MARTINSVILLE Charles L. Smith Elementary School will celebrate its transformation next year into a fine arts academy with the Fine Arts Frolic from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the school, 1359 E. Columbus St., Martinsville. The event will give parents, potential students and community members alike a peek into what the Fine Arts Academy has to offer. “We just want to invite the whole community, because we are so thrilled since the school board just last month said, ‘Okay, you’re good to go, you get to be a fine arts academy,’" Kari Palma, music teacher at Smith, said. "So we thought let’s have a fun day, kind of like a carnival, but instead of just focusing on games, let’s give it a fine arts focus. So we’ve got plenty of different things, with different kinds of art that the kids can participate in. We’ve got music, we’ve got dance, we’ve got games and community partners." Some of those community partners include Zumba by Heather Roberts, the Tom Fiddlery Band and actors from the Merry MAC theatre. The Art Sanctuary, Pam Hurst of the Sterling Butterfly, the Morgan County Farmers Market and Elite Dance Studios will have booths at the event. The community booths will be an opportunity for event attendees to get information about various art-related courses and activities they can participate in around Martinsville and Morgan County. “The Merry MAC players are coming and they’re going to have a stage set up so they’ll have some people performing but also encouraging students to put on outfits and performing with them,” Smith art teacher Chapin Schnick said. Schnick said there would be several opportunities for attendees to make art, including a mural and sidewalk chalk art, as well as a string art board. Additionally, there will be elements of a carnival including a bounce house, face painting and temporary tattoos, along with some games. “We’re going to play just some recreation games like cornhole, ladder golf, giant, Jenga and we’ll have a 2K duck dash," Smith physical education teacher Tammy Cheesman said. "Our principal (Kyle Stout) might show up in a duck costume. The first place boy and the first place girl will get a trophy and we’ll have a lot of little duck trophies that we’re going to give the first 25 who cross the finish line. So it’s a family fun run." The Smith PTO will have refreshments available for purchase including popcorn, nachos and sno-cones. Cheesman said it was a good chance for students interested in attending the school and their parents to check out the school and learn a little bit about what the fine arts academy has to offer. “We intentionally did it on a Saturday so that it would be accessible. It’s not just on a school night for our school,” Palma said. Schnick said students at Smith have an opportunity to act as ambassadors for the program because of their experience on Fine Arts Fridays. “This semester, since we’ve been piloting the fine arts academy, our students kind of already have an idea of how the arts integration will work, luckily they can kind of champion it with their families because they’re already aware through our Fine Arts Fridays and things that we’ve had throughout the year what we’re going to offer,” Schnick said. Palma said the fine arts integration was valuable because it made students want to come to school, such as the time this past year when students had recently learned about making mandalas, a diagram, chart or geometric pattern that represents the cosmos metaphysically or symbolically which often exhibit radial balance. “I had line them up against the wall, but they were slipping. ‘Just put them flat on the floor and then that way they can’t fall’ so I went to door ‘Bye, bye, have a great day!’ and the kids had (formed a mandala) with the guitars,” Palma said. Palma said it was a sign the students were invested and truly thinking about what they were learning while also being excited by it. “For us, the standard is if we are saying we wish we could have had this as kids, then we’re on the right track, that’s what we want,” Palma said. The Fine Arts Frolic will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Charles L. Smith Elementary School. The event is free to the public and will be held rain or shine.

MARTINSVILLE There were two themes on display in the Martinsville High School Auditorium Wednesday night during the all orchestra end of the year concert. Reading the cover of the program would make one immediately apparent: John Williams. The second and arguably more important theme was accomplishment. The hard work of the students was celebrated and awards for improvement, perseverance and hard work were given out. “It was the first year with Bell Intermediate Academy and John R. Wooden (Middle School), we’ve been able to have just sixth graders at one school and seventh and eighth graders at one school. So we took both the seventh and eighth grade to ISSMA competition this year,” orchestra director Jordan Korth said. “The seventh graders got gold in their division and the eighth grade orchestra you see in front of you got silver in their division. They went in the higher group than we’ve gone in the orchestra for a while and they only missed gold by about one and a half points.” Korth said the high school jazz orchestra group received gold at competition and for the first time in 20 years, the high school hosted a contest. The sixth grade orchestra began the evening with a medley of John Williams themes from a variety of films, including “Jurassic Park” and “Jaws.” String instruments have one of the most difficult learning curves and the fact that the sixth graders were able to play plucked string style required by pizzicato in “Peanut Butter and Celli” speaks volumes about their hard work and dedication to their instrument. The sixth grade ended with a piece titled “Sourwood Mountain.” The seventh grade orchestra continued the movie theme with a one-two punch of “Hanging Tree” from “The Hunger Games” and a medley of themes from the Harry Potter films. “Intensity” capped the seventh grade portion of the program. “Spy vs. Spy” was first on the list for the eighth grade orchestra. Roth said the piece had a Latin feel to it. The eighth grade played the most recent Williams piece on the program, “Rey’s Theme,” from “The Force Awakens.” The final piece, “Gypsy Tale,” featured what Korth described as three distinct characters he hoped the audience would pick up on. The Martinsville High School played a split set, both portions featuring Williams. The somber “Theme from Schindler’s List,” which features the inflection of Jewish folk song and melody was in the first half. The first set ended with “Wilds Gallop” and then it was time to hand out awards to orchestra members before the closing set, during which the orchestra was joined by brass and woodwind players. The final set began with “Promenade,” a reccuring theme from Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.” The evening ended with the Indiana Jones theme from “The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” iIt was the familiar theme which has graced theaters since “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” but the addition of melodies and themes that suggested the South American setting of the most recent film. It was a night which really showcased the hard work the students and their director put in over the school year and something of which the performers could be truly proud.

