Around Town: Nov. 22, 2023

By: Ernie Wren
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow and a safe holiday weekend. I appreciate and am thankful for my family, friends, and faith, and I thank all of you that are a part of this wonderful community. This year I am extra grateful for the opportunity to teach middle school math at Southern Boone. It may take a lot of hours, and the pay may not be the highest, but I couldn’t be happier. There is tremendous support from administration, fellow teachers, parents/guardians, and of course, the kids. This Thanksgiving is very special to me, and I hope yours is as well.

The following week you may want to make plans to attend the Annual Christmas Parade & Tree Lighting hosted by the City of Ashland’s Park and Rec Board. The event will take place on Friday, December 1st, starting with the parade lineup at the Primary School at 5:30pm. The parade judging will commence at 6pm, with the parade starting at 6:30pm along the normal route – Henry Clay north, then east on Broadway, then north at Main to the city park. After the parade Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus will take part in a tree lighting ceremony with pictures and “Moose Munch” at the gazebo in the city park (sponsored by the Southern Boone Chamber of Commerce). This is some great, old fashioned Christmas holiday fun that all families can enjoy.

Take note of the Christmas Decorating Contest hosted by the Boone County Journal. I love driving around town, taking my mom out to see all the lights. Some even have radio broadcast options! The entry period to have your home or business judged is from November 24th through December 5th. There are great prizes to be had for all, I hope to see many entries!

The American Legion Post 152 announced on social media that their annual oratorical contest is starting. This is open to high school students interested in competing in a constitutional speech contest. If you’ve never been to this event, I highly recommend attending as it is fascinating and enlightening to hear what our younger generation has to say. If you know a high schooler who may wish to participate, they can go to: https://www.legion.org/oratorical/rules to find out more.

On the Southern Boone sports scene, I would like to offer a shout out to Taylor Germann for earning All-State honors for the 2023 season! Also, kudos to Alex Volkart on being the Class 3 Girls State Champion in Cross Country!

It’s that time of the year again, time to file if you are interested in running for election! The Southern Boone County R-1 Public School District invites qualified persons interested in running for a position on the School Board to file to be a candidate in the April 2, 2024 election. There are two positions available, each with a three-year term. Filing will begin on December 5, 2023, at 8 a.m. Filing will end on December 26, 2023, at 5 p.m. For more info, please see: sbschools.us/page/board-elections

“A new survey found that 80 percent of men claim they help cook Thanksgiving dinner. Which makes sense when you hear them consider saying ‘that smells good’ to be helping.” -Jimmy Fallon