NOT 1 SINGLE PERSON IN ELWOOD HAS MADE A DONATION NOR GAVE ANY ITEMS TO HELP AND SUPPORT THIS PROGRAM. I HAVE HAD SEVERAL OUTSIDE OF ELWOOD TO HELP. IT MAKES ME SAD THAT THE PEOPLE IN THE TOWN WHERE I LIVE WOULD NOT OFFER THEIR SUPPORT. I WILL BE ENDING THIS SOON AS MY END OF DATE IS APRIL 14TH. THANKS
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We are collecting items now for the gift box program that supports children in Nicaragua. Our goal is to ship 100 filled boxes to the children this year. All items and donations are needed no later than April 13 in order for the boxes to be shipped several weeks later to make it to Nicaragua by the Christmas holidays.

We already have boxes and gift wrap so all we need are items to fill each of the boxes. This is where you can help. Can you please consider purchasing items (see list below) or making a donation towards the purchase of items or shipment of the boxes? Each box costs $5 to ship.

Items (new,or old ) to be collected:

- Jump ropes, Dolls, Toys for Girls and Boys

- Small balls (no larger than 4 inches big)

- Bubbles

- Writing pens

- Note pads (no larger than 5 X 7 inches)

- Toothbrushes

- Toothpaste (large tubes)

- Hair combs

- Bars of soap (each in Ziploc bag)

- Lollipops or gum (no other type of candy)

- Shampoo, lotion, etc. (hotel or trial size)

- Donations (for purchase or shipping)

- Anything really that would fit in a gallon size baggie.

- Please try to help the kids. If everyone would just give 1
baggie size full of clothes or toys would help so much. If you give clothes they have to be for kids 1 month and up and Only summer clothes. Please give from your heart.

Call 425.4646 Robin to set a time to have your stuff picked up or bring to 401 N 3rd St, Elwood and set on front porch. Donation's can be mailed to :
Robin Trueblood
401 N 3th St
Elwood, In 46036
Thank you so much for your help and support.
kids

Hi everyone. I am Al Jordan, creator of this website and a toolbar designed just for Elwood. Recently the toolbar company emailed me and wants to do a story on this website and me. This will mean big traffic for a few days as this company is world wide and sends out over 100,000 newsletters each month. Not liking to do video interviews and answer questions on the fly I asked them for the questions in advance and I got them. LOL

One of the questions concerns the members of this website so I would like your input on this question.

The question is:
What makes your community special and what do your members/users care about?

I could sure use some input on this folks. I will be doing the interview the week of March 22 so I need your answers before then. Just leave them in the comments section. Thanks a bunch in advance.

Below is a piece of the email I got from the toolbar company.
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Hi,

My name is Dmitriy Pavlov and I am with the Marketing Team at Conduit. I would like to congratulate you on the great toolbar you built on conduit.com and would like to feature your site in a few of our upcoming marketing opportunities. You have an interesting site and I think it would make a great story!

The exposure you can get (on the Conduit site, newsletter, social media channels and more) can help you generate more traffic, brand awareness and SEO benefits (links to your site and more).

Specifically, we are now in the process of creating short videos (recording via webcam or in-person) with Conduit’s most interesting publishers, which will later on be featured on our site and materials which you can even use in your own marketing materials.
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Thanks everyone
Al

From the start, I have believed the 2010 session of the Indiana General Assembly should focus on finding more jobs for Hoosiers. Others may feel that the success of this session will be keyed on issues like property tax caps and ethics, but we cannot ignore our responsibility as lawmakers to help get our state's economy back on track again.

There are "experts" who believe that our economy is improving. It is difficult to share such optimism as long as we continue to have around 300,000 Hoosiers out of work, numbers that do not even include workers whose benefits have run out, or those folks who have given up hope of finding another job. The latest schedule tells us that the 2010 session should be over in the next two weeks. That doesn't seem like very long, but it is long enough to take a few concrete steps to help Hoosiers get back to work.

What can we do?

It is tempting to spend all our time focusing on attracting huge corporations that promise to put thousands of people to work. It is more realistic to look at ways to help small businesses across Indiana. According to the most recent figures, there are 115,000 small businesses in our state that employ around 1.3 million Hoosiers. Too often, these operations - small businesses in Indiana are defined as having fewer than 500 employees - get left behind when discussing economic development. They deserve to be offered the types of job creation incentives that usually go toward big companies.

At the same time, we can direct more of our state's economic development operations toward assisting small businesses. Just one example of what can be done is contained in House Bill 1250, which would devote more existing state funds toward a small business loan program to make it easier for these businesses to pursue new investments. This measure passed the House with bipartisan support, but is getting nowhere in the Indiana Senate.

I understand the need to provide incentives to entice new employers to come to our state. I feel incentives must be used as a tool that encourages companies to make a larger investment in their greatest asset: the men and women who work for them. Give these workers more disposable income and we can help raise all sectors of our economy.

With any incentive should come more responsibility and accountability from those who receive help from Indiana taxpayers. If a company does not come through on the jobs it has promised, or it chooses to leave Indiana for a better deal elsewhere, state and local government should have the right to get back some or all of the taxpayer-funded incentives provided to that employer.

Where do we focus this attention? On those areas of the state that need our help the most. In December, more than half the counties in Indiana carried unemployment rates at 10 percent or greater.

Our state can set an example to follow. One of the first measures that passed out of the House this session was HB 1002, which gives Hoosiers first shot at working on large-scale capital improvement projects that are financed through your tax dollars. Again, this legislation is getting nowhere in the Indiana Senate, but there is time to keep it alive for consideration through the remaining days of this session.

HB 1188 which I authored to help hybrid energy companies like Bright Corporation is on track to pass out of the Senate. It was heard in the Senate Transportation Committee earlier this week with representatives of Bright Corporation present to give testimony. This legislation will help a number of companies who are pioneering new approaches to this promising new industry.

Our work schedule is going to be hectic in the days to come. By the end of this week, the House will have finished consideration of bills sent to us from the Indiana Senate. A week after that, we are expected to be done with all of our work.

Many issues remain on the table, and advocates already are lining up to talk about issues like gaming, the length of the school year and delaying our bipartisan commitment to fixing our state's unemployment trust fund.

None of them are as important as helping Hoosiers find jobs. We should not wait for our economy to grow back on its own. There is time to act now.

For more information on the legislative session or to catch up on the latest news regarding state government, please visit my website. If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact me by calling 1-800-382-9842 or emailing h36@in.gov.

I drove by and noticed the China Town restaurant is open and looked pretty busy. I will stop by in a day or two and get their menu to add here ;)

There is a new website devoted to the Elwood Glass festival. The link is below.

http://elwoodglassfestival.com/