Help in navigating federal forms needed for college financial aid is available for local high school students and their parents.

With a March deadline looming for scholarship applications, Financial Literacy Coalition representatives are offering several upcoming help sessions.

The coalition works to improve awareness about financial literacy issues and will guide students through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

The series of sessions in Bartholomew County begins tonight.

Bill Jenson, Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. director of secondary education, asked the coalition to create the no-cost project to help parents and students complete the financial aid forms.

“We still have a lot of parents that struggle with finding time, getting necessary help or understanding all of the FAFSA components,” Jenson said. “Here’s an immediate area of need that we could really make a difference pretty quickly and without a lot of financial resources.”

Students who complete the financial aid forms may qualify for student loans, grants, scholarships and work-study funds through the federal government. The Indiana deadline for filing the FAFSA form is March 10, but some colleges and universities may require an earlier deadline.

Jenson said the Indiana Commission for High Education is monitoring how many Indiana high school students have completed a FAFSA and will let the high schools know when the forms have been submitted and if they contain errors.

Lyn Morgan, president of the Centra Foundation and a coalition member, said some parents and students don’t file the federal forms because they don’t think they can afford college. She hopes the coalition can help some individuals determine eligibility for financial aid.

“The whole goal of the community here is to get more kids to graduate from high school and then to go on to college,” she said.

Applying for financial aid is one step toward meeting that goal.

“Fill out the form,” she said, adding that applicants may receive far more assistance than expected.

Yellow folders designed to help students and their families navigate the financial aid process are available at the help sessions as well as at Harrison College, IUPUC and Ivy Tech Community College — Columbus.

In addition to the yellow folders, help session organizers are asking students and families to bring needed financial paperwork to complete the forms, which includes Social Security numbers, federal tax information and income information, for example.

Coalition member Jalene Hahn said completing a FAFSA form is similar to filing taxes in that a lot of the same financial information is required.

Help with the FAFSA has been offered in the past, she said, but coalition members thought there could be a broader, more efficient way to get families’ questions answered.

“This is really an expansion of the College Goal Sunday program. You could get help at the Learning Center, but it was just one day a year,” she said.

This program brings the help session to local public high schools rather than requiring students and parents to travel to the Learning Center, she said.

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Hauser High School, 9423 State Road 9 North, Hope

Tonight and Feb. 18, 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Columbus North High School, 1400 25th St.

Feb. 12 and 16, 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Columbus East High School, 230 S. Marr Road

Feb. 17, 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Columbus Learning Center, 4555 Central Ave.

Feb. 22, 2 p.m.

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Here is a list of the information students will need to bring with them to the FAFSA help sessions at Hauser, Columbus East and Columbus North high schools:

• Basic information (name, date of birth, address, driver’s license number)
• Social security number or alien registration number
• Any government benefits received in the home of the students in the past two years
• Federal tax information
• Records of untaxed income
• Current banking and investment account statements

Parents will need to bring the same information and marriage information.

For more information, contact Jalene Hahn with Warren Ward Associates, Columbus, at 812-379-1120.

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t didn’t matter that Columbus North senior basketball star Josh Speidel was still in a coma in the intensive care unit at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.

North sophomore Karli Reynolds sent the text message anyway.

“We all miss you.”

Reynolds, who plays for the girls basketball team, has been grieving since Speidel’s auto accident near Taylorsville on Sunday evening left him in critical but stable condition. On Tuesday evening, she was able to share that grief, and the hope that Speidel will recover, with a throng of Speidel supporters.

“I texted him twice today,” said Reynolds, who volunteered her time at a benefit dinner to raise money to help pay Speidel’s medical expenses.

“I knew he wouldn’t get it.”

The text message, that is.

Somehow, though, sending it made her feel better.

Senior cheerleader Taylor Kuhfahl, who also was volunteering her time to serve food and paint faces in North’s cafeteria, understood.

“You feel all the love and support,” Kuhfahl said as she scanned the crowd that grew to more than 500 people. “He will make it through.”

Cindy McCoy, who works for the North athletics department, put together the benefit in a day’s time. Raising funds was only part of the reason.

“People need to be together,” McCoy said. “They have a joint cause.”

McCoy knew the community needed an outlet to support Speidel and each other, so she started calling local restaurants and businesses to see if they would donate food and beverages with proceeds going to the Speidel family.

Not one person turned her down, allowing McCoy to gather enough items from 12 local businesses to host the event.

“And now look at all these people. They are all here to support Josh. I can’t talk anymore because I am going to end up crying,” she said.

Emotions ran high at both the dinner and North’s basketball game against visiting Hamilton Southeastern, which wore #JoshStrong T-shirts during their warm-ups and on the bench. Hamilton Southeastern also presented North Athletics Director Jeff Hester with funds collected by the school’s athletic boosters to benefit Speidel.

