Raisin' of the Green.

The Carthage Chamber of Commerce has announced that the Retail Committee will again sponsor the Raisin’ of the Green Auction on March 25 in Memorial Hall.

The auction raises funds to be used throughout the year by the committee to sponsor retail activities for merchants and the advertisement of those activities.

Advertising funds are used for special promotions such as the Sidewalk Sale and Christmas Open House. This is the only fund raiser the Retail Committee has during the year and therefore revenues from the auction determine how much can be spent on retail promotions.

Merchants and individuals are asked to participate by donating goods or services to be auctioned during the event. The auction is open to the public. For more information call the Chamber at 358-2373.

The Chamber Board members are Bill Johnson, Chairman; Dr. Greg Goetzinger, Vice Chairman; Dorothy Ann Greenwood, Treasurer; Bob Anderson, Ralph Bush, Bob Copeland, Margaret Hartman, Dean Sexton, Janet Stafford, John Stevens, Sherrie Wooten, and Cheryle Finley.

Just for the record, the Mornin’ Mail will not accept any more letters to the editor that are more than one column in length.

Although we have some folks out there that can actually hold the attention of the readers for more than a column, space limitations are a factor.

As I’m sure our readers are aware, we publish ‘bout anyone’s opinion. We do not print opinions on personal religious beliefs, abortion, or the death penalty. Anything else is pretty much fair game as long as there are no personal slams or reference to questionable ancestry.

Just as a reminder, opinions are just that and the Mail doesn’t necessarily agree with or even believe opinions that are stated as fact. ‘Course there’s always exceptions.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

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Carthage Printing Services

PRIME TIME WITH KIDS

by Donna Erickson

At our house, there’s a kitchen drawer overflowing with plastic containers that spill out every time we jam it closed. It started as the "Tupperware drawer," but evolved into a catch-all of margarine tubs and our latest collectible, a four-ounce cream cheese container from our local bagel shop.

Over the holidays, we used the handy storage units for leftovers. But it didn’t take long before frustration reached the boiling point when searching for the last bit of Grandma’s Swedish rice pudding only to find glutenous brown gravy under a lid labeled honey walnut cream cheese.

Now that the leftovers are gone, thank goodness, the drawer is jammed tight again. Sorting through the chaos, my son discovered lids outnumbered containers 3-1. But their usefulness isn’t over yet. Here is a clever idea for transforming plastic lids into sturdy stencils for fun indoor art activities.

On the underside of a lid, use a marker to draw a simple outline of a shape such as a square, triangle or circle. Keep it simple. Help your child cut out the shape with scissors, or an adult may use an X-acto knife. Cut off the rim, if you wish.

To use the stencil, tape the lid to a sheet of paper, dip a piece of sponge into poster paint and dab lightly inside the cutout space. Lift the stencil. Because the stencils are plastic, they may be washed and used over again. Here are some ideas for stencil art:

• Make a heart stencil and print Valentine cards and placemats.

• Place the stencils over pictures in old magazines, trace the shape onto the pictures, then cut out the paper shapes. Glue shapes on construction paper to create "recycle" collages.

• For children learning the alphabet, make a set of lids with one letter per lid. Trace and color the letters on paper to practice their ABC’s. Spell simple words. Stencil your address and let your kids practice saying it.