A canine in the courtroom?
Going to court is oftentimes an unnerving experience; especially for those under the age of 18.
Judge Lindsey Holden-Kay, the juvenile magistrate in Bartholomew Circuit Court, has a plan to help ease those tensions.
Holden-Kay recently adopted a 5-month-old golden retriever and poodle mix named Stella to be professionally trained as a therapy dog for her courtroom.
While the Bartholomew County Commissioners have not yet approved allowing a therapy dog in the courthouse, their decision won’t be needed for several months as Stella cannot be certified as a therapy dog until she is 1-year-old.
If Stella is certified in December or January, and is given approval by the commissioners, she will be utilized to provide comfort to youthful offenders and victims frightened by their surroundings.
Studies have proven having a therapy dog in a courtroom is largely beneficial. Hopefully training and approval all goes smoothly, and Stella will become a valuable asset for the juvenile court in the future.
New head at Hauser
A young, but familiar, face is taking over as Hauser Jr.-Sr. High School’s principal starting next school year.
Kris Fortune, current dean of students at Hope Elementary, recently accepted the position after current Principal David Wintin was promoted as Flat Rock-Hawcreek School Corp. executive director of accelerated learning.
Fortune, 30, joined the district in 2018. During his time in Hope, he has also served as the district school safety coordinator and as the district special education coordinator for the past two years.
We wish Fortune well in his future position, and look forward to seeing how his leadership impacts local youth.
Support local this summer
As the temperatures continue to rise outdoors, so is the anticipation of getting back to some normal local traditions.
Following a year of extreme social distancing, there’s a slate of events back on the schedule for the summer of 2021.
The Ethnic Expo (which starts today), Bartholomew County 4-H Fair and Our Hospice of South Central Indiana concert are all coming back this year.
In addition to those large gatherings, there are a slew of concerts, educational programs and other events planned for all ages throughout the next 14 weeks.
With pandemic restrictions loosened, it’s important that the community gets back to supporting these events. Many local nonprofits and businesses are still struggling to bounce back from 2020’s losses, and are relying on residents to get out this summer.
Tomorrow is the first official day of summer. There’s no doubt it will be one to remember.
