Indiana Department of Transportation press release
The Indiana Department of Transportation will be closing Indiana 252 (Fourth Street) between U.S. 52/Main St and Mill St in Brookville beginning in the afternoon on Wednesday, August 11.
The road will be closed for approximately four days while crews install drainage pipes/inlets due to issues with the fill under the road. A full road closure is needed for the safety of crews and the motoring public.
Drivers should seek an alternate route. The official detour will follow U.S. 52, Ohio 128 and Ohio 126.
Donna Shirley (Davis) Stevens, age 92, passed away peacefully on August 6, 2021. A Union County native, she was born March 3,1929, to Robert and Mary Davis. On August 21,1948, she married Dale Spencer Stevens at Hanna’s Creek Christian Church. They were married nearly 72 years.
Donna obtained a Licensed Practical Nursing degree at Reid Hospital. For many years she was the LPN with the medical practice of Dr. James Lewis of Liberty. Subsequently, she held the same position with his son, Dr. Jim Lewis, of Richmond.
She enjoyed music, including singing with the Sweet Adelines, with church choirs at Hanna’s Creek Church, as well as Edwards Memorial Methodist Church. She also played piano and organ for both.
In the early 1970s, she earned a private pilot’s license, and enjoyed years of flying with Dale in their Cessna to many locations throughout the country. It truly was an exciting and adventurous time in their lives.
Donna had a passion for growing all things green, especially African violets and orchids, in the greenhouse Dale built for her. Sewing and quilting were favored hobbies. In recent years, she knitted more than 200 baby hats, which she donated to McCullough Hyde hospital in Oxford, Ohio.
Donna is survived by two daughters, Connie (Charles) Maples of Connersville and Linda (Ronald) Coleman of Ocala, Florida; two grandchildren, Dr, Holly Maples of Little Rock, Arkansas and Karina (Matt) Hinton of Flemingsburg, Kentucky; two great grandsons, Wyatt and Shelby Hinton; two brothers, Gary (LuAnn) Davis and Neil (Joy) Davis; and a sister, Sandra Wehrley; a kind and loving caregiver, Kathy (Bob) Burkhead.
In addition to her parents, Donna was preceded in death by her husband Dale in April 2020; a brother, Duane Davis; a sister, Sharon LaFuze; and a brother-in-law, Darrell Wehrley.
Visitation will be held on Thursday, August 12, 2021, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Urban Winkler Liberty Funeral Home, 310 N. Main St., Liberty, Indiana 47353. A brief memorial service will begin at 3 p.m. at the funeral home. A graveside service for family and friends will immediately follow at the Stevens Memorial on Kitchel Road.
Memorial contributions may be made to Edwards Memorial Methodist Church of Liberty.
To sign the online guestbook or to leave the family a personal message visit www.urbanwinklerfuneralhome.com.
My son is twenty-six and still lives at home. Why doesn’t he want to have his own life?
A:
There are numerous frustrated parents who are scratching their heads with the same dilemma these days. While I don’t know every detail of your son’s world or yours, after decades of ministry and close-observation of family dynamics, I’ll share what I know.
To be clear, yours is not a case of a young adult who, by means of a job-loss, business failure (Covid) or other catastrophic circumstance like divorce or death of a spouse, returned to the homestead to recover and begin again. It’s important to identify these two very different scenarios: one person is seeking temporary shelter from a storm, the other is simply refusing to grow up.
Most of the time, a grown man or woman doesn’t leave the nest because someone in that nest makes it too comfortable. Why would they leave when their food, car, housing, utilities, insurance…all the luxuries of adulthood that most people work hard to attain and maintain, are provided for them? Confused momma-birds often call this “parenting.” After all, we are supposed to provide for our children as best we can, right? Yes, but after a certain age, enablement sets in. Enablement spawns a vulnerable, weak individual who is missing vital tools with which to build a good life on their own.
Enablement stunts the growth of a person and stands in the way of God. It also stifles a person’s understanding of the world; what is expected of them and how they must contribute. Plainly put, we would all love for someone to take care of everything we need; hand us money to shop and entertain ourselves; never require participation in our own existence while providing us with comfortable room and board. Yet most people would quickly tire of the boredom, lack of accomplishment and the aching omission an identity. The “what am I here for,” “what am I good for” questions fog-horn out of the confusing haze of a worthless life on easy-street. Grandmothers of another generation agreed, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop; idle lips are his mouthpiece” (Proverbs 16:27, TLB.) In other words, we get ourselves into trouble when we don’t have a purpose. Human beings were designed by God to work, to accomplish, to build and create. How do we know? Because we are all made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27) and this is what our heavenly Father is like—it’s what he does. He’s The Creator. A spoiled, selfish person has a difficult time embracing Christ-like living.
