Et Cetera

By Mitchel Duran Oak 6 began service on May 1 at the start of The Delano Farms growing season in Michigan. The farm has been in working order since 2011, when it was acquired by the Kalamazoo Nature Center (KNC). Oak 6 is learning that farmers work early and hard without a vacation. The team has spent four weeks seeding in the green house, planting vegetables rain or shine, and cultivating all of the rows that weeds try to overtake.

The Vinton Garden Club member of National Garden Clubs, Inc., District II and Central Region met Wednesday at 11:00 am May 27, 2015 at the 218 Roadside Park that the Garden Club maintains.  Nine members attended the potluck, program, meeting and then scraping paint from post and shelter.  Joyce Bratten gave the program on dividing perennials.

Eric Baker from Overland Park, Kansas is serving on team Cedar 7 in AmeriCorps NCCC Corps Class 21. He arrived in Vinton in January of 2015 to start his 11-month service term with the program. Cedar 7 is made up of nine people from across the country who serve together around the Midwest. Before his term of service, Eric graduated from Boston University with a degree in News Editorial Journalism in December 2012.

On Wednesday, June 3, the Vinton-Shellsburg FFA Officer Team joined many other officer teams in the Northeast District at Hawkeye Community College to attend COLT, or Chapter Officer Leadership Training. COLT started off with opening ceremony with the Northeast District Officers then separating the officers into their groups based on the office held.

Alexander McGee of Vinton (52349) was one of 271 students to graduate from Cornell College on May 10. McGee graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics . One of the 40 "Colleges That Change Lives," Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, is a national liberal arts college with a distinctive One Course At A Time curriculum. The One Course schedule provides students the chance to dive into their studies, focus more intensely on the disciplines of their choice, and learn authentically with the unique freedom to shed the confines of the traditional classroom to study off-campus, pursue research, or accept an internship -- all without missing out on other classes.

By Ashley Prunier AmeriCorps NCCC team Maple 5 arrived in Columbus, Nebraska on April 30 to serve Connect Columbus, Habitat for Humanity, Educational Service Unit 7 (ESU7), Camp Luther, and The Columbus Housing Authority. The team has been repainting and rewiring the offices of ESU7 and sorted through multiple shelving units of VHS tapes to downsize the video library.

This is part one of a four-part series written by Vinton Unlimited. The purpose of these brief articles is to help acquaint Vinton residents with leisure options that are available right in our own community so we can all become local ‘ambassadors’ so when a visitor might ask “what is there to do in town” each resident can respond with countless suggestions and a sense of community pride.

Buena Vista University students were recently honored at the university's annual student recognition event. Area students who were honored include: Jamie Rich, a junior psychology major from Belle Plaine, received the following recognition: Ed Bock & Henry Olson Travel Award. This award is for Buena Vista University students to support them in opportunities they might not otherwise experience.

By Aaron Rosado AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) team, Oak 4, is serving with Plymouth County Conservation Board and The Nature Conservancy doing prescribed burns as well as trail maintenance when the weather does not permit the team to burn. “I am excited for another opportunity to burn and am hoping this experience will give me a better opportunity to pursue a fire career,” says NCCC team leader, Bailey Kovall from Duluth, Minnesota.

By Sarah Drayton From the moment members of Maple 3 step foot in Franklinton, Ohio they knew they were there to make a difference. It starts from the moment they wake up in the morning ready to pull more weeds up until the team puts the last rake in the shed at the end of the day. The city Franklinton is known as a food desert, which means there is not a fresh produce market within five miles of the city.