Free classes to be offered at library

The Brown County Public Library, 205 Locust Lane, will offer a variety of classes this winter. Programs specifically for children are:

• Creative Builders, for ages 11 and younger, Tuesdays, Feb. 18, March 10, 17 and 24, April 7 and 14 at 10 a.m.
• Afternoon Storytime, for ages 6 and younger, stories, rhymes and songs, Tuesdays, Feb. 18, March 10, 17 and 24, April 7 and 14, 5 to 5:30 p.m.
• Ready Readers, for ages 6 to 11, kids practice their reading skills while sharing with each other, Thursdays, Feb. 20 at 2:30 p.m., March 12, 19 and 26, April 2, 9 and 16 at 2:30 p.m.
• Kids Crafternoon, for ages 11 and younger, Thursdays, Feb. 20, March 12, 19 and 26, April 2, 9 and 16 at 2:30 p.m.
• Steam Day, for ages 12 and younger, kids learn about the science of wind with experiments, Thursday, Feb. 27 from 2 to 3 p.m.
• Storytime/Playtime, for children 6 and younger, Mondays, March 9, 16, 23 and 30, April 6 and 13 at 11 a.m.
• Art Sparks Kids, for kids 11 and younger, Friday, March 6 at 10 a.m.
• Art Sparks Teens, for kids 12 to 18, learn about artist trading cards, March 11 at 3:15 p.m.

The library also will offer free classes on navigating some tools of the modern world. Attend one or all sessions:

• Computing Basics, Tuesday, March 10, 4 to 6 p.m., discussion on how to type up a document, calculating features available and all other basics. Come right at 4 p.m. for a presentation, or drop in around 5 p.m. to get one-on-one answers to your questions.
• Internet Safety, Tuesday, April 7, 4 to 6 p.m., learn which websites are safe to be browsing or entering your information into.
• How to Use Your Smartphone as a Camera, Tuesday, May 12, 4 to 6 p.m., learn how to take photos, save them and manage simple editing on your smartphone. Also learn places to safely keep your photos online and how to go about printing.

For more information, call the library at 812-988-2850.

Workshop scheduled at local goat farm

BELMONT — The Goat Conspiracy, 6022 Kent Road, will host “Let’s Talk about Raising Goats” on Sunday, Feb. 23 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. This introduction to the basics of goat care will help participants determine whether owning goats is right for them. Space is limited; advance registration required. The cost is $25 per participant. Participants can purchase goats from the Goat Conspiracy and the registration cost can be applied to the goat purchase.

Visit goatconspiracy.com for more information.

Restaurants to host special events this spring

Big Woods Pizza, 44 N. Van Buren St., will host its 7th annual Crawfish Boil on Saturday, Feb. 22 from 5 to 9 p.m.

Those 21 and older are welcome to put on their favorite green, gold and purple garb and head upstairs at Big Woods Pizza for a crawfish boil, gumbo, red beans and rice. Hard Truth hurricanes will be served and live music will be played by Poets & Politicians and Six Ways to Sunday.

There is a $5 cover charge for guests; prizes will be given out for best dressed. For more information, visit bigwoodsrestaurants.com.

Hard Truth Hills, 418 Old State Road 46, will host “Blood, Sweat, and Beers: A St. Patrick’s Field Day Extravaganza” on Saturday, March 14 from noon to 6 p.m.

Teams and spectators are invited to the full day of games, food, drinks, live music and more. Activities include Dodge-Pong, Fight and Flight Relay and Potato-Pass-Sack-Dash.

Four-person team registration is $100 per team. Spectator tickets are $15 and include access to the festival grounds and event-observation areas and live music. Food and drink will be sold.

For more information and to register, visit hardtruthhills.com/eventcalendar/st-patricks-day-3.

Ash Wednesday services at local churches

Local churches will celebrate Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the 40-day period of Lent before Easter, on Feb. 26 as follows:

• St. David’s Episcopal Church, state roads 135 North and 45 in Bean Blossom: 7 p.m.
• St. Agnes Catholic Church, 1008 McLary Road: 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.
• Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, State Road 135 North in Bean Blossom: 5 p.m.

Women’s Suffrage Tea set at History Center

The League of Women Voters of Brown County will host a Suffrage Tea at the Brown County History Center, 90 E. Gould St., on Sunday, March 8 from 2 to 4 p.m. Author Louise Hillery will speak, presenting “Bold Women in Indiana History.”

