A fitting tribute
Tony Stewart has collected numerous awards and honors over his illustrious racing career, but none quite like the one he received earlier this week at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fairgrounds.
The track at the fairgrounds was renamed after the Columbus native on Tuesday, as a special dedication ceremony unveiled a new sign on the pagoda proclaiming the site as the "Tony Stewart Speedway."
Stewart has raced at the track since he was 8 years old. He has competed in the fair race a plethora of times, including every year since 2013.
The hall-of-fame driver has maintained a residence in the area and given back to the community for years. The Tony Stewart Foundation — which benefits chronically ill and physically disabled children, animals that are endangered or at risk and drivers injured in the sport of racing — has been in operation since 2003.
"This is a proud moment for me, being from here," Stewart said. "I don’t think there’s anybody in the world that can ever say I forgot where I came from. And I never will. It’s where I’m always going to be, and it’s where my heart is.”
There’s no question that Stewart is deserving of the honor.
Lending a hand
It didn’t even take 24 hours for a local company to reach out and offer help after flooding forced Columbus East High School to close its athletics facilities.
Toyota Material Handling allowed the Olympians football team to use its T+Rex fitness facility on its campus while cleanup efforts continued last week.
While East’s weight room wasn’t damaged, nobody was allowed inside the buildings due to sewage backup.
The team used the weightroom once, with about 40 players lifting over a two-hour timeframe.
The Olympians were off this past week due to the IHSAA’s mandatory moratorium, but the TMH offer stands should the facilities not be ready for use next week.
It’s encouraging to see local businesses step up to support our youth during times of need.
Quite the find
Over the past month, a certain set of bones has created a stir.
In late May, work on a portion of the construction site for the new Bartholomew County Court Services building was halted after human bones were found by workers attempting to locate an old sewer line.
The bones were moved from the construction site to the University of Indianapolis for further study in early June so an archeology team could evaluate them further.
Last week, it was announced that the Indiana Department of Natural Resources had discovered that the bones were ancient (2,000 to 3,000 years old); outdating the county by hundreds of years. The remains are believed to be of Native Americans that once lived in the area.
Once that analysis is complete, the remains will be turned over to Native American tribes for a respectful reburial.
Moving forward, a bioarchaeology monitor will be onsite to oversee the digs, watch out for additional human remains, and make sure that any discovered remains are handled properly
Officials made the right call in calling in experts to look at the remains so that they can receive proper care, and we’re glad that the project is continuing to move forward.
