The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 57

3 StarSout The Indianapolis Star www.lndyStar.com Tuesday, December 24, 2002 Section InfoUne: 624-INFO (4636) Serving Johnson and Shelby counties and adjacent areas of Marion and Hancock counties INSIDE TODAY 969 wm wk ml FRANKLIN Model of church is fond Christmastime reminder of woman's recently deceased dad. By Jerry Miller Correspondent Christmas at the Baumgardner house in Franklin is dressed in red and green wrapping papers, blinking tree lights, poinsettias and holiday teddy bears. And, this year, in inescapable memories. memories of your family, but for some reason I guess it just might be part of human nature you want something physical to remember people by," Deidra Baumgardner explained, her voice as soft and heartfelt as a midnight prayer. "I've been looking for that thing that helps me physically remember Dad, I guess, which would be the little church and some pictures." Baumgardner's father, Donald Webb, died in August at the end of a three-month illness.

The retired county manager for a Franklin, ti the blondish hair that frames her face. "He loved Franklin, grew up here, spent every morning down at Don and Dona's restaurant, went to i the Elks Club every evening to hang out with his friends there." The memory of Webb has, in its way, decorated this Christmas for the Baumgardner home with both brightness and melancholy, fondness and regret. In the living room, where two brilliant-red poinsettias guard the fireplace See Lost, Page S2 tle company, who had been an integral part of Baumgardner's 42 previous Christmases, was 77 when he died. The church is a landmark of Webb's life, the place he married, the place where his four daughters married, and the place where his funeral was held. "He raised all of us in that church, so I thought it was fitting," Baumgardner says.

"It was the one thing I could think of for Dad that I wanted to have at the holiday for him," she adds, brushing back a strand of It is the latter that makes the holiday different, and in a way special that only families who greet the holidays one essential member short can understand. The model of Franklin's First Presbyterian Church, lighted from inside, its steeple standing tall and facing the family Christmas tree, is emblematic of the new meaning of the year's final holiday. "You always have wonderful Franklin keeps its grip on tourney trophy Franklin's Grizzly Cubs won their eighth straight Johnson County wrestling title Saturday. Above, though down at this point, Whiteland's Brandon Harmon (bottom) came back Schools see faith as an edge Hazing expert teaches at Franklin to beat Greenwood's Danny I. By Bill McCleery bill.mccleeryindystar.c6m Writing for national magazines, Franklin College's newest journalism professor has covered everything from Basque sheepherders in Nevada to Hoosier Steve Al-ford's collegiate basketball career.

MM. AHIMIMN1 HUMKKX tfUtu mr -nMjmHNr; Mian tut I Daniels in a 130-pound match. The champion in that class was Alex Zubia of Center Grove. S6 Exchange students spend Christmas here Two South American teenagers are celebrating their first Christmas away from home. The teens are foreign exchange students spending the year at Shelbyville High School Carlos Rivera, 18, is from Quito, Ecuador.

Fabricio Tristao, 17, is from Casador, southwest of Sao Paulo in Brazil He says of the United States, "Everybody seems to have so much, and everything seems so much bigger." S3 FRANKLIN Emphasis is evident on Christian values in athletics, classes By Steve Hanlon steve.hanlonindystar.com Not long after Roncalli's 24-21 win in the Class 4A football state championship game this fall, the public-private school debate heated up again. It wasn't helped by the fact that Fort Wayne Bishop Luers won the 2A title, and PERRY TOWNSHIP Bishop Chatard won the 3A crown. All are Catholic schools. Two others, Andrean from Merrillville and Fort Wayne Bishop Dwen-ger, were runners-up. That means half of the 10 teams playing in the five state championships were Catholic schools.

And because Class 5A doesn't have any private schools, the numbers seem more damning. "There is no doubt that we have an advantage over public schools," Roncalli football coach Bruce Scifres said. "We have our faith. We teach with it. We coach with it.

We inspire our kids with it. We discipline with it. It encompasses all of our lives. "And I believe it helps us on the football field, too." The Rebels pray before games. Scifres has the team quote St.

Patrick "Christ behind me. Christ under my feet. Christ beside me. Christ over me. Let all around me be Christ" He then tells his team to take God with them on every play.

Roncalli senior football player John Par-den said of his faith, "It makes me feel very connected. We're not just playing. We're playing for a reason. "We're not playing for ourselves. We're See Faith, Page S2 But Hank Nuwer has become best known for his research and writing about hazing.

The increasingly frequent calls from national news programs testify to Nuwer's reputation as a national expert on hazing the often dangerous and sometimes illegal initiation rites practiced by college fraternities and other organizations. The mid-1970s death of a classmate after a hazing incident at the University of Nevada-Reno intensified Nuwer's concern. He was pursuing doctoral studies at the tune. Smce then, he's written three books about hazing, started a Web site (www Jiazing.hank-nuwer.com) that he updates daily and made ap pearances on all the major news Hank Nuwer, a Gary Moon staff photo Healthy signs: Roncalli High School students pass posters emphasizing the importance of religion as they return to classes after lunch period. Such signs are encouraging to Rebels football coach Bruce Scifres, whose team quotes St Patrick in a pregame prayer.

networks. new iournal- sm professor mams modest at Franklin about the atten- Coeg(J wrtes tion. Sports 'nice' but not why school chosen The reasons Wrongs of Passage' (his most re By Steve Hanlon cent book) is so good is because I have such good sources," he said. steve.hanlonjndystar.com Even though Lutheran High Even though these people are calling me an expert, I remember that it's my sources that are im School has been a member of the Indiana High School Athletic Association for many years, only in portant. Nuwer interest hazmg may the past five has the Saints' athletic program really taken off.

