Tuesday, August 25, 2026

ADDISON TIMES MAJOR SPONSOR: STEPHENSON RIFE ATTORNEYS

The Shelbyville High School Class of 1956 gathered at First Christian Church over the weekend for a 70-year reunion. Pictured, front row, from left, are Carolyn Riche, Gladys Stewart, Rosie Monroe, Sharon Tucker, Pat McMichael, Annette Boyle, Gini Theobald, Suzanne Rosborough and Joe Landwerlen. Back row, from left, Ted Hodson, Jim Wolfe, Bill Hopkins, Jim Ash, John Wetnight, Tom Toll and Larry Sandman. | photo by JACK BOYCE

Shelby County Commissioners unanimously approved new restrictions on data centers Monday, completing a months-long process that county officials and residents said was shaped extensively by public input.

The commissioners approved Ordinance 2026-17, creating a data center overlay district within the county’s Unified Development Ordinance. The regulations apply to unincorporated Shelby County and do not affect the proposed data center project within the city of Shelbyville.

The ordinance went through three rounds of review by the ordinance review committee and another three by the Shelby County Plan Commission.

“It is a fairly restrictive ordinance,” County Plan Director Desiree Calderella said. “It would be difficult for a data center to come in and meet all of these requirements. So I believe that is what we were looking to do.”

Commissioner David Lawson said the county had tried throughout the process to arrive at an approach reflecting what residents wanted.

Commissioner Jason Abel said the county was among the first in Indiana to enact a moratorium to provide time to study the issue, gather public input and bring in outside expertise. He said the Plan Commission used comments from residents to make changes to the ordinance during the review process.

Two residents who have been active in the data center debate urged commissioners to approve the final version.

Lisa Wojciechowski-Shaler, representing the Northwest Shelby County Concerned Citizens Coalition and who also participated in work on the ordinance, said the coalition of about 2,700 people supported its passage. She said a post providing information about the ordinance had been viewed by about 2,000 people, with only two comments opposing it, including one that favored an outright ban.

“This ordinance I think is the best outcome that we can achieve, balancing every consideration that we’ve had in front of us,” Wojciechowski-Shaler said.

Connie Lindsay, who has also been active in opposition to data center development, said leaders in other counties had contacted her about Shelby County’s approach.

“What you have put forward, what all of us have worked for, I can’t imagine a data center wanting to come here and do anything here,” Lindsay said. “We appreciate that.”

The ordinance passed 3-0.

Later in the meeting, commissioners voted 2-1 to provide the Shelby County Development Corporation with its annual $100,000 county contribution following a presentation from Executive Director Brian Asher on recent economic development efforts.

Commissioners Nathan Runnebohm and David Lawson supported the funding, while Abel voted against it.

Asher’s presentation focused on the effect industrial development has had on the county’s tax base. SCDC examined seven developments: Browning Investment, Blue Star Redimix, Central Rent-A-Crane, Five Below, HIS Construction, Premier Ag and POET Biofuels, and compared taxes on the properties when they were agricultural land with taxes billed after development.

Together, those properties generated $9,024.66 annually before development and $706,628.89 in 2025 taxes payable in 2026, an increase of $697,604.23 per year. The seven properties have generated approximately $1.88 million in property taxes since their development.

The calculations used taxes actually billed and accounted for active tax abatements. The revenue does not all go to county government. Asher used Moral Township as an example, where 25.73% of property taxes go to Shelby County, 5.21% to the township, 63.31% to schools, 3.11% to the library and 0.85% to special taxing units.

Asher also highlighted several recent and upcoming investments.

Bunge completed a $550 million expansion in 2026 expected to add 82 jobs with an average annual wage of $52,000. POET Bioprocessing is investing $203 million to double production capacity at its Shelbyville operation, adding 32 jobs averaging $65,000 annually.

HUG Engineering purchased a previously vacant Shelbyville building and is making a $5.5 million investment, including $1.8 million in building improvements, with 37 jobs paying about $37 per hour included in the project.

P&E Construction is leasing an existing building in Fairland and plans approximately $4 million in machinery and equipment investment. SCDC projects 80 jobs at Local 440 union wages ranging from $40 to $70 per hour. Because the company is reusing an existing building, the project requires no additional acreage for development.

SCDC’s presentation also included Project Bobcat, a planned development on Mausoleum Road representing a projected $97 million investment and 100 to 170 jobs at $34.79 per hour, or about $72,000 annually for a full-time employee.

