Voices

We offer Voices as a place to share a story, a memory, an idea, a comment, a criticism, or a solution. Contributors must include name, address & phone number. (Please keep submissions under 500 words)

Due to the software problem that led us to have to re-assemble the paper and caused a delay in printing last week’s issue, credit for the article titled, “Here We Grow Again” in this space was not attributed. It was written by Philip Gulley, and was first published in The Indianapolis Monthly, used with permission of author. Our apologies to our readers and to Mr. Gulley

Exploring Hendricks County

By Jackie Horn

Non-native Asian bush honeysuckle.

Plant Invasion

The weather so far this autumn has been, well, “falllike”...rainy one day, sunny and warm (or hot) the next. John and I have enjoyed biking along the Vandalia Trail between Amo and Coatesville. We’ve puttered around McCloud and strolled in Sodalis. The trees are getting a bit of color and the asters are dying back. The berries on the honeysuckle are thick. . . and there’s the problem.

Most of the honeysuckle we see in Indiana are non-native, invasive species. When I say “invasive,” I mean they have taken over the woods and roadsides.

Asian honeysuckles were introduced to the U.S. in the 1800s from Japan, China, Korea, Turkey, and Russia. (One source says it was brought over as early as 1806 to Long Island, NewYork.) The plants, vining and shrub varieties, were used in landscaping because they have pretty flowers that smell amazing. The white, cream or pink blossoms attract hummingbirds, bees, and other pollinators. They are very hardy and can survive bitter cold winters as well as sweltering summers. The Asian honeysuckle leaf outearlier and stay green longer than the native varieties. In the late summer, they produce a bright red, glossy berry that attracts birds. That sounds great! So what happened? Why shouldn’t I like this plant?

The easiest method to distinguish native honeysuckle from the invasive Asian varieties is to break a branch. The non-native species branches are hollow.

Asian honeysuckles grow fast! Not satisfied with their little spot in the garden, they wanted more space. They jumped the garden fence and escaped into the wild.

Once out of reach of gardeners’ pruners, the Asian honeysuckle varieties have exploded. They are now labeled as invasive in all but seven states (Arkansa, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota) including Hawaii and Puerto Rico! Asian honeysuckles have unfair advantages over our native plants. They don’t have any natural controls to keep them in check. The weather doesn’t stop them. There are no bugs or diseases to slow them down.

Non-native Asian busy honeysuckle moves into woods and roadsides and takes over. At Sodalis Nature Park, the invasive rings the parking lot and chokes the woods.

The Asian bush varieties, (Amur, Tartarian, Morrow) fill in the area under trees in yards and woodlands and line roadways and trails. (When I say “bush,” these are not the shrubs planted around a house. They grow up to 15-feet tall!) With their thick foliage, they shade out the wildflowers. Soon there is only bare dirt under all the bushes. Honeysuckle roots are shallow and do nothing to hold the ground in place. When it rains, there’s nothing to stop the soil from eroding. Not only do the soil nutrients wash away, the sediment can also pollute nearby waterways.

Honeysuckles have toxins that ‘poison’ the soil. Trees’ seeds can’t germinate and produce new saplings so the woods are not renewed and slowly die.

Wildlife isn’t crazy for the Asian honeysuckle. Deer don’t like to eat the plant like they do native plants. This offers the non-natives an additional advantage. They’re safe from being eaten while their competition is being munched. Birds will eat the fruit, which is high in carbohydrates, but it’s not as nutritional as native berries. Asian bush honeysuckles don’t provide adequate protection for animals and birds. The “naked” ground underneath the shrub allows snakes and other predators better access to burrows and nests. The foliage also harbors ticks which carry disease.

Land conservatives, park and natural resource departments, and property owners are constantly battling invasive species. Honeysuckle is just one of their targets. Autumn olive, garlic mustard, and even kudzu are just among a few on the Hit List. These agencies are always recruiting volunteers for Weed Wrangles. As an everyday citizen, what can you do to help? Number One: Don’t buy or get starts from plants banned under the Terrestrial Plant Rule as illegal to “sell, gift, barter, exchange, distribute, transport, or introduce.” (See the official list on the DNR webpage.)

