Calling All Quilters

The Grand Rivers Chamber is looking for quilts to display at the 11th Annual Grand Rivers Spring Festival and Quilt Show. The quilts will be displayed April 22 through April 25, and will be judged by viewer’s choice votes cast by visitors to the show. The First Place Quilt will receive $100 and a blue ribbon. First Place wall hanging will receive $50 and a blue ribbon; second and third place winners will receive red and white ribbons. Enter your own handiwork or display your club's or family favorite homemade quilts. If you are interested please contact Pat Jones at 270-362-4631.

It's my Birthday

My lack of posts for a long weekend is a sure sign that my mom was in town. She came to visit for my birthday. We celebrated with a mom cooked meal and a night at the Commonwealth Yacht Club. Mom originally planned to throw me a surprise 50th birthday party. It would have been a big surprise because I’m not 50.
I’ve heard it said that Kentucky is twenty years behind the times. I’m thinking this makes me 29 and fabulous.

Love you momma. Travel home safe.

One More Thank You

At the risk of sounding a bit kumbaya-ish, I have one more group of wonderful volunteers that need to be recognized.

Thank you to Steve Wilson of Wood n Wave Bike Shop and all of the great volunteers that are working to clear the Canal Loop Trail in Land Between The Lakes. The Canal Loop is an 11 mile single track trail through the woods and I can only image the number of trees and the amount of debris that must be moved to clear the trail. Steve and the volunteers have invested countless man hours and have completed clearing the Barkley side of the trail. They started working on the Kentucky side yesterday. This trail is used by runners, bikers, and hikers and with enough help could be reopened soon.

If you would like to help, email Steve at Wood n Wave –info@woodnwave.com or call Wood n Wave during business hours at 270-362-2453. If you are interested in an update on the volunteer efforts, check http://www.woodnwave.com/

If you are interested in an update on Land Between The Lakes facilities reopening, check the website http://www.lbl.org/

The trail is vital to the Grand Rivers Spring Events Calendar as it is part of the course for the West Kentucky Runners Club Ultra Run and several bike races. We owe a huge dept to Steve and these volunteers as these trails and spring events draw thousands of visitors to Grand Rivers.

More Reflection

Last night we had a community appreciation night for our volunteer fire department, city workers, churches, and citizens who helped us get through the challenges of the ice storm. This wonderful event was the idea of Mark Gill and of course I said I would help because I’ve always got to be in the middle of everything.

I called all my favorite cooks to help and Dianne Bingham, Martha Riddle, Susan Sunderman, Mary Ann O’Leary and my husband all made homemade soup. Miss Alma Paris, Bernice Hunt, Bette Stiles, Pat Terry, Vicky Moodie and Linda Ray made desserts. Thank you to all our wonderful cooks and to those that helped with set-up and serving.

I sent out an email about the event and asked everyone to help spread the word. With only four days to plan the event, we estimated maybe 100 people would attend. We had over 150. It was an impressive community event.

For over an hour people shared stories of thanks. In an earlier post, I shared with you the stories of the city workers, our Volunteer Fire Department, Jan and Sy Quarles of Mr. BBQs, Patti’s and the IGA. They were all mentioned last night but I also learned about more people that need to be added to my list of thank yous.

Vulcan Materials donated the use of a generator and other equipment to the shelter. They also kept their hourly employees on the clock and sent them out into the community to clear driveways and assist with clean-up. Thank You Vulcan Materials.

Thank you also to Steve Proctor and the Methodist Church, Mark Gill and the Grand Rivers Baptist Church, Bill and Sara Minihan and the Badgett Playhouse, and thank you again to all the citizens of Grand Rivers that helped each other out.

It is time to move on now but I am keeping very warm memories of the ice storm of 2009.

Open for Business

I am getting calls today asking if our businesses are open and the answer is YES.

Our central business district and almost all of Grand Rivers has power. Patti's Restaurant is open. Lighthouse Landing, and the Grand Rivers Inn are open. Mr. BBQ Restaurant is open.

