Center Grove Newsletter December 2014

DECEMBER 2014

PUBLISHER’S WELCOME Service and music set the theme for our Christmas issue. Joyce Long was in touch with Dr. Harty before he made his recent trip to India. She was in regular contact with him throughout the trip.

Finally, she met with him when he returned home. Our cover story, “Spirit of Sharing,” is an insightful and personal article. It not only discusses the details of this trip, but more importantly, why he has devoted so much of his time in service to others.

in the performing arts. However, not many people are aware of the scope of the orchestral program. It starts in middle school and continues, for some students, through to graduation. Johnette Cruz brings us the details.

Domestically, His Hands and Feet Ministries provide handyman and other services to those in need closer to home. As Kristen Parker notes in “Being His Hands and Feet,” they spend much of their time in one of the poorest areas of the country, Appalachia.

Merry Christmas!

In addition, you will learn about school funding challenges, family holiday traditions and how presence is more important than presents.

Dann Veldkamp Publisher

Musically, the Joyful Sound handbell choir is ringing the bells of Christmas. While they are active year-round, you have four opportunities to see them during the holiday season. Tonja Talley’s story, beginning on Page 11, will give you reasons to seek them out throughout the year.

Finally, the Center Grove school system has a strong reputation

atCenterGrove.com / DECEMBER 2014 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER / 3

EXPERTS AT SERVING OUR CUSTOMERS. AND OUR COMMUNITY.

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December 2014 / Vol. 3 / No. 12

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VP OF SALES

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ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

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TOWNEPOST PUBLISHER Tom Britt

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BUSINESS MANAGER Jeanne Britt

COVER STORY

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DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION Toni Folzenlogel

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Alyssa Sander

32

Cover Photo / James Eickman

ADVERTISING DESIGNER Austin Vance

EDITORS

SPIRIT OF SHARING: INSIDE INDA WITH DR. DOUG HARTY

Allie Nash Katelyn Bausman

Writer / Joyce Long

Local dentist Dr. Doug Harty understands what it’s like to give and to receive. As a recipient of a liver transplant 18 years ago, he understands the power of sacrifice. Harty lives a life of giving through service to others, and as a Christian and medical professional, he has participated in nearly 120 short-term missions trips in 15 different countries.

FEATURED COLUMNS 7 11 26

Being His Hands and Feet

The Christmas Bells Still Ring Working it Out

6 58 61 62

Dr. Christy Kirkendol-Watson / Jennifer Uhl / Jim Eichelman / Johnette Cruz / Joyce Long / Kate Rhoten / Kristen Parker / Leigh Lawson / Nancy Craig / Dr. Rich Archanoff / Tom Britt / Tonja Talley

Gardening Nana Event Calendar Word Search Making Cents

14 Students & Music 42 It’s Time to End the War on Fat 18 Lighting the Way to Sobriety 47 Military Students Return for the Holidays 20 Nominate a Mentor for the Inspire Awards 49 Cherishing Christmas 30 CG100 Plan for School’s Future 55 Fairness in Funding atCenterGrove.com

DECEMBER WRITERS & CONTRIBUTORS

Business Spotlights are sponsored content.

SHOP LOCAL!

Help our local economy by shopping local. Advertising supporters of the Center Grove Community Newsletter offset the costs of publication and mailing, keeping this publication FREE. Show your appreciation by thanking them with your business.

STORY SUBMISSIONS

Post your stories to TownePost.com or email to PR@atCenterGrove.com.

MAILING ADDRESS

P.O. Box 36097 / Indianapolis, IN 46236 Phone: 317-288-7101 / Fax: 317-536-3030 The Center Grove Community Newsletter is published

by Chilly Panda Media, Center Grove, under license from TownePost Network, and is written for and by local Center Grove residents.

atCenterGrove.com / DECEMBER 2014 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER / 5

GARDENING NANA

CHRISTMAS WREATHS FROM THE GARDEN shrubs to use for the base of my wreaths and swags. Then I add some pinecones (this year our special critters!) and touches of red like apples or pomegranates. Red berries are good additions to wreaths, but check the plant. Some like the Winterberry holly and Ilex verticillat have wonderful red berries which are great for the wildlife but poisonous for humans.

Writer / Nancy Craig

Every Christmas I love to make wreaths and swags from my garden to decorate our house inside and out, hanging them from every door and post. This year I had my great nieces and nephews help me make some special decorations to add to the wreaths: pinecone critters. The little mice, kitty cats and bunny pinecone critters add some whimsy and fun to the wreaths.

In my garden I have a variety of pine trees, holly and boxwood plus other evergreen

We got our ideas for the pinecone critters from this book, Gardening with Kids, by Catherine Woram & Martyn Cox. In this book there are ideas for a Christmas wreath using leaves, nuts and seed heads and a star decoration made with twigs. The kids have fun bringing in nature to make projects.

Besides the indoor projects to do now, the book has great ideas for our garden next year.

Lindsey, Lauren, Nana & pinecone mice

tarragon and other herbs which make a very fragrant wreath for the inside of my front door. There are so many ways to make wreaths for Christmas, and adding fresh or dried plants and herbs will enhance their fragrance and beauty.

Merry Christmas!

This year I have a special wreath made by my daughter, Ann, from the herbs in her garden out in Colorado. The wreath has Sweet Annie (Artemisia annua), basil,

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Nancy loves flower gardening almost as much as she does her great nephews and nieces. Her interest in gardening intensified while living in Holland and was perfected with Master Gardener courses.

BEING HIS HANDS AND FEET Writer / Kristen Parker Photographer / Contributed

When Stephanie Rohl and Andrea Bauer first volunteered in Appalachia almost two decades ago, they had no idea that the experience would eventually lead them to form their own non-profit organization for ministry there: His Hands and Feet Ministries. “About 18 years ago, a youth pastor approached us about going to Appalachia on a mission trip. In addition, as teachers, we ended up being able to spend entire summers there. We got to know the people and the area and fell in love with it,” said Andrea.

THE REASON

In Floyd County, Kentucky, where His Hands and Feet focus the majority of their work, about 28 percent of households live below the poverty line. Comparatively, about 9 percent of households in Johnson County are below the poverty line. In addition, there is assistance available in Johnson County, as well as public

transportation for people to receive that assistance. “There are no services in Appalachia. Historically, this part of the country has been forgotten,” said Stephanie. “And there is no bus system to take people even if there were services for them.”

In addition to the significant need in Appalachia, the ministry is drawn there for another reason. “Coming from the Center Grove area, once you’re there, you’re there.

There’s no going home at night. This gets people out of their element and gives them the opportunity to see the world through a different lens without leaving the U.S.,” said Andrea. “We just want to give people the opportunity to go on a lower-cost mission trip … so they can see that extreme poverty does exist in the United States, and it is only five hours away.”

THE MISSION

The mission of His Hands and Feet Ministries is “to preach the Gospel of Jesus by being disciples who address the spiritual

and physical needs of the communities in which we serve.” To fulfill this mission statement, they offer a variety of services, depending on the need. Most of the jobs involve making homes safe for the families who live in them. “Some of these homes you would not let your dog live in; we just go in and try to make it safe for these families,” said Andrea. Examples of projects include, but are in no way limited to, building wheelchair ramps and emergency steps, installing new doors and windows, and repairing flooring, roofs, and plumbing.

THE PROCESS

Each family must first submit an application to the ministry before any work begins.

Once received, Stephanie and Andrea assess the cost estimate on the project, as well as the age of the people asking for help, their income and the safety of the site.

Several times a year, Stephanie and Andrea actually travel to Appalachia to visit these potential ministry opportunities so they can match volunteer groups with appropriate work sites.

atCenterGrove.com / DECEMBER 2014 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER / 7

Stephanie Rohl & Andrea Bauer. Photographer / Forrest Mellott

8 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER / DECEMBER 2014 / atCenterGrove.com

THE HISTORY

Each volunteer is responsible for his or her own transportation and food while there.

His Hands and Feet Ministries officially began in 2013. Andrea and Stephanie have been leading mission trips to Appalachia for Contact information for His Hands and the past 12 years through Saints Francis and Feet Ministries can be found at Clare Catholic Church. His Hands and Feet, hhfmindy.org. while based within and launching teams from the Center Grove community, partner with any church or other group looking to send a mission team to Appalachia.

A lifetime resident of the Center Grove area, Kris graduated from IU Bloomington with a degree in Journalism. She is the blessed mother of two active, home-schooled boys, and is passionate about her faith, her family and making her budget stretch.

