ANDERSON — One hundred years ago, the gleaming blue pedestrian bridge that sits over the White River between Edgewater and Athletic parks was across the state helping travelers traverse another body of water.
Conceived in 1903, Hibbs Bridge originally crossed Coal Creek in Fountain County on the far west side of the state. After restoration, relocation and re-installation, the bridge now goes by a new name: the John F. Kennedy Bridge of Character, or Kennedy Crossing. Its dedication Saturday helped Anderson celebrate 10 years of its Character Counts program.
The opening of the new bridge, from which banners depicting Character Counts’ six pillars hung, was only part of Saturday’s festivities, during which Anderson children were honored for participating in the Character Counts program.
“We’re here to celebrate character, and we’re here to celebrate our community,” said Mayor Kris Ockomon as he and other Anderson officials and natives joined in cutting a long polka-dot ribbon that stretched across the bridge’s entrance.
Anderson Redevelopment Commissioner Joe Royer, along with resident Don Bates, a descendent of Chief Anderson; Anderson Community Schools superintendent Mikella Lowe; and Character Counts Madison County founder Don Peslis, also helped with the ribbon-cutting.
Before the dedication, throngs of students from Anderson and other county schools marched from Athletic Park, across Eisenhower Bridge and to Kennedy Crossing, much in the way a parade through town 10 years ago first brought Character Counts first to the county.
“It was 10 years ago today that we crossed (Eisenhower Bridge),” Peslis said.
Anderson resident Karen Downham brought her granddaughters Madison and Ashlyn to see the new bridge and watch their friend Tyler walk in the parade.
“I think it’s beautiful,” said Downham, who plans to bring her granddaughters to the parks and pedestrian bridge more often. “It’s a nice place to ride a bike and exercise.”
After the dedication, hundreds of community members made their way across the pedestrian bridge for the first time to Edgewater Park, where a Character Counts festival was waiting, complete with blow-up slides and activities, games, free food and entertainment. Rock band Daydream on Autopilot and country singer and Pendleton native Casey Jamerson performed, while Elwood Olympian Mary Beth Dunnichay signed autographs and answered questions.
Vonda Saylor brought her two children, both Forest Hills Elementary students, to the festival to celebrate the difference Character Counts has made for her children and their school.
“It inspires them, gives them a chance to have a challenge,” Saylor said. “It just starts with one person helping another person and spreads.”
The whole event had a big impact on little Hannah Banks.
“This is once in a lifetime,” she told Saylor.
---------
Character Counts
— Started in 1992 in Aspen, Colo. to develop a common language of core ethical values regardless of religious, political and socioeconomic differences
— Six Pillars of Character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, citizenship
— In Anderson, Character Counts is modeled in schools and at the Center for Character Development at Anderson University, designed as a resource center for parents, teachers and community leaders.
Home News (ADS ONLY)
October 11, 2008
BRIDGE: Span named for JFK adds character to downtown
- Home News (ADS ONLY)
-
-
Photo gallery: AU vs Mount Saint Joseph Baseball
Photos from the baseball double header and senior night for Anderson University and Mount Saint Joseph on 5/7/10.
-
Comedian Harland Williams coming to Paramount
LOS ANGELES — Canadian Harland Williams was enjoying winter in Southern California. “It’s beautiful out,” said Williams, 47, familiar from roles in films like “Dumb & Dumber” and “There’s Something About Mary.” “A bit cold, but is 65 cold? I’ll take this cold any day, thank you.” Williams, whose Indiana performances have been exclusive to Crackers in Broad Ripple, will take the stage at the Paramount on Friday, April 2.
-
Nancy Wood back in Anderson, with ASO
ANDERSON — Nancy Wood stared into the glass vase, full of clear water, with the bare roots of a plant dangling down into it.
-
Auction deal for buyers, not for owners
ANDERSON — An auction held Saturday at a former, popular cabinet manufacturer resulted in deals for local woodwork hobbyists and businesses, but earned less than the new owners hoped for.
-
Ann Duran on the air in Madison County
DALEVILLE — As a child, radio personality Ann Duran remembers her father calling her his mini-Barbara Walters.
-
Weights, measures officials protect consumers
ANDERSON — Whether consumers are filling up their cars’ gas tanks, buying a gallon of milk or drying clothes at a laundromat, one man in Anderson makes sure they always get their money’s worth.
-
AHS rocking to 'Schoolhouse Rock Live!'
ANDERSON, Ind. — With the end of the school year quickly approaching, Anderson High School Performing Arts students are springing into a favorite pastime. With the help of their director of six years, Tiffany Jackson, the group of 12 is putting on a musical, “Schoolhouse Rock Live!”
-
Anderson native to lead county ghost tour
ANDERSON — Growing up in Madison County, Nicole Kobrowski liked to visit some of the area’s creepier places, such as Moss Island Road just west of the city.
-
Sidewalk Prophets looking for a Dove
Sidewalk Prophets know how to please a crowd when they sing Christian pop at concerts across the nation.
Now, they’d like fans to reciprocate to help the band win a Dove Award. -
At Home: Project a bonding experience
PENDLETON — When a four-year project goes on for seven years, the result is often a strained marriage.
- More Home News (ADS ONLY) Headlines
-
More Than 350 Die in Honduran Prison Fire
Defiant Iran Loads Own Fuel Rods Into Reactor
Lawmakers Move to Cusp of Payroll Tax Cut Deal
Raw Video: Syrian Army, Rebels Battle in Homs
Video Essay: Saving the Miami Blue Butterfly
NYPD Officer Shot During Subway Confrontation
Obama's Valentine's Advice: 'Go Big'
San Francisco's Valentine's Gift to Tony Bennett
Iranian Boats Shadow US Aircraft Carrier in Gulf
Hundreds Rally Against Alabama Immigration Law
Whitney Houston Funeral to Be Invitation Only
New Details in Search for Missing Utah Mom
Raw Video: Protesters, Security Clash in Bahrain
Obama: Good US-China Ties Help the Whole World
School Pays Students to Attend Class
Raw Video: 5 People Injured in Bangkok Blasts
Trial Opens for Ala. Man in Bride's Diving Death
Baltimore's 'Crime Stopper' Is a Basketball Star
Arm Wrestler Not Guilty Plea in Wife's Death
