We're "ON" It! - The Owen News

Persecution.

Freedom.

Fight.

Forgiveness.

About 15 people in the audience listened to Holocaust survivor Eva Mozes Kor's story and progression from anger to forgiving the Nazi doctor that conducted experiments on her in the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Filmmaker Ted Green and Kor's son, Alex Kor, presented the 2018 documentary "Eva A-7063" and facilitated a discussion on June 6 at the Owen County Public Library.

When Green first heard Eva speak, he was "mesmerized right away," he said. "Something struck me, something kind of gnawed at me about her talk."

Eva stood apart from other Holocaust survivors because of her focus on forgiving the Nazis who killed six million Jews and millions of others.

But, while listening to Eva's story, Green noticed something was missing. She presented her story in two parts: her life leading up to and being liberated from Auschwitz and how she forgave the Nazis. The decades in between were absent.

"Her forgiveness didn't quite work for me, because it just seemed so quick," Green said. "What I set out to do is to uncover those 50 years, in hopes that it would better reveal Eva, who she was, and also better explain her path to forgiveness."

The documentary begins with Eva's shaky recorded voice, detailing what she sees and feels during a 1984 trip to the concentration camp with her twin sister, Miriam Mozes Zeiger. Later in the film, more than 70 years after she was deported to the camp, Eva could still remember the moment she arrived and was separated from her mother. She remembered their arms stretched out to each other.

"Mom, I will tell our story," Eva says in the recording. "I will tell our story, because the world must know."

The film explores the history of the Holocaust and Eva's experience with cruelty and antisemitism before and after she was liberated by the Soviet Army. After meeting her husband Mickey — also a survivor — in Israel, the couple moved to Terre Haute, Indiana.

The forward facing goal of Green's work, he said, was to "chronicle the triumph of the human spirit."

In 1984, Eva created the organization Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors (CANDLES) to find other twins that survived the abusive experiments — where many were mutilated, forcibly sterilized and injected with diseases — conducted by Dr. Josef Mengele.

She worked to bring attention to what she and 3,000 other twins endured and launched a campaign to publicize the experiments and hold Mengele accountable. Up until Eva died in 2019, she spread awareness of the Holocaust, but for many years, harbored anger, the documentary discussed.

She was a fiery activist and was arrested while she demonstrated in the U.S. Capitol rotunda in 1986.

Working toward forgiveness was her way of moving forward.

"She no longer despised her parents; she no longer hated anything German," Alex Kor, her son, said. "She realized that what she needed to do, in her name only, is forgive her mom, forgive her dad, who she really resented, because they didn't save the family. Forgive herself for hating them, forgive Mengele all in her name only. Because she knew it was healthier and happier, and that made her healthier and happier."

Some audiences were skeptical of the documentary at first, but many came to understand and respect her after watching it, Green said.

After hearing Eva's story, or listening to her speak at the CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Terre Haute, they noted the profound impact her message of forgiveness had on their lives.

Spencer resident Michelle DeFord attended the screening. She met Eva at the museum 10 to 15 years ago.

"She changed, my roommate and I, both of our lives just by her words of forgiveness," DeFord said. "I'm thinking, how does a person do that? How is this person able to forgive when such terrible things have happened?"

Both the audience and Alex wiped tears from their eyes that day, watching the film and discussing what forgiveness is to them.

Alex, also a full-time podiatrist, worked with Green on "Eva A-7063" and convinced his mother to be part of the film. He said even now, as he travels with Green to show and discuss the piece, he cries when watching it and often becomes emotional when he gives the presentation about his life, and his mother and father's stories after the screening.

"I would write, it'd be two, three, four in the morning on a Saturday night, writing, crying, reliving my mom's death, reliving my dad's death," Alex said. "And I thought, at some point, what's my end game? Why am I doing this?"

When speaking to some Fort Wayne, Indiana, high school students after their trip to the Dachau Concentration Camp, a professor and expert in death and dying gave a presentation with a slide that said "storytelling is healing" and Alex started crying.

He found an answer to why he was doing it, what he was meant to be doing. He hopes that by sharing his mother and father's stories, he does his part to "remember the past to protect the future."

Green and Alex are now working on developing a feature film about Eva's life.

"The message is so needed," Green said. "It's so critical beyond the Holocaust. I hate to say it, but it's true. With human rights, what's going on in our country, is going on around the world. You have to get these stories out there."

