Dear Indy,
At Floral Park Cemetery on the west side, every veterans marker tells part of a story. And with a bit of research, you can learn a lot about those who served our country.
Clifford E. Riggs, for example, earned a Purple Heart after a gas attack in France. Byron Robert DeMott hunted German tanks. The list goes on.
Westside reporter Enrique Saenz — who served in the Iraq War in the Marines— visited the cemetery while several members of VFW posts placed American flags on the graves.
Ahead of Memorial Day, other veterans told him they wanted to make sure that future generations are aware of the price of freedom.
“I think it’s critically important that our nation’s youth understands that the life that we all enjoy in the United States wasn’t free,” said Larry Patch, a Vietnam veteran and a member of VFW Post 1587 in Speedway. “Somebody paid a heavy toll to make sure that we have the freedoms that we enjoy.”
Read more here.
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The latest on Greenlawn Cemetery
We also have an update on the ongoing news about the former Greenlawn Cemetery and the back-and-forth over Indy Eleven and the city’s ambitions for Major League Soccer.
Here’s how the update begins from reporters Peter Blanchard and Tyler Fenwick.
Mayor Joe Hogsett has an idea for what should happen to the former Greenlawn Cemetery.
Rather than moving forward with a $1.5-billion Eleven Park development that would include a 20,000-seat soccer stadium, Hogsett said the historic site could be turned into a memorial or park to honor the city’s residents who were buried there.
“We do take that ground as very sacred ground,” Hogsett told reporters after a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Frederick Douglass Family Center on May 23. “I think there are a lot of different opportunities for us to take advantage of, and we’re simply trying to resolve this matter in as equitable and as fair way as we possibly can.”
His comments come one day after his office sent a letter to Ersal Ozdemir, the CEO of Keystone Group and owner of Indy Eleven, offering to purchase the 20-acre site “at fair market value.” In the letter, the city raised concerns about how many human remains are still located on the site despite more than a century of industrial activity.
Continue reading the article here.
In other news
- IndyGo has a new leader, kinda. After successfully navigating threats by Republican state lawmakers that would have killed the Blue Line, interim leader Jennifer Pyrz has been named the president and CEO to oversee the rollout of the bus rapid transit system. The article also contains a small update about IndyGo’s ongoing talks with the federal government about tweaks to the Blue Line.
- Indy Documenters attended the Indianapolis Public Library board meeting Monday — in what was the first meeting without former member Stephen Lane. Here are the notes.
What’s going on around the city
- Tomorrow, May 25: The Melanin in May festival returns for its third year at the Community Alliance of the Far Eastside, 8902 E. 38th St. Live music, a wide array of Black-owned vendors and a food truck cook-off are all on the schedule, starting at 11 a.m. Free.
- Tomorrow, May 25: Starting at noon, the Philippine Cultural Community Center, 4141 S. East St., hosts the Filipino Market. A large variety of vendors from across the city will be tabling. Free.
- Tomorrow, May 25: You don’t have to venture out to Appalachia to hear bluegrass! Arthur’s Music Store, 931 S. Shelby St., is bringing bluegrass to their backyard starting at 1 p.m. Hosted by Dmitri Alano, guests of all skill levels are encouraged to bring acoustic instruments, their dogs, a cooler (sans alcohol) and play along. Free.
— Breanna Cooper, arts and culture reporter
Looking for other things to do? Check out Mirror Indy’s events calendar.
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What else we’re reading today
- WISH: A gardening club at Meredith Nicholson School 96 harvested its first fields this week. “It teaches responsibility, have a chance to be able to grow things and actually eat what they grow. And some, they can take home and do as well as home,” said Brian Pachciarz, the athletic director.
- IndyStar: A man wrongfully convicted in a 1998 murder has filed a lawsuit that accuses Indianapolis police officers of committing misconduct and failing to investigate the actual killer. The lawsuit also says that an IMPD detective characterized the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office’s Conviction Integrity Unit as dishonest and political for exonerating the man.
- The Washington Post: Fentanyl has driven the doubling of overdose deaths among children 12 to 17 since the start of the pandemic.
Reflections
We won’t be sending a newsletter Monday in observance of Memorial Day.
See you Tuesday.
Ryan
P.S. If you liked something about today’s newsletter, or didn’t, let me know at ryan.martin@mirrorindy.org. It helps us serve you better.
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