Join the Fun of the Circus!
The Circus is coming to town on June 17, 2014. It will be held at the 4-H Fairground by the Yellowstone Trail Festival as a fundraiser. There will be two shows – a 4:30 pm show and a 7:00pm show.
Tickets can be purchased ahead of time from the visitors Center Depot, Back to Basics Organics in the Knox Mall or from any Yellowstone Trail board member. Pre-sale tickets cost $10 for adults and $6 for children. Tickets sold day of the show are $13 for adults and $7 for children. Pre-purchase your tickets and SAVE! Go to http://www.yellowstonetrailfest.com/ for more information!
All posts by Lenny Dessauer
The 19th Annual Ancilla College Golf Classic
The 19th Annual Ancilla College Golf Classic on June 9th at the Plymouth Country Club is sold out with 36 teams for the sixth year in a row. A hole sponsorship at the outing is a great marketing opportunity for your business. If you would like to sponsor a hole for this year’s outing, please contact Tom Sibal from Ancilla College at 574-936-8898, x355.
County Pride Concert
County Pride Concert
The County Pride Concert was held on Sun, May 18 at the NJ-SP High School. It was great! All 3 schools in Starke County came together and made beautiful music. The bands and choirs of all 3 high schools practiced the music separately and came together for the first combined practice on that day! One would never know they hadn’t practiced together before that day. The music was marvelous with a good selection of songs. At the end, the bands and choirs played together with a medley of patriotic songs that warmed the hearts of those in attendance.
A big thank you goes out to the schools, who without them, this couldn’t have taken place. Also, to the teachers, the students and to the Starke County Unity Leadership task force whose leadership through Mary Bendt was able to bring an idea to fruition. Many sponsors helped make this event a reality. Thanks goes out to those that helped with the cost of the t-shirts, the water and programs.
The Leadership group is recruiting members to attend the 2014-15 class. Call the Chamber office at 574-772-5548 or Community Services of Starke County at 574-772-7070 for an application.
SCILL 12th Annual Car Show
SCILL 12th Annual Car Show on May 18, 1-4pm. $15 registration fee includes car plaque and prizes. Call 574-772-8001 for more information.
County Pride Concert is Sunday, May 18,
County Pride Concert is Sunday, May 18, 3:30 PM CDT at the NJSP High School Auditorium
A county-wide combined high school band and choir performance will be held this Sunday, May 18. The choirs and bands of the 3 high schools in Starke County will join together along with the directors from each of the schools – Oregon Davis, North Judson San Pierre and Knox. The schools have collaborated on the project to allow the students to work together.
A county-wide combined high school band and choir performance will be held this Sunday, May 18. The choirs and bands of the 3 high schools in Starke County will join together along with the directors from each of the schools – Oregon Davis, North Judson San Pierre and Knox. The schools have collaborated on the project to allow the students to work together.
This is an opportunity for the students and the community alike to have unity within the county that includes everyone. Competition is a natural result of teams playing against one another. This concert is to help everyone see the unity that’s in our county and help spur a sense of pride to be a part of Starke County.
There’s no charge for admission although a free-will donation will be gladly accepted at the door. All proceeds will be divided equally between the schools for their music programs. Come and enjoy the program which will include music by the combined choir and band individually, with the final number being a patriotic medley performed by both the choir and band.
Kersting’s Cycle Center Train Adventure Ride – Saturday, May 17.
Kersting’s Cycle Center Train Adventure Ride – Saturday, May 17.
Come and support our troops and enjoy the day as well!
Sign Up @ Kersting’s Cycle Center 11:00am, Eastern Time
Group Ride Leaves Kersting’s Cycle Center @ Noon E.T.
(Approx. 1 Hour Scenic Country Motorcycle Ride Followed by Lunch and a 45 minute Train Ride)
Benefits The Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund
$15.00 per Rider
Includes Ride, Lunch & Train Ride
Tickets may be purchased at Kersting’s Cycle Center or the Railroad Museum
Everyone Welcome….If you don’t wish to ride on the motorcycle ride, you can still have lunch and take the train ride and help donate to the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund
Ride sponsored by
Kersting’s Cycle Center &
The Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum
North Judson, IN
Featured Business for May is Char’s Florist & Gifts
My name is Charlene Harvey (owner of Char’s Florist & Gifts). I came to this county from Kentucky when I was 7 years old. I’ve been in Knox, Indiana for 36 years as of October 2, 2014, (and we were established in 1978).