Years ago, a woman came to me with your same question. After a bit of digging and attempts to counsel her, it was discovered that her only child was a miracle baby. She had experienced traumatic female problems and suffered through several miscarriages prior to finally carrying the boy to full-term. Problem was, he had become so treasured by her, so valuable and precious, that she coddled and babied him mercilessly from birth into adulthood. Sadly, at age twenty-six, he wasn’t expected to hold down a job, help around the house or even make his own bed. He used the money Momma gave him for beer, expensive vehicles and illicit relationships with like-minded, teenage girls. Her parenting was seriously misguided, but that wasn’t the root of this family’s problem. Her unbridled fear of losing her son set up a guard-dog hedge of protection not even the boy’s hard-working father was allowed to go near. Jesus warns: “You cannot be my disciple, unless you love me more than you love your father and mother, your wife and children, and your brothers and sisters. You cannot come with me unless you love me more than you love your own life. You cannot be my disciple unless you carry your own cross and come with me” (Luke 14:26, 27, CEV.)
When Jesus challenged us to pick up our cross and follow him, he asked us to walk away from all other gods. Idolizing a child into utter dependence upon you, robs that person of their own dependence on Christ. Give the boy to God, trust Christ with your son, and he will be free to seek God and leave the nest.
Do you have a question or comment for Pastor Adrienne? Send your inquiries to: info@adriennewgreene.com or write to P.O. Box 214, Harrison, OH 45030. For more information and resources, please visit www.askpastoradrienne.com or the “Ask Pastor Adrienne” YouTube channel for sermons and insights.
Although they are universally called Ruth’s cookies, they are sugar cookies.
But for anyone who has tasted one, they are Ruth’s cookies.
The other day, I watched a new convert. My Long Suffering Wife Ruth had brought a couple dozen to a small gathering, and the lady was eyeing them. I watched her take one off the plate and inspect it. That made her a baker also. Men, who do not bake, just grab one and bite into it. Then, they stop talking and their expression changes.
Most everyone tries to say how good they are with the cookie still in their mouth. It’s allowed because it’s what everyone wants to do, to immediately express how good they are.
Women take three bites. That is the maximum for either gender. Many males take just two. And still they try to talk through it. Avert one’s eyes when that happens, and if one is near a male talking after taking just two bites, a defensive hand up in front of one’s face is good form.
I have tried to take more than three bites, especially now, but I cannot. For old people like me – when cartoons were cartoons — when I eat one of Ruth’s cookies, I become Snuffles, the cartoon dog, who will do anything for dog biscuits and after eating one, hugs himself and then levitates. Try as he might, he eats them in one gulp.
Anyway, the lady tried to express how good they were with her mouth full. As I said, everyone else in the room besides her husband had gone through the process before, we were Veterans, so we expected it. She marveled at the texture. She said she has only encountered how soft they are with store-bought cookies. I am a witness, Ruth does not use cake mixes. It is magic. Her husband somewhat reluctantly took a bite. He immediately did the unspeakable and talked about how much better they are than his mother’s sugar cookies. His name is being withheld to protect the guilty.
Back before I was the Fired Editor, and the other old people still worked there, we would have pitch-ins at the drop of a hat. They were very good pitch-ins especially when we could talk Gary (The General) into frying chicken (he worked at Mounds when he was in high school and knew the secret) or making corn fritters. At first, after tasting Ruth’s cookies, they would just pen that in after my name while they were posting a pitch-in list. Soon, it got to the point whoever designed the list would just type in Ruth’s cookies beside my name.
I never brought any back home.
One of the Old Breed moved to the East Coast. She said she would drive herself back here just to pick up a couple dozen of Ruth’s cookies. But she said they probably would not survive the trip back.
People liken them to crack cocaine. Again, that is the old people as our drug lingo has not moved forward with the times.
I allowed myself one of Ruth’s cookies yesterday as she was making them for a friend and neighbor who just had a heart operation and for the small gathering. Ruth gave me the look when I did it as I can no longer eat Ruth’s cookies.
Before I complain more I want everyone reading this to understand I know there are many, many more dire diseases than Type 2 diabetes, especially mine. I just quit eating good things and lost a bunch of weight, which I had it in abundance to lose. I no longer have to take diabetes medication, which is a very good thing.