THE EFFECT

This domestic opportunity for missions has a long-term effect on international missions. “What churches should understand is that if they send a group on a domestic trip, it will help with their international ministry as well. People who go to work in Appalachia will end up thinking, ‘If this poverty exists here in our country, what else is out there internationally?’” said Andrea.

THE HOPE

Appalachia has traditionally been wary of outsiders. Andrea and Stephanie have experienced that first hand. “It took years of us being there repeatedly before we were accepted,” said Stephanie. This is the very reason why His Hands and Feet assign groups to work at the same job site for the entire week of the trip. “The people we are working for probably won’t even come out of their house for the first few days.

However, by the end, they do. It’s the realization that ‘These people paid money and gave up a week of their time to come and do this for me?’

It restores some hope in humanity,” said Andrea.

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Writer / Tonja Talley . Photographer / Forrest Mellott

“Caroling, caroling through the town/Christmas bells are ringing…”

The cherished Christmas song, “Caroling, Caroling,” enthusiastically describes December as that special time of year when you hear the sounds of Christmas bells, possibly on a one horse open sleigh or clasped between the cold hands of a Salvation Army volunteer. However, for Joyful Sound, a community bell choir, the bells still ring all year long.

The community choir was built from a dream Greenwood resident June Hannah had carried in her heart. “I had always dreamed of bringing the unique sound of handbells to the Indianapolis and surrounding communities,” said Hannah. “I wanted to display the bells in various forms and to challenge ringers with difficult music of diverse styles.”

Hannah invited many experienced local ringers to gather and discuss a possibility of forming a community handbell choir.

Their brainstorm led to the genesis of Joyful Sound in 1999. According to Hannah, one of their first goals was to establish a mission statement, to define the purpose for the group and how it would relate to the community. Because handbells are a unique instrument, she said, the ringers decided the purpose would be to promote the art of English handbell ringing through performance, education and community outreach.

With a $500 grant from the Johnson County Community Foundation and borrowed bells in hand, the choir first performed at the wedding of two of its members. Over the past 15 years, Joyful Sound’s music exposure to the local community has grown, playing at such venues as Conner Prairie, Symphony on the Prairie, Hilbert Circle Theater, Indianapolis Artsgarden and the Indiana State Museum, among others.

THE

CHRISTMAS BELLS STILL RING

Joyful Sound bids you welcome to come and enjoy listening to the Christmas bells still ring at the following locations:

Member Joy Whitesell said she enjoys when the group introduces handbells to school-aged children through workshops and special events.

• Dec. 7, 4 p.m., Center United Methodist Church, 5445 Bluff Road, Indianapolis

“One of my favorite occasions occurred at the Children’s Museum,” she said. “As people wandered the museum, we played several sets and often times performed a ‘ring and sing’ on chimes with kids and adults.”

• Dec. 14, 7 p.m., First Christian Church of Morgantown, 2717 S. Morgantown Road, Morgantown • Dec. 15, 7 p.m., Crestwood Village, 8813 Madison Ave., Indianapolis • Dec. 19, 7 p.m., First Baptist Church, 99 W. Main St., Greenwood

MS001_14v5ol.indd 1

Joyful Sound now owns their own instruments, which includes 5 ½ octaves of Schulmerich handbells and 5 ½ octaves of Malmark handchimes, plus other equipment at a cost of over $30,000. The sounds produced and techniques used to play handbells are very different from any other instrument.

Each ringer is responsible for two

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8/21/14 11:18 AM

to four notes, plus their accidentals (sharps and flats). There are over 20 ways to play a bell; all notated by different symbols, making the instrument sometimes resemble an organ or percussion instruments.

Everyone reads from the same musical score and it is truly a team effort by every ringer to produce a full musical piece.

For more information or to book an event with Joyful Sound, contact music director June Hannah at 317-888-3278 or email at junehannah3@gmail.com.

Make sure to visit their website, joyfulsound.info.

Tonja Talley has called Center Grove home since 1993. An 11-year bi-lateral lung transplant survivor, Tonja enjoys speaking on behalf of the Indiana Organ Procurement Organization. She also volunteers for the CF Foundation, byTavi and her church.

“In celebration of our 10th anniversary in 2009, Joyful Sound recorded their first CD, which included a variety of music from sacred tunes, such as “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” and “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” to fun tunes like “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and “A walk-in the Park,” plus songs specifically written for handbells,” said Hannah. “As a result of the success of the recording, we have been recording new music sampler CDs for multiple publishing companies across the United States.”

For their 15th anniversary, Joyful Sound has recorded another CD, called “A Joyful Christmas.” Similar to the first CD, “A Joyful Christmas” highlights the unique contrast in songs the handbells can perform. This CD creates an emotional connection between the bell’s distinct sound and the human heart with such familiar Christmas songs, such as “Silent Night” and “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear,” to shoe tapping songs like “St. Nick Boogie.”

Watching these ringers in concert, one sees their love and dedication to their instrument. Member Lindsey Fischer says, “Handbell music really moves throughout your being when performing. We focus so intensely on the music that it really helps us clear our minds and come together as a choir. The precision required to play all of the notes and techniques makes us a very cohesive group.”

Looking toward 2015, Joyful Sound will be busy preparing to be the featured choir for the 2015 Handbell Musicians of America Area 5 Spring Festival in French Lick, Indiana. atCenterGrove.com / DECEMBER 2014 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER / 13

STUDENTS & MUSIC SHINING A LIGHT IN ORCHESTRAL EDUCATION

Writer / Johnette Cruz . Photos / Provided

The presence of extracurricular activities in the Center Grove School System has given the opportunity for students to flourish in an array of areas — and participating in the orchestra is no different. Classes started for the middle schools in 1992 and the high school joined along in 1995. The orchestra journey can start for a student in the sixth grade when they begin learning to play the violin, viola, cello or bass. As students advance their skills, music difficulty

increases. Over 260 students participate in the orchestra program. Classes are offered by grade level in the middle schools.

Currently Center Grove High School has two orchestras, philharmonic which is intermediate and symphonic for upper level students.

Two people who are heavily involved within the program are Mitch Phillips, the President of the Center Grove Orchestra Council, and Sarah Belt, Director of Orchestras at all campuses. “The Orchestra

Council is here to support the directors and help make our children’s experience in the orchestra the best it can be,” said Phillips.

“This primarily means being involved in support activities for the concerts and fundraising.”

Belt oversees all orchestra programs within the Center Grove School System. Belt left Perry Meridian Middle School to have the opportunity teach orchestra at all levels; she also wanted to assist in growing the Center Grove orchestra program. Belt

14 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER / DECEMBER 2014 / atCenterGrove.com

thoroughly enjoys working with children in the program along with the staff. “Everyone has welcomed me with open arms into their department as we all have the same vision for the future of the orchestra program at Center Grove,” she said. “I think the biggest impact this program has had is on families that have chosen and continued to be a part of the orchestra program.”

Two major events are scheduled for early December, The Corelli Christmas Concerto December 6 and the Winter Gala December 10. The Symphonic Orchestra from Center Grove High School will perform the Corelli Christmas Concerto at Resurrection Lutheran Church. Phillips describes the event briefly, “It was composed around 1690 and Piano Solutions loaned us a

digital harpsichord to the orchestra for the concert.”

Belt expects the audience will have an enjoyable evening adding, “The concerto was scored for an ensemble consisting of two concertino violins and cello, ripieno strings and continuo (harpsichord).

The musical evening concludes with the audience joining the orchestra, organist and bell choir along with singing traditional Christmas carols.”

The orchestra family will also gather for their Winter Gala December 10. Belt said that this gala is the largest event for the orchestra during the school year.

“The evening includes a concert with performances from various students in all

grade levels in the orchestra, along with the Center Grove High School Philharmonic and Symphonic Orchestra. In addition to the wonderful holiday music, there will be a silent auction with items donated from local vendors and businesses. All or a portion of the proceeds will return to the Center Grove Orchestra Council.”

The arts have an important place when it comes to the structure and learning of the students that attend Center Grove, and Belt can attest to that. “Center Grove Middle School North and Middle School Central both require all of their sixth grade students to enroll in band, choir or orchestra. I believe that this shows that music is a valued part of the curriculum and that all students need exposure to it,” says Belt.

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Phillips also recognizes how valuable this organization is to the children. “I think it is important for students to be exposed to a wide range of experiences — we need to provide opportunities for them to find their passion in life. For some it is music — be it strings, band or voice — for others, its athletics, robotics, drama or creative writing. It is these things outside the classroom that help produce well-rounded individuals,” explains Phillips.

Throughout the year students who participate in the orchestra program at Center Grove not only get the chance to perform at various venues, but they also get to compete at the highest level in the Indiana State School Music Association as both solo and ensemble entries. In addition, there have been some students selected for the Indianapolis Symphony’s “Side by Side” program.