MOORESVILLE Mooresville Christian Academy had its annual fundraising event on Saturday at Jones Crossing Banquet and Event Center. MCA had auctioned items off in prior years, but this year’s event added a new wrinkle: a sit down dinner and big-time guests. Former Cincinnati Reds Glenn Braggs and Tom Browning joined former Indianapolis Colts member Marlin Jackson and current member of the Indiana Pacers, Glenn Robinson III, at the fundraising event. Attendees of the event got a chance to interact with the athletes and in some cases, share a table with them. Rick Brewer, head of the school, prayed for the families attending the event and thanked the sponsors of the school and the athletes for attending the event. Prior to the live auction, guests had a chance to bid on items as part of a silent auction using their mobile phones. A variety of items were up for bidding in both the silent and live auction, including sports memorabilia, vacations and household goods. After the dessert portion of the meal, Glenn Braggs gave testimony about how his faith grew and he became a more devoted Christian. “I gotta tell you, I’m really excited about being here tonight because I don’t really get a chance to do this too often, get a chance to share my testimony,” Braggs said. “I do a lot of appearances for the Reds and I do those types of things. I’ll be honest with you, I don’t really like to do it that often, because it’s so personal for me.” Braggs discussed his childhood, being the 11th of 12 children and said though his family was poor monetarily speaking, they were rich in so many other ways. Braggs credited his parents for that. “My parents did an amazing job having us feel good about ourselves and just knowing the blessings that we had, the things that we had to be thankful for,” Braggs said. Braggs said he was raised in the church, but he didn’t live out his faith as an adult. “In my early years, I knew of God, but I didn’t really have a relationship with God,” Braggs said. “It’s kind of like how you all know me as Glenn Braggs, the former Red that made the catch in the 1990 World Series, or Tom Browning as the guy that pitched a perfect game. Marlin Jackson is the guy that made that incredible interception. You guys knows of us, but you don’t really know us like the way my family knows me or the way my close friends know me.” Braggs said he would act a certain way around his friends who were Christians that was different from the way he acted around his friends who were not. It wasn’t until he met his wife, Cindy Herron, that he became more active in his faith after seeing how she lived out hers. Braggs talked about how it was a matter of perspective, citing a time where he was in a slump and felt that more playing time would help with that. Braggs spoke of the importance of the three Ts — tithe, time and talent, or giving 10 percent of their blessings, giving adequate time to God and using their talents to help others — as a way for Christians to live out their faith. Following Braggs’ testimony, Browning and Jackson joined him on stage along with Rick Brewer, head of Mooresville Christian Academy, to answer questions from the audience. Robinson had to leave the event early for a standing weekly appointment with a child with leukemia at Riley Hospital for Children. Jackson told about how he was able to pick off Tom Brady by knowing the tendencies of Brady and from watching film of the San Diego Chargers/New England Patriots game from the week before. Browning jokingly asked Jackson if the ball was underinflated. Browning told the story of how he came to watch part of a Cubs/Reds game from a rooftop outside of Wrigley Field. After the question and answer session, the athletes returned to the crowd and took time to pose for photos with guests. Brewer thanked several people, including his son Ryan and Brett Crabtree, a former player of Brewers who helped him get in contact with the athletes. “This night could not have happened quite like it did if it wasn’t for Mr. Brett Crabtree. He really helped make a lot of connections with the former players, contacting their agents and getting all set up,” Brewer said. “Also, one of the guys that we actually brought in to understand social media, I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I’m over 50, so social media is not necessarily at the top of my priorities. My son is kind of a social media guru, he is a singer and a performer so he would pop in every once in a while and all dreary eyed and say, ‘Here’s what you need to do to increase your impact by social media.’ That is my oldest son, his name is Ryan, he has been a tremendous help for us through this.” The auction raised several thousand dollars for Mooresville Christian Academy and judging by the response of those in attendance to the special guests, it would be well worth it to try a similar event next year. Brewer said he was already looking into getting guests, focusing on actors and actresses who are faith-based.

MARTINSVILLE American Legion Post 230 hosted a benefit Saturday for the family of Isaiah Hacker. Isaiah 2, was diagnosed with stage 4 hepatoblastoma on Feb. 6. He had been hospitalized since then, but was recently well enough to leave Riley Hospital for Children, and he was well enough Saturday to make an appearance at the fundraiser. The event was the brainchild of Rayna Bowman, a family friend. Activities during the fundraiser — which ran from noon to 11 p.m. Saturday — included a cornhole tournament and an all-day concert. The event was all-ages until 7 p.m., when the festivities moved indoors and the music continued. The outdoor portion of the event featured gorgeous weather with a nice breeze and a picturesque blue sky as a backdrop. Each picnic table was adorned with a jar featuring a picture of Isaiah to weigh down the tablecloth, preventing the breeze from catching hold and carrying it off. And then there were the green T-shirts. Guests at the event donned green T-shirts emblazoned with #IsaiahStrong on the front. On the back was a list of sponsors and other organizations that assisted with the fundraiser in a variety of ways. Debbie Ream, Isaiah’s aunt, was touched by the outpouring of support from the community. “I really appreciate it. I thank everyone for all their help, an overwhelming response,” Ream said. She said two nurses who took care of her during a battle with colon cancer stopped by to drop off a check for $500. “(Isaiah’s mother, Khristy Hacker-Snyder) needs the help, it’s been a long struggle. Isaiah’s been at Riley since Feb. 6. I’m really happy, I think we’ll have a larger crowd around 5,” Ream said. Things were slow early on during the event, but Ream expected more people to arrive after Little League wrapped up for the day. “A lot of them that are coming are at baseball. I think it’ll be more crowded later on. And after 7 p.m., no kids, I think it’ll be a big pickup then,” she said. Ream praised Bowman’s efforts to help out Isaiah and his family. “That Rayna Bowman has been wonderful. She pulled most of this together,” Ream said. Ream also was especially grateful to Shawn Gibson, who secured a donation from his employer, Indianapolis Power & Light. Gibson stopped by Saturday to drop off a check for $900. He said he felt it was necessary after meeting Isaiah and his family. “I met the family at another event and just felt like I should try to help them in any way I could. So I went to my company and the people who are building the new power plant on Blue Bluff (Road),” Gibson said. He said he thinks it is important to give back, especially for someone in as much need and as young as Isaiah. “I think that’s the way everybody looks at it,” Gibson said. Isaiah’s mother said the event was “very touching,” and she planned to be there all night. Hacker-Snyder said she was looking forward to seeing the people attending the event. “(I’m) looking forward to seeing everyone having a good time,” she said. Another chance to help Ream said she will be hosting a golf benefit for Isaiah at 2 p.m. June 17 at the Martinsville Country Club. Ream said food will be provided after the 18-hole golf tournament and there will be door prizes and other giveaways. Entrants also will receive a sleeve of golf balls. For more information about Isaiah Hacker or to make a donation toward his medical bills, visit gofundme.com/isaiah-lee.