Take it one step more and check on the invasive status of plants before you purchase them for your landscaping. Callery pear and burning bush are two that don’t appear on the Official List but are incredibly invasive. To be a real Plant Superhero, choose native plants. Many native varieties that are just as lovely and much better behaved. There’s even native honeysuckle. It has pretty flowers and smells marvelous. Its blooms are brilliant red and coral and also attract pollinators. They’re hardy and produce berries for the birds… and it belongs here.

Several Weed Wrangles in our communities are coming up this Fall if you’re interested in helping out.

▪ October 23 Sodalis Nature Park, Plainfield

▪ November 6 Williams Park, Brownsburg

▪ November 20 Gibbs Park, Plainfield

▪ December 11 Williams Park, Brownsburg For more details, check out the website at: https://hendrickscountyimc.wordpress.com

MASTERING THE HOUSE useful tips for homeowners

Fall Check List

Along with the change of seasons comes those task that should be done to prepare us for what is ahead. Like it or not, with every page of the calendar turns we get one day closer to winter and colder weather. Here is a short list of tasks we should have on our To-Do List:

❏ Furnace Check-up – It is strongly recommended we have our furnace checked and tuned up. Prior to the heating season to help it perform at its best and avoid winter breakdowns.

❏ Clear a Path – Nothing should be touching the outer envelope of the home. Trees and bushes rubbing the roof or side walls should be trimmed back to prevent damage during winter storms. Wood piles and anything else should be pulled away from the home to prevent outdoor creatures from nesting next to our homes and allow moisture to dry.

❏ Caulking – Check all construction material transitions to assure all cracks are filled. Windows, doors, brick to wood siding all should be weather tight.

❏ Paint Touch-Up – Now is the time to protect any exposed wood to prevent damage over the winter. If you don’t have time for a complete paint job, at least touch-up with a protective coat.

❏ Seal Driveways & Walks – The freeze and thaw during the winter not only causes those potholes on the roads, but it will damage our walks and driveway. If you don’t have time to seal the entire driveway, at least caulk the cracks.

❏ Weather Stripping – Check both your doors and windows to make sure the weather stripping is still intact and pliable. Over time the rubber dries out and may need replaced to make a good seal between the window and frame.

❏ Exterior Faucets – Unhook all hoses to prevent water from being held in the fixture which can freeze and burst the pipes.

❏ Crawlspace – One last tour of the crawlspace to make sure the sump pump is working, vents are closed, insulation is around the exterior walls and the door is properly closed.

❏ Fireplace – If you still burn wood, consider having the flu checked for any creosol build-up. Don’t be one of those 25,000 chimney fires that happens in the US each winter.

❏ Clear the Gutters – once most of the leaves have fallen, clean the gutters. If the gutters don’t flow properly, you can get ice damming which can cause melting ice and snow to back-up and damage the inside of our homes. Water is our enemy, we want it moving away from the home, both in the summer and winter.

A little work now and you can sit back and relax on those long winter nights. Start checking it off your list.

Our Readers Write

Dear Editor;

Thanks for the report on Rally Master Tim Macsay’s efforts organizing and executing the Seventh Annual Hendricks County Museum Road Rally October 6th. My wife and I participated for the third consecutive year and it was a great time. The Great Chocolate Caper theme was a fun idea, and the prizes of miniature chocolate Corvettes were much appreciated. When I read [in The Republican, of course!] that the rally would be limited to 30 cars this year, we pre-registered right away to be sure we were “in.” As much fun as it is and the fact that participation has been growing exponentially, I was surprised to see that the limit of 30 cars was not reached this year. Folks should look forward to next years’ event.

Less enjoyable was the unsigned Page A-6 editorial, “Here We Grow Again.” The author should have been identified. [Editor- See correction above this letter.] He or she makes valid points about Danville’s growth, but disparaging President Trump in the discussion of dying small towns elsewhere, suggesting that dying small towns are characterized by, “shuttered storefronts, weed-choked sidewalks, tattered Trump flags, and failing schools,” is ridiculous.

