Plainfield Magazine November 2019

NOVEMBER 2019

MAGAZINE

Hendricks County Students Represent Team USA In BMX World Championships

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RIDE OF A LIFETIME: HENDRICKS COUNTY STUDENTS REPRESENT TEAM USA IN BMX WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

When most kids think of BMX, they may think of watching the X Games on TV or even making makeshift jumps in their own yards for their bikes. When Nico Pareja, 16, Drew Polk, 16, and Reagan Rice, 10, think of BMX, they think of their most recent participation on the USA team in the BMX World Championships in Belgium in July.

Josh Brown

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Samantha Kupiainen

NOVEMBER WRITERS

Christy Heitger-Ewing / Jamie Hergott Stephanie Singh / Lynda Hedberg Thies

NOVEMBER PHOTOGRAPHERS

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Amy Payne / Jamie Sangar KelGrand Photography / Tony Gude

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Gather ‘round : Use this holiday prep list to host the best gathering this season

10 Big Joe On the Radio: Former

Colts Player Joe Staysniak Talks

Family, Football & Life on the Airwaves

14 Ride of a Lifetime: Hendricks

18 IU Health West Hospital Growing to

Plainfield Council Announces New Government Center, Performing & Fine Arts Center

County Students Represent Team USA In BMX World Championships

Meet Community Needs

21 The Courage to Leave: One

Woman’s Journey to Freedom & Fulfillment After Escaping Domestic Abuse

25 Unraveling the Crime: Hendricks

County Author Publishes Second Book in Mystery Series

28 Sculpting a Legend: Local Artist

Talks About Creating the Peyton Manning Statue

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PLAINFIELD

PLAINFIELD COUNCIL ANNOUNCES NEW GOVERNMENT CENTER, PERFORMING & FINE ARTS CENTER Writer / Stephanie Singh Photos Provided by Town of Plainfield

parking structure that is currently under construction.

The next phase of the Town of Plainfield’s Downtown Redevelopment Plan is starting to take shape. The Town of Plainfield is now considering the recommendation to construct a new government center in conjunction with adding a new performing and fine arts center to downtown. The plan is to construct the new facilities on the corner of Center Street and Main Street replacing the current Plainfield Municipal Building and directly across from the new

In December of 2017, the Plainfield Town Council adopted a Conceptual Downtown Redevelopment Plan with specific recommendations including the need for additional parking and establishing a potential entertainment attraction. The plan was developed after hosting several public input sessions and hiring Context Design to draft a guideline for redevelopment. Most recently, RATIO Architects was hired to study and provide design concepts for a

6 / PLAINFIELD MAGAZINE / NOVEMBER 2019 / PlainfieldMag.com

new government center and proposed arts center.

“With the growth of Plainfield, town staff is busting at the seams in their current town hall facility, and some employees are working in hallways and in closets,” says Town Council President, Robin Brandgard.

“A new Plainfield municipal building is actually the cost-savings solution (based on the age and condition of existing Town Hall) as we plan for the next 50 to 100 years.”

The government center will be an adjoining building to the larger complement of the performing and fine arts center, designed to be a 600-seat auditorium to fulfill the public’s request of more entertainment in the Downtown District. The Town is already working with the Hendricks County Arts Council as a partner for this new facility.

“This new performing arts center is going to change the entire entertainment profile for Hendricks County,” says Peg Glover, President of the Hendricks County Arts Council. “The Arts Council is proud to be working with the Town on the development of this exciting new performance venue. The vision of this top-quality facility promises to attract first-rate performances.”

The government center and performing and fine arts facility would become the centerpiece of downtown Plainfield. The design concepts are the first of many steps in the process for consideration of the Town Council. In the coming weeks Town Council will further review design elements and explore funding and fundraising options with the potential of a groundbreaking within the next year.

“Current leadership is really carrying the tradition of Plainfield’s history of being mindful in planning for future growth and creating a diverse economic base,” says Plainneld Andrew Klinger, Town of Plainfield Town (317) 839-4886 “We are excited to bring more 2687 E.Manager.

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Former Colts Player Joe Staysniak Talks Family, Football & Life On the Airwaves Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photographer / Amy Payne

Though he stood 6' 5" and weighed 240 lbs. by the end of his freshman year of high school, Joe Staysniak says playing pro football was never on his radar.

athletically in swimming, football and volleyball. In fact, four of the five kids received a college scholarship.

“Our whole family started swimming at a young age,” Staysniak says. “On weekends, we were up at three in the morning to travel to all-day swim meets. We didn’t have big, fancy vacations together. We had swim meets.”