In the stands, Columbus East basketball players were sitting behind North’s bench, but the Olympians weren’t easy to spot without their usual orange clothing. They were wearing North’s colors to honor Speidel, with his jersey number 32 on the back of each shirt. Not far from East’s players sat the Columbus Christian basketball players, whose practices were also canceled so they could show their support.

Many in the crowd of more than 2,000 had tears in their eyes as a moment of silence was observed to offer thoughts and prayers for Speidel, North’s all-time leading scorer, followed by the national anthem.

North girls basketball seniors Ali Patberg and Debie Gedeon were among those selling #JoshStrong T-shirts. More than 200 were scooped up in less than 30 minutes before they ran out.

“It’s kind of hard to believe,” Gedeon said of the line that wrapped along one side of the cafeteria buffet line, out the door and down the hall. “It shows we are one community.”

Gedeon and Patberg were among those who raced to Methodist Hospital after hearing the news of Speidel’s accident Sunday evening. They stayed until about 3 a.m. Monday.

“We knew we weren’t going to see him,” Gedeon said. “Part of the reason we went was for each other. It was more peaceful than being at home.”

It was somewhat the same Tuesday evening, when supporters gathered to share their fears, concerns and hopes.

“It’s horrible, especially for the boys who played with Josh,” said Brenda Schoeberl, whose son Drew is a senior football player and a former Bull Dogs basketball player.

“You’ve got football moms and basketball moms and moms of kids who aren’t athletes, all helping out here. And what I think is most awesome is not just the restaurants and the churches coming together, but East and North coming together. These kids spend a lot of time being rivals.”

Schoeberl said all those positive thoughts have got to make a difference.

“The power of prayer,” she said. “I definitely believe it will be helpful for Josh, and also for his family and friends.”

The fundraiser and the game did seem to have some healing properties, despite the 64-49 outcome in Hamilton Southeastern’s favor.

“It’s been tough,” Reynolds said. “We’ve all been a mess.

“But this is everyone coming together. Josh is just a guy, but people love him. He has such a good heart.”

Back at Methodist Hospital, Lisa and Dave Speidel monitored the progress of their son. In a telephone conversation, Lisa Speidel was told about the outpouring of love and support at the dinner.

“I would just like to say that we are real appreciative,” Lisa Speidel said, her voice cracking with emotion. “I know that ‘Thank you’ doesn’t seem like enough, but ‘Thank you.’

“We are humbled, and we are blessed by it all. This is not about basketball. This is about helping a great kid. It is amazing to us that Josh has touched all these people,” she said.

•injured high school basketball star is drawing crosstown rivals closer together, as well as narrowing the 950-mile distance between Columbus and his college of choice in Burlington, Vermont.

Josh Speidel, Columbus North’s all-time scorer in basketball, is the focus of concern near and far since a car accident Sunday hospitalized him in critical but stable condition.

Speidel has been unconscious since the 7 p.m. Sunday accident near Taylorsville, suffering a broken jaw and a skull fracture.

He underwent a medical procedure at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis to relieve pressure on his brain, which has returned to normal pressure levels, his mother Lisa Speidel said.

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The athlete is breathing on his own, with his condition continuing to be stable, she said.

“They were doing several procedures (Tuesday), such as checking his lungs and other neurological tests that were stressful on his body,” Lisa Speidel said. “Doctors have told us that things are going the way we should expect.”

The doctors at Methodist are keeping a monitor on the student’s brain to track activity, she said.

“For us, it’s never moving fast enough,” Lisa Speidel said. “Everything is being evaluated literally hour-by-hour and sometimes minute-by-minute.”

Support network widens

Messages of support have poured into North High School and the University of Vermont, where Josh Speidel signed a letter of intent to play basketball.

University of Vermont players and coaches sent a video to Speidel on YouTube that was being shared throughout Columbus. It had thousands of views as of Tuesday afternoon and can be viewed through Facebook and therepublic.com.

In the video, Vermont team captains and a group of players from Indiana encourage Speidel to stay strong and to let him know they are praying for him.

Those players include Ernie Duncan, who played AAU basketball with Speidel.

The Catamounts ended the video with a team huddle, shouting “joshstrong.”

The phrase has become the support theme for Josh Speidel as friends, classmates, neighbors and well wishers search for ways to support him and his family.

Vermont’s coach, John Becker, was scheduled to arrive today to visit Speidel and his family at Methodist. The Vermont team competed against Maine on Tuesday night on their home court.

Becker told reporters in Vermont that he already considers Speidel part of the Vermont team’s family and that the players had heavy hearts heading into their game Tuesday night.

The video was suggested by assistant coach Kyle Cieplicki, who opens by telling Speidel that the team and coaches wanted him to know they were thinking of him.

Pete Estes, who works in Vermont’s athletics communications program, put the video together, filming the players at the end of practice each saying words of support to Speidel.

“This hit kind of close to home,” Estes said.

As the Catamounts took the floor Tuesday night in Vermont, Columbus North players also were stepping back on their home court for a game but without their go-to senior leader.