Seats are limited; RSVP at lwvbrowncounty.org by Sunday, Feb. 23.

Open house on forestry strategic planning

MARTINSVILLE — The DNR Division of Forestry will host an open house to discuss a five-year strategic plan on Wednesday, Feb. 26 4 to 7 p.m. The meeting for Morgan-Monroe and Yellowwood state forests will take place at the new Morgan-Monroe State Forest office, off S.R. 37, about 6 miles south of Martinsville.

Division personnel will detail how they work to protect forests, and take input and suggestions on the development of the next five-year strategic direction. This plan will focus on all aspects of Indiana forests, including urban forests, forests on private lands, forests on public lands and nursery production.

The current five-year strategic direction can be viewed at in.gov/dnr/forestry/files/fo-State_Forest_Strategic_Plan_2015_2019.pdf.

At each open house, division staff will provide information about recreational activities, major projects, forest resource management and state forest planning. Each open house will provide information and the opportunity to ask questions and comment on ideas and issues that might be addressed in the 2020-2024 Strategic Plan. Written comments also can be given.

Call 765-342-4026 for more information.

Property staff members are also often available during normal business hours, which are 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily. See forestry.IN.gov/3631.htm for contact information.

Food management class happening in March

The Brown County Health Department, 201 Locust Lane, will offer a ServSafe Food Manager Class Monday and Tuesday, March 2 and 3. The class will include the exam to become a certified food manager. A food establishment is required by law to have a certified food manager on staff. Nonprofits are not required to have certified staff; however, food knowledge is still required by code.

Class on March 2 starts at 8:30 a.m. and runs until 12:30 p.m.; the March 3 class starts at 8:30 a.m. and runs until about 2:30 p.m. The class will use the seventh edition of the ServSafe Food Manager text with 2017 food code updates.

Class is limited to 14 participants. The cost is $150 and includes the text, test and class. Call the Brown County Health Department at 812-988-2255 for information or to register.

Local church to host caregiver training

Thrive Alliance will host a caregiver training at Parkview Church of the Nazarene, 1750 State Road 46 East, from March 3 to April 7.

All sessions will be Tuesdays and cover topics for caregivers:

• March 3: “Taking Care of You”
• March 10: “Identifying and Reducing Personal Stress”
• March 17: “Communicating Feelings, Needs and Concerns”
• March 24: “Learning from our Emotions”
• April 7: “Mastering Caregiving Decisions”

The trainers will be Leah Boas, Shelby Eggers and Christina Rajanayakam.

Help at Home LLC will provide care for loved ones during the six-week program.

Registration is required by March 2. Call 812-372-6918.

Conservation district meeting at history center

Brown County Soil and Water Conservation District will hold its annual meeting at the Brown County History Center, 90 E. Gould St., on Wednesday, March 4 at 6 p.m. All are welcome to an evening of homemade soups, district updates and door prizes.

Amy Spalding, a forester with the National Wild Turkey Federation, will discuss NWTF’s history, success stories and how to manage land for wildlife.

For tickets, call 812-988-2211.

Benefit concert for BETA to take place in March

The 2020 Brown County Youth Music Showcase will take place Saturday, March 7 at the Brown County Playhouse, 70 S. Van Buren St., at 7:30 p.m. The concert hosted by Kara Barnard and her music students will benefit Brown County Enrichment for Teens Association Inc. (BETA).

Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for a silent auction. BETA is looking for donors for silent auction items, which can be dropped off at Farmers Insurance Christina McGinley Agency, 145 S. Jefferson St. (across from The Salvation Army church) during office hours Monday through Friday. Call McGinley at 812-988-6399 with questions about drop-off.

For donation pickup, or to volunteer for the concert, contact Clara Stanley at 312-310-3617 or [email protected], or MK Watkins at 812-988-4923.

BETA now meets at the Brown County YMCA, 105 Willow St., on Tuesdays from 3 to 6:30 p.m. Teenagers from junior high and high school, including home-schooled students, are welcome to attend.

Contact BETA’s new director, Traci Lewis, at [email protected] for any inquiries about BETA.

Worm composting workshop set for March

The Brown County Soil and Water Conservation District is hosting a Worm Composting Workshop on Thursday, March 19 at 6 p.m. in the Community Room at the BCSWCD office, 802 Memorial Drive.

All are welcome to come learn the basics of worm composting and create a bin to take home. All supplies are provided. The cost is $10. Space is limited to 10 families (one bin per family). RSVP is required by March 6.