The discipline is hard but the work pays off. Phillips loves to see the looks on the faces of students as they perform pieces they have worked so hard at and then hear the audience’s reaction. “It really is amazing to hear the progression of ability at the Winter Gala as we move from the youngest orchestras up through the Philharmonic and Symphonic Orchestras.” The benefit I receive from being a part of this organization is seeing the look on the student’s faces as they realize they have just made some great music — then the look of pride on their parents’ faces.”

includes concerts and features performances of masterworks by Barber, Copland, Ravel and Rimsky-Korsakov, among others, with world-renowned guest artists. This series will continue into 2015 with the next stop in February at Mount Pleasant Christian Church.

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The art community continues to grow in Center Grove on all levels. Last month the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra kicked off the 317 Series at Center Grove High School, bringing the ISO’s concerts and programs to the greater Greenwood area and other surrounding communities. The ISO wants to enhance the concert experience by partnering with local schools such as Center Grove for music and adult education programs and recitals to the area. The 317 Series 16 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER / DECEMBER 2014 / atCenterGrove.com

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LIGHTING THE WAY TO SOBRIETY When Amy Temple walked through the doors of The Salvation Army’s Harbor Light Center in April 2013, it was not her first attempt to conquer addiction. This time, though, would be different.

addiction, but each time she would fall off the wagon. “It’s true what they say about life getting worse and worse each time an addict goes back out,” she said. “Mine certainly did. My using ran rampant and completely ruled my life.”

Amy’s story looked much like any other Hoosier’s until about 14 years ago. That’s when she underwent bariatric surgery and developed medical complications during her recovery. Prescription narcotics helped with the pain, but it wasn’t long before Amy became addicted.

After an intervention by family, Amy found herself on the doorstep of the Harbor Light Center for the third time. Though embarrassed and filled with shame, Amy was welcomed with open arms. She saw this as her last chance to reclaim her life.

The facility addresses the medical, psychological, emotional and spiritual needs of its clients. From detox to 12-step classes and “I was never one of those addicts who was in denial about having a problem,” Amy explains. “That was apparent to me fairly early. What counseling to chaplaincy, the program works with each individual I was in denial about was that I could control my using or get clean to create a unique path to a successful recovery. without working any kind of a program or without God in my life.”

“In the months before I came here, I was hopeless and suicidal,” Amy says, revisiting that heartbreaking time. “My family had had Amy began to seek help after more than eight years of active

Amy Temple prepares to lead a class at The Salvation Army Harbor Light Center TOWNEPOST NETWORK / DECEMBER 2014 / TownePost.com

enough enabling me. They had to love me enough to stop helping me kill myself. My willingness to do something different and their tough love helped to make the difference.”

For the first time, Amy was able to fully embrace the changes that had to be made in order to overcome her addiction. “We have so many clichés in recovery, but one of the things that’s said a lot is ‘you only have to change one thing, and that’s everything’ and that really has been true for me. I feel like everything has changed. I went from having no hope and praying to God to die every single day, to having so much hope for the future, so much hope for what God has in store for me.”

“WE HAVE SO MANY CLICHÉS IN RECOVERY, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT’S SAID A LOT IS ‘YOU ONLY HAVE TO CHANGE ONE THING, AND THAT’S EVERYTHING’ AND THAT REALLY HAS BEEN TRUE FOR ME.”

Now well into her second year of recovery, Amy is still at the Harbor Light Center, but now in a supportive role. She is a Ladies Resident Assistant for the Transitional Housing Program at the facility and teaches several classes for clients going through the 12step program. As a role model for residents, she is able to encourage them in their own difficult journeys.

Amy is thankful for the supportive staff at The Salvation Army who saw her through her darkest days. “I finally have some peace and serenity in my life,” she remarks, before adding, “but God both deserves and gets all the praise and all the glory for my transformation.”

TownePost.com / DECEMBER 2014 / TOWNEPOST NETWORK

NOMINATE A MENTOR FOR THE INSPIRE AWARDS College Mentors for Kids wants to know who you consider a mentor. They are currently taking nominations for business professionals that have demonstrated mentoring skills in the workplace or their community.

Each category has a committee and a chairman from that industry that will review the nominations. The winners will be announced at the Inspire Awards, a luncheon that benefits College Mentors for Kids. Each category will have five winners and a Mentor of the Year will be recognized. The awards luncheon will also feature a Lifetime Achievement Award. Nominations are also being accepted for youth mentoring to celebrate people helping their community’s youth.

“I don’t think any of us can say that we’ve gotten to where we are in our careers, or our lives for that matter, without a mentor who has invested in us by providing wisdom, advice, and encouragement,” said Interim Chief Executive Officer Amanda Koushyar. “The Inspire Awards are an excellent opportunity for us to celebrate the mentors who make such a difference in the world while also raising awareness and funds of our mentoring program that’s committed to changing the stories of kids and college students through the power of mentoring.”

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CATEGORIES FOR NOMINATIONS: ☐ ACCOUNTING, LEGAL AND FINANCE ☐B USINESS, RETAIL AND SERVICES ☐ EDUCATION AND NON-PROFIT ☐ HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES ☐M ARKETING, MEDIA AND ATHLETICS ☐T ECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING Richard Lugar was the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award winner.

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WORKING IT OUT COUPLE OVERCOMES HEARTACHE & ADVERSITY WITH COMMITMENT TO FITNESS & ONE ANOTHER Writer / Jennifer Uhl . Photographer / James Eichelman

26 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER / DECEMBER 2014 / atCenterGrove.com

Most married couples begin their relationship as friends, but for Center Grove residents and Anytime Fitness co-owners Craig and Steffanie Brown, circumstances led to them being friends by default.

It starts with Craig Brown and Chris Hartsock. They were best friends from their early elementary school years until the day they graduated from Decatur Central High School. Though Craig joined the Army and moved several states away, the two men picked up right where they’d left off when Craig moved back to Indiana seven years later, in April 1999. By that time, Craig was married with an infant son, Koby, and Chris had met Steffanie, originally from Ohio. On a whim a month earlier, Steffanie had flown out from Cleveland to meet Chris. She never left. Steffanie and Chris joined Craig and his wife, Kathy, for dinner. The two couples were soon spending weekends together with a large circle of close-knit friends. Chris and Steffanie were married two years later.

For the next four years the two couples celebrated birthdays and holidays as family.

Then Craig’s wife suddenly died in 2005, leaving him stunned and alone with Koby.

Chris and Steffanie helped Craig cope with

single parenthood and made sure he was involved and surrounded by their extended group of friends as much as possible. In 2007, another tragedy: Chris, a 14-year Indianapolis Power and Light employee, was replacing a 1,200-pound electrical transformer when the crane lifting it fell.

Craig was rushed to Methodist Hospital, where Steffanie and their friends and Chris’ family were told that if Chris survived, he would suffer severe brain damage and be quadriplegic. Steffanie spent hours talking to family members and Craig, whose wife had also died of a brain injury. “I had gone through the same thing,” he recalls. Steffanie knew Chris wouldn’t want to live with such drastic injuries, if he recovered at all. Two days later, they took Chris off life support.

“I don’t know that the funeral would have been planned, if it hadn’t been for Craig and our friends,” Steffanie now says. “I wasn’t in the state of mind to be able to make decisions.” She couldn’t sleep, and she stayed with friends, not wanting to ever go back to the house she and Chris had shared.

Their home had already been on the market and sold about a month after the accident.

“We had no children; I had no immediate family here. Our friends had to plan my life

for a while,” she said.

Craig, who had been through the same turmoil of tragically losing a spouse just two years before, tried to help Steffanie as much as possible. He had lost his best friend and Steffanie had lost her husband. However, after a few months of helping one another cope, Steffanie and Craig started to feel they might be more than friends who had both lost someone they loved. “I was in a really bad place,” Steffanie said. “But when I was with Craig, I felt better. He made me feel alive and think things would get better.”

For Craig’s part, admitting that he might like Steffanie as more than a friend wasn’t easy. “It really bothered me,” he says. “I was thinking, ‘You aren’t supposed to be thinking like this … your best friend’s widow … no, I can’t feel like this, it’s not right.’” Still, Craig invited Steffanie to a concert on Memorial Day, and that night he confessed how he felt.

“I was acting weird,” he says, “I think I said, ‘I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but I have feelings for you and I know that Chris has only been gone a few months, but I will wait for you until you’re ready, if you have feelings for me.’” It was a risky move — but Steffanie felt the same.

atCenterGrove.com / DECEMBER 2014 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER / 27

“I’D SET UP A REALLY GOOD LIFE HERE, AND THEN THE RUG WAS RIPPED OUT. IN TURN, GOD GAVE ME CRAIG.” “My parents, her mom, they thought it was great,” Craig says. Their friends felt differently.