During questioning, Abel shifted the discussion from growth in assessed value to residents’ income.

“I’m appreciative of the efforts to raise the aggregate assessed value of the county,” Abel said. “What are we doing to raise our per capita income? I think that’s equally, if not more so, key to creating the type of community we all hope to create.”

Asher said attracting higher-paying employers has increasingly become part of SCDC’s work, pointing to the wages associated with P&E Construction, HUG Engineering and POET Bioprocessing.

“We’re continuing to do those increases, and we’re working to try to get higher-paying jobs,” Asher said. “Obviously, some of those things come with it. As far as when you’re offering incentives, you want to obviously incentivize something that’s paying higher, and that’s what we continue to try to do.”

Asher said attracting employers and workers also involves housing and quality-of-life amenities such as parks and trails.

“This isn’t an overnight process,” Asher said. “I think one of the most undesirable things about my position, and probably with you, is the speed that things go. ... It just takes time.”

Runnebohm offered another explanation for why Shelby County has developed differently from some communities surrounding Indianapolis. He said communities such as Plainfield, Avon and Greenfield grew along state highways connecting them directly with Indianapolis, allowing commercial and residential development to spread outward from the metropolitan area.

Shelby County, he noted, lost much of that type of direct connection when traffic shifted from U.S. 421 to Interstate 74.

“We’re kind of on this pocket, this little island, trying to develop and make that connection between that gap between us and Indianapolis,” Runnebohm said.

Asher agreed that Shelby County faces different development challenges but said the response is to identify ways the city and county can work together and better market the community.

Following the discussion, Runnebohm moved to approve SCDC’s $100,000 contribution. Lawson joined him in supporting the request, with Abel opposed.

In other business, commissioners unanimously approved a resolution supporting the issuance of up to $6 million in general obligation bonds for a combined county coroner and maintenance facility.

Abel said the county’s existing facilities have proved inadequate for the two departments, particularly the coroner’s need for space for autopsies, evidence preservation and storage of remains. Lawson said the shortcomings have made it difficult for the county to meet some of its professional and state obligations.

The County Council previously introduced the bond ordinance. Bond counsel Adam Steuerwald said the council will hold a public hearing before considering final approval, with the county expected to complete the bond sale during the fourth quarter.

Shelbyville Central Schools will honor three people with ties to the school district during a Hall of Fame ceremony next month, including the first inductee into the district’s new Educator Hall of Fame. The ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3, in the Golden Bear Room at Shelbyville High School. It is free and open to the public.

Longtime Spanish teacher Jerry Rice will become the inaugural member of the Shelbyville Central Schools Educator Hall of Fame, while Robert “Bob” Bennett, a 1943 graduate, and Gretchen Haehl, a 2004 graduate, will be inducted into the Shelbyville High School Alumni Hall of Fame. Rice taught Spanish at SHS from 1977 to 2005. During his career, he was known for maintaining high expectations and a rigorous curriculum intended to prepare students for college-level work. The district credited Rice with helping generations of students develop their knowledge and appreciation of Spanish language and culture.

Bennett graduated as valedictorian of the SHS Class of 1943 and enlisted in the Army Air Corps at age 19 during World War II. He served as a navigator with the Fifteenth Air Force and received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service in the Mediterranean theater of operations.

After returning to Shelbyville, Bennett took over Todd-Bennett Clothier and became active in several civic organizations. He served two terms on the Shelbyville School Board and was involved in Shelby County’s purchase of the property where Shelbyville High School and Shelbyville Middle School are now located. He also helped found the Shelby County United Fund, served as president of the Shelbyville Boys Club and was an early director and officer of Shelby Industrial Development and Shelby Industries. Bennett died in September 2025 at age 100.

Haehl was valedictorian and student body president of the SHS Class of 2004. As a basketball player, she helped Shelbyville win consecutive Class 3A and 4A sectional championships and was selected for the Indiana All-Star team while setting career scoring, assist and 3-point records.

Haehl continued her basketball career at DePauw University, where she was part of the school’s 2007 NCAA Division III national championship team. She later earned an MBA from Stanford University and joined Eli Lilly and Co., where she has led teams focused on expanding patient access to medicines. She has also coached Special Olympics basketball.

Bennett and Haehl will also be recognized at halftime of Shelbyville’s home varsity football game Friday, Sept. 4. Past Alumni Hall of Fame inductees and their families have also been invited to attend the game.

