Students in kindergarten through eighth grade are invited to enter the Forks of the Wabash Pioneer Festival Scarecrow Contest.

To enter, make a scarecrow and bring it to the Younguns’ Fun area at the festival on Friday, Sept. 22, between 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

The scarecrows will be displayed there throughout the festival on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 23 and 24.

Awards will be presented on Saturday, Sept. 23, at 2 p.m.

Cash prizes will be given for the first, second and third place scarecrows.

The staff of Oakbrook Village, in Huntington, was treated to a cookout on Friday, Sept. 1, to thank them for their part in achieving a Five Star rating for the facility.

“We just wanted to honor the staff for all their hard work,” Oakbrook Village Administrator Shane McVoy said.

The nursing home earned the rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which evaluates nursing homes on the basis of their staffing, state surveys and quality measured such as infection rates and pain management.

The Alicia Pyle Quartet will make its first appearance at Roanoke’s Cottage Event Center during the facility’s fourth annual fund-raiser for Riley Children’s Hospital on Sept. 22.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show begins at 7:30 p.m. Food will be available for purchase and a cash bar will be open.

Alicia Pyle, a vocalist and pianist, studied music at Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne. She has performed with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and other orchestras and has won several competitions.

The Mt. Etna United Methodist Church will hold a benefit pancake and sausage breakfast, “Pancakes for Love,” on Sept. 16, from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the church.

Proceeds from the breakfast will go to assist an area family with expenses related to the adoption of a child.

The cost of the breakfast is a free will donation. Carryouts will be available.

For information or to make a donation, call 366-7533.

The church is at the corner of Ind.-9 and Ind.-124, in Mt. Etna.

Warren First Baptist Church will offer the Dave Ramsey course titled Financial Peace. The class will be held at the First Baptist Church of Warren, 727 N. Wayne St., Warren.

The course is coordinated by Richard Hinton and will begin Sunday, Sept. 17, from 8 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. and Wednesday, Sept. 20, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The course will conclude Nov. 12 and Nov. 15.

Class size is limited to the first 12 families or couples. There is a fee to cover materials.

Lessons include setting up a budget, getting rid of debt and making good investments.

Roanoke Elementary School teachers recognized students for exhibiting the life skill of organization.

The third annual Cry Out America prayer meeting will be held on Monday, Sept. 11, at noon on the Franklin Street side of the Huntington County Courthouse, in Huntington.

All members of the community are invited to attend. The prayer meeting is designed as an opportunity to lay differences aside while coming together to ask God to bless America.

About 85 people attended last year’s event.

For more information, call Rev. Jim Splawn at 341-9397.

“Painting a Picture of Art Education” will be the topic of the Fall Women’s Breakfast sponsored by the Huntington University Women’s Auxiliary, Saturday, Sept. 16, at 9 a.m., at the Habecker Dining Commons.

Professor Barb Michel, who is in her 12th year of teaching art at Huntington University, will be the speaker.

She is in charge of Huntington University’s art education department and has also spent over a decade in the public school sector, where she taught in gifted and talented programs and wrote visual arts curriculum.

Alice Plasterer Stickler will perform her “Fun with Bubbles” show, which she has performed for decades, at the Huntington County Historical Society’s bimonthly public program on Wednesday, Sept. 20, at 7 p.m.

The meeting will be held at the Historical Museum, located at 315 Court St., Huntington.

Stickler, 91, started performing with her father, Eiffel Plasterer, who gained national fame as the “Bubble Man.”

The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) has released the Spring 2017 ISTEP+ results, and scores for students in Huntington County Community Schools took a dip in the third year of the revised test.

Of all Huntington County students in grades three through eight, 70.7 percent passed the English/language arts section of the ISTEP+. That compares to 72.1 percent passing in 2016 and 71.6 percent in 2015.

On the math section of the exam, 60 percent of students in grades three through eight passed. That compares to 61.3 percent in 2016 and 62.3 percent for 2015.

