As Johnson County and Franklin turned 200 in 2023, mother nature wreaked havoc, long-term goals were realized, new plans were hatched and tragedies struck.
Here’s a look back at the Top 10 stories of the year, as judged by importance to the community and reader interaction on the web.
10) Report: Contamination did not cause cancer
After years of fear of what’s in the ground, water and air around Amphenol and the former Hoagland Cannery, Franklin can breathe easy.
A federal report based on the analysis of samples gathered from the site and determined that there was never enough contamination in any home or business to cause cancer. Additionally, only two homes and one business had any level of contamination that could be traced to Amphenol or nearby sites. For the sites that did have contamination, it was at a level that would only be harmful to a fetus if a pregnant woman was exposed to the toxin.
For the past six years, the Franklin community has been on edge after an idea was popularized that contamination at Amphenol and other area industrial sites might have caused cancer among children who live in the nearby neighborhood. This report put that idea to rest with scientific testing and analysis. Since cancer has no known cause, it may never be known what sickened the children.
There was also a false impression that contamination had spread all over the city through the sewers. However, the contamination was contained within a small radius of Amphenol and Hoagland, representing just 2.4 square miles of the city. Contamination only infiltrated the sewers within the groundwater plumes around the sites, the report says.
People also feared the water supply was tainted, but the report’s analysis showed water never was contaminated.
9) Interstate 69 fully open
The last interstate exit in I-69 in Johnson County opened on Smith Valley Road this year. The interchange partially opened the southbound entrance and exit in August and opened the final northbound entrance and exit ramp in November.
The County Road 144 and County Line Road interchanges opened in 2022. The interstate has changed the shape of western Johnson County forever, including closing businesses, eliminating homes and forcing the relocation of a White River Township fire station.
The $2 billion, 26-mile stretch of interstate from Martinsville to Indianapolis has been more than 50 years in the making. While I-69 between Fort Wayne and Indianapolis opened in 1971, it took until the early 2000s for state officials to make the southern part of the project a priority, and until 2008 for construction to begin in southern Indiana.
Work in Indianapolis will continue in 2024, with the full project to be opened by the end of the year.
8) Bargersville fulfills park promises
Bargersville made great strides this year with the foundation of a parks department, a big unveiling and a big announcement.
In January, Bargersville added its first park director, Kris Wilson, who has almost two decades of experience building the parks department in Mooresville. Wilson has been working to update the town’s master plan through community feedback. A draft version of the updated plan was sent to the state in early November.
In August, the town fulfilled a long-held promise to open Kephart Park. The new six-acre park has a splash pad, eight pickleball courts, a wooded trail, playground equipment and more. It is a major step in a plan town officials have to grow amenities for the growing town.
Town officials, Umbarger family members broke ground on Umbarger Plaza in late November. The plaza is a $2 million downtown park east of the railroad tracks and southwest of Old Plank Road and Baldwin Street. It will include an amphitheater, public restrooms and a green space, including a native-plan prairie, walking paths and seating areas. The project is expected to be completed by fall of 2024.
7) Year of the chicken
Chicken fights broke out in four Johnson County communities this year. There was a victory for chicken ownership in Whiteland and a partial victory in Bargersville, but Greenwood and Edinburgh officials didn’t budge on their chicken bans.
The Whiteland chicken debate began in February when resident Shawn Butler pleaded with the town council to change the rules so he could keep his chickens after a neighbor reported him to the town.
The highly-debated chicken ordinance made it to the other side of the road in early August after months of back and forth between the town’s council and plan commission, with the town council voting 3-2 to allowing residents to keep backyard chickens in town limits with restrictions.
In Bargersville, the chicken debate had a similar origin, but different results. A neighbor complained about Amanda Dilley’s chickens in August and she learned this month she has 60 days to rehome them.
Bargersville’s ordinance did not expressly forbid or allow chickens when the complaint was filed against Dilley. After consideration, town officials opted to classify chickens as livestock and allow them on parcels that are an acre or more. Dilley, who lives in the Three Notch Village subdivision on a quarter-acre lot, was left out of the equation with this classification.