MARTINSVILLE It took a week longer than expected due to inclement weather, but the Morgan County Farmers’ Market has returned to the Morgan County Courthouse square for a season full of fresh produce, handcrafted goods and tasty food items that can’t be found anywhere else. It was a gorgeous Saturday, the sun high in a blue sky dotted with clouds as fluffy and white as raw cotton. A light breeze played upon the scene and temperatures were in the low 60s, climbing as the morning went on and the market neared the end of its first Martinsville session of the season. In other words, conditions were ideal for a stroll past the booths. “So far today we have eight vendors, and we’ve had a steady crowd come through. Everyone seems to be really happy that the market’s back for the season. So we’re looking forward to it and just getting bigger,” said Danie Becknell, one of the volunteers at the market. Though the number of vendors was small and the produce limited — Gray’s Plants and Produce had fresh kale, arugula, red leaf lettuce and onions available — more will arrive as the weather warms and more and more fresh, local produce is available. “We don’t tend to get produce until the end of June, beginning of July, so when that starts coming in, we get a lot more vendors with produce and a lot more customers,” Becknell said. Saturday marked the second year of Copper Valley Farms selling their foodstuffs in Martinsville. Stephanie Wilkins was selling root beer bread, breakfast cookies and cinnamon rolls. Wilkins echoed Becknell in her assessment of the market so far. “Beginning of the year, we’re doing pretty well. It always ramps up as more produce starts popping in. It seems to be going all right so far this year,” Wilkins said. Wilkins said her favorite part of having a booth at the farmers’ market is the experiences she has talking to people. “Interacting with people is nice and it’s fun when they like the things that I make,” she said. Some of them become regulars and come back frequently to see if Wilkins has any of their favorites up for sale. “I do have people that come and ask for specific things, because I don’t have everything every week, but I do have people that do want their breakfast cookies or their root beer bread,” Wilkins said. She said if people are interested in purchasing items, they can contact her through social media. “We do have a Facebook page, Copper Valley Farms, and if somebody messages me on there, we can work something out.” Marketing Mooresville This week was the second week of operation for the farmers’ market in Mooresville, also part of the Morgan County Farmers’ Market Association. The weather permitted vendors to set up shop on May 2, and though conditions weren’t exactly pleasant, turnout wasn’t bad, considering the weather, according to Teresa McClelland of My Felicity Creations. “It was very cold that day and windy. It was OK but it was better than we expected,” she said. McClelland said she hopes to promote the market more, as it seems not many people are aware of the existence of it. She said she hopes that by the end of the season, more people will know of the market. “Like, in Monrovia, they don’t know we have one and that’s close, all of Morgan County, Marion County and everywhere. We just want to get more knowledge out there of what we’re doing,” McClelland said. She said she expects a greater turnout when more produce is available. “We’ll have a lot more produce as soon as the weather gets warmer,” McClelland said. If you go The Morgan County Farmers’ Market is held from 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays at Mooresville Friends Church, 50 N. Monroe St., Mooresville, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays on the Morgan County Courthouse square in Martinsville. For more information, visit the Morgan County Farmers’ Market Facebook page.

MARTINSVILLE Rustic Gatherings is a new enterprise from the Leonard family in Martinsville which will host weddings in a barn on their property. The venture came about from the enjoyment the family experienced last summer hosting weddings for family friends. “We had a few weddings last summer for friends and family and it was really fun helping them out to get things ready for their wedding and we liked seeing how they could transform the barn into their own personality, their unique style. It was just nice to see the transformation from one wedding to another and it was a good time. So we thought this might be something we might like to do and be a part of,” Cheryl Leonard said. Cheryl said the process for getting the barn ready to host weddings was fairly smooth though there were a couple hiccups understanding the regulations required by the state. “Other than the safety issues, adding additional staircases, it's really not been too bad. We did hire an engineer and an architect and a consultant to work with the state. It was kind of challenging understanding what the state needed,” Cheryl said. She said they had initially planned to handle on their own renovations, but had hired an architect, engineer and consultant to make sure everything was up to code and to help transform the building from agricultural to commercial usage. While the Leonards work on the the barn wedding business, they are also still in the business of farming, which can lead to a lengthy work day. “Long days, but it's all enjoyable. The farming is great and we love to farm and this is exciting,” Cheryl said. According to Dean Leonard, they grow corn and soybean, as well raise around 50 head of Black Angus cattle a year. “We farm about 1,500 acres with the family and it works out,” Dean said. The Leonards consist of Cheryl and Dean and their three children, Cody, 2; Tony, 14; and Autumn, who is married to Duke Jones. Together the couple have two children, Deegan, 6, and Lyla, 2. When it comes to the corn and soybean crops, Dean said they were mostly used in feed. “We take most of it to the local feed mill and it's used for feed and a number of things,” Dean said. Cheryl said the couple hadn’t had a chance to visit other barn wedding sites, but had priced their venue competitively with others. “We tried to keep our prices down so we're more affordable for smaller weddings,” Cheryl said, adding it was a deliberate choice as they wanted to make a barn wedding affordable to those interested. “I wouldn't have wanted to spend a lot of money. For our own wedding we chose a barn wedding. So I wanted to keep it affordable for people like us,” Cheryl said. Dean said the couple just enjoyed the experience of hosting nuptials. The goals for the first year of the business were modest. Cheryl said they hoped to have 10 or 11 events by the end of the year. The venue currently has several weddings scheduled, the first of which is set for July with several more to follow in September and October. “We love new beginnings, so it's nice to be part of the weddings and someone's new beginnings as a married couple and for their special day,” Cheryl said. Rustic Gatherings is located at 1776 Mahalasville Road, Martinsville. For more information, visit rustic-gatherings.com or call Cheryl at 765-318-5820.

