NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH - DAY 30

Hill Spirit has been sharing different aspects of being prepared for the trials of life throughout National Preparedness Month.   As this month is drawing to an end, talking about your emotional and spiritual well-being must be addressed. If you fall apart when tough times come, all the physical things you have done won't matter.

Strengthening yourself spiritually is as important as the physical preparations.  The scriptures and prayer are how you get the spiritual instruction manual.  Talking to those who possess  the spirit of peace and quiet confidence will help you learn as well.  

 

Don't neglect this aspect of being able to help yourself and others by concentrating only on physical things. 

BARRY'S CORNER - LIVING IN ELKMONT

Here it is...we have created this. Allowing kids to have everything younger and younger. The most expensive clothes, the best cars, the best phones, expensive trips, play sports every weekend, sacrificing family time, sacrificing time to explain to them true sacrifice, talking bad about teachers, coaches, other parents, preachers and the President. Doing everything for them without teaching them how. Teaching rights instead of respect. Trying to fix every problem they have without letting them learn. Making excuses for poor behavior....we have had a hand in this. Parents please wake up. While not always the case, working with kids I feel adequately able to comment. Respect is rapidly getting lost in every aspect of our lives. It has to start at home! Again...just my take. Have a good one!

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH - DAY 29

How prepared are you to face an emergency?
This is the last post about how the little pigs can help us as we learn about being prepared for life's trials.  If you missed the first two posts, go back to start and don't pass go until you read it.  The first three pigs are important too.  
Link: First Pig
Link: More Pigs

"This little piggy had none" 

You CAN go from zero to hero with preparation. One friend shared a method of planning 10 dinners, breakfasts and lunches that her family likes. She multiplied the ingredients by 10, then purchased and stored each meal in a bag with cooking instructions. Voila — three months' worth of complete meals! She knows she has the necessary ingredients, spices and everything to feed her family for 100 days with her food storage and fuel. This is also good if you experience unemployment, have a sick child or get stranded and can't get to the market for some reason. You will need to use and rotate these meals every so often to maintain freshness, but they are things your family likes, so it shouldn't be too hard.

Another way for you to be prepared is making and freezing homemade soups and casseroles. You can double or triple a recipe (or more) and make a lot of food at once for about the same amount of time and only one mess. This is a good idea for singles, small families, empty-nesters and busy people who don't want to cook every day but still want variety.

"And this little piggy cried "wee, wee, wee all the way home." 

Don't cry. There are lots of things you can do to be prepared. Check your local government website (Limestone EMA facebook page link) for other important instructions, including 72-hour kits, survival supplies and collecting important papers and documents. A friend works in a hospital that is telling their employees to have 96-hour survival supplies and a first aid kit at home and in the car. Here is another source for intelligent planning and preparedness. Link: Being Ready

The more you can do for yourself, the less you will have to worry about facing long lines, food and supply shortages, hunger and distress. And you may just be able to be a hero to others who are not so fortunate. Remember, when Noah built the ark it wasn't raining. 
 

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH - DAY 28

How prepared are you to face an emergency?
This is the second post about how the five little pigs can help us as we learn about being prepared for life's trials.  If you missed the first post, go back to start and don't pass go until you read it.  The first pig is important too.  Link: First Pig

"This little piggy stayed home"

Did you know that you can freeze-dry foods yourself? Also, vacuum pouching foods for long-term storage is a good alternative. Chocolate chips will supposedly last for 11 years. Shipped vacuum-pouched chocolate chip cookies and homemade treats have arrived fresh and delicious for deployed soldiers. During difficult times, it is nice to have some of the comforts you are accustomed to.

And what if fuel supplies are cut off?  We have experienced the aftermath of tornadoes here in Limestone County. Natural gas lines can be severed and other power becomes unavailable. We had ice storms knock out our power.  There are many of us who have been so cold waiting for that power to come back on. We were not as prepared as our neighbors who had emergency generators to run heating systems. Some of us did have lanterns and candles to provide light at night and were able to enjoy hot meals using grills and camp stoves until the power was restored several days later.

"This little piggy had roast beef" 

One of our neighbors is a canning expert. When she finds special prices on meats, she buys them in bulk and cans them in a pressure canner. She says that meats are one of the easiest foods to process and when purchased on sale, not terribly expensive. You don't have to have power to keep canned meat good and you always have an ingredient for soups and casserole-type dishes. She also cans butter in her pressure canner and maintains that after three years, hers is still fresh and tasty. Of course you would need butter for those chocolate chip cookies.

