• Much beloved Scecina volleyball coach Brian Hawkins died in a car crash on South Emerson Sept. 23. It was a tragic loss for the Scecina family and the east side. Mr. Hawkins was a Howe High School grad and was very involved in the community. He is greatly missed by family, friends, and the east side community.
• This year at the Seed Exchange sponsored by Garden Bilder and the Weekly View, we had the pleasure of meeting a fellow newspaper owner, Larry Simpson of the Hope Star-Journal in Hope, Indiana (Batholomew County). He was also the CEO of Heritage of Hope, Inc. which promoted the culture and history of Hope. Community newspaper owners are getting as rare as hen’s teeth, so it was great to meet someone as passionate about serving the community, so we spent some time swamping newspaper war stories. We heard that Larry passed away after a massive heart attack on Sept. 28 just after the conclusion of the Hope Heritage Days. He was 50 years old. Our thoughts are with his family and many friends, as well as the community of Hope.
• The October exhibition at the Raymond James Stutz Art Gallery will feature – and celebrate – the work of the 2013 Stutz Artists Residency Winners: artists Lukas Schooler and David Hicks. The two received free studio space and utilities in the Stutz Building for one year from October 2013 to September 2014. Valued at $6,000 per artist, the residency is one of the largest grants to individual artists in the state. There will be a public reception on Oct. 3 from 5-9 p.m. and the exhibition will run through Oct. 24. The Stutz Art Gallery is located at 212 W. 10th St.
• Bill Polian, former executive of the Colts and current ESPN commentator will be at Bookmamas, 9 S. Johnson Ave. to sign his new book, The Game Plan: The Art of Building a Winning Football Team.
• Two Indianapolis-area school children were selected as winners of The Indianapolis Public Library’s 2014 Summer Reading Program scholarship awards from program supporters College Savings Bank and the Indiana Education Savings Authority. CollegeChoice CD 529 Savings Plan accounts in the amount of $529 have been opened for Hannah Han, a 10-year-old Lawrence Township resident and 4th grade student at Holy Cross Lutheran School, and for Averitt Cartwright, a six-year-old Washington Township resident who’s a student at the Center for Inquiry #84. The Indy Library’s 95th annual Summer Reading Program, “Read in Any Language,” attracted over 58,000 children and families.
• Looking for some interesting Halloween costumes? On Oct. 4 from noon-5 p.m., the IRT Costume Shop will hold a Pop-Up Shop at their storage facility at 21st and Sherman by the softball fields. Expect all sorts of interesting costumes from past productions — done by professional costumers. Who knows what you’ll find? No resalers allowed. Cash and credit cards will be accepted.