The Indiana Secretary of State’s Official 2020 Election Results report that Donald Trump and Mike Pence received 60.8% of the votes cast in Hendricks County, over 5% greater than their state-wide margin of 57%. Since Hendricks County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the state, the author suggesting that Trump supporters live in dying small towns occupied by uneducated rubes from “failing schools” is not factual. After finishing the Great Chocolate Caper Road Rally, my wife and I drove over to the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival Saturday for the afternoon. We noted many pro-Trump signs along U.S. 36, none of them tattered, and a plethora of pro-Trump materials offered for sale at the various booths in Mansfield.

The author’s energies would be better spent helping solve Danville’s horrific east-west traffic flow, rather than mischaracterizing as backwater occupants of dying smalltowns, people who voted for secure borders, energy independence, a respect for life from conception to natural death, and a sound economy fueled by free enterprise... rather than inflation-inducing, economy-stagnating government hand-outs from the gaggle of hackneyed, otherwise unemployable career politicians who seized control of our country’s governance back in January.

Nonetheless, The Hendricks County Republican has become more interesting under its new ownership, and we look forward to each week’s issue. As soon as someone is in the office to take our credit card number to renew our subscription for next year, we’ll be happy to tender it.

Sincerely, Bob Palma Brownsburg

A Squirrel About Town

By Archy

I was telling Archy about the plans for the new pre-Halloween event on the square on October 29. Then I asked if the squirrel community observed the holiday.

“Interesting you should ask,” the squirrel answered. “We’ve been discussing it at the Squirrel Salon. The young squirrels do engage in “trick-or-tree” - they approach neighborhood nests with a knock-knock joke. If the nest occupant finds it amusing, they hand out nuts wrapped in autumn leaves.”

Sounded pleasant enough to me. I asked what the Squirrel Salon members had in mind.

“We’ve discussed organizing some positive vandalism,” he said. “Nothing harmful or permanent, things that would only provoke better behavor.” I asked for examples. “We were thinking about taking a page from Candy Chang, the artist who uses public spaces to uncover the complexity of the inner life,” he explained. “For example, we considered using non-permanent markers on stop signs.” “And do what?” I ventured, cautiously. “Add words, of course,” Archy said. “Our most popular phrase to add under ‘STOP’ would be ‘...AND THINK.’ “About what?” I asked. “That’s the beauty of brevity,” the squirrel replied. “The human mind will fill that in. Some might be thinking about something they did that caused hurt feelings. Others might be encouraged to think more kindly and not to cause hurt to others. A verbal Rorshach test, you might say.” I started to see a point to the proposal. “Another thought was to put messages on the sidewalk, like Ms. Chang does. To write, ‘Why aren’t you looking up?’ or ‘Be couragous today.’ We’ve started a list,”Archy said.

Sometimes the squirrel community scares me. But in a good way.

Little Evergreen Has Big Landscaping Impact

By Colletta Kosiba Hendricks County Master Gardener

The dwarf Alberta spruce, also known as the dwarf white spruce is a small, dense evergreen.

This slow-growing, dense conifer will grow 10-12 feet high but takes 25-30 years to reach that height. It’s a good choice for small spaces. The spruce is prefect for our Indiana weather. Alberta spruce can handle high winds, cold temperatures, heat and drought. This evergreen would be excellent for a small space.

Having a pyramidal form, with soft, light green needles, it provides a unique vertical accent to your landscape. Specialty pruned spiral or sheared forms are available.

Site: Tree needs well-drained soil- prefers full sun but will tolerate some shade. Choose a northern or eastern exposure to reduce the chance of winter burn due to the winds and afternoon sun. Allow 3-4 feet from the center of the planting hole to the house.

Plant:. Dig a hole the depth of container and two to three times wider. Remove a wire or netting if attached. Then wet root ball and loosen the roots. Fill hole tamping lightly and mulch with 2 to 4 inches of shredded bark to conserve moisture. remember to keep the mulch a few inches away from the trunk.

Dwarf Alberta spruces may need a little pruning to maintain their compact, pyramidal shape. Sometimes spider mites can be a problem. Make sure you water each week, right up until the ground freezes hard for the winter season. I would water it for the next year. Established plants are drought tolerant.

The dwarf Alberta spruce can be shaped to provide interest to your landscape.

The vertical dwarf Alberta spruce is at home in flowerbeds.