“We tried to meet one-on-one [with our friends] to explain,” Steffanie says. “How could we lose both our spouses and know the one thing giving us hope — our relationship — we were being asked to give up to save our friendships?” Together, they decided they were prepared to lose their friends and pursue a relationship. “But to this day, we’re saddened that we had to make a new life together that didn’t include our friends,” she says.

Even though Steffanie and Craig were rebuilding their lives together and happy in their relationship, the turmoil of the year

after Chris’ death took a toll on their health and their diets in particular. “We ate our way through the pain,” Steffanie says. “We were at the heaviest weights in our lives. I couldn’t believe I weighed as much as I did.”

Steffanie, who had been fit, topped out at around 200 pounds; Craig reached 250.

In late 2009, the two decided it was time to turn things around. Steffanie started going to the gym twice a day and hired a personal trainer. She was introduced to circuit training and became hooked. “Fitness was therapy, and it gave me control,” she says. “I couldn’t control the death of my husband; I couldn’t control that my friends had disowned me. But in the gym, I was in charge and I could see that my actions were producing a positive result.” Steffanie

became a personal trainer at the end of the year, and then made a goal to lose enough weight to participate in figure and bikini competitions. “I got down to 110 pounds and competed in three figure and five bikini shows.” Steffanie stresses that she lost weight the responsible way, over a good period of time: “It took about one-and-ahalf years, but I did it right.” Craig also lost about 50 pounds.

On their two-year anniversary, Craig proposed to Steffanie during a vacation to Cabo San Lucas. They married in 2011, but the day after their honeymoon, Craig had a massive seizure due to an undiagnosed AVM mass in his brain.

Steffanie’s immediate reaction was disbelief.

“I thought, ‘God, are you really serious?!’”

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she says. “It shook me.” Fortunately, Craig recovered (he had to have radiation treatments and undergoes periodical checkups) and Steffanie felt a sense of peace that everything was going to be OK. She also decided they needed to be more active in a church. They joined New Hope on Fairview Road with a determination not to be “seat fillers” and to make a new family of friends.

From the beginning of their relationship, Craig and Steffanie agreed they’d like to own their own business someday, and with their newfound commitment to fitness, it seemed they’d found their niche.

Steffanie left her job at a large corporate-run gym, and in 2012, she and Craig decided to open their own gym in Center Grove. Choosing to join the Anytime Fitness franchise was easy. “We wanted to be more customer-service-driven than the big-box gyms,” Steffanie says. “I was working with a friend who owned two Anytime Fitness locations, so I saw how it worked. I want people who come to my gym to know me.

When you’re at a big-box place, no one knows your goals. There’s no acknowledgement of what you’re doing.”

Not that there weren’t a few setbacks.

It took almost two years to secure a lease, but they finally landed in a 5,000-square-foot space near the corner of Olive Branch Road and State Road 135. More than 400 members have joined since opening at the end of May. Craig has another full-time job at a communications company, but Steffanie is at the gym full-time as a personal trainer, and to ensure that Anytime Fitness feels just that — personal. “We picked out every piece of equipment in here,” she says.

The Center Grove gym also offers an unusual Anytime Fitness benefit: classes. Most locations don’t offer them, and membership isn’t required to join in, say, a Monday night Zumba class. In addition, whether members

sign her on as a personal trainer or not, Steffanie is on hand to offer tips and encouragement. “It’s as hands-on as you want it to be,” she says. “Members know me not because I’m the owner, but because I go out there and I care. I know what it’s like to struggle and be overweight and unhappy.

P

r i v a t e

There’s virtually no situation where you don’t benefit from exercise,” she says — adding that includes her own, despite the heartache she and Craig went through. “I’d set up a really good life here, and then the rug was ripped out,” Steffanie says. “In turn, God gave me Craig.”

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CG100 PLAN FOR SCHOOL’S FUTURE Writer / Jim Eichelman . Photos / Provided

and business leaders – to participate in sessions to solicit their views on Center Center Grove School’s last round of strategic Grove Schools. The first of two planned planning was considered quite successful, sessions for the CG100 surpassed their with numerous initiatives implemented to expectations. More than 300 area residents improve the Center Grove school system. attended with around 600 that expressed However, Superintendent Rich Arkanoff interest. The time commitment is small — wanted to take strategic planning to the next two hours over the course of the school year level. From this desire hatched the current – but the result is extremely important. The initiative, Strategic Planning 2.0. mantra for CG100 is “Two Hours/One Year — Making a Difference for CG Students.”

The idea behind this effort is to obtain thoughts from the broadest cross-section The first CG100 meeting took place Sept. 9 of White River Township stakeholders and school leaders used various methods to possible, providing input to the school promote this meeting. Technologies such system’s Strategic Planning Committee as email blasts, website announcements and (SPC). One method to accomplish this is QR codes were employed, as well as more an advisory group called CG100. School traditional communication methods such officials were hoping to encourage at least as community posters, flyers and personal 100 individuals from the township – school contact with known organizations asking administrators, teachers, parents, parents of them to spread the word. former students, residents without students

At the meeting, key school leaders presented on a variety of topics. Then, attendees responded to an electronic survey to collect opinions on various questions posed by school leadership. Technology was key in facilitating the success of this survey.

Attendees could use their own mobile devices – smartphones and tablets – to respond or devices were available for use by those who did not have one.

Information from this process was analyzed and shared with the SPC during their meeting Sept. 30. During that meeting, they reviewed the survey data and developed a set of “wonderings,” identifying areas where they “wondered” if certain things could be done or actions taken. One hundred twentythree of these “wonderings” were identified in 27 categories. These will be used in the December meeting of the SPC to develop and rank goal ideas.

30 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER / DECEMBER 2014 / atCenterGrove.com

“TWO HOURS/ ONE YEAR — MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOR CG STUDENTS” These ranked goal ideas will then be shared with the CG100 group in preparation for their final meeting of the school year, which is planned for Jan. 13, 2015. There, the CG100 advisory group will weigh in, again using surveys, on the goal ideas and ranking produced by the SPC. That will in turn be fed back into the SPC process with a target of having final, measurable goals defined at the final SPC meeting April 21, 2015.

Jack Parker, Assistant Director of You can find a wealth of information on Strategic Planning 2.0 and the CG100 at Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment and Special Education, indicates Arkanoff wants centergrove.k12.in.us/cg100. the strategic planning process to be agenda free and transparent. “People are going to Jim Eichelman is a freelance want to know if we are doing something photographer and writer. A longtime with the information we collected,” said Center Grove area resident, he Parker. The answer to that question is a also operates James Eichelman resounding yes, and school officials want to and Associates, LLC, a computer consulting firm. promote public awareness of these activities.

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Dental supplies given to patients

Writer / Joyce Long Photos / Courtesy of Dr. Harty

Personifying this season’s spirit of sharing, local dentist Dr. Doug Harty understands what it’s like to receive and to give. A recipient of a liver transplant 18 years ago, Harty understands the power of sacrifice. As a Christian and as a medical professional, who has participated in nearly 120 short-term missions trips in 15 different countries, Harty lives a life of giving through service to others. atCenterGrove.com / DECEMBER 2014 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER / 33

“Dr. Doug” enjoys a moment with the kids who have been rescued from possible trafficking. They greet each other hands together, saying the South Asian word, Namaste, one of Doug’s favorite greetings in the entire world.

Yet Harty, a 1975 Center Grove High School (CGHS) graduate, learned empathy for the poor not overseas but in Bloomington, Indiana. When he was in fourth grade, his father, Ray Harty, overheard a woman who worked for him say she needed a bike for her son’s Christmas but couldn’t afford one. Doug accompanied his father as he left one anonymously on her front porch. In seventh grade Doug visited, as part of his school’s service club, a local impoverished neighborhood.

“It was one of those November days where it was raining, muddy, gray and cold,” said Harty. “I saw people who lived under tar paper and cardboard and I was completely shocked. I couldn’t believe people actually lived like that.”

After his younger sister Pam, a 1976 CGHS graduate, and her husband John VanDeWerff, also a dentist, went to Honduras in 1985, Harty joined Medical Group Missions to serve in the Dominican Republic March 1985. Almost 30 years later, Harty makes two to three overseas mission trips a year. And with 25 trips

to Haiti, where Dr. Bill Rutherford and he assisted after the 2010 earthquake, Harty published his first book, “From the Roof,” which chronicles his experience there.