Check back tomorrow for the last little pig post to help you prepare for life's trials.

LAUGHING WITH DONNA

A guy is reading his paper when his wife walks up behind him and smacks him on the back of the head with a frying pan. He asks, "What was that for?" She says, "I found a piece of paper in your pocket with 'Betty Sue' written on it."

He says, "Jeez, honey, remember last week when I went to the track? 'Betty Sue' was the name of the horse I went there to bet on." She shrugs and walks away. 

Three days later he's reading his paper when she walks up behind him and smacks him on the back of the head again with the frying pan.
He asks, "What was that for?" 

She answers, "Your horse called."

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH - DAY 27

The wisdom of a nursery rhyme with five little piggies.

If you couldn't get the food and things your family needs from the store because of weather, a natural disaster, an economic or other challenge; what would you do? Are you ready for an emergency?

There are many options for obtaining and storing emergency food rations. You can use some of your tax refund to purchase food to help  avoid pinching the budget. Others give food storage and survival items as gifts or use money from a vacation budget and enjoy a staycation. Another way to make your dollar stretch is to check the clearance aisle at the grocery store and buy day-old bread which freezes well.

Please don't expect to be fed by government or charitable agencies, their resources will be stretched to the limit. Wouldn't your family prefer foods they are accustomed to anyway? If you choose to utilize your resources and invest in preparedness, you do not need to worry or feel like you are taking away from others; actually your self-reliance reduces the burden on other groups. In a time of need, you will be in more of a position to help relieve the suffering of others, starting with those you value most. Remember, "The Lord helps those who help themselves."

Let's consider the wisdom of a centuries-old nursery rhyme as we learn about being prepared.

The First Pig:

"This little piggy went to market"

One expert likes freeze-dried foods for the quality and shelf life. Many of us eat predominantly fresh foods such as produce, which doesn't store well long term. Freeze-dried foods provide a reasonably similar option, are light weight and portable if you need to relocate. Many manufacturers offer selections of hundreds of servings of produce, meats, dairy and basic foods.

Some families choose military-style MREs (meals ready to eat) because they keep for a long time, are convenient, lightweight, nutritious and portable. Others use bulk food purchases to keep costs low. You can discover hacks like easily sprouting seeds for fresh vegetables and using dried fruits on the website below and social media sites. And let's not forget adequate water; at least two gallons per person per day to stay alive and somewhat clean.

Check back tomorrow for two more "pigs" of being ready for the trials of life.

156 YEARS SINCE BATTLE OF SULPHUR CREEK TRESTLE

If you walk south on the Richard Martin Trail from the railroad depot in Elkmont, you will find some of Elkmont's Civil War history.  On the 25th of September, the Sulphur Creek Trestle Battle began.  This battle and the events that led up to it covered a three day period starting on September 23 with the battle of Athens. 

The Decatur and Nashville line, was a major route for moving Union troops and supplies to Atlanta and to Union positions at Chattanooga. Heavy fortifications and blockhouses had been built along its route to ensure safe passage for the trains. 

On September 24, 1864, Forrest and his cavalry moved north from Athens along the railway toward a strategic point in the line known as the Sulphur Branch Trestle.

Built in 1863, the trestle itself was 74 feet high and over 300 feet long.  It spanned a deep gorge between two ridge lines with Sulphur Creek at the bottom.  It was guarded by a fortification with 1000 union soliders as well as by two blockhouses at either end of the bridge. This gave the troops stationed there, a commanding sweep of the entire valley.

Several Union units protected the trestle:
*9th and 10th Indiana Infantry - 200 troops 
*3rd Tennessee Calvary - 400 troops (mostly from East Tennessee)
*111th U.S. Colored Infantry - 400 troops


 
General Nathan Bedford Forrest's Confederate cavalry, supported by Morton's battery of four cannons attacked the trestle on the morning of September 25, 1864.   Forrest ordered his cavalry under Colonel Kelly to attack the outer pickets and skirmish lines of the Union troops to drive them back into the fort.  

Captain John Morton's  three artillery batteries were placed on hills located to the southwest, east and north of the fort. The devastating barrage opened up at dawn with  800 pound rounds crashing into the fort and its earthworks and continued for 2 hours. With the union position located at a lower point than the confederate artillery positions, the bombardment was tantamount to "shooting fish in a barrel".  

The "awful rebel yell" of the confederates rang in the valley as they charged toward the picket lines. The Union lines were quickly overrun by the confederates and driven back up the hill toward the main fortification.

