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By Jerry Curry, Staff Writer

Salem Crossing held a very successful fundraiser for the family of Bryce Gerlach. Bryce’s father, Scott Gerlach, works at the facility as a physical therapist.

Bryce was shot on Saturday, Oct. 12, in New Albany while attending Harvest Homecoming. He got caught in the crossfire between two shooters.

Salem Crossing offered BBQ chicken meals, with slaw and mac-n-cheese as sides, and conducted a bake sale. The hours were 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., but the meal sold out by advance orders before 9 a.m.

They sold 125 dinners at $10 each, with all proceeds going the Gerlach family. Memorial bracelets for $5 each were also available for sale through advance order.

Staff photos by Jerry Curry.

Mary Daulton (left) and Holly Thompson, executive director of Salem Crossing, helped direct fundraising activities.

A generous variety of items were available at the bake sale.

Dinners offered by Salem Crossing sold out in record time.

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By Philip Hensley, Master Trooper, Indiana State Police Sellersburg District

• Slow down and be especially alert in residential neighborhoods.
• Take the extra time to look for children before proceeding through intersections.
• Pull into and out of driveways carefully and slowly.
• Do not be distracted by cell phones or other items in the vehicle, devote your attention to your driving.
• Turn on headlights earlier than normal to not only help with your vision, but to become more visible to children and pedestrians.

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By Jerry Curry, Staff Writer

It’s that time of year when we mess around with the clocks and set time back for Eastern Standard Time.

Set your clock back before you go to bed Saturday, November 2. Daylight Savings Time starts Monday, Nov. 3.

Daylight Savings Time was widely used during World War 1 and World War 2 to save energy.

According to the Smithsonian, it was George Vernon Hudson, a New Zealand artist and amateur bug collector, who first proposed the idea in a 1895 paper.

However, 100 years earlier, Benjamin Franklin, inventor extraordinaire, pondered a similar question in a letter to the editor of the Journal of Paris. Using his watch, Franklin monitored the changing times when the sun would rise. Adjusting to this new system of sleeping and waking, based not on clocks but the sun itself, Franklin argued, would be simple.

Franklin claimed, the people of France would save hundreds of francs a year on candles if the slept when it was dark and woke when it was light. Artificial illumination would no longer be necessary. Franklin offered this without a reward, but claimed, “I expect only the honor of it.”

Well, Ben, it’s not that easy. Daylight Savings Time creates a misalignment with our bodies’ natural rhythms. This effects the sleep pattern of over 300 million people. It has been reported that insufficient sleep includes decrease in cardiovascular health, increase in diabetes and obesity, poor mental health, lower cognitive performance and an increase in the risk of motor vehicle accidents. Basically, in is a detriment to our health.

Daylight Savings Time is practiced in the United States and Canada.

Mo matter which time is current, Franklin is often quoted as saying, “Early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy, wealth, and wise.”

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Dec. 1 deadline to sign up for collection

A successful program to collect and properly dispose of PFAS chemicals stored by Indiana fire departments will discontinue operations at the end of the year.

The Indiana Class B PFAS Foam Collection Initiative has gathered nearly 41,000 gallons of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) foam since it first launched more than a year ago as a collaborative project between the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). Fire departments across Indiana can sign up online and then schedule a pickup on site of the dangerous, cancer-causing foam material that was once used widely to combat hazardous materials fires.

Any department hoping to take advantage of this free service must complete the online survey form by December 1 to begin the process. The month of December will be used to complete any backlog, and no pickups will occur after December 30.

Also referred to as “forever chemicals,” PFAS has been proven in many studies to be cancer causing for firefighters, who are at an exponentially higher risk of several kinds of cancers. The PFAS chemicals can adhere to clothing and enter the bloodstream through continued exposure. In 2020, Indiana passed a law to restrict the use of PFAS foams for any training purposes, with a very defined exception for facilities that have implemented “appropriate measures” to prevent the chemicals from reaching the environment. Groundwater sources are very susceptible to PFAS contamination.

Some departments have been hesitant to turn over PFAS foam stored at their locations, and the program does not replace the PFAS foam with a healthier and more effective option. However, the program eliminates significant disposal costs for departments that rarely need or use this type of material to fight routine fires. Keeping the material on hand only prolongs potential exposure to the firefighting community.

For more information, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.