24 Hours in Muncie 1

MU_MN_3RD_03-22_N_B_A_X_CMU_MN_3RD_03-20_N_B_E_1_C

No matter the hour — or the

temperature — it’s business as

usual in Muncie. Join us inside

for a peek at the daily journey.

TheStarPressSUNDAY, MARCH 20, 2011

E1E1

Feb. 9, 2011, was much like any other Wednesday in February in Muncie, Ind.

Even with below-zero temperatures, people went to work; students went to school; they ate breakfast,

lunch and dinner; had their newspaper delivered; rode the bus; went shopping, and much more.

The Star Press sent 23 writers and three photographers out in the cold to document stories of the moment from midnight to midnight Feb. 9.

This section tells the stories of how people in Muncie get over hump day.

Throughout the 24 hours, you’ll see who is still up at mid-night having a drink at Savage’s Alehouse

and who is hanging out at the Sunshine Cafe at 11 p.m.You’ll follow friends, relatives and co-workers and school-

mates doing what it takes to get through the day. And, along the way, you’ll find out more about:

• Stephanie LeBlanc, executive assistant to Mayor Sharon McShurley.

• Jeff Burke, a Muncie bailbondsmen.• The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at IU Health Ball

Memorial Hospital.• Meshi, a clerk at the BP gas station.• Delmar Neal, who works out in the early morning hours

at the Y.• David Williams, working a 12-hour shift driving a taxi.

• Teacher Joanne Norris at Northside Middle School.

• Munciana volleyball coach Poncho Alvarez.

Together, their stories and many others show

just a piece of the puzzle of

daily life in Muncie.

MU_MN_3RD_03-20_N_B_E_2_C

2E • Sunday, March 20, 2011 www.thestarpress.com


Just another Wednesday in Muncie… what’sINSIDE

4 1-2 a.m.: City Streets

8 3-4 a.m.:

Ready for action 6 2-3 a.m.: Preparing your news

10 4-5 a.m.: Keeping watch

26 11 a.m.-noon: Whirlwind activity

48 6-7 p.m.: Extra practice

59 News of the day from Feb. 9, 2011

21 9-10 a.m.: At the courthouse

22 10-11 a.m.:

Conversation matters

14 5-6 a.m.: Sweet treats 18 7-8 a.m.: The morning jolt

41 3-4 p.m.: Home renovation 44 5-6 p.m.: Quiet time

56 10-11 p.m.: Last-minute shopping

58 11 p.m.-midnight:

Late-night dining

A littleBIT OF…

Check out the scenes from 24 hours in Muncie

at thestarpress.com

By DOUGLAS [email protected]

MUNCIE — A Muncieman who pleaded guilty —but mentally ill — in a 2005attack on a fellow Central HighSchool student has receivedno treatment or counseling ofany kind during his more-than-four years in prison.

Travis A. Marlett was 17when he used a homemadeknife to cut the throat of a 16-year-old girl he found alone ina Central classroom on Sept.26, 2005.

Investigators said the attack,while unprovoked, had beenplanned by Marlett.

By JOHN [email protected]

First you watch, then you wince.

“This is called the drop,” DanMeyer explained, before lift-ing the gleaming sword directly

above his upturned face, inserting itstip past his teeth and lowering it half-a-foot down his throat.

Then, he let go.Smooth as glass, the sword’s blade

disappeared all the way up to its hilt.From a few feet away it’s hard to

watch, and almost harder to believe,but it’s for real, another feat that thiscelebrated sword swallower has per-formed countless times now.

But that’s not to say sword swal-

lowing came effortlessly to the nativeHoosier, who recently moved toMuncie because he has family here.Meyer figures it took him fully 13,000tries before he successfully swallowedhis first sword in 2001.

“I worked on it myself, in my bath-room, 10 to 12 times a day, every day,for four years,” he admitted, adding itwas a couple years after that before hecould do it consistently.

MU_MN_1ST_XX-XX_N_B_X_X_KMU_MN_1ST_02-10_N_B_A_1_C

75¢

THURSDAYFebruary 10, 2011

Muncie, Indiana

INDEXBusiness 1C

Classifieds 3C

Comics 7C

Editorial 7A

Horoscope 4D

Life 1D

Obituaries 5A

Sports 1B

TV guide 4D

USA Today 8A

Weather 4D

Volume 111, No. 356, ©2011The Star Press, A Gannett newspaper

The Star Press is printed onpartially recycled newsprint

Page designerTaylor Etchison, 213-5848

Customer Service1-800-783-2472

GET IT ONLINEFollow us on Twitter,friend us on Facebookor read our RSS feed

‘Mentally ill’attacker getsno treatment

� Weed and Seed andMuncie Action Plan teamup to expand the Councilof Neighborhoods.

By SETH [email protected]

MUNCIE — Attendance isgrowing at meetings of theCouncil of Neighborhoods,which is expanding throughan initiative of the MuncieAction Plan (MAP).

Created by the city’s feder-ally funded Weed and Seedproject, the council attracted40 or so people to its meet-the-candidates night at thesouthside Ross CommunityCenter before the Novembergeneral election.

A month later, two dozenattended a meeting at FriendsMemorial Church (in the OldWest End) on code enforce-ment.

And lastmonth, nearly threedozen people showed up for ameeting at Ross to discussexpansion of the council intoa citywide group. Up untilnow, the council has repre-sented only inner-city neigh-borhoods, which have thehighest rates of drug-related

crimes and violence.“Essentially, this council is

the heart of the Weed andSeed effort, but it’s also theheart of the (entire) city, asneighborhood people bandtogether to take ownership ofthe city, ... and do all thosethings we talk about to make

Neighborhood councilattendance on the rise

By SETH [email protected]

M U N C I E— The MuncieAction Plan(MAP) steeringcommittee hashired a localp ro fe s s i ona lplanner to

become its part-time admin-istrator.

Larry Strange, who movedto Muncie from New Albanyin 2008, will work 20 hours aweek for the committee, saidco-chairman Virginia Nilles,who is director of the MunciePublic Library.

Muncie Action Plan hiresnew part-time administrator

� See STRANGE, 2A

� See COUNCIL, 2A

Strange

‘MAKE MUNCIE A BETTER PLACE’

Want to volunteer?The Muncie Action Plan is

expanding the Council of Neighbor-hoods to include all areas of thecity.

If you are interested in volun-teering as a neighborhood orga-nizer or block captain, visit www.muncieactionplan.com or call JimWingate at 287-3123.

Next meetingThe next meeting of the Coun-

cil of Neighborhoods will be at6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the MuncieBoys & Girls Club, 1710 S. MadisonSt. Ball State University criminaljustice faculty and students willpresent the results of a surveyof more than 600 residents ontopics including graffiti, vandal-ism, safety, noise, crime, drug useand their opinions of the policedepartment.

