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Voices
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Hunting Maintenance During the Summer
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By Mike E. Neilson
We welcome the voice of Mike Neilson, longtime Danville High School teacher and longtime hunting enthusiast. He’s shared his hunting experience in book form with Class Dismissed: I’m Going Hunting! (2004); We’re Gonna Need More Arrows!: Hunting Adventurs Around the Country and Around the World (2009); and Pig Tails and Other Hunting Adventures (2014)
Part III
If you are going afield for more than just a day hunt, consider getting and maintaining spare chargers for phones or GPS. If you have these already, it might be a good idea to check the charge to be sure they are at full capacity.
If you like to carry a camera afield be sure you have a backup battery and if it takes cards, keep a blank one ready. Murphy’s law undoubtable will kick in as you pose your trophy for that perfect shot and the battery is dead or the data card is full.
Check the straps to your climbing/ fall restraints. This only takes a few minutes and is a potential life saver. Hopefully, you will never have to use one but if you do, you absolutely cannot afford to have them fail. You are falling already, do not add insult to injury by having this vital piece of equipment falter. I know many folks swear at them as well as by them. But please check them at least once a year. Finally, if you do not use one, please consider this as a necessary item for hunting from most elevated stands.
Keep your skinning and gutting knives sharp. Just pull them out of their sheaths and test the edge. If the blades are sharp, put them back and hope you get the chance to put them to work later, if not, give them a quick touch up. If you have teenage daughters, sharpen the knives in front of their dates (it’s a dad thing). If you have ever field dressed game, fish, or fowl with a dull knife, you know what I’m talking about. Not only do you have to work harder, but you stand a better chance of injuring yourself.
Treestand maintenance. I can’t say enough about checking straps, rachets and the stand itself. I pull my stands out of the woods after each season. During the summer months and just before I put them up for the fall, I do a visual inspection of the metal, looking for fatigue, broken parts, missing bolts and pieces. If you keep your stands in the woods all year, the same advice applies, especially straps. I don’t know why mice and squirrels delight in chewing straps, but you absolutely don’t want to get climbing up and have the straps break. Again, straps are cheap compared to the potential consequences. It also never hurts to carry a spare rachet strap in your pack in the event the vermin (either 2 legged or 4) decide to damage or remove your straps.
The same advice goes for tree steps, climbing stands, or climbing sticks, lock-on stands or homemade stands. A bit of checking prior to putting them out in the field is a cheap insurance policy that your hunts will stay as safe as possible.
(Next week is the final part of this 4 part series on summer maintenance for hunters)
Exploring Hendricks County
By Jackie Horn
Jackie Horn and her husband, John, transplanted from Warsaw to Plainfield to be near family. They have two children and nine grandchildren. An Advanced Indiana Master Naturalist, Jackie is a retired substitute teacher who continues to teach (and learn) about all things outdoors. John is a retired CNC programmer and the photographer on the team. The Horns enjoy traveling, walking, hiking, kayaking, and bicycling.
The pickleball courts at Swinford Park in Plainfield are usually busy.
Pickleball: A Big “DILL” in Hendricks County
Confession time: Until we moved here, I had never heard of Pickleball. I still haven’t played it...yet.
John and I would ride through parks and there were LOADS of people gathering around courts. They weren’t playing tennis but I couldn’t figure out what they were doing. Never one to be shy, I asked. Pickleball! It was explained to me that it’s kind of like tennis but played with a whiffle ball and a paddle that is larger than a ping pong paddle. The game is played on a court the same size as a badminton court. The rules are similar to tennis. The game was named for a “pickle boat,” a racing shell that’s manned by the team’s less skilled members and leftover equipment.
Pickleball is played by everyone from young children to “seasoned” citizens. Players come in all skill levels. It can is played as singles or doubles. I’ve seen crowds early in the morning, on cooler afternoons and in the evenings in lit parks. Rarely are the courts deserted. Pickleball is so popular in the Hendricks County area that all of the communities boast at least one park with courts.
Paula Fritch waiting to play pickleball.
I have to admit, I’m intrigued. I want to learn this game but I’m a little timid. Is there anything worse than playing with a beginner? No volleying, only fetching balls? I could fail miserably in front of a BUNCH of strangers.
