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.

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 from 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 talk about 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.

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.

Play bingo at Van Buren this weekend

STONE HEAD — The Van Buren Elementary School PTO, 4045 State Road 135 South, will host bingo on Friday, Feb. 28 at 5:30 p.m.

Participants ages 18 and over are welcome to play. The cost is $15 to play 13 games. Payouts range from $40 to $100 per game.

Childcare is available at an additional cost for potty-trained children.

Light refreshments will be available for purchase. Additional information will be posted on Van Buren Wildcats PTO Facebook page.

Email [email protected] for more information.

Kids can now spend snow days at the Y

Kids in pre-K through sixth grade can go to the Brown County YMCA, 105 Willow St., when school is canceled for weather. The Y is now offering Snow Day Camp to children who are at least 4 years old.

Kids will enjoy arts and crafts, games, gym time, swimming, movies, a pajama party and outdoor play in the snow.

The cost is $15 per child. Space is limited to 30 participants.

For more information, call the Y at 812-988-9622.

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.

Consult with a lawyer for free at library

The Brown County Public Library will host Talk to a Lawyer Day between 3 and 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 3. Local attorneys volunteer to give short, confidential, free legal consultations, sponsored by Legal Aid District 11.

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

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, testimony sharing at Playhouse

Local musicians will join together for an evening at the Brown County Playhouse, 70 S. Van Buren St., on Friday, March 6 at 7 p.m. in support of the local documentary, “The Addict’s Wake.”

Kenan Rainwater, JC Clements & Jason I. Blankenship, Mike Angel, Steve Plessinger and Steve Hickman will perform music.

Admission is free, but donations are welcome.

For more information, visit browncountyplayhouse.org.

Build a birdhouse for $5 at the library

Visit the Brown County Public Library, 205 Locust Lane, and join Dan Sparks of the Brown County Blue Bird Club on Saturday, March 7 from 1 to 3 p.m. for a workshop that includes instruction and materials to build a ready-to-use bluebird nest box. Tools will be provided.

The workshop will end with a time for questions and answers about helping bluebirds. Families are welcome; registration is required. There is a $5 materials fee for the workshop.

For more information and to reserve a spot, call the library at 812-988-2850.

Reduced-price cat adoptions available at mall

COLUMBUS — City of Columbus Animal Care Services, the Bartholomew County Humane Society, Animal Outreach of Shelby County, the Brown County Humane Society and Richmond Animal Care Alliance are partnering to get more than 100 adoptable cats and kittens adopted into loving homes.

The Kitty Palooza adoption event will take place Saturday, March 7 from noon to 5 p.m. at Fair Oaks Mall (in the former Deb’s location near Bath & Body Works), 2380 25th St. in Columbus.

All cats will have a reduced adoption fee of $40, which includes spaying or neutering, up-to-date on shots (as age appropriate) and microchipping prior to adoption.

Each organization will have its own application process. Interested adopters who rent are encouraged to bring renter’s agreements or contracts to indicate they are allowed pets, if a landlord is unable to be contacted. Potential adopters are asked to bring a cat carrier, as cardboard cat carriers may be limited.

For more information, visit columbus.in.gov/animal-care-services or contact [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected].

Benefit concert for BETA to happen 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.

Purchase a tree to support local groups

The Nashville Arts and Entertainment Commission and Lincoln Pinch Park are conducting a fundraiser selling American Chestnut trees now until Monday, March 9.

Blight-resistant hybrid American Chestnut trees are being sold for $20. Trees are 4 to 7 feet tall with roots in a plastic bag.

Chestnut trees must be planted in normally dry areas or slopes. Trees should be planted in pairs, as they need a pollinator. They will need to be watered weekly for the first year unless it rains.

These trees are two to three years old and should flower in 2022, though no warranty is offered.

To order, visit eventbrite.com and search for “chestnut trees.”

Orders will be available for pick-up at Bear Hardware, 75 W. Chestnut St., on Saturday, March 21 from noon to 4 p.m.

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 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.

Free children’s programs offered at library

The Brown County Public Library, 205 Locust Lane, will offer a variety of children’s programs this winter:

• Creative Builders, for ages 11 and younger, Tuesdays, 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, 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, March 12, 19 and 26, April 2, 9 and 16 at 2:30 p.m.
• Kids Crafternoon, for ages 11 and younger, Thursdays, 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 classes on navigating some tools of the modern world. Attend one or all sessions of these free workshops:

• 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.

Distillery to host special events this spring

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.

An Easter hunt for adults will take place Saturday and Sunday, April 11 and 12 during several time slots between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. both days.

Participants 21 and older can visit the distillery site and find hidden beer and spirits. Registration includes a Hard Truth tote bag, two Hart Truth Cinnamon Vodka shooters, six bottles of a Quaff ON! beer and a Quaff ON! koozie. The cost is $30 per participant.

For more information or to register, visit hardtruthhills.com/eventcalendar/easter-beer-hunt.

Kids’ sewing workshop set at fairgrounds

The Brown County Extension Homemakers will teach a 4-H sewing workshop for kids at the Purdue Extension Office, 802 Memorial Drive, on Saturday, March 14 from 1 to 3 p.m.

Children in Grades 3 through 12 will learn how to make their own tote bag, unless they have a more complicated project in mind.

Games and refreshments will be provided. Registration is required by Thursday, March 12. For more information or to register, call 812-988-5495.

Plant-based eating class to be at library

PEA Pod and Brown County Earth Rising will sponsor “Power of Your Plate” at the Brown County Public Library, 205 Locust Lane, on Saturday, March 15 from 2 to 4 p.m.

One in 4 Americans are eating less meat for health reasons, according to results from a recent Gallup Poll.

Those considering eating plant-based or dabbling in eating plants, or those whose diets are already plant-based and are looking for new tools are encouraged to attend. Participants will learn how eating plant-based may support health, observe plant-based dishes being prepared, and taste-test those foods.

The instructor will be Carol Wroblewski from Food for Life. The suggested donation is $10.

To register, call 812-929-8421 or visit Plant-based Eating Advocates (PEA) Pod on Facebook.

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].

Salt Creek Preservation Group is speaker topic

BLOOMINGTON — The Friends of Lake Monroe will hold a public meeting in room 1B of the Monroe County Public Library, 303 E. Kirkwood Ave., on Wednesday, March 18 from 6 to 8 p.m. Allison Shoaf, district manager of Brown County Soil and Water Conservation District, will be the guest speaker, talking about “Past, Present and Future of the Salt Creek Preservation Group.”

All are welcome.

Old West convention happening at local hotel

The National Congress of Old West Shootists’ (NCOWS) 2020 National Convention will be at the Seasons Lodge and Conference Center, 560 State Road 46 East, from Friday to Sunday, March 20 through 22.

There will be seminars on Old West topics, vendors with gear and guns, a carnival shootout, a tea party and Saturday night banquet (period clothing must be worn at these events) and a Saturday Night Western Ball.

Day tickets are available for vendors and seminars. Full registration is required for the tea party, banquet and ball. For more information, visit ncowsconvention.com.

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.