Volunteers Needed for MDA

Labor Day will be here before you know it! WLFI takes part in the MDA telethon each year. The 2-day event raises money for "Jerry's Kids." It's also an opportunity to get to know families who are affected by neuromuscular diseases--people who live in our community.
District Director Misty Clugh says the MDA is in need of volunteers to ensure the telethon will be a success. Call her at (317) 824-4805. If you or your group would like to get involved in answering the phones, contact Michelle or Lorri here at the TV station next week. Our number is 463-1800.
The 2006 MDA telethon raised $281,000. Stay tuned for more details on this year's event.

Welcome Home 209th

Welcome Home to the 209th! Dozens of family and friends gathered Friday night for the Homecoming celebration. The 209th had about 120 members who served in Iraq. The soldiers helped with supplies and shipping, as well as guard duty at Anaconda Air Base. About 30 of them are from the Lafayette area and took part in the ceremonies at Ivy Tech. The battalion commander, Major Todd Ressel told the soldiers, "it may have not been a glamorous assignment, but it was an important mission during trying times."

Good luck to all the soldiers--wherever their next journey may take them. They have much to be proud of.

209th Homecoming Celebration

Lafayette will welcome home members of the 209th Quartermaster Company at a ceremony today at Ivy Tech. It all begins at 5:30p.m. with a parade from the Reserve Center on South Street, down Main Street, then onto US 52 to Ivy Tech (located just south of the Tippecanoe Mall).
The ceremony will include remarks from the 766th Battalion Commander, Todd Ressel. About 30 soldiers from the Lafayette area will be honored. We are so thankful for their (and their families) dedication and service!

4-H Fair

The Tippecanoe County 4-H Fair is underway. It's a wonderful time for the youngsters and their animals, as well as other projects. I love going out to the fair and seeing everyone. This is a picture of Catharine Voorhees and her goat Molly. She has an unusual goat, an Angora, that looks like a sheep!
Look for WLFI reporters at the Lafayette Electronic Supply booth. It's at the south end of the exhibit tent. You can't miss the big white trailer with the WLFI lettering.
The next picture is of Collen Downard with her dairy cow.

Don't forget to also stop by the Coliseum and vote for Mike Prangley to Kiss The Pig! Donations are being taken until the contest on Thursday night. Support Mike and the 4-H Foundation!

Cancer

Our hearts go out to the family of former Lafayette Mayor Jim Riehle. He died of cancer Monday. Riehle served our community for 24 years as mayor. His accomplishments include railroad relocation and the depot plaza (that now bears his name). As a reporter, I enjoyed working with the mayor. He had an open-door policy and was willing to put up with endless questions on a variety of subjects. He would always compare bowling scores with me and would smile regardless of his pin count. And of course, he was a die-hard Cubs fan.

This news comes at a time when I am dealing with cancer in my own family. I thought I would share with you why I have not been on the air much lately. My mother fell ill and we recently discovered it was pancreatic cancer. We are still learning a lot about the disease and her options. I appreciate everyone's support and prayers through this difficult time.
Anyone who has been through something similar can understand what my family is going through. Thanks for understanding!
The American Cancer Society has been a wonderful resource during this time. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/home/index.asp

209th To Return

The 209th is coming home this weekend! I spoke with Major Annmarie Daneker with the Regional Readiness Command. She says the Lafayette-based Army Reserve Unit is now in Kuwait and will be flying home in a couple days. Major Daneker says the plane should land early on Sunday morning in Indianapolis. But once the soldiers arrive, they must go to Camp Atterbury for the demobilization process. It could be Wednesday or Thursday before they arrive back in Lafayette.
209th Family Readiness Group leader Patti Frist says the new arrival date has her committee rushing to make some last minute homecoming plans for the unit. The group was hoping for a homecoming celebration like the one in 2004. But, only a third of the 120-member unit is from the Lafayette area. So, Patti is not sure what kind of welcome home the group can organize. So, stay tuned!