San Diego Chargers (1990), the Buffalo Bills (1991), Kansas City Chiefs (1992), the Indianapolis Colts (1992-1995), the Green Bay Packers (1996) and the Arizona Cardinals (1996).

Staysniak has fond memories of playing with the Colts due to the camaraderie “I recognized the small percentage of kids he built with his teammates. They who make it at a professional level so I bonded over intense workouts in the never saw that dream on the horizon,” says weight room and taking the field during Staysniak, who grew up the middle child Though he adored basketball, football crazy snowstorms or blinding rain. in a family with four siblings. His mom, a seemed a better fit for his physique and And, of course, there was the 1995 AFC school teacher, and his dad, a police officer, once he set his mind to playing, his only Championship game against the Steelers instilled in their children the importance of goal was to be offered a college scholarship. with Jim Harbaugh as quarterback where maintaining a good work ethic.

Ultimately, he landed one with Ohio the Colts came close to winning, which State, starting all four years as an offensive would have advanced them to the Super “They were both incredibly hard workers, lineman. He was part of the 1986-87 Ohio Bowl. But it’s the everyday things that and we all wanted to make them proud,” Staysniak treasures most.

State Big Ten championship team that Staysniak says. defeated Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl “Honestly, some of my favorite memories Classic.

That they did. He and his brothers and involve lunchtime, just before going out sisters all thrived academically and to practice,” says Staysniak with a chuckle.

During his NFL career, he played for the NOVEMBER 2019

“The guys would sit around the equipment room watching the financial channel and discussing stocks.”

In 1994, sportscaster Bob Lamey invited Staysniak to join him every Monday morning to talk about the game.

“I said, ‘I’m just a no-name offensive lineman. Why me?’” Staysniak recalls.

“Because you’re trustworthy and I can depend on you to show up every Monday at 7 a.m.,” Lamey told him.

“I ended up having a lot of fun doing it,” says Staysniak, who parlayed the gig into a 25-year radio career. He’s now a weekday morning sports radio talk show host for WIBC and WFNI in Indianapolis. You can hear him between 7-10 a.m. on 1070 the Fan and 93.5 FM on “The Jeff & Big Joe Show.”

“Getting up at 4:30 a.m. isn’t easy, but it leaves afternoons open to spend with my kids,” Staysniak says.

He likes the variety of topics he and his cohost, Jeff Rickard, cover.

“No day is ever the same, and you never know how it’s going to unfold,” he says.

In interviews, he likes when they hit on issues that spark conversation — like social justice or topics that make people uncomfortable.

“You wouldn’t think that sitting behind a microphone jabbering about sports would make a difference but it does,” Staysniak says. “It gives people a release from everyday problems and provides a forum to talk that’s not political.”

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As for today’s generation of entitled athletes who seek fame and fortune above all else, Staysniak has no patience for them. He gets perturbed with guys like running back Ezekiel Elliott, who wanted to break his contract due to money disputes.

them and signing million-dollar contracts as unproven rookies,” Staysniak says. “But now they are right back to paying gobs of money for high-profile positions like that.

At some point, there’s not going to be any more money to go around.”

“Being greedy and wanting more money before your time comes takes away from somebody else,” Staysniak says. “I have a problem with that.”

Another topic Staysniak feels passionate about is parents behaving badly.

And running back Melvin Gordan claiming that he wasn’t getting paid enough makes Staysniak roll his eyes in disgust.

“I have a hard time crying that $5.6M isn’t enough for you to play a kids game for half a year,” Staysniak says.

He notes that while some owners are more willing to pay out the money than others, that doesn’t make it right.

“They went to a salary cap to save themselves because they were spending so much money on quarterbacks, drafting

“Parents are screwing up high school athletics because they feel they can yell and scream and be jerks at games,” he says.

Officials are dropping like flies as hotheaded parents hurl insults at the field or on the court in every sport — basketball, football, wrestling, etc.

“Refs are dwindling, and if you don’t have refs, you don’t have games,” says Staysniak, who suggested to Bobby Cox, commissioner of the IHSAA (Indiana High School Athletics Association), that any parent who is thrown out of a game should be forced to enroll in the referee course.

“At the very least, they’d learn something and appreciate what the officials do a bit NOVEMBER 2019

more,” he says.

He suspects a big part of the problem is the inundation of social media in society.

“It used to be a big deal back in the day when you got written up in the paper,” he says. “Now everyone’s got their own YouTube channel. Parents and kids think they are better than they are.”

Staysniak and his wife, Pam, have been residents of Brownsburg since 1995. He regularly emcees local fundraising events such as Habit of the Heart, an organization that provides emergency assistance to families of Hendricks County.

“It may be children who struggle in school because they need hearing aids or dental work,” Staysniak says. “It may be a family who is displaced due to fire or a woman escaping domestic violence.”

