VOL I No. 13

Each year, Earth Day—April 22—marks the anniversary of the 1970 birth of the modern environmental movement. At the time, air pollution was commonly accepted

as the smell of prosperity, and “environment” was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news.

Although mainstream America remained largely oblivious to environmental concerns, the stage had been set for change in 1962 by the publication of Rachel Carson’s New York Times bestseller, Silent Spring. The book sold more than 500,000 copies in 24 countries and began to raise public awareness and concern for living organisms, the environment, and links between pollution and public health.

Gaylord Nelson, a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, spearheaded the idea of a day of teaching about air and water pollution for public consciousness. Nelson persuaded Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican Congressman, to serve as co-chair, and Dennis Hayes from Harvard as national coordinator —and the first Earth Day was born.

On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums coast-to-coast to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment. By the end of the year, the first Earth Day led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. Earth Day went global in 1990 and paved the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

President Bill Clinton awarded Senator Nelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1995, the highest honor given to civilians in the United States, for his role as Earth Day founder. -Jan Ferris (See more, page 5)

Things to know... City Planning

People to meet...Dr. Harvey Burnett

Plans to make... Plow Day

April 20—May 4, 2018

“The ultimate test of man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.”

—Gaylord Nelson

According to a Woodland tribes (those in the New England and Great Lakes areas) legend, a turtle dived into the

primeval waters to retrieve mud on its back, resurfacing to create the earth.

Turtles are on the move right now. What if you come across one on the

Trail or even in the road? What to do?Generally, wild turtles should be left where they are found. However, sometimes they end up on a road or in another unsafe place. If you find a turtle in the road, it’s usually best

to just help them across safely and release them in the direction that they

were going. (Fernwood is currently featuring turtles at its Nature Center.)

Earth DayCelebrating

April 22

Buchanan’s Annual

Spring Clean-UpFriday, May 4, 8am – 5pm

405 River StreetRiver Street Parking Lot(Refrigerators with Freon,

tires or paint cannot be accepted. )Offered to City residents at NO

CHARGE (ID’s will be checked)For more information,

call the Police Department

269-695-5120.

●Padnos Redbud Recycling division: 15565 Walton Rd., Buchanan, 269-695-6804. Accepts most types of electronics and appliances. Fees apply on computer monitors and TVs. ●Radio shack: 722 S. 11th St., Niles. 269-684-7368. Accepts small electronics/e-waste including radios, telephones, computers, monitors (fees apply), printers, cameras, televisions (fees apply), computer acces-sories, remote controls, headphones, and any small device with a cord or operating on batteries. Also accepted are power cords, cables, wires and other connections, etc.

Honor the sacred.Honor the Earth, our Mother.

Honor the Elders.Honor all with whom we

share the Earth:-Four-leggeds, two-leggeds,

winged ones,Swimmers, crawlers,

plant and rock people.Walk in balance and beauty.

Native American Elder

Electronics are a fast-growing portion of

trash in America. They are made with valuable materials such as steel,

glass, plastic, and precious metals. Plus, electronics can

present an environmental hazard if they are disposed of improperly. With an average of four pounds of lead in many older TV picture tubes or computer monitors, along with other potentially hazardous materials, electronics call for special handling at the end of their lives. Here are two places that will take your “old-school” stuff and put it to good use by recycling as many of the components as possible.

Page 2: Letters, Etc.Publisher’s CommentsThe Paper Contact InfoLetters to the EditorWe Need You!Page 3: Life is BetterCity PlansEmpty BowlsPolice ReportsKeep Laughing!Page 4: Body, Mind, Spirit & SoulLocals Assist Puerto Rico Hurricane VictimsPage 5: EarthcareCelebrate Earth DayFirst Presbyterian Church Certified as a National PCUSA

Earth Care CongregationBuchanan Garden Club to host National Arbor DayCelebrate Earth Day at Fernwood Page 6: Recipes, Computing, Etc.Grilled Romaine SaladBeyond Bucktown: Shelf Life Community Book Store, Niles Niles Art AssociationComputing Over CoffeePage 7: Misc.Old Fashioned Plow DayOne Word - PlasticsCracking the Plastic CodePage 8: Calendar

INSIDE...

The PaPer April 20–May 4, 2018 Letters, Etc. Page 2

...and speaking of Earth Day, perhaps some of you try to keep Mother Earth clean in various ways on your own. Our good friends, the Taylors, contribute on a regular basis by overseeing the task of cleaning a section of U.S. 31 in memory of their daughter. They gather a group of us in spring and fall to pick up trash and place in plastic bags along the highway. If you have not done this, I do recommend it for much younger people or older, agile folks.

For newbies, be sure to wear a hat (for staving off bugs, sun and/or rain), gloves and boots, bring a trash pickup tool, and of course the bright yellow vests and white trash bags provided by the county. The Taylors make it fun by awarding a “prize” to the person who finds the most interesting or exciting thing, and I think a $20 bill topped the list for the last five years! We found out this year that Friday at 4pm is probably the worst time possible for picking up trash on the highway, since a kazillion semitrailers passed by and, every time, I cringed.