Over 200 Union officers and men, including Col. Lathrop, lay dead within the walls of the garrison, with "relatively few wounded, so complete was the devastation". The fort's commander had been killed early on in the bombardment. His last words were, "Do not surrender the fort". His second in command, Colonel Minnis was wounded by shrapnel soon after.  Command passed to Major Eli Lilly (Lilly and Company Pharmaceuticals) for a time. Minnis recovered enough to assume command and accepted Forrest's terms of surrender. After the garrison surrendered, the trestle and blockhouses were burned. 


Forrest's after-action report summed up the carnage, "The enemy suffered severely in this assault.  Every house was perforated with shell and the dead lay thick." An member of his troop recalled. " I saw no more horrid spectacle during the war than the one which the interior of that fort presented.  If a cyclone has struck the place, the damage could hardly have been worse."

The battlefield is on private property so no metal detectors or exploring is allowed if you choose to visit the battle area.  The fort earthworks are all that remain but the surrounding area is mostly undeveloped lending itself to imagining the battle.  There is also a sign with fort illustrations and battle placements. 

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH - DAY 26

During the month of September you have been provided with tons of information to help you start living a prepared life. Being prepared is much more than food storage and chickens. You will find several ways, from many dedicated people, to help jump start you into a more secure future in uncertain times.

Granted, food storage and chickens are really good things to have if you want to be prepared, but there is more. Being prepared for “whatever” is many things and different people will view preparedness with unique perspectives.
How do you know what is really important? Think about what you are preparing for. Are you preparing for a few days or for a total breakdown of society? This one answer will drive all your other decisions.

If you are interested in reading more, here is your LINK TO COMPLETE ARTICLE

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH - DAY 25

One of Hill Spirit's goals is that the people of Elkmont be prepared for life's trials, the unexpected.  Those trials can be sickness, loss of job, death of a loved one to tornadoes, natural or man made disasters. Most of the prepper stuff you see on tv is hype or "reality tv" situations.  This is not really 

what being prepared is. There are those of us who have just now reached the point where they think it might be a good idea to be a little more ready for those unexpected trials. For those who are interested, the blog has a being prepared or provident living label to the right side.  These are older posts.

Here is another podcast by Jack Spirko who does a great job explaining how to start being more responsible for yourself and family in hard times without looking to others to fix your problems.

Jack's Description of Podcast: 

Took a question on “economic collapse” and tried to explain that no that isn’t going to  happen, not the way many think about it anyway.  That the collapse is here, it is on going and it will have both chronic and acute symptoms.  In short instead of 

prepping for TEOTWAWKI (the end of the world as we know it) many should be prepping for TEOYWAYKI (the end of your world as you know it)As usual when you try to explain this some people feel that means, well, “it isn’t so bad” so do we even need to prep beyond say basic readiness.

Also after doing this for so long it is easy to forget that many of the core concepts of modern survivalism might be foreign to even people who have listed (especially selectively) for say two years or even more.  That the ground work laid in the formative years may never have been heard by many listeners, at all.

So today podcast will combine a bit of the fundamental modern survival thinking with current modern threats and considerations.  Goal is to try to explain the balance between Doomsday Prepper nonsense and all that is needed is a flash light and some candles thinking. 

 Humans by and large are binary creatures with an internal binary code of ones and zeros, this is why the political dichotomy is so effective.  We literally think in two dimensions.  Safety and danger, democrat or republican, Pepsi or Coke, rich or poor, sick or healthy, alive or dead, etc.  The absolutes are indeed black and white but life is a million shades of gray, today my goal is to bring you out into the spectrum and let you see some of those shades.
Join Jack Today as He Discusses…

• The disaster probability factor
• The disaster impact scale
• The inverse relationship of impact scale and probability
• How the circles of influence and concern fit into this
• The six primary needs and a new way to think about them
  • Food
  • Water
  • Shelter
  • Energy
  • Health and Sanitation
  • Security
• What exactly is a
  • Recession
  • Depression
  • Economic Collapse
  • Currency Default
• What I consider BASIC common sense preparedness
  • Food for 30-60 days with out complete boredom
  • Ability to deal with initial power loss in 5-10 minutes
  • Power for 14 days with basic needs and comfort
  • Ability to deal with wastes for 30 days if you have to
  • Ability to treat basic injuries and illnesses
  • Ability to keep your home sound in any damage that isn’t catastrophic
  • Water for at least 30 days for all needs, drinking, cooking, bathing, etc.
  • Money to pay all expenses for 90 days with no income. (without raiding retirement accounts)
  • Security for your home and person’s (ETPP)
    • Equipment
    • Training
    • Procedures
    • Protocols
  • The ability to help neighbors
  • The ability to communicate and get information
  • The ability to move out, survive away from home and get back home
  • A full info and documentation kit
  • Situational Awareness and a Positive Mental Conditioning
  • Basic phyical fitness and reasonable activity
  • A network of friends and contacts you can count on
• Do that and you are ahead of most of the Doomsday People
• Don’t think everything is swell just because everything isn’t burning

