The annual Jackson County VEX IQ Robotics Competition Invitational Qualifier took place Feb. 14 at Immanuel Lutheran School in Seymour.
There were 40 elementary school teams and 20 middle school teams, all from Jackson County, competing.
In the elementary school tournament, 3522G from St. Ambrose Catholic School and 1597C from Jackson County Homeschool Robotics won the Teamwork Champion Award. 47220C from Lutheran Central School was the Robot Skills champion.
In the middle school tournament, 520D from Immanuel Lutheran School and 47220B from Lutheran Central School won the Teamwork Champion Award. 520D from Immanuel Lutheran School was the Robot Skills champion.
The skills champions earned a trip to the 2026 Indiana Robotics State Championship on March 14 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
JCIDC is proud to sponsor this tournament that allows all Jackson County VEX IQ teams a chance to compete. There are teams at most public and private schools in the county along with Jackson County Homeschool Robotics, Jackson County 4-H and the Boys & Girls Club of Seymour.
Personalized wooden keychains, stone coasters with a logo and a guitar with a hexagonal pattern on the body are among items made on a laser engraver.
A greenhouse and an A-frame roof were designed on a computer and then built as small models.
Learning how to operate an indoor drone before moving up to larger outdoor drones results in earning a license to fly the aircraft.
Various types of lettuce are planted in a tower garden and harvested for students to eat.
Cuts of meat from different parts of livestock are plated to learn how food goes from farm to fork.
Baby chicks and a black sheep stuffed animal are explored up close.
At Brownstown Central High School, various engineering and agriculture classes are offered to pique students’ interest and possibly lead them to a future career.
On Jan. 22, students enrolled in those classes manned stations around one of the ag rooms at the school to share their knowledge with local eighth graders who next school year will call BCHS home.
This was the fourth year for the event, which for the first three years was called Engineering Fair before changing to Engineering and Ag Fair with adding the ag department to the mix.
BCHS business education teacher Luke Cobb said recently, there has been a big push on Career and Technical Education classes due to changes with the Indiana high school diploma.
“I know engineering is not everyone’s cup of tea,” he said. “There are kids who’d rather be outside, so I asked Abby (Branaman, ag teacher at BCHS) if she would be interested because she’s new and we’re both growing our programs, and she was all for it, so we combined. They have a bunch of cool ag stuff, and I feel like it just hits a bigger audience.”
For the first year of the event, Cobb said he and his five engineering students went to the middle school to talk to eighth graders about the offerings at BCHS.
Since then, the middle schoolers have traveled to BCHS to explore the various classes.
Cobb now has 50 students taking engineering classes, and the number of classes has expanded.
He feels the Engineering Fair has helped with that.
“It is working,” Cobb said. “It’s really great for them. It gets a lot more kids into it.”
The first two events featured two engineering classes and robotics. Since then, BCHS has added drone and architecture classes, so those are now part of the fair.
Students from an introductory engineering class made personalized wooden keychains on a laser engraver for the visiting eighth graders.
Junior Miller, a junior at BCHS, said they have done a variety of three-dimensional modeling and hands-on projects in the class. Those utilized computer programs and various equipment.
“It’s very hands-on, and I’ve learned a lot from them. Mr. Cobb is a great teacher,” Miller said.
As for sharing what they do in class with the middle schoolers, Miller said, “It’s something they get engaged into. I just think it’s good for them to learn stuff like that. Hopefully, they carry it with them through college and stuff.”
Nearby, the stone coasters and guitar were on a table along with other items made by students.
Dalton Brazzell has taken engineering classes throughout high school. Now a junior, he helped make the unique design on the guitar body.
“It’s definitely cool, but it’s very time-consuming,” he said.
Keaton Peters, a freshman in the introduction to engineering design class, said Cobb lets students design and create at their skill level.
“It’s fun and challenging at the same time,” he said. “You’re either going to get to the midpoint of the project and realize you hate it or you’re going to get to the midpoint of the project and realize you love it.”
Both liked having the opportunity to showcase what they’ve done in class.
