MARTINSVILLE Grandview Health and Rehabilitation Center held its first ever craft fair on Saturday. The event was the idea of Grandview admissions and marketing coordinator Chelsea Fredericks, who said she was pleased with how the event’s innaugural year went and the responses she was getting about it. “It’s going wonderful. We have about 20 vendors and we’ve had visitors coming and purchasing things all day long,” Fredericks said. Fredericks said the event was having a really positive effect on the residents who were enjoying seeing and interacting with the craft fair visitors. “The residents are loving it. They love seeing the children and all the different families. They love the interaction. Some of them have their money and they’re buying some things themselves,” she said. Fredericks said most of the vendors seemed to be happy with the way the craft fair was going for them and were also using the event for the chance to network and exchange information. Korey Elkins, proprietor of Elk and Co., said he signed up for the event at the suggestion of his girlfriend, who has known Fredericks since grade school. Elkins sold wooden boards shaped and stained for decorative purposes or use in food service. “It actually got started because of my girlfriend. She was looking to buy some of these (boards) and they were very expensive for not good quality. So I offhandedly said I’ll make it, so I had to make it,” Elkins said. Elkins said the serving boards were the trickiest items due to the needs of items for food service. “With these serving boards, a lot of the stuff I stain, but they’re meant to be food-safe the stain doesn’t work. If you don’t like the shade, you have to buy more expensive wood,” he said, adding the show had been a little slow, but he was happy that they had gone out. “This is our first one. We definitely want to do more. This is a good way to get our feet wet.” More information about Elkins business can found at etsy.com/shop/ElkandCoDesigns or at Facebook under elkandcodesigns. Residents of Grandview appeared to enjoy the craft fair and in one case, returned to the same booth three times, the one operated by Julie Myers, Jamie Stevens and Marsha MacPhee-Webster which offered LuLaRoe products. Myers said she had enjoyed meeting the residents and that it was a good chance for them to shop and talk to others. “They probably don’t get a lot of company so I think that was enjoyable for them, as well as us,” Myers said. Myers said she was asked to do the event by Fredericks and felt it was a good opportunity for her new business venture. “We’re just starting with this and just decided to get out into the community and get this publicized,” Myers said. Myers can be contacted at 765-318-2020 or at lularopsilove@gmail.com. Fredericks said the event was a good opportunity for the vendors and they were using it as a chance to network and potentially set up some sort of collaboration. “They seem to be really impressed. They’ve been meeting other vendors and exchanging information, so it’s kind of a good connection for everyone,” Fredericks said. The craft fair was just one of several outreach efforts by Grandview. The nursing care and rehabilitation center hosted an open house from Wednesday to introduce two new members of the center’s clinical staff. For more information on Grandview, visit inhcf.com/grandview-healthcare/home/ or call 765-342-7114.

MARTINSVILLE The community of Martinsville came out in force Saturday to help the Morgan County Humane Society with its open house event. The organization requested supplies to help with daily operation of the shelter such as dog food, cat food, bedding, bedding and other items needed for the organization. “We were slammed — very, very busy. Good busy. Tons of donations,” Jacque Kauffman, outreach coordinator for the Morgan County Humane Society, said. “We have tons of canned food, tons of cleaning supplies and dry food and dog bed and toys. We had a lot, so it was a very, very good thing.” The event on Saturday was the idea of Kevin Coryell. “How we got to this point was I did a fundraiser for Christmas, a toy drive, and I asked what do we go after next and humane society is always at the top of the list,” Coryell said. Coryell said they had been fortunate that the weather held out after early morning rain and lightning caused the cancellation of several events around town. The turnout was good regardless and Coryell had raffle tickets for those who made a donation of supplies to the shelter. “People just been showing up and dropping off gifts and taking a ticket. Lot of of outside activities got cancelled and we fully expected to set up inside. Let’s just set the table outside we looked at the radar and saw it was clearing up. We got lucky. The lord blessed us,” Coryell said. Kauffman said that Coryell was great to work with and hoped that this might be the start of a regular collaboration. “We really enjoyed working with Kevin. We enjoyed all the volunteers collaboration, so we would love to do this again. It was a lot of fun,” Kauffman said. There were a total of 13 animals adopted from the Morgan County Humane Society Saturday, one of which by a woman who came into the shelter without knowing about the event. “We were looking for a family pet,” Tammy Northern said. Northern and her son adopted Wyatt, a dog, one of the last animals to be adopted that day. Northern said she got a chance to walk him a bit and felt it was a good fit. Northern said she had previously adopted an animal, but it was years and years ago. Northern said she would consider adopting from the humane society again. Coryell said the success of the event was due to the outpouring of support from the Martinsville community. “It’s not me, it’s the people of this county. I do a lot of fundraisers for the area and they all come out... Seems like everybody always pulls together,” Coryell said. Those interested in assisting the shelter have several ways to choose from. “They can volunteer, they can foster, they can adopt and even bring supplies. Whatever works for them. We’ve got a wishlist on our website if they’re wanting to know different things that we could use, different things they may have lying around the house, that’s a big way they can help,” Kauffman said. For more information about the Morgan County Humane Society, 90 W. Mitchell Ave., Martinsville, visit mchumanesoc.org or call 765-349-9177.

