By Darlene Bowers
Usually a smile quickly comes to Alisa Armbrecht of Ada as she greets customers at HealthChek at 117 S. Main St.
But this day, the store’s final day, everything is bittersweet. It’s a little harder for that smile to come. But get Alisa reminiscing or telling a favorite story and pretty soon you’ll be laughing along with her at the oddities and funniness of even little things that she and others do to make sometimes the ordinary just a little more enjoyable and never humdrum.
"I'm pretty much a chocolate guy. I'm up for any type of chocolate. Any chocolate." (quote from Denis Leary)
We didn't see Denis at the Ada Public Library on Thursday night. Maybe he was there in spirit. There was plenty of chocolate and Denis would have approved.
The event was the pre-Valentine's Day Ada Public Library's second annual chocolate bake-off. In our opinion, and in smiles viewed by all present, all the desserts were winners.
Judges Bob Simmons, Jill Simmons and Deb Curlis had the difficult task of selecting three winners. Here's how their tastebuds guided their thinking:
Paolo Pirjanian, chief technology officer at iRobot, will be the featured speaker for the Ohio Northern University Spotts Lecture in the Freed Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 7:30 p.m.
Pirjanian’s speech, “The Disruptive Force of Robots in the Home and Beyond,” is free and open to the public.
The Ohio Northern University Department of Theatre Arts welcomes Malcolm Raeburn Read, professional actor and senior lecturer at the University of Salford in Manchester, England, as a visiting guest lecturer from Feb. 16-26.
Read will be at ONU as part of an exchange agreement with the University of Salford and will teach “Acting for the Camera,” which he will do in a series of six sessions. Read also will hold more informal sessions with ONU students and visit a variety of classes during his stay.
Collene Conley, a Certified Application Counselor from Kenton Community Health Center (Health Partners of Western Ohio), has partnered with all public libraries throughout Hardin County to offer on-site assistance so that consumers who have not signed up for health insurance coverage through the Marketplace can have assistance to do so. Marketplace open enrollment ends March 31, 2014.
Conley can also assist consumers with the application to enroll in Ohio’s expansion of Medicaid which covers more low-income Ohioans (adults between the ages of 19-64 who fall within 138% of the federal poverty line.)
The Artists Boutique on Main, Ada’s newest business, is now open in the former Health Chek store at 117 S. Main St. Deb Curlis and Jennifer McDougall opened the shop last weekend.
Now featuring several artists, the shop hopes to eventually feature artwork from 25 or more vendors.
MORE PHOTOS AT BOTTOM OF STORY.
“We have so many neat things,” said Curlis. “While most of our vendors are from the Ada area we also have vendors from elsewhere in northwestern Ohio.”
Customers will see items including paintings, jewelry, pottery, woodworking, locally written books and clothing created from wool, just to name a few.
Ohio Northern University commemorates Black History Month this February with a number of scheduled events. Several campus organizations will collaborate to provide diverse opportunities to celebrate African-American heritage. Here is the schedule of February’s activities:
Cultural Conversation Hour
“Thug Life: Beiber vs. Sherman” Tuesday, Feb. 11
11 a.m.-noon
Heterick 301
Join us for a discussion on whether race in the media influences our perspective. Lunch will be served.
Come to the Ohio Northern University women’s home basketball game on Wednesday, Feb. 19, to participate in the Pop’In Challenge.
The game is at 7:30 p.m. and is located in the King Horn Sports Center. At the game, there will be a raffle for students, parents and all fans over the age of 18 to win $75. To be entered in the raffle, all you have to do is download the free mobile app, Popmoney®. Pop in to the game for your chance to win.
The Hardin County Pork Producers are offering six-$500 scholarships to qualified students. Scholarships will be awarded to one student from each of the six county schools.
For an application, please contact the FFA Advisor or high school guidance counselor at any of the county schools. You can also download an application from hardin.osu.edu or pick one up at the OSU Extension Office located at 1021 West Lima Street, Suite 103 in Kenton.
We often hear in medical reports that when it comes to salt, we can have too much of a good thing. Though the “salt” we use on winter roadways is a different product, the same wisdom holds true. But do you know why too much salt on the road is not a good thing?
Some people learn best by seeing the end result of our actions.
The next time you are travelling down Route 30 or 75, take a look at the trees growing along the sides of the highway. Are the evergreens looking brown, especially toward the ground? There is a good chance that those trees are suffering from the salt spray that is projected off the highway by vehicles.