LINK TO PODCAST: HOW TO PREPARE

*skip to about 10:06 to get to main topic

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH - DAY 23

“There are many very good people who keep most of the Lord’s commandments with respect to the virtuous side of life, but who overlook His commandments in temporal things. 

They do not heed His warning to prepare for a possible future emergency, apparently feeling that in the midst of all this trouble ‘it won’t happen to us.’ It is not always the other fellow’s problem. It can be our problem too. 

    “To prepare for the future is part of God’s eternal plan, both spiritually and temporally. To protect ourselves against reversals and hardships is only good sense.
    “…[God] teaches us to be self-reliant and industrious, to plan ahead, to provide for possible hard times, to avoid obligations unless we are sure we can handle them, and then to serve him with such devotion that He will be pleased to augment all of our own earnest efforts.

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH - DAY 22

The power has gone out and you don't have a clue how to cook if you don't have your grill.  Learning to cook with a dutch oven gives you a lot of options that you may not realize. 

---

Have you ever cooked a meal by using a dutch oven? This is a cooking vessel that is made to be used on a stove top or placed in a standard oven. If you are looking for a fun way to cook food at home or out on a fun camping trip, then dutch oven cooking might be ideal.

Dutch oven cooking is similar to cooking food wrapped in tin foil on a campfire. Food is placed inside the dutch oven that is then heated by placing it on hot coals. This means you can use a simple campfire or the charcoal grill found in a lot of state parks.

The most important thing to remember about dutch oven cooking is safety. Gloves will be essential for cooking with a dutch oven as the vessel will get extremely hot. The only other thing to keep in mind is the recipes you have to use for the meals you want to cook.

15 SECRETS TO DUTCH OVEN COOKING LINK

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH - DAY 21

For those of us starting out preparing our families for whatever emergency comes our way, it can seem quite overwhelming. There is so much information on what needs to be done, and the tendency is to just give up before we’ve really started because it is too daunting of a task. My focus is always how I can prepare my family for our own ‘end of the world’ scenario. I can’t get wrapped up in world ending crisis because just losing one of our jobs would be crisis enough for us  – so that’s where I focus. The rest will come.

 

Start Small

Just start with something small, knowing each day you can accomplish a little more.

Just starting? Make a small goal for today – gather up your important papers and put them in a folder in a safe spot. This way, you can grab them in case you need to evacuate quickly. 

 

Make a Plan

If you have a plan, it’s easier to see where you are accomplishing great things to keep you motivated. Just a small plan at first of things to accomplish this week or this month to get you started. Having it down on paper is less daunting than all those crazy plans running around in your head. It gives you a box to tick when you’ve done something, and gives you a feeling of confidence that this is something that you can do!

Just starting? Make a meal plan for the next month, then buy what you would need to make it 3x. You can store the extras for your emergency stash to build your food storage. Or create your emergency contact list – info on who to contact in state and out of state in an emergency (or to check in), your doctors, utiility companies, family work numbers, etc.

 

Involve Your Family

Having everyone involved in some way makes it less stressful on you to accomplish it all. Your husband probably has great ideas of his own on how to plan for small emergencies or large. Your kids will be helpful in gathering items, organizing, and having information that they’ve learned in school about Fire Awareness (stop, drop & roll), etc.

Just starting? Give your kids the task of keeping the pet’s emergency bag ready, have them help plan, have them drill each other on emergency evacuation routes out of the house. Enroll them in a first-aid class for kids. Or if they are older, have them create the Family Contact Sheets for you.

 

Don’t Stress Out

It’s so easy to begin reading information on emergency preparedness and becoming completely stressed out about all of the potential dangers in the world, all that you have to buy to feel prepared, and all of what everyone else says has to happen for their standard of ‘preparedness’. Remember, you are preparing YOUR family for YOUR needs. Don’t try to prepare for a global thermonuclear war (remember War Games?). Try to prepare your family for the most immediate concerns you have now. Someone getting hurt, someone being locked out of the house, your car dying on the side of the road in winter. Prepare for those emergencies and you’ll find you’re already on the way to preparing for the bigger ones.