BROOKLYN Fourth and Fifth grade students at Brooklyn Elementary got a nice change of pace from a week of standardized testing on Friday with a course on design thinking, taught by Mark Caswell, Director of Technology for KSM Consulting. Design thinking is an approach used to solve problems that focuses on finding ways to meet the needs of people. Caswell was certified in teaching design thinking from taking a course at Stanford University. Design thinking is an important component of the word of technology and science, but it’s very beneficial in education as it teaches students different ways of solving problems and can help engage students more readily than in more traditional forms of teaching. “One of our employees, Anne Gee, her son goes here. I’ve heard her actually rave for a long time about this school and how great they are. So she asked me if I’d come down and teach design thinking,” Caswell said. Caswell said that the course was a good fit for the elementary school based on what he’d seen. “This school is amazing, I’m really impressed with the program and all the things that they’re doing for the kids here. I walked around the classrooms before and I already saw some of the things that I was gonna talk about in the classrooms. So they’re already familiar with a lot of stuff. So it’s pretty great,” Caswell said. Caswell typically teaches the course to adults and said he had trained about 500 people in it. He said that it was a good fit for the kids. “I think the beauty of it is all the principles apply no matter how you are. If you’re retirement age, working age and all the way down to kids. All the things we teach are kind of applicable. In many ways, younger people are actually easier to teach, they’re a lot more malleable,” Caswell said. Caswell said he sees teaching design thinking and focusing on STEM education as a way of reducing the problem of “brain drain” — the tendency for graduates of state colleges to move elsewhere for work — and cited the number of technology firms in Indianapolis as a positive sign and something to build on. “I’ve lived a lot of places in my life, I’ve lived in England, I’ve done work in Japan, I’ve lived in California for a while and I love Indiana. I grew up in Michigan, but I love Indiana, it’s a great state and we have amazing universities, we have amazing hardworking people and parents and we have really smart kids,” Caswell said. “So one of the things I want to do in the community is I want to help as many of those kids learn about engineering and technology and all the amazing things they can do and stay in Indiana and do great things for our state. As many people as I can tell that to, the better.” One of the ways KSM is helping to combat that problem is by getting involved in different programs in various cities around the state that help to keep college graduates in Indiana. Caswell said that there were some challenges facing that, but there was plenty to be excited about. “But I tell you what,” Caswell said. “It is hard in Indiana to find people who are skilled at technology and have the passion for it that we do. So the more we can do at the schools to encourage people…I think Indianapolis is an amazing technology city and I’ve lived in Silicon Valley, I’ll take Indianapolis any day. I think if kids see that, they’re going to want to stay here and they’re going to want to build great things for our state. That’s what we’re here for.” One of the programs KSM is involved with is the Orr Fellowship, a program that matches individuals with nonprofits that can make use of their consulting skills. Ellen Funke, a consultant at KSM, is a former Orr Fellowship intern and worked with Caswell to teach the design thinking program to the students. Funke taught the portion about brainstorming. “It’s hard too, to really get yourself in that right brain space where you’re thinking really creatively like we talked about, being in the right place to come up with ideas. It’s tough; you have to be really intentional about it. And most people stop too early, so if you jot down three ideas on a piece of paper to solve a problem and say ‘Oh I know that one idea will work so we don’t need to jot down anymore ideas.’ That’s way, too early more ideas is the way to go,” Funke said. An important part of brainstorming is warming up and playing a variation on rock-paper-scissors that required them to use their whole body particularly excited the students. Anne Gee, who helped coordinate the event and had taken the course said, the kids seemed to be more engaged than adults who took the course were. “The kids are way more involved and responsive they don’t really think about if there’s a right answer or if there’s a wrong answer. A lot of times as adults we sit and think about, ‘Oh am I gonna get made fun of if I say this?’ or ‘What are the repercussions going to be?’” Gee said. “And I think the kids are just saying what’s on their mind, which is awesome. I think that adults struggle a little bit more with the creative thinking, so for adults to do some of this design thinking it’s a little more difficult than it is for a child.” Gee said the course was very beneficial and hoped other students in other schools might have the opportunity to take the class. “I think it would an opportunity of a lifetime for these kids and I think the younger you teach them about it and if you keep teaching them over and over again, it becomes a way of life,” Gee said.

MARTINSVILLE Grandview Health and Rehabilitation Center will soon give members of the community a chance to meet new members of the clinical staff. The center recently hired a new director of nursing and an assistant director of nursing. “We just wanted to invite all of the colleagues we’re connected with in the community to come meet them and get to know them,” Chelsea Frederick, admissions and marketing coordinator at Grandview Health and Rehabilitation Center, said. Frederick said she hoped the event would allow other members of the local healthcare community to stop by and see the changes happening at Grandview as the center often works with other agencies. Frederick said she hoped that members of the community would come out for the open house event as well. The event is part of efforts to reach out more to the community and remind residents of Martinsville that the center is there and ready to help with any future needs they might have. It’s also beneficial to the residents and gives them a chance to feel more connected with the community by giving them an opportunity to interact with new people. “We also really encourage our community to come as well because their loved ones might be here sometime. They can see the people who care for our residents, that would be wonderful,” Frederick said. The event will serve as a way to get to know the new staff members and get to see the facilities and amenities Grandview has available. The new director of nursing and the new assistant director of nursing will speak at the event and there will food and door prizes available for those who attend. The open house will also showcase another recent hire at Grandview, administrator Karen Rumple. “She’ll be here for people to familiarize themselves with as well,” Frederick said. Frederick said she hoped there would be a good turnout for the open house and invited those curious about the event to call the center at 765-342-7114 or to stop on by whenever they were available. Grandview has operated in the Martinsville for community for over 30 years. The facility offers a wide-range of therapies in addition to nursing care for those in need of it. Some therapies offered by Grandview include respiratory therapy, rehabilitation therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, IV therapy, wound management, recreational therapy and dysphagia evaluation, treatment and therapy. The open house celebrating the new members of the Grandview clinical staff will be 2:30 to 5 p.m. Wednesday at Grandview Health and Rehabilitation Center, 1959 E. Columbus St., Martinsville. The community is invited to join the center in the celebration of its newest clinical staff members. For more information about Grandview Health and Rehabilitation visit inhcf.com/grandview-healthcare/home.