My shop is located at 217 East Culver Road. I service all of Starke County and a few surrounding towns. We carry a full line of fresh and silk flowers and we’re a full line gift shop as well. We carry jewelry, scarves, candles, stuffed animals, webkinz, wedding invitations, Tuxedo rentals along with many wedding items. We carry Angels, Benches, Silk Cemetery items and much more, too many to mention.Stop in and see us. My shop hours are M-F, 8:30am til 5:00pm;
Sat., 8:30am til 1:30pm.
Thank you for letting me service you these past 36 years and be a part of your special occasions.
Join the Fun of the SHOW!
Breakfast May 7 with Senator Arnold
On Wednesday, May 7, your Chamber is excited to have State Senator Jim Arnold as our guest speaker at our breakfast! IU Health Starke Hospital is sponsoring the Quarterly Breakfast at the Downtown Depot, 18 S Main St. (Entrance is in the back of the building), Knox. This breakfast will NOT have the 60 second format as usual. Instead, Senator Arnold will present the results of this past session in Indianapolis. This is your chance to meet with Senator Arnold and ask questions!
Economy Auto Sales is the Featured Business of April
Economy Auto Sales in Knox is a locally owned, Award winning Dealership and is celebrating its 25th Anniversary! Economy Auto Sales was named the 2012 Quality Dealer of the Year by the Indiana Independent Auto Dealers Association and was voted Starke County’s #1 Used Car Lot 8 years running by the Leader/Review’s readers. Located at 300 N. U.S. 35, you will find a large selection of used automobiles. Their buy here-pay here finance program provides you with Affordable down payments, flexible Pay Day payments plans, short loan terms with no added fees and no penalty for early payoff. All vehicles are inspected and serviced with a free 6 month, 7500 mile warranty. Financing Good People with All Types of Credit since 1989. Call 574-772-6646 or visit our website.
www.economyautosales.net
Starke County Youth Club Radiothon Returns!
Starke County Youth Club celebrates it’s 7th Annual Radio-athon on May 2nd
Starke County Youth Club celebrates it’s 7th Annual Radio-athon on May 2nd
Starke County, Indiana – After the school bell rings, youth in Starke County have amazing opportunities. Students have access to high quality homework assistance, engaging enrichment activities, and fun recreational centers with adults who care. The Starke County Youth Club (SCYC) provides innovative services to children and families every day. These services are available at four convenient sites across the county during the school year and the summer. And, an amazing expansion is in the works!
The community is heartily encouraged to participate in The Starke County Youth Club’s 7th Annual RadioThon on WKVI, 99.3 FM on Friday, May 2, 2014 from 10 a.m. to 4 p. m.. The day of the RadioThon is filled with testimonials, special guests and fun challenges. It helps spread the word about this amazing program and the exciting changes ahead. Most importantly, it lets everyone know that
we must keep the doors open after school
Member Packet Information
Members:
Do you want to include a coupon or offer in our new member packet? Post a job opening? Need a copy or send a fax?
Take Advantage of your Chamber membership
1.) Would you like to share a coupon or special? The chamber would be happy to share your specials, coupons, etc. with our members and the rest of the community. We can place them in our new member packet, new resident packet, and even on the website. This is a free offer for chamber members. Contact the chamber office at 574-772-5548 to take advantage of this great offer!
2.) Do you have a job posting you’d like listed on the chamber website? Send an email to info@starkecountychamber.com and your job will be listed. A new page will be set up for job listings. This is a free offer to members.
3.) If you’re not in a local office and need a quick place to stop and make a phone call, make a copy, send a fax or check your email, stop by the chamber office and if it’s open, you’re welcome to come in and use our office as your quick, temporary one.
New Starke County Traveler Magazine!
Traveler Magazine – 2nd Edition It’s coming soon!
Starke County Tourism is putting together the next edition of the Traveler Magazine, the county’s Official Visitor’s Guide. This guide is distributed locally and throughout Indiana and peripheral states.
Would you like to advertise in it? Newcomers, visitors and local residents read this magazine. The last magazine was printed in 2009, and now we need to print more. Now you know the quality of the magazine. This is a great value for your advertising dollars! Lindenwood Retreat and Conference Center was quick to note how advertising in the Traveler brought them guests from far to become regular guests at their facility. Bring our visitors and readers to your business!