To RSVP or for more information, call 812-988-2211 or email [email protected].

Disease control conference scheduled in county

Brown County Inn, 51 State Road 46 East, will host an Indiana Vector Control Association conference Sunday, March 8 through Tuesday, March 10.

Sessions include information on Asian longhorned ticks; new insights on pathogen transmission risk by West Nile Virus vectors in Illinois; geographic variation on black-legged ticks; evaluating the impact of mosquito control on honeybees; a state chemist update; an Indiana arboviral and tick surveillance update; deer management and impending disease issues; an EEE panel; bedbugs; cockroach resistance and rats.

The cost is $115 in advance, $155 at the door and $55 for students.

Contact Andrew Grau at 317-221-7456 for more information.

Annual meeting to feature wildlife children’s book

The Brown County Native Woodlands Project (BCNWP) will host its annual meeting on Tuesday, March 10 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Nashville Christian Church Lifehouse, 216 S Van Buren St.

This year’s program will feature “Wake Up, Woods,” Indiana’s selection for the 2020 Library of Congress National Book Festival. Ruth Ann Ingraham, BCNWP co-founder, will speak about the creation process of the book. Gillian Harris, botanical artist and Shane Gibson, Sycamore Land Trust, will be available to sign books. Copies will be given as a gift to current and new BCNWP members in attendance. Light refreshments will be available. The meeting is free and open to the public.

For more information call 812-988-2211.

Annual seed swap set for spring

The 5th Annual Seed Swap hosted by SEED Brown County will be at the Brown County Historical Society, 90 E. Gould St., on Saturday, March 21 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

This free event features vendors who swap and sell seeds, local seed stewards who bring saved seeds to share, small farm vendors, local businesses, herbalists and SEED Brown County’s stash of seeds for the community.

Vendor tables are available for $10.

For more information, visit SEED Brown County’s page on Facebook @BrownCountySeedProject.

History center to host summer day camp

The Brown County Historical Society will have a Hands on History Summer Camp, Monday to Friday, June 22 to 26 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for children ages 8 to 12. It will take place at the Pioneer Village, Owl Creek Schoolhouse and the Brown County History Center, 90 E. Gould St.

Children will get to learn about puppetry, pioneer household chores, cooking, textiles, art and storytelling.

The cost is $50 per child and includes a T-shirt and reusable water bottle. Registration is limited to 24 campers. Each child will need to bring a sack lunch; a snack will be provided.

To register, visit browncountyhistorycenter.org and click the children’s programs tab to find the registration form. Print out the form and send to Brown County History Center, P.O. Box 668, Nashville, IN 47448. For more information, call 812-988-2377.

Medicare seminar offered in Nashville

A free Medicare 101 seminar will be offered by appointment at McGinley Insurance Agency, 145 S. Jefferson St., diagonally across from The Salvation Army.

The seminar is for people who are new to Medicare or not happy with their current plan, and those who have questions about anything related to Medicare.

With questions, call 812-988-6399.

Youth program offered at Unity Baptist

HAMBLEN TWP. — The Word of Life youth program has begun at Unity Baptist Church, 7361 Spearsville Road. It will meet on Wednesday nights from 6 to 8:15 p.m. through the end of April 2020.

The program includes age-appropriate biblical learning through fun and dynamic activities. A meal is provided. All youth from ages 4 to 17 are welcome.

For more information, email [email protected].

Game library available at Toy Chest

The Toy Chest, 125 S. Van Buren St., has created a game library that locals can use for a $10 annual membership fee.

Game library members can check out one game at the Toy Chest register. Games can be kept for a week or they can be renewed for another week. If the game is late, $1 will be charged each day up to the price of the game.

See the Toy Chest Game Library Facebook page for new game and other announcements.

Recycle center will take bagged trash for $2

The Brown County Recycle Center now accepts trash at its drive-through during regular hours, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays.

Drop-off costs $2 per bag. The center offers prepaid sticker books for $10 or $20, with five or 10 yellow stickers to affix to trash bags up to 55 gallons.

For more information, call the center at 812-988-0140. The center is at 176 Old State Road 46.

Book-a-Librarian service offered

Individuals or small groups can make an appointment with a Brown County Public Library librarian through the free Book-a-Librarian service. Sessions are limited to 30 to 60 minutes and are best used for instruction on how to use the library catalog, databases, digital resources and the Internet. Call 812-988-2850 for an appointment.