MARTINSVILLE The school year is winding down and the signs of the coming summer are on the horizon: rising temperatures and endless, idle days. The latter can lead to a phenomenon known as “brain drain” or summer learning loss. According to studies by John Hopkins University, the University of Tennessee and the University of Virginia, most students lose math skills from the previous school year and students from lower income families lose two to three months of reading skills. To battle this “brain drain,” the Morgan County Public Library will have a summer reading program. This year’s theme is “Build a Better World” to “go with notions of architecture, physical buildings; also talking about what you can do to build a better community,” according to Alyssa Morgan, children and youth services librarian at the main branch of the Morgan County Public Library. “We’re going to be working with different community organizations this summer and feature a different one every week,” she said. “So far, we’re going to be working with the Morgan County Humane Society, Desert Rose, WellSpring and Old Town Waverly Park and then we have a few others that are in the work as well.” The Morgan County Public Library has also tweaked the start and end dates of the program to better fit the needs of the participants. The summer reading program will have a kickoff event on June 5 and 6 at all six branches of the Morgan County Public Library and will feature magician Jack Strauss. “In May, we go out to all of the schools and talk about summer reading and in the past when we started in June, the kids were so excited to sign up in May when we had talked to them that by the time June rolled around, they had forgotten,” Morgan said. “So we’re hoping that by starting in May, we can catch more people to sign up and encourage them to come in and then we’re ending a little bit earlier just because towards the end of the summer, families are so busy with the fair, last minute vacations and getting ready for school. So that way summer reading will be done and off their plate.” Morgan said that the change was the result of internal discussions, as well as feedback the library had received from parents of children in the program. “We thought it would be a little more helpful (to) the parents who, you know, their kids drug them in on May 5 when I would come to the school and they couldn’t sign up. Also a lot of libraries around us are doing sort of a similar schedule too for the same reasons,” Morgan said. The library has other programs planned for the summer beyond the reading program. “This year, we’re going to do a family breakout box, which is sort of like an Escape Room in July and then just our standard weekly programs: story time, toddler time, tween Wednesday, teen Thursdays and the book clubs will still be going,” Morgan said. Morgan said in the coming weeks, the library would have paper calendars and posters with information about the programs available. For more information about the Morgan County Public Library and its events, visit morgancountylibrary.info.

MARTINSVILLE Local Hoosier Girls State delegates and alternates met Tuesday for an open house event at Auxilliary Unit of American Legion Post 230, where they received gift bags with important information for the conference, which will be held from June 18 to 24 at Trine Univeristy in Angola. The Martinsville Auxiliary Unit sponsors two delegates every year to attend the annual event. Two sororities, Tri Kappa and Kappa Kappa Sigma, each sponsor a young lady every year. Hannah Myers, Syndey Baar, Alexandria Wilt and Heidi Silver are Martinsville’s delegates while Karlee Cooper, Kaylee Gammon and Savannah Yates will serve as alternates. Courtney Essick, who attended Hoosier Girls State in 2005, spoke about her experiences to those in attendance. “I went over 12 years ago. It’s surprising to think that far now,” Essick said. “When I got asked to go, I was like, ‘Okay, why am I going to Girls State and what am I going to learn?’ So when I went it was quite interesting, more than I thought. You get to learn all about the state and the different positions you get to play and the different roles. You see all these things that go on here on the political side, but you actually get to be a part of that.” Hoosier Girls State is an annual conference that teaches girls in their junior year of high school the basics of civics and the workings of government. When delegates arrive at the conference, they become citizens of the American Legion Auxilliary Hoosier Girls State. The delegates are assigned to one of two political parties: Federalist or Nationalist. Every delegate runs for a political office and acts out its respective duties and responsibilities. Essick said the week at the program was a major bonding experience and that she still keeps in touch the women she met there. “You actually get quite close to all those girls, more than you think. I still have all those girls on Facebook, went to college with some of them as well,” she said. “So it’s amazing where you don’t know where you’re going to be going until you run into some of the people from all over the state and how many different things you have in common with them.” Essick handed out the program from the Hoosier Girls State she attended to give the delegates and alternates an idea of what they might expect in their week at Trine University. Some things had changed since Essick’s time, she said. “We weren’t allowed to have phones. Those were kind of put away where as last year, you could have them at certain time frames. That’s how times have changed even in 12 years, but we could also bring our prom dresses,” Essick said. “On the last day, they had the honors ceremony where parents get to come and you get to see your daughter. You get to see who is now the governor, who was elected to different things. You get to see their room, you get to see where they rallied and those sort of things and what kind of fun they had.” Essick said the experience was a good primer for what college life is like, saying there were times the girls got on each others’ nerves, but that she had a lot of good memories and moments of laughter from her week-long experience. Essick said attending Hoosier Girls State was one of the things that shaped the person she became. “It kind of turned me into the person I am. Normally, I didn’t like speaking in front of people. Now it’s like okay. I speak in front of tons of patients that I’ve never seen before in my life,” Essick said. Two delegates will be chosen to represent their state at the ALA Girls Nation, which will be held July 22 through 29 in Washington D.C., where the focus will shift from state government to federal government. For more information about Hoosier Girls State, visit aladeptin.org/ala-hoosier-girls-state.html For information about ALA Girls Nation, visit alaforveterans.org/ALA-Girls-Nation/.

MARTINSVILLE Dust off the running shoes or sensible pair of New Balance sneakers used to take a stroll around the block. Morgan County MIBOR — Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors — will hold its inaugural 5K run/walk at 9 a.m. Saturday at Bell Intermediate Academy, 1459 E. Columbus St., Martinsville. The 5K is a charity event to benefit many Morgan County area organizations, including Churches in Mission, Habitat for Humanity, the Martinsville Youth and Development Center and others. “This is the first year for the 5K it’s kind of like a trend right now and so we felt like it was something we needed to get involved in,” Kathy Taylor, one of the coordinators for the event, said. “We do four charitable events throughout the year and this is the spring one and then we do three others throughout the year.” Taylor said a golf tournament is in the works for the summer and there are plans for a cornhole tournament in the fall. “The fourth one will be our Christmas event. We have kind of like a celebration at the end of the year where we present all the charities with the monies and we also raise money for that event as well,” Taylor said. “Within a week after that, we know how much we’re going to be able to distribute to each organization that year. It’s always a good time of the year.” Taylor said that the health aspect of 5Ks was a big draw for a lot of people and it was a fundraising effort that was family-friendly. “I think it’s just the fact that everyone is very conscious of health issues and they want to get their families involved and we’re just more aware of the need to take care of our health. I think that’s probably the biggest draw for 5Ks,” Taylor said. Taylor said the event was still in need of volunteers, sponsors and donations. “Any help that we can get is very much appreciated. We do this primarily just to raise money for the charities, to be able to give to them at the end of the year. We really need help getting people to man the tables where the water is being distributed as the people are walking or running. Anything we can get is great,” Taylor said. Taylor said there was still a need for folks interested in sponsoring plaques and medals that will be given out to race participants, as well as snacks and drinks for those running and walking in the 5K. “We have treats: bananas, water, some cookies that we’re going to be purchasing so anything for snacks. If they can contribute for that, that would be wonderful,” Taylor said. Every participant who completes the 5K will be given a participation medal and a T-shirt. “It kind of makes you feel good when you walk away with a medal. We kind of thought that would be nice,” Taylor said. As far goals are concerned for the inaugural run of this 5K, Taylor said Morgan County MIBOR would be happy if around 100 people showed up for the event. Visit indyrunner.org for more information about the event or to register. Cost for the the event is $25 per participant. The 5K will take place at 9 a.m. Saturday at Bell Intermediate Academy 1459 E. Columbus St., Martinsville. Registration will also take place from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. the day of the race. Runners will begin first, followed walkers. For more more information about the Morgan County MIBOR 5K run/walk contact, Taylor at 317-374-9715 or Tony Burnside at 317-432-3174.

