Controlling Creeping Charlie Q: How can I safely control/stop Creeping Charlie in the garden? Don Kochert, Floyds Knobs, Indiana A: Creeping Charlie (also known as ground ivy) is an herbaceous perennial that spreads by seed as well as horizontal, above-ground stems called stolons or runners. These runners are easy to hand pull, especially after rain… Continue reading.
When Ralphie Parker’s “old man” attempts to plug his “major award” — the infamous plastic leg lamp — into an overloaded wall outlet in the classic movie “A Christmas Story,” there first came a “snap of a few sparks” and the “whiff of ozone” before the lamp blazed forth in the living room front window…. Continue reading.
By Richard G. Biever Spending a night or weekend in jail probably isn’t high on most people’s bucket lists … unless the stay’s at the Old Jail Inn in Rockville. The inn is literally the old Parke County pokey … hoosegow … the slammer … the calaboose … or “the Rock,” as TV’s Deputy Barney… Continue reading.
Local “mom and pop” pizza places are community treasures: unique to their hometowns and dedicated to sharing lots of love from their pizza ovens. Homemade “secret recipe” sauces and crusts, and toppings ranging from traditional to a bit unusual, nourish hungry patrons after football games, on date nights, on too-busy-to-cook weeknights, and whenever “the hungries”… Continue reading.
Most towns have a mural or two depicting aspects of the town’s history or famous residents. But Jasper County has turned itself into a giant art gallery for murals — painted on buildings throughout the county seat of Rensselaer. Beginning with just one mural a half dozen years ago, Rensselaer now hosts an annual mural… Continue reading.
Eighteen years ago, Starbucks unleashed pumpkin spice lattes on the world, and autumns have never been the same. Who’d have thought a fruit formerly famous strictly for its guises as jack-o’-lanterns and Thanksgiving table pies would suddenly become a worldwide obsession — and continue to be fall’s flavor of choice. Pumpkin and the aromatic mixture… Continue reading.
The arrival of ghoulish costumes and creatures to your door this Halloween has nothing on the lurking horror of high energy bills this fall and winter. With the autumn weather temperatures dropping, you may have noticed your house feeling colder than you remembered last year. Or, you may have been reminded that your HVAC system… Continue reading.
Operation at cost is part of the cooperative difference. Electric cooperatives aren’t like other utilities. You, as a consumer and a member, own a portion of the business. And one benefit of that membership involves the allocation of excess revenue, called margins, in the form of capital credits. Electric cooperatives operate at cost, collecting enough… Continue reading.
When the economy is uncertain, it’s good to know that your neighbors have your back. One of those good neighbors is your electric cooperative. Your electric co-op exists to provide you safe, reliable and affordable energy. Equally important is our mission to enrich your lives. Your electric utility is locally owned. In fact, you and… Continue reading.
The first successful U.S. cooperative was organized in 1752 when Benjamin Franklin formed the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire — the nation’s oldest continuing cooperative. Electric cooperatives began because it was not cost-effective for investor-owned utllities to string power lines into rural areas in the 1930s. Indiana Electric Cooperatives,… Continue reading.
Co-ops deliver electricity, sell produce, provide loans, and arrange for housing, health care and more. But despite these differences, they all have one thing in common, especially during National Cooperative Month, — seven cooperative principles: Voluntary and open membership: Available to all who can reasonably use their services. Democratic member control: Each member has one… Continue reading.
