The Greentown Grapevine – 2007-01, 14:01

              Higginbottom Christmas Village Provides
Pleasure for Designer and Visitors Alike
Three years ago Joyce
Higginbottom began to collect
items for a Victor- ian Christmas
village. She now has 27
buildings and over 100 figures
plus other features such as
trees, bridges, etc. The
arrangement is displayed in her
living room and is about 18 feet
wide. The buildings have lights
and some ’ have moving parts
and play music, such as a
ballroom which plays “ We
Wish You a Merry Christmas”
as the dancers move about.
The whole arrangement is
divided into a seaside, the town,
and an Alpine village. There_ is
a Catholic church in the town
and a mountain church in the
village. Other buildings are
train ~ station, doctor’s office,
restaurant, pub, pet shop,
bakery, toy shop, taxidermy
shop, woodworks, fire station,
and other retail businesses and
residences. Joyce points out the
red fox ( in honor of
Greentown’sfox which she saw
this summer).
Joyce looks for the Lemax
brand of miniatures, often
finding them at after- Christmas
sales and at garage sales. Her
plans include a grist mill with
real water turning the wheel.
Chili Supper and Antiques Appraisals
Scheduled for Jan. I 6
The public is invited to a chili to improve the appearance of
supper and antiques appraisal our community. Call 628- 2612
conducted by the Greentown for more information about the
Main Street Association Fagade dinner or about the fagade
Committee. It will be Tuesday, program.
January 16, from 4 to 8 p. m. at
the Meridian Street Christian
Church fellowship hall, ‘ 205 Application Period
North Meridian Street, Open for Fapde
Greentown-. The price will be
$ 5.00 per person. The meal will Grants ,
include chili, salad, and drink.
Desserts will be available for an
additional fee.
There will also be Antique
Appraisals starting at 6: 30 p. m.
A fee of $ 3.00 for the first item
will be charged and a $ 1 . OO fee
for ea& additional item.
All proceeds will benefit the
Greentown Main Street
Association Fagade Committee
Greentown Main Street
Assoc, iation is offering a grant
of up to $ 2,000 for use in the
improvement of a building
fagade of an historic structure
( at least 50 years old) within the
corporate town limits. The
grant is to be used for costs
incurred as a result of historic
restoration, reconstruction, . or
enhancing the appearance ofthe
s t r u c t u r e ( h i s t o r i c a l l y
appropriate). The grant is to be
no more than 50% ofthe total
cost of the project. Restoration
work is expected to adhere to
the guidelines set forth by the
Department of the Interior
Standards for Rehabilitation,
which can be found at
www. cr. nps. gov/ hpsltpsltax/ rhb.
In a nutshell, the Standards
are: 1. Don’t replace if it can be
repaired. 2. If replacement is
necessary, use in- kind
materials.
Applications are due on or
before April 30, 2007. They
may be obtained by writing
Greentown Main Street Assoc.,
PO Box 71, Greentown, IN
46936 or by calling Rachel
Jenkins at 765- 628- 3564.
Council Membership
to Change by 2008
By Marla Vechey
Town Council members have
begun the last year of their
present four- year term. For Jim
Harris, long- time council
member and president, it is his
final year of service on the
council. Mr. Harris will have
served Greentown residents
twenty- four years. Seven of
those years he has served as
president. He has chosen not to
run for re- election in 2007.
“ After 24 years”, he says, “ it is
time”. While council members
are paid for service, the position
involves more than attending
meetings. Mr. Harris states
there are three to four hours of
work each day for the president
to get the job done right and
sometimes more hours are
needed. If residents have
questions and need answers,
sometimes it can take a few
weks to answer the question
: orrect’y. Harris says, “ It is a
najor time commitment, but
me 1 have enjoyed.”
He relates that the council has
Norked closely with IDEM and
NDOT, which has been most
: hallenging at times. Even so,
le says, “ The reason I have
; erved so many years on the
: ouncil is because of the
ieople, I really enjoy working
with the residents of
3reentown.”
A new council president will
) e elected at the January
meeting. Mr. Harris plans to
assist and support his
replacement during his last year
on the council. A vice
president will be elected, as
well as appointments made for
special committees. ’ Every
January the council re- instates
town employees and the
attorney. Mr. Harris explains
this is just a formality of
government to go through these
procedures at the first meeting
of each year.
The town council is
comprised of five members
representing different wards.
The five council members are
Jim Harris, Craig Trott, Joyce
Higginbottom, Mary Lindgren,
and Todd Everling.
The election for council
members and clerk treasurer
will take place in 2007. The
procedure to run for office is to
file an application with the
Howard County Clerk’s office.
County Clerk Mona Meyers
explains that applications may
be filed between January 24
and noon February 23. Once
applications are complete,
candidates would run in the
local primary election in May.
The January council meeting
will be Tuesday, January2 with
election of officers at 6: 30 p. m.
and the regular council meeting
at 7: 30 p. m. All council
meetings are open to the public.
This newspaper, which was
“ born” January 1994 as an
avenue for local news and an
advertising vehicle for
businesses , is entering its 14”
year. It has . changed with
technological advances. The
box at the front door of 9209 E
00 NS, placed for people to
drop off notices, is hardly used
now, as most communication is
r e c e i v e d by! e m a i l .
Photographic film is no longer
purchased, as photographs are
made via the digital camera,
computer, and printer.
However, some things remain
the same. The layout is done
by hand, not with a publishing
program. Copy is first waxed
using the waxer which came
from the graphic arts
department of Eastern High
School. Copy is then placed on
the layout sheets with the
guidance of a light box made by
Fred Jenkins. The layouts are
driven to Fairmont where the
paper is printed by the fellows
at the News Sun.
It is a pleasure to provide a
“ gras~ sroots” means of
communication and help
promote a sense ofcommunity.
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