BROOKLYN Fourth graders at Brooklyn Elementary School are learning a lesson in civic engagement and bettering the community they live in with their project to add a water fountain to Brooklyn Kids Park. The fountain will include a water bottle filling station, as well as a bowl for thirsty pets. The students got the idea after playing at the park and getting thirsty, only to find that there was no water fountain. Sharon Goodin, a fourth grade teacher at Brooklyn Elementary, suggested getting a fountain installed as a community project. “One of the students contacted the town council and set up a meeting with them. A group of students came together and talked about how to get things together,” Goodin said, adding that the students compiled a list of fundraising ideas for the project. “They keep their money in a register. Every penny that comes in, they have to be accountable for and deposit it and we check the deposit with the PTO president.” One organization which will benefit from the drinking fountain is a local cycling group, the Cure Chasers. The group rides to raise money for non-profit organizations which raise money and awareness for acute and chronic diseases. Every Tuesday night, the group rides from Southwestway Park to Observatory Hill and back, passing through Brooklyn on the way to the hill. The group met with the fourth graders Tuesday to hear the students’ proposal for the water fountain and to teach them about biking safety. “We are very excited about your water projects, because one of the things we focus on as a group when we ride is not only the health and fitness we get from riding our bikes, but we also want to make sure we’re healthy when we’re on the bikes,” Anders Weaver, a member of the Cure Chasers, said. “That includes being safe and that includes being hydrated so many of our riders on a hot day like today, by the time we get to Observatory [Hill] and back down, we’re gonna be out of water. So when you guys have your waterfill station here, it’s going to have a great impact on us and our ability to stay hydrated and safe when we ride.” Weaver said the group was so excited about the water fountain and wants to assist the students in their efforts. “Because we’re so excited, we also want you to know that the Cure Chasers are going to make a contribution to your fundraising as well. We want to help out with your project. Undetermined amount so far, but we’re working on that. We’re going to make sure we help out as well, because we’re going to take advantage of it,” Weaver said. The group also talked about the importance of riding bikes safely, saying they take several precautionary steps to have a safer riding experience. “Part of being safe when we ride in a group, we talk a lot,” Weaver said. “So sometimes you might hear us yelling at each other. We yell things like, ‘Car up,’ that just lets us know that there’s a car coming towards us and the people in the back yell, ‘Car back,’ which lets us know a car is coming from the back. We tell each other when there’s potholes in the road when there’s gravel on the road and that’s all just to keep us safe.” Another important part of riding safely, according to Weaver, is keeping bikes in good condition, such as keeping the chain oiled and clean and by making sure the tires of the bike have enough air in them. “We wear gloves so that our hands stay dry and we can make sure we have good contact with our handlebars and our brakes and probably one of the biggest safety things is our helmet,” he said. “So we always want to make sure we wear our helmets and make sure they’re strapped on. Some people don’t like to strap their helmets, but if I hit the road going 20 mph, my helmet is going to fly off and my head is still going to hit the ground.” Rachel Weaver, a member of the Cure Chasers, demonstrated how to make a helmet fit properly, saying it was important to make sure the helmet wasn’t loose or easy to remove, but also comfortable. “We wear them every time we ride. You’re not allowed to ride in our group if you don’t have a helmet,” she said. The fourth graders plan to raise money toward their $4,000 goal for the water fountain by setting up a lemonade stand in the park one Tuesday night in the future. The stand will be there for cyclists coming through and a film will be screened for the students. To donate to the water fountain fund, contact Brooklyn Elementary School at 317-831-2150 or Goodin at Sharon.goodin@msdmartinsville.org. Fore more information about the Cure Chasers, visit facebook.com/indianacurechasers.

