annual Hispanic Mother’s Day program on May 6 at Seymour-Jackson Elementary School. Both events were designed to promote diversity.
Under construction
Thumbs-down to motorists who ignore and even move barricades at construction sites, including those at the now demolished Sand Creek bridge on U.S. 31 at the Jackson County line with Bartholomew County. They not only put their own lives at risk, but the lives of other motorists who might follow them.