When I first learned I was extra sweet, something I think my mom and I already knew, I thought I would just give up sweets. No. It is carbs. For anyone who thinks giving up carbs is easy, it is not. Carbs are everything good about food.
After I started THE DIET, and when I say me, I also mean Ruth as it will not work unless both ends of the couple are dedicated to it, and God love her, she went on THE DIET with me, except for her cookies and zucchini bread, which is another item people lust after, everyone – and I mean everyone – just knew I would never follow it. But I did and I am.
I dropped 50 pounds over the course of several months, and I even had my doctor tell me I needed to gain weight – WOW – and add some more carbs to my diet. That is a very tricky thing to do because it is like starting a small snowball at the top of a mountain, and not have it become an avalanche. I started picking up too much weight too quickly and just recently made myself back off my new introduced wonderful carbs, PASTA, and I again shed a few pounds.
Before THE DIET, I really did not eat desserts. I kick myself for that now. An aside here, I was never able to kick myself in the behind. I have been a junior high male for about 64 years, which includes now, so rest assured I have tried that a few times just to see if I could. I don’t try anymore because of my balance issues from my Events I Can No Longer Talk About But Always Do (EICNLTABAD). It is really a task for me to be on a flat, hard surface on a day with no wind and both feet firmly on the ground and not fall over so trying to stand on one leg and kicking myself in the behind is just out. I don’t want to break bones at my age.
The exception to not eating desserts is Ruth’s family get togethers. My step daughter Angie is a baker extraordinaire. My OLDEST sister Linda won grand champion at the state fair or something like that for her yeast rolls. She still can make exceptional cinnamon rolls and yeast rolls, but I am very glad Linda is not in slapping range, because Angie is the better baker.
And of course we have Ruth’s cookies.
I try not to go over to the dessert table at family gatherings. I try not to watch other people bring back to the tables pieces of Angie’s pies, cakes, cobblers and Angie’s chocolate chip cookies, which are almost, almost as good as Ruth’s cookies. I want to live through nights at home, so I want to emphasize Angie’s chocolate chip cookies are almost, almost as good as Ruth’s cookies.
And of course they bring back Ruth’s cookies if any are left at that point.
Also, I miss chocolate.
Before I had to go on THE DIET, I had a habit of eating a candy bar in the afternoons at work. I liked Three Musketeers, Hershey Bars, Reese Cups and Butterfingers. When I could eat Dairy Cottage’s wonderful Cyclones, I would always get cookie dough and either Reese Cups or Butterfingers. I usually allow myself one or two small cyclones a summer now.
Also, I miss Graeter’s ice cream, specifically Buckeye Blitz. I learned I could eat one-third of a cup a night and stay on my carb intake goal, but it was and is really hard to just eat one third of a cup.
Again, what I am going through is nothing like what other people have to go through because of the terrible diseases out there. But having to watch people eat Ruth’s cookies, OMG. And OMG is really inadequate. Let’s make that OMG squared. I tried to write a little 2 beside the OMG, — for squared — but I couldn’t figure out how to do it.
So, if one gets the chance to eat one of Ruth’s cookies, count your bites, don’t worry about telling people how good they are with your mouth full, and if I am in the vicinity, try to turn your back to me.
Stephen Eckerle, 71 of Connersville, passed away on July 25, 2021. He was born on April 23, 1950, in Evansville, to William Eckerle and Frances Price Eckerle. He married Pamela Rowe.
Due to Stephen’s final wishes there will be no services held. Urban Winkler Funeral home is honored to be assisting the family.
I have tried to use mirth in discussing the Brookville Town Council proclivities for bullying and really bad decision making.
However, with recent events, there must be a much deeper, more serious approach.
Curtis, Brooke, bullying young women at the pool? How much courage does that take? I would ask what were you thinking, but it has become apparent beyond gazing at your individual reflections in the mirror, you two apparently do not think about much.
Among the many people you have bullied in 2021, that big club now includes an older woman and a young woman.
One should not be shocked when dealing with Curtis and Brooke, but they continually shock me.
Apparently, the young women who work at the pool were trained admirably to be lifeguards using the Red Cross Swimming and Water Safety Course. They know how to save people in the pool and how to keep them safe from lightning.
Common sense is water and lightning do not mix, but it is even worse for municipal pools. Municipal pools have pipes in the ground so a strike in the area of the pool could be as deadly as a strike in the pool. The young ladies understood that and took steps to protect those people at the pool.
However, their actions did not 100 percent follow what Brooke Leffingwell wrote in her pool policy manual because she did not base it on the Red Cross training. So, Brooke and Curtis Ward came down hard on the young ladies for not following their words to the letter. And they bullied them, with at least one young person resigning due to their treatment.