DENTAL CLINICS

Another favorite mission partnership involves Central India Christian Mission (CICM) in Damoh, India. After hearing CICM founders Drs. Ajai and Indu Lall speak at Indian Creek Christian Church, Harty wanted to serve there. Harty visited India for the seventh time in September for three weeks, but this year’s trip included a first — he traveled alone. But he didn’t work alone.

CICM dentist Saket traveled with Harty to the Nepal border, where they set a record of treating 118 patients in one day.

“The flow of the clinic was beautiful, our chemistry was amazing and at the end of treatment, each patient received antibiotics, analgesic, a toothbrush and Sensodyne toothpaste as the number one complaint was sensitive teeth,” said Harty.

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While on mission trips, Harty sends out emails to over 230 people, often telling funny stories, describing locales and sorting out his emotions while experiencing extreme poverty. While in Nepal, he shared a story about treating a 15-year-old girl who, when asked where it hurt, replied in Bengali, “In my mouth.” Both her mother and the translator yelled at her for being rude.

“I burst out laughing, which broke the tension of the moment,” said Harty. “They asked what was so funny and I told them that this was what teenagers do when asked such an obvious question. They did not believe American teenagers would do such a thing, which even made me laugh harder. I had won her over as a friend because as she left, she said I looked like George Clooney, which made the clinic laugh.”

CULTURAL SENSITIVITY

Dr. Harty continued clinics the next day in Darjeeling where he extracted a rotten molar from a man with leprosy. Because it was hot and crowded, Harty prayed with the patient as he always does on the mission field. Only this time was different. Even though the man sensed the American dentist was in a hurry to see the next patient, he took the time to caress Harty’s hand with his own diseased one, which struck a deep realization within him: “I know I have seen so much that my heart is calloused in many ways, but I am thankful that God brings someone like this man to peel off some of that dead tissue that surrounds my heart and refreshes it to beat a little cleaner, like for the first time. I love the slums. I love the people who live there because they teach me how to live again.”

Another trip highlight came when the dental team arrived in an area where Christians are often persecuted for their faith. There he met people who have suffered and lost family members simply because of their beliefs. However, Harty clarifies that global persecution is not always one-sided.

“I also want to be clear that although the Christians are being persecuted here, if you look at the Central African Republic, the Christians are brutalizing Muslims even as they are being escorted by the military to a safe zone and other countries. We, as Christians, have a long history of this kind of activity as well. Ultimately the extremists of any religion are the bad guys,” he said.

EXTREME POVERTY

Like much of the world, India experiences not only extremist uprisings but also issues with human trafficking. And many people in these areas live under the international poverty line, which is estimated to less than $2 a day according to the World Bank.

Through his travels, Harty has witnessed how those who live below the international poverty line may sell their older children in order to avoid starvation for the younger ones.

Churches in India are doing their part to provide bags of rice and encouragement. Harty was humbled to meet some of the women who visit slums every night. atCenterGrove.com / DECEMBER 2014 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER / 37

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Dr. Harty with a local church congregation

Dr. Harty & the dental team

View of the city Darjeeling. Behind the clouds are three of the five tallest mountains in the world.

Dr. Harty preaches to a local church accompanied by CICM’s translator.

atCenterGrove.com / DECEMBER 2014 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER / 39

“I was honored to meet them and they wanted me to say something to those gathered at the church. However, what do I say to people who are doing exactly what the Bible says – helping and loving the poor? So that’s what I said and was humbled beyond words,” he said.

Before returning to Greenwood, Harty spent time at CICM and worked in their dental clinic. He enjoyed time with the kids housed at their Children’s Home, and sharing the pulpit with Dr. Ajai Lall. Before he left from Delhi, Harty was able to set-up one final dental clinic for Afghani refugees, which included both Christians and Muslims. His contact was a pastor who had converted to Christianity. Because of this, he is pursued by death squads and is in constant danger. However, his ministry extends to Muslims who also have fled Afghanistan.

“My first patient was clearly Muslim, and I greeted him in the Muslim way, and that caused quite a stir, but the pastor was smiling,” said Harty.

“Everything is translated from the language this group is from [several dialects exist in Afghanistan] to Hindi and then over to me in English. The stir was because I was honoring who they were, which I have tried to do everywhere I have worked. It’s just polite, but was significant that I was culturally sensitive – and it matters, especially in this case.”

do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”

Joyce Long has called Center Grove home since 1987. She has taught language arts at Greenwood Middle School and coordinated marketing for Mount Pleasant Christian Church and communications for Center for Global Impact. Currently Joyce enjoys freelance writing and co-leading Heartland Christian Writers.

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While Harty’s philosophy is based upon empowering the poor with the Gospel, he sees value in working with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that focus on microenterprise and revolving loans. Harty tells of an Indian woman whose son had heart issues. She sold snacks to support her family. Onein.org, a local NGO, provided an interest-free loan of $25, or 600 rupees, for her to buy more materials. “In her first week, she already made her first payment. When she pays the $25 back, she will receive another loan to grow her business,” said Harty.

Harty’s passion to serve the poor is reminiscent of clergyman Edward Everett Hale’s famous quote, “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot

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IT’S TIME TO END THE WAR ON FAT Writer / Dr. Christy Watson

How many times have you read or been told that fat is enemy No. 1 and should be avoided? Diets are simply based on calories in versus calories out and all calories were created equal. This was the message given to the public in the early ’80s. The dietary food pyramid was based on grains and carbohydrates, with little fat or protein. It was a diet that was supposed to make us healthier, to lower our risk of heart disease.

Twenty years later the results are in, and the low-fat experiment was a failure of epic proportion. Americans are sicker and more overweight than at any time in history.

Obesity is not just an epidemic;v it’s a pandemic.

There are only three macronutrients – fat, carbohydrates and protein. Our dietary intake of them must equal a total of 100 percent. If we lower one, by definition we have to increase at least one of the others

to keep the total the same. Without fat, something had to be added.

The scientific concept seemed to make some sense – if we limited saturated fats in our diet, then it would reduce “fat” in our bodies in the form of cholesterol. The idea was that we would replace saturated fats with healthy fruits and vegetables. But that wasn’t the case. Refined, processed carbohydrates and added sugars replaced fats that should have been a part of a balanced diet. These carbs were found in wheat bread, low-fat crackers and pasta. These sugars caused our blood chemistry to change, which caused us to store energy and gain weight. This also increased our hunger, which made it even more difficult to lose weight. It created a vicious cycle and has had devastating consequences to our health.

How did this happen? Can fat free bread and corn be sugars? Yes, they can. To our bodies, a low fat bagel is no different than a TOWNEPOST NETWORK / DECEMBER 2014 / TownePost.com

bag of skittles. A calorie is NOT a calorie.

Since 1970, egg consumption is down 21 percent and refined white sugar is down 35 percent. Yet high-fructose corn syrup is up 8,853 percent, and corn products, 198 percent. These are the processed food products that the food industry used to replace fat. In that same period, there was a 42 percent increase in calories from flour and cereals.

As a result, consumers unknowingly increased caloric intake from 2,109 calories per day in 1970 to 2,586 calories in 2010.

From just calories (not even the kind of calorie) alone, if those were extra calories not burned off, this would contribute to ONE pound of weight gain EVERY WEEK! And unfortunately for us, the caloric pie (unlike the macronutrients of fat, protein and carbohydrate) is not one that must remain 100 percent. If we consume more than we need, we store that energy as fat,

which goes right to our waistline. Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes and high triglycerides are the result, and it happens with little to no involvement of “evil” dietary fat!

So what is really going on inside our bodies in regard to proteins, carbohydrates and fats?

Think of your body’s metabolism as a fire.

It has to be stoked to keep the fire going.

If it doesn’t, then it starts to die down. We can stoke the fire in different ways. When we give our body sugar, we get a quick burst of energy, and our body uses some of this for basic functioning of our organs. The rest – usually quite a bit – gets stored. This is quick fuel for our cells. When this quick energy is used up and put in storage, our body thinks it is starving because there is no usable energy around. It tells our brain that it needs more energy, that we are hungry; even though we just ate and there was plenty of energy there. Therefore, we are constantly hungry and storing away more energy. And we never burn the extra because we never force our body to use an alternative fuel source.

When sugars are withheld from the diet, and we stop living on quick sugar metabolism, our body quickly figures out that it needs a fuel source. It turns to the most abundant supply of energy all of us have – our fat cells! This is called nutritional ketosis. And remember, in keeping with the 100 percent total for macronutrients, if one goes down, at least one other must go up.