MORGAN COUNTY The Nutrition Outdoor Activity and Health Network Program is a new endeavor aimed at improving the health of residents of Morgan County, starting with students residing in the county in grades seven through 12. The program will encourage healthy eating habits and the importance of an active lifestyle by introducing students to different physical activities such as canoeing, hiking and climbing. Participants will also receive guidance in proper nutrition and learn how to make healthy meals. “We hope for it to become a county-wide program, that’s our end goal. If it’s successful, we’ll be able to offer it in the future to anybody in the county that’s in need or would like to do it,” director of Bradford Woods Shay Dawson said. The program is a collaborative effort involving the Indiana University School of Public Health, the Kendrick Foundation and the Community Foundation of Morgan County. The 2016 America’s Health Rankings Annual Report ranked Indiana the 39 healthiest state. Morgan County ranked 41 out of 92 counties in the Robert Wood Foundation’s 2017 ranking of Indiana counties. “Bradford Woods is part of the School of Public Health at Indiana University and it’s kind of an issue that we know is a need. There are not as many physical education classes that are offered. We know it’s a need in not only Morgan County, but also most counties throughout the state and really most rural counties in the United States,” Dawson said. Dawson said that the Kendrick Foundation focuses on funding programs that address health issues in Morgan County and Bradford Woods was a good fit because of the outdoor center’s history of working with children. “We’ve been serving kids for over 60 years, so we’ve partnered with the Morgan County folks, Martinsville elementary schools since 1957. It just seemed like a really good fit for the county,” Dawson said. There is space for a total of 20 participants in the program. Dawson said that there were currently seven students interested in the program. Priority will be given to those with the highest BMI or highest risk for diabetes and those with the greatest socioeconomic need. Those not chosen for the program will be given resources for physical fitness and nutrition. The N.O.A.H. Network program includes one week at Bradford Woods from June 25 to June 30. It falls during the first session of the Environmental Explorers Camp. While N.O.A.H. campers will get a taste of the traditional camp experience, their program will differ slightly from that of the Environmental Explorers Camp. “We’ll make sure there’s a lot of fun physical activity during the day and we will be cooking some of our own meals during camp, which will be a little bit different than some of the other camps. We’ll still be in the dining hall for a lot of them, but we’ll have the ability to introduce some really healthy, good meals,” Dawson said. “But that week should just be a blast, to be able to work on these physical activities and introduce new ways. You don’t have to just get on a treadmill or lift weights. There’s ways you can hike in Morgan-Monroe State Forest or go kayaking or go climbing and canoeing and do that is a group.” Participants will get a chance to experience Bradford Woods with their family from July 7 through 9. The group will stay together for weekly meetings from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays from Aug. 1 through May 22, 2018. Dawson said he hopes the program will be a way for students to make new friends and that they will support each other during the nearly year-long journey. “The kids get to come back every Tuesday throughout the Fall and the Spring to take part in fun activities, physical activities through the fun and engaging recreational pursuits here like climbing, canoeing, hiking and cooking our kitchen. We’ll have some fun cooking challenges, you can imagine like Chopped and some of those types of things. We’re going to try to do that with healthy food. So it should be really fun,” Dawson said. Dawson said that by the end, he hopes campers have found 10 to 15 healthy dishes that they can cook and enjoy. They’ll learn how to budget and make healthy choices when shopping for themselves. Along with the week of camp, the family weekend and the weekly meetings, participants in the camp will receive a free FitBit, a $200 Kroger gift card, a $200 gas card and a pass to the YMCA and Youth Development Center. “It’s a one-year grant, but we have enough funding for 20 scholarships. As soon as those are done, we’ll look at if the program works. We’re gonna get feedback from everybody. We’ll change the program based on feedback from the clients. Keep things they want, if they want to add things, we’ll add it,” Dawson said. “And the reason it’s free is we want to be able to refine the program so we can get it ready for the county, so it can go county-wide and be more widely available as an ongoing thing where people really enjoy it.” Contact Tommy Means at 765-349-5109 or at wtmeans@indiana.edu for questions about the N.O.A.H. Network Program. Visit bradwoods.org for more information.

MARTINSVILLE The Morgan County Jackpot Swine Show will return for a second year at the Morgan County Fairgrounds. Indiana is a major pork-producing state and Hoosiers seem to have affection for the pork tenderloin. Purdue Extension Educator for 4-H Youth Development Rena Sheldon said Indiana was fifth in the nation in pork production. “Here in Morgan County, there are a number of breeders who have purebred herds and then there are a number of young people who just want to raise some pigs. We’ve got backyard farms and pigs that kids raise through the summer as a 4-H project,” Sheldon said. As the name of the show suggests, there is cash involved and winners in different classes receive payouts. Proceeds from the show are used by the swine club to benefit local charitable organizations. Sheldon said the group has donated to organizations such as WellSpring, Churches in Mission and WCBK’s holiday toy drive. “This year their project is — and they hope to get it finished before this show — to renovate the wash areas in the swine barn where people wash their pigs. So they’ve put quite a bit of money and planning into the wash area,” Sheldon said. The Morgan County 4-H Swine Club, the group behind the show, started it as a way for members of the club to show their animals before the county fair and the state fair. “We’ve got a lot of them showing on the circuit, a show every weekend or every other weekend all over and for a fundraiser, I thought, well why wouldn’t the club just put one on. That’s what these kids are doing, they want to show hogs,” Jeff Buster, one of the leaders of MCSC, said. Buster said it was a way for members to do more with the animals they raise. “Some of these kids, they raise these hogs from January, February to the end of July, August for the county fair and they show them twice, because there’s an open show the Friday night of our fair that’s put on by the fair board and there’s our 4-H show on Saturday morning,” Buster said. “Those are the only time those kids are going to show those pigs. And a lot of them are going to sell them at the fair, so we give them another opportunity to do something with that hog that they’re caring for all summer long.” Buster said that the group had hoped to have 200 entrants in the inaugural show —they ended up with 338. Buster said he hopes to increase the number of entrants this year. Buster said that while adult helps the children in the club with their community outreach, what the club does is ultimately left to the children. “We’ll mention things and the kids will vote on it, yes or no, and they show up and give to it. They don’t just say “Yes” and let somebody else do it,” Buster said. The Morgan County Jackpot Swine Show is sponsored by the Morgan County 4-H Swine Club and the Morgan County Pork Producers. It will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 11 at the Morgan County Fairgrounds, 1749, Hospital Drive, Martinsville. Cost is $25 per pig and $5 for showmanship entry. Registration is from 7 to 8 p.m. June 10 or 6:30 to 9 a.m. June 11. Showmanship begins at 10 a.m., followed by the gilt and barrow show. Payout for top four in class and top five overall for gilt and barrows. Best in breed earns $50. Grand champion takes home $400 and reserve champion takes home $200. Gather A’Round BBQ and Sinnamon Show Supply will be in attendance. For more information about the Morgan County Swine Club, visit facebook.com/MorganCountySwineClub.

