INSIDE TODAY: FIRST LILLY WINNER
theRISING SUNrecorder www.theohiocountynews.com
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Issue No. 16
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Community week of mourning includes Bear Branch chief Tim Hillman Recorder-News Editor risingsun@registerpublications.com
April has been a tough time for those in Ohio County with several deaths of well known residents. Last week's tragic death of two year old twins Jocelyn Nicole and Shaylyn Lee Spurlock in Aurora on April 8 was sad news everywhere including Ohio County relatives. (See adjacent story). An American Flag was draped from a fire truck outside of the Olive Branch Baptist Church where Harry Althoff, 81, was a deacon. He died Tuesday, April 8. Just a week earlier the community of Bear Branch remembered the 40th anniversary of the April 3, 1974 tornado which devastated the community. In his words (in a story on the 30th anniversary) Althoff said, “we survived.” That survival was largely due to Althoff. He and partner (the late) Howard Weismann operated A&W Milling for 44 years after Althoff had started the business in 1954 with his father-in-law Everatt Oatman. He was a charter member of the Bear Branch Volunteer Fire Department, from 1969 to present, where he was the current and longtime fire chief. He was a former reserve deputy for Ohio County Sheriff’s Department, from 1970 to 1982. Harry served on the building committee for Ohio County Elementary Middle School. He was a member of the Indiana Volunteer Firefighters Association and the Farmers Mutual Aid Society, for 20 years. He was so revered that nearly every year when there was a vote for the Volunteer of the Year for the Bear Branch
Fire Department and honored during either 9-11 festivities or recently Take Back the Night (drug awareness), Harry Althoff was the recipient. So humble, Althoff would shy away from accepting the award. A firemen service was conducted by the Indiana Volunteer Firefighters Association & the Bear Branch Volunteer Fire Department Friday, April 11 at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to Olive Branch Cemetery, Olive Branch Baptist Church Building Fund or to the Bear Branch Volunteer Fire Department Endowment Fund % Community Foundation of Ohio County.
Sox Murray
Earlier in the week, funeral services were held for Vernon Lee “Sox” Murray, 84, who passed away Sunday, April 6. A Switzerland County native, he attended Cass Union Grade School and Rising Sun High School. Sox was also a member of the carpenter’s union and had worked in construction. He had worked on many local bridges and the Markland Dam. His memorial donations may be made to the Cass Union Scholarship Fund or charity of donor’s choice.
Louis (like Sox) worked at Seagrams Distillery in Lawrenceburg and also owned Rumsey Realty for 25 years. He served in the U.S. Naval Reserve for five years and was a member of the Rising Sun Masonic Lodge, the Indianapolis Scottish Rite and the Dillsboro Shriners Club. Louis was also a faithful member of the Rising Sun United Methodist Church. Memorial donations may be made to the Rising Sun United Methodist Church.
Kitchen George
George D. “Kitchen George” Feustel, 59, of Aurora passed away Friday, April 11. He worked as a flooring specialist for Lowes Hardware since December of 2010. He was the owner/ operator of Ohio Valley Kitchens for 36-37 years, earning him the nickname of “Kitchen George.” George was an Aurora Lions Club member since 1987, member of Farmers Fair Board since 1988 and a former member of the Gideon’s International. Friends will be received 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 17, 2014 at the Rising Sun Church of Christ, 430 Fifth Louis William Rumsey, 86, passed Street, Rising Sun. Services will be held away on Saturday, April 5. He was a at the church, Friday, April 18 at 11 a.m. graduate of Moores Hill High School, with the Rev. McDonald Jackson official Contributions may be made to the Class of 1946 and also received an engineering degree from the University of Aurora Lions Club for Relay for Life or Gideon’s International. Cincinnati.
Louis Rumsey
FILE PHOTO
Members of the Bear Branch community met ten years ago to talk about the 1974 tornado. Pictured in the back row are Alan Althoff and his father Harry along with Don Roy Monroe, Ervin Iceberg and Henry Bushman. Shown in front are Ester Dennis, Judy Race, Helen Marie Monroe, Janet Iceberg, Maxine Bushman and Charlotte Horn, American Red Cross coordinator.
Twins Shaylyn and Jocelyn Spurlock, 2, were found drowned in a neighbor’s pool Tuesday, April 8.