Laughter filled the Owen County Courthouse Square on Saturday, June 13, as residents and visitors gathered for the Owen County Chamber of Commerce's Second Annual Chester Chicken Chuck.

Beginning at 10 a.m., the unique event combined hometown fun with a beloved piece of Owen County history, drawing participants of all ages to downtown Spencer.

The festivities kicked off with a special appearance by Owen County's own Medal of Honor recipient, Sammy Lee Davis, who served as the honorary Master of Ceremonies and had the honor of tossing the very first chicken to officially begin the competition.

The main event, the Chester Chicken Chuck, featured seven teams competing to catch as many rubber chickens as possible as they were launched from the rooftop of the Owen County Courthouse by members of the Owen Valley Fire Territory. This year's competition included a new twist—a special Santa Claus Chicken, worth two points, adding even more excitement to the fast-paced contest.

When all the chickens had flown, The Mighty Clucks, consisting of Liam Ruple and Andrew Moore, emerged as this year's champions, earning bragging rights and the grand prize of Babbs Fried Chicken for a Year.

Following the championship competition, attention turned to the Charity Chicken Chuck, where six teams competed to catch just one chicken. Thanks to the generosity of the Owen County Community Foundation, each participating team received a $50 donation for the charity of its choice, making the event not only entertaining but impactful for local nonprofit organizations.

This year's celebration also expanded with several new activities that brought even more community involvement.

A Chicken Window Decorating Contest invited local businesses to showcase their creativity with custom chicken designs painted by local artist Steve Adams. The winning business, Spencer Pride, took home a traveling trophy topped with a chicken, earning a full year of "clucking rights."

Participants also had the opportunity to show off their creativity during the Chicken Costume Contest, where Jenny Osbourne and Chris Summit captured first place and the $50 grand prize with their crowd-pleasing costumes.

The fun continued with the ever-popular Open Flys, giving everyone a chance to join in the excitement. The festivities began with the Little Chick Fly for children ages 12 and under. Foam chickens, each carrying a prize sticker, were dropped from the courthouse roof, and young participants redeemed their catches at the Babbs tent for prizes.

Next came the Teen Scramble for ages 13 to 17, followed by the Babbs Open Fly for adults ages 18 and older. Every chicken was a winner, but one lucky participant, Robin Reynolds, caught the special prize chicken and walked away with the grand prize—a 98-second shopping spree at Babbs SuperValu.

The Chester Chicken Chuck is more than just a fun-filled competition. It is a modern recreation of a cherished Owen County tradition dating back to the 1930s. Shortly before Christmas, residents gathered downtown to catch live chickens, ducks, and turkeys, which they would then prepare for their family's holiday meal. The event was originally created by Dwight Johnson, Fred White and Chester Babbs as a way to encourage residents to shop locally during the holiday season. Today, the Chamber continues that tradition of supporting local businesses while celebrating the community's rich history. Chester Chicken himself proudly carries the name of one of the event's original founders, Chester Babbs.

The Owen County Chamber of Commerce extends its sincere appreciation to the Owen Valley Fire Territory, volunteers, participants, and the many sponsors whose generosity made this year's event possible.

Whole Bird Sponsors

• Babbs SuperValu
• Smithville
• Spencer Main Street
• Cook Medical
• Owen County Community Foundation

Half Bird Sponsors

• Insurance Services
• Indiana Uplands Realtor
• Technology Services
• World Arts
• Compass Rose

Nugget Sponsors

• Tote-Ally Fresh
• Bates Mechanical
• Andy and Beth Cline

Popcorn Sponsors

• Byers Home Furnishings
• Boys & Girls Club
• Patriot Manufacturing
• Busy Bee Café
• Owen Valley FFA

With another successful year in the books, the Second Annual Chester Chicken Chuck once again proved that few communities can combine history, hometown pride and feather-filled fun quite like Owen County. The Chamber is already looking forward to welcoming everyone back next year for another chance to catch a chicken, win big and celebrate one of the county's most unique traditions.

The Spencer-Owen Community School Corporation (S-OCS) might not be able to afford offering elementary school students free breakfast.

Superintendent Andy Cline told the S-OCS Board of School Trustees at its June 11 meeting that the district is analyzing whether or not it can continue to offer free breakfast. The board set a potential price for the breakfast and discussed price increases to school lunches.

The board requested a 10 cent maximum increase for elementary and secondary lunches, making them $2.90 and $3.30.

Reduced breakfast and lunches will stay the same, at 30 and 40 cents.