Flint Springs Elementary School physical education teacher and United Way campaign leader Jo Earhart (left) presents a huge check in the amount of $1,233.05 to United Way Executive Director Kyle Metzger (center) and Donor Development Coordinator Joy Koch during a student assembly held Friday, Aug. 25. The school’s students raised the money during their “Change Wars” competition and Superhero Week. The second-grade classes were the winners of the competition and played the staff in a dodgeball game during the assembly.

Huntington Catholic School honored several of its students during an all-school liturgy on Friday, Sept. 1, for exhibiting the spirit of gentleness. Pictured are (front row, from left) Jedadiah Kline, first grade; Jacqueline Aguirre, second grade; Santiago Gomez-Ramirez, third grade; and Ava Snyder, fourth grade; and (back row, from left) Samantha Stetzel, fifth grade; Katie Brown, sixth grade; Helena Pyle, seventh grade; and Aric DeLaGrange, eighth grade.

Two sandwiches are usually major portions of a child’s diet — grilled cheese and the peanut butter and jelly.

In the next installment of the Huntington City-Township Public Library’s Kids Cooking series, children ages 7 to 12 will get to revamp these classic sandwiches into something different and tasty.

The workshop will take place at the Markle branch on Friday, Sept. 15, at 5 p.m. and at the Huntington branch Thursday, Sept. 28, at 6 p.m.

For more information, call the Huntington branch at 356-0824 or the Markle branch at 758-3332.

The Huntington Branch of the Huntington City-Township Public Library is seeking volunteer hobbyists to share their passion in the Fun Palace, to be held Oct. 7 and 8.

The Fun Palace is a free weekend of arts, culture and sciences for the community.

To help with the Fun Palace, contact Jessi Brown at 356-0824 or jbrown@hctpl.info for more information.

The Huntington library is at 255 W. Park Drive, Huntington.

Daniel Solms, vice president of enrollment and marketing at Huntington University, has been named to the board of Questa Education Foundation for 2017-18.

Questa serves 11 counties in northeast Indiana, providing low-interest forgivable loans to individuals pursuing an education beyond high school. Its goal is to increase access to and completion of post-secondary education, reduce debt and retain talent in the region.

Three Huntington families have been honored with Huntington Yard of the Month awards for September.

The awards, part of a citizen-led effort to recognize Huntington residents who do an exemplary job maintaining their properties, went to Jerry and Louise Martin, 649 W. Tipton St.; Jacquelyn Riggers, 2038 College Ave.; and George and Rose Holtrey, 290 Circle Drive. All three homes will display Yard of the Month signs during September.

Jacquelyn Riggers stands in front of her College Avenue home, which earned Huntington Yard of the Month honors for September.

Parkview Health’s seven hospitals have earned Magnet recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

To achieve Magnet recognition, organizations must undergo a review process that includes participation by care providers and co-workers at each hospital. The process includes an electronic application, written patient documentation, visits to each hospital and a review by the Commission on Magnet Recognition.

The American Nurses Credentialing Center says  Magnet designation indicates an organization in which nurses can flourish as professionals.

Karen Farber, of Huntington, wheels her dog, Princess Bella, a Yorkie and Maltese mix, through her neighborhood in Huntington on Wednesday, Aug. 30. “This is her idea of a walk,” Farber said.

The Van Buren United Methodist Church will hold its fall spiritual renewal Sunday, Sept. 17, through Tuesday, Sept. 19.

The program will be all musical, with sharing and testimony from Chuck and Dottie Rhoades of The Master’s Own and Scott and Rachel West Kramer and Maria Kramer-Wolfe of The Kramers.

Service times are Sunday, Sept. 17, at 9:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. A carry-in lunch will follow the church worship at 11:15 in the fellowship hall.

On Monday, Sept. 18, services are at 7 p.m. and on Tuesday, Sept. 19, services are at noon and 7 p.m.