MARTINSVILLE While summer doesn’t technically start until the solstice on June 21, the month of May has plenty of signifiers of the new season on the horizon. It’s a month of milestones, whether it’s the end of another school year or the completion of a level of schooling and the moving on to something new. The latter is what the Martinsville Kiwanis Club celebrated Thursday night at its annual Top 25 recognition banquet at First United Methodist Church. The top 25 members of the Martinsville High School graduating class were honored with a banquet and recognition of their achievements in their four years of high school. The students honored include valedictorian Abigail McClain, salutatorian Sarah Kush, Emilie Dryer, Laura Koss, Kaci Alvarez, Mercedes DeMoss, Gary Baker, Jr., Alexandria Roy, Jerica Tannehill, Sarah Harris, Alexis Carpenter, Larry Kresse, Pascal Liberge, Sloane Winders, Rylie Burch, Rylee Kohr, Haley Taylor, Isaiah Sherfick, Andrew Marion, Noah Wilson, Joseph Markitan, Jacob Hurst, Sarah Burdine, Grace Raney and Elizabeth Scott. The event began with opening remarks from Martinsville Kiwanis Club president Wayne Young, who asked those in attendance to consider joining Kiwanis to assist them in their mission to enrich the lives of children and better their communities. First United Methodist pastor Mark Suter welcomed event attendees and gave the opening invocation. Following dinner, the event moved to the church’s sanctuary. Rick McQueen led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of first verse of “America, the Beautiful” before launching into his opening remarks and introduction of the event’s guest speaker, Martinsville Mayor Shannon Kohl. “Seniors, in the next few days and weeks, you’re going to receive a lot of praise and a lot of advice and I’m confident that tonight you’ll receive some outstanding advice, because we’re honored to have as our speaker mayor Shannon Kohl,” McQueen said. “Now, like some of you, mayor Kohl was not born in Martinsville. She moved here at the age of the 9 and during her school years, she met Mr. Brian Kohl. In fact, she met him at Martinsville High School. “The high school sweethearts married and raised two sons and a daughter and are proud military parents of Zack — who served in the Marines — and Ian, who will be deploying to Afghanistan in September with the Army. As their children grew up, mayor Kohl volunteered in the community, in the school system, later worked as a real estate broker, served on the city planning commission, the Martinsville City Council and in November 2015, she was elected to serve as Martinsville’s first female mayor and has successfully implemented a number of initiatives for the city of Martinsville.” Kohl kept her speech short, saying that she remembered being the age of the graduating students and having someone go on and on. Kohl she said she had a few things to tell the students, but was just very happy to be there to celebrate the achievements of the students and that she was very proud of them. “I’m so pleased to be here tonight to recognize our outstanding high school seniors,” Kohl said. Kohl said that high school helped to prepare people for their life ahead. “I’m a big believer that high school prepares us for each next chapter of our lives. For some, high school is a place to spend time learning as little as they have to in order to get by. That’s okay, if you simply want to get by,” Kohl said. “For those of you being honored here tonight, your high school years are an opportunity.” Kohl encouraged the students to always think of Martinsville as their home and called them the future of the town, that town needed smart and courageous leaders like them to help the city keep moving forward. “I have no doubt that someday one of you in this room will be making remarks to a group of high-achieving high school seniors asking them to continue making Martinsville a great place to work and raise their families,” Kohl said. Following Kohl’s remarks, each of the students were called up one by one to be presented with a Kiwanis pin. Each student was asked to give them names of anyone attending the event with them, their plans for the next year and who inspired them to achieve academically. The only student not in attendance was Elizabeth Scott, who was attending a Business Professionals of America event out of state. The remarks from students varied in tone and length. Some students took the time to thank their parents and teachers. The mood of the room was optimistic and happy, further buoyed by bits of humor such as one student who declared “Save Ferris!” at the end of his remarks. For these high school seniors, the future’s so bright, they’re gonna need shades.

MARTINSVILLE Flecks of rain painted the material intended for use by Habitat for Humanity of Morgan County in the construction work Saturday morning on a home for Megan St. John and her children, Isaac and Stella. The flecks grew in size and frequency after an opening prayer from Rex Maddy, president of the board of directors of the Morgan County chapter of Habitat. But later in the morning, the rain ceased and the sun shined just as Tura Miller, treasurer for the board of directors for Morgan County Habitat, had said it would. “It’s only supposed to rain until 9:30. I was very hopeful when I got up this morning and saw the sun shining. It’s gonna clear up and we’re gonna get some trusses up on the roof and get some of that stuff done. And hopefully we’re gonna wrap part of the house as well,” Miller said. Volunteers were on hand to work on the 48th build for Habitat for Humanity of Morgan County. The work came as part of National Women Build Week, an annual event sponsored by Lowe’s Home Improvement at the national and the local levels. National Women Build Week takes place the week before Mother’s Day and is intended to highlight some of the challenges women may face as homeowners as well as to encourage women in learning construction and building skills. Lowe’s and Habitat for Humanity have partnered up on the event for the last decade, and according to Miller, this was the third year the Morgan County chapter participated. According to the Habitat for Humanity website, this year, a total of 300 communities in 49 states were expected to participate in National Women Build Week. More than 98,000 women have participated in events for the women’s build in the past nine years. Lowe’s donates nearly $2 million to the cause nationally and also sends volunteers from their company to assist in construction work. “(Lowe’s) comes down and they bring some of their team that help us and work alongside our women to do this. So it’s a great thing ... and they actually give us a gift card as long as we comply with all their things,” Miller said. Groundbreaking for the house was April 1, the day Ken Wooden began his new position as executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Morgan County. “It’s great the leadership this affiliate has and the way they do empower not just the future homeowner but the whole community to come out — and that’s the whole premise behind women’s build also, to promote the empowerment of women. And we are glad to have Lowe’s as a major sponsor of Habitat nationally as well as here locally,” Wooden said. St. John, the future owner of the home being built, was there Saturday to help with the construction process, register volunteers and present each with a blue shirt emblazoned with National Women Build Week, along with a hard hat. Volunteers were required to wear hard helmets on site and were reminded to be safe but have fun. The trusses for the roof would be raised slowly to maximize the safety of the enterprise. Miller said putting the house together and then seeing the family move in are her favorite parts of a build. Wooden’s new role means he’ll have less time for his favorite part of a Habitat home build: swinging the hammer. “I’d say my favorite part is probably swinging the hammer, but there’s not a whole lot of time doing that when you’re trying to make sure everyone else gets to swing a hammer and make sure that the home gets started and completed,” Wooden said.