Proceeds from Friday’s event at Ball State will benefit the HighStreet United Methodist Church’s mission trip to Tanzania

Sword swallower plays his role to the hilt

THE SHOWWHAT: Swords for

AfricaWHO: Dan Meyer,

Rupert Boneham ofSurvivor and others.WHERE: Emens

AuditoriumWHEN: 7:11 p.m.

FridayTICKETS: $5

students, $10 adults,available at Emens boxoffice, Ticketmaster andTan U Very Much.INFORMATION: www.

swordsforafrica.com

THE MANWHO: Sword

swallower Dan MeyerQUOTE: (On using a

late performer’s sword)“I kind of feel bondedwith her now, that I’ve(mixed) her DNA withmine.”FACT: A graduate of

Indiana State University,he is also a musician,songwriter and diver.INFORMATION:

swordswallower.net/cuttingedgeinnertainment.com

KIDS: DON’T TRYTHIS AT HOME

� See SWORD, 2A

CHRIS BERGIN / THE STAR PRESS

SWORD SWALLOWER Dan Meyer performs for The Star Press on Jan. 26. He will appear on Friday at Emens.

ONLINE: Check out more amazingphotos and an exclusive video on our

website at thestarpress.com

� See MARLETT, 6A

� Travis Marlett hasn’t received counseling while inprison for cutting a classmate’s throat in 2005.

New bill: You’ll pay more for a marriage license — unless you take prep classes | 5A

WWW. T H E S TA R P R E S S . C OM

TOLL OF THE SNOW DAY: The extended school year couldaffect graduation at some schools, including Southside | 3A

E2 E3E2 E3


www.thestarpress.com Sunday, March 20, 2011 • 3E

Midnight-1 a.m.: Study time

Throw out all those stereotypical images you might have of a library. You know: the musty smell of the stacks, an old-maid librarian with her hair pulled back

shushing people, few patrons to be seen.

Ball State University’s Bracken Library dispels those notions. It’s a busy place at midnight on one of the coldest nights of the year. Although there’s plenty of space to spread out, students poring over books and laptops, often with the tell-tale earbuds of an iPod in their ears, can be found busily work-ing on research projects and homework on every level and in every nook and corner of the building.

Bradley Johnston, Bracken’s evening supervisor, explains that Sunday nights are the library’s busiest times. He’s been night supervisor for two years and is working on his master of library science degree. He over-sees a five-member staff that works from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m., when the library closes. (It reopens at 7 a.m.)

Johnston says the library today is a different place than it was six years ago. Besides the tech-nology upgrades, students can bring in food and eat in designated areas. Of course, a greasy pizza is still discouraged for obvious reasons.

On this night, the “white noise” of the air handlers, punctuated by the electronic bells of the elevator doors opening and closing, are the dominant sounds. A knot of students is vigorously

discussing, but not loudly, professors, assignments and what defines a leader and a follower.

Many students are transfixed on the computers the library provides. Some look like they’ve been there for most of the day.

On the second level, Laura Smith is working on a French project “because the Internet at my house went out.” She describes herself as a “super senior” (it’s compli-cated, she says). Her plan for the evening, as she works with a pile of books and her laptop, is to stay at the library until she’s done or it closes at 3 a.m.

Also on the sec-ond level, a portrait of BSU President Jo Ann Gora “greets”

people who head down a narrow hallway, lined with portraits of past Ball State presidents. One gets the creepy feeling they’re all watching the visitor as he traverses the hallway.

Not everybody, though, is studying.On the lower level, one girl is curled up in a

chair, her male companion sprawled out in the chair next to her, apparently deep asleep. She’s focused on a big screen television playing an epi-sode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

Now that’s something you don’t find in your typical library.

— Jeff Ward

It’s a bitterly cold night in February but Savage’s Alehouse is warmly lit and filled with conversation. There is a good crowd of 20-somethings divided into groups of

two or three sipping on beer. The glasses are all filled with a variety of beers ranging from dark to light.

The music is loud but tolerable with the low rumble of conversation underneath. The

tattooed, dark-haired bartender, Rachel Monroe, duti-fully serves patrons. She stops to chat with familiar faces.

“It’s kind of a toss-up” Monroe says regarding the typical Savage’s cus-tomer. “There is nothing steady about this place. You kind of never know

what you’re walking into.” On one wall, a white board lists 17 specials

for the night. Pabst Blue Ribbon decorations cover the wall next to the board. The wall adjacent has shelves filled with battered board game boxes. In a separate room, a pool table sits unnoticed. A man sits alone near it, working on his laptop with his headphones on. Outside there is little traffic at this late hour, and a bike is propped up against the snow and ice on the sidewalk.

As the night creeps past midnight, no one is in a hurry; then three women walk in the door. They hug one another and settle in with their beers. A muted movie begins on the television hanging above the cook’s window.

The occasional dinging of the cook’s bell reminds the patrons the kitchen is open and stays open late. A man takes advantage of the large menu and orders a sandwich and fries.

This evening, the patrons seem to have the food and beer menus memorized because they barely glance at them before they order.

— Tasha Caldwell

Midnight-1 a.m.: An eclectic collection

Bracken facts❙ Bracken Library serves about 1.2 million visitors a year.❙ The busiest time in the evening is between 6 and 8 p.m.❙ The fourth floor is the “quiet” level, and there are plenty of signs to remind visitors of this.❙ Members of sororities and fraternities sign a “study book” at the front counter to show how long they were at the library.❙ Students and staff can reserve group study rooms.

PHOTO BY JEFF WARD / THE STAR PRESS

Laura Smith works on her French assignment

onBracken Library’s second floor. She was

using the library because her Internet connection

at home went out.

E2 E3E2 E3




1-2 a.m.: Putting ‘down time’ to work

“You get used to not being used to it.”That’s how Marsh Hometown Market

cashier Roger Alexander describes the incon-sistencies in his sleep schedule after working

third-shift at the store for 17 years.But at the hour of 1 a.m., Alexander has plenty to do to

keep himself busy when his checkout line isn’t filled with customers. Those other tasks include stocking candy and cigarettes and keeping the front of the store in tip-top shape.

Alexander believes he can keep better tabs on store security at night.

“I’ve been the night cashier since this store opened,” he says. “It’s just a different atmo-sphere because, being in the job that I am, about everybody that comes through the doors has to get past me to get out.”

Alexander, who attended Southside High School, says despite an irregular sleep schedule, he enjoys his job.

“I’m depend-able,” Alexander says. “I don’t

miss work, and they really appreciate the fact that they can count on me here.”

Alexander isn’t the only Marsh veteran working third shift that night.