The Huntington North High School Homecoming Court for 2017 is comprised of (seated from left) Brynn Caley, sophomore; Sydney Kyle, senior; Bailey Hughes, senior; Ashley Spencer, senior; Gabi Haneline, senior; Emily Bokel, junior; and Arianna Betterly, freshman; and (standing from left) Jarid Miller, junior; Tyler Stephan, senior; Alex Myers, senior; JJ Whicker, senior; Robert Borland, senior; Aidan Hosler, sophomore; and Noah Zahn, freshman. The homecoming king and queen will be crowned during HNHS’ homecoming football game on Friday, Sept. 8.

Forks of the Wabash Historic Park Board President Dale Hawkins (left) and board member Jim Hollar display some of the holes in the walls of the Nuck House at the Forks of the Wabash grounds that are being repaired by volunteers over the next several weeks. Several of the 150-year-old beams have sustained extensive rotting and were being replaced with beams rescued from other structures. Several of the structures at the Forks are being repaired, including the trading post, said Hollar.

Jim Hagen works on getting a log beam ready to replace one that has rotted away on the Nuck House at the Forks of the Wabash Historic Park in Huntington on Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 30. Several of the structures are getting needed repairs thanks to a recent Huntington County Community Foundation grant.

The Andrews-Dallas Township Public Library has two events scheduled on Tuesday, Sept. 5, that focus on creativity.

Visitors to the library can join the roaming rocks fun by painting a rock to take and hide while at the library. A station is set up and ready during library hours, and rocks and supplies are provided.

Maureen Flynn started her new job as development coordinator at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Huntington on Aug. 9, the same day her two young sons started the school year at Andrews Elementary School.

She wasn’t unfamiliar with the organization, having served on the local Habitat for Humanity board in 2008-09, during her first stint of living in Huntington.

And recent changes, mainly the Huntington organization’s merger with the Fort Wayne group to form Habitat for Humanity of Greater Fort Wayne, have her looking forward to what the future will bring.

First Farmers Bank & Trust, headquartered in Converse, presented a $10,000 donation to Indiana Pork’s Million Meals program during the Ham Breakfast held Aug. 3 at the Indiana State Fair.

Since its inception in 2009, the Million Meals program has provided more than one million ground pork meals to Hoosiers in need through a partnership with Feeding Indiana’s Hungry, an association representing Indiana’s food banks.

To celebrate National Library Card Signup Month in September, local businesses around Huntington and Markle will offer discounts to library cardholders throughout September.

Signs on  windows or desks advertise the businesses as part of the program, and cardholders should show their library cards when making a purchase. Those who need a library card may visit either the Huntington or Markle libraries with proof of address and photo ID to get a card.

Each business is running its own discount. To see the savings offered, visit hctpl.info/card-discounts.

Bees are a critical part of the ecosystem; their pollination makes the existence of flowers, food and other important plant species possible, and beekeeping as a hobby is a great way to help keep these important insects around to benefit our planet.

Those who are interested in what it takes to maintain their own apiary, or bee collection, are invited to attend the Huntington Branch of the Huntington City-Township Public Library’s Beekeeping 101 program Thursday, Sept. 21, at 6:30 p.m.

Area photographers are invited to enter the History in the Making Photo Contest, sponsored bythe Huntington County Historical Society and the Huntington County TAB during the Forks of the Wabash Pioneer Festival.

Photos of people and sites in Huntington County can be entered in the contest. All photos submitted will become part of the permanent archives of the Huntington County Historical Museum, where they will give future residents a glimpse of life in the Huntington County of today.

Rudy’s Cave Inn restaurant, which was in business in the 1950s, was built into the hillside along Etna Avenue, across the street and slightly east of today’s Trading Post. The owner was Marie Smith. The identity of the cook in the photo is unknown. This photo and other local artifacts can be seen at the Huntington County Historical Museum, 315 Court St., Huntington. Museum hours are Wednesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.