This lovely evergreen may be used as accent plant in a landscape flower bed among perennials or deciduous shrubs.

What do you call a tree that does martial arts? Spruce Lee.

Spotlight on the Arts

Karla Janning shines a spotlight on the arts in our county with reviews & and behind-the-scenes interviews.

Hendricks Civic Theater is Back!

Welcome back! The Hendricks Civic Theatre is pleased to announce their reopening after an 18-month hiatus due to the pandemic. Their first show is I Hate Hamlet, directed by Marie Beason. The show opened October 14 - 17 and runs again October 21-24. The Thursday-Saturday shows are at 7:30 p.m. and the Sunday shows are at 2:30 p.m.

I Hate Hamlet is a comedy about a TV star, Andrew Rally, (played by David Johnson) that has been cast in a Shakespeare in the Park run of Hamlet. He is trying to decide if he can pull off the acting required for Shakespeare like his idol John Barrymore played by Tony Record. His actress girlfriend, Dierdre McDavey, played by Alaine Sims, is obsessed with Shakespeare and finds the thought of her boyfriend playing Hamlet very romantic.

There are three other supporting characters, Amy Carroll playing Felicia Dantine, Jeff Fuller playing Gary Peter Lefkowitz, and Karen Temple playing Lillian Troy, that all have their funny moments where they give their advice as to whether he should or should not play the part. This cast does an amazing job of taking you on the journey and helps you laugh about the nuances of Shakespeare and how over the top it can be!

One of those actors, Jeff Fuller, has a special connection to the Longstreet Playhouse where HCT calls home. Back when the playhouse was a church, Jeff’s grandfather was the minister of the church. Jeff remembers coming there as a child. When you come and see the show see if you can find the picture of his grandfather on the stage.

Hendricks Civic Theatre welcomes everyone to come enjoy some community theatre again. We miss our patrons and need you to help our season be successful. Go to www.hendrickscivic.com to order tickets online and check out the Covid policy. There will be no tickets sold at the door so you must order your tickets online. Come support the arts and take yourself to see a little bit of Shakespeare and a whole lot of fun!

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.]

Yow – yow – WOO - yow WOOO! In case you didn’t recognize it, that’s me singing “On the Road Again!” My humans took me on a great trip! I’ve heard other humans talking about trips to Florida or New York or Europe, but we went someplace better! We went to Nebraska! Yep! To Nebraska!

They took me back to Auburn, Nebraska, to see the folks at Hearts United for Animals, which is the good place I lived after they took me away from the bad place where I was a puppy. I lived at HUA for about a year and a half while my fractured hip was being treated. Then, my Danville humans saw my picture on HUA’s website and knew I was their dog! When they adopted me, I flew from Nebraska, all the way to Cincinnati, where my female human picked me up and brought me to Danville.

HUA has really grown, which is good, I guess, but that means there have been lots more homeless animals to take care of. It’s a place where no animals are put down if they aren’t adopted. They are cared for until the end of their natural lives, so there are some really old dogs there. I even saw some dogs that were there at the same time I was!

I was happy to see Miss Carol, who runs HUA and who took such good care of me when I was hurt. She even got a veterinary school to donate two operations to rebuild my hip! One of my back legs is shorter than the other, but that doesn’t slow me down! When I am happy, my whole butt wags! And I butt-wagged the whole time we were at HUA!

There are big buildings with large inside runs that connect with huge, fenced exercise yards outside. It’s really neat! There are climbing towers in the middle of the yards that dogs can get on top of to see a long way! There’s also an agility playground for training some of the more athletic dogs. I myself didn’t do the agility course, but I was perfectly willing to stand back and shout helpful advice to my friends who were training! Some of the dogs have won awards for their athletic talents!

I did go to the memorial garden where flowering trees and shrubs are planted for dogs that have crossed the rainbow bridge. Of course, nothing was flowering yet, but Miss Carol said it was beautiful when it was all blooming.

We didn’t stay long, but it was long enough for me. HUA was my home for a while, and it was nice to see it again. I guess a little of me stayed in Nebraska, and I feel like I brought a little of Nebraska back here, but I’ll always think of Danville as my home. It’s where I have been the happiest and where I have been loved the most. And that’s home.