MOORESVILLE The fourth annual Community Baby Shower, sponsored by Ready Set Quit Tobacco, offered information from experts on a variety of topics, such as language skill development, financial planning and CPR. The shower, hosted Saturday at Town Center Church, was intended for expectant parents and those with children 2 and younger. Kicking off the morning’s events was a presentation from Steve Brock, a Brown Township Fire-Rescue paramedic, on the proper way to perform CPR on infants and children. This event was made possible by the Kendrick Foundation. Guests at the event had an opportunity to check out various informational displays in the multi-purpose room of the church. The displays featured valuable information and programs parents could sign up for to further their knowledge, with topics including breastfeeding and nutrition, budgeting, car seat safety, CPR, safe sleep habits and tobacco cessation. There was also information on Head Start programs, the Morgan County Public Library, health care, substance abuse counseling, daycare and yoga. Janet Finley of the Morgan County Public Library gave a talk on how parents can give their children a leg up in learning how to read. “Reading and writing are good too; children become aware that printed words stand for something,” she said. “So it doesn’t matter if you’re reading a food label or a menu or even the junk mail — they will help your child pick up that language and that words are important.” Finley talked about how parents might keep a written log of their child’s firsts and spoke about her nephew who did that. “He would put this on his Facebook page. Once a month, he would make a little narrative about all the adorable things his child has done, just so that she would know he had thought about her and remembered all these things. So hopefully she can look back and read kind of like his diary about her. That’s what you can do, blog about it so your child can go back and see those,” Finley said. Carol Harris of Primerica Financial Services spoke about ways parents can manage their budget and save more money. “One of the ways you can do that is when you’re getting ready to do your meal planning during the week, just go ahead and plan your meals every day,” Harris said. “That way you know how much you’re going to need to spend and where you’re going to keep that money at to make those meals and stretch those dollars better. And making sure you’ve got all those ingredients on hand for the meals you make each time.” She said that is one way to save time and money. By planning ahead, parents can limit unexpected expenses and not have to run out to the store to get an ingredient they forgot, which wastes time, money and gas. Harris also said one should ask oneself, “Do I need this?” before making a purchase. “You’re going shopping and there are needs that you have, but do you need it or just want it? Always ask yourself that question when you’re in the store and get ready to make a purchase,” she said. She said another way to save money is to avoid impulse purchases. She said shopping alone might help, because it’s sometimes hard to say no to your child. Other presentations of the day offered information from Franciscan Health on neonatal substance abuse and withdrawal and from Ready Set Quit Tobacco on ways parents can reduce asthma triggers. Following presentations, participants broke into groups to focus on one of four topics: baby behavior, child discipline, safe sleep and yoga for stress relief. The event ended with evaluations and door prizes being raffled off. Items given away included diapers, blankets and other things expectant and current parents might need.

INDIANAPOLIS The modern age means that it’s quite possible to have one’s needs met without leaving the door. It can be as simple as opening the right app on your phone, hitting the appropriate buttons and then after some time — 30 minutes or less if you’re lucky — and getting a pizza delivery person at your door. There are also grocery delivery services, such as Green Bean, an Indianapolis-based service which is now available to residents in Morgan County. Green Bean is launching a new mobile app for iOS and Android and to celebrate that, the company has pledged to donate one pound of produce to local food banks like Second Helpings and Gleaners Food Bank for each app download through Monday. Green Bean hopes to donate over 5,000 pounds of fresh produce to local food banks. Matt Ewer and Beth Blessing founded Green Bean in 2007 as a means of providing easier access to fresh produce, local and organic goods at reasonable price. “One of our core missions and one of the core reasons Green Bean Delivery was established is that owners Matt Ewer and Beth Blessing were adamant about helping to curb and resolve food insecurity throughout the communities we service. In addition to being a strong community player and supporting local food, produce and artisans, we are also extremely high on the philanthropy side, giving back to the community, specifically by helping to fight food insecurity,” Shane Towne, President of Bean LLC, said. According to a May 30, 2014, Indiana Public Media article, Indianapolis is the worst food desert in the country. The USDA defines a food desert as an area where 20 to 40 percent of residents make 200 percent or less of the federal poverty rate and for urban residents to live a mile or more from a grocery store and for rural residents to live 10 miles or more from a grocery store. Towne said that Green Bean was on the top 10 donator list for Second Helpings in Indianapolis. “Now that is huge, because as small, family-owned and operated as we are, we’re on their top 10 donator list with the likes of Kroger, CostCo and large organizations. But that’s who we are and one of our core missions. A lot of people say they’re connected to the community, a lot of our competitors say that, but we truly back that up with results,” Towne said. The Green Bean app is the result of comments from customers who wanted a simpler way to order from the company while they were out and about. Towne said the company took its time with developing the app so that they would have it would provide the best experience and meet the needs of customers. “Like we try to do all things. We try to put our best foot forward every time. It took us a while to develop an app and fine-tune it to just exactly what we were looking for to service the membership and we’ve had just an amazing response,” Towne said. One aspect Green Bean emphasizes is a focus on locally produced goods with an eye towards sustainability that helped set it apart from similar services. “Our emphasis is really on the local, regional and sustainable produce and artisanal products. So that’s what I think is the defining factor that is different from like a Peapod or a Blue Apron,” Towne said. One interesting wrinkle to the website and app is meals solutions. It offers customers different recipes that were created by the company’s chief nutritionist to balance healthfulness and taste. “The beautiful thing is that unlike Blue Apron, if it calls for salt, you’re gonna get salt or if it calls for oil, you’re gonna get oil,” Towne said. “Being a full service shopping experience, if it calls for olive oil and you know you’re got a jar of olive oil at the house, you don’t have to order that item. So it’s just a way to be a more convenient angle and offer recipe ideas to match with the shopping experience and match with specialty specific dietary needs that you have. I think we’ve really transcended just the home shopping experience.” Green Bean is very price conscious and Towne said the company takes pride in being competitively priced with other stores. Towne said one advantage Green Bean had was not having to the pay the costs of brick and mortar operations that traditional grocery companies incur. “We spend a lot of time, money and effort making sure that we are price competitive with like or similar items. To compare apples to apples if you will, we’re focusing on local, regional, natural and organic products. So if you compare that with our typical brick and mortar competitors, we take a lot of pride in saying, ‘We’re at if not often times below the retail price that you would find in most grocery stores. And at the same time offering free delivery.” Towne said. For more information about Green Bean, visit greanbeandelivery.com.

