Alegent Health’s Rose Ann Auxillary did a great job setting up the Holiday tours this year. We were able to participate by decorating the ACEDC spec home that is for sale out at Spring Lake Sub-division. For an empty house it decorated up nicely. 
With the wonderful help of Gary & Judy Thompson and Nancy Turner we got the house shipshape. Then Jean Peckham, Jane Rychnovsky, Stacie Hull and yours truly went to work bringing decorations from hither and yon to adorn the large space. We felt pleased with the results and had many compliments during the tours. We also added a little holiday humor by handing out Christmas jokes and riddles . . . "How many reindeer does it take to change a lightbulb? . . . . . 8 - one to change the light bulb and seven to hold Rudolph down." (LOL) The first person to call and tell me this joke on the phone before Christmas get’s a free latte or hot chocolate at The Fickle Frog in Corning. Anyway, back to the decorating. The staff at Alegent Health also got into the holiday spirit by decorating what we fondly call the Grow Iowa House - another spec home at the subdivision. They really went to town. 
The whole place was delightful. You can check out more of the photos from the day by visitng Holiday Home Tours. Hope your holidays are filled with lots of happy surprises, warm greetings, and friends and family gathered around you.
Archive
Last night (Thursday), December 4, the Junior High Band and Chorus performed their Christmas concert. The band began at 7:30, playing “The Runaway Sleigh,” “The Christmas Song,” and “The Dance of the Slippery Slide Trombone.” The Chorus then preformed the songs “A Glad Noel,” “The Candle in the Window,” and “A Festive Fa La La.” All of this happened during the varsity girls’ basketball game, followed by the varsity boys’ game. Both games were against Griswold; both Corning teams unfortunately lost, but they played hard! The Junior High’s next girls’ game will be next Monday against Villisca at home starting at 4 P.M.
Last Tuesday, November 18, sixth through eighth grade students who wished to go traveled to Graceland Unviersity in Lamoni for the annual Writers in the Middle conference. This meeting is designed to help young writers better improve their skills with a variety of workshops, including a session with a guest author or illustrator; the only requirement is a story or poem composed by the student. This year’s guest author was Avi, who has written over seventy books for young people and has recieved a Newberry Medal. In his presentations, the audience was allowed to ask him any questions they had. We were able to purchase some of his books, including Crispin: The Cross of Lead, Poppy, The Book without Words, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, and others, and most of us chose to get our books signed by him.
All students were required to attend an Author’s Chair session at one of three class “blocks,” where they would share their stories with ten or more attendees from towns and cities across the state. Other workshops were Stormy Writing, Hieroglyphics in 2008, Concrete Poetry, Dramatic Plays, Craftng Characters, Sing Fantastic Fantasies, R.A.F.T., Radio Broadcasting, Guest Author/Illustrator, and a Harry Potter session. After the third and final session, everyone gathered together once more for the Keynote Presentation with Avi, where he answered more questions and read passages from two of his books, The End of the Beginning and Iron Thunder. All students who attended enjoyed the experience and hope to go again.
Well, the
weather turned fairly nice and over 500 people strolled the streets of Corning to sample the goodies, look at the new holiday merchandise, did a little shopping and greeted friends along the way. A big thank you to all our local merchants who put out the red carpet all over town. It seems we always have a little difficulty getting everyone to meander off of Davis Avenue and visit our businesses on Benton or those further afield, like the Extension office, fitness center, Corning Family Chiropractic, 
Farm Bureau, and the Mini Mart. For those of you who missed out, the food was great, people were fabulous, and I even was able to get my flu shot! We also thank all of you who took the time out of your busy schedules to participate and
sample all the goodies, as well as the American Legion for hosting the soup supper. Again this year, (and never by design) no two recipes were the same. Don’t forget the next big holiday event with the lighted parade on November 29. 
The American Legion is looking for some pie makers to enter their contest and will be serving up some nice, hot soup to start the evening out right. 
Our jolly visitor from the North Pole will be in town to hear if you’ve been naughty or nice, hayrides around town will be available and stores will be open late, so make plans to celebrate with us.
The students in the vocal program at Corning High School did a fabulous job! Wonderful musical direction and choreography made the entertainment a success. The food was fabulous! The play insdie the Madrigal was fun and called for some audience participation. Kudos to all who participated. More images can be found at www.adamscountyiowa.com/play_adams_county.php
Welcome to the Corning Junior High’s youth blog! 
This is brought to you by two main writers, Andrea Boswell and Sarah Clark, representing the Corning Junior High. We will be posting our views on upcoming activities and the main events in the Corning school district. We hope that you enjoy our posts and please feel free to drop in and check on us.
Thanks!
Andrea Boswell
Sarah Clark
By now, hopefully you’ve seen the new “ac” brand mark around town, on the new website (www.adamscountyiowa.com), and on merchandise. We’ve now added the tagline “always creative”. Perhaps you’re asking yourself, “Adams County – always creative? Are we?” You bet we are. Let me give you a few examples to think about. Most of us would agree, I think, that we’re a rural, agricultural area. You might then ask, “How is that creative?” Let’s look at some of the creative ways agriculture is making its way through Adams County.
The Southern Iowa Forage and Livestock Committee (SIFLC) was formed to study alternatives to row crop production on highly erodible land. SIFLC conducts demonstrations to utilize forages as one alternative. They facilitate learning events on topics which include forage suitability, fertilizer alternatives, forage management systems, fencing alternatives, water systems, livestock management in rotational grazing systems, etc. This gives producers with highly erodible, marginal land the opportunity to see alternative ways for profitable production. SIFLC is developing a new project which will take environmental education and practical land stewardship directly to future land managers in high schools and colleges throughout the region. This education comes at a critical time in the career preparation of future land managers. Now that’s creative.