MARTINSVILLE To celebrate its cover subjects and provide a chance to network, the Morgan County Business Leader held its cover party at the Main Connection on Tuesday. The cover parties are held twice a year. Jeff Hess, owner and publisher of the MCBL, said they have had these events for the last seven years. This was the group’s first time holding a cover party at the Main Connection and Hess said it was great synergy as it gave business-minded people to check out the amenities of the recently opened co-working space. First Merchants Bank sponsored the event and regional president Michael Hurst was on hand for photo ops with recipients of the event's plaques. “It’s a really good benefit to everybody the cover features. It’s an honor for them to be recognized," Hess said. "They get to say a little bit about their business and for all the attendees, it’s a good opportunity to see what’s going on in Morgan County. And also it’s a good opportunity to network and meet some new people." Attendees mingled around refreshments that came courtesy of Kim Pearson, owner of JK’s Cheesecake Café and JK’s at The Main, which operates in The Main Connection. One honoree, Emily Seger, a senior at Martinsville High School, was unable to attend due to a tennis match. MHS Principal Dr. Nick Sears accepted the award on her behalf and spoke of Seger’s involvement in DECA and Business Professionals of America. Seger plans to study finance at Franklin College in the fall and hopes to become a financial planner. The first to be recognized were Marlyn and Jim Parker, owners of NuGenesis, a Mooresville-based company which specializes in the removal of hazardous waste material. Jim spoke about his experience operating a business in Morgan County. “We made a great business decision back in 2004 when were trying deciding what to do and needed a lot more space and our contractor looked around and said, ‘Well, why don’t you move to Flagstaff park down in Mooresville?’ He said, ‘It’s a great business environment. It’s a lot more economical for you to be in and within the business radius of all your clients here in the state,'" he said. “And it actually has turned out to be a really wonderful decision for us in terms of allowing our business to grow and allowing us to have infrastructure with all of our clients and things and it’s really been a positive thing for us.” The next cover subjects featured were Brad and Joan Justus, who own and operate Jarbo Marketing. Brad spoke about the importance of connecting with customers as a way of weathering times when the economic outlook isn’t so rosy. “I use the example of you may like a song or you may like a painting, but you like it a whole lot more if you understand the story behind the song or the story behind the painting. And that’s what happens you start to build trust with your customers, if they know your story, if they start to trust you, that’s when you build a relationship and after a relationship they understand your brand and you have something that lasts for a long time,” he said. Representative Peggy Mayfield was next to be honored at the event, saying, “About a year ago this time, Jim (Hess) had invited me to talk about broadband expansion throughout Morgan County and as a thank you gift, he gave me an orchid, which I promptly told him would be dead within weeks. But I brought it today to prove I don’t kill every plant." Mayfield then produced a flower made of steel, which she had received that morning during a tour of Central Nine Career Center. She joked that it was the kind of flower she could more easily take care of. Mayfield said that working in government gave her the opportunity to see another side of Morgan County by visiting various businesses and organizations. Bill Blaschke was honored for his work with Parallel Pathways, a program which aims to train high school students for jobs in Morgan County. Blaschke helped to set up an endowment through the Community Foundation of Morgan County. “We decided we wanted to pool our resources together and set up an endowment through the foundation that would be the beginnings of starting up funding for a vocational training program where soft skills and hard skills will be taught to our students,” Blaschke said. David and Beverly Keister were honored next. David owns the first radio station in Morgan County, WCBK, which celebrated 50 years on the air last month. David joked that Hess made a mistake giving the floor to a radioman as he might go on and on. He spoke of his years in radio and encouraged the audience to take risks and follow their dreams. “The American Dream is here and possible and I look at the faces, the smiling faces, the people that know they have a dream. I would just love to encourage you to follow that, to take that chance, to take that risk, because nothing ventured, nothing gained. And I know that if you truly are committed to what you’re doing, you cannot fail,” David said.

MORGAN COUNTY Sleepaway camp can be a quintessential part of the summer experience for the youth of the United States and Bradford Woods will offer programs for students in grades fourth through eighth in June and July. Their is also a program for older children which will features a lot of the same activities with the added component of leadership training and team building events. “We’ve been doing it for the last 10 years or so,” Jen Smith, assistant director of environmental education at Bradford Woods, said.”We started it in 2006 with a regular open enrollment program and over the years, we added a teen program for high schoolers, to give them some leadership opportunities.” The camp sessions last just under a week and with 40 campers per session and nine staff members, it allows the campers to have have a good one-on-one experience with counselors. It’s also an experience that, according to Smith, has campers coming back year after year. Smith said the teen program was revived last year as a result of children aging out of the program, but still desiring the camp experience. Smith said that attendance for the teen session of the camp had fallen in recent years, but there was increased interest in this year’s offering. “We didn’t get a lot enrollment for the teens camp for a while, but this year already have five signed up already and excited to come out,” Smith said. Along with the traditional experience of staying in cabins with fellow campers, there’s one night where the campers head to the northern end of Bradford Woods for a camp out. “The kids put on backpacks and pack up their food and their clothes and their sleeping gear and go up to the north end and sleep up there and cookout over the fire at night and in the morning have bagels and toast. The kids have a good experience and it gets them away from the cabins and even further away from their technology,” Smith said. Bradford Woods hosts events throughout the year beyond summer camp and very often the events such as the annual maple syrup camp, offer a taste of what Bradford Woods has to offer and very often gets children interested in attending summer camp. “Every school group that comes through, I mention to every kid that ‘Hey if you want to come back to Bradford Woods, here’s your opportunity.’ We’ve got the summer camp and the maple syrup camp in the spring, those are all good ways to get back to Bradford Woods and experience the magic the happens out here,” Smith said. Smith said that a lot of the kids enrolling in the 2017 camp had visited Bradford Woods in the last year. Smith said the most rewarding part of the summer camp experience was seeing the returning campers and how they’ve grown and changed. “You get to see them grow. We’ve had several campers that started here in 2014 and just seeing them each summer and seeing how they grow and the they’re excited to see me when they come back because they associate me with a positive association with Bradford Woods,” Smith said. Smith said registration was about halfway filled for this year’s camp sessions. The camp programs offer a 10 camper to staff member ratio, as well as staff trained in first aid and CPR as well as a nurse on site to attend to any emergencies that might occur at camp. Boys and girls sleep in separate cabins and enrollment is small enough that Smith said that friends of the same gender attending camp together would get to stay in the same cabin together. The first session of the environmental explorers camp is from June 25 to June 30. Drop-off is from 3 to 4:30 p.m. June 25 and pickup is from 10 to 11 a.m. June 30. Environmental Explorers costs $395 per camper and is for students who will be entering fourth grade in the fall and those who will be entering eighth grade in the fall. The second session of the explorers camp will take place from July 23 to July 28 and is held concurrently with the teen camp. Drop-off is from 3 to 4:30 p.m. July 23 and pickup is from 10 to 11 a.m. July 28. Cost for the teen camp is $395 and is for students who will be entering ninth grade in the fall and those who will be entering twelfth grade in the fall. Bradford Woods is located at 5040 Ind. 67, Martinsville. For more information about the summer camps, contact Smith at 765-342-2915 or jls9@indiana.edu or visit bradfordwoods.org.

