ONE WEEK FROM TODAY THE GREAT CELEBRITY PIE AUCTION 2012 KICKS OFF

Monday May the 7th will be the first day of the Great Celebrity Pie Auction for 2012.  Over a dozen local celebrity pie bakers will join Mike, Tom and Brad from 7-9AM Monday to Wednesday to help raise money for the Bond County Relay for Life.  Tune in and start bidding Monday morning at 7AM, Bond County Sheriff Jeff Brown will be the first baker again this year.  Also joining WGEL for this year’s Pie Auction will be Matt Willman and Scott Lurkins from the city of Greenville, Police Chief Lou Lorton, State’s Attorney Chris Bauer, Randy Alderman from Bradford National Bank, Tim Watson from Aurthur Young Chevrolet, Bond County Circuit Clerk Rex Catron, Daryl Bolen from the First Christian Church and WGEL Farm Reporter Joe Doll, Spanky McCray, local Principals Eric Swingler, Bill Carpenter and Ryan Bauer, and Ryan Mifflin from Greenville Regional Hospital.  Tune in and bid, bid, bid, all the money goes to the Bond County Relay for Life and like all donations to the Relay its tax deductable.  The Great Celebrity Pie Auction for 2012 start’s Monday May 7th at 7AM, join WGEL and all our bakers and bidders in the fight against cancer.   

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DIY STREET FAIRE

Our Common Ground will be hosting their DIY Street Faire on Saturday, June 16th for those who are interested in being more self-sufficient.  We spoke to Martha Radcliff about the event.
The Do It Yourself Faire will be held on Saturday, June 16th from 9:00am-3:00pm.  Martha said that they are trying to pull together the kind of people that are interested in sustainable living.  They will have robotics club from St. Louis coming, as well as a man who has a robotic lawnmower.  They will also have a trailer showing how you can live ‘off the grid.’  The event will be held on the courthouse lawn and down on College Ave.  The event is also being held in conjunction with the Car Show.  For more information, or to participate in this event, go to www.ocgart.org.

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IHSA STATE BASS FISHING TOURNAMENT PREVIEW

The 2012 IHSA State Bass Fishing Tournament is this week at Carlyle Lake.  Al Crocker said everyone has been working hard putting the final touches on this year’s competition.  The tournament will run from Thursday, May 3 through Saturday, May 5.  Students will fish Friday and Saturday, with weigh-ins at 3:00 p.m.  Al said the fish are ready for the kids.  Large Largemouth Bass are being caught all over the lake and it should be a very good tournament.  Two teams from Highland are competing at the state tournament this year.

FIRST NATIONAL BANK COMMUNITY AWARDS

The First National Bank of Greenville, Mulberry Grove, Vandalia, and Patoka 2012 Hometown Support Luncheon was at Cunetto’s Restaurant recently.  40 hometown, non-profit organizations throughout Bond County received checks to further their good work. First National Bank President Ernie Chappel said the event was one of their highlights of the year.  Ernie said they started the Hometown Support Luncheon program in Vandalia more than 10 years ago.  It gives First National Bank an opportunity to make a small donation to local organizations.  Each recipient is able to tell their story and talk about how they will use the donations to better the community.

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SIGN TO BE ADDED TO BOND COUNTY VETERANS MEMORIAL

Visitors to the Bond County Veterans Memorial will soon have a guide to help them find bricks of their loved ones.  Judge John Knight said they have had a lot of requests for assistance in finding bricks.  People who visit the memorial sometimes are not able to locate a specific brick because they are not in alphabetical order.  To solve this problem, they have developed a directory that will, by alphabetical order, give each brick a row and column number.  Visitors will be able to find the brick on the directory, and then find the brick’s specific location.  The sign will be approximately 3 feet by 8 or 9 feet in size, and will be located in close proximity to the memorial.  All of the bricks will be included on the directory.