He also donates time to Seeds of Hope, Inc., a nonprofit that offers transitional housing for women recovering from alcohol or drug addiction. The annual Seeds of Hope fundraiser will take place November

23 at the new Colts complex on W. 56th Street. In addition, Staysniak helps the Rotary Club raise money for veterans to go on Honor Flights.

“Anything in Hendricks County I can do, I try to help because that’s home,” Staysniak says.

In his free time, he likes to fish, boat, camp and mow his 20-acre lawn with his Dixie Chopper. He’s got a woodworking shop that he set up when he first married but never devoted time to. Once he’s an empty nester, however, he plans to dive in.

He, Pam, and their two sons, Nathan (20) and Lucas (15), take regular camping trips to Gatlinburg and enjoy family reunions at his brother’s cabin in Wisconsin. They’ve also made trips to Hershey and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania — combining their love of chocolate and history. And in the spring, they try to get away to an all-inclusive resort in Cancun.

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Though Staysniak spends three hours a day talking on the radio, he’s a private, unassuming person.

“I tire of the Antonio Browns who like to brag on themselves,” he says.

The solution? For starters, he suggests people — particularly young folks —put down their phones and look up at their families who love them.

“I always had my brothers and sisters to come home to,” he says. “We were tight, so when negativity came at me, my siblings rallied around and instilled confidence in me.”

He hopes to instill the same values in his boys.

“The goal for everyone should always be to make the world a better place,” he says.

“I want my kids to be leaders of the next generation.”

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Hendricks County Students Represent Team USA In BMX World Championships Writer / Jamie Hergott Photographer / Amy Payne

Drew Polk, 16, Reagan Rice, 10, and Nico Pareja, 16

NOVEMBER 2019

hen most kids think of BMX, they may think of watching the X Games on TV or even making makeshift jumps in their own yards for their bikes.

When Nico Pareja, 16, Drew Polk, 16, and Reagan Rice, 10, think of BMX, they think of their most recent participation on the USA team in the BMX World Championships in Belgium in July.

“It was the best thing ever,” Pareja says. “It was amazing.”

“It was the very best day of my entire life,” Rice says.

For these Hendricks County students, participating in the World Championships was thrilling, but it was also simply another stepping stone into a lifelong love and participation in the sport.

They all started young. Pareja, whose parents are from Columbia, began riding when he was eight years old. His dad happened across a Facebook post about an indoor BMX track downtown and decided to take his son to try it out.

Qualifying for the World Championships isn’t easy. All three have been racing since a very young age, and they have actively participated “I instantly loved it,” Pareja says. “I love that it’s more physical than in National races over the years. other sports. I rely more on my body to go where I want to go.”

Riders accumulate points at National races and local races throughout the year. Top finishers and racers from all over the world gather for Grand Nationals, which takes place every year over Thanksgiving in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This race ultimately allows riders the opportunity to earn top spots in how they finish for the year in the Nation or National Age Group (NAG).

In addition, there are two World Championship qualifier races in the U.S. each year. Riders must qualify for the main event at one of the qualifier races which then allows them to participate on the USA World Championship team, made up of 16 riders from each age group. The World Championships were in Belgium this year, and next year they’ll take place in Houston, Texas.

Two years ago, Pareja met Polk. Polk got his first motorcycle when he was three years old and began racing motocross at the age of four.

He switched to racing BMX full-time once he was eight years old and has been extremely active in the sport ever since. He moved to Indianapolis in 2017, where he met Pareja.

The boys bonded immediately over their shared BMX passion, eventually competing in National competitions together in 2018.

That was a big year for Polk, who swept up four National wins, receiving second place in the nation and fifth at the Grand Nationals.

He currently sits in second place in the nation for his age group.

Gathering and competing with the BMX family from around the world is something that can’t be expressed in words, according to Rice’s mother Jenny.

“And now we’re here,” Polk says, basking in the glow of participating in Worlds but also with his gaze fixed permanently on growing his career. “It’s all about you. It’s not a team sport. You’ll get out what you put into it. If you work hard, the results will show. It’s your body doing the work, there’s no engine.”

“Riders from all over the world compete against the best of the best,” she says. “There were kids from Europe, South Africa, even Japan. It’s like a huge family across the entire world.”

Rice, the youngest of the three, found her love for riding when she began on striders at the age of three. Her older brother was already racing BMX.

Between competitions, the Pareja and Rice families enjoyed Europe and even celebrated Pareja’s 16th birthday in Paris, touring France on a train, having breakfast near the Eiffel Tower, and taking scooters all over Paris.