“It’s a great class to take. If you take it, you’ll learn a lot,” Peters said. “It’s a fun dual credit thing, and you get to make stuff, so there’s no reason not to take it.”
Brazzell said they also built the computers they use to design products.
“I just see how all of our equipment slowly gets better and better,” he said. “We have more people, and we make cooler and better things. It’s definitely an amazing opportunity.”
Peters agreed.
“I feel like with what we have now, it’s so much more intriguing for the kids,” he said.
Sophomore Naomi McKain, junior Allie Barlow and senior Charlie Watts are in the civil engineering and architecture class that designed and built the greenhouse and A-frame roof models.
“We build hands-on stuff, and we also build some online,” Barlow said. “We model and design everything and then get it printed, and every piece is handmade.”
McKain said they also learn about plumbing and electrical.
“A lot of times, we’ll look up pictures of designs and try to re-create them, and then a lot of times, we laser cut the wood so we can make a whole bunch of different shapes,” she said.
They enjoyed the opportunity to educate the eighth graders.
“This (class) is very hands-on,” Barlow said. “That is definitely a plus, getting to work, seeing what you’re building, and that’s something you can be proud of.”
Also at the fair, senior Ellie Black showed eighth graders the various drones they could explore in the drone class. The larger drones have bigger cameras, more capabilities and advanced controls and fly faster.
She said the goal is for students to earn their Part 107 drone license, an FAA credential for legally operating drones for commercial purposes in the United States.
From the ag side, eighth graders learned about the animal science, principles of ag, horticulture, plant and soil science and food science classes.
Branaman, a graduate of BCHS, said the school has always offered a lot of ag classes, and her goal is to keep the tradition going.
“As a first-year ag teacher, I want to do my best to communicate what they can expect, and so it’s been really awesome and it’s been great prepping for the ag fair to see what they want to share,” she said. “To hear them talk about it, you can tell that they really enjoy it, too.”
In November, FFA officers visited eighth graders to talk about the ag program.
“When they come here, they get to actually see it in action,” Branaman said of the fair. “I’m really impressed with the students. We’re doing our best to start introducing all of the options and give them a little bit of a taste so that they know what to take.”
Becky Killian has joined the Jackson County Industrial Development Corp. team in a part-time role to support the activities of JCIDC and the Workforce Partnership.
A former journalist, Becky worked for nearly 30 years as a freelance writer, reporter and editor. She worked for newspapers, including The Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne and The Times-Tribune in her hometown of Corbin, Kentucky. Most recently, she covered city and county government for The Salem Leader.
Becky received her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University. She moved to northwest Jackson County in 2015. She currently serves as president of the Woman’s Press Club of Indiana, the Indiana affiliate of the National Federation of Press Women. She also is the membership chairperson for the Muscatatuck Wildlife Society, the nonprofit group that supports Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge.
When not working, Becky reads (and sometimes writes) genre fiction and enjoys spending time outdoors.
Nearly 600 eighth graders from nine Jackson County schools visited the event throughout the day Dec. 5 in the gymnasiums at Seymour Middle School.
The Reality Fair is a simulation of an adult’s financial life that allows youth to experience making financial decisions and managing money. They can experience what it is like to manage an account at a financial institution, make money-related decisions, obtain a loan, manage debt and more. For the youth, a Reality Fair can be an eye-opening, exciting and fun way to build financial knowledge and skills.
In each gym, after receiving a binder with one of 18 occupations and a worksheet, the students visited 12 booths. Those included credit card, transportation, housing Part 1, housing Part 2, sharing and charitable giving, pets, children, household spending, health care, cellphone, bank and the unexpected.