From all accounts, what the young woman did was the very correct thing to do. You guys made the mistake with your policy that was written by Brooke, and you are so arrogant you could not believe 1. You had made a mistake and 2. That someone would actually stand up and tell you, you are wrong.
And stop blaming your fellow council members.
According to Makenna Mays’ article, Curtis, you said it was not fair to people in the audience to point to you two when the whole board voted for the policy. For once in your lives take the high road: Admit you are wrong and publicly apologize to the young lady or ladies you have hurt who had the courage to do what was right and correct. They should receive an award from the town, instead of what you two have done to them.
I applaud the young people at the pool for standing their ground and doing what was in the best interest of the town’s citizens. That took courage, something apparently still in short supply on town council.
But there was some movement toward putting down the Kool-Aid by the other council members at least in this instance. However, it was and is not enough. Chuck, Eric and Cathy are you beginning to see what others have been trying to get you to see? You are blindly following selfish bullies with hidden agendas and arrogance unmatched in this community in recent history.
And I hope you three understand Curtis threw you under the bus, which is a prime symptom of a cowardly bully.
Also, Curtis said he and Brooke bullied the young people because the pool was repeatedly closing early. I checked that out. The young lady in question said the town administrator told her that if there are less than 10 people at the pool after 5:30 p.m., she should close the pool. After Lord Curtis told her that would not be done at his pool, she stopped doing that.
The pool closed early four times during the summer. Here are the instances: once at 6:30 when two people were at the pool; around 6:30 when three people were at the pool and it was raining; a third time five people were at the pool and for the entire day the pool had made $35 on entry fees, it closed at 6:15; and a fourth when it had rained the entire day.
Also, another manager was hired who apparently has no lifeguard or CPR training, which really just confused the entire situation, according to more than one report.
One more thing about this pool situation: You two should publicly apologize to the young lady you bullied in that instance and to the rest of the employees at the pool that had to put up with your bullying and arrogant attitudes. I have heard you asked the person in question to call you in private and you would maybe give her an apology. Again, this is just another example of unmitigated arrogance on your part. She should not have to do anything. You are in the wrong. It is on you, Curtis and you, Brooke.
Make it an unequivocal public apology. Don’t say there is more to this story or more to that conversation, Brooke. Put down the shovel and publicly apologize to this individual and these employees.
Then, do a blanket public apology for all the other people you have bullied this year. I wish both of you would do the best thing for this town by resigning, but I don’t see that happening because of your wildly inflated egos.
If this were an anomaly, that would be one thing, but this is the proverbial tip of the iceberg. And, unfortunately, the taxpayers are left rearranging the furniture on Titanic’s deck.
After a brief illness, Clara L. Dawson, 75 of Liberty left this Earth on August 3, 2021, to go dance with her beloved husband in Heaven. She was born on October 3, 1945, in Hamilton, Ohio to Charles G. Paxton and Anna Fields Paxton.
Clara grew up attending Alquina United Methodist Church.
On November 2, 1963, she married James F. Dawson in Quakertown; they were able to spend 54 years together before he passed away on March 10, 2017.
Clara was a custodian for Liberty Elementary School; she retired in 2011 after 20 years.
Clara loved listening to Rock n Roll music and going to the casino. She enjoyed playing softball and sitting down to read a good book. Clara most importantly enjoyed spending quality time with her family and her dogs, Carson and Willie and her bird, Pete.
Clara will be greatly missed by her family, including her daughters, Janice (Larry) Crouch, Charlene (Larry) Stacy and Coleena (Chris) Moore; her sons, James (Leana) Dawson and Jason (Carol) Dawson; two sisters, Rozella Bothast and Janeen Paxton; 14 grandchildren, Sherron Wyatt, Casey Dale Cantrell, Whitney Garrett, Bear “Rob” Hendrix, Bradley Hendrix, Jonathan Moore, Joshua Moore, Stephanie Dawson, James D. “Buddy” Dawson Jr., Samantha Abner, Brittany Bentley, Jessica Johnson, Lane Deaton and Jayden Craig Dawson; 26 great grandchildren with two on the way; one great great grandchild.
Along with her parents and husband she was preceded in death by a grandson, Micky Soard.
Visitation for Clara will be held on Friday, August 6, 2021, from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. at Urban Winkler Liberty Funeral Home 310 N. Main St. Liberty, Indiana 47353. The funeral service will begin at 7 p.m. at the funeral home with Pastor Rob Judd officiating.