“All of us were new to it once,” Paula Fritch, the pickleball player I spoke to, reassured me. “We remember what it feels like.”
The new mixed-use courts at Danville’s Ellis Park host pickleball tournaments.
Where do I go to learn and play? For more complete information, check out:
Avon - YMCA (indoors beginning in October – Nominal fee for non-members, equipment provided – Contact facility for details)
Brownsburg - Arbuckle Acres (2 courts with lighting) and Stephens Park (6 courts closes at dusk)
Danville - Ellis Park (Several leagues play here. Check their website: danvilleindiana.org/parks)
Plainfield - Swinford Park (8 courts) and Richard Carlucci Rec Center (3 indoor courts)
And then there’s the important question: What do I wear? No worries here. I’m told anything comfortable is fine. Court shoes are strongly suggested for the side-toside moves as regular sneakers and running shoes don’t offer enough support.
So if you’re in a “pickle” trying to find a fun cardio activity, want to meet a “barrel” of new friends, and “relish” a little competition, maybe you should consider Pickleball.
ASK MR. TRAFFIC
By Chet Skwarcan, PE, President/ Founder of Traffic Engineering, Inc. Chet@TrafficEngineering.com
100 Years of Traffic Signals
It’s Time for a Change
Some of you may remember the days before traffic signals. Life was good. You’d ride your horse up to an intersection, glance around, and continue on your way. It never crossed your mind that another horse might run into you. Horse accidents were unheard of. Horses are smart — they refuse to run into each other. They are alert and make good decisions (i.e., “horse sense”).
But, replace the horse with a car and ask a human to make decisions. We all know what happened — almost overnight we needed stop signs, lane lines, traffic signals, etc., etc., etc. Not every human is as smart as a horse…
And the most famous invention was the traffic signal. The first traffic signals were gas-fueled and controlled by a police officer. In 1868, the first gas-lit traffic lights were installed outside the Houses of Parliament in London. This was proposed by a British railway engineer, J.P Knight. And being gas-fueled, they would sometimes explode. But then, in 1912, an American policeman, Lester Wire, came up with the idea of the first electric traffic light.
It had two lights, red and green. Instead of a yellow light, it had a buzzer that would sound indicating the light was about to change. But in the year 1920, another policeman named William Potts in Detroit, Michigan invented the first three-colored traffic light. This idea of having a third “warning” light, was also patented by businessman Garrett Augustus Morgan, Sr. in the year 1923.
Similar to the days when our horse made our “driving” decisions, autonomous cars are gradually fulfilling that same role. Essentially 100% of automobile accidents are a result of human error. Taking the human out of that equation, once again, is the answer to improving automobile safety. Giddyup!
A Squirrel About Town
By Archy
I told Archy I would be at the 4-H Fair most of the week. I didn’t want him to think I was ignoring him.
“Duty first,” he said, adding, “I probably wouldn’t recognize the place - It’s been decades since my several great grandfather lived there when it was a farm.”
I told Archy I remembered when it was a farm, too. Only it was abandoned, and the farmhouse was occupied by raccoons.
“Was the barn still there then?” the squirrel asked. “My grandfather used to play around that old barn. He and his brothers would stick their heads in the milking stanchions and pretend to be Holsteins.”
I told him the barn was there when I took pictures before they razed it and the house and outbuildings to make way for the fairgrounds,
“It was a small barn, but a veritable jewel of rural architecture,” Archy said, closing his eyes to access his genetic memory. “And highly efficient, according to grandfather. There was one feature he would talk on and on about.” “Not the...” I started to say. “The manure chute!” he laughed. “The gutter behind the milking stanchions had the most elegant concrete dropoff at the end, before everything landed in the compost pile below.”
I wondered what other memories I shared with Archy’s ancestors.
ALLEN’S CORNER ON THE MUSIC SCENE
By Allen Kiger
Are you ready for live music? It’s back bigger and better than ever. Concerts are popping up all over. The bands are just as excited to perform as the fans are to be back in the audience again. Right now you have more choices than you have had in the past 14 months!