This is where protein comes in. In simple terms, proteins have the same caloric energy as carbohydrates. But they have a drastically different effect on our metabolism.

First, we actually burn some calories just digesting protein. Second, proteins provide building blocks for our cells, especially muscle. Third, and in my opinion most important, protein is the best appetite suppressant we have. Protein fills our stomach, and sends a true signal of satiety or “fullness.” Now this isn’t saying that you can eat more protein than you can burn, because it all gets stored if it is in excess, but it does not stimulate the quick sugar metabolism like carbohydrates.

Where does dietary fat fit in? There has always been evidence that fat was not the

Lorie Blythe, Dina Palmer and Dr. Christy Kirkendol-Watson

TownePost.com / DECEMBER 2014 / TOWNEPOST NETWORK

problem. The Mediterranean diet includes healthy fats like olive oil, and has been proven to have many heart-healthy and waist-healthy benefits. It is a diet espoused by reputable medical groups such as the Mayo Clinic. It has been referenced in study after study as a healthy diet. Meta-analyses of even saturated fat in the diet have failed to unequivocally prove that it alone causes higher levels of heart disease and death. On the contrary, there is mounting evidence that added sugar in the diet has a direct and linear relationship to higher levels of cardiovascular disease and death.

So how can a consumer keep it all straight?

How can we guide our own diets and those of our families? First, read every label. The label on the back of the package, not the one on the front from the marketing department of the food company. And know what you are putting in your body. Just for fun, journal everything you eat in a week to get an idea of your actual caloric (energy) intake, and look at where those calories come from.

Are they sugars, flour, and processed foods?

Finally, do a little research yourself. Don’t rely on the government, the food industry or even the diet industry to safeguard your

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TIPS TO PREVENT HOLIDAY LOVE HANDLES DID YOU KNOW THE AVERAGE AMERICAN GAINS 10-15 POUNDS DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON? CONSIDER THESE TIPS FOR A HEALTHIER HOLIDAY SEASON.

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☐T reat each holiday as one meal only.

Do not make leftovers into several days of meals. Go back to your regular eating routine and get rid of leftovers.

Remember, waste it or waist it! ☐C ontinue tracking calories and exercise more than normal. ☐D on’t skip meals before the big holiday meal. You are more likely to overeat then. Do eat small, high protein, lower calorie meals during that day. ☐D on’t deprive yourself. If we tell our brain we can’t have something at all, we obsess over it and end up overindulging more. Instead, allow yourself a small portion of that food, so you can stop thinking about it. But be aware of overall calories. ☐C ontrol your stress. We all tend to overfill our lives with commitments during the holidays. Don’t be afraid to say no. The less stress you have, the and the more likely you are to continue in your normal routine and organization.

Dr. Christy Kirkendol-Watson is a local physician board certified by the American Board of Obesity Medicine. She treats patients with dietary issues at her Livelight Clinic in Zionsville.

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www.IndyFace.com 317.814.1104 TownePost.com / DECEMBER 2014 / TOWNEPOST NETWORK

LINCOLN SQUARE PANCAKE HOUSE OPENS 9th LOCATION Lincoln Square Pancake House is a staple in central Indiana. Stop by on a Saturday or Sunday morning and the full tables speak for themselves.

The locally owned breakfast and lunch joint has opened its newest location in Fortville where there was once the Fortville Grill.

But the building is not the only thing that transferred from the original restaurant.

James Dowless, former owner of Fortville Grill, is now the most recent chef to be hired onto the Lincoln Square team.

The 11-year-old business has seen lots of growth, as Fortville will be their ninth location. And the business hopes to still grow, but Dowless has his own ideas for what the secret to success is.

“The secret is the people that work here and the food is pretty amazing,” said Dowless.

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Chris Katris, majority owner of Lincoln Square, says that Dowless will be great for their team.

“He’s a very talented chef, but he’s even a better person,” said Katris. “He takes great pride in taking care of people. He’s a great ambassador for Lincoln Square.”

LOCATIONS

GEIST

Watch a video interview at TownePost.com with publisher Tom Britt to learn more about the restaurant’s history and expansion plans.

8150 Oaklandon Road #109 Indianapolis 46236 317-823-5373

GREENFIELD 118 W. Main St. Greenfield 46140 317-318-1792

GREENWOOD 8041 Madison Ave. Indianapolis 46227 317-534-0001

DOWNTOWN

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WESTFIELD

3186 E. State Road 32 Westfield 46074 317-399-7102 Lincoln Square team members at their newest location in Fortville (left to right) Costas Stylianou, James Dowless and Chris Katris.

TOWNEPOST NETWORK / DECEMBER 2014 / TownePost.com

EATATLINCOLNSQUARE.COM

MILITARY STUDENTS RETURN FOR THE HOLIDAYS TownePost.com / DECEMBER 2014 / TOWNEPOST NETWORK

José Alejos (middle) with his US Naval Academy son, Marco (left) and West Point son, Andrés (right).

Lawrence North cadets reunite at the 2013 All Academies Ball with their dates (left to right) Ben Vittori, Collin Crane, Anna Vittori, Marco Alejos and Gigi Cabello.

D

uring the holidays, college students return home during their mid-year breaks to reunite with families and friends.

It’s also a time when Naval Academy Midshipmen return from Annapolis and convene for the annual Indiana All Academies Ball with fellow military families from Indiana.

Navy IU tailgate

This year’s chairperson of the event, Jose Alejos, has strong ties to the military and happens to live in one of the officer’s homes at historic Fort Benjamin Harrison. Alejos enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1979 and served 10 years. Following their father’s footsteps, his sons Marco and Andres graduated from Lawrence North High School and then were accepted into the Naval Academy and West Point respectively.

“It’s very difficult to get accepted at the academies,” said Alejos.

“Over 60,000 high school graduates apply to the academies every year with only about 3,500 getting accepted.”

Not only do applicants have to have good grades and show leadership capabilities, they also must submit letters of recommendation from U.S. Senators and Congress just to be considered for the program.

Central Indiana touts a high number of active U.S. Naval Academy and Merchant Marine “Midshipmen” as well as “Cadets,” and from the other three academies including Air Force Academy, United States Military at West Point and the Coast Guard Academy. There are 280 Hoosier Cadets and Midshipmen including those attending the associated prep schools, which will be returning home during the holidays. And while Alejos and his family love to spend time with his enlisted sons, he openly admits “they are our sons, but they belong to the USA.”

COLTS OWNER SUPPORTS MILITARY

Last year during the Navy’s sequestration, Navy Midshipmen were not allowed to fly on military planes to their away football games, including the Sept. 7 game against Indiana University. Parents of the midshipmen started reaching out to military families raising money on short notice to prepare for a tailgate event. Indianapolis Colts

owner Jim Irsay was one of the first donors to help fund the tailgate event, which attracted over 1,200 people.

“It was the largest tailgate ever hosted at IU,” said Alejos.

Dignitaries from the U.S. Navy and Department of Defense were so moved by the outpouring of support, they attended the tailgate and signed a football to give to Irsay as a token of their appreciation. The Colts owner has also sponsored the annual Indiana All Academies Ball among other military causes and functions.

INDIANA ALL ACADEMIES BALL

Military families and applicants to the academies are invited to the annual ball on Dec. 26 at The Crane Bay Event Center, located at 551 W. Merrill St. in Indianapolis.

Justice Steven David will be the keynote speaker highlighting an evening featuring a plated dinner and dancing. For other local businesses or families that would like to support these up and coming leaders in our nation’s military, sponsorships are also available to help offset the costs. For more information, go to indiana.usnaparents.com.

TOWNEPOST NETWORK / DECEMBER 2014 / TownePost.com

Cherishing Christmas

Writer / Jennifer Uhl . Photographer / Forrest Mellott

Every Christmas we unpack our decorations to once again adorn our homes for the holiday season. Some decorate hurriedly to get the job done. Some are truly inspired to transform their homes into a holiday vision. For Bargersville resident Cindy Jarvis, decorating and preparing her home for Christmas has created special traditions and memories for many. Her efforts are great and they are appreciated by so many admirers. She embraces the season and happily shares her enjoyment.

atCenterGrove.com / DECEMBER 2014 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER / 49

Her spectacular home is over a century old. She and her family bought it in 1997 around Christmas. They soon began the hard task of restoration. There were doubters about the monumental work that the house required, but Cindy assured them she had a vision. She did have a vision. Her vision was of Christmases in this beautiful relic of a home. Her special ornaments and decorations that had accumulated over the years now had a special home for the perfect holiday setting.