Athletes share special holiday memories We all have a special Christmas memory or two. StarSouth asked several area high school athletes to share their special holiday memories, including Franklin Central football player Michael Talhelm and Center Grove gymnast Melissa Dayment (above). Talhelm tells about helping at a dinner and toy drive for needy families, and Dayment re- calls the ignoble fate of the holiday pies at one family Christmas gathering. S4 Roundup covers sports activities Most high schools are now on winter break, but we still have notes and highlights from area prep action in our Sports Roundup. S5 No StarSouth section on Christmas Day StarSouth will not be published tomorrow, Christmas Day.

Look for our section of local news again in Thursday's Star. Today's best bet Many area churches are planning special Christmas Eve services. Some have The softball team was Class A stem from a heartfelt interest in students' well-being, said Karen Brehmer, a Franklin College sophomore. That attitude extends state runner-up in 2001, and in 2000, Lutheran advanced to the Class A state semifinal. which could move some bigger schools down a class or some private schools up a class.

"But the last thing we want is a split," Finchum said. In three states, public and private schools each have a state tournament This summer, Greenwood Christian Academy hired Jim Williams as boys basketball coach The Center Grove assistant coach made the switch for one reason. Greenwood Christian is planning on being a member of the IHSAA within three or four years. Academy Headmaster Dave Bowell has been in education for See Sports, Page S2 situation in a Christian setting. The best of both worlds.

It's not just math or science or history or English We can offer the little extra that public schools can't" Finchum is on an IHSAA committee that's studying the growing tension between public and private schools. Since class sports began, small private schools have dominated the small public schools. Finchum said the first item the committee looked at was recruiting. But research showed that many public schools recruit, too. So the committee moved on.

Members currently are looking at social and economic issues, PERRY TOWNSHIP pitch "That's nice," they'll say. "But that's not why we want our kids at Lutheran." Before each class, the teachers take prayer requests. Then the class prays. With only 270 students in the high school, there is a family atmosphere. Unlike some bigger schools, no student slips through the cracks.

"We're living in scary times," Finchum said. "But our faith keeps us focused. When everything is God-centered, things go better. "We offer the finest academic to his style as a professor, she said. Athletic director Tom Fin- "He really looks out for the stu dents.

I know he'll do anything he can in his power to help students if they need it, if they're strug chum speaks to many families who are looking at the school and taking a tour. He tells them about the growing, competitive athletic gling," she said. Students respect Nuwer ex perience, Brehmer added. department and how their kids might fit in. He says nearly everyone says the same thing to him when he's done with his sales I think it hard tor somebody to teach something they've never done," she said, "especially when it comes to journalism.

It's a definite plus." CHRISTMAS SMILES Nuwer agreed his continued Businesses and offices make holiday plans writing invigorates his teaching. "Students like to know that 1 i you're up pulling all-nighters getting your work done just like them," he said. Nuwer contmues to write books and articles. He recently published "To the Young Writer," collection of interviews of fa mous writers and their advice to Christmas Day plans as well. (Check out the listing on page S2 for others aspiring to their success.

He has just completed a manu Here is a list of StarSouth area closings in observance of Christmas Day on Wednesday. Banks: All closed Wednesday. City halls: Franklin, Greenwood and Shelbyville closed today and Wednesday. County offices, courts: Johnson County, closed today and Wednesday; Shelby County, closed today, Wednesday and Thursday. Libraries: Johnson County Public Library branches will close at 6 p.m.

today and be closed Wednesday. Greenwood Public Library, Shelbyville-Shelby County Public Library and Wright-Hageman Public Library in Edinburgh will be closed today and Wednesday. License branches: Closed Wednesday. StarSouth bureau: Closed Wednesday. Post offices: Closed Wednesday; no home delivery.

Schools: Closed all week. Trash: Southern Scavenger Service, no pickup Wednesday, one-day delay after Wednesday; Republic Service (Greenwood), no service Wednesday, then one-day delay; Shelbyville, early pickup today, pickup Thursday for Wednesday and Thursday; Rumpke (Marion County), no pickup Wednesday, then one-day delay. script of a history of Cedar Crest College in Pennsylvania. Nuwer's roles as teacher and writer consume his time an es timated 70 hours a week, he said. more informatioa) Coming Thursday Where do race horses go for the off-season? Would you believe New Palestine? One farm there specializes in off-season care.

He also puts priority on time with his wife and two grown sons. Al though he has little tune for sleep, he considers it a blessing to have a Bary Moon staff photo Ashley Huffman, 7, (left) and Michael Huffman, 11, (center) open presents delivered by Santa Claus (Perry Township Fire Chief Ray Meredith). Firefighters have been collecting money and toys for weeks to help families in need during the Christmas holiday. "We needed this," said Kristina Huffman, the children's mother. full lite.

"I love what I do." Call Bill McCleery at 1-317-865-4907..