If you love live music, be sure to get out to the Free Stage at the Indiana State Fair where with the price of admission to the fair you can watch a concert. Here are some of the notable artists appearing there this summer.
July 31 - On the Free Stage, John Waite will be performing his hit, Missing You, along with other hits from The Babys and Bad English. Readers, you might recall my interview with John Waite and review of his performance. This is a show you don’t want to miss.
August 4 - Country Sensation and Grammy nominated artist Josh Turner will perform.
August 6 - Noah Cyrus will take the stage with her hit Make Me (Cry) which was a #1 hit on Spotify’s Viral Global Chart.
August 13 - My friend Vince Neil, lead singer of Motley Crue will be performing solo with his band. I’m sure he will be performing some of his hits from Motley Crue. He is as energetic on stage as off. I would love to tell you some stories about Vince and I running around in Hollywood but my mother might be reading this article.
August 18 - Take a step back to the 60’s and 70’s with The Happy Together Tour featuring great bands including The Turtles, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, The Association, Classics IV, The Vogues, and The Cowsills.
August 20 - The Free Stage hosts America’s favorite band, The Beach Boys. This is a band I have seen five times and they always outperform your expectations.
August 22 - The Gospel Music Festival with headliner Hezekiah Walker, a Grammy Award winner, known for delivering gospel anthems that are full of hope.
Stay tuned for more concert updates.
Go On A Garden Tour - Take Away Ideas
By Colletta Kosiba Hendricks County Master Gardener
Colletta takes time to stop and smell the roses on a garden tour.
Tis the season for garden tours!!
I have never visited a garden where I did not pick up some ideas. A garden is a collection of plants that a person loves- whether it is for the color, texture, or ease of care. Gardens are very personal- there being no right or wrong way to display your plants.
In Teresa’s rose garden are all kinds shrub roses blooming their heads off, hybrid tea roses begging to be cut for a vase, all these roses live in this cottage garden full of perennials. The roses smelled so wonderful! Roses demand a lot of care-- dead heading, feeding and keeping the insects away. The beauty and aroma make it worth the effort. Teresa makes an annual pilgrimage to Asheville, NC to serve as juror of the Biltmore International Rose Trials. Roses are her passion!
Another Master gardener friend is a master of shade gardening in her rural Danville home. The lack of full sun doesn’t stop Sharon from displaying gardens filled with plants that vary in size, texture, color and love the coolness of the shade. A gas plant (Dictamnus albu)s amazed me. It was named for its claimed ability to serve as a light source, because of the lemony scented oils it gives off. The seedpods are commonly used in dried floral arrangements.
In Brownsburg, Kerry and hubby Larry have all sorts of small gardens- a Koi Pond with a string barrier to keep out the blue heron from fishing. In one quiet area, Japanese gardens sit with a real Zen Garden complete with a bench for meditation. An imaginary steam runs through it with small bridge to crossover. Kerry’s many small raised vegetable gardens with everything from lettuce to tomatoes, ensures they eat healthy.
Larry’s pride is his Norton grape vineyard, the vines are heavy with grapes for this season’s wine. Throughout the yard are all kinds of colorful perennials to attract pollinators.
Jill’s hill side garden by the road treats all the golfers to a riot of color as they go by on way to the links. Don’t know how she can work on that uneven ground- it is a challenge with that terrain. She plants shrubs, perennials and a host off spring bulbs. The gardens around the house have wonderful brick pathways suitable for a wheelchair. There are raised beds with lots of roses- a new passion for her. Her all white garden contains a wide variety of snowy white blooms. Beautiful statues of heavenly beings grace this home garden.
Many groups hold garden tours to fund special causes, like Plainfield Library. I encourage you to go on a garden tour. Small gardens or large, they all have a charm.
Hard work doesn’t harm anyone, but I do not want to take any chances.
Got Questions? Call The Home-Landscaping-Garden Help Line and Master Gardeners will answer your questions every Tuesday. May 18 to Sept 28. Hours 9:00-Noon and 1-4:00pm call 317-745-9260 (Hendricks County Extension)
philanthropy fəˈlanTHrəpē
...the desire to promote the welfare of others, especially by the generous donation of money to good causes.