MARTINSVILLE Grandview Health and Rehabilitation Center held an open house Wednesday to introduce members of the healthcare community and residents of the Martinsville area to the center’s two newest members of the clinical staff: Erin Bright, director of nursing and Tammy Brown, assistant director of nursing. Bright and Brown have only been at Grandview a short time — around six weeks in the case of Bright and since April 3 for Brown — but they’re already starting to feel at home. “I’m from Shelbyville, so I really like the whole Martinsville aspect because it’s kind of the same hometown feel and everybody here is very friendly," Bright said. "They just kind of took me in like they’d known me for many years, so that was nice." Bright has spent 25 years in the medical field, entirely in long-term care. “I started out as a certified nurse’s aid then I became a qualified medication aid, then I became an LPN, then I became an RN and then I had an assistant director of nursing position for a while and now I’m the director of nursing. So I’ve spent the biggest part of my life in long-term care,” Bright said. Bright said she was considering returning to school at some point to become a nurse practitioner for geriatrics. Brown followed a similar career path to Bright and has been practicing for a similar amount of time. What keeps Brown invested in her work is her enjoyment in helping other and being able to give patients the care they might not be able to get at home. “As Erin (did), I became a CNA, QMA, LPN, dementia specialist and became director of nursing for an assisted living and long-term care facility and then here,” Brown said. Bright said that Brown had been a big help so far and the two directors had some plans for the future of Grandview. “We’re a more younger population, so we’re headed towards a lot of the newer aspects and keeping everything more current. It’s always about the business aspect, but one of the main goals is to be more family/patient oriented. We have to worry about the business, but it’s all about our families and our patients and residents here,” Bright said. Bright said she and Brown had a very hands-on approach to their job and could often be found on the floor, something the staff really appreciated. "One thing about us, too is we don’t spend too much time in our offices. We’re out on the floor, come heels or scrubs. We’re out in the rooms and the patient care. For lack of a better term, we’re up in the business. We know what’s going on, we know what orders are coming in. We know what patients are doing, what our residents are doing, what families are up to and who comes to visit,” Bright said. There is a lot learning on the job, according to Bright, but she has had a lot of support, including a friend who has worked as a director of nursing and was someone Bright could turn to for advice. “Now she’s our nurse consultant and now I have her on speed-dial for any questions I have,” Bright said. The event was chance for visitors to meet Bright and Brown in an informal setting. Grandview had a table of light refreshments including cookies, cheese and crackers as well as coffee, lemonade and iced tea. Along with refreshments, there were complimentary Grandview-branded tote bags available for those interested. Bright said she enjoyed meeting all the new people, whether they were staff members, residents of the center or members of the community. “I’ve not met one person that has not made me feel like I haven’t been in this community for years and these patients here, the residents they have just really taken to my assistant and myself: it’s very nice it makes you look forward to coming in to work,” Bright said. Though she had only been at Grandview a short time, Brown said she felt very welcomed. “It’s the home-like atmosphere you get a part of being here. They’re all your grandmothers and they’re all your grandfathers. That’s just how they treat us and the staff and the family: the residents just click. You can see the compassion and the caring and it goes both directions and the respect and admiration. They’ve welcomed us with open arms,” Brown said. Suzanne Young, director of social services for Grandview, said she was happy with the turnout for the event. Young said it was a good opportunity for residents to meet other people in the community. Along with community members, representatives from Habitat for Humanity and a home health care company stopped by. Young said that Grandview often did business with home health care companies. A former patient also stopped by the event. “We had a return resident who was here a year or so ago for therapy and she wanted to come and say hi and show how well she’s doing,” Young said. Young said it was the first open house event the center has had since she had started working there and that she would be open to similar future events. "I think it would be a very good idea to showcase some of our departments and what we have to offer to the community. Especially those needing rehab or therapy services: we have a fantastic therapy department here at Grandview,” Young said. Grandview is located at 1959 E. Columbus St., Martinsville.

MARTINSVILLE Beginning Tuesday, the Martinsville location of Walmart will offer a new service allowing customers to order online and pick up in-store. There is no extra charge for the service, but orders must total $30 or more. Walmart’s online grocery service is one of several such services currently being offered by grocery stores. These services give customer convenience and allow them to save time they might otherwise have spent shopping. According to Walmart, the grocery service features 30,000 items and most customers use it to purchase fresh meat, dairy or produce. Other common items shoppers select include school snacks, diapers and large bags of pet food. Items are priced the same as if the customers were shopping for themselves in-store. The website is intuitive to use with the inventory of the store divided into appropriate categories. There are also sections for featured items, as well as items that are trending or popular at the customer’s local store. Customers can look at the nutritional information on items, view photos of the packaging and the items information page also allows them to select similar items. The cart allows customers to easily remove items or to change the quantity purchased. Customers get a running total of what they will be spending prior to sales tax. When they click checkout, they’ll see several suggested items typically purchased in similar orders. Customers can place an order by visiting the Walmart website or by using the Walmart Grocery mobile app. Customers enter their zip code, choose their local store and begin creating a shopping list. During checkout, they select a pick up time. A member of the Walmart staff fills the customer's basket. When the customer arrives at the store, they park in a special reserved spot marked in orange. They call a number designated for the service and a Walmart associate brings out the customer’s items and loads the customer’s car. “A lot of customers are real excited about it. A lot of customers have approached me and said what a time saver it’ll be and how convenient it’ll be,” e-commerce assistant manager Troy Jones said. Jones said that Walmart has offered the service for several years at other stores and that the addition of the service to the Martinsville store was just part of the expansion of that program. Jones said the new service required some training for the staff to prepare them for fulfilling online orders. “There was a lot of training consisting of how to pick an item and how to select an item for a customer. That includes what we call the WIBI process — it stands for ‘Would I buy it?’ If we wouldn’t pick it up for you family, we’re not gonna pick it up for theirs,” Jones said. Those interested in signing up for the service can do so by visiting grocery.walmart.com. Customers also have an opportunity to register for the service in-store. The Walmart online grocery service will begin Tuesday at the Martinsville store, 410 Grand Valley Blvd. For more information about the online grocery service, visit grocery.walmart.com or call 765-342-3786.

