News in Worthington, Indiana
A journal of current events and local hometown news
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Entries from January 1, 2007 - February 1, 2007
Wednesday is Senior Dinner Day
Tuesday, January 30, 2007 Wednesday, January 31 is Pitch-In Dinner Day at the Worthington Senior Citizens Center. Lunch will be served around 12 noon followed by Bingo at 1:00 p.m. Bring table service and a covered dish. Free blood-pressure checking and blood-sugar ($1.00 charge) screening is also offered on Dinner Days from 11:00 a.m. until 12 noon. All Seniors are welcome to come and join the crowd for good food and good company every last Wednesday of the month.
Senior nutrition program going strong
Monday, January 29, 2007 The Senior Citizens Center in Worthington has long served a need in our community by delivering meals to homebound folks and serving nutritious noontime lunches at the center. But a little while back, it was touch and go to keep this service running. Funding cuts, service cuts and changed policies caused this service to wobble with an uncertain future. Where there's a will, there's a way, and the Center found one. Our senior nutrition program in Worthington is running at full speed.
There's good food now coming from Glenburn in Linton and it's being served up by a new lady in the kitchen - Jennifer Stefancik. For our homebound seniors and disabled persons, volunteers are delivering a hot meal at lunchtime to an average of 16 Worthingtonians a day – Monday through Friday. For folks who can come to the Center to eat, lunch is served between 11:30 a.m. and 12 noon. Donations from the lunch crowd are appreciated. At this time, anywhere from eight to 15 people a day are enjoying the good food, and the good company.
Want a hardware store?
Saturday, January 27, 2007 The signs in the window of the hardware store in Worthington tell the story. Wouldn’t some old Rambler like to retire, move back home and become the new hardware person?
The Times
The hardware store was purchased and recently re-opened.
Shady Streets are now Snowy Streets
Sunday, January 21, 2007 It’s a white Sunday! Worthingtonians awoke this morning to the first significant snow this season. This winter’s weather so far has been surprisingly mild. When most of the rest of the country was getting slammed by snow and ice, Worthington escaped each time with a bit of rain. That changed this morning but still, this snowfall is not a major event. After the snow stopped around noon, the Times girl snapped a few pictures - of a couple of Worthington homes on Main Street, of the old school bell and out at the park, the big tree and the bandstand.
Photo by Virginia
With thanks to Daniel, the driver
It's up to here!
Wednesday, January 17, 2007 How high is the water? Not long before sunset, around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 17, it was up to here. From the looks of the Worthington sign, it might be on the way down. First picture is looking east from the bridge, second and third are of the Worthington Public Access Ramp sign and the last was taken from the bridge looking north.
Photos by K.
How high is the water?
Wednesday, January 17, 2007 The flood stage for the White River at Spencer is 14 feet. In the current flood, the water reached 22.1 feet very early this morning, Wednesday, January 17, 2007. That was the crest. By 10:00 a.m., it was down to 21.89 feet.
After the river crests in Spencer, then it will be cresting next in Worthington, and then at Elliston near Bloomfield. Since the numbers are not tracked at Worthington, a local river watcher must look at the figures for both Spencer and Elliston.
The flood stage at Elliston is 18 feet. When the river at Elliston is at 24 feet, you know the water is going over the hill road at the Pryor Bridge outside Worthington. When it’s at 26 feet, Shawnee airfield is flooding. When it’s around 30 feet, the lower areas of Worthington on the north side near the Eel River are beginning to flood.
At 8:00 a.m. this morning, the White River at Elliston was at 26.44 feet and it is predicted to go up to a crest of 26.8 feet tonight.
Once elegant Williams House now a sorry sight
Wednesday, January 10, 2007 
This is what the Williams House looks like today. These pictures were all taken by the Times girl.
The Williams House is not actually a home-type house. It was once a very fine hotel and gathering place which played host to all kinds of people traveling through Worthington. It was an elegant place to dine and numerous social galas were held there by townspeople.
It was built in the early 1900s. Several decades later it was converted into apartments and became known as the Freeman Apartments. In the most recent years, we once again refer to the building as the Williams House.
The picture on the left was taken from Union Street. It is the second floor door on the north side of the building. It led into the upper hallway. Now the roof is gone and all you see is sky.
Two pictures follow below taken from Washington Street. One is a picture of a second floor window and the other is a ground floor window also showing the WPD signs ordering no parking near the front of the building - probably placed there in the hope that a car or person won't be smashed if the whole building were to come crashing down.
The third picture below is the view from the alley behind the Williams House. Through the second floor windows, see a chimney reaching to the sky without any roof surrounding it.
Along with the WPD signs, an orange fence around the front and north side of the building provides a warning to passers-by to stay away, but the rear of the building is not blocked off.
Several years back, in an unsuccessful effort to save the structure, members of the Worthington Historical Society spent a weekend working at the building to secure the windows and doors. Their efforts can still be seen as all of the windows on the ground floor remain boarded up.
However, when the Times girl went to take these pictures, she found the back door to the smaller building standing open. The next two pictures are what one would find right inside that door - a big hole.
The last picture shows the little building and the open door - this is just a few paces off of Union Street.
Photos by Virginia
Council meets regularly on second Tuesdays
Monday, January 8, 2007 The Worthington Town Council is still holding their regular monthly meetings on the second Tuesday of every month. The Utility Board meets at 6:30 p.m. and the Council meets at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Hall of the Worthington Municipal Building. Both meetings are open to the public.
What's in store for Worthington in 2007?
Friday, January 5, 2007 An interview with Hal Harp by Nick Schneider of the Greene County Daily World resulted in a nice article about what’s in store for Worthington in 2007. Looks like some long-awaited improvements to the downtown area may come to pass in the months ahead. Go here to read the whole story.
About the Amber Alert bar
Thursday, January 4, 2007 In the right-hand navigation area on this site, you’ll see a large Indiana State Amber Alert bar. A click on the bar will take you to the special Amber Alert site set up as a public service to help spread the word quickly whenever a child has been abducted. Once on the Amber site, surf around to read the story of Amber and what this system is all about. There’s also tips for parents to help prevent abductions.
When there are no active alerts, this bar will just sit here on the Times site reminding us always to be mindful of the safety of our children. But when there is an active alert, this bar will automatically start flashing in a way you cannot ignore. If ever you see the flashing display on this or any other site, click on the bar and the Amber Alert website will give you the details about the child in danger.