Click here for the form to advertise. We’re looking at an April 20 deadline date. Digital artwork is required, and if needed, we can help you create what you want. For more information, call 574-772-5548 or 772-0896. Pictured is the new front cover, Cleaver’s Chute at Bass Lake. 
New Chamber Members!
I’d like to announce our new member, Char’s Florist & Gifts. Char Allen is the owner and carries more than just flowers. Go into the shop and see the great gifts that are on display. Flowers, balloons, Boyd’s Bears, Beanie Babies, Webkins, Tux rentals, candy, jewelry, South Bend Chocolate and more! Stop in Char’s at 217 E. Culver Rd. in Knox. You can call at 772-4005. Welcome, Char’s Florist & Gifts!
Sunshine Confections is a new bakery via online or phone order! See the selections at their webiste www.etsy.com/sunshineconfections. A local baker at Bass Lake. You can call 574-207-3033 or go to the Facebook page, Sunshine Confections. Lemon Blueberry cake truffles
Stay Safe During Extreme Cold Weather
A blizzard warning remains in effect for the Kankakee Valley until 8 a.m. EST/7 a.m. CST. The wind chill warning remains in effect through tomorrow evening, with air temperatures of between 5 and 15 below zero and deadly wind chills of between 30 and 45 below expected. Frostbite and hypothermia will occur in a matter of minutes with these expected wind chills, so be sure to protect exposed skin. Death will also occur if precautions are not taken. Starke County officials have set up a warming center at IU Health Starke Hospital in Knox. You may warm up in the main lobby, surgery waiting area and in the chapel. Food will be available for purchase during normal cafeteria hours, and you will need to bring your own medications and personal care items. Starke County Emergency Management Agency Director Ted Bombagetti urges caution when heating your home. If you use a generator, be sure it is outside your house. Space and kerosene heaters should be kept away from curtains, carpet, furniture and clothing. Bombagetti also recommends charging your cell phone and programming the numbers for your power company into your phone should your power go out. The Indiana Department of Homeland Security also asks residents to please clear a path to their fire hydrants so they are accessible in the event of an emergency.
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From the EastWing, Sophia & The Pear Trees, Pit Bull History, Pit Bull Fame, Pit Bull Bentley, Word Nazis
Greeting to all and welcome new friends to the EastWing.
Remember just before Christmas, I told ya about the high hopes of producing pear trees in the EastWing. Well, I’ve encountered some issues which have thrown a major “Monkey Wrench” into the process of pear tree production. After months of providing a cold of winter season for the pear seeds, drying ‘em out an planting on the day after Christmas. I came home this past week to find a large amount of the soil from the newly planted pear seed pot on the EastWing floor. I could just tell from the looks of things that this was not the result of the pear seeds starting to sprout.
So I lined ‘em all up in the EastWing, that cold January afternoon. The time had come to find the culprit of such a dastardly deed. The Gray Lady James, Spike The Man Cat, Mr. Bentley and Sophia all stood in the lineup. Upon questioning, all had an airtight alibi, except Sophia.
Under intense integration, with the imminent threat of water boarding, being the tool that broke the case wide open. Sophia finally said “WHAT??? I had to go pee! My potty was all the way to the other end of the house then down to the basement. I had to go pee, and right there was all that dirt”.
Sophia said “And besides, what would ya rather have, a happy girl cat or a dumb ole pear tree?” Then she smiled. Sophia when she smiles. It melts your heart. It dawned on me, this was the first time Sophia was smiling since November 6th . I didn’t bring that up, didn’t want to lose the smile.
I just thanked God for giving me a happy Calico Girl, swept up the dirt from the oak floor, put it back into Sophia’s new EastWing potty and decided, yes, I’d rather have a happy girl cat than a dumb ole pear tree. But ya just gotta love Sophia when she smiles. Ya heard the old saying “ a smile goes a long ways” it does with Sophia. Damn Republican Cat.
I’m still getting inquiries into the availability of the services of Pit Bull Inc. Still the same status. Pit Bull Inc. is not for hire. I’ve even suggested to several people to establish their own Pit Bull Corp. Even told ‘em how to go about it. I hope some do. It’s worth the effort to do so.
American Staffordshire Terrier, that’s Mr. Bentleys official breed. Want to learn something new? Do a little research on “Pit Bull”. You’ll be surprised. For all the fear many have of the term Pit Bull, do the research, you’ll be surprised.
