Today's Feature

Celebration to Build Fund.

The families of Robert and Ellen Sheldon and John Sheldon are requesting the community join then in a gathering to celebrate the lives of their departed parents.

The unsolved murder of Robert and Ellen Sheldon last October has prompted a commitment of at least $20,000 to the reward fund and many members of the community are donating items and time to increase that amount.

Several area citizens and businesses will contribute to an auction that will follow the fellowship and meal in the Fairview Christian Church on Thursday, March 12 beginning at 5 p.m. The auction will begin at 7 p.m.

Friends of the family are seeking donations of goods for the auction and monetary gifts. Proceeds from the event will be donated to a Reward Fund that has been established at Southwest Missouri Bank.

Anyone wishing to contribute or donate should contact one of the following: Danny Hensley, 359-3750; Mike Cloud, 358-2501; Linda Kinney, 358-4490; Dale Wickstrom, 358-1521.

artCentral

ART NOTES from Hyde House

by Sally Armstrong, Director of artCentral

Underway as you read this article is the current exhibition by artist Jim Bilgere, currently of Carthage, entitled "The Magic Power of Serendipity". The opening occurs Friday the 13th, and we certainly will not consider it "bad luck" to have as many as possible gather in the gallery here to view the group of 25 oil paintings and numerous other small watercolors and drawings. This exhibition will be shown weekends, Friday through Sunday from noon until 5:00 until March 1st. The exhibition is quite joyful, colorful, and a great tonic to chase away the winter blaz, and all ages should appreciate the unique canvases that Jim is presenting here in this showing. If you have not visited us before, we are a free admission, and all are invited to the opening night as well, where refreshments are served. Our Board of Directors met yesterday for the first meeting of the new season of 2009, and among other business that was discussed, we began the New Membership emphasis for this new year. The letter has been drafted, and as I prepare the 200+ mailings, I would challenge each of you that receive one to consider either renewing your membership us once more, or joining artCentral for the first time! Next year will be a landmark in our history, as we will celebrate our 25th anniversary as an incorporated organization, and we want as many as possible to be a part of this celebration. Plans are being made in preparation of next year’s events, and I will give more details as we know them, but let me just say that there will be at least one special happening each month on the 25th! Join us now and be a part of all the festivities in 2010!

Mornin'

Had a friend who wanted to invest in a business. His idea was to create the perfect system where there weren’t any decisions to be made and all that was necessary was "warm bodies" to carry out the routine tasks.

Now such a system may be possible, but my friend soon discovered the venture he got involved in wouldn’t be that simple.

Any venture needs a set of basic guidelines, or policy, to guide the routine. The problem is that there are always situations that come along that weren’t planned or opportunities that weren’t foreseen.

Any project needs check points to gauge progress, but feeling the necessity to plan every minute detail can spell doom to whatever good might come.

Sometime even movin’ in the wrong direction is better than sittin’ still.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Journey Along the Wellness Path

Have you heard the song that says "be careful little eyes what you see, be careful little ears what you hear"? I think this is a gentle, heartwarming warning for us all to heed as we balance our health.

It is important that we guard our minds and not allow various modes of advertisements to guide us along the wrong path in our health. Marketing campaigns tap into our senses and are designed to get our attention so we will buy their product and don’t necessarily give us sound health advice.

Look at key words such as "diet". I have yet to see a healthy diet soda on the market! These marketing schemes target diabetics and those wishing to lose weight but, in fact, diet soda has nothing to do with our health and contains harmful chemicals that are known neurotoxins and can even create unnatural cravings for sugar.

The "low-fat" marketing strategy is working well…for the advertiser that is. Once again their target market are those wanting to lose weight, or perhaps bring down that "high cholesterol". Read the label closely! You will find added fillers and chemicals substituted for the natural fat content. These fillers have nothing to do with helping to rebuild our body and often add fat to the body instead. Proper fat intake doesn’t make us fat. Bad fats and diets high in processed foods make us fat.

Be privy to marketing tactics. Be wise in your choices and look back to the basics.