Assistant grocery manager Danny Sneed, who has logged more than 15 years at the store, says he has a variety of jobs to perform from 10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.

From 1 to 2 a.m. on this night, for example, Sneed is stocking shelves.

“We’re just trying to get caught up on things and make the store look good,” Sneed says. “It’s just this and that.”

As for his own sleep schedule, Sneed says he oftentimes struggles to drift off when he gets home from work.

“I average about two to four hours of sleep a day,” he said. “Matter of fact, on my nights off, I act like I’m at work. I stay up until four, five, six o’clock in the morning, then I lay down.”

— Andrew Walker

Meet Roger Alexander❙ Who: Roger Alexander, 56.

❙ Job: Third-shift cashier at Marsh Hometown Market at 1500 W. McGalliard Road.

❙ How long has he worked there? 17-plus years.

❙ Family: Wife, Debbie, 56, is a former 28-year Marsh employee. Together, they have four children and eight grandchildren.

❙ Quote: “I’m dependable. I don’t miss work, and they really appreciate the fact that they can count on me here. They don’t really have to watch me. They know that I know what needs to be done, and I do it — and if something doesn’t get done, then they know there’s a good reason for it.”

The sidewalks of Muncie are barren. But then, when it’s 1 a.m. and the nadir of winter at 10 degrees, there isn’t much reason to be out. A student at Ball State, Emily, is willing to chat for a moment as she scurries to her dorm

after logging yet another 15-hour day in the architecture building, but she gives stock answers, and the only remark-able part of the exchange is how easily a 21-year-old woman will engage in conversation with a large, strange man who claims he works at the local news-paper.

The assignment is to search for someone — any-one — to ask just why on earth they are out on this bleak Wednesday morning. A person is occasionally spotted darting from a car to get inside, but no one is walking around. A group of five — four women and a guy — spill out of The Silo downtown about 1:30. When asked whether they can talk for a minute, one women whips around, seemingly eager to dis-cuss anything despite her entourage’s advance down the street. But when she gets the context of the questions, and that this is all going in the paper, she quickly declines, as does the rest of the group, and they pile into a car and drive off.

It’s now 1:50, and this reporter is getting desperate. How can a story be made from nothing? Or is that the story? Driving east on McGalliard Road, one last shot at grabbing something before calling it a night,

a shadowy figure is spotted walking east in the westbound lane. It’s dark, and he appears slightly menacing — exactly from what a good, or tragic, story is made.

Terry Shroyer isn’t menacing at all. Sure, he has the rough look of a man who’s been through a lot, which he has. His voice sounds like his throat is filled with gravel and his clothes are worn, but it’s instantly obvious he is a good guy, and he’s more than willing to share his walk and answer a few questions.

Shroyer, 44, makes this walk every night, has for eight months now. His walk starts at Wheeling Avenue and ends at Broadway. Well, that’s as far east as he goes, anyway. But he makes that trek twice — every night. Shroyer’s on his second lap tonight.

“This is what I do every night,” Shroyer says. “When you weigh 300 pounds and you’re a big guy, it’s time to lose a little bit of weight.”

Shroyer actually started this routine at 297 pounds. In eight months of exercise and an improved diet, he has lost 71 pounds. But he isn’t finished — his target weight is 195.

“There’s less traffic, and you don’t have to worry about people trying to run you over,” Shroyer says of his late-night walks.

Born and raised in Ohio, Shroyer moved to Muncie eight years ago to be with his ailing mother, who has since passed away. Shroyer later fell on hard times and spent a year homeless.

“I stayed at the Muncie Mission for a while,” Shroyer says.As with his body, his life has improved.“The owner of Captain D’s and the big (general manager) there

gave me a chance to get back on my feet,” Shroyer says proudly. “Right now, I’m the closing manager there five nights a week, so I’d say that’s a heck of a transition.”

— Sam Gibbs

after logging yet another 15-hour day in the architecture building,

1-2 a.m.: Muncie city streets

“This is what I do every

night.When you weigh 300

pounds and you’re a big

guy, it’s time to lose a little bit of weight.”

— TERRY SHROYER

Join Shroyer on Sept. 10, 2011, at the second

annual Walk Indiana marathon. Go to

www.walkindiana.org for more information.

E4 E5E4 E5



E4 E5E4 E5




At 2 a.m. a few cars and trucks are already parked at The Star Press Distribution Center on South Walnut Street, at the south end of the downtown.

Engines are idling to keep the motor route drivers inside warm in the near-zero temperatures as they await a truck’s arrival from Indianapolis’ north side carrying that morning’s Star Press and other publications.

Inside, DC supervisor Terry Morvilius, a kind-looking man with a two-days growth of white beard, is busy lay-ing out carrier manifests and moving pallets out of the way in preparation for the activity that’s about to take place.

Hearing is difficult as utility fans hanging from the ceiling work overtime to beat back the night’s cold. It’s not warm in the warehouse-like building, especially with one overhead door open.

More drivers begin to drift inside as the parking lot fills up, many chatting with each other. Most grab an aluminum cart that allows bundled newspapers to be stacked and moved. They form a cluster at one end of the building.

Morvilius is joined by Stu Cowgill, area distribution manager, and another man in preparing the warehouse.

Finally, at 2:45 a.m., the truck arrives. Morvilius and Cowgill use pallet trucks to unload newspapers, inserts and supplies. They move The Star Press, USA Today, Palladium-Item, Indianapolis Star and Wall Street Journal papers to their appropriate locations in the DC.

It takes about five minutes to unload the truck. Then, with a wave of his hand, Morvilius signals the drivers they can get their papers.

What happens next can best be described as look-ing like the opening of a big box store on the day after Thanksgiving. (Only with newspaper bundles instead of flatscreen TVs and sweaters.) There’s no pushing or shoving, but drivers move their carts quickly to pick up their papers. They pick up bundles of papers, stack them in their carts and move on. District managers standing behind long wooden tables assist the drivers.

Time is critical to get in, get out and get on the road to deliver the publications to customers or to other waiting carriers.

In less than 10 minutes, the first drivers are loaded and gone, disappearing into a cold night to begin deliv-ering thousands of newspapers before most of East Central Indiana is awake.

— Jeff Ward

2-3 a.m.: Patrolling the streets

Paperwork.Other than protecting and serving the public, that’s what is on the mind

of Muncie police officer Ron Miller at 2 a.m. on this cold morning.That’s because for every domestic situation, neighborhood complaint,

reported theft, warrant arrest or report of criminal recklessness — and everything in-between that can pop up in a given shift — police are required to fill out page upon page of various reports, oftentimes before their shift is over.

“It’s just so lengthy,” says Miller. “If they could streamline a lot of this paper-work, that would make things a lot easier.”