It’s an old, old blood line which has been selectively bread for illegal dog fighting. Bad people, not bad dogs. Again for those who tremble at the word Pit Bull, keep in mind one of the stars of the Little Rascals was a Pit Bull. Didn’t know that? Yep, I’m telling ya, Petey was a Pit Bull. ” Now Petey, from the Little Rascals, may be the most famous, but there are many lesser know Pit Bulls that have gained historical attention.
Helen Keller‘s dog, Sir Thomas, Buster Brown‘s dog, Tige, Horatio Jackson’s dog, Bud, President Theodore Roosevelt‘s Pit Bull terrier, Pit Bulls all.
To this day Pit Bulls continue to be heroes, Popsicle, a five-month-old puppy originally found nearly dead stuffed in a freezer, grew to become one of the nation’s most important police dogs. Norton, who was placed in the Purina Animal Hall of Fame after he rescued his owner from a severe reaction to a spider bite. Titan, who rescued his owner’s wife, who would have died from an aneurysm, and D-Boy, who took three bullets to save his family from an intruder with a gun.
Another thing I bet ya didn’t know about Pit Bulls, that English Bull Dog ya think is so ugly, it’s cute, it’s a Pit Bull too. So with that Mr. Bentley said to Sophia, “From now on please don’t call me a Pit Bull, you can call me an American Staffordshire Terrier”. Sophia looked the big dog straight in the eye and said “Ok, Mr. Pit Bull Bentley”. The Man Cat damn near fell off the table laughing as Sophia gave Mr. Bentley that one and only, “Sophia when she smiles”.
Reading the EastWing email is almost as much fun as telling the stories. It never ceases to amaze me that, for some people, what I’ve said and what they’ve read many times seem to have come from different parts of the universe. While taking into consideration the fact that not every word or phrase can be translated into different languages and always have an identical meaning. That being put aside. Many times it’s still a different world, between the said and the read, the said and the read, that is.
Sometimes I think it’s folks that want to jerk me around. Like a while back I said something about a pear seed being able to think, and expected someone to challenge that a pear seed could think. It was within that context I said yes pear trees can think, “maybe not like you, which is a good thing.” Well, it was that “which is a good thing” that heated up the glow plug for a lady accusing me of being condescending in my argument.
What was so strange with that email was the lady didn’t seem to realize that I was both sides of the argument. I don’t think ya can be condescending to yourself, but maybe I can. WHOH! a new skill. I’m sure I’ll exploit that in the future. Condescending on both sides of the rope. SWEET !!!
From time to time somebody in the email will feel duty-bound to admonish me for my lack of writing skills, to which I agree. Then they took it to another level and said it should be illegal for me to even touch a keyboard and have access to the internet, to which I disagreed. While adding salt to my wounds and rubbing in, they accused me, me of all people, of using poor grammar.
DUH! Poor grammar, Shewwwww. Such charges as improper use of pronouns, and I’m not even gona tell ya what was said about them verbs and adverbs and all that other stuff like that. I’ll just let it be said that none of it was complementary to my writing skills. Why that feller even accused me of making up words as I went along. Words nobody knew, or cared to know what they meant. I guess sometimes ya just gotta say what ya wanta say, and hope for the best.
Knowing full well I was dealing with “Word Nazis of the Fifth Order” who had gone off the deep end in their search for correctness in life, and all the while willing to sacrifice understandability for a textbook concept of words on paper. Or in my case, words on screens. I felt sorry for the poor souls who would choose a pattern of the written word not fully understood by all, in order to maintain correctness in the written word. The fact is, I was trained under a concept that if they don’t understand what you write, by your choice of words to speak your thoughts, you’ve wasted their time trying to tell ‘em your stories.
And so it was, after much thoughtful consideration for their personal feelings, I emailed the following: It appears to me life has gotten you folks down. You both worry far too much about things you cannot change. You both probably fight windmills in your mind. Yet maybe what you two really need in life is a kind pat on your backs. Consider this to be an EastWing pat on your backs. “There, Their, They’re.”
In the immortal words of Sheriff Buford T Justice, from Smokey & The Bandits, “Sum Bitch”.
Stay safe in Afghanistan.
From the EastWing, Sophia & The Pear Trees, Pit Bull History, Pit Bull Fame, Pit Bull Bentley, Word Nazis,
I Wish You Well,
BobbyRay
Ed is Back from his tour trip, he is planning another trip in the Fall to Branson. Here is his best of the week, except for Monday.
Here is the Best of “TOMT”
Best of “Talking of Many Things”