“I got tired of watching him race,” Rice says. “I started racing when I was four years old, and I’ve been going to Nationals with my brother ever since.”

Polk agreed that participating in the World Championships was lifechanging. He has big plans for BMX, hoping to compete at the pro level. He’d like to attend college at Marian University to ride on their BMX team, and he even has his eye on the 2024 and 2028 Olympics.

“Participating in Worlds was a huge accomplishment,” Polk says. “It was the highlight of my career being able to qualify for it.”

Rice, also already talking about college at Marian at the tender age of 10, jumped in to describe something most 10-year-olds don’t even come close to experiencing.

She’s competed in many National races and achieved NAG 6 when she was six years old, which means her national point listing for all of her Nationals races earned her a NAG plate. She currently sits 24th in the nation for her age group.

She loves the friendships she’s made and how her world has expanded far past the walls of her school.

“You just meet a lot of amazing people,” she says, then looked in admiration at Polk and Pareja. “Like these guys.”

There are only seven BMX tracks in Indiana, including Marian

NOVEMBER 2019

University, where there is a BMX team that also offers scholarships. All three students have their eyes on the team as well as the scholarship.

Other tracks are in Evansville, Columbus, Warsaw, Hobart, Portage and Fort Wayne. The Portage track is indoor, and many riders travel there in the winter to train.

Pareja, Polk and Rice train almost daily. All three take advantage of the Marian University track, and if they aren’t training on their bikes, they’re training by doing sprints, gate starts or strength training, and each of them works with a BMX trainer.

With the amount of training involved, school might seem to take a back burner with students sometimes missing classes to participate in competitions. It turns out, however, that most kids who race BMX are excellent students.

“Kids in this sport are outstanding,” Jenny says. “They get good grades, they are very respectful, they go out of their way to help one another, and you just won’t find better kids in a sport. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Polk says. “When you come out, it’s like a passion thing.”

Polk gets school done in his free time and still maintains the honor roll as well as AP classes.

That passion is also clear when the students are practicing at the track. It’s extremely common for experienced riders to reach out and help a newer rider through a jump of their own volition, not because a coach told them to, not because they were asked, but because they want to help other riders be better, be safe and do well.

This leads to close friendships, and these three are no different.

Even though the three compete against each other, they are a closeknit group.

“These guys are the same age and compete against each other,” Jenny says. “But they root for each other and are each other’s biggest fans.”

Polk agrees, emphasizing that something about the sports drives him to excel in all areas of life.

Pareja’s parents appreciate the friendships as well as the time together as a family. His father, Jaime, says that the several days his family spends together as they travel for Pareja’s races is always a special time of bonding.

“It’s not like typical sports like baseball, basketball and football,”

“It’s not like football, where you’re together for an hour and a half and

NOVEMBER 2019

go home,” Jaime says. “We spend three days in a row together.

Some camp, some get a hotel, some sleep at a friend’s house.

We’re creating memories, something for them to have in the future that hopefully they’ll repeat with the next generation.”

When the families found themselves together at the World Championships, the experience of a lifetime was also nervewracking for parents to watch. In fact, Carolina attended Worlds with Pareja while Jaime stayed home. Yet Carolina could hardly stand to watch her son during the race so Jaime watched from home in the United States and texted her updates.

“I can’t stand to watch him,” she says laughing. “I never watch in real-time.”

Even though these three students have reached the pinnacle by participating in the World Championships, all three will be in Tulsa, Oklahoma participating in Grand Nationals this Thanksgiving. Jenny agrees that sometimes it’s tough to watch the kids race, but it also makes her proud as a parent.

“I hold my breath during some races,” Jenny says. “But I have such a sense of pride watching them. Seeing them, their camaraderie, the bond they’ve created, wearing the colors. I won’t lie, I cried. It’s so emotional. It’s scary and exhilarating and fun and exciting, all packed into 45 seconds or less.”

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IU Health West Hospital Growing to Meet Community Needs For nearly two years, team members at Indiana University Health West Hospital have been working to literally “raise the roof ” and open the hospital’s $84M expansion project.

“Our ability to provide care to all of the patients who need us has been challenged by our capacity,” says Doug Puckett, president of the IU Health Indianapolis Suburban Region, which includes IU Health West, North, Saxony and Tipton hospitals. “We serve a growing community and have been proud to serve the people of Hendricks County and beyond since we opened in late 2004. This expansion sets the stage for IU Health and IU Health West to continue to be the first choice for patients in our market for years to come.”