With no calls coming in from police dispatchers on this particular morning, Miller spends his time from 2 to 3 a.m. patrolling the city’s northwest side.

Miller, a 12-year Muncie Police Department veteran, is driving the city’s black police Hummer. He turns right onto McGalliard Road — Muncie’s busiest road by day, but completely empty at this early morning hour.

His shift began at 11 p.m. Miller said he’s used to the midnight shift by now. Midnights, he says, can be laid back compared to an aver-age afternoon shift.

“Afternoon shift is busy. It’s call after call after call,” Miller said. “A busy night for us is five to 10 calls. On the week-ends, we’ll answer anywhere up to 10 to 20 calls on Friday and Saturday nights.”

‘Spidey Sense’Miller turns right

onto Reserve Street from McGalliard.

It’s 2:30 a.m., and the officer is wide awake. His conversa-

tion turns from paperwork to the dangers of the job.Miller swears he’s no super hero, but he said about once or twice a month, he’ll

get dispatched to particular calls that get “your Spidey Sense tingling.”“There’s certain addresses that get sent out that you never get a call to, and

they’ve got someone breaking into a window. You know that’s going to be a good call,” Miller said while driving. “I guess that’s one part of the job that I do like — you just never know what’s going to happen until you’re there.”

Miller, who is also a security guard at Southside, said he enjoys the danger that comes with the job. But in all the madness that can come with being an police offi-cer, Miller has a certain routine with his girlfriend before leaving for each shift.

“You never try to leave the house ticked off at each other,” he said. “You always try to tell each other ‘I love you’ before you leave.”

As he turns left onto Minnetrista Boulevard from Wheeling Avenue around 2:45 a.m., Miller’s tone gets serious.

He says some citizens just believe city officers are out to get them, which he contends couldn’t be further from the truth.

“We’re human,” Miller said. “We’ve got emotions, too, and we’re just supposed to shrug everything off and forget everything we see?”

One call, in particular, still haunts Miller to this day. Perhaps he can’t help these thoughts creeping into his head as he drives alone in his squad car in the early morning.

“I had a call one night where I had to do CPR to a four-month-old, and it didn’t make it,” said Miller, a father of three. “The first thing you do when you’re done with that call is you call and check on your kids to make sure they’re OK. Any offi-cer would tell you the same story.”

— Andrew Walker

2-3 a.m.: Preparing your news

Delivering the news❙ About 45 carriers, 30 motor

route drivers and 12 truck runs pick up at The Star Press

Distribution Center.

❙ The DC distribution area includes Delaware County; most of Blackford, Jay and

Randolph counties and southeast Grant County.

❙ The DC was recently updated to a cart system that has improved the speed and

efficiency of the operation.

❙ The DC operates 365 mornings a year.

Police ride-alongThe hour of 2-3 a.m. on Feb. 9 proves to be rather uneventful in the midst of a somewhat busy night shift with the Muncie Police:❙ 11:23 p.m.: Police are dispatched to Carriage House Apartments after a neighbor calls to complain about the smell of marijuana coming from a nearby apartment. By 11:25, two backup officers arrive, and by 11:30 p.m., one man is in police custody, arrested for having outstanding warrants.

❙ 11:54 p.m.: Police are dispatched to a reported domestic problem in the 1400 block of South Walnut Street. When police arrive, a woman is sitting on the hood of a car with her baby and baby’s father seated inside. The woman, who tells police she has had “about five or six drinks,” and her baby are eventually sent home with the woman’s father.

❙ 12:19 p.m.: Police are dispatched to the 2400 block of North Reserve Street on another reported domestic problem, with a man and a woman — both possibly intoxicated — involved in an altercation. Dispatchers tell officers that the male possibly has a 10-32 (or firearm) in his car, which is reportedly taking a beating from the female, who is allegedly smashing its windows. Neither subject wants to pursue charges against the other, and the female is transported by police to another residence for the night.

ABOVE LEFT: Motor route drivers begin loading papers at The Star Press

Distribution Center.

PHOTO BY JEFF WARD / THE STAR PRESS

E6 E7E6 E7



E6 E7E6 E7




Wednesday isn’t typically one of the busiest mornings at the Delaware County jail, but if it’s going to get busy overnight it would likely be during the 3-to-4 a.m. stretch, after the bars close at 3 a.m., according to Sgt.

Richard Bilbrey.That hour on the morning of Feb. 9, however, turns out not to be

particularly busy in the intake area, with no new inmates coming in and just a few people shifting between holding and staging cells. Bilbrey speculates that the cold temperatures that particular night — an arctic 5 degrees — might contribute to the lower numbers.

That doesn’t mean jail staffers aren’t still keeping busy, however. While someone collects cleaning supplies elsewhere, two to three guards, including Bilbrey, work at the intake desk, filling in paper-work for several men in the holding cells. Bilbrey notes that jail staffers rotate stations routinely, so everyone knows how to work

every area.While providing paper-

work — and his coat and other belongings — to one man just after 3:30 a.m., two different staffers take great care to point out the late-February court date listed on his papers, warning that if he misses that, the next time he’s picked up he will be held in jail until he appears before a judge.

“Don’t miss that date, man ... you’ll be in a lot worse shape,” Wheston Hughes reminds the man as he leaves. (While signing papers, the man mutters that he wishes it were “as

easy to get out of jail as it was to get in.”)

Another man is shifted from one of the holding cells to a staging cell, the latter located right by the intake desk and outfitted with metal mesh on the doors so staffers sitting at computers at the desk can talk with them easily. Shortly after that, Hughes provides the man with an orange jumpsuit to change into behind a curtain. Before and after return-ing to the staging cell, the man asks guards about

whether cash from his pants pockets is listed with his personal effects; upon being told no, he asks several times, “They took my money?” Eventually, Bilbrey notes that the man was brought in on a dealing charge, so the cash had probably been confiscated before he got to the jail.

Shortly before 4 a.m., someone goes to collect a wheeled cart, then pushes it past piled with white boxes that look — and smell — like they contain doughnuts. Morning routines of passing out razors, providing insulin to diabetic inmates and eventually break-fast will get started after 4 a.m., Bilbrey says.

— Robin Gibson

By the numbers255 — Number of inmates in the jail the morning of Feb. 9, lower than usual for winter, according to Sgt. Richard Bilbrey

202 — Number jail was built to hold

9 — Minimum number of jail staffers on any shift

3-4 a.m.: Ready for action

Jeff Burke is one of the nicest guys you hope you’ll never have to meet.

Burke, who has worked for 25 years at his family’s business, Reliable Bail

Bonds, is a modern-day bounty hunter. But his job isn’t like the TV reality show Dog the Bounty Hunter.

“I’ve pulled skips [those who jump bail] from work, bars and even mom’s house,” he said. “I try not to make a scene when I pick them up,” he added.