Adult lunches are not subject to the 10 cent maximum and will increase by 20 cents, making them $5.20. Across all S-OCS schools, 348,650 meals were served during the 2025-2026 school year.

S-OCS Food Service Director Balinda Wagner said the district's reimbursement rates haven't kept up with inflation, causing the district to reevaluate if they can sustain the program if the surplus costs are left to the district to pay.

Previously, the district was receiving close to $54,000 per year through funding issued during the COVID-19 pandemic, which significantly covered the free breakfast. The district also used to receive food through the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program.

"That money was used to provide minimally processed local proteins and produce," Wagner said. "The farmers would get paid for that, and then the schools would receive that food, free of charge, because of the grant money paid for it. We would be able to get fresh beef from Fischer Farms."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture cut the program in March 2025, along with the Local Food Purchase Assistance cooperative agreement, totaling a roughly $1 billion cut in programs that connected communities to local farmers and ranchers.

If the district decides to proceed with paid elementary school breakfast, it would be $1.40. If a student qualifies for free or reduced meals, they will still receive free breakfast, Cline said.

During the 2025-2026 school year, the district served 104,947 free breakfasts for elementary school students, Wagner said in an email. Across all the elementary schools, 649 students qualify for free meals, 90 qualify for reduced meals and 523 don't qualify for either.

All board members were present during the meeting and approved Cline's contract renewal from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2028 for $135,000 annually. The contract also includes a $2,500 stipend if the corporation receives an A letter grade and a $1,000 stipend if it receives a B.

The board approved former assistant principal Jacob Steinmetz to take over as Owen Valley High School principal and former interim principal Kris Samick as Patricksburg Elementary School principal. Samick will also remain in the Director of Communications role.

The board also approved the 2026-2027 student handbooks for the elementary schools, Owen Valley Middle School (OVMS), Owen Valley High School (OVHS), OVHS Alternative School and the OVMS and OVHS athletic handbooks.

It unanimously approved the following items:

• Harmon Consulting Services, LLC 2026 to 2027 contract.
• OVMS first floor flooring quote.
• OVMS surplus item list for English/Language Arts.
• One time stipend for superintendent.

During the meeting, OVMS Principal Tom Arthur gave a presentation detailing data about the school. The school issued more than 460 high school credits this past year, the attendance rate slightly increased, and the school's discipline record has continued to trend downward, he said.

Arthur also talked about the school's approach to teaching math. This past year, the middle school had student teachers from Indiana University. Arthur received an email from IU Clinical Assistant Professor Lori Burch, who asked how the school had developed its conceptual understanding framework.

She told Arthur that IU teaches students that the students they go on to teach need to understand the "why" behind math and how things work.

"'The problem is when I send them out into the field, there's not very many classrooms that that's actually happening in,'" Arthur remembered Burch saying. "'It's still very procedural instruction,' she says. And Dr. Burch looked at us and said, 'To be honest with you, I think you guys are the only ones that's actually doing this.'"

Arthur said the school is working to create more partnerships to give college students field experience inside OVMS math classrooms.

Cline also announced the district had just finished up the grant preparation process for a $35 million artificial intelligence grant, part of a consortium of 10 school corporations. The district will find out by September if it will receive money or not, he said.

He encouraged businesses to attend the Owen County Chamber of Commerce's Employer Partnership Exchange event from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 14 at OVHS. New diploma requirements mean more community service, work or apprenticeship for local teenagers.

"We need our businesses to be prepared to take on some of our students for that type of work," Cline said. "Whether it be paid or not, it is going to be a requirement that will be a challenge for Owen Valley High School."

The board also approved three resignation, one contract, one retirement, one transfer and 13 employment requests.

Resignations

• Kaitlyn Orick, OVHS English teacher
• Chad Smith, OVHS boys cross country coach
• Susan Huffman, SES cook

Contract

• 2026-2028 superintendent contract

Retirement

• Karen Evans, SES nurse assistant

Transfer

• Kali Smith, OVMS bookkeeper

Employment and educational credential assessments

• Bryanna Noesges, SES second-grade teacher
• Emma Yartz, GES first-grade teacher
• Leigh Michael-Peterson, SES severe/moderate instructional assistant
• Holly Murray, SES instructional assistant
• Harrison Wright, SES kindergarten teacher
• Emilee Woods, PES summer custodian
• Matt Beckwith, OVMS YES sponsor
• Jacob Steinmetz, OVHS principal
• Kris Samick, PES principal
• Charley Truax, SES fifth-grade teacher
• Brian Greene, OVHS assistant football coach
• Chase Hiland, OVHS assistant football coach
• Chad Smith, OVHS assistant football coach

The board will meet next at 7 p.m. June 16 in the Mike Wells Memorial Board Room at Central Office, 205 E. Hillside Ave., Spencer.