NINEVEH Reading and writing can be a source of pleasure and escape. For Zachary Brock, Ninevah, it’s both. Brock recently had his first book published, a novel titled “A Dangerous Discovery.” Brock said the process of writing helps him channel his emotions productively. “Instead of bottling up my emotions, get them out on paper and I use it to vent, I guess, in a way,” Brock said. Brock said he believes he writes best when he’s feeling melancholic. “For some reason, when I’m sad, I feel like I write my best, I don’t know why. Like I said, it helps me let it out, even if I’m making up a story my character, it helps me write about him doing well,” Brock said. The book tells the story of Marion Acevedo, a young man from Latin America. He and his mentor uncover information the Vatican kept secret about the expansion of the Catholic Church in South America. Brock said he enjoys historical and mystery novels. Writers he admire include Dan Brown, Dean Koontz, Stuart Woods, Charles Brokaw, Gillian Flynn, James Patterson and Stephen King. Brock said he did a lot of research into the setting of his novel. “There’s quite a bit of research. Like I said, it takes place in Latin America, so all the cities and towns I used were real. I did a lot of research into the Vatican. They’re pretty secretive people,” Brock said. Brock said writing the novel took him about 19 months and four or five drafts. Brock said he does most of his writing at night. “I’m a night owl. It’s weird, (but) I’m also a morning person. I like to get my day over and unwind and write. That’s how I unwind: I write,” Brock said. Brock said reading was a form of a escape. He said didn’t have an easy life when he was younger, including a difficult relationship with his mother, step-father, brother and sister. “I didn’t have a very good relationship with them and I guess I just read to escape. I didn’t really start writing until probably about four years ago. I was also a singer,” Brock said. Brock said that writing lyrics was different for him than writing prose. “Lyrics to me are a lot like poetry. They can be deep and stuff and go with music, too so it’s a lot easier to enjoy lyrics when it’s along with music. Writing a fiction novel, you’re trying to entertain without any help really besides your words,” Brock said. Brock credits the support of his father, Daniel Brock, and grandparents, Garland and Zuba Brock, for encouraging him to pursue his interest in writing. “I was writing letters and I was writing a lot of song lyrics and I was showing them to my dad and he said that maybe I should write a book and we kind of discussed a plot," Brock said. "My dad helped me a lot with the book. If it weren’t for my dad and my grandparents, the book would have never gotten written. We discussed the plot and I just went with it; built a few chapters at a time. I figured out an intro and an ending. Figured out really the bulk of the story." Brock’s day job is on a farm and he also does a bit of landscaping work. “I work on a farm, a cattle farm. We raise beef cattle. Most of the time, I’m out there doing something with the cattle. I used to work at a factory, but I didn’t end up liking that. I ended up doing some side jobs, like landscaping, do a lot of work on the farm. It’s mostly farm work and landscape right now and I write,” Brock said. Brock said that he plots out his novels at work, depending on the workload for the day. “I try not to plan ahead too much and kind of take everything a day at a time,” Brock said. Brock said he was working on a sequel to “A Dark Discovery,” but wanted to see how well his first book does before discussing a potential release date for his second novel. While Brock certainly gets enjoyment from the writing process, one part he relishes is seeing people respond positively to his work. “I like to see other people enjoy my writing. Not a lot of people have read book so far because I’ve kind of kept it under wraps. My father’s read it and he really liked it and that was nice to see somebody enjoy my writing,” Brock said. “A Dark Discovery” is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, as well as an ebook. For more information about Brock, visit his Facebook page at facebook.com/Zachary-Brock-604728603033743/ or visit his Twitter profile at twitter.com/ZacharyBrock101.

MARTINSVILLE Sharing is caring. Numerous volunteers shared their time and energy Friday at the United Way of Central Indiana’s Day of Caring at the Barbara B. Jordan YMCA, 2039 E. Morgan St., Martinsville. They helped YMCA staff with a list of projects, both indoors and outdoors, and made a lot of progress on tasks the YMCA needed to get done. “It’s going absolutely awesome,” said Diana Roy, director of United Way of Central Indiana. “Vectren Energy Delivery has brought their backhoe in and they’re clearing a couple of driveway areas to get to our future Center for Working Families that we have out there on that parking lot. So they’re doing that, and then Naylor Trucking out of Bloomington has donated a dump truck, and Rogers Group donated stone, and they’re going to make those driveways out there for us. Our local (community corrections work-release crew) has been here, and they’re tearing down some of the fencing out there that was old and doing some of the really heavy lifting. They are working on tearing down an old playground out there.” Roy said the Day of Caring had been a regional event, but it is now up to each county to decide what needs and projects they could address during the time. Roy assisted with giving the exercise room a new coat of paint. The Day of Caring was done partially to get the YMCA in tip-top shape for National YMCA Healthy Kids Day, a free community event next Saturday during which the YMCA will showcase summer programming for children. “A new coat of paint does wonders, and working on the outsides,” Roy said. “In conjunction with their open house, we’re also having an open house at the portable office that we have out here. So folks in the community can come here for a fun day with their children and pop over there and see what we’ve got in a way of offering some financial coaching for people. It’s all free.” YMCA staff members said they were pleased with the number of volunteers who came out to help. “We’re really thrilled with the work that’s been done. We’re just so grateful to United Way for putting this day together and for the opportunity for it to be done at the Y,” said Dave Nash, executive director of the Barbara B. Jordan YMCA. “Some of the things we thought would take all day have already been completed because Vectren brought the backhoe.” Luke O’Neal, senior program director for the Barbara B. Jordan YMCA, echoed Nash’s sentiments. “We wouldn’t be able to do any of this without the volunteers here. Volunteerism is such a big part of the Y. We rely on volunteers for anything from upkeep of the building, youth sports events, coaches and different things,” O’Neal said. “Volunteerism is something this Y could not exist without. So we appreciate everybody who’s come out to help today, definitely.” O’Neal worked with volunteers to help paint the exercise room, the walls going from a dingy white to a beige color. While the change in color will make dirt and scuff marks less apparent, O’Neal said it really came down to the donations they received from the Lowe’s Home Improvement and Sherwin-Williams stores in Mooresville. “You can see how dingy the walls were, just over time. We do a lot of exercise with people leaning against the wall, so they get hand smudges on them. So this hides that a little better,” O’Neal said. Nash said he was pleased with the speed of the volunteers and the progress they were making. “We had two structures that we needed to bring down. They were before 9 a.m., before the official start of the Day of Caring even, this morning,” Nash said. “So we’re awfully grateful to both Vectren, to the inmates, the Department of Corrections and for the volunteers who have come in today in addition to all the work United Way has done to get donations and volunteers involved.” Nash said the Martinsville Rotary Club will be working on a fundraising project to assist with the purchase of new playground equipment for the YMCA. He said the equipment will be safer and look nicer. “We’re really excited now to be able to have that cleared out and be able to move forward on that project with Rotary collaboration as well,” Nash said.

