Today's News

Joshua B. Spaulding of Bagdad was indicted for third-degree assault, resisting arrest, third-degree terroristic threatening, second-degree disorderly conduct, third-degree criminal mischief, harassing communications, no insurance and improper registration plates.

Gretchen Ann Pierson of Shelbyville was indicted for making false statements to obtain benefits over $100.

I spoke with Jo-Ann van den Berg-Ohms from Van Engelen Bulb Company the other day. Her family has been in the Dutch bulb business for five generations, so I trust her advice when it comes to bulbs.

She noted that bulbs are best planted once soil temperatures cool to about 55 degrees, so she tells people to wait and plant bulbs until we have had at least two weeks of sweater weather. If it is too cool outside without a jacket then it's just right for planting bulbs.

I don't normally fret about writing columns, but this one has been tough. How, after all, do you adequately muster the words to pay fitting tribute to someone who has spent much of her life taking care of our most vulnerable children and their families?

For more than a decade, Mary Simmons directed the Dorman Center, a special day care for at-risk children. If you had to make a list of some of life's toughest assignments, that job would be right near the top.

"Over the River and Into the Woods," which opens at the Shelby County Community Theatre on Friday, is the directorial debut of Shelby County native Mark Burks.

The play is about a young man, Nickey, who is adored by his grandparents. When Nickey gets a promotion, the prospect of his moving ignites a series of hilarious events.

Michael Catapano, a teen new to the Shelby County Theatre, plays the part of Nickey. He is from New York and has a "great Italian-New York accent," Burks said.