It is a slow night as we visit the downtown office on Walnut street. His phone isn’t ringing, probably because it’s too cold to get into any trou-ble. Burke says it will pick up once the weather is warmer.

Like tonight, Burke says his job isn’t as glamor-ous the television show. “Most of the time, we’re just sitting here.” He talks about how the business has changed. “We used to have pag-ers,” he said. “Then you had to find a pay phone and call the answer-ing service,” he says. Technology has changed all of that — the cell phone has made his business a lot more mobile. “I used to spend many nights here,” he said.

Burke loves talking about his job. “What is a bail bondsmen,” he asks? “We work for an insurance company. We ensure the court that the defendant will be there ... that they show up for court,” he said. “Not everybody is going to show up ... the benefit is that we take the bur-den off taxpayers,” he added.

Burke, who does carry a gun, said bail bondsmen do have the power to arrest. “They don’t have to have a warrant; just the proper paperwork,” he said.

And, if you think this is a full-time business, think again. Burke said that most bail bondsmen also have other jobs.

— Debra Sorrell

Did you know?❙ Family has owned the

business for about 60 years.

❙ Jeff Burke’s sons, Brennon and Michael, also work there.

❙ Central grads Gary and Sheila Williams are the

owners.

Jeff Burke has worked at his family’s business, Reliable Bail Bonds, for 25 years.

DEBRA SORRELL / THE STAR PRESS

staffers rotate stations routinely, so everyone knows how to work

3-4 a.m.: Slow night is a good night

“What is a bail bondsmen? We work for an insurance company. We ensure the court

that the defendant will be there ... that they show up for court. Not everybody is going

to show up ... the benefit is that we take the burden off taxpayers.”

— JEFF BURKE

E8 E9E8 E9



E8 E9E8 E9

MU_MN_3RD_03-20_N_B_E_10_C


MU_MN_3RD_03-20_N_B_E_11_C

You know you’re in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit the moment you walk through the double doors.

That universally recognized scent that only babies can produce saturates the air. Baby lotion and shampoo and goodness all in one.

This particular morning it’s quiet. The nine babies in this special unit have chosen the 4 a.m. hour to sleep soundly, having been fed, changed and assessed head to toe the hour before. This is unusual. Imagine nine healthy babies, much less those needing special care, having a moment of quiet all at once.

Sure enough, from the corner of the room comes first a whimper, than a wail, before one of the five reg-istered nurses in the unit arrives to soothe the waking baby. The nurse gently pulls her from the Isolette (an incubator of sorts), wraps her in a warm blanket and slowly begins to rock her in the rocking chair that sits nearby.

Next to that Isolette is Baby Dayonia. She peeks open just one eyelid at the sound, looks around and then rests her eyes again. It’s too early to wake up. RN Vicki Stanley gently brushes her finger across Dayonia’s cheek, repositioning her head just so. It’s easy to see that Stanley already loves this baby, like all the others, even though Dayonia has been there less than a month.

Unlike the other babies, Dayonia is in an open crib. She’ll be going home to join her twin any day now, and the nurses will miss her. That’s the hard part, but it’s also the best part.

“I love my job,” Stanley says. “It’s fun to have a real-ly critical baby and be able to send them home to their parents. That’s the best part of the job.”

Naturally, turnover on the part of nurses in the department is minimal. Stanley has been at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital’s NICU 13 years. One might think the babies would begin to blend together in her memory after a while, but they don’t. Stanley remem-bers them all; it becomes personal.

“I’m with them start to finish,” Stanley says. “And to see those smiles on the families’ faces is awesome, to know that they’re are going home to a good family and are doing well.”

Closest to the door is Baby Bentlee, just five days old this morning. He’s so tiny, yet full of energy. For several minutes he pumps his little legs in the air. He’s not crying or unhappy. He’s simply looking for atten-tion.

That’s good, too. RN Jill Moores is happy to comply. She reaches into the Isolette and lets Bentlee know she’s there. That’s enough for him to rest.

Across the room in one of the NICU’s newest incu-bators, a Giraffe Isolette, is the unit’s most critical baby, Baby Emma. She’s sound asleep despite the new noise around her. Her incubator is flexible enough that staff can weigh her — and even perform critical procedures, if necessary — without disturbing her. Keeping the babies as comfortable as they would be in the womb is crucial in this department. Thus the soft lights, quiet whispers of the staff and warm tempera-tures.

This morning, it’s paying off. As the clock creeps toward 5 a.m., all the babies are once again asleep, at least for a moment. In just an hour, it will be the busi-est time of the day.

— Lisa Nellessen-Lara

4-5 a.m.: Keeping watch

“I’m with them

start to finish. And

to see those smiles

on the families’ faces

is awesome, to know

that they’re are going

home to a good family

and are doing well.”

VICKI STANLEY, RN

RIGHT: Bentlee rests in the

neonatal intensive care

unit (NICU) at IU Health

Ball Memorial Hospital on

Feb. 9.

BELOW: Vicki Stanley tends

to a baby in the NICU.

PHOTOS BY CHRIS BERGIN / THE STAR

PRESS

Jill Moores tends to a baby in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital

on Feb. 9.

E10 E11E10 E11

MU_MN_3RD_03-20_N_B_E_11_C


E10 E11E10 E11

MU_MN_3RD_03-20_N_B_E_12_C


MU_MN_3RD_03-20_N_B_E_13_C

While much of Muncie is sound asleep, Roberta Flowers is hard at work.

On this frigid February morn-ing, Flowers is mopping, sweeping, dusting, cleaning bathrooms and whatever else is needed during her third-shift job — cleaning the Fisher Building. Other duties include emp-tying the trash and washing windows.

“Winter is awful,” she said.Flowers, 47, began her “day” around 10:30

p.m. last night. She cleans the basement and first through third floors of the downtown building.

Working overnight suits this night owl just fine. “There isn’t anybody around,” she says.

She said she has a routine she follows: She starts on the second floor, then goes to the basement, then the first floor, and saves the third floor for last — that’s where she’s at right now.

How has her job changed in the last 25

years? “It just gets busier,” she said.

When she started 25 years ago, she was cleaning the offic-es of Ball Corp. Now, the build-ing is home to Ivy Tech, The Star Press and several other small business offices.

And how does she feel about cleaning up after others? “People do what they want to do,” she said.

During her shift she drinks pop to keep her going. And, after she’s put in her hours cleaning the offices, she heads home to begin her chores at home.

“Then, I konk out in my chair,” she said. When she’s not cleaning offices or her

home, she likes to sleep, watch TV and read. — Debra Sorrell

4-5 a.m.: Working solo

Q&A with Roberta❙ What is Roberta Flowers’

least-favorite part of her job? “Mopping the (main) lobby. “It’s

hard to mop rock,” she said.