ANoteFromBee

I am fast approaching my 82nd birthday. I have have received some special presents during that time. I have five that stand out in my memory.

A pendant with a diamond in it (I never take it off because all the members of my family contributed to it), a surprise party for my 70th, and 2 work days.

The best present of all was sent to me by longtime dear friend Dottie for my 60th. We met in 5th grade at St. Joan of Arc grade school. We are still friends. Dottie moved out of state a few years after getting married. We communicated through letters and when she visited her mother from time to time, she would visit me. Dottie had saved all my letters for some 25 years. She picked quite a few of them out and sent them to me as my 60th birthday present. What a thoughtful, creative gift. By the time she sent me the letters we had started using computers and we were sending e-mails rather than letters. Dottie told me she could not save all my e-mails. Reading those letters brought back so many memories.

Bee Jones

JUST AN OBSERVATION

Heartache

By Janet Beam

There are all kinds of heartaches – losing a loved one, broken friendships, broken relationships, a wayward child or grandchild, illness and disease, all sorts of misfortunes can cause heartache.

But has your heart ever ached over a beautiful day? What about a quiet evening walking during a gentle snow when all the world around you is silent? Seeing an old picturesque farmhouse and imagining the grandma and grandpa who live there? Sitting around the supper table with your loved ones and bantering back and forth about this and that? Sitting on the front porch enjoying a good book? Kissing your sweet grandma’s face? Walking while the leaves are falling all around you? Being homesick for the past and those who are no longer here? Holding a sleeping child? Driving through the countryside admiring the grazing cattle?

Heartaches are not always bad. Sometimes we just need to let the simple things in life touch our soul and make our heart ache for those things that are precious to us all.

Just an observation.

Your Mental Health

By Chase Cotton, Community Director, The Willow Center 317-852-3690

How To Tell You’re Drinking is Becoming Problematic

It’s Friday afternoon, and you just finished a long workweek. You’ve worked hard! It’s time to put your feet up, turn on the TV, and…have a drink. Right?

Many of our Friday afternoons look like this. A drink or two on a Friday afternoon is relatively harmless, statistically speaking. But, what if your Friday afternoons turn into Thursday and Friday afternoons? Perhaps the stress at work is really getting to you this month, and now your twice a week routine becomes an every afternoon routine. Soon enough, your one or two drinks each afternoon becomes three or four drinks each afternoon. We have a problem!

Many citizens do not know that alcohol is the number one most misused substance in the State of Indiana and in the USA. Hendricks County, in particular, has a high rate of adults who self-report excessive drinking (>18%). If you take into consideration those who are not comfortable self-reporting on health assessments, this rate is likely much higher.

How do you know your drinking is becoming a problem?

• The first question to ask yourself is, “why do I drink?” Most adults drink for one of two rea-sons: to relieve stress or because it’s socially expected. Unfortunately, neither of these reasons are the healthiest. Using alcohol as a primary means to “wind down” from stressful feelings can lead you to problematic and addictive patterns. Using alcohol simply because you’re in a social setting where everyone else is drinking can also lead you to problems.

• The second question to ask yourself is, “how much do I drink per day?”. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), heavy alcohol use is defined as having 4 normal portioned drinks per day for men and 3 normal portioned drinks per day for women. How do you compare? Typically, the more you drink at each sitting, the more you become able to drink before inebriation – the result of a brain and body response called “tolerance”. If you are drinking at the higher end of these levels, you may have a problem.

• The third question to ask yourself is, “how many days per week do I drink?”. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration defines heavy drinking as bingeing (3-4+ drinks per sitting) five or more days per month. On average, most Americans consume 1.35 alcoholic beverages per day, which is about a beer and a half or a large glass of wine each day, for example. Heavy drinking is also defined by NIAAA as 14+ drinks per week for men and 7+ drinks per week for women. Again, how do you compare? Do you have a problem?

If you find yourself surprised by how relatable these numbers are, we want to encourage you that you are not alone! And, there is help available for you. The most research-supported way to re-duce/quit alcohol use and recover from addiction is through cognitive-behavioral therapy and counseling in both group and individual settings. In these sessions, you can learn new coping skills to manage your stress, and you can connect with others who know how you feel. There’s no shame in asking for help!