Ferdinand News

06/24/2025

Father Schipp celebrates a very sacred sixty years in the cloth

Despite it being his 60th anniversary, no one showered Father Ralph Schipp with diamonds, which was likely just as well since he probably doesn’t have a lot of use for a shiny carbon rock.
Still, he celebrated the 60th anniversary as a priest in rather grand (and appropriate) fashion last Wednesday, June 18.

The actual anniversary date of Fr. Ralph’s ordination was May 27, but when that passed without fanfare Father Rigi George and his staff at Christ the King Parish knew a grander celebration was in order.

After all, Fr. Ralph is a native son of Ferdinand, having been born to Raymond and Ella Schipp on March 2, 1939 – their oldest child.
Fr. Ralph celebrated Mass at his home, Scenic Hills at the Monastery, last Wednesday followed by a luncheon and reception for family and friends, hosted by Christ the King.

Father Ralph Schipp has served under six bishops and six popes and in addition to his diocesan work has been the Chaplain of the Legion of Mary, Chaplain of the Indiana State Police (a role he held for six years) and Chaplain for the Cursillo program.

To read the rest of this story, grab this week's edition of The Ferdinand News!

Story by Kathy Tretter
Photos by Sierra Bruggeman

06/24/2025

Scenes from the 30th annual Heimatfest

Ferdinand’s annual Heimatfest was held Friday and Saturday, June 20 and 21, an appropriate welcome for the summer season. There was something for everyone to enjoy, from dinosaurs to delight the younger set and a BBQ contest to tempt the palates of all ages, plus live music, free bounce houses courtesy of Best Home Furnishings and a massive car and motorcycle show.

Photos by Kathy Tretter

06/17/2025

A truly senior prom

On Friday, June 13th, Scenic Hills at the Monastery held their 2025 Happy Hour Prom. The event featured live entertainment, dancing, drinks and snacks, centered in front of a beautiful backdrop.

Photos by Sierra Bruggeman

06/11/2025

06/10/2025

The band that will perform next Friday night at Ferdinand’s Heimatfest is GTP. They will take the stage at 8 p.m. This group is comprised of members from Southern Indiana and they describe their sound as rock and roll with a little bit of country. GTP stands for Garage Therapy Project. According to their website they practice in a garage and do their best to create a sound many can enjoy. Comments from customers include “You guys rock!” from a satisfied listener and “I don’t know what that was, but it was AWESOME” from a drunk guy at the Oasis.

To learn more about GTP visit www.gtprocks.com/ orhttps://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063621064507 or better yet — come the Ferdinand Heimatfest Friday night (June 20) at 8 p.m. Eastern and check them out live!

GTP, Garage Therapy Project.
Playing music in a garage is therapy. Whether its live music or through a stereo:)
Rock n Roll with a little Country Music.

06/06/2025

Rangers gallop to second place at sectional

(SECTIONAL)

The Belmont Stakes is only a couple of days away. With that in mind, the Forest Park boys golf team was hoping to pay tribute to the horse racing world and gallop away with their first-ever sectional championship.

But it wasn’t quite meant to be. The Rangers certainly looked like a prize thoroughbred at times and experienced some highlights before eventually racing down the stretch to finish runner-up at the Jasper Sectional Thursday at Sultan’s Run Golf Club.

Jasper carded a 328 to capture the sectional title and will be joined at the Washington Regional by Forest Park 336 and Loogootee 352. Rounding out the 14-team sectional field were: Heritage Hills 353, Perry Central 358, Southridge 360, Springs Valley 366, South Spencer 371, Northeast Dubois 373, Tell City 375, Paoli 379, Crawford County 391, Orleans 406 and Shoals 425.

Even though Jasper entered as the favorite, Ranger coach John Fleig felt like his squad had a legitimate shot at bringing home the post-season title. And the fact that they came up short was a tough pill to swallow. “We came in full of confidence, but unfortunately let a golden opportunity slip away,” said the Forest Park boss.

“We return our top four next year and should be in a good position to compete for a sectional [championship],” concluded Fleig.