ADDISON TIMES MAJOR SPONSOR: FULL CANOPY REAL ESTATE

• Nearly $15.7 million in direct veterans benefits came into Shelby County in 2024, according to an update presented Monday to the Shelby County Commissioners.

  Stephen Andrews, district service officer for the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs, told commissioners that approximately $15,689,608 in direct expenditures went to Shelby County veterans and their families. That included about $14.8 million in compensation and pension benefits and $776,559 in dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and families. Andrews said Census data from 2020 through 2024 estimated that about 2,406 veterans live in Shelby County. He noted that the financial figures were from 2024 and said more recent numbers are expected in the coming months. County Veteran Service Officer Michael Perkins also connected 137 veterans with the state’s veterans management system between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026. Andrews said those were veterans who had not previously been in contact with a county veteran service officer. Andrews told commissioners the Shelby County office is currently in compliance with state requirements and that he had no concerns about its accreditation or compliance.

• The following couples applied for marriage licenses last week at the Shelby County Clerk’s office: Teah Craig, 35, and Aaron Fox, 36; Michael T. Streeval, 29, and Whitley K. Rankin, 24; Samuel L. Harker, 25, and Chloe M. Coers, 23; Eric G. Holt, 45, and Adlen K. Antle, 37; John J. Bartolo, 75, and Alice F. Tate, 78.

• HOOSIER NEWS: LIV Golf is facing new questions about its financial future following its recent tournament at Chatham Hills in Indiana. The Saudi-backed golf league reportedly reduced the individual purse for the event from $20 million to $10.1 million, while a video production company has sued LIV for more than $1 million in allegedly unpaid bills and a source said winners from the previous tournament had not yet been paid. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which has invested more than $5 billion in LIV Golf, reportedly stopped providing funding to the league in April. (Wall Street Journal)

• COSMIC NEWS: A new study of 115 NASA photographs of 13 astronauts found that the lower eyelid discernibly rises while a person is in space thanks to the lack of gravity. The distance from the corneal center to the lower eyelid margin decreased by 1.0 millimeters in microgravity, from an average of 4.9 millimeters while grasped by the surly bonds of Earth to 3.9 millimeters in space. The effect was seen in 62 percent of the astronauts and was highly consistent between eyes. (Higher Education Press/Numlock)

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This Week in Shelby County, a cartoon feature illustrated by George L. Stubbs for 38 years, is reproduced with permission of the Shelby County Historical Society and the Stubbs family.

ADDISON TIMES MAJOR SPONSOR: MAJOR HEALTH PARTNERS

Local headlines reported on or around this date in Shelby County history. Selections are curated by The Addison Times from Shelby County Public Library Genealogy Department materials. | research by MYRON RAWLINGS

2016: Shelbyville High School runners Danielle Lubbe and Jill Anspaugh finished first and second, respectively, in a three-team cross country meet at Blue River Memorial Park. Other local runners placing in the top 10 were Makinsi Pike, Braelin Stacy, Hannah Lux and Grace Martin.

2006: Several major construction projects were underway or nearing completion in Shelbyville. Work included reconfiguration of the Knightstown Road-Old Rushville Road intersection; construction of a new road and bridge from Lee Road to Old Rushville Road; a new fire station headquarters; Phase I of Progress Parkway; and widening and storm-sewer work along McKay Road from Culbertson Road to Peninsula Drive. Other projects included a Pike Street storm-sewer replacement, an Elliott Street storm-sewer project and street paving, including work along Vine Street. Demolition of the Blue River Inn was scheduled for mid-September, with a new parking lot planned for the site. Private development was also moving forward. A 62-lot Countryside housing addition near Smithland and McKay roads was preparing to break ground, the Pilot Travel Center at the Fairland Road/I-74 exit was expected to open in mid-September, a new Walgreens at State Road 44 and Amos Road was scheduled to open Oct. 1, and construction of a Wendy’s on North State Road 9 was expected to begin Sept. 1.

1996: A Coca-Cola exhibit opened at the Grover Museum, with an assortment of memorabilia collected and loaned to the museum. August Rehme had purchased the local Coke franchise in 1917. His son, Frank Rehme, oversaw operations from 1947 to 1982. By 1996, the facility at 405 N. Harrison St. was led by Larry Rife, who had loaned several items to the museum.

