the BEACON Newspaper, Indiana beacon7-18web

21,000 distribution & growing! To advertise, call 812-637-0660 THE www.goBEACONnews.com INSIDE The BEACON BEACON PUBLISHED MONTHLY SINCE 1994 Assessed Property Values on the Rise Across the State The real estate market has taken an upturn. Annual Adjustments or “trending” of property values are a part of Indiana’s market-based assessment system that began in 2002. Trending requires assessors to research sales of proper- ties in a particular area over the previous two years. Using that information, assessors then estimate the values of other properties in the same area to determine an assessed value. Many counties in Indiana have seen increases in their trending factor based upon a ratio study. Upon completion of the study, it is sent to the Department of Local Govern- ment Finance for approval. The DLGF is responsible for ensuring property tax as- sessment and local government budgeting are carried out in accordance with Indiana law. It is responsible for publish- ing property tax assessment rules and annually reviewing and approving tax rates and levies of every political sub- division in the state, including all counties, cities, towns, townships, school corporations, libraries, and other entities with tax levy authority. Dearborn County was first to obtain approval from the DLGF and has applied these factors to the assessed values of property in the county. Increases in assessed valuation across the county are the result. Dearborn County has over two hundred sixteen statistical neighborhoods with fifty of these market areas, consisting of ten thousand sixty-six parcels being assessed a 17% increase. Continued on page 7A Community Leaders Make A Difference International Visitors Oakwood Farms hosts judges, owners, and horses from Germany and all over the country. Page 9A It’s 4-H Fair Time! This year’s fair is gear- ing up to be better than ever. Page 9A Father and son, Russ & Stan Slack, are two outstanding men and veterans of the United States Navy. Memorial Day Our community celebrated the true meaning of the holi- day by honoring veterans. PG Gentrup and U.S. Air Force Jet Fighter Pilot, Sam Chipman, at the service in Rising Sun. A Happy Outcome Judge Humphrey deliv- U.S.Army Hero, Brett Bondurant, at River- ered his moving speech view Cemetery in Aurora with his grandpa, in Greendale. Jerry Bondurant who served in Vietnam. Opioid addiction is taking over our country, but no one wants to talk about it. What can we do about it? How can we solve the problem? Two prominent community leaders have risen to the challenge and are facing the problem head-on: Superior Court Judge Sally A. McLaughlin and Lawrenceburg Mayor Kelly Mollaun. Their approaches are different, yet both focus on helping those who struggle with addiction. The challenge- to help these people become contributing members of our society. Over the past twenty-three years, Judge McLaughlin has seen many people who have committed crimes be- cause of their dependence on an addic- tive substance. Their rates of recovery were meager when convicted merely to a jail sentence. So Judge McLaugh- lin developed a program focusing on inmates with addiction problems but exhibiting a strong desire to recover. The focus of the program is to change the thought process of the inmates so that they can grow into contributing members of our society. But let’s back up. Where did Judge McLaughlin come from? What makes her qualified to create such a program that demonstrates such a high suc- cess rate? Judge McLaughlin started her adult life by earning a Bachelor’s Degree in nursing. She continued her studies and eventually received a Continued on page 3A Agricultural Mills and the Making of a Community By Susan Ray A shaft of sunlight through a cracked window catches the finest flour dust, making the very air shimmer. A soft pow- der covers the wooden floor, its wide planks crisscrossed with the boot prints of millers and farmers going about their work, indifferent to the continuous rhythm of water and gears, stones, and sifters. Very little evidence remains of the variety of mills that once dotted the Southeastern Indiana landscape. Julie Sch- lesselman, Franklin County Historian says, “Mills included paper mills, cotton mills, almost any type of mill.” For generations, every community had at least one agricultural mill where farmers gathered to catch up on the latest news, swap stories and have their corn and wheat processed into meal, grits, flour, and feed. According to Duane Drockelman, Vice President of the Ripley County Historical Society, “Sunman had two mills. There was a mill in Osgood at one time, a grain mill, and there was a grain mill in Napoleon at one time, and one right in the center of Batesville … almost every township had a mill of some kind.” Former Dearborn County Historian Chris McHenry says, “The first mill I knew of was on Wilson Creek, owned by Benjamin Walker - that’s why it’s called Wilson Creek!” The Aurora Farm and Garden building has been an integral part of the community’s architectural and busi- ness landscape since the late 1800s. Mrs. McHenry explains, “Benjamin Walker was from Pennsylvania and he and his brother had been in a bar Continued on page 4A St. Louis School Student Council coordinated stu- dents’ efforts in collecting three hundred twenty-six pounds of pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House! Page 4B July 2018 OUR ADVERTISERS ARE YOUR NEIGHBORS. SHOP LOCAL AND TELL THEM YOU SAW THEIR ADS IN THE BEACON.