Aurora reels after twins drown BY ERIKA SCHMIDT RUSSELL erussell@registerpublications.com
When twin 2-year-old girls were found in a neighbor’s swimming pool Tuesday evening, April 8, it was the second tragic end to a search for the Aurora Fire Department, Aurora Emergency Rescue and Dearborn County Sheriff’s Department in a week. Not only was this the second tragedy on Dutch Hollow Road in a week, it was the second for the family. The girls’ grandfather Richard Hunter died in a logging accident in Switzerland County Tuesday, April 1. AFD, sheriff’s deputies, and the life squad were dispatched at 6:49 p.m. Tuesday to an area on Dutch Hollow Road near Elm Circle. The location is about half a mile from the Aurora Firehouse, and about half a mile from where emergency personnel found Peggy Dean drowned in a pond Wednesday morning, April 2. Dearborn County Sheriff’s Sgt. Max Socks said Shaylyn and Jocelyn Spurlock, the children of Bryeanna Conley and Brad Spurlock, 5456 Dutch Hollow Road, were found by a neighbor in a pool at 10798 Elm Circle a little after 8 p.m. The twins were given CPR at the scene, and taken to Dearborn County Hospital, Lawrenceburg. They were pronounced dead in the emergency room. An account at fundly.com has been set up by a family friend to help the Spurlocks with funeral expenses. The account is called Brea’s Angels. Another account has been set up at gofundme.com. Messages of support and condolence were pouring on to family members’ and community Facebook pages. The Aurora Fire Department held a Fish Fry on Friday and raised $3500 for the Spurlock family. The fire department donated $1000 and another $2500 was given in free will donations. Fire chief Jeff Lane thanked the community for its support of the family.
Lobbyist tells of upcoming battle, CAMPBELL CARING IN AFRICA neighbors express concern over race Ohio County Council heard a legislative update from lobbyist Jewell DeBonis at its Monday, March 31 meeting. DeBonis gave an update about the next legislative action. She stated that there is a legislative council that will whittle the list of potential bills down by 1/3 with a resolution bill. The bills should be ready for the House and Senate by mid-June. The resolution is determined by the Speaker of the House and the President Protem of the Senate. The Senate and House will have Public
Policy committees formed that usually take until the end of June. There will be many gaming bills in this upcoming session because the riverboat money is “up for grabs.” She said that the state is not going to sit by and lose money and let us have riverboat income. The State of Indiana is only interested in increasing their revenue. Jewell gave out a list of the second regular session’s senate resolutions which includes competition from Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, and Kentucky markets. There are
also reductions due to competition and economic conditions, effectiveness of free play deductibility and taxation levels of Indiana casinos, and issues related to youth access to gaming. There was also discussion concerning live dealers at racinos, Indiana lottery (on-line lottery and video lottery terminals), charity gaming expansion and sports betting. She stated that the uphill battle is next year with a high probability that admissions tax will change.
Salute to Service We owe our veterans and troops a big thank you for all their service, sacrifice and strength. We will salute them in a special section to be published Wednesday, May 21, in The Harrison Press and Thursday, May 22, in The Dearborn County Register and The Rising Sun Recorder. If you have a soldier, sailor, or other military service person in your life whom you would like featured in the special section, send us some information about him or her along with a photo. Tell us a little about that special person and his or her service. There is no cost. The information or any questions may be emailed to Denise at newsroom@registerpublications.com or dropped off at one of our newspaper offices. The deadline is Tuesday, May 13.
See BATTLE, Page 8
SUBMITTED
Erin Campbell, daughter of Don and Ellen Campbell, is in Zimbabwe, Africa interning as a nurse this month.
Yard Sale signup
It’s spring cleanup and yard sale time in Rising Sun. Scour every nook and cranny of the city in search of the best deals May 1-3 during the Yard Sale Extravaganza. For items you wish to scrap, take them to the city dumpsters on Saturday, May 3 and 10 from 7 to 11 a.m. and also Wednesday, May 7 from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. (or until the dumpsters are full). The dumpsters are available to Rising Sun and Ohio County residents only.
WEATHER TODAY Partly Cloudy HIGH ......67 LOW.....44 Friday Few Showers HIGH ......65 LOW.....48 Saturday Partly Cloudy HIGH ......63 LOW.....43 Sunday: Mostly Cloudy HIGH ......66 LOW.....49 Monday Showers HIGH ......64 LOW.....46
INSIDE today COMMUNITY LEGALS/OBITS SPORTS
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Copyright Register Publications, 2014
131st Year, No. 16
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