This and that … in a last-minute holiday week
A little of this and a little of that, as other things take their time to come together. You know how it goes.
I’m going to be honest, things didn’t fall right for me Tuesday with three stories about two-thirds complete. I’ll hang on and round them out this week.
Meanwhile, a holiday week this and that …
MCCUTCHEON LOCKOUT: McCutcheon High School Principal Gloria Grigsby sent a note to parents Tuesday, giving them a heads up that administrators caught wind of a social media photo of what appeared to be a student holding a gun in the school. As the school went into lockout procedures – meaning no one is allowed in or out, but classes go on as usual – Tippecanoe County police searched the school around 11 a.m. Tuesday, but did not find the student, according to Terry Ruley, chief deputy of the sheriff’s office. Ruley said police found the student at home at 12:30 p.m. and took the student into custody for suspicion of possession of a firearm on school grounds. Ruley said the lockout on the McCutcheon campus ended at that point. Grigsby wrote to parents:
“This incident is alarming to me, and I know it is to you too. Please talk to your students about the importance of speaking up when they see something suspicious, like this student did. ‘See something, say something’ continues to be one of our greatest tools in school safety.”
A TRAIL EXTENSION IN WEST LAFAYETTE: When the Indiana Department of Transportation redocked the Sagamore Parkway bridge over the Wabash River, the state included a walkway along the south span of the bridge to accommodate a trail that one day would connect Lafayette and West Lafayette. On Tuesday, the West Lafayette board of works approved design plans for the Sagamore Parkway Trail. The trail will run along the north side of Sagamore Parkway from Soldiers Home Road to the bridge. There, it will cross under the bridge and then connect with the walkway along the southern span, heading toward Lafayette. Mitch Lankford, West Lafayette city engineer, said the trail ultimately would connect to a Lafayette trail linking with the Wabash Heritage Trail that follows the river to Battle Ground and Lafayette from there. Lankford said bids are expected to go out in March with an anticipated completion by the end of 2022. He said the overall project would cost more than $3 million.
ELF ON AN ELEMENTARY …: Amanda Henry, principal at Miami Elementary, said it all started this year when she dressed as a traffic cone one Friday to direct drivers in and out of the parking lot after school.
“It brought such joy to staff, students and parents that I decided to do a fun costume to direct traffic every Friday and holidays,” Henry said.
Last Friday, Henry popped up as an Elf on the Shelf. This was the scene Friday at Miami Elementary, on Lafayette’s south side:
“Elf on a Shelf was a blast and a huge hit,” she said.
On Tuesday, Henry was in a new costume for traffic patrol: The Grinch.
COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS DINNER: The Friends of Downtown’s Community Christmas Dinner returns with meals from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Christmas Day at Lafayette Jefferson High School, 1801 S. 18th St. Kris DeHahn, a dinner organizer, said volunteers expect to serve more than 2,000 meals that day – all carry-out this year. All are welcome. When you arrive, go in Lafayette Jeff at the south entrance. The dinner dates to 1989, when the Community and Family Resource Center – later renamed the Bauer Community Center – initiated the community dinner. It continued there for 20 years. The Friends of Downtown picked up the tradition in 2010.
IN AMONG THE GREETING CARDS …: In case you’re not on former 4th District Congressman/current Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s Christmas letter mailing this, here’s a dispatch from Importantville’s Adam Wren.


GRAD STUDENT UNION AT IU?: This will be one to watch. Story from Justin Hicks at WFYI: “Graduate workers could soon form the largest labor union at Indiana University.”
CHRISTMAS/HOLIDAY/SEASONAL PLAYLIST, STILL IN PLAY: This went out Monday, but help us build a playlist. What song – go-to and got-to-have, whether beloved and traditional, offbeat or off-center – should we add to the Christmas playlist? And a sub-thread: What song you NOT want on that playlist? Click on the link below to add yours.
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Looking for a stocking stuffer? How about a gift of local reporting?