 

Task to Accomplish Today!

Today – I want  you to be sure you do these two things. they are easy to do, take no time, and can get you started on basic emergency preparedness.

• Water for your Car – enough drinking water for each member of your family in case you get stuck.
• A list of Emergency Numbers – make sure your kids know how to dial 9-1-1, know how to get you and your husband on cell phones/work phones, and to contact a neighbor for help. Keep these numbers posted clearly.

Helpful sites:

Food Storage Made Easy
Ready.gov
Survival Mom

Prepared LDS Family

Final Note

You can do this!!! It’s important for us to make sure our families are prepared for the little emergencies and the big ones. Each step you accomplish to the small one is another step  you’ve already accomplished towards the big one – every step counts!

Source: Mom with a Prep Blog

BEING PREPARED STARTS WITH A NOTEBOOK - DAY 15

These binder printables from 30 days would be great to put in your emergency binder if you are putting one together on your own.

 

An emergency notebook has all your important information that you can just grab and go if needed.  Everything you need is in one place and you don't have to hunt for it.  Hill Spirit would add a thumb drive of your favorite pictures.  This is great for fires, floods, accidents or tornadoes.

 

 

BARRY'S CORNER - LIVING IN ELKMONT

Okay parents...it is getting that time again. Every year I come to you on Facebook imploring you to take on your parental responsibility. Shake off your fears and put down the remote. Put away the iPhones, iPads and laptops and you gamers come in from chasing Pokemon. Sit down with that little soul you brought into this world. Take the bull by the horns and teach him/her to tie their shoes! Kids are learning geometry in kindergarten and falling in their lunch trays at lunch from tripping on their strings. The humanity of it all! 

You can do it! Or....you can buy those wonderful inventions that make teachers smile. Yes, I am talking about Velcro! Kind of the "stitch witchery" for tying challenged students. Few more days....Have a good one!

I saw him coming down the hall,
Keeping a pretty good pace,
And what was dragging 10 feet behind,
Yep...the dreaded shoe lace
I thought by now someone would see
The need for him to tie,
But here he is, laces dangling
As another year goes by,
Long shoe laces, tattered ends,
Wrapped around a neighbors toe,
If only his parents would step out of the box
And get him a pair with Velcro!
Teachers would smile, principals rejoice, bus drivers fist bump and yell
What a great day at school
When shoes are secure
And never a student fell!
Make my day, make my year, make all the weeks fly by,
Help us out...we are begging you!
Teach your kids to tie!

NATIONAL PREPARDEDNESS MONTH - DAY 14

Being prepared can mean having a garden.  Summer is gone and the good food that only it brings.  Fall is here and it's time to put out that cool season garden. The best part of fall gardening to me is cleaning up my messy summer garde!n and starting fresh or putting my garden to bed for the year.

If tomato vines and bean stalks remain in your beds, don’t worry, it’s not too late to begin. We are blessed with an extended fall growing season. Last year we were frost-free in the area until mid-November. With cooler weather finally on the way, now is a great time to plant sugar snap peas, lettuces, chard, greens, turnips and radishes. These plants thrive in the cooler nights and daytime temperatures.

According to Alabama Cooperative Extension Systems, in late September and October gardeners should plant cabbage, collards, cauliflower, celery, Brussels sprouts, onions, turnips, mustard, kale and spinach. Other hardy, quick-growing vegetables include carrots, broccoli, beets, garlic and leeks. These vegetables thrive as the temperatures cool and even dip below freezing.

The best time to plant fruit trees and berries is in the fall. We miss a great opportunity to get root systems well established before our summer temperatures get here if we wait till spring.

For gardeners who want a rest from growing during the fall and winter seasons, make sure not to leave the soil uncovered. It is very important to put in cover crops during the winter. You do not want to leave bare soil and lose that soil fertility. Also, primarily, cover crops put nitrogen and organic matter back in the soil. The organic matter comes from decomposing plant parts. That is why it is important to choose crops with good root systems. There are several varieties of winter peas, turnips, annual rye, etc that will work.

Don’t forget, remove all dead vines and plants out of your garden space. This will help keep disease from spreading into your soil or giving bugs a place to hid during the winter. Your garden should be tidied before it begins its winter nap.

It's going to be beautiful weather for the next several days.  Take advantage of it and put some salad crops in.  Healthier and it beats paying $4 for a 10 oz bag of lettuce.