Liza L. Taylor holds a master’s degree in philanthropy and a graduate certificate in nonprofit management, both from IUPUI. She has taught philanthropy at the university level and provided consulting services to Hoosier nonprofit leaders.
She is a member of the Hendricks County Crisis Response Team and on the board of the Hendricks County Trauma Resource Center.
The Purpose of Philanthropy
What is the purpose of philanthropy and what role does it play in our lives and in society? In its most simple expression, philanthropy is simply giving. But, in what ways to do people give?
Authors Elizabeth Lynn and Susan Wisely have written an essay that describes four traditions of philanthropy, each operating on a different principle and each serving a different purpose.
● Philanthropy as Relief: Operates on principle of pompassion; alleviates human suffering
● Philanthrophy as Improvement: Operates on principle of progress; maximizes human potention.
● Philanthrophy as Social Reform: Operates on principle of justice; solves social problems.
● Philanthrophy as Civic Engagement: Operates on principle of participation; builds community.
Philanthropy as relief, operating on the principle of compassion, is the most known commonly expression of philanthropy and the one most people have participated in. We donate blood, give canned foods to the food pantry, send money to help strangers after tornados and hurricanes, and run marathons to support health causes. You could broaden the category to include relief to suffering animals. Many people have adopted a furry friend to provide a loving and safe home.
Philanthropy as improvement, operating on the principle of progress, seeks to maximize human potential. This is another common expression of philanthropy. We support the library’s book drive, donate to our favorite college, buy Scout popcorn and cookies, teach Sunday School, and coach little league.
Philanthropy that solves social problems operates on the principle of justice. As society is becoming more diverse, this area is receiving more attention. In support of this philanthropic tradition, we offer our tutoring/mentoring services to students seeking a better future, we support political candidates who promote a vision for a better world, we advocate for legislative reform to help safeguard values we hold as important, and we recycle our refuse.
Philanthropy as civic engagement operates on the principle of participation. I also see this as operating on the principle of belonging. Millions of people involve themselves in this expression of philanthropy through their houses of worship, volunteer-based community sports events, and veterans’ lodges. Community is a crucial necessity for human wellbeing, something the coronavirus quarantine made painfully evident for many of us. It has been fascinating to see the organic development of new ways to give while also supporting human health during the pandemic. Providing meals for front-line workers, checking on neighbors, sewing masks, offering special shopping hours for the vulnerable to get necessities, and teachers hosting parades to drive by students’ houses are examples.
As our country developed, community was at the core of progress. Modern technological developments have provided more connectivity but also less. Philanthropic engagement can address these challenges. The four philanthropic traditions help alleviate human suffering, maximize human potential, solve social problems, and build the kinds of community we love to call home. Each person has something of value they can contribute, and adventure awaits in discovery and implementation. Along the way, the world becomes a better place.
A Bark From the Past: Henry
[Editor’s Note: The Republican’s first four-footed correspondent was Henry. A mixed breed rescue dog, Henry would make observations about being a dog in a small town. The articles, which ran in 2006 - 2010, have been languishing in the computer’s memory and we thought a new audience might enjoy some canine commentary. Here’s an early column from 2006.]
Boy, in the summertime, there just isn’t any place any better than Danville for taking a walk.
There are lots of other dogs going for walks with their humans, too. It’s great to be able to visit with my old buddies Carmen, Petey, and Kirby, the other Henry, Abby at the DQ, and of course, the occasional new friend to meet. I never smelled a butt I didn’t like!
I love walking around the square. We see lots of other humans coming and going, and I get lots of petting. And the shops have such neat smells, too--Italian food from Frank’s, popcorn from the Royal, all the goodies at Courthouse Grounds. Hey, there’s a new place for people treats on the south side called Candy Bouquet! And the neat spicy smells from the candles at Bluebird Antiques!
On Saturday mornings, we walk around the west side of the square for farmers’ market (always good for a few pettings there, too).
Mayberry smells like the house I came from when I was a puppy--everything warm and fried and yummy! And we usually drop in at the Republican so my humans can visit with the Bettys and I can visit Cookie, the cat, who plays aloof, but I know she’s really glad to see me!
Yep, there’s no place like Danville in the summer. If you haven’t checked it out lately, take something for a walk!