❙ What is her favorite part of the job? “Basically, I’m on my

own. I like that nobody is around.”

❙ How has her job changed in last few years? “It just gets

busier,” she said.

PHOTOS BY DEBRA SORRELL / THE STAR PRESS

E12 E13E12 E13

MU_MN_3RD_03-20_N_B_E_13_C


E12 E13E12 E13

MU_MN_3RD_03-20_N_B_E_14_C


MU_MN_3RD_03-20_N_B_E_15_C

The view from behind the glass coun-ters at Concannon’s Pastry Shop at 5 a.m. is nothing less then shocking.

With an hour to go until the doors open at 6 a.m., there isn’t a doughnut in sight.

Thankfully, they begin coming into view in all their baked, filled and iced glory as you wind your way toward the back of the bakery. Wheeled rack after wheeled rack is filled with the treats that have been baked through the night.

Nearby, a bakery employee impales dough-nuts on the creme-filling extruder, which whirrs as it squirts them full of that sweet stuff. A few feet away, another employee methodically dips iced rolls into finely chopped nuts.

Employee Jackie Stewart, meanwhile, removes maple icing from a tub with a gloved hand and thickly spreads it over a walnut coffee cake. Minutes later she moves on to a decorating tube, filling it with rich chocolate icing, then expertly topping rows of cupcakes with a squeeze and practiced twist of her hand.

In his office around a corner, owner Mike Concannon is talking with the overnight crew, preparing them, before they leave for home, for an anticipated rush of orders soon to come.

“It kind of grows by leaps and bounds,” he says of business.

Indeed it does.Fresh as this day is, 1,600 doughnuts have

already been sent from the bakery to the 29 convenience stores and other outlets, one all the way up in Marion at Indiana Wesleyan University, that daily stock Concannon’s baked goods.

In another nearby room, this one housing a long wall’s worth of industrial ovens, two employees man a clacking machine that turns a hopper of dough into multiple rows of heart-shaped cookies. Racked on trays, hundreds at a time are then wheeled into an oven for baking.

Others? Bent over more of the heart-shaped cookies, Eric Ball, Concannon’s right-hand

man here, suddenly seems a throwback to less-automated times, topping them with carefully aimed handfuls of dry pink or red sugar-coat-ing mix before they, too, go to the ovens.

Soon after, in a far corner of the room, 80-quart bowls of creamy-looking batter — one of rich, dark chocolate, the other the yellow color of bananas — are automatically mixing before being wheeled to a table. There, one employee uses an ice-cream scooper to drop the choco-late batter into dozens of muffin cups.

Across the table, Ball uses a gloved hand to scoop the banana nut bread batter into two-pound disposable loaf pans. As each tray fills with eight loaves, Concannon uses a straight edge to score the top of the batter, the aim being a more attractive loaf, then sprinkles chopped walnuts on top.

Soon enough, the men have loaded the future loaves and muffins into the gaping maws of two other huge ovens, set their timers and moved on to other tasks.

Back out front, Cindy Davis is making cof-fee, brewing it for dine-in customers as the shop’s opening nears. The pace of the work is busy but not rushed, the employees word-lessly going about jobs with which they are intimately familiar.

And why not? Turnover is low, Concannon notes, and

many employees are full-timers, making their livings in this business that has attained leg-endary status here over the years.

Concannon’s works like the proverbial well-oiled machine.

It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, when a quick glance from the kitchen into the front room reveals a truly delectable sight.

Those recently-empty display cases are now crammed with the neatly arranged doughnuts that the bakery’s fans crave, and just in time, too.

It’s 6 o’clock. The door flies open.“Order for Brown?” says the day’s first cus-

tomer.— John Carlson

5-6 a.m.: Sweet treats await

About Concannon’s❙ Some 30 to 35 employees work at Concannon’s North Walnut Street shop, and 50 to 60 at the new shop on West Baker Lane. Both facilities are staffed around the clock.

❙ In an average week, Concannon’s produces 30,000-50,000 of its popular tea cookies alone.

❙ During busy times, a couple of semi loads of ingredients are delivered each week.

TOP: Eric Paul moves a load of banana bread to a waiting oven at Concannons Pastry Shop on Wednesday, Feb. 9.

MIDDLE RIGHT: Brittany Sailers fills doughnuts in preparation for morning sales.

LEFT and ABOVE: Cupcakes are iced and cookies sprinkled in the early morning hours of Feb. 9.

PHOTOS BY CHRIS BERGIN / THE STAR PRESS

E14 E15E14 E15

MU_MN_3RD_03-20_N_B_E_15_C


Outside the emergency room doors of IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital waits a Muncie police car, its engine running, the exhaust a vivid white against the frigid morning air.

It’s 5 a.m. and the parking lot is nearly empty. No ambulance sirens disturb the silence, which is broken only by the squawking birds in the water fountain near the entry doors.

Inside it’s even quieter — and warmer. The lights are down low and not a single patient waits to be seen. A reporter asks whether the nurses, techs and certified nursing assistants behind the desk are enjoying their unexpected downtime and is immediately met with “Shh.”

This staff doesn’t want to jinx their morning. The beginning of the night shift was rough, more so than is usual on a Tuesday. Typically, the busiest days in the ER are Sunday and Monday, with the lowest volume coming in on Thursday and Friday.

“This has been my quietest night in some time,” says registered nurse Lisa Dent, the night shift coordinator. “Tonight has kind of dragged by, but this is the time it will get busier.”

Soon, Muncie residents will begin to wake. And if there is pain — usually chest pain — it tends to come now. This is also the time of day when people fall and injure themselves.

Sure enough, a car pulls up outside and a new patient heads to the triage desk. From there, staff will determine which of the three areas he belongs in: an exam room, trauma room or monitor room.

For now, only four patients are in the unit, which has 38 beds. Of those, three are psych patients and one patient’s condition is still being determined.

A massive screen charts the patients’ needs in a code that only staff can understand. Medication ordered, test results available, and lab work are each marked with unique symbols. This communi-cation system has only been in place about a month, but already staffers notice a difference in how quickly it helps them respond to patients and move people through the ER.

Today, just a few colors are on the board, purple and green the most noticeable. A hospital employee quips that it’s “the most white” he’s ever seen the board. White is good; it means empty rooms.

“That’s what happens in an emergency room,” Dent says. “You never know what you’re going to get. That’s why many of us work here, the consistent change.”

— Lisa Nellessen-Lara

5-6 a.m.: Calm before the storm

“That’s what happens in

an emergency room. You

never know what you’re

going to get. That’s why

many of us work here,

the consistent change.”