In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made in honor of Clara to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, 3333 Burnet Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio 45229; or to Edie Judd who qualified to dance in the 80th anniversary of Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade in Hawaii. She is raising money to be able to attend this; those can be made at the funeral home.
To sign the online guestbook or to leave the family a personal message visit, www.urbanwinklerfuneralhome.com.
Larry Lee Hodson, 59, passed peacefully at home in the arms of loving family on July 23, 2021, after more than a two-year, valiant fight against vocal cord, lung and brain cancers. Larry was born November 27, 1961, in Greenfield to Lester “Leon” and Barberretta “Buddy” (McCord) Hodson. He graduated from Mt Vernon High School in 1980. He married the love of his life, Victoria Lee (Galbraith) York, on March 9, 2002. On September 25, 2020, in Shelby County, after the death of his wife, Larry was legally adopted by his father in law, Pastor David Leroy Galbraith.
Larry was the estimator for Indiana Traffic Services, in Greenfield, since 2006. He loved his work family and enjoyed the shenanigans and razzing from “his girls.” Larry was a friend to many and would lend a helping hand and a listening ear. He loved to watch the Colts, Pacers and the Indy Car series. After the cancer took his voice, he would enthusiastically pump his fist in the air encouraging his teams to victory. Larry is survived by his father, Dave (Myrna) Galbraith, Waldron, son, Corey Leon Hodson, Anderson, step sons, David Scott and James Michael York, Avon, sister, Terri Galbraith Strode, Markleville, brothers, Roy Galbraith, Ellottsville, Ryan Galbraith, Indianapolis, Mother and Father in law, Susie (Jimmy) Collins, many nieces and nephews, his fur babies, Isabella “Izzy,” Penelope “pinky” and Willow “little bit” and his work family, Tim and Kathi Ottesen, Eric and Julie Sobczak, Gary and Marlena McDougall, and David Mattingly.
Larry was preceded in death by his wife Victoria Lee Hodson, his parents Leon and Barberretta Hodson, his paternal grandparents Ralph and Flossie Hodson, maternal grandparents George and Minnie K McCord, and stepson, Christopher Kendall.
A service will be held on Saturday August 7, at Mount Comfort United Methodist Church 3179 N 600 W, Greenfield, IN 46140 with Pastor Ethan Maple officiating. Visitation will be at 10 a.m. with the service following at 11. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to your favorite charity.
Allan Edward Slicer, of Liberty, was born on April 30, 1929, in Chicago, a son to Edwin and Myrtle Kort Slicer. In 1938, the family moved to New Jersey. The towns he lived in included Union, West Orange, and Elizabeth. In November 1946, the family moved to Elk Mountain in Pennsylvania to start life as dairy farmers. To help support the farm and his new family, Allan worked for Federal Pacific for several years in the 1950s and later in 1960, Allan got a job offer from Square D Company in Lexington, KY. In mid-1970 he was transferred to Square D in Oxford, Ohio where he continued working as an electrical design engineer. He retired from Square D in 1991, having had a rewarding career and having been accredited with 21 patents under his name: two with Federal Pacific and 19 with Square D.
Al always had a love for airplanes and said one day he would be a pilot. His dream came true in 1972, when he began taking flying lessons and later became a private pilot. In 1985, Al, along with his best friend Tom Schroeder, built his first aircraft from scratch using plans he had purchased, and the same year he received his Instrument Ratings License and his Sea Plane License. Al owned eight different aircraft over the years, including his homebuilt, “Good-for-Nothing.” He retired from flying in 2013.
The family has lived in Indiana from 1970 to the present. On Wednesday, August 4, 2021, at the age of 92, Allan passed peacefully at home.
Those surviving who will cherish Allan’s memory include his three children, Dr. Deborah Slicer (Steve Cummings) of Missoula, MT, Sharon (Lyle) Amrhein of Batesville, and Gary Slicer of Liberty; one grandchild, Allison Amrhein Morton (Tom Morton) of Glen Ellyn, IL; one great-grandchild, Charles Morton; stepchildren, Gayle (Bill) Poland of Washinton, PA, Rusty (Shelia) Dorn of Cincinnati, and Mike Dorn of Dayton. Allan was preceded in death by both of his parents, two wives, Vilma Russell in 1965 and Bette Dorn in 2008, and two brothers, Donald and Robert Slicer.
Direct cremation was chosen, and no services will be held at the funeral home. To sign the online guestbook or to leave personal memories, please visit ww.cookrosenberger.com. The staff of Cook Rosenberger Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Allan Slicer.