EMINENCE The Eminence Harvest Festival is a celebration of the town of Eminence and 2017 will mark the festival’s third year. As a way of celebrating its success and giving back to the community that has supported it, the harvest festival committee will award a $500 scholarship to a deserving member of the community. “We do get sponsorships throughout our community, but this is something we want to be able to bring the community together and have a fun day with very little cost of anything and we want to be able to give back to the community, too,” Chris Wheeler, cafeteria director for Eminence Community Schools and harvest festival committee member, said. The “Step In The Right Direction” scholarship is open to applicants who reside in Adams or Ashland township, as well as members of the 2017 class at Eminence High School. The scholarship is a reimbursement scholarship, meaning the recipient must turn in receipts for relevant costs such as tuition, textbooks, equipment and/or supplies by Dec. 31. The scholarship is not reserved just for the college-bound; those attending trade school, serving in the military or working as an entrepreneur are eligible as well. “We wanted to be able to target anyone that’s doing something instead of just somebody that is college-bound, because not everybody is ready to go to school, not everybody wants to go to school and maybe they are just starting their own business and need some kind of help. We just wanted it to be open for anybody, not just the college-bound person, somebody that wanted to further their life,” Wheeler said. Only one scholarship is being offered this year, but Wheeler said the committee hopes to increase the amount of the scholarship or the number of scholarships they have to offer in the future. A committee of three harvest festival committee members will be charged with selecting the winning applicant. “They will be the ones making that decision and we will give that scholarship out in the middle of May,” Wheeler said. Wheeler said that everyone interested in the scholarship should apply, because there was always a chance that they might be selected for the scholarship. “I know kids and people, because I work at a school, I know they think, ‘I’ll never get picked’ but you don’t know what somebody’s looking for and it’s what you want to put in there on things that you care about and things that you do. We’re kind of big on community service, so that kind of targets too, giving back to your community. I want everybody out there to just apply for it because I think it’s a good opportunity and you just don’t know, just take that chance and do it,” Wheeler said. Wheeler said that the harvest festival committee hopes to do more community engagement in the future. “We have to wait see how everything turns out, what kind of sponsorship we get. We hope to do a couple things to beautify the community a bit, maybe plant some trees or something down the road. Just because we’re here and we care about it and we want to make it a great place to stay,” Wheeler said. Those interested in applying for the scholarship can get the form from the Eminence Community Schools Guidance Office or at eminenceharvestfestival.com. Application and cover letter are due May 1 and will be accepted at the Eminence Community Schools office or can be mailed to: Harvest Festival Scholarship Attn: Molly Finney P.O. Box 101 Eminence, IN 46125

MARTINSVILLE Habitat for Humanity of Morgan County recently named a new executive director — Ken Wooden, a native of Richmond, Indiana. He attended Southmont High School, near Crawfordsville and attended Hanover College for undergrad. He earned an MBA from University of Southern Mississippi. Wooden previously lived in Lexington, Kentucky, and became executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Morgan County on April 1. Wooden has been a Habitat volunteer for over 20 years. “My involvement with Habitat started from volunteering on a Habitat build and I was cynical of ‘Great, another giveaway program,’ but the church was participating and it was politically correct to go out. So I went out and I love swinging a hammer. Went out, saw what was going on and started asking my cynical questions, ‘Well, how’s this organization work?’” Wooden said. “There was an old farmer out there who was volunteering out there and kind of leading the build and he said, ‘You know my grandfather. He helped my father get started in the farming and my father helped me get started in farming.’ And he said, ‘These people don’t have anything, anyone to help them.’ And it kind of brought to life — some people are born and they inherit wealth and that’s always nice if you can arrange that, but there are a lot more people who inherit poverty around the world.” Wooden spent 20 years working in the financial industry and said he was looking forward to making a difference after leaving the profession. “I came up and visited with (board president) Rex (Maddy) and the board of directors up here and saw the processes and what they have in place here and what they have established. It was very impressive. They had the processes in place of a much larger, higher performing affiliate,” Wooden said. Wooden said he hoped to make the Morgan County affiliate of Habitat for Humanity one of the top performing ones in the country, similar to his previous volunteer experience. “I’ve volunteered for several years with one of the highest performing affiliates in the nation as a volunteer and I saw them evolve over time to achieve that position," Wooden said. "I actually volunteered with them as they went from building individual homes to building multiple homes at one time to building complete Habitat subdivisions with neighborhood covenants." Wooden was an easy choice for the board of directors of the Morgan County Habitat for Humanity. “We discussed as a board our vision of the future and we just put out an opening and made it known that we were looking for an executive director and out of that pool of responses, Ken stood out very clearly. We thought he had the leadership to get us down the road,” Maddy said. Maddy said that Wooden’s experience in the financial industry, as well as his familiarity with Indiana, made him a good choice for the position. “The most outstanding thing is you can tell he’s passionate about what he’s doing. He has a passion for Habitat,” Maddy said. The future is something Wooden has on mind as well. He said hopes to improves the lives of those in need by giving them an affordable and quality shelter. “(Our focus is) helping more home owners achieve the independence they need to be able to build a better life for themselves and their families with an ultimate effort to break the cycle of poverty and work with Morgan County and do everything we can for Morgan County, which is help the rest of the state, the rest of the country and the rest of the world. Everybody is connected in some way,” Wooden said. For Wooden, his preferred part of volunteering for Habitat is building the homes, but his new position doesn’t really permit him to do that as often as he would like. “I’ve probably gotta say my favorite part is driving the nail, but unfortunately (you) don’t have as much time to drive the nail when you’re trying to get lots of nails driven by lots of people. It makes it a little tougher to do that,” Wooden said. Ultimately, Habit for Humanity’s goals are to help people in need escape the cycle of poverty. “If we can help break that cycle, it was mentioned that you can inherit wealth and you can inherit poverty, so if a non-profit can get involved with that and break the cycle with a system, it should be done," Maddy said. "Habitat has created a system. That’s why in 27 years, we’ve been able to lay a foundation and the local founders and the people who got us to this point, we want to honor that and build on that and try to reach the visions we’ve organized here in the last few months." For more information about Habitat for Humanity of Morgan County, call 765-349-9003 or visit morgancountyhabitat.org.