The IU Health West Hospital vertical expansion will increase the hospital’s inpatient capacity by more than 50%, adding 48 inpatient beds. It will add one floor to the hospital’s “B” inpatient tower, in addition to adding two NOVEMBER 2019

floors on the north side of the building (the “A” tower) to expand functional spaces including operating rooms, cath lab, lab, inpatient pharmacy, kitchen/cafe and classroom areas. The expansion also calls for additional parking.

beam in the structural frame. Hundreds of IU Health West team members signed the final two steel beams that were used in the ceremony, and the beams were elevated and dropped into place with a crane.

Earlier this year, on September 3, 2019, the hospital celebrated a major construction milestone — a topping out ceremony.

Construction projects, including this one, traditionally hold a “toppingAvon out”4.75ceremony to mark the placement of the final steel x 7.125-AUGUST-OUTPUT-080219.pdf 1 8/2/2019 4:37:08 PM

The expansion at IU Health West Hospital will open in phases beginning mid-2020. Construction is taking place in phases, allowing the hospital to remain open during construction and is strategically planned to minimize disruption to patient care.

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Deb Ahern

The Courage to Leave One Woman’s Journey to Freedom & Fulfillment After Escaping Domestic Abuse Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photography Provided by KelGrand Photography

It all started so sweetly, or so it seemed. Deb Ahern was working at a pharmaceutical company when she met Philip*, an EMT who showered her with attention.

“He called me constantly and was always asking about me,” Ahern says.

They began dating and later moved in together. It was only after they were living together that Ahern learned that Philip had a pregnant ex-girlfriend. But she loved her new boyfriend and stuck with him. Then, in July 1992, she became pregnant. The pair were married on Valentine’s Day 1993. Once Ahern became Philip’s bride, his attentiveness turned possessive as he demanded to know of his wife’s whereabouts 24/7.

“He’d find fault with my friends so that I’d stop hanging out with them,” she says. “He also never wanted me to visit my parents.”

It didn’t stop there. He began calling her at work to keep tabs on her and grilling her at night about who she talked to that day. He demanded that she come straight home from work and checked the mileage on her car to ensure that she did. He demeaned her with derogatory names and told her that her administrative assistant job was useless.

“He said I was ugly and fat and that no one else would ever want me,” says Ahern, who internalized all of the negativity. She was pregnant with Tyler when Philip got angry and punched a bifold door that came off the hinges and landed on her. She tried putting the incident out of her head, but more unfolded, one after another.

“Once I was holding Tyler on my shoulder when Philip started berating me for talking to men at work,” Ahern says. Philip’s eyes *name has been changed NOVEMBER 2019

got wide and his face turned hot with rage. Then he accused her of sleeping with her coworkers and smacked her across the face so hard she felt like her eye exploded. From there, the physicality escalated.

He punched her in the jaw. He hit her in the head with skillets.

He burned her with cigarette lighters. One day he beat her left side until she was gasping for air.

“I saw hate and craziness in his eyes. I remember thinking that was the night he was going to kill me,” Ahern says. He fractured her ribs and left her side black and blue. One time, he accused her of flirting with a waiter. When she denied it, he repeatedly spit in her face.

“It was so degrading,” Ahern says. After each abusive incident, Philip bought Deb red roses, promising never to do it again. But more fury always followed.

Finally, one night she couldn’t take it anymore. She shuffled into the bathroom, void of dignity and hope, and searched the medicine cabinet for pills. She found a handful of narcotics left over from surgery and reasoned that it was the only way to escape her pain. She pressed the first pill to her lips when suddenly she spotted 3½-year-old Tyler out of the corner of her eye. He was standing in the doorway with his head cocked to the side like a curious puppy.

“What are you doing, Mommy?” he asked innocently.

In that instant, she abandoned her plan.

“I knew I couldn’t leave this world,” Ahern says. “I’m here today because of Tyler.”

Though she chose not to die, she didn’t know how to live. Then one day she saw a talk show where women were discussing their abusive marriages.

“I realized I wasn’t alone,” Ahern says. Later that day, Philip stormed into the kitchen and issued a harrowing threat.

“If you ever try to leave me,” he seethed, “I will cut you into so many pieces, no one will ever find you, not even your family!”

Ahern realized that if she stayed with Philip, there was a real chance she wouldn’t survive.

Soon thereafter, Philip began having panic attacks so doctors prescribed Paxil, which curbed the physical abuse. About that time, Ahern learned Philip had a girlfriend on the side. Between his fixation on the other woman and his new medication, Ahern felt empowered to break free from the relationship. She rented a small apartment for her and Tyler and, for the first time, they settled into a peaceful existence.

It was a struggle making ends meet. The electricity, gas and phone were shut off when she couldn’t pay bills. And she and Tyler ate a

lot of mac-n-cheese. Nevertheless, life was beautiful in the absence of fear.