Olympians behind North

North’s crosstown rivals, the Columbus East Olympians, were determined not to let Bull Dog players face that situation alone.

Olympian varsity and junior varsity players agreed as a team, along with their coaches, to sit behind the North bench and cheer for the Bull Dogs on Tuesday night.

“Kids can still bring a tear to my eyes with their thoughtfulness,” Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. Superintendent John Quick said in an email after he heard about the gesture.

Columbus East boys basketball coach Brent Chitty said he has talked with North coach Jason Speer each day since the accident.

“We have a young man from our community fighting for his life,” Chitty said. “It’s a very tough situation. As a parent, I don’t want to think about what it must be like.”

As a team, the Olympians talk about team expectations of caring for each other, caring for yourself and caring for the school — and in that way, taking care of the community, he said.

“We talked about it, and this is taking care of others,” Chitty said of the East players supporting the Bull Dogs. “We’re praying for the family. We’re praying for Josh.”

Chitty said that the East players knew that Tuesday night was going to be a difficult one for the Bull Dogs when they faced Hamilton Southeastern of Fishers, which had a 6-11 record going into the game.

“The thing we could do is let them know we’re here to support you,” Chitty said of the gesture. “We are going to continue to pray that Josh comes out of this and has every good opportunity in the future.”

Been there, done that

One Columbus East athlete who knows something of what Speidel is going through is East’s Brock Greiwe, who went to Methodist on Tuesday afternoon to show support for his friend.

Greiwe, a standout defensive end on the Olympians football team, was hospitalized — also at Methodist — in December, where he underwent brain surgery to remove a tumor. That surgery prematurely ended his senior football season and his high school football career.

He and Speidel have been friends since they played youth baseball together when they were 12 years old, Greiwe said.

“I want to be there for him,” Greiwe said of his visit, adding that he also texted his friend so he would know that when he wakes up, he can count on Greiwe to help.

“There’s nobody who understands this like I do, after brain surgery. And now that I’m healed, I want to be there for him,” he said.

Greiwe said he is optimistic that Speidel will regain consciousness soon and noted that Speidel is in the same trauma area he was in after surgery.

“They take great care of you,” Greiwe said of Methodist.

Speidel visited Greiwe during his recovery late last year and attended fundraisers to help the Greiwe family with medical expenses.

“Now it’s my turn to be there for him,” Greiwe said.

The Republic Sports Editor Jay Heater contributed to this report.

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Community Church of Columbus, 3850 N. Marr Road, is collecting gasoline gift cards for the Speidel family, to alleviate costs of traveling to and from Methodist Hospital. The gift cards may be dropped off at the church between 8 a.m and noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 8 a.m. to noon Fridays. For more information, call 812-376-9478.

The Columbus North athletics department is selling $10 T-shirts with the “#joshstrong” logo and Josh Speidel’s number 32 to raise money to defray medical expenses.

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University of Vermont has posted a video of support for Columbus North’s Josh Speidel. To view it, go to The Republic’s Facebook page and click on the link to the video. If you are searching on Facebook, type in The Republic newspaper and look for the newspaper logo.

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A third Democrat has filed to run for a City Council seat in the May primary.

Elaine Wagner filed Friday to announce her candidacy for City Council District 2. The seat currently is held by Ryan Brand, who is seeking re-election.

At 28, she’s the youngest candidate to file so far.

Wagner, daughter of local businessman Ryan Hou and former Cummins Inc. executive Jean Hou, was born and raised in Columbus and has volunteered and served in leadership positions for community organizations, including the Foundation for Youth, the Columbus Chinese Association and the United Way.

Wagner said she feels a responsibility to go above and beyond her current community service and is excited for the opportunity to continue helping by engaging young people.

She’s running for council because she wants to bring new energy and help make the Columbus community better as an engaged and proactive voice for residents, she said.

“As a member of City Council, I hope to bring a fresh perspective and new ideas to build a community that will be attractive for all residents, including young professionals,” Wagner said. “I believe that by better managing the city’s resources and empowering young people, Columbus can grow into a thriving home for small businesses and families.”

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Name: Elaine Wagner

Age: 28

Address: 4265 Sharp Lane

Employment: Works in Marketing for Cummins Inc.

Current office held: None

Past office held: None

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BROWN COUNTY — The Indiana Department of Transportation will close State Road 135 at Gnaw Bone Creek in Brown County for two months beginning in early March.

A state highway detour will route motorists around the closing via State Road 46, Interstate 65 and State Road 58.

INDOT officials are meeting with the contractor to discuss the $746,792 project to replace the highway’s bridge superstructure over Gnaw Bone Creek, just south of State Road 46 in Washington Township.

Schutt-Lookabill Company of Indianapolis plans to begin work on the project March 2 to remove and replace the bridge deck and rails. The project includes new pavement approaches and repairs to bridge piers.

The Gnaw Bone Creek bridge is a three-span, continuous, reinforced concrete structure, which is 123 feet in length. The project is set for completion April 30.