For the full story, get next weeks edition of the Ferdinand News!

Photos and story by Brian Bohne

06/06/2025

Traditional Arts Today hosted its children’s day camp last week. The camp, designed for ages six and up, was offered free of charge thanks to a grant from the Menke Charitable Foundation. Additional support for activities was provided in part by the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana, the Indiana Arts Commission (a state agency), and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency).

Photos by Sierra Bruggeman

06/05/2025

Rangers battle but can’t tame No. 3 Cats in sectional

(SECTIONAL)
EV. MATER DEI 9 FOREST PARK 6

It makes sense that baseball-themed songs like Alabama’s hit “The Cheap Seats” and the John Fogerty classic “Centerfield” were played over the PA system. But perhaps the tune that best describes the Forest Park baseball team’s post-season matchup with highly touted Evansville Mater Dei is the 1977 Meat Loaf gem “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad”.

Here’s why. Going into the contest, Ranger coach Kyle Greulich felt like his squad would need to do three things in order to knock off the Wildcats — play solid defense, hit the ball and make sure his pitchers threw strikes. They accomplished two of those.Forest Park was rather stellar in the field and was able to match M.D.’s total with eight hits. The throwing strikes part early on, however, proved to be a challenge. The Rangers battled but couldn’t quite overcome some control problems that put them in an early hole and eventually dropped a hard-fought 9-6 decision to the No. 3 ranked Wildcats in the Class 2A, Sectional 48 title tilt last Monday night at Frank Clemens Field in Tell City.

Even though things didn’t turn out the way he had hoped, Greulich was still proud of his team. “To push Mater Dei like we did and at least have a chance at the end showed what these guys were made of,” said the Forest Park skipper. “I don’t think expectations were very high for most people after the season we had [Forest Park entered the game with an 11-11 record], but these guys had confidence in themselves. They made a good showing in the sectional beating a strong North Posey team and battling Mater Dei the way we did. ”

He also thinks there’s good things ahead for his program.“We’re definitely going to miss the seniors. Every one of them played an integral part on the team this year,” concluded Greulich. “But our core group coming back is hungry, and I think they’ll have what it takes to challenge for a sectional championship next year.”

Get the full scoop in next weeks edition of the Ferdinand News!

Photos by Sierra Bruggeman
Story by Brian Bohne

06/04/2025

The “Performance Dogs Of Ohio” Show scheduled for this Thursday, 6/5 at the Tri-County YMCA has been cancelled.

However, the Ferdinand Library will have its’ Community, Teen & Programming Rooms open on Thursday, 6/5 from 12:30-4:30 and on Friday from 10-3 with lots of activities to do including: Collaborative Sticker Poster; Curling Game; Marble Run; Cups Game; Fishing Game; Puzzles; Board Games, Bookmark Design Contest; Building Kits; Summer Reading Sponsor Contest; Collaborative Coloring; Magnetix; Sensory Bin; Modelling Clay; Missing Crayon Scavenger Hunt, etc. The Library will also be showing dog-related movies and all can participate in the Summer Reading Program to earn a completion prize and tickets for additional prizes!

The 18th Street Park Storywalk also has a new book ready to read! Take the nice walk and when you’ve finished the walk, come to the Library Front Desk to receive a prize as well.

06/03/2025

Update 3:10PM June 3. Subject has been located and with family at this time.

Search Continues For Missing Teenager

Perry County - Multiple police agencies and first responders are still searching for a 19-year-old male who goes by Nick. Nick has been missing from Anderson Woods since yesterday, June 2, at approximately 4:00 PM. Nick was last known to be wearing a light blue T-shirt, black and pink swimming trunks, and white tennis shoes. Nick is autistic with limited verbal skills. Nick has black hair, brown eyes, 5-10, 220 pounds, with facial hair, and is of Indian descent. Law Enforcement asks that anyone wishing to assist in searching for the young teen avoid the area due to multiple search and rescue teams already in the area. We are also asking neighboring property owners to check their property, vehicles, and any outbuildings. If located or any information can be relayed to Central Dispatch at 812-547-7068 or 911.