No kindness during editor’s month
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My first reaction to this was that no one knew it was Be Kind to Editor’s Month. After all, such a thing seems rather obscure and who can really keep up with all of these nationally recognized days, weeks and months.
For example, I had no idea September is national Rice Month. And I don’t think I’ve eaten the first serving of rice. It’s also national Cholesterol Month which is a bad month to coincide with fair time. If it hasn’t been deep fried or put on a stick, I don’t think I’ve eaten it over the past week.
And for anyone wondering, national Walk a Child to School Week takes place at the end of September. Just how many people in Warren County do you think are going to walk their child to school during that special week? If I had to guess a round number off the top of my head, I would say zero.
All this brings me back to Be Kind to Editor’s Month, which I figured no one here at the Standard knew anything about. Turns out, most people at the paper were fully aware of Be Kind to Editor’s Month – and they were going to great lengths to conceal this fact from me.
When I told publisher Pat Zechman about Be Kind to Editor’s Month, there was no look of surprise, no hug, no cake and ice cream.
Instead, she admitted most employees were hopeful I wouldn’t find out so they wouldn’t feel an obligation to be nice to me.
Talk about Rodney Dangerfield Syndrome. I get no respect, no respect at all.
About the only thing that can cheer me up during this time of sorrow is to talk about dumb criminals. No matter how bad life is treating you, it’s always nice to scan the AP wire to find people who are in worse shape than you.
I think I have found two such people who are suspected car thieves in Brazil. The pair had allegedly stolen a car and were being pursued by police when they ditched the vehicle and made a mad dash on foot toward a nearby zoo.
You can probably tell good things aren’t going to happen to this pair at the zoo. They ducked into a cage – fortunately occupied by deer and not gorillas – to hide from police and ended up locking themselves in.
Initially, police thought the bandits might try to take the animals hostage, but after several hours they were so eager to get out of the cage that they just gave up.
And for this final tidbit, I take you to Aiken, South Carolina where a dumb criminal has actually turned out to be rather clever. A man wearing sunglasses and a mask walked into a bank and demanded money using a 4-foot, rusty pitchfork.
While this may seem like a medieval way to rob a bank, the man was given a sizable amount of money. After leaving the bank, he dropped the pitchfork and successfully made his getaway by running through a nearby golf course. I guess you could say finding that criminal will be like finding a needle in a haystack.
Rob and Wanda Wilson buy Inn at Harvest Farms
Freddie and Diane Morton literally built the Inn at Harvest Farms from the ground up. Initially, they never intended for it to be a popular wedding destination, or even a bed and breakfast inn. But that’s what it’s become in five years.
“When we were building it, it just kept growing,” said Diane. “So we decided to see what we could do with a bed and breakfast. Then we added the weddings after that. Now we have all this.
“We were really planning on being here quite a while. But now Freddie has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and we had to make some quick decisions and this was one of them.”
I hate to hear such news about Freddie, who I consider a great American. For friends who are concerned, Diane said Freddie has been taking medication and is doing OK. But maintaining an inn with weddings, catering and all that goes with it is a handful so the Mortons have passed the torch to Rob and Wanda Wilson, who are the proud new owners.
“Their specialty has always been making people feel at home,” said Rob. “We want to continue that with friendly faces and good food. Our plan is to keep everything pretty much the way it is. They have a wonderful business they have been successful in building.”
Rob is a key cog in running Morrison Tool & Fab, while Wanda works for the school system.
Rob says they are both happy with their current jobs and will retain many of the Inn at Harvest Farm employees to continue running the business.
“We plan to live there and run a business out of there,” said Rob. “A good working business is already in place so we hope to continue that.”
For anyone unfamiliar with the Inn at Harvest Farms, it sits on a 30-acre lake that provides a perfect backdrop for weddings and parties.
There is a downstairs area capable of seating 200 people and a catering service known for it’s first-class food.
Rob said he and Wanda are planning a formal open house after they take possession of the inn. He figures that might be in November.
Odds & ends starting with new real estate guide
It’s fair week and I couldn’t track down much big-time business news, but I do have several interesting odds and ends to tell you about. One of them is the new real estate book which was published for the first time by the Southern Standard this past week.
Called “Welcome to the Neighborhood,” the real estate guide is packed full of home listings and home-building information. The best part is the real estate guide is absolutely free. And we all know it’s hard to beat free.
Some of you may have noticed new red boxes shaped like a home and placed at various locations around town. The “Welcome to the Neighborhood” guides are inside of those boxes. It’s a guide not only for Warren County, but also for DeKalb, White, Coffee, Cannon and Van Buren and Grundy counties. Basically, we want to serve every county and every real estate agent possible.
“Welcome to the Neighborhood” will be published every month around the middle of the month so as not to conflict with the other real estate guide which is distributed at the first of the month.
Cook joins staff at Generations
Generations Mental Health Center is proud to announce the addition of Ginger Cook, a nurse practitioner, to its team of professionals which includes medical director Dr. Badshah Maitra. For those who have been waiting, Generations is accepting new patients beginning Oct. 1.
The staff at Generations says if you or someone you love has been diagnosed with a mental illness or substance abuse problem, don’t hesitate to give them a call. The number is 815-3871.
Walk for the Cure ready for sixth walk
Organizers are already gearing up for the sixth annual Walk for the Cure to be held Saturday, Oct. 9 at Three Star Mall. Last year the walk generated $23,000 and every penny went to breast cancer research.
This year several businesses have agreed to participate, beginning with the Southern Standard which will print a pink newspaper in honor of Walk for the Cure. OK, so that’s just a joke, but here are what other participating businesses are doing:
• Reflections Beauty Salon will color hair all day Tuesday, Oct. 12 with all proceeds going to the walk. Call 473-6771 for an appointment.
• Southern Traditions has special breast cancer awareness jewelry and a drawing for a Vera Bradley bag.
• Merle Norman will be set up in the mall the day of the walk to help ladies undergoing chemotherapy to enhance their makeup free of charge.
• Fantastic Sam’s will donate $1 for every customer served on Oct. 9.
That’s all folks
Give me a call to tell me about your business news or just to say hi for Be Kind to Editors Month. The phone number is 473-2191.