“We painted Tyler’s bedroom bright yellow and danced to MC Hammer,” Ahern says. “We went on walks and bike rides.”

Not that life was all rosy. Philip spewed hateful rhetoric about Ahern anytime he was alone with Tyler so that when Tyler returned from weekends with his dad, he’d holler, “I hate you, Mommy! You’re awful!”

Ahern knew her boy was only repeating the narrative fed to him by his father. Still, it stung. Ultimately, she attended counseling to sort through her pain. She was shocked when her therapist told her she was suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Ahern thought only soldiers returning from war endured PTSD. “You went through your own war,” the counselor said.

To help rebuild her self-esteem, Deb engaged in positive selftalk to replace the negative words that had played on loop in her mind for so long. Now she uplifts others by leaving sticky notes on windshields with messages like, “You’re beautiful,” “You matter,” and “You’re worthy.”

In November 1997, Deb went on a blind date with an engineer named Jerry and they married in 1999. Since leaving her abusive marriage, Ahern has built a happy and successful life.

Not only did she give birth to a daughter, Riley, in 2001, but she also became a registered nurse, worked as the assistant to a former Mayor of Indianapolis, ran her own legal nurse consulting business and is now the point person for recruiting 150 team members for IU Health West’s $83M, 50-inpatient bed expansion project as well as 26 positions for the upcoming Joe & Shelly Schwarz Cancer Center at IU Health North. She’s also currently earning her RN-BSN degree and has completed training and has volunteered at a golf outing for Sheltering Wings, a Christ-centered organization that provides emergency housing for survivors escaping domestic abuse.

At Sheltering Wings, Ahern started a “butterfly blanket” project where she makes fleece blankets for moms and children with a butterfly in one corner and a handwritten note that encourages them to stay strong and reminds them that life will get better.

“I’ve done more with my life after exiting the abusive situation than I did before,” says Ahern, who remains close to her ex-stepdaughter, Amanda and her two children who call her “Grandma Deb” even though they aren’t blood relatives.

Ahern encourages any woman who is in an abusive situation to seek help. She recognizes how difficult this can be when one feels trapped in a cycle of abuse but promises that life can and does get better when you tell someone you trust who can help you escape.

“It seems easier to comply with the abuser’s requests than to fight back and risk getting hurt again,” Ahern adds. “But you are worth it.

You can survive. Abuse is not the end of the road. I’m living proof.”

NOVEMBER 2019

Signs of Domestic Abuse The following are 8 signs of mental and emotional abuse used by one person to gain power and control over another: 1. Intensity Lying or exaggerating, over-the-top gesture, bombarding you with texts or calls 2. Jealousy — Behaving irrationally when you have a new friend, accusing you of cheating, demanding to know your whereabouts 3. Control — Telling you how to dress, checking your phone, following you, withholding money 4. Isolation — Insisting you only spend time with them, preventing you from seeing friends, forbidding you from leaving the house 5. Criticism — Calling you overweight, ugly, stupid, brainwashing you to feel worthless 6. Sabotage — Making you miss work or school by starting a fight, hiding your money, keys or phone, destroying your self-esteem 7. Blame — Making you feel guilty, blaming you for their problems 8. Anger — Overreacting to small problems, violent outbursts, threatening to hurt you or your loved ones, making you feel afraid For help, call 800-799-SAFE or visit endabuse4good.org Source: EndAbuse4Good

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Hendricks County Author Publishes Second Book In Mystery Series Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photographer / Tony Gude & Provided

When Tammi and Bob Huggins retired four years ago, Tammi loved the idea of having extra hours to her day and yet couldn’t help but wonder what she was going to do with all her free time. A former teacher who taught mostly anatomy and physiology classes, she liked to write short articles and wondered what it would be like to try penning a piece of fiction.

“I liked reading mystery books so I thought I’d try writing one myself,” says Tammi, who gave herself a goal of putting pen to paper one day a week. Step one was figuring out the plot

and setting. Who would her characters be and what was their purpose? Her husband served as inspiration as he worked for the railroad as a locomotive engineer for 39 years. Tammi used Bob’s usual train trip he took from Indianapolis to St. Louis for her first book, titled “Murder and Misconception.”

The book took two years to complete as Tammi taught herself the ins and the outs of the publishing business.

She had fun holding book signings and interacting with fans, who soon began inquiring as to when and if there would be a second book in the series. Immediately the wheels started spinning in her mind. This time the title popped into her head even before the plot took shape.

PlainfieldMag.com / NOVEMBER 2019 / PLAINFIELD MAGAZINE / 25

“I decided to write “Bridges and Bodies” about the Avon Haunted Bridge,” says Huggins, who, having lived in Hendricks County for two decades, had passed by the bridge often. In this book, the locomotive engineer — the same man who solved a crime in the first book — happens to see what he thinks is a body go over the side of the Avon Haunted Bridge.