Most years, we have done it on weekend days which are much better, but the rain prediction this weekend ruined our schedule. On the brighter side, the Taylors generally invite us to join them afterwards for a meal and that makes it all worthwhile to be in the company of friends. So whether you are with others or on your own, I hope each of you makes and takes the opportunity to help clean up our earth in your own small way. —Mary

MaRy LiStERPublisher PatRiCia BaNkEREditor

With special thanks to Mary Vincent, Don Holmes, Cindy Benson, Doyle Vergon, and Louann & Ned Gardner

for doing whatever it takes to get The Paper out there and into the hands of Buchanan Readers.

ediTorial BoardNancy FehlnerMary LysyMarjorie Trappadvisory BoardDarlene ClevengerDon HolmesRandal PeartRick Polos Alan RobandtaTTorney John Colip

adverTising ManagerMary VincentChurCh liaison Louann GardnerCalendar CoordinaTorBeth MurphyFaCeBook/insTagraMRenée RuthConTriBuTorsOur Community

is published bi-weekly, and is distributed for free, both in print and electronically. it is a not-for-profit organization and relies on advertising, donations and volunteers to produce and distribute it. Donations can be made from our web site, or sent to:PO Box 63 Buchanan Mi 49107 269.224.4949 www.thebuchananpaper.org buchananpaper@gmail.comor find us on Facebook and instagram at the Buchanan Paper

All letters to the editor may be edited for grammar and spelling, but not content (unless for length). They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.

We want to hear from you, and to share your voice. The comments here include opinions, observations and viewpoints which are not necessarily reflected by The Paper. We will print your name or withhold it as you request, but we must know the source in order to publish.

●Do you read The Paper every issue? ●Do you look forward to having it arrive? ●Is it keeping you better informed about what is happening in town?●Do you enjoy the quality?

We are going to start offering subscriptions in the near future. We are trying to find other ways to raise funds, and perhaps to seek grants. But those take time. If you wish to advertise, please contact us. If you wish to make a monetary contribution, please send a check to The Paper at P.O. Box 63, Buchanan, MI 49107. Or you can do it easily and safely from our webite: thebuchananpaper.orgIf you would like to help us with fundraising or grant requests, please contact us. If you have any other ideas, please let us know! We enjoy our work and want to continue to serve you!

We need you!

Pictured are some of the Buchanan High School graduat-ing class of 1948. They meet once a month on the second Thursday for lunch, fellowship and sharing. They started meeting thirty years ago in June 1988.Left to right: Fred Moore, Don O’Bryant, Joyce Ketchum Ferris, guest, Ray Shirley, Char Batchelor Burkett, Bill Burkett, Jo Renbarger Streigle, Geri Smith Siekman, Lucile Bouws Ring, Frankie Lowery Shirley, guest. Seated: Esther Reamer Flory, Emily Sekan Coda, Beverly Vite Wilcox.

Beverly Wilcox

Taken 4/12/18 Trees Please!Dear Editor, I’m just wondering if the High School is going to replace all those beautiful trees in front that were cut down last year? Do you have any idea why they were taken down? I would hope, in the spirit of Arbor Day, they might be plant-ing some replacements. It looks barren and bleak; so sad compared to the warm-ing welcome shade and solitude of the old ones. Please ask someone at the school to respond?

Tree-Lover

We will do our best and publish the results in

the next edition. (Others have also expressed concern.)

“Like music and art, love of nature is a common language that can transcend political or social boundaries.”

-Jimmy Carter

One member of the Hilltop Gang works outdoors year-round and wears shorts regardless of the weather. Curious, we asked why. “That’s easy. I only have two pair ‘o long pants. I save one pair just for marryin’s and the other just for buryin’s.”

The PaPer April 20–May 4, 2018 Life is Better, Police, Etc. Page 3

3/27: Officers responded to an alarm that was received. All was secure upon arrival. Took care of some lost/found property. The City Code Enforcement Officer attended to four litter ordi-nance violations. Officer returned a found motorcycle plate to the owner. Looked into a complaint about an at-tempted phone scam. Investigated a complaint about a verbal threat. Re-sponded to a complaint concerning the larceny of some coins and bills. Had to put down a wounded deer.3/28: Officers responded to an alarm. The City Code Enforcement Officer attended to a litter code violation.3/29: Officers responded to two sepa-rate calls concerning suspicious situ-ations during the day. Assisted an in-dividual who had a lockout problem. Administered a preliminary breath test. Responded to a call concerning a juvenile problem.3/30: Officers responded to two sepa-rate calls concerning suspicious situ-ations during the day. The City Code Enforcement Officer performed an in-spection for a chicken permit. A found Indiana temporary plate was turned in to the office. Two separate calls were received concerning unwanted sub-jects during the day. Officers had to deal with a parking issue. Responded to a call concerning a traffic problem. Assisted with two emergency medical calls during the day. Officers had to make a warrant arrest.3/31: Officers received a call about an open gate and checked to see what was involved. Five preliminary breath tests were administered during the day. Officers investigated an animal complaint. Assisted with two medi-cal emergency calls during the day. Investigated a larceny complaint. Re-sponded to an alarm.4/1: Officers assisted with two medical emergency calls during the day. Inves-tigated a call concerning a suspicious situation. Responded to a domestic violence complaint. Administered five preliminary breath tests during the day. Performed a welfare check.4/2: Officers administered three preliminary breath tests during the day. Performed two welfare checks. Administered a finger print request. Investigated a suspicious situation. Made an arrest for a bond violation, unlawful entry and indecent expo-sure situation. Assisted with a medical emergency call. Made a lift assist.4/3: Officers investigated a 911 hang-up call. Administered a preliminary breath test. Responded to an alarm. Assisted with a medical emergency call. Investigated two situations con-cerning failures to return rental prop-erty, during the day.