MARTINSVILLE The heavy rains did not deter celebrating the 66th Annual National Day of Prayer Thursday. The event, originally scheduled at the gazebo on the courthouse square, was held in the Lucille Saddler room of the Morgan County Administration Building instead. The ceremony began with a singing of the U.S. National Anthem, followed by an invocation and opening prayer led by Martinsville Mayor Shannon Kohl. Following Kohl’s remarks, the Martinsville Baptist Tabernacle Ensemble performed “A Patriotic Festival,” a medley of various patriotic tunes such as “Yankee Doodle” and “America the Beautiful.” Speakers at the event offered up prayers and remarks related to one of seven different areas: government, media, churches, education, business, family and the military. State Senator Rod Bray said a prayer for the area of government, asking for help in governing wisely in a way that helped others and helping those in government to avoid going down the path of corruption. Jeff Hauersperger spoke of supporting film and media that offered an uplifting message and promoted Christian values. He mentioned films such as “War Room,” “Heaven Is For Real” and “God’s Not Dead.” “Decades ago before I became an ordained minister and before any of these students at Tabernacle were that bundle of joy their parents brought home from the hospital and before they developed their excellent singing voices, I was blessed to begin what ended up being more than 20 years as the member of the media,” Hauersperger said. “Most of the time was spent in print journalism and writing and editing articles on a wide range of topics.” He said it allowed him to meet a variety of individuals in several types of professions “Today, on this national day of prayer, we want to remember the media and the important role it plays in our lives. We’re fortunate that we live in a nation that values the freedom of the press even if we don’t always or usually agree with their views,” Hauersperger said. Hauersperger spoke of the importance of the media keeping a impartial worldview and to strive to tell the truth while reporting on the events of the day. Other speakers at the event included Mickey Elliott, city councilman Ben Merida, Morgan County Commissioner Ryan Goodwin, Morgan Count Prosecutor Steve Sonnega and Chris Page, pastor of Hoosier Harvest Church. During Page’s portion of the event, he asked that they recognize first responders in attendance. They rose to their feet and those in attendance gave them a round of applause. The event closed with Zondra Kale-Griffin playing “Taps.” Kerrianna Riley, coordinator for National Day of Prayer in Morgan County, said she was pleased with the turnout of the event. “It was better than expected, especially with the rain and the soggy weather. We had to get out extra chairs to fill this room and I think we were almost to maximum capacity for the room, so above and beyond what I had expected,” Riley said. Riley said she was considering making the Morgan County Administration Building the normal location for the National Day of Prayer due to a lot of positives it offered. “I am thinking it would be a good one. We’d really have to arrange further ahead of time because this room does get used often, but it was such a success and the folks coming and out of it. Plus there’s significance of it being in a government education building,” Riley said.

MOORESVILLE Shopping just got a little bit easier for Morgan County residents. The Mooresville Kroger now offers its ClickList program, which allows shoppers to order items online for pickup in-store. It’s marketed as a valuable time saver in a day and age where time is at a premium. The first three uses of the service are free and starting with any orders beyond that, there is a $4.95 service fee. The ClickList service was initially tested in Cincinnati in November 2014. The program has expanded since inception and the Mooresville store, 530 S. Indiana Ave., is the 30th such Kroger store to offer the service. “The customer demand is there. So many people are aware of ClickList, we automatically wanted to get it out to your area because we know the demand there,” Eric Halvorson, Public Affairs Manager and Media Spokesman for the Central Division of the Kroger Company, said. “Plus, we know the service is appealing to so many people, we’d like to have that option available for shoppers.” ClickList is just one of a growing number of services that allows customers to put the time they would have spent pushing a cart around a store to better use. “More and more things are being driven by time constraints for a busy family. So we were recognizing that and making the service available lets us basically provide more family time to our customers because if it’s easier to spend more time with kids at the soccer field or at piano lessons than going into the store,” Halvorson said. “We’re thrilled to be able to help some time and get some more family time.” It’s a service that also offers a real benefit for those with a weakened immune system: less exposure to germs. “When we first started doing stories like this, my inclination was that this was going to appeal just to moms who found it easier to order online than to take the kids inside the store to go shopping and those are probably the people we hear most often who are praising it,” Halvorson said. “To hear of the breast cancer support groups saying that it’s valuable to them, I became more appreciative of being able to expand the service because it applied to so many different people in our communities.” Halvorson said Kroger is doing well and ClickList is just a way to stay flexible and competitive that appeals to customers who might otherwise overlook Kroger. “We know that there are a lot of people who enjoy the social aspect of a store, going through the aisles, and I’ve run into a number of young moms who say that it’s just kind of fun to get out there and do that,” Halvorson said. “But there are people who say that doesn’t appeal to them and if this is a way for us to provide a service, then we can keep them as Kroger customers and they can take advantage of the value that we provide and they get the benefit of the time that they want and they can devote that time to what they want because we give them that option.” The service also simplifies the shopping process. Groceries are paid for via credit or debit card and the coupons are included automatically — no need for paper, whether cash or physical coupon. Halvorson said the program is popular overall and customers say they feel they get great value from it and in some cases would be fine with paying a higher price point for the service. “This may sound a little like PR speak, but the number of times I’ve heard this confirmed that there are families out there that it would be worth it for even more than $4.95 just because of the time they save,” Halvorson said. “I just had somebody in the office a week or so ago say that she’s done it enough times that’s passed her three visits and she’s just thrilled. She said it’s changed her life because she has access to ClickList. It’s worth it to her to spend $4.95 to be able to have more time at home with the kids and she’s busy enough in her job that going online saves her the time.” Anyone can sign up for Kroger ClickList by visiting kroger.com and selecting ‘ClickList.’ The service costs $4.95 following the three first free orders. Currently only the Mooresville store is offering the service.