He reports the sighting to the dispatcher, who says, “If you didn’t hit the body, keep moving.” Ultimately, two bodies are discovered — one in White Lick Creek and another beneath the Danville Bridge. As in the first book, the engineer begins looking into these crimes as well.

She calls the process of fiction writing “freeing,” and she has upped her writing goal to two mornings a week. Doing so enables her to create the book scene-by-scene and still provide ample time to mull over in her mind what the characters might do next.

Tammi, whose past writings were more devotional in nature, enjoyed spreading her wings while diving into this genre.

Tammi, who has two grown daughters and one granddaughter, participates in at least one book signing a month, sometimes at bookstores but often at model train shows since trains are the number one hobby in the nation.

“Mystery writing is very different than other types of writing in that I have to use my imagination far more,” Tammi says.

“Other writing I’ve done takes something that may have happened in real life whereas with fiction, some is made up and other parts are based on facts about modern-day railroad life. With this book, the setting is true but the storyline is made up.”

“I don’t know that I could have written this book when I was working my full-time job because anatomy and physiology are ‘just the facts, ma’am.’ It’s using a different part of your brain,” Tammi says. “I don’t think I could have done both simultaneously.”

“It’s such a good feeling when someone tells me in person or writes me online to say that they enjoyed my book and ask me what I’m going to do next,” Tammi says.

Fans will be pleased to know that she’s hard at work doing

26 / PLAINFIELD MAGAZINE / NOVEMBER 2019 / PlainfieldMag.com

research for book number three.

When she first started mystery writing, Tammi wasn’t aware of all of the behind-the-scenes work that goes into marketing material. She’s grateful to bring along her husband — her biggest supporter — to all of her events.

“He’ll stand up a lot of times as people walk by and ask if they like mysteries,” Tammi says. “I don’t get too much rejection, but even if they don’t want to buy a book, they often ask me about my writing or Bob about working on the railroad.”

To help give back to her community, Tammi sometimes speaks about writing at the Hendricks County Senior Center.

Author, Tammi Huggins

“I talk about my journey but also encourage them to write so that they can leave their legacy behind for their children and future generations,” says Tammi, who also shares helpful tips on getting published. For instance, she speaks about persistence, which is not only key in the publishing world but also in succeeding in life, in general.

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Ryan Feeney, landed the Super Bowl of sculpting jobs when he was picked as the lead sculptor of the Peyton Manning statue.

SCULPTING A LEGEND LOCAL ARTIST TALKS ABOUT CREATING THE PEYTON MANNING STATUE throughout his childhood, nothing really grabbed his attention, but his parents insisted he participate.

Writer / Lynda Hedberg Thies Photographer / Jamie Sangar

His attention to detail and work ethic are legendary. He is humble and kind and has a great sense of humor. He is willing to share the credit for his success, and he has left a legacy in the city. Sounds like Peyton Manning?

Feeney’s involvement in athletics changed when the 5-foot-6 freshman came to Cathedral High School. He knew he was too small to play football, so for three years he ran track and cross country. By his senior year, he was well entrenched in his art Meet Ryan Feeney. classes along with his other academics, but his art teacher, Barb Velonis, took him under Ryan Feeney may have never played a day in her wing and mentored Feeney. She also a Colts jersey, but he won the Super Bowl of introduced him to 3D drawing, which sealed sculpting jobs when he was chosen from a the deal on his desire to pursue a college very competitive field of artists from both the degree in design. But he was also craving the East and West Coast to create the larger than opportunity to play a contact sport, and that life statue of the iconic Peyton Manning. is when he discovered rugby.

Feeney fell in love with art when he was just 5 years old and only 7 when he created his first oil painting. While other kids were out playing games in the neighborhood, Feeney was either working on art projects or taking art classes with his mom. His talent was evident, so his parents enrolled him at Shortridge Junior High School for their Art Magnet program. While he played sports

Feeney found a rugby club at Lawrence North but soon realized that the travel time was cutting into his practice time. So, the coaches suggested he start a club at Cathedral. He could have just dropped the idea because he was about to graduate, but that was not Feeney.

So, in 1992, Feeney’s senior year, he started a Rugby Club at Cathedral. He found a couple

of coaches, and he advertised the program and invited anyone to play so long as they did not have a school program, they could sign up for the Cathedral program. The first season the program finished in the middle of the pack. Today, the club is one of the premier programs in the country. Royal Irish Rugby, a 25-year-old program, has won four National Championships in the past six years and played the championship game both years they didn’t win.