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH - DAY 13

HOW BEING PREPARED BRINGS YOU PEACE WHEN EVERYONE ELSE IS GOING CRAZY
The media has packaged the "prepper community" as being crazy people and have featured those that have taken it to the extreme.  However, being able to take care of yourself when life's trials come is just something that your grandparents or great-grandparents did.  

Being prepared isn't being crazy, it's being smart.  It isn't any different than having savings (emergency fund according to Dave Ramsey) or buying insurance.  As always Hill Spirit wants you to be wise, able to take care yourself and be able to reach out to help your neighbor.  If you have an hour, consider listening to the podcast below.  You may find one or two ideas that you can add to your life.

Link: Episode-1359- Why Practical Preparedness Wins the Race

"When I first began doing TSP I told the story of The Ant and the Grasshopper many times.  Today I want to remind you of another story, the story of the Tortoise and the Hare.  Like the story of the Ant and the Grasshopper, this story is a well known fable of Aesop. The basics are the tortoise and hare race, eh hare is obviously favored to win.  He gets cocky, he takes a nap, the tortoise plods along and wins.  Don’t worry I will tell the full story on the air, but that is the basics.
 
There is a lesson in not trying to do too much too fast in this story for us.  You hear about the extreme ways people prepare for events that have a low chance of happening but the practical preps we teach, seem to pay off for our audience members on a daily basis. While many people want to always focus on civilization ending things, the simple preparedness ethic we once had as Americans in general seems to be what we are most lacking and most in need of."

Join Jack Today As He Discusses…

• Some stories by listeners about practical prepping
• The Aesop fables of the Ant and Grasshopper and The Tortoise and Hare
• My view of the 16 most overlooked (boring) preps
  • Documentation Kits
  • Insurance
  • Basic Savings
  • Basic Food Storage (very basic)
  • Reading and learning about anything valuable
  • Spending Time Talking to Neighbors and Local Leadership
  • Simply making time for “family time” (turn off the electronics)
  • Learning to be a great cook
  • Basic first aid (conventional and herbal)
  • Planting basic perennials (herbs, berries, a few trees) —-
  • Learning to preserve food (canning, smoking, jerking, dehydrating, etc.)
  • Teaching hard skills to our children
  • The basic black out kit
  • Basic car care, maintenance and repair knowledge
  • Building a small business or being a great investor
  • Networking and staying marketable
• Thoughts on why this always wins the race

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH - DAY 12

During a Catastrophic Emergency,
You'll Need to Know How to Communicate with Others 

With the power out, you'll start to feel isolated pretty quickly. But during an emergency, it will be more important than ever to stay in touch with those around you. Fortunately you can still communicate if you make sure you have the right tools.  We here in Limestone County has first hand experience with this.  Remember the 2011 tornadoes; those with cell phones had no service for several days.  Cell phones service can and do crash in emergencies – particularly when everyone is trying to make calls.  

Link: Steps to Make Sure This Doesn't Happen To You

BARRY'S CORNER - LIVING IN ELKMONT

I remember being in this gym and hearing about the happenings in New York that day. I’ll never forget the feeling as the children played. Such innocence in my world. They had no clue what was happening. People were dying and fighting for their lives while they innocently played, unaware through no fault of their own. I think we may become unaware by choice sometime. I know I do. It’s so easy to get content and forget the sacrifices and the tragedies. We must not forget!! Freedoms that we enjoy all have come with a price! The protection we are given is riding on the backs of great sacrifices by men and women and their families! Never forget!

CAN YOU HELP FILL A TUMMY?

School has starting and our Elkmont churches are ready to help our students in need.  New Bethel Baptist, North Campus Friendship Methodist and Elkmont Methodist Church participate in the "Full Tummy" program  and are excited about helping out. 

Missy McNatt 
I am so blessed by the out pouring of support for the full tummy project. We are opening an account at Citizens Bank and Trust, so if you want to donate funds you may do so.  I have watched God move a mountain and I am very grateful for you all that want to support this mission. Thank you for being the hands and feet. God's blessings be on you all.

  The students at Elkmont who need our help has doubled since last year. Any organization or individual can help these kiddos.  Would be a great service for any of our school clubs, scout troops or other groups that may want to help.  

As they prepare for another year of filling tummies and changing the lives of our Elkmont students in need, we can help by stocking their church pantries.  This is a great community service project for those who are coupon experts. You can drop off your items at any of the above churches or the school office. 

 

The little individual pop top cans of pasta type foods are always a hit with our little ones.