Weather With Mike Prangley

Tickets are now available for the "Weather With Mike Prangley" programs scheduled for this Thursday, July 19th at the Tippecanoe County Public Library in Downtown Lafayette. Although it's free, a ticket is required due to limited seating. The presentations are at 10:30a.m. and 2:00p.m. Mike will be talking about our ever-changing Indiana weather. He is one of the featured speakers at the library this summer. To find out more, call 429-0119 or go to www.tcpl.lib.in.us

Zoo Run Run

It's a chance to get a little exercise and see the new Columbian Park Zoo in Lafayette. The 5th annual 5K Fun Run, 3K Fun walk and Kids Fun Run will be at 8:30a.m. Saturday. The event helps raise money for continued improvements at the Zoo. Registration begins at 7:00a.m. in front of the zoo administration building. The $20 entry fee includes breakfast, a t-shirt and a pass to Tropicanoe Cove. If you go, look for Mike Prangley. He helps organize the event each year. The Zoo-Run-Run is also an opportunity to see the new and improved Columbian Park Zoo! For more information on the zoo go to http://www.columbianparkzoo.org/

Clinton County 4-H Fair

I had a great time Wednesday at the Clinton County 4-H fair. It was swine day. I really enjoyed interviewing some of the 4-H members and meeting a lot of faithful viewers. Several people mentioned how much they appreciate our week-long coverage of the fair in Frankfort. We enjoy it too. My trip was not complete without a corn dog and lemonade shake-up.

I grew up on a small farm in Illinois where we raised Herford cattle. So I don't claim to know a lot about swine. We did have one. I was only about 8 years old when we got 'Arnold.' We played with Arnold and fed him treats from the bread store. I remember a few years later when the whole family loaded up in the truck to take the pig to the meat processing place. The man who was unloading the livestock heard us call the pig by his name. It really didn't dawn on us what would happen to Arnold, until we returned about two weeks later. The man who helped us before greeted us with, "Here is Arnold--in two boxes!" We were mortified and didn't eat pork for weeks.

Inside the Green Zone

The Green Zone is a heavily-secured, US-controlled part of Baghdad. Recently the area was hit by ten mortar rounds. CBS news correspondent, Susan Roberts, reported the attack "sent a clear message to all, no one is safe from the brutality of this war."





I recently received some photographs of the area from friends serving in Iraq. I thought I would share them with you.



The top one shows the al Rahman mosque. The middle one is just a shot of Baghdad from the air. The third photograph shows a bombed out building.

We Care

If you have a friend or family member serving in the military overseas, drop his or her name and address off at Lafayette Savings Bank. The bank is participating in the 'We Care Program.' Hundreds of items have been dropped off at local branches. About 30 packages will be sent out this week. Organizer Carol Barker says now the group could use the names of other military service men and women who would like to receive a care package. If you know of someone, just drop off a name and address at an Lafayette Savings Bank branch.
Laura Hitze is also helping with the 'We Care Program.' Her husband, Jacob, is with the 209th Quartermaster Company in Iraq. The Lafayette based Army Reserve Unit is expected to return home at the end of the the month. Stay tuned for news about the group's homecoming.
On another topic-- The funeral service for Master Trooper David Rich will be held at 11:00a.m., Wednesday at the Honeywell Center Gym at 275 W. Market Street, in Wabash. The burial will follow at Friends Cemetery in Wabash.

Trooper Killed

The shooting of an Indiana State Trooper is the first line-of-duty shooting in more than three years. Master Trooper-Detective David E. Rich was shot and killed Thursday near Wabash.
State police spokesman Sergeant Tony Slocum says the suspect in the shooting (a 21 year old man from Michigan) reloaded the shotgun and took his own life.
This is a tragic reminder of the dangers members of law enforcement face every day. Who would have thought stopping to help a stranded motorists would turn out this way. It is certainly a sad day for Indiana State Police, as well as our state.

Independence Day

Hope everyone enjoyed some fireworks on the 4th of July. The display at Purdue was spectacular. Driving back home I noticed fireworks being set off throughout the Lafayette area. It seems more people are enjoying putting on their own shows. You could see colorful fireworks going off in every direction.
Our news department checked with the police and hospitals to see if there appeared to be any major problems over the holiday. It seems everything went pretty well, expect in the Newton County town of Brook. We'll have more in the news about one person who was hurt while setting off the fireworks there.

We talked to several people about what Independence Day means to them. At Slayter Center Dave Stanton, a Navy Reservist said "the Fourth of July is the date we celebrate the birth of the greatest nation that's ever existed." "We're celebrating the freedom that we have that we can worship Christ and believe in him," said Kathy Wilkerson. "We have a free country, where we can believe in whatever we want to believe in." Kenzie Cooper is a Purdue student. "People died for us and fought for us. We have a free country, and we can do pretty much whatever we want, so it's good to support all those people," said Cooper.