ARE YOU READY? GET SET... GO

Every day in September, you can expect to get ideas to help you improve upon your current level of preparedness and set goals about food storage, emergency kits, and disaster preparations. It is called the 30 Days of Preparedness.

LINK TO LOTS OF GREAT INFORMATION

This year the national theme from Ready.gov / America’s National Preparedness Month is “Disasters Don't Wait. Make Your Plan Today.” You are encouraged to begin a disaster planning discussion with your friend, family and neighbors. Download a basic emergency supplies kit from the FEMA.gov website so you know where to start.

Week 1 September 1-5: Make A Plan

Talk to your friends and family about how you will communicate before, during, and after a disaster. Make sure to update your plan based on the Centers for Disease Control recommendations due to the coronavirus.

Week 2 September 6-12: Build A Kit

Gather supplies that will last for several days after a disaster for everyone living in your home.  Don’t forget to consider the unique needs each person or pet may have in case you have to evacuate quickly. Update your kits and supplies based on recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control.

Week 3 September 13-19: Prepare for Disasters

Limit the impacts that disasters have on you and your family.  Know the risk of disasters in your area and check your insurance coverage. Learn how to make your home stronger in the face of storms and other common hazards and act fast if you receive a local warning or alert.

Week 4 September 20-26: Teach Youth About Preparedness

Talk to your kids about preparing for emergencies and what to do in case you are separated. Reassure them by providing information about how they can get involved.

CITIZENS BANK & TRUST HAS SCHOOL SPIRIT CHECK CARD

Did you know that our Citizens Bank & Trust has a way for you to show your Elkmont pride and support the school? Show your school spirit and earn cash for our school when you use your Citizens Bank & Trust School Spirit Visa Check Card. Stop by Citizens Bank & Trust in Elkmont or call 256-732-4602 to request your Elkmont Red Devils Visa Check Card.

LAUGHING WITH DONNA

The local Sheriff was looking for a new deputy. When a blonde walks in to try for the job, he asks her "Okay, what is 1 and 1?" "Eleven", she replies. The Sheriff thinks to himself, "That's not what I wanted, but I guess she's right!" "What two days of the week begin with the letter T?" he asks. "Today and Tomorrow", the blonde answers. 

The Sheriff is again surprised that the blonde has supplied a correct answer that had not even occurred to him. "Now listen carefully, who killed Abe Lincoln?" he asks her. The blonde looks a little surprised. She thinks really hard for a minute and finally admits, "I don't know." "Well, why don't you go home and work on that one for a while?" 

So, the blonde wanders over to the beauty parlor, where her pals are waiting to hear the results of the interview. The blonde was exultant. "The interview went great!" she says. "First day on the job and I'm already working on a murder case!

FARM HERITAGE DAYS IS THIS WEEKEND

Piney Chapel Antique Engine and Tractor Association Celebrates Rural American Farming Rural American Farming Heritage

One of North Alabama’s largest antique engine and tractor shows returns to Athens the next month in celebration of rural American farming heritage. Set for August 7-8, 2020, the 28th annual Piney Chapel American Farm Heritage Days combines antique farm equipment and old-fashioned concessions with live music and family-friendly fun and games taking visitors back to the “good ol’ days.”
Presented by the Piney Chapel Antique Engine and Tractor Association, the Piney Chapel American Farm Heritage Days is considered one of the best antique engine shows in Alabama offering festivalgoers a chance to see an array of farm equipment including gasoline and steam engines in action, horse-drawn equipment, antique tractors, cars, and trucks and other farming collectibles. 

The two-day event also offers a variety of flea market, parts and handmade craft vendors and old-fashioned concessions including breakfast biscuits (Saturday morning only) and pinto beans and cornbread. Other activities for families to enjoy include wheat threshing exhibits, tractor slow races, a skillet throw contest for ladies and pedal pull for the kids. 

A 20-mile tractor ride is planned for Friday, Aug. 7 departing at 10 a.m. Spectators can catch a glimpse of the tractor parade as riders make their way from the festival grounds along Elkton Road north to Sandlin Road. The ride will continue to Beulah Road and then on to Fort Hampton Road to the town of Elkmont for lunch at the Elkmont Town Hall furnished by the Limestone County Cattleman’s Association. Upon leaving Elkmont, the ride will resume onto the Richard Martin Trail (Rails to Trails). Once off of the trail, the ride will head east on Carey Road to Elkton Road for the final stretch back to the show grounds at approximately 1:30 p.m. A fish fry follows at 5 p.m. and live music featuring local bands gets underway at 5:30 p.m. 

For the safety and well-being of attendees and exhibitors, event organizers will be implementing COVID-19 precautionary measures. These include wider than normal aisles to encourage social distancing and dining tables placed six feet apart. Attendees are asked to practice social distancing and keep a distance of six feet from anyone not in your immediate family or to wear a mask.

Gates open at 7 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. The event takes place at 20147 Elkton Road, two miles north of Athens off of Interstate 65. Admission is $5 a car and $5 registration for golf carts and utv’s and free for children 10 years old and under. Parking is free. For more information, call Steve Garner at 334.750.2545, Allen Dement at 256.431.0619 or Eli Wallace at 256.497.1264.

TRACTOR PARADE COMING TO ELKMONT

Elkmont, Elkmont, what do you see?  
I see tractors, red, blue and green.

You never know what you will find happening in downtown Elkmont.  The Annual Piney Chapel American Farm Heritage Days will be coming to visit for Friday's lunch.  The Tractor Parade to Elkmont is always a fun thing to see.  They will leave Piney Chapel around 10 am, August 7 and come down Elkton road and along Sandlin. The ride will continue to Beulah Road, right on New Bethel and then on to Fort Hampton Road to the town of Elkmont for lunch at the Elkmont Ball Fields/Park. Here is the route; be looking for them.

The tractors come two by two, to eat at Elkmont (lunch provided by the Limestone County Cattemen's Association) before returning to the showgrounds in Piney Chapel. Upon leaving Elkmont, the ride will resume onto the Richard Martin Trail (Rails to Trails). Once off the trail, the ride will head east on Carey Road to Elkton Road for the final stretch back to the show grounds at approximately 1:30 p.m. 

Event Schedule:
Friday:
9 am    Tractor Ride Safety Meeting
10 am  Tractor Parade Starts
Lunch at Elkmont Depot
2 pm  - Tractors Back to Showeground
3 pm  - Threshing Demonstration
4 pm  -  Parade of Power
5 pm  -  Fish Fry for supper
5:30   -  Music by local Bands

Saturday:  
8:00 am  - Invocation and National Anthem
9:00 am - Chain in a Box & Threshing Demonstration
9:30 am - Pedal Pull Registration for Kids
10 am    - Pedal Pull for Kids - three age groups
10:30    - Threshing Demonstration
Noon      - Parade of Power
1:00 pm  - Slow Races & Threshing Demonstration
2:00 pm  - Skillet Throw for Ladies (all ages)
*Door Prizes at the registration tent following the skillet throw

Here are a few pictures from a past parade. 

Tractors to the right, Tractors to the left, Tractors, Tractors, Everywhere. 

Big Tractors

 Little Tractors

Red Tractors
 
Blue Tractors

Orange Tractors

Gray  Tractors

Talking Tractors 

Wagon Tractors

Friend Tractors

Non Tractors

Old Tractors

New Tractors

 
Pretty Tractors

Family Tractors

.... AND OF COURSE

Green Tractors 

Special thanks to Susan Legg Pylant for the wonderful pictures.