Shortly after moving into the home, Cindy and her dearly beloved mother-in-law Sandy attended a special event where Christmas traditions were shared among the attendees over coffee and refreshments. An elderly woman began to share her story and it captured Cindy’s heart. Esther Demaree shared her stories of a beautifully decorated home with special holiday traditions. She spoke of her family dressing in red or in their finest to sing carols around the piano. They would have a large tree that passersby could admire from the front window. She spoke about “Santa Boy” arriving to his appointed spot on the fireplace mantle to watch over the children for good or bad behavior. While being enchanted by Esther, Cindy began to realize that the two had a link to each other.

The link was the 1912 house that she now called home. Esther’s father had built their home when Esther was 2 years old.

Cindy began to embrace some of the traditions of the house’s past that Esther had generously shared. “Santa Boy” made a return to the mantle to oversee the children of the house’s new family. The Jarvis children were thoroughly in love with “Santa Boy.” Precious memories were created from this adopted tradition. Carols were once again being sung around the family piano. Cindy was bringing the home’s original Christmas spirit back to the heart of this home.

Cindy had other traditions outside of the home that she shared with her children and her nephews. Every year they would have a special outing to see “The Polar Express” at the IMAX Theater. One year she was very disappointed that their holiday movie was not going to be showed.

50 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER / DECEMBER 2014 / atCenterGrove.com

Welcome to happily ever after.

www.AmandaDeBusk.com 85 E Main Street, Suite B | Greenwood, Indiana 46143 | 317.759.0685 | Amanda@AmandaDeBusk.com atCenterGrove.com / DECEMBER 2014 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER / 51

The disappointment led to inspiration. She wasn’t going to miss the tradition. She was going to reinvent it. She began to plan her own showing of the movie in her home.

Her family was fine with whatever she did. She wanted it to be more than just an adequate substitute.

and leave a legacy that teaches others that making people smile is worthwhile and magical. It fills her heart to watch families taking time to capture the spirit of Christmas while visiting her Christmas home.

Jennifer Uhl is a former associate editor of Indianapolis Monthly Home. Now a freelance writer and stay-at-home mom, Uhl’s work has also appeared in Indianapolis Monthly and the city’s suburbbased publications. She lives in Center Grove with her husband and two children.

On a shopping trip to Target while still feeling the disappointment, Cindy happened upon Santa himself in one of the aisles. Santa was the exact person to save her beloved Christmas tradition.

Tearfully she approached Santa and asked, “Why are you at Target roaming around?” Christmas had arrived early for Cindy’s heart. She inquired about whether Santa was available for parties and he was.

New Christmas traditions were dawning for a special home that had captured her imagination and heart.

She surprised her family on “The Polar Express” evening with Santa coming to visit.

Over the years, Cindy has lovingly created traditions to celebrate the special Christmas spirit that has always dwelled in the home. Cindy has expanded to include other favorite holiday movies to share and celebrate with others. She features a different movie each week in December. She will decorate according to the theme of each movie. A leg lamp is prominently displayed from “A Christmas Story.”

Of course, “The Polar Express” has its honored week where Cindy gives everyone a sleigh bell with a leather strap to help them keep believing.

Cindy’s greatest holiday joy is creating cherished memories for those that she loves. Everyone from Santa to her children have been touched by her love of Christmas and her love of a beautiful old home. She skillfully crafts the holiday as though it were a gift.

People appreciate her dedication.

Her goal is to bring enjoyment

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54 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER / DECEMBER 2014 / atCenterGrove.com

FAIRNESS IN FUNDING WHY THE STATE’S FORMULA FOR SCHOOL FUNDING NEEDS A FIX 2015 FUNDING PER PUPIL

Writer / Dr. Rich Arkanoff, Superintendent

HIGHEST

As parents and educators, we work with children to instill the concept of equality.

We tell them that equality is how we treat each other fairly. We teach them that if you treat others equally, you will be treated fairly. Unfortunately, another learned lesson is that life is not fair.

An essential role in government is to provide an equal starting point. In other words, to “level the playing field” so that all have equal opportunity, but sometimes governments aren’t fair either. With regard to funding per student and in comparison to the state average, the state of Indiana is not distributing tax dollars fairly to the Center Grove Community School Corporation and several other districts across the state.

$7,156

STATE AVERAGE

$5,793

CENTER GROVE

$5,051

LOWEST $0

$4,826 $2,000

programs that are staples in most Indiana schools,” said Scott Robison, superintendent at Zionsville Community Schools. “We have no elementary physical education teachers, we had to drop our International Baccalaureate program and we even had to close our high school science labs to experiments due to safety issues during high class sizes.” To help avoid this same situation from occurring in our district, Center Grove has joined Dr. Robinson in the formation of a group of school districts called the “Fix-It Coalition” which is urging lawmakers to fix the school funding formula. “The skew seen in the current school funding scheme is absurd and broken, and it must be fixed,” said Dr. Robinson.

The 2015 state average funding per pupil is just over $5,700. Center Grove receives approximately $5,000 per pupil, while other districts receive more than $7,000.

Center Grove’s funding is nearly $800 below the state average. This funding deficit is hitting many districts across the state, including Munster, Southwest Allen, Southern Hancock, Hamilton Southeastern, Zionsville, Carmel and West Lafayette.

FIXING THE FORMULA “Students in some of the highest performing The Center Grove administration agrees Indiana school districts are missing out on with the Fix-It Coalition’s belief that the 2014 BUDGET

$4,000

$6,000

$8,000

dollars should follow the student, and per pupil funding should be equitable no matter where in Indiana the student attends school. Unfortunately, that is not the case with the current funding system for public schools. To understand this issue, you first need to understand the way Indiana’s school funding works.

Public schools operate five major funds to fund the educational system in our community: 1. General Fund — Funded by State Sales Tax 2. The Capital Projects Fund — Funded by Local Property Tax 3. Transportation — Funded by Local Property Tax 4. Bus Replacement — Funded by Local Property Tax 5. Debt Service — Funded by Local Property Tax

GENERAL FUND - $44,390,000 CAPITAL PROJECTS - $7,115,238 TRANSPORTATION - $3,560,000 BUS REPLACEMENT - $930,000 DEBT SERVICE - $13,957,699 TOTAL - $69,952,937

The funding issue impacts only schools’ General Funds, which are the primary funds used to pay teachers, classroom assistants and administrators. Other funds support other financial obligations. For example, local property tax supports the Capital Projects fund, which supports the upkeep of school buildings and to build future schools within the community.

With all that stated, let’s focus on the General Fund. atCenterGrove.com / DECEMBER 2014 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER / 55

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State income tax and sales tax are the primary sources of state revenue for school funding.

In 2008, the Indiana General Assembly changed the Indiana public school funding formula to rely much more on sales tax, thus reducing the reliance on local property tax as a central revenue source for school corporations’ General Funds. They removed property tax revenue completely from General Funds in 2009. Legislators increased the state sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent, so the State could supposedly support 100 percent of school districts’ General Fund revenues. Many school administrators, business officials and representatives from professional school associations condemned this idea because the generation of revenue was moving away from a stable revenue source, local property taxes, to an unstable revenue source, sales tax.

PER STUDENT FUNDING IMPACT $5,793 $50,000,000 $5,000 $40,000,000

$30,000,000

HOW YOU CAN HELP

$20,000,000

$10,000,000

IMPACT ON CENTER GROVE

Financial Officer. “We continue to innovate, prioritize and make difficult choices to optimize every dollar of funding and yet there still remains an impending budget deficit.”

“As you can see, Center Grove is not receiving its fair share of state funding,” said Dr. Paul Gabriel, Center Grove Chief

The current state funding system uses a number of variables that state legislators can manipulate to adjust funding for schools.

One main variable is the “Complexity Index.” The Complexity Index was created to provide additional funds to school corporations with a greater number of traditionally disadvantaged students. The intent of these revenues is to help school corporations close the student achievement gaps that persist in classrooms throughout the state including Center Grove. This corresponds to the theory that one can redistribute tax revenues to provide a fair and equitable system of school funding across all 296 school districts in the state.

Let’s calculate the impact to Center Grove.

In September 2014, the school district’s official student enrollment was nearly 7,800 students. At approximately $5,000 per student, the total revenue from the state was roughly $39 million. However, if you apply the state average per student funding of $5,793, the district would have received over $45 million. This is an estimated shortfall of over $6 million to Center Grove, while other school districts will receive the state average or even higher. Do I have your attention? I hope so.

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Under the current system, Center Grove will continue to be funded unfairly and eventually face more significant issues such as increased class sizes, program reductions and, finally, staff cuts. The only option for school districts like Center Grove to replace the lost funding from the state is to seek a General Fund Referendum, which will increase taxes. This process is risky and an unfair “Double Taxation” on the residences and businesses of White River Township.