1986: Bears of Blue River Festival director Dave McCammon reported that Festival attendance was off to a great start. A performance from Britt Small and Festival had drawn a large crowd. The Sunday parade had lasted nearly two hours, with members of the Shelbyville High School Final Four basketball team serving as grand marshals. Following the parade, Compton’s Dairy had served 500 pounds of ice cream from its sculpted “50,” celebrating the company’s 50th anniversary.

1976: The William S. Major Hospital Board continued consideration of where to build a new hospital after years of discussion about replacing the existing facility. A planning report recommended building at the hospital’s existing site, rather than alternatives near Teal Road and Rolling Ridge or at State Road 9 and Interstate 74, but 15 local physicians signed a petition supporting construction at a new location to provide room for future expansion and physician offices. Board members remained divided, and the board postponed a final decision while awaiting additional information.

1966: A “Back to School” sale was held downtown Shelbyville. Live entertainment was provided by The Shades.

1956: John D. Scott, editor of The Shelbyville News, was elected to serve as president of the state Democratic Party. Scott had previously been vice president.

The highest honorary degree of the Order of DeMolay - the Chevalier degree - was awarded to Bob Staats, Carl Cawood and Ray Ewick in a ceremony at the local Masonic temple.

1946: Free 48-page comic books were given away to the first 300 kids who attended a movie at The Ritz on Tuesday afternoon and evening.

1936: Several local barbers gave free haircuts to residents at the Gordon Children’s Home. Participating shops included: The Strand, Coers, Big Six, McRoberts, Brown and Cossairt, Richey and Boyd and Rhodes.

1926: “What to do with a team of horses which strayed into C.P. Sindlinger’s farmyard, west of Shelbyville, several weeks ago, is a question that is now worrying Mr. Sindlinger and the county sheriff,” The Republican reported. The owner of the horses had not been found despite advertising efforts. Next steps would include housing the horses for a year and then listing them in a sheriff’s sale. Sindlinger would receive reimbursement for his care and feed, and the sheriff would get paid $1. Any balance would go to the county treasury.

ADDISON TIMES MAJOR SPONSOR: Freeman Family Funeral Homes & Crematory

Dixie Barnes, 84, of Shelbyville died on Saturday, August 22, 2026, at 5:50 p.m., peacefully at her home. She was born in Carthage, Indiana, on August 3, 1942, and was the daughter of George and Violet (McClurg) Schuck. She married Tim Barnes on Nov. 5, 1965, and he survives. She is survived by her husband; a daughter, Tammy (Barnes) Stevens (husband Andy) of Flat Rock, Indiana; and two sons, Timothy Allen Barnes (wife Deidre) of Fairhope, Alabama, and John Barnes (wife Dawn) of Shelbyville; and her brother Terry Schuck (wife Julie) of Wilkinson, Indiana. She is also survived by nine grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, three brothers, two sisters and two grandsons.

Mrs. Barnes was a lifelong resident of Shelby County. She enjoyed working in her flowers, traveling on their motorcycle and seeing other states and countries.

A memorial service will be held at Glenn E. George and Son Funeral Home, 437 Amos Road, Shelbyville, Indiana, at 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 29, 2026. Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. until the time of the service. Online condolences can be shared at glennegeorgeandson.com.

Charleen Labrie, 75, of Shelbyville, passed away on Friday August 21, 2026, at Ashford Place Health Campus. She was born on November 13, 1950, to parents James William Lafleur and Gladys Bertha (Skinner) Lafleur, in Cranston, Rhode Island. She married Raoul Labrie on September 10, 1977, and he survives. Other survivors include children, Raoul Joseph (wife Janet) Labrie and Joe Labrie, both of Shelbyville; sister Debbie Tucker of California; and grandchildren Mason Paul Labrie, Isabella Labrie, Lillian Labrie, and Vincent Labrie; and 13 nieces and nephews. Charleen was preceded in death by her parents, one son, Paul Nelson Labrie, and one sister, Pat Scott.

Mrs. Labrie was a Shelby County resident since 1992, after moving from Rhode Island. She was a homemaker and attended Cornerstone Christian Church in Waldron.

Funeral services will be held on Wednesday August 26, 2026, at 6 p.m., at the Glenn E. George and Son Funeral Home, 437 Amos Road, Shelbyville, Indiana, with visitation starting at 4 p.m. until the time of service. Pastor George Mitchell will officiate. Memorial donations can be made to the Cornerstone Christian Church, 7414 E. Michigan Road, Waldron, Indiana, 46182.