A plea to allow an Edinburgh man to keep his emotional support chicken was denied by the town council in August.
Annette and David Young brought a request to change the town’s animal ordinance to the council’s attention after they received a notice they were going to receive fines for keeping backyard chickens. Though they had chickens for years, a neighbor complained about their chickens to the town, which triggered the notice. The Youngs, who are caregivers for Jason Grabarczyk, an adult who lives with Down’s Syndrome, made the plea to keep chickens because they are therapeutic for Grabarczyk.
Greenwood resident Kimberlie Board sought this year to change the city code to allow backyard chickens, specifically hens, creating a change.org petition. The city code outlaws residents from keeping poultry and livestock, except on properties zoned and operated as agricultural operations or suburban fringe “under other applicable laws.”
Board and other residents who signed her petition appealed to the city council in July to no avail. No member of the city council brought forth any proposed changes to the ordinance following that meeting.
6) Crusade for pool safety after student’s death
Alaina Dildine, 15, drowned at Whiteland Community High School in May. She suffered from a seizure during physical education class while under the water. She went unnoticed for 52 minutes. There was a teacher and lifeguard on duty at the time of the incident.
Since the incident, concerned parents and community members have routinely attended Clark-Pleasant School Board meetings demanding answers and calling for the termination of the supervising teacher. This prompted school officials to reevaluate their pool policies.
One of the changes would double the number of people supervising the pool. All students would also be assigned a pool partner, and if a pool partner is absent, a temporary partner will be assigned for the period. Attendance would be taken prior to entering and exiting the pool. Students will also wear drowning detection headbands.
Superintendent Timothy Edsell, who was not in the position at the time of the incident, said that the policy will be considered a living document and can be updated at any time.
The policy was sent to an external reviewer and has yet to be implemented.
5) Greenwood mayor fights off challenge; judge race sees upset
There was both a divisive mayoral election and an upset in the city judge race in May.
In the mayoral race, Republican three-term mayor Mark Myers faced a primary challenge from former Center Grove School Board President Joe Hubbard. The election brought up sensitive topics on both sides and there was much debate over public safety policies. People are still discussing the issues brought up during the primary and debate will likely continue.
Myers ultimately got about 55% of the votes cast, while Hubbard received about 45% in the primary. Myers was unchallenged in the November election.
In the Republican primary for city judge, longtime Judge Lewis Gregory was ousted by Assistant City Attorney Drew Foster. At issue was whether the city court needed a change as it sees a higher caseload with the growth of the city. The race was close, but Foster prevailed with a vote of 52% to Gregory’s 48% in the primary. Foster was unchallenged in the November election.
4) Year of progress for county buildings
Johnson County announced, completed and began many projects this year.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held in July for the new joint Johnson County Coroner’s Office and Health Department. The 1.8-acre site at Drake Road and Hospital Road will be an upgrade for both entities and provide them with the space needed to serve the growing county.
The county is also partnering with Johnson Memorial Health to build an $11 million mental health center on the hospital’s campus. The center is expected to be completed in late 2024 or early 2025. At a time when mental and behavioral health is severely undeserved, the center is a step toward addressing the problem.
At the Johnson County Courthouse, new sidewalks, repairs to the fountain, cleaning for the monuments, and a second ADA-compliant entrance to the courthouse basement were added this year. The courthouse windows will be updated soon, and white trim will be added to restore the building’s historic character. Repair work from wind damage stemming from strong storms on March 31 is expected to be completed in 2024.
Upgrades to Johnson County Park were announced including a new park office and camp store, an additional barn for Hoosier Horse Park and amphitheater enhancements.
A new addition to the Johnson County Animal Shelter was also built this year.
3) 5 killed in fatal shootings
Violent crime continued to plague Johnson County throughout 2023, as homicides reached near-record levels for the second year in a row. All of the fatal shootings took place in Greenwood.
The first shooting occurred only days into the new year on Jan. 10. Richard Donnell Hamilton, 43, of Indianapolis, was shot and killed in a road rage shooting at the Interstate 65 interchange at County Line Road. This investigation remains ongoing and no one has been formally charged.