The Owen County Chamber of Commerce is egg-cited to announce the winner of the inaugural Chicken Chuck Window Painting Contest. Seven businesses and organizations around the courthouse square participated in this year's competition, transforming their windows into colorful chicken-themed displays in celebration of the annual Chamber Chester Chicken Chuck.

Each participating location adopted its own uniquely named chicken character, bringing plenty of personality and creativity to downtown Spencer. This year's flock included:

• Yolko Ono at Spencer Pride
• Newsworthy Nugget at The Owen News
• Bawk Lava at Sweet Escape Bakery
• Mavis Drag-hen-fly at The Dragonfly Gallery
• Penny the Philanthro-hen at the Owen County Community Foundation
• Orville Reden Bawk Bawker at The Tivoli
• Bell at Medical Polymers

The Owen County Chamber also decorated a window and named it's chicken Wall-Horn Leghorn

Three community judges visited each location and evaluated the creative displays before selecting a winner. After careful consideration, Spencer Pride's "Yolko Ono" rose to the top of the pecking order and was named the first-ever Chicken Chuck Window Painting Champion!

Spencer Pride was officially recognized during the Chamber Chester Chicken Chuck event, where Connie Murphy received the traveling trophy topped with a chicken. The trophy can be proudly displayed throughout the coming year, along with the coveted "clucking rights" that come with being the contest's first champion.

To add to the fun, Chester's chickens have "escaped" throughout downtown Spencer. A special Chicken Chase map has been created to help community members track them down and visit each decorated window. Maps can be found online on the Owen County Chamber of Commerce Facebook page. Participants are encouraged to take photos with the chickens they discover and share them on social media using the hashtag #ChesterChickenChase. Don't be a chicken—grab a map and join the hunt!

The Chamber would like to thank all of the participating businesses and organizations for helping bring creativity, color, and community spirit to downtown Spencer. Each chicken added its own flair to the festivities and gave visitors plenty to crow about.

This year's first competition was no yolk, and we look forward to seeing even more egg-ceptional chicken creations hatch in the years to come!

Owen Valley High School Patriot Award winner Noah Hall is pictured. Noah broke a long standing school record for high jump this year.

Sixteen kids scribble inside paper booklets and shade in drawings with colored pencils and markers.

They're writing a children's book. One about a pig named Porky that eats penne pasta and becomes a knight. Another about horses. One girl writes about a chicken jockey from "A Minecraft Movie."

They're all participants at the Owen County Art Guild's fourth summer art camp.

Volunteer Leslie Asher helped lead the camp and said the children worked through several projects of different mediums. One of them involved using Indian ink and two-foot long drawing sticks. The kids created monocolored paintings on paper propped against easels.

The children also used pastels to create pastel drawings of green frogs sitting near lily pads in a pond, using their hands to blend the colors.

The young artists did a different project this year, which moved away from what the guild typically does, and created their own children's books, using their imaginations to practice storytelling.

Lucas Smeltzer wrote the story about Porky the pig. He said it's fun to see how silly art can look when it's only halfway finished but also appreciates the reward of a completed work.

"It's kind of challenging when you're doing it, but at the end, I think it's worth it just to see what you came up with and just all of the things you can do," he said.

Felicity Arthur's favorite thing to draw is horses. She said that creating art makes her, "Excited for what it's gonna look like at the end," she said. "I love it a lot."

For one collage project, the children painted a series of squares and drew designs on top. Then, they ripped them into pieces. On another sheet of paper, the kids glued the pieces in a halo of hair around a watercolor painting of a woman in dress.

Not only did the children create pieces of art to take home and present at the art show at the end of the camp, but they created artist trading cards to share with the other participants.

At the end of the five-day camp, Asher and the other volunteers, Sharon Moore and Linda Barrett, taught the kids how to do a gallery walk. Each child created 16 small cards and went around the room trading their original work with the other kids.

"They get a little piece of each person's art," Asher said. "It's very cool."

Asher said that what she enjoys most about leading the camp is watching the kids explore and be creative when creating and designing the different projects.

She hopes the camp gives them "The love of being creative and doing art."