Monday, Jan. 15 — Martin Luther King Day, closed. more

I have always been a bit of a tomboy with a girly flair, at least that is how I best describe it. When I was little I could play with my set of Matchbox cars in the morning, have a Barbie party with some friends in the afternoon, then play dress up and pretend we are the girlfriends of the en vogue boy band by night. I loved to go to Grandma’s farm and frolic through the land, having imaginary scenarios of dancing with a prince just to have that same prince be bested by my tree-climbing prowess. more

Monday, Jan. 8 — Chili dogs on a bun, French fries, cole slaw, ice cream, celebration cake. more

Monday, Jan. 1 — Close. Happy New Year. more

Citizens Memorial Hospital’s Addiction Recovery Program is featured in the online Rural Health Information Hub as a successful model for rural health care. more

Monday, Dec. 18 — Smothered chicken breast, rice, country mix veggies, biscuit, pears more

Christmas movies come in all styles, forms, and qualities. People like to feel a certain way during the holidays. They want joy. They want fun. They want to escape the quagmire that is the everyday world, even if just for a few moments. Christmas movies, in all their cheesy wholesomeness, provide that siesta from life’s doldrums. Luckily for all the holiday movies junkies, there are enough to keep you binge-watching into the yuletide. I have the ones close to my heart. The newest version of The Grinch, voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch always gets me smiling. I love any Christmas Carol movie. My guilty pleasure is the Muppet version that combines the ridiculousness of the Muppets with the dead-pan seriousness of Michale Caine’s Scrooge. more

I have never liked parades - there I said it. I know they are a staple of small town, Midwest America and it is one of the aspects that make me a bit of an outsider around here; this town loves a good parade. I admit, I have avoided them, forgotten about them, gone out of town when they occurred, locked myself in my house, and done just about anything to stay away from the crowded streets filled with gaudy decorated vehicles and people walking by waving at strangers. I guess it is one of the Grinch-like, bah-humbug aspects of my personality, all the cheer and inconvenience of blocked roads just were not my thing! In all fairness, I blame my equally bah-humbug mother. She thought parades were boring so I never went to them and in turn inherited her disdain for watching people walk in straight lines in front of me. So naturally, I decided to participate in one. more

The Polk County University of Missouri Extension will be sponsoring a Beginning Beekeeping Workshop at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 11. It will be held at the Polk County Fairgrounds Activities building, 4560 S. 100th Road, Bolivar. There is no charge for the workshop. more

Monday, Dec. 11 — Celebration day, beef vegetable soup, side salad, hoagie roll, ice cream. more

Dear Editor— more

Monday, Dec. 4 — Goulash, green beans, wheat roll, cherry Jell-O with whipped cream. more