The Adams County Steer & Heifer Carcass Futurity project looks for ways to transition local cow/calf producers into retaining ownership of their calves until they reach slaughter weight in an effort to put more dollars into producer’s pockets. They provide feedlot and carcass performance data for evaluating herd genetics. They offer a creative, user-friendly financing program for local producers to have calves custom fed in local feedlots. They compare the economics of retained ownership versus selling feeder calves to encourage more cattle feeding in Southwest Iowa as a value-added, rural development measure to both cattle and locally-grown feeds. Now that’s creative.
In 2007 POET joined the creative spirit of Adams County. At POET they use the creativity that comes from common sense to deliver a new bounty of American energy from the eternal bounty of the American Heartland. With hard work, imagination and discipline, the people of POET have replaced hundreds of millions of barrels of imported oil with clean, renewable domestic energy while bringing hundreds of millions of dollars back to the American economy. POET is a leader in the development of cellulosic ethanol with its strategy of using corn cobs as feedstock for the process. Now that’s creative.
Adams County agriculturalists are becoming more involved in the creative process, not only on the supply-side, but also on the use of by-products as feed for cattle and other livestock production. While the growth is both challenging and exciting, it amplifies the need not only for education for livestock producers, but opens the way for development of entrepreneurial companies who can provide the resources and technical expertise to producers who don’t have the time, staff, or financing to do the research themselves. These new companies are bridging the informational highway as they take lessons learned in the country with the feedyards discussing needs, opportunities, and concerns and deliver that message back to suppliers so that systems and technology can be tweaked to deliver a better product to today’s producers. Adams County entrepreneurs have opened new doors and created easy access for those producers. Now that’s creative.
As the consumer becomes much more savvy than they used to be and demand a more consistent eating experience, the beef industry continues to evolve into branded beef supply chains, and genetics are recognized as the most powerful quality control tool available. Adams County entrepreneurs are developing cutting edge opportunities for local cattle growers to keep ahead of the curve and increase their economic opportunities in this changing economy. Now that’s creative.
These are just a few stories of how Adams County is “always creative”. In my next column we will discuss other ways that Adams County is making a name for itself as a creative community. Meanwhile, if you know of other creative agriculture experiences throughout the county, feel free to make a comment. Meanwhile, think about ways you can make a positive, creative effect in our community . . . Adams County . . . always creative.
Make “Sample Corning” your first holiday event!
If you’ve never experienced Sample Corning, you are missing a fabulous night of food and fun. This small Iowa town will be hopping on Saturday, November 14. Great fun for the whole family that includes not only tasty treats, drawings, and a pre-holiday look at new gift ideas, but also the recipes to make the delicious items tempting your taste buds and your waistline.
The fun starts at 5 p.m. and runs until 8 p.m. Each of the 43 participating businesses will have a tidbit for you to enjoy. They will also have a recipe card for you as a free gift, just for stopping by. You may discover a new favorite to add to your family celebration.
A friendly welcome, self-guided map, and treat will greet you as you begin your evening with any of the participating businesses. Look for the candy canes along the main thoroughfare which will guide you to each location of participating business.
Sample Corning is a time to stroll with pre-holiday leisure and discover the perfect gift for that special someone. You can saunter among friendly people while selecting a delightful present for your neighbors, family or friends. Linger over exclusive selections as you embrace a favored treasure to create new holiday memories. Mender through Corning’s “Class Act” businesses and enter holiday drawings to win special prizes.
If someone in the family (honey, it’s time to go shopping) or group of friends would rather savor soup than shop, the American Legion is hosting a Soup Supper followed by entertainment from 5-8 p.m. at the American Legion hall across from Central Park in downtown Corning.
Just in time for the holidays, stop by the Lauvstad Center and check out the new wine tote
and drink totes or call the office to purchase for your family or as a gift for others. Both are insulated coolers. The wine tote has a moveable divider that can be put
in place between two bottles of wine to keep them cold and safe, or the divider can be moved to one side an a 2-liter bottle of soda can stay cold for hours. The drink tote hold ice and drinks for a crowd. You can velco shut the handles and easily carry the tote around. Both boast the new Adams County logo. The wine tote can be purchased for $19.50 and the drink tote is availabe for $18.50. You can see the tote’s in the front window of the Lauvstad Center at 710 Davis Avenue in Corning. Check them out during Sample Corning, Friday November 14 from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Wanted to share some great comments from a recent visitor:
“Yesterday I had the wonderful opportunity to visit your lovely town of Corning! I have to honest that I had considered the thought of not attending our Western Iowa Tourism Region meeting. The main reason is the price of gas and the wear and tear on my rapidly aging car. Oh and the fact that I would have to get up 2 hrs early enough to participate in the “Progressive Breakfast” that volunteers in your town had set up for us. WELL, I have to tell you what a great surprise I had in store for me there!
My first and foremost interest as the Johnny Carson Birthplace Home, when I walked in, the volunteers were fairly busy with others who had arrived before me but they made room for me as well! Wow, what an absolute icon there! Then I proceeded to the Icarian Museum, the Corning Center for the Fine Arts and the Corning Opera House! Oh, my, my, I was totally impressed with them all.
The hospitality was exceptional and the food melted right down to my hips! On a personal note the Opera house is a gem of all gems! How excited you must be to have such a place to rebuild and share with others! I do realize that it will take many dollars and much volunteer time ahead for this to be “showcased”. But when it is all said and done it will fit right in with the other beautiful buildings and the hospitality your town has that is so rare these days!
And the room (and food) that our meeting was in, the Turner room, oh how nice!
I even stopped at the General Dollar store for some needed items and they were equally welcoming! No doubt in my mind that I will be sharing my experience with your town for days/months to come!
Thank you for a wonderful day!”