“There is no way to truly measure what rugby has done for this community because it constantly grows. What started as a small club here on the northeast side of Indy has now become a dominant program that has held the number one ranking for most of the last seven years,” says Dave Snyder, Royal Irish Rugby Coach.

Feeney’s legacy with the rugby program has led the club to create a “Ryan Feeney Founders Award,” given to players that need support to keep playing the game.

Feeney went to Miami University of Ohio to study Art and Design but was also able to continue playing rugby while a student

28 / PLAINFIELD MAGAZINE / NOVEMBER 2019 / PlainfieldMag.com

there. The focus of his time at Miami was working on his skills. He even received his first commission when he was a senior there, and his professors supported him through the process. He graduated from Miami with a Bachelors of Fine Arts and a double major in graphic design and sculpture.

He started his career working in the art and graphic design department for a corporation and soon realized that he did not have as much time to work on doing what he loved, which involved designing statues.

In 1999, Feeney joined the Indianapolis Fire Department because the 24 hours on, 48 hours off gave him the flexibility to spend more time sculpting. By the time he launched his design business, Indy Art Forge, he already had four bronze statues out around the city.

“Most guys at the station had a second job mowing lawns and landscaping, mine just happened to be in a studio,” Feeney says.

By the time the Colts announced that they were going to build a Peyton Manning statue, Feeney already had 15 public statues on his resume.

But this job was the biggest he had ever tackled, and his competition had bigger portfolio’s and even a staff of people to work on the project. Feeney was working as a firefighter and is a married father of two children, but he went for it anyway.

The interview process proved intimidating and the competition’s portfolio’s daunting.

Colts Chief Operating Officer Pete Ward told him he had the weakest portfolio of everyone, and the other sculptors had even submitted a scaled down sculpture of Peyton.

“I don’t have the portfolio as these big-city sculptors that have five other artists working for me to do the work,” he recalls. ‘How could I compete,’ he thought to himself?”

But then he noticed that all the sculptors had left off the helmet. Knowing Peyton was the ultimate detail person, he promised a statue to them in three days and returned with the replica wearing a helmet and even included

the wire strap, which the others had left off.

So, he thought he got their attention.

“We will not go to step one or step two without your approval or go from two to three without your approval,” Feeney told Pete Ward. “I said, ‘If you hire me, living local, you can have input and involvement at every stage. I won’t get it right the first time, if I do, I’m lucky, but I always like to have other people look at it and tweak it.’”

Feeney’s reputation, attention to detail and physical location gave the Colts unprecedented access to work closely on the project without the expense of travelling to another state. They also loved that his vendors worked in the city, which meant it would benefit the community. They chose Feeney and arranged for him to fly to Nashville, Tennessee to photograph Manning in a conference room at the hanger to begin the process. His first meeting was a bit intimidating, but he got right to work as the Colts photographer snapped more than 400 photos.

Throughout the process of building the 9-foot-1 Manning figure, he worked with the Colts Equipment Manager, Ward and others to ensure that at every stage everyone was happy with the process and his progress. Like other projects he had worked on, he had a team of people involved, and when he was finished, he was confident Manning would like it but had to wait until the public unveiling of the project before he knew for sure.

In 2017, around 25,000 people gathered in Indianapolis to participate in the unveiling.

The unveiling ceremony included A-list dignitaries, including David Letterman, former Governor Mitch Daniels, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Colts owner Jim Irsay, former coach Tony Dungy and General Manager Bill Polian along with former players such as Jeff Saturday.

Feeney was beyond thrilled. He felt confident that Peyton would like the statue because he had so many people that participated in the project along the way.

Peyton came to the podium, looked over at 30 / PLAINFIELD MAGAZINE / NOVEMBER 2019 / PlainfieldMag.com

what matters

Feeney and said, “Good job” before delivering his speech.

Immediately after the ceremony, Manning, who had been all business at the meeting in Nashville, greeted him warmly and thanked him for his effort. He then asked if he could introduce him to his mom, Olivia Manning. She greeted Feeney warmly and said, “The profile is perfect from where I stand, if he didn’t have the number or name on the jersey, even if it was a silhouette in the middle of the night, just in that stance alone, I would know it was Peyton.”

Feeney knew that no one knows Peyton better than his mom, so to have her approval meant a lot.

The day concluded with a private reception.

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“It was so cool, I felt like an A- lister,” Feeney says.

Before any of the accolades could go to his head, he knew his fire station pals would make sure to bring his feet back to earth. Still, Feeney has taken time to reflect on his success.

“Enjoy what you do because then it won’t feel like work,” he says.

“Money is money until you work at a job you hate. I have two jobs, I’m not rich, but I love what I do.”

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