— LISA DENT, RN AND NIGHT SHIFT COORDINATOR

E14 E15E14 E15

MU_MN_3RD_03-20_N_B_E_16_C


MU_MN_3RD_03-20_N_B_E_17_C

6-7 a.m.: No time for rest

Meshi, the polite clerk at the BP gas station at the Wheeling and Centennial avenues, doesn’t just sit around when there are no customers.

He vacuums the rugs, makes coffee and keeps the cigarette rack full. He patrols the store, straightening a box of Blow Pops on a bottom shelf. He takes pride in keeping the store clean and orderly.

“The cleanest convenience store in Muncie,” he said.At 6 a.m. on Feb. 9, customers came in for energy drinks, fountain

drinks, candy, coffee and cigarettes. A native of India who speaks English, Hindi and French, Meshi

lit a stick of Goloka Nag Champa incense. “It’s all natural,” he says. Made from herbs, flowers, resins, oils and forest products, the incense gently wafts into your life, filling it with peace and devotion, according to labeling on the incense box.

Proceeds from the sale of the incense are used to buy clothing for underprivileged school children in India.

“I would like your job,” Meshi told a reporter. “I like the media.”“Go back to school. Go to Ball State. It’s not too late.”But he said school doesn’t appeal to him. “So I am here,” he added,

as he straightened a display of two-liter bottles of soft drinks.— Seth Slabaugh

It’s 5 degrees outside, but the gusts of wind made it feel more like 10 to 15 degrees below zero. The sun has yet to show signs of life on this Wednesday morning, making the snow and ice sidewalk coverings twinkle in the moonlight.

Most of Muncie is deep asleep in their homes under warm covers, but not Delmar Neal.

Four days a week, he welcomes visitors to the downtown branch of the Muncie YMCA, his warm hello waking the 20 to 30 people who enter the facil-ity to boost their energy at 6 a.m..

“I want to make people feel comfortable when they come in here, and you do that by knowing everyone’s first name,” Neal says.

He’s not the only one who knows everyone’s name.The “regulars,” the men and women

who choose to work out at 6 a.m. as opposed to 6 p.m., know each other by face and nickname.

They know when someone has start-ed to place more weight on the dumb-bells or if they’ve chosen to increase their cardio intensity after taking a weeklong break due to a vacation or an ice storm.

They know who enjoys the middle treadmill because it offers a direct view of the sports scores and who likes to have a cup of coffee before getting his or her workout started.

These regulars know each other well, and that’s part of why they continue to keep the 6 a.m. workout schedule.

“For 15 years I’ve been coming in here at 5:30 in the morning, so I know pretty much everybody in here,” Muncie resident Jay Wright says. “I like com-

ing down to this Y because I know everybody here. The hardest part is actually getting out of bed, but once I get here, it’s all right. I can start my day off right.”

The sound of tennis shoes squeak-ing along treadmills and elliptical machines is a sign of life at the down-town Y. The regulars chat with each other the morning of Feb. 9 about LeBron James’ prowess against the Pacers the evening before and wheth-er it will be warm enough to run out-side the next weekend.

Neal sets the tone for the day, hand-ing towels to the regulars and getting the coffee ready for them when they need a little boost to keep going.

And as he does when they enter the building, he says goodbye to every

member heading outside into the bitter cold and on to their workdays.“It’s all about making people comfortable,” he says again. “And knowing

people’s names.”— Ivy Farguheson

6-7 a.m.: Starting the day off right

Y hours❙ The downtown branch of the Muncie YMCA is open every morning, Monday through Friday, at 5:30 a.m.

❙ Monday through Thursday the downtown site closes at 8 p.m. On Friday and Saturday during the fall, winter and spring, the facility is open until 7 p.m.

❙ On Saturday mornings, the branch opens at 7 a.m. and Sundays it is open from noon until 5 p.m.

❙ For more information about the downtown branch or the other branches in the Muncie YMCA network, visit www.muncieymca.org.

PHOTO BY SETH SLABAUGH / THE STAR PRESS

Meshi, a clerk at the BP gas station at Wheeling and Centennial avenues in Muncie, vacuums the store.

E16 E17E16 E17

MU_MN_3RD_03-20_N_B_E_17_C


Donna Slaven, owner of A Taste of the South café, gets up at 4 a.m. to get to her restaurant at 5, ready to open at 6. At that time of the morning, Slaven has the kitchen all to herself.

The first few hours of Slaven’s shift she is busy at the grill and the stove. Once her day cook, Troy Haskins comes in at 9 a.m., she leaves the kitchen and goes into the dining room to mingle with customers arriving for breakfast.

Slaven heaps a mound of “taters” on her grill and then adds a handful of just about everything. This specialty is her loaded tater skillet, which includes potatoes, cheese, breakfast meats and a variety of vegetables.

“Whatever you want goes in the skillets. Fried taters and cheese. You can get your eggs scrambled on top,” Slaven said. “We sell a lot of skil-lets.”

Cast-iron skil-lets are scattered all around the large kitchen. Slaven searched on eBay for skillets because she wanted them to be used so they would have the right season-ing.

“The old cast-iron skillets have a sea-soning to it. A lot of cooking has been done in those skil-lets,” Slaven said.

At 7 a.m. this morning, hungry men fill the dining room, which Slaven describes as a “man’s land” on weekday mornings.

“I have my regular customers on weekday mornings. City and county police usually come in. Also a lot of farmers come in the mornings,” she says.

Harold Stonebraker sips his coffee and reads the daily news-paper while waiting for his breakfast.

“I like coming here because it’s close to my home and I can relax here in the mornings,” Stonebraker says. “They also have really good home-cooked food at a decent price.”

Delaware County police officers Joe Winkle and Steve Stewart come to A Taste of the South, 4019 S. Walnut St., most mornings before their shift starts.

“They have really great food here, and we’ve been coming here since they were located over on Hoyt Avenue,” Winkle says.

Slaven wants people to leave her café happy and satisfied.“When people eat our food, I want them to be glad that they

decided to eat here,” Slaven said.— Lacy Fuller

cheese. You can get your eggs scrambled on top,” Slaven said.

7-8 a.m.: Home-cooked breakfast away from home

“I like coming here because it’s close to my home

and I can relax here in the mornings. They also have

really good home-cooked food at a decent price.”

