A blossom for the Green County Human Services adult and aging unit >for the shuttle bus. There's a very courteous driver and I appreciate it. - Luella McNeill>
A huge blossom to Guerin Chiropractic >for donating its parking lot for the Monroe High School Boys Soccer car wash on Saturday, July 26. A blossom also to Kwik Trip and Sunbeam Bakery >for their donations to our food stand. We would also like to thank the Monroe community for supporting our team by stopping by to have their cars washed. - The Monroe High School boys soccer team >
A blossom to everyone who has the courage >to sign their full name to their opinions. A barb to everyone who signs >with "anonymous." A huge, thorny barb to The Monroe Times >for allowing personal agruments to continue on the message boards. An opinion is simply another point of view. While sometimes the comments submited contain factual information, too often it turns into a free-for-all on these message boards. I would think this is where the Web site editor would step in. - Stephanie Kruse>
A huge bouquet of blossoms to all the people who helped to make the Red Cracker Music Fest >a huge success. It takes many long, hard-working hours to put this on. The help of the community for the good cause of a new park is greatly appreciated by the Music Fest Committee and all those involved in the planning of the event. A big thank you to those who donated funds to help the cause, as well. Thank you to the Community Park Fund for getting involved and keeping the money coming in. It has taken 13 years, but we are getting much closer to the dream of a nice park that will be enjoyed by many for years to come.
A barb to The Monroe Times >for its poor coverage of this event. A nice picture, or even Faces in the Crowd the next day, would have been nice. It isn't every day that a town the size of South Wayne has a big topper along the highway.
A barb to The Monroe Times sports department >for its poor coverage of Home Talent games this year. It seems the only games you are covering is when Monroe plays. - Connie Meier>
I would like to give a blossom to the Green County Fair >and all those who planned and participated. As a mom with small children, I thought it was wonderful. We have gone to the State Fair in past years, and it is so big and crowded, it is very stressful with kids. However, our fair was a great size, my kids loved the rides, the food, the rodeo, tractor pull, the animals, the corn play area, etc. There were many worndful things. Things can always be improved upon, but I'm sorry that all you have heard are the negatives. I also appreciated that kids under 8 were free. It allowed us to return time and time again! - Beth>
On Saturday, July 26, the Green County Family YMCA held its 5th Annual Just Tri Youth Triathlon. The event was a huge success, with 100 kids participating, up from 82 last year and more than double the amount of the first year. An event such as this cannot happen without the coordination and assistance of many people, so with that in mind I would like to send blossoms to the following people:> The staff of the YMCA, Capt. Jim Kozak and the Monroe Police Department, Green County EMS, Tom Boll/Monroe Street Department and Paul Klinzing/Monroe Parks Department and all the businesses and individuals for their donations of goods and services. A special thank you goes out to all the neighbors of the YMCA for their patience with road closures and increased traffic flow during the triathlon. Last but not least, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to all the volunteers, particularly Terry Martin, Keith Hoesly and Brian Keith, who played key roles on the day of the race. Without the help of the volunteers, all the planning prior to the race is for naught. Finally, an enormous thank you and congratulations to all the kids who participated in the Just Tri Youth Triathlon - you are all winners in my book. See you next year - July 25, 2009! - Chris Sachs, Race Director, Monroe>
A blossom and a barb for The Monroe Times. >A blossom for featuring Calli Matzke in your People You Should Know feature. A barb for spelling her name incorrectly. - Someone who knows her>
A blossom to thank the Monroe Public Library Children's Department> for the wonderful summer programs for children. They really enjoy Wild Wednesdays.
A blossom to The Monroe Times> for having Blossoms and Barbs. - Diane West, Monroe>
A blossom to Thieding Construction >for the excellent work done on the retention pond. - Harry Miles-Local 139, retired, Monroe>
A blossom to Ron and Steve Buholzer, Jeff Wideman, Jeff Conway and Steve Stettler, >for coming up with the idea for a new location and new ideas for this year's Apostolate to the Handicapped volleyball tournament. It will be kind of sad to drive by the spot where the old Junction House stood this weekend and not see all the people contributing to the Apostolate, but I also know new traditions are good, too! Great job, guys!
A blossom to Father Campion and all of his volunteers >who help with the Apostolate to the Handicapped - not only for the upcoming event, but for all of them.
A blossom to the person or persons involved with taking care of the flowers and the "park" >at the junction of County M and Highway 11 in Browntown. It really, really, really (did I mention really?) looks nice down there. If you don't get that way often, I suggest you drive by sometime. ... I think it is worth it.
A blossom to all the area youth who are showing animals >at the State Fair. From what I hear, they are representing the county quite well. Good job to the kids and the parents!
A blossom to Noreen Rueckert and the Cheese Days board >for all the time and effort they are putting into Cheese Days. You all have had the task of making Cheese Days more appealing this year, with high fuel costs and not having the farm and factory tours, but you once again have risen to the occasion and I look forward to seeing all the masses of people that will show up. And to the skeptics out there who think the Cheese Days committee is not doing its job ... I don't see your name on the volunteer forms. ... Maybe we should change that. We can always use fresh curds, I mean, ideas.
A blossom to the Monroe Area Skate Enthusiasts >for continuing to plug away and raise money for their skate park. Hope to see you all at the Festival on the Square Aug. 9, and if you want to get back at me for any reason, I will be in the sponge toss booth from 12:30 to 1 p.m. Let's see how many of you out there will pay for the opportunity to throw a wet sponge at me.
And although this one makes me nervous, a blossom to the Justice Center Committee and the Green County Board >for finding ways to trim the budget for the Justice Center construction. With all the bad publicity surrounding the Justice Center, it is refreshing to see the board and committee taking steps to ensure the costs are kept down. - Jeff Ditzenberger, Monticello>