MARTINSVILLE Grandview Health and Rehab will soon hold a first for the nursing home — a craft fair and season market from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 29. The event was the idea of Chelsea Frederick, admissions and marketing coordinator for Grandview. “I’m new to this position, so I just kind of wanted to get our name out there, make sure everyone knows where we are, who we are, what we offer. I thought a big community thing would be a nice thing to have,” Frederick said. Frederick said that Grandview has held Easter egg hunts and other events, but this particular idea was a first. “For Relay for Life, we’ve done rummage sales, things like that, but we really want to try and draw the community back into Grandview. It’s good for our residents, too,” Suzanne Young, director of social services, said. Young said that Grandview would also be a stop June 21 for The Longest Day, a charity motorcycle ride which takes place on the summer solstice and benefits Alzheimer’s research. Events and getting the community involved are important for the staff and residents of Grandview. “It’s really important for us with a lot of changes going on in the community... that our residents are still a part of the community and having the community coming in and being part of their lives as well. We don’t want them to feel isolated; we want them to be a part of the community. It’s a big part of why we’re doing a lot of this,” Young said. According to several studies by the National Institute of Aging, there’s a positive correlation with social interaction and health and it is associated with lower levels of interleukin-6, which is a factor in inflammatory diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease and some forms of cancer. Representatives from the Martinsville Senior Center will also attend the Grandview Craft Fair. “The Senior Center is going to bring their crafts and have a table. Any donations that are made will be going to the Senior Center,” Young said. Fredrick said that they have had about 20 vendors sign up for the event and that they would get more last minute and they expect a good turnout. “I really just want to bring people together. I would like for people to see our stuff and our interactions and be able to get our name known our location known, just kind of awareness,” Frederick said. While most of the entertainment at the event will be derived from interacting with vendors and residents of Grandview, Frederick said she was working on getting some entertainment for children. “We’ll have a concession stand for food and drinks. I’ll try to line up some entertainment like face painting for kids and things like that,” Frederick said. Frederick said that those interested in helping out could donate items to the fair and let others know about the event. “Just be here, tell people about it and spread the word,” Frederick said. The Grandview Health and Rehab Craft Fair and Seasonal Market will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 29 at 1959 E. Columbus St., Martinsville. Vendors interested in making reservations should call 317-473-0370 or email admissions@grandview-healthcare.com. Food and drinks will be available for purchase and prizes will be given out on an hourly basis.

INDIANAPOLIS Fountain Square — arguably Indianapolis’ hippest neighborhood — is getting a new music store on Saturday. Indy String Theory is the venture of Martinsville High School grad Brent Schindler. The original Southport location had its grand opening May 28, 2016. Prior to Indy String Theory, Schindler played bass and provided clean vocals for an Indianapolis-based metalcore group named for a Marvel Comics character: Gwen Stacy. Gwen Stacy was active from 2004 to 2010. The band called it quits on November 20, 2010, but reunited for a one-off show on June 14, 2014. Schindler said he had tinkered with guitars when he was younger and saw making guitars as a means of returning to music. “It was just kind of a way back into the music industry at first after the band had ended,” Schindler said. “I was just kind of working a day job and wanted to do something with music. That was a thing that I thought would be an interesting path and a lot of fun. It involves working with my hands and being part of the music industry as well. It so happens that it worked out that way. It’s taught me a lot, given me a lot of focus and a lot of center, so it’s cool.” Schindler got luthier — a maker of stringed instruments, such as violins or guitars — training at Minnesota State College Southeast in Red Wing, Minnesota. “I was there for two years and then moved back. So we learned the guitar from the ground up, from the woods to the different types of vices and sounds and everything: building, repairing and the computer side of things with the drafting,” Schindler said. According to the program’s website, first year students build a flattop steel string guitar with the option to build an electric guitar, as well. Second year students can choose between building a mandolin or archtop guitar and get a chance to build their own acoustic guitar, electric guitar or mandolin for their diploma. “Starting a music store was a means to an end to work on guitars and build guitars. That’s where it comes from: guitar school. It pretty much involves everything I’ve done in my background,” Schindler said. Schindler said he enjoys the process of building the instruments. “Every stage has its favorite part. The finishing is cool just because you kind of get to see the start of the finish. It’s towards the end of the build and you get to see it all come together. That’s when it becomes a kind of art piece. I really enjoy all of it I would say,” Schindler said. “There are least favorite parts — standing is definitely my least favorite part. But the rest of it is pretty great. I enjoy fretwork as well. We do a lot of fretwork in-house. That’s a very important part of the playing surface, that’s another reason it’s one of my favorite things.” Fountain Square will likely prove a good fit for Indy String Theory, according to Schindler. It’s a neighborhood that has grown a lot in the last five to seven years and is home to independent music, from independent music label Joyful Noise Recordings to Musical Family Tree — a nonprofit that promotes musicians and bands from Indiana. There are also a number of venues: General Public Collective, The White Rabbit Cabaret, Radio Radio, The Hi-Fi and Musical Family Tree’s performance space. “It just seemed like the place to be. I’ve spent a lot of time there and made a lot friends in that area. So it seems to be the best fit. Being a part of the independent community, it’s really great,” Schindler said. When a neighborhood experiences revival like that, however, gentrification can mean a rise in cost of rent, as well as property taxes, but Schindler said the store has a contingency plan for that. “We’ve planned for the future. We’re in our building for the foreseeable future. We’re planning for that and we’re always trying to stay ahead of the game as much as we can, to change with the industry and the community. So we’re just going to continue to do that,” Schindler said. Schindler said he was excited to reopen the store in its new location. He said a lot of people had been asking about it. Schindler said he planned to have pedal boards available for people to test on Saturday. “We have some new lines for people to see. [We’re] excited to showcase more of the lines we were already carrying. So it’s going to be good. We’re excited to get back to working the store and working on my guitars and everything and less of building the store,” Schindler said. Indy String Theory’s grand opening will be at noon Saturday at 1354 Shelby St., Suite A, Indianapolis. For more information, call 317-502-9184, email contact@indystringtheory.com or visit indystringtheory.com or the Indy String Theory Facebook page.