When little Lilly Anne turns 1, she’ll get a big birthday party bash, not just to celebrate her first year, but to celebrate her recovery from a serious illness. Everyone is invited.

Lilly Anne, a rescued Cocker spaniel, has been the unfortunate definition of a sick puppy, after her first owners surrendered her to the rescue at only 4 months old, when they brought her to a veterinarian for her puppy shots.

A group of ladies at First Freewill Baptist Church get a big kick out of being called “hookers for the Lord.” But, indeed, with hooks in hand – crochet hooks, that is – the women of Angel Hugs Ministry have created hundreds of handmade items to bless those who are battling cancer and other serious ailments.

The group, which started with Deb Spencer in October of 2009, has met every Monday evening for a couple of hours to work on making colorful prayer shawls, afghans, lapghans, baby blankets and chemo hats, with every item becoming a donation to someone with a need.

What’s got the preschool youth at the Parkview Huntington Family YMCA all excited about eating their veggies?

On any given day a child may be seen clutching a radish, or a green pepper or even some broccoli that they take home with pride.

That pride comes from having had a hand in raising the vegetables, thanks to a program partnership between the Y and the Purdue Extension, using grant funds to build a raised garden container in the playground yard.

Luke Hall thinks he’s going to the hospital to play on the cool playground-type equipment they have there. But his therapist knows he’s actually getting a workout.

The 5-year-old, who has been diagnosed with developmental delays, looks forward to his sessions at the new Parkview Huntington Hospital Pediatric Therapy rooms, located in the recently opened Holly D. Sale Rehabilitation and Wellness Center. When he sees the gigantic rainbow mural on the wall outside the gym’s doors, he makes sure to high-five all the colors before bounding inside to start some serious play.

Since the closing of the Huntington Free Health Clinic in June of 2017, low-income people in Huntington County who do not have health insurance have had to go out of the county to receive health care. Some just went without. But a partnership with local ministry Love In the Name of Christ and Matthew 25 Health & Dental Clinic in Fort Wayne will allow folks to receive the care they need via cutting-edge technology.

The Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser from “That ‘70s Show” and the Mystery Machine from “Scooby-Doo” were both sites of socializing for the characters on those TV shows.

They were, simply put, vehicles that brought people together.
And Rick Fischer believes they’ll continue to do just that when they appear at the latest Rolling into Roanoke on Saturday, July 27.

Long before astronaut Neil Armstrong was walking on the moon, he was walking to class at Purdue University.

Upon returning to earth, Armstrong maintained ties with his alma mater in West Lafayette. For instance, in 1975, he served as grand marshal of the Purdue Grand Prix, a large go-kart race held annually at the school.

And it’s in this context that a resident of Huntington County, Mike Brennan, met Armstrong.

Running is a solitary sport.

But Lauren Johnson, Hannah Stoffel and Addy Wiley have company.

Local track athletes, the three are specialists in either the 1,500 or 1,600-meter run.

Huntington North High School is a point of confluence for the trio, with Johnson and Stoffel having graduated from the school in 2005 and 2016, respectively, and Wiley set to do the same in 2022.

Two of a rural Huntington artist’s sculptures are now gracing an inner courtyard at Huntington North High School, a permanent loan that may serve as an inspiration to student artists coming up through the ranks and honing their craft.

Huntington First Church of the Nazarene celebrated its 100th anniversary in May.

While it was a time to reflect on the church’s century in operation, it was also a time to look forward and envision the church’s future.

A willingness to do that isn’t unique to the church as it presently stands; it’s something its leadership and congregation have been doing since its founding. And that embrace of forward thinking is one of the biggest reasons why the church has reached such a big milestone.

Huntington North High School freshman Addy Wiley won the 1,600-meter run at the Indiana Girls’ Track and Field State Meet on Saturday, June 1, at Indiana University, in Bloomington.

Wiley, a sectional and regional champion heading into the meet, crossed the finish line in 4:46.93 to beat runner-up Abigail Lynch, of Brownsburg, by more than a second. Lynch, a sophomore, finished in 4:48.19 as she and Wiley were the only two runners to break the 4:50 mark.

Mariah Wehrle, a junior from Ritter, placed third in 4:57.56.

Farmers are not known for allowing the public to step foot on their property and take a peek at how they do things, but not only will people get a rare glimpse of how a working dairy farm operates, they will also be invited to sit down with a farm family and have a free breakfast while they learn about the inner operations and importance of agriculture.

The event, called “Breakfast on the Farm,” happens Saturday, June 8, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Beekman Farm, located at 11902 N. Meridian Rd., in rural Huntington.

Sometimes those who sit in church feel like they are a captive audience. At the Huntington County Jail, the audience is, indeed, captive – but they are more than glad to be in church.

“I’ve made some bad choices and so this time around I’m going to prison,” says Gwendera Nevil, who has been incarcerated at the jail “on and off” – in her words – the past 1-1/2 years. “Now that I’m back in here and I’m back at square zero, I’m learning some more tools to try and better my life, and this is definitely inspiring. It’s definitely making me want to give myself back to God.”

Aaron Childress, director of choirs at Huntington North High School, was in the running for the Vocal Vanguard Award at the 2019 Aspire Awards.

The Aspire Awards recognize the show choir industry’s best and brightest members. The award Childress was up for is given to the nation’s top director.

“All the winners in the past are these people that I’ve looked up to forever,” says Childress. “I’ve been doing this for 14 years; some of them have been doing it for 30 years and they kind of were the pioneers of the profession.

The county’s kindergartners now have a better idea of where the food they eat comes from, after they attended the annual FFA Farm Tour, held May 3 at Carriage Lane Farms.

Hosted by Tom and Rosie Wall, they opened their doors to an exhibit of plants and animals that delighted kindergarten students, as members of the Huntington North High School FFA chapter served as educators and guides.