Porter County Sheriff to Display Flag Created by Purdue Calumet Students

Leaders of the Criminal Justice Club at Purdue University Calumet unfurled their new club flag for display Thursday at the Porter County Jail.

Club members Tom Donovan and Valyncia Gogins collaborated on the flag design.

"I had ideas of what would best represent the Criminal Justice Club, but I’m not tech savvy enough to handle the design on my own,” said Gogins. “But when I saw Tom’s design, I thought, 'That’s what I was thinking, except with a few changes.’”

The two students continued improving their flag design, and earlier this semester the Criminal Justice Club members voted Donovan and Gogins' flag to be the best out of numerous submissions.

“The purpose for the Criminal Justice Club is to help students get to know one another, to know the criminal justice community in our area, and to become involved in community service," said Nicki Ali Jackson, club sponsor and associate professor of criminal justice. “This flag shows how proud we are of our organization and links us into criminal justice system.”

Continue reading at The Times.

Boone Grove Celebrates Graduates’ Diverse Achievement and Service to Others

As friends and family gathered for the 124th annual Boone Grove High School commencement ceremony, the band established the festive mood with several special songs.

In her welcoming address, class President Paige Kraushaar paused for a moment of silence for Alyssa Salapski, “the angel of the senior class,” who lost her battle with leukemia in their sophomore year. Kraushaar also reminisced, “Porter Lakes Elementary and Boone Grove Elementary kids didn’t actually like each other on our first day of middle school. But now most of us have a best friend from the other school.”

Next, the senior choir sang “Carry On Wayward Son,” accompanied by Jacob Williams on acoustic guitar.

Guest speaker Kathy Sherman was with these students on their first day of sixth grade. “It has been a wonderful experience to watch the class of 2013 mature from children to young adults,” she said. “It has been an honor to be part of your lives.” ...

Continue reading this story at The Times.

Farmboys Workshop Bringing Nature to a Wall or Card Near You

I love local art.  Even better when it is in the family.
Sarah's uncles, Steve and Donald, make up Farmboys Workshop.  Steve takes the photos from around their home Tryon Farm (Michigan City, IN) and adapts them using PhotoShop, and Donald handles production and distribution.
The end result is unique art and dazzling greeting cards.  The images are somewhere between photo, realistic painting, and Van Gogh.
A browse through their offerings will add color to your life, and you will also learn a lot about native Indiana plant life.  From flowers to grasses and turtles to butterflies, they will reacquaint you with nature.  For example, check out this Bee on Spotted Knapweed.  Who knew weeds could be so beautiful?!

Check them out on Etsy.  They make great gifts and cards, and the cards actually make great gifts as well.  We have a collection of three pictures over our coatrack in our entryway, and Sarah bought a bunch of cards to reframe elsewhere.  You can also like them on Facebook to see their latest work.