On March 8, Timothy A. Sannito was shot and killed outside Ale Emporium, off County Line Road. The man charged in his death, 25-year-old Marco A. Gonzalez of Greenwood, was found incompetent to stand trial in November, putting the case on pause.
The third fatal shooting took place on the 1200 block of Odell Lane on May 15. Jerimiah S. Martin, 20 of Indianapolis, was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds. An Indianapolis 16-year-old told police they shot him and said Martin and another man, Marcus D. Jones, Jr., 20 of Indianapolis, threatened him and attempted to rob him. Police said the shooting stemmed from a home invasion and drug deal gone wrong.
On Aug. 28, police say Jacob M. Moran, 22, both battered and later fatally shot his father, 45-year-old Greenwood resident Shaun M. Moran, on Aug. 28. Two domestic battery incidents occurred several hours before the shooting at a home on Euclid Avenue.
The last fatal shooting of the year took place on Dec. 10 when 18-year-old Indianapolis man Ethan J. David was shot on the 2000 block of Liberty Way Drive. Prosecutors say 17-year-old Quincy D. Stringer Jr. and 15-year-old Da’Zaria Dyson conspired to rob David during an alleged drug deal. Stringer is charged as an adult, and prosecutors are moving to charge Dyson as an adult, too.
2) Police officers with local ties die in the line of duty
Tragedy struck Johnson County’s law enforcement community twice during 2023 as two officers died in the line of duty.
Indiana State Police Trooper Aaron Smith was killed on June 28 while trying to stop a fleeing vehicle. Police say the car, which was stolen, intentionally veered into the 33-year-old Franklin resident. One person has been charged with murder in connection to the incident, while another is facing a theft charge.
Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter described Smith, a graduate of Whiteland Community High School, as a shining star for the agency. In April, Smith was presented with two lifesaving awards by Carter for his actions during two incidents in 2022.
Two months after Smith’s death, Johnson County Sheriff’s Deputy Tim Guyer died while in training at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Plainfield. The 49-year-old Trafalgar resident was found unresponsive in his dorm room two weeks away from graduating from the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy. He is believed to have died from a medical issue.
Before becoming a sheriff’s deputy, Guyer spent 27 years in construction. He co-owned Franklin-based BC Construction for 17 years and was the building inspector for the towns of New Whiteland, Trafalgar and Morgantown. He also volunteered at Indian Creek Schools.
1) Tornadoes rip through county
Three tornadoes this year carved paths of destruction across Johnson County and recovery is still underway.
Two tornadoes struck late on March 31, with an EF-0 causing mild damage in rural Union Township and an EF-3 causing damage to 179 homes and businesses in Whiteland. That night strong winds also caused damage in Franklin, most notably to the Johnson County Courthouse’s clocktower.
The hardest hit areas of Whiteland were east of the railroad tracks at State Street, Elm Street and Pearl Street, as well as some of West Street just west of the railroad tracks. Homes in the Park Forest and Spring Hill subdivisions also saw significant damage.
An EF-2 tornado ripped through White River Township on June 25, causing damage to the area stretching from Mullinix and Travis roads to Tracy Road in New Whiteland. Impacted areas included the Kensington Grove and Water’s Edge subdivisions, the Old Marsh building and an under-construction apartment complex at Stones Crossing Road and State Road 135.
No one was injured by any of the tornadoes, but the community is still healing. Clean-up efforts are now well underway, though some families who lived in some of the hardest-hit homes are still displaced.
Several public buildings still haven’t recovered from the storms. Whiteland town officials are still working with their insurance company on plans for a new fire station. Firefighters are housed in a temporary trailer until the new building is constructed.
The Johnson County Commissioners are still awaiting special-order parts to fix the south-facing side of the courthouse clocktower. The parts are expected to come in this winter for spring construction.
The tornadoes also revealed the good in the community, as many individuals and groups came together to help with clean-up efforts.
The storms also revealed problems that are planned to be addressed in the new year, such as redundancies in utility systems.
— Editor Leeann Doerflein, News Editor Noah Crenshaw, and reporters Jayden Kennett and Waylon O’Donnell contributed to this report.