The Badgett Playhouse is open with shows scheduled for this weekend. AND the darling, young, single hottie pictured above with my mother is a volunteer usher tonight. How do I know this? Well, I am his mother and in my unbiased opinion the opportunity to spend a few minutes with him as he escorts you to your seat is worth the price of the ticket alone. Plus you get to see a fantastic show.

The Grand Rivers Florist, Lite-Side Bakery, So Cool, Canoe Antiques, IGA, Grand Rivers Antiques, the Homeplace, and all business in central Grand Rivers are all open their regular business hours. Lake Realty and ReMax are open. First Kentucky Bank is open.

Power has been restored to Green Turtle Bay Resort and the business offices and reservations are open. The Commonwealth Yacht Club will open on February 20th.

We are open for business in Grand Rivers!

I'm in the Nauti News

Mind out of the gutter please. It’s Nauti as in Nautical and it is the official publication of Green Turtle Bay Resort. I have an article in the February edition where I talk about many of the spring events we have planned in Grand Rivers. Click on the picture to read the full article.

Open for Business

Did you know a picture of our own Patti’s Settlement was recently in the New York Times? No kidding. A version of this article appeared in print on January 31, 2009, on page A13 of the New York edition of the New York Times. Check it out here -

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/31/us/31kentucky.html?_r=1&n=Top/News/U.S./U.S.%20States,%20Territories%20and%20Possessions/Kentucky

O.k. so it may not be the most flattering picture but press is press. You will be happy to know that Patti’s Restaurant looks much better today AND is now OPEN FOR BUSINESS as is most of Grand Rivers. I don’t know about you but I suddenly feel like shopping and I am hungry for pork chops and boatsinker pie.

Free Movie Night at the Badgett Playhouse

Those with power, please share this information with those in the area that are without power.

The Badgett Playhouse is sponsoring FREE MOVIE NIGHTS on Friday and Saturday, February 6 and 7. Movie time is 7:00 pm.

Each night will feature a family friendly movie. Families with power are of course also welcome but I am sure there are families without power that are getting a little stir crazy. Join us for a night out at the movies. FREE.

George Saves the Day

I'm still having technical difficulties with my camera but my hero George emailed me these pictures of the ice storm and Mr. BBQ to go with yesterdays post.

Thank you also to WPSD Local 6 and Gerran Thomas. They did a story on Mr. BBQ. It aired this morning and will air again tonight. Local 6 is doing a great job of covering the storm, relief effors and clean up efforts.

I'm Back

I’m back! My power is back on after nine days. I love electricity.

The ice storm was beyond description. We lost power. We lost water. We lost phones. What we did not lose was the spirit of this community.

The morning after the ice storm, Jan and Sy Quarles of Mr. BBQ’s Restaurant started serving free hot meals out of the restaurant. They lost power just like everyone else and they could have stayed home and tried to keep warm or left town but they didn't. They were there every single day at 7:00 am. They cooked and kept the restaurant warm with the gas ranges. For the first five days they served three meals a day. After the Senior Center started serving hot dinners, they still did breakfast and lunch each day. I’m talking bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy for breakfast, and old fashion home cooked specials for lunch and dinner. Jan and Sy are tireless in their effort to help others as are many of our citizens during this trying time. Cindy, Cozette, Martha and Mary Ann all helped with the cooking. Dianne, Sara and Mark delivered hot meals to those that could not get out. Patti’s made food donations. Emily opened the IGA for supplies.

Our volunteer fire department was also quick to respond. They have a shelter set up in the Senior/Community Center and have worked around the clock facing the challenges of the situation. They are also serving hot dinners each night.

Our city workers are Amazing. Joe, Jeff, Brandon, Bill, and T.F. were quick to respond and they all worked hard to clear the roads, restore the water, and keep our sewer plant running.

Neighbors checked on neighbors. Friends checked on friends.

Words cannot express my gratitude to those that stepped up and helped out during this trying time. Repair and clean up continues but all of my friends and family are safe. Many in Western Kentucky are still without power and my heart goes out to them. I wish this world had a Mr. BBQ and a Jan and Sy Quarles in every town.