What can you do to help? Encourage your state legislators to support a recalibration of the state’s school funding formula to serve Center Grove students on par with other Indiana school children without the necessity of a “pay-twice or perish” system that forces a choice between increasing class sizes and losing programs or double taxation through operating referenda. The current school funding formula is not fair to many schools like Center Grove, it’s bad for business and it’s bad for our children.

Learn more at indianaschoolfunding.org or email INFixItCoalition@gmail.com.

Rich Arkanoff, EdD became superintendent of the Center Grove Community School Corporation in July 2011. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Severe Disabilities, a master’s degree in School Administration and an EdS in special education, all from Indiana University. He obtained his EdD in Educational Leadership from Capella University. Dr. Arkanoff and his wife, Beth, live in the Center Grove area with their two youngest children. They have six grown children.

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58 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER / DECEMBER 2014 / atCenterGrove.com

DECEMBER LOCAL EVENTS 3-20 / SALI SUPER SALE

The Southside Art League Off Broadway will be exhibiting original art works perfect for gift giving this Christmas season. A wide variety of styles, subjects, media and prices will be available. Some items that will be available include giclee prints, original unframed art, jewelry and greeting cards.

Wed. – Sat. 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM Free Southside Art League, Inc. Off Broadway Gallery 299 E. Broadway St., Greenwood 317-882-5562 southsideartleague.org

6 / FRANKLIN HOLIDAY LIGHTING

Celebrate the beginning of the Christmas season with your neighbors in downtown Franklin. Enter the 10th Annual Cookie Contest. The parade begins at 5:30 p.m.

3 p.m.

Free Downtown Franklin franklinparks.org

SPONSORED BY MALCOLM T. RAMSEY AGENCY Submit your events online: atCenterGrove.com & click “Events”

11 / LOVING LIGHTS

16 / HOLIDAY CRAFTERNOON

13 / BREAKFAST WITH SANTA

17 / WHITE RIVER BOOK DISCUSSIONS

Honor those you love this Holiday Season when you give a Loving Light. Your honoree (or designee) will receive a beautiful Christmas card announcing your gift along with an invitation to attend the Tree Lighting Ceremony.

6:30 – 7:30 p.m. $10 each Johnson Memorial Hospital Campus (Surgery Center) 1125 W. Jefferson St., Franklin bit.ly/loving_lights

Breakfast with Santa This event is fun for the entire family! Join us for a breakfast of pancakes, sausage, eggs, juice, coffee and more! Santa will be there, so don’t forget to bring your camera! Must pre-register.

396 Branigin Blvd., Franklin 317-736-3689 play@franklin.in.gov franklinparks.org

Come in and create a holiday craft or two to take home with you! Grades K-5.

4:30 p.m.

Free White River Branch Library 1664 Library Blvd., Greenwood 317-885-1330 pageafterpage.org

If you love talking with others about a book you’ve read, you’ll want to attend these events. This month we will be reading and discussing Inferno by Dan Brown. These discussions are geared toward adults.

1:30 p.m.

Free White River Branch Library 1664 Library Blvd., Greenwood 317-885-1330

atCenterGrove.com / DECEMBER 2014 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER / 59

Tired of Waking Up Tired?

Sleep Evaluation A comprehensive sleep evaluation includes not only the attended sleep study at the Indiana Sleep Center, but also a clinical evaluation by your personal physician. Often your doctor will request that one of our staff sleep specialists be involved on a consultative basis for your evaluation and treatment plan.

Insurance

Don’t let sleep disorders affect your life.

Most insurance plans cover sleep studies just as they would cover any outpatient diagnostic procedure, as long as, they are medically necessary and ordered by a physician.

• It is estimated that 26% of adults between the ages of 30 and 70 have SLEEP APNEA.

Every insurance policy differs from the next; therefore, we

• Findings from studies emphasize the negative effects of sleep apnea onto review the brain and policies heartand encourage patients their individual determine if their plan provides coverage for outpatient sleep health; however, these health risks can be reduced through effective treatment of study procedures. sleep apnea with Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Therapy (CPAP).

The Indiana Sleep Center offers a comprehensive sleep evaluation conducted by one of Contact the Indiana Sleep Center for a comprehensive sleep evaluation conducted by Indiana’s most experienced staff of physicians and technologists. one of Indiana’s most experienced staff of Board Certified physicians and technologists.

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IndianaSleepCenter.com 60 / CENTER GROVE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER / DECEMBER 2014 / atCenterGrove.com

Songs of Christmas

WORD SEARCH

Presenter / Gettum Associates, Inc. . Creator / Lucy Stravers

Hidden in the puzzle are the first words of the titles of the Christmas songs listed below the puzzle. The words in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS appear in the puzzle and may appear in any direction in a straight line.

The words appear in a straight line in any direction and have four or more letters in the word.

1. ANGELS We Have Heard on High

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6. FOR UNTO US a Child Is Born

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7. GOOD CHRISTIAN Men, Rejoice

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8. GO TELL It on the Mountain

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3. AWAY in a Manger

9. HARK, the Herald Angels Sing 10. HOW GREAT Our Joy 11. I HEARD the Bells on Christmas Day 12. INFANT HOLY, Infant Lowly

15. JOY to the World 16. LO, HOW A ROSE E’er Blooming 17. MARY Had a Baby 18. O COME All Ye Faithful 19. O HOLY Night 20. O LITTLE Town of Bethlehem 21. ONCE in David’s Royal City 22. RISE UP, Shepherds

23. RING the Bells

26. THE FIRST Noel

29. WHAT CAN I Give Him?

24. SILENT NIGHT

27. THOU DIDST LEAVE Thy Throne

30. WHAT CHILD Is This?

25. STAR of the East

28. WE THREE KINGS

31. WHILE SHEPHERDS Watched Their Flocks

Lucy Stravers lives in Pella, Iowa, and is the mother-in-law of Dann Veldkamp.

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PRESENCE, NOT PRESENTS Writer / Kate Rhoten

It’s that time of year. It comes at the same time each year, the transition from fall to winter and the holiday season. Thanksgiving has come and gone as well as Black Friday.

Florida with my cousin and sister. We recollected my path to college and subsequently starting out on my own. I thanked him. In turn, he let me know he was proud of me.

That quiet time with my grandfather was necessary. We were connected, like no other time. Money got me there, but it didn’t Now, we are between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We are waiting pay for my attention. As I head into the holiday season, I don’t think for the next big thing. I bring this up because recently I went to there is anything I want for Christmas. I just want the ability to New Orleans for a conference. I met a Jeff Goins, an author who has be with my family and celebrate life, to be present. For me, it’s not written many books. He had his newest book, “The In-Between” about a gift under the tree; it’s about the gift within thee. available for purchase.

I took my signed copy with me on the plane and read it on the way back home. It’s a quick read. Nevertheless, it had me thinking about the way we live and how we are always looking for the next “thing.” It doesn’t matter if that thing is the next holiday, the next job promotion or vacation.

Kate is a financial expert of what to do and not do with money as well as owner of 4 Walls Financial, A Coaching Focused Company.

She has attended and completed Dave Ramsey’s Counselor Training. Follow Kate on Twitter @katerhoten, reach out to her via email at kate.4walls@gmail.com or visit 4wallsmoneycoach.com.

Feel free to share ideas or questions for future articles.

What about after a big event or experience? Are we enjoying the time in-between these? It’s easy to be caught up in the busyness of our lives, but sometimes we need to embrace the moments between the wedding and the first-born child. What about the longing between vacations or the next cool gadget?

Money affords us the ability to create events. We use it to buy presents. However, it doesn’t help us be present somewhere, other than facilitating the process of getting us to the destination. We can’t live in the moment if we are not open to it.

COME SEE THE STYLISH SOLUTIONS WE CAN OFFER YOU. “And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

I can tell you it’s hard to just be. It’s hard to wait for something to happen. It’s difficult to see the importance of the time inbetween the milestones of life. I experienced an “in-between” moment in October. My 94-year-old grandfather was in the Intensive Care Unit. Money afforded the opportunity for me to go and be with him. That is where the ability of money to influence the moment ended.

Luke 2:10-11

My grandfather was a catalyst in my life. He helped guide me to adulthood and I don’t think I would be where I am now if it wasn’t for my grandfather. There were things he did for me that required money, but there were other things. My grandfather could outdo any of us grandchildren at the amusement park. He took in all those moments with us and gave us the best of him.

He was present.

Now it was my turn to be present for my grandfather. It was up to me to just be. As hard as it was, I did it. I held my grandfather’s hand. We shared stories of my summer trips to

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