the BEACON Newspaper, Indiana nov 2018

21,500 distribution & growing ! To advertise , call 812-637-0660

PRSRT STD U . S . POSTAGE

PAID CINCINNATI , OHIO

Permit No . 9714

THE BEACON

www . goBEACONnews . com PUBLISHED MONTHLY SINCE 1994 November 2018

INSIDE The BEACON

The Poultry Barn

Share fond memories from the farm . Page 10A

Five Generations

A St . Leon family celebrates the joy of life .

Page 2B

A Fun Find

Two sisters make a surprising discovery at the library . Page 3B

Local Schools are No Longer “ Gun-Free ” Zones

By Nicole Williams

The Sunman-Dearborn Community Schools will now allow employees to conceal and carry a gun on school grounds . On September 13 , the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve the controversial conceal and carry policy . The policy went into effect immediately .

Indiana will be joining the growing number of states that allow the arming of teachers and other school employees to conceal and carry . According to data compiled by VICE

AppleFest- Sweet !

The 29th annual AppleFest \ was recently hosted by the Batesville Kiwanis . Festival-goers convened at Liberty Park in Batesville to partake in the first fall festival of the season . Kiwanis President Rita Seig noted , “ I ’ m excited about the success of our fest as proceeds are used for community programs that benefit the families of southeastern Indiana .”

By Susan Ray

The room darkens , conversations are stilled , and the curtain rises . The audience is transported as music , dancers , actors , and voices take flight . It is opening night at the local high school and time to cheer the performers on while enjoying the incredible results of weeks and months of hard work .

Senior Britney Dole , a member of Show Choir at East Central High School , says , “ We do a lot of really cool shows , and I don ’ t think people really know that … a bunch of these girls in this class are really talented : they do flips and walk on their hands - it ’ s crazy the talent we have ! We want people to come see our shows and support us . I love performing for a crowd - it ’ s amazing to have people clap for you ! I think everybody should experience the magic that ’ s in the Choir Department .”

Maggie Ravenna , another senior at ECHS , shares her favorite part of being in Concert Choir , “ I think mine is not so much performing on stage , but when it finally comes together and how it sounds ; sometimes I just get the chills , like what comes out of everyone . It just sounds so amazing .”

Fellow senior Jared Tiemann agrees , saying , “ There ’ s no better feeling than hitting a chord perfectly and hearing it resonate throughout the choir and the room . It ’ s ... yeah .” He smiles and shakes his head , at a loss for words .

Batesville Kiwanis AppleFest was a great success and raised thousands of dollars for the community .

Rita Seig and Al Geis worked hard at AppleFest .

Bob Fitzpatrck and Paul Ketcham hone their culinary skills at AppleFest .

News , at least 14 states arm teachers and another 16 states give local school boards the authority to decide whether school staff can carry guns . Anybody who has access to the news is aware of the reality of active shooters . Just this past May , a 13-yearold student was shot and injured In Noblesville , Indiana . This incident was too close to home and started the conversation on how to best protect the students in St . Leon .

If you have visited East Central High , it is hard not to notice the advanced security already put in place . All of the doors are locked and monitored by video cameras . Dearborn County Sheriff ’ s Department has three rotating School Resource Officers on premises . All schools complete ALICE Training once a semester to provide preparation and a plan on how to proactively handle the threat of an aggressive intruder or active shooter . The entire staff also receives yearly training on the topic of school safety .

In the original proposal , the teachers Continued on page 3A

County Withholding Tax On the Rise

The withholding tax taken out of everyone ’ s paychecks is increasing for Dearborn County residents for the first time in thirty-one years . Since 1987 the withholding tax rate has been . 6 %. As we all know , the cost of virtually everything has risen since then . The same fact has made it necessary for the Dearborn County Council to pass a withholding tax increase to 1.2 %.

To determine how this will affect your withholding , take your adjusted gross income from your tax form and multiply it by . 006 . Second , multiply your adjusted gross income by . 012 . The difference between these two numbers is the amount of increase in your withholding .

The withholding tax rate in Ripley County is currently 1.38 %. Franklin County had a rate of 1.25 %. Ohio County ’ s withholding rate is 1 %.

What are the taxes paid by county residents used for ? Read on .

Withholding tax Distributed into the General Fund and used for the day-to-day operation of the county

Property Tax Disbursed into the following : County General fund Cumulative Bridge fund Cumulative Courthouse fund Cumulative Capital Development fund Health fund Reassessment fund TIF Funds

Continued on page 3A

Music Fills the Lives of Students and the Community

High school jazz band students at ECHS learn not only notes , but the meaning and the purpose behind and beneath the music .

Robert Williams , the Choral Director with Franklin County Middle and High Schools , says , “ Choir is one of the only classes where music is very personal . In Choir , the individual voice of each student sounds with others to make music as a group . I love seeing students become proud of their accomplishments and become successful after hard work .”

Kari Zengerling is ECHS ’ s Drama Director . She says , Continued on page 4A

THE BEACON PO Box 4022 Lawrenceburg , Indiana 47025

Vote Rick Probst Republican Candidate for Dearborn County Commissioner

Retired Major , United States Army with 20 Years of Service Experienced Qualified Dedicated

See full ad on page 4

Paid by Elect Probst

SHOP LOCAL and tell our advertisers you saw their ads in The BEACON !