Around Town

By: Ernie Wren

I cannot speak for everyone, but with Ashland not yet having a pasta restaurant, I am always drawn to local spaghetti dinner fundraisers. Coming up on Friday, May 7th, from 11am to 6:30pm, the Southern Boone Senior Center will be hosting a spaghetti drive through or carry out dinner fundraiser that is open to the entire public. The Senior Center is located at 406 Douglas Drive, here in Ashland. The cost is $10 for adults and $5 for children aged 12 and under. With this meal comes spaghetti, a salad, bread, and dessert. It does not get much better than this, so I am tucking my normal low-carb diet away for a day and hope to see everyone there! As many already know, the Ashland Optimist club and high school FFA kids partner together to take in old bikes that can be refurbished or used for parts. The refurbished bikes are given away to children in need at no cost. The volunteers have managed to give away anywhere from 25 to 50 bikes every year. I am always blown away by the kindness I see weekly with donations of bikes, helmets, and money. This past weekend as wife Danna and I were hitting the city wide garage sales, I had several homeowners offer me the bikes or helmets that were sitting in their driveway, free of charge. And Monday morning, Public Works Director James Creel called me to let me know that four bikes had been dropped off at the recycling location, and that he would be happy to move them over to the Optimist shed for donation. I have witnessed children receive their first bicycles through this program, including a 14-year-old foster child who received his first bike ever, which, I have to confess, made me a little misty-eyed. So, thank you to all for helping make this effort continue to happen.

See more in this weeks Boone County Journal