— HAROLD STONEBRAKER

PHOTOS BY LACY FULLER / FOR THE STAR PRESS

E16 E17E16 E17

Dustin Finn grew up watching his dad’s morning routine, which always included coffee.Now Finn serves coffee to more than 100 people a day, and his dad is one of the first.Finn is operations manager at Coffee Junkiez, the South Tillotson Avenue stand-alone cof-

fee shop.“I know Dad is going to pull up at 6:45 every morning,” Finn says, talking about some of the shop’s

regular customers. “He’s so regular that we usually have his coffee ready for him when he gets here.”On this day, one of the coldest mornings of the year, Coffee Junkiez is missing some of its regulars

in this 7-8 a.m. hour. January and February are the slowest months of the year for the business.“People just want to get straight to work and inside, and not deal with an extra stop,” says Matt

Schafer, an employee who typically works the morning shift.Even so, a car is pulling up to the drive-up window every few minutes, and many of them are cus-

tomers with whom the workers are familiar with. In about 70 minutes on this day, Coffee Junkiez prepares 14 drinks.

“Diet Coke, right?” Finn asks one customer.Later, Finn talks more about the regulars, naming “Deb” as one of their early customers and

describing her standing order.“I know if Deb isn’t here just a couple minutes behind my dad that schools are closed or on a

delay,” Finn notes. “Because she teaches in Yorktown.”Finn and Schafer both take their turns working the window and the cash register, with the other

making the drinks. The small, narrow building is set up for all of the necessary drink-making machines and supplies to be nearby, with the espresso machine on the left counter and a cooler to the right.

— Phil Beebe

7-8 a.m.: The morning jolt

MU_MN_3RD_03-20_N_B_E_18_C

18E • Sunday, March 20, 2011 • www.thestarpress.com

MU_MN_3RD_03-20_N_B_E_19_C

“I know Dad is going to

pull up at 6:45 every

morning. He’s so regular

that we usually have

his coffee ready for him

when he gets here.”

— DUSTIN FINN

Did you know? ❙ Coffee Junkiez sells 100-150 drinks a day.

❙ Most days, about 25 percent of daily sales happen in a two-hour morning period.

❙ Operations manager Dustin Finn estimates that 85 percent of their sales comes from regular customers.

❙ The most popular item is the Jump Start, a six-shot white mocha drink.

Matt Schafer makes a drink at Coffee Junkiez on Wednesday, Feb. 9. PHOTOS BY CHRIS BERGIN / THE STAR PRESS

Stephanie LeBlanc, executive assistant to Mayor Sharon McShurley, is at her desk by 8 a.m., beginning to deal with more than 85 wait-ing e-mails.

The office is fairly quiet, in part because McShurley is 1,000-or-so miles away today, attending — at her own expense, LeBlanc is quick to point out — an annual gathering of current and former Muncie residents in Bradenton, Fla.

At this early hour, the phone rarely rings — the office is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, closing for a one-hour lunch at 11:30 — but those calls will come as the day continues.

On busy days, the mayor’s office can receive 80 calls or more, usually from people needing some sort of assistance, at times not the kind of help a mayor — or her paid support staff, consisting entirely of LeBlanc — would routinely provide.

“A lot of what I do is referral, to get them the help they need,” says LeBlanc, who worked for the Hoosier Heartland Chapter of the American Red Cross before moving to city hall when McShurley took office in January 2008. “We try really hard to get them to the right place. ... Sometimes they’re angry, but most of the time they’re just looking for

help.”Three years ago, the

office had two more employees: a deputy mayor and a secretary. City budget cuts have long since eliminated those positions, moving LeBlanc from the mayor’s personal office out to the front desk.

A staff of eight vol-unteers, including four who keep regular hours, provide significant assis-tance in keeping the office running, especially on Mondays, when the mayor and her executive assis-tant are occupied with staff meetings.

“They just love to serve and know they’re making a difference,” LeBlanc says.

Right now, LeBlanc is making a difference by plowing through those e-mails.

Photos from McShurley’s recent economic development trip to Turkey. Messages requesting mayoral proclamations and support letters for grants. Written minutes of Muncie Sanitary District board meetings. End-of-year reports from city department heads. Correspondence regarding efforts to resurrect the former Roberts Hotel.

“It’s everything,” LeBlanc says.— Douglas Walker

8-9 a.m.: Beginning witih prayers Stained-glass windows welcome the nearly 25 visitors to St. Lawrence Church on

Muncie’s eastside the morning of Feb. 9.Daily Mass at 8 a.m. has become a staple for most of the this small congregation on

Wednesday morning, as they opt to start their day with prayer and meditation rather than with talk radio and television commercials.

As some sit in silence, looking at the colors erupting from the church’s windows, others have their eyes closed, praying for family members, friends, political leaders and even themselves.

“Coming to Mass this early helps me start my day off right,” says Susan Meleason, a Ball State University student. “My first class is at 10 a.m., so I can sit and pray and be with God before things get moving.”

Rev. Andrew Dudzinski presides over this Mass, coming to St. Lawrence this morning from St. Mary Church, where he is the pastor.

He walks toward the congregation while begin-ning his homily, saying a bright and cheery “good morning” to the group, who respond in an equally cheerful manner.

While speaking about the importance of know-ing God, loving God and serving God, Dudzinski smiles at each person sitting in the pews, speaking with the cadence of a longtime friend, one who has nothing but the best of intentions for his loved ones.

As the congregation recites the Our Father, some bow their heads, feeling the pres-ence of God in this traditional church building.

The sun continues its rise to begin the day, and the colors from the window illuminate the building’s interior, warming the hearts of those praying aloud and in silence.

The closing song, Alleluia! Praise to the Lord gives Meleason and her fiancé, Kevin Schmidt, all the strength they needed to make it through the rigors of college life on a frigid February day.

But their love, along with their love of God, has been strengthening their souls for some time now. “I don’t think there’s a better way to spend time with my fiancée,” Schmidt says.

— Ivy Farguheson

MU_MN_3RD_03-20_N_B_E_19_C


8-9 a.m.: Minding the office

Muncie mayor’s office ❙ Hours: 8-11:30 a.m., 12:30-4 p.m. weekdays

❙ Paid employees: Two — Mayor Sharon McShurley, executive assistant Stephanie LeBlanc.

❙ Volunteers: Eight, including four who maintain regular office hours.

❙ History: Muncie’s first mayor, John Brady, took office when the city was incorporated in 1865. The first ordinance in city history, adopted by the city council that spring, gave Brady the authority to issue fines ranging for $3 to $25 against local prostitutes. Including Brady, 27 men and one woman have served as the city’s mayor.

IVY FARGUHESON / THE STAR PRESS

Parishioners take part in Mass at St. Lawrence Church.

Church work ❙ St. Lawrence Church offers an 8 a.m. Mass every day, including Sundays, with the exception of Holy Days.

❙ The church’s school is located at 2801 E. 16th St. in Muncie.

❙ The church community also provides an emergency food pantry. Non-perishable food items can be taken to the St. Lawrence rectory next to the church building.

MU_MN_3RD_03-20_N_B_E_20_C


E18 E19E18

24 Hours in Muncie 1

Documents

Transcript of 24 Hours in Muncie 1