At each booth, one or two community members helped guide the students as they made decisions. We would like to thank the 64 people who helped. They are:
Jackson County United Way: Emily Engelking, Stephanie Strothmann, Liz Copeland, Michelle Kleber
Mandy Rohdert Esthetics: Mandy Rohdert
Old National Bank: Amber Schrader, Zenda Brooks
Pet Supplies Plus: Tammy Barker, Tina Hacker, Yesenia Otero
Royalty Roofing: Jared Clark
Schneck Medical Center: Heidi Wheatley, Lizzie Vogel, Brandon Sunbury, Skylar Earley, Jena Hanks, Jenna Thomas, Amy Hatton, Adam Jablonski
Seymour Community School Corp.: Marykate Helmsing
The Peoples Bank: Farrah Richey, Will Spray
The Point: Kelli Robinson
Toyota Material Handling: Matt Gilbert
Vincennes University: Brian Sawyers
Community members: Lois Bukowski, Terrye Davidson, Mary Carlson, Lori McDonald, Dave Thompson, Kathy Sage, Susan Jablonski, Melanie Pumphrey
Thanks to all of the students who participated and took this seriously, and hopefully, it was a fun learning experience. Thanks also to all of the schools for attending. They were Brownstown Central Middle School, Crothersville Junior-Senior High School, Immanuel Lutheran School, Lutheran Central School, Medora Junior-Senior High School, St. Ambrose Catholic School, St. John’s Sauers Lutheran School, Sandy Creek Christian Academy and Seymour Middle School. Special thanks to Seymour Middle School for allowing us to host this important event there.
Sixty-three business professionals helped JCIDC with the annual senior mock interviews at Seymour High School.
Conducted the week of Oct. 27 to 31, 289 students participated in a one-on-one interview with someone who works in the career field of their interest after high school.
JCIDC would like to give a big thanks to SHS for allowing us to help coordinate this annual program, and thanks to the students who signed up and participated and all of the business professionals who took time out of their schedules to help with this effort.
In the spring, JCIDC will be coordinating mock interviews for Crothersville, Medora and Trinity Lutheran high schools and Sandy Creek Christian Academy.
Here’s who interviewed at SHS this year:
Amanda Dick, Sara Bowling, Cassandra Collins, Christy Foster, Rita Hollen, Lonnie McCool, Erin Rayburn, Lesley Kendall, Jamie Napier, Holly Wischmeier, Fayeann Hauer and Heidi Wheatley with Schneck Medical Center
Katie Leitzman, Wendy Nicholson, Marykate Helmsing, Curt Schleibaum, Bethany Brewster, Mika Ahlbrand and Kyle Coates with Seymour Community School Corp.
Nate Bryant with Jackson County Emergency Medical Services
Drew Royalty with Crane Hill Machine & Fabrication Inc.
Srivathsa Kumar and Tara Sutherland with Cummins Inc.
Dan Wright with Gonzalez Companies LLC
Kevin Bell with Kevin Bell Photography
Missy Casner with Purdue Polytechnic Institute Columbus
Brittany Snowden with Ivory & Lace Weddings
Brandy Hampton with Ava Presley
Shaun Kendall with 3 to 1 Video
Timothy Chadwick with the U.S. Marine Corps
Nic Wilson with Wilson Auto Body
Jill Glover with Schneider Nursery
Dan Robison with the Jackson County Chamber
Brandy Hunnicutt with BK Media Solutions
Emily Reynolds with Lutheran Community Home
Nate Otte with Dr. Nate Optometrist
Arin Hupp with Goecker Construction Inc.
Amy Birk with Seymour Animal Hospital
Jake Florine and Kim Florine with Nehrwess USA
Brooke Trinkle with Rose Acre Farms
Denise Connell with Lorenzo, Bevers, Braman & Connell LLP
Derik Nierman with Jackson County REMC
Darren McKinney and Joey Perry with Duke Energy
Todd Prewitt and Rusty Warlick with the FBI
Stephen Wheeles with the Indiana State Police
Blake Everhart with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division
Marnie Dirks with AISIN USA Mfg. Inc.
Karen Dringenburg and Debbie Herbert with Blue & Co.
Paige Pontrich with Designs by Paige
Chealsy Parr with Our Hospice of South Central Indiana
Susan Raisor with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management
Colin Smith with Freeman Municipal Airport
Larry Bothe with Freeman Army Airfield Museum
Holly Coates with Dr. Tammy Hiester-Stout DDS
Brittany Percival with Bee Mortgage App
Ashley Foster, Rylee Harris and Brittany Clark with Brush & Blush Beauty Bar