4/4: Officers investigated a call con-cerning a suspicious vehicle. Assisted with two medical emergency calls during the day. Looked into a com-plaint about a suspicious situation. Administered a preliminary breath test. The City Code Enforcement Of-ficer attended to a junk vehicle vio-lation. Officers performed a welfare check. Assisted with a call concern-ing a natural death. Responded to an alarm. Checked out a complaint con-cerning two juveniles who were said to be throwing and smashing duck eggs at the duck pond. The juveniles were gone when the officers arrived. Officers assisted the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department with a call in Niles Township. Responded to look into a civil problem complaint.4/5: Officers had to respond to an accident that involved a semi with a manhole cover. The City Code En-forcement Officer had to attend to a violation of the International Main-tenance Property Code. He also at-tended to a junk vehicle violation. Officers assisted the Buchanan Fire Department with a structure fire call. Investigated two suspicious situation calls during the day. Made two welfare checks during the day.4/6: Officers responded to a call con-cerning an injury accident. When they arrived on the scene, the driver had already fled. Administered two pre-liminary breath tests during the day. Performed a property check. The City Code Enforcement Officer attended to a solid waste ordinance violation. Of-ficers responded to an alarm. Assisted with an emergency medical call. As-sisted the Fire Department on a call. Assisted an individual with a lockout problem. Assisted the Michigan State Police with a suicide call. Investigated a gas larceny complaint.4/7: Officers administered five pre-liminary breath tests during the day. Investigated a property damage acci-dent. Responded to a call concerning a trailer that was parked in front of the wrong house. Responded to a call concerning a loose puppy. The puppy was gone when they arrived. Attended to a call concerning a rabid raccoon. Made an arrest concerning a probation violation. Looked into an animal com-plaint. Investigated a civil complaint. Dealt with an out of control juvenile.4/8: Four preliminary breath tests were administered during the day. Officers assisted with an emergency medical call.4/9: Officers investigated two suspi-cious situation concerns during the day. Responded to a call concerning a civil disturbance. Performed a general assist.

-Bob Hess

p o l i c e

Officers respOnded tO 115 calls during this time periOd.

reports03/27/18-04/09/18

Members of the Buchanan City Commission were

at the Buchanan Area Senior Center on Thursday, April 4, for an informal chat to ad-dress concerns and talk about upcoming projects in the city. Present were Commissioners Dale toerne, Pat Moore, and Mayor Brenda Hess. Follow-ing are just a few of the items that were discussed:●When asked about the near-

ly $2 million revenue shar-ing earmarked for Buchan-an, Mayor Hess referred to an article explaining it on the Michigan Municipal League website. Visit www.mml.org to learn more.●Speaking about road re-

pairs, specifically on the rail-road crossing on Redbud Trail and the conditions of Niles-Buchanan Road, the commis-sioners advised that you need to know who has jurisdiction over the area so you know who to contact about problems.●Remember that changes

are made at the ballot box. Representative Dave Pagel is at term limit and we need someone from south county to help address our concerns. Voters should be aware of who is running and what they can do for us.

●When asked why the city taxes are so high, the answer was that most of it is school taxes, but also services such as SMCAS, the senior center, and the library. These are all approved by the voters.●The commissioners remind-

ed us that they have no jurisdic-tion over what happens at the school. Those concerns need to be taken to the school board. ●Bids are being taken for

new signage at the city limits.●Drawings were shown of

the new library addition, which will include an elevator.●The latest word on Casey’s

General Store is that they are no longer planning to build a store in Buchanan. Front Street Framery and Storage will remain open. ●The Sweet Shop has a new

owner and is being renovated. ●Redbud Roots LLC has

been approved for three new marijuana growing facilities on Post Road.●Plans were shown for a

marijuana grow facility on River Street at the location of the old Clark foundry.

●Two locations in town have been approved for marijua-na distribution sites—Dr. Brown’s old office and Buck-town Tap. ●Redbud Fitness Center is

now open on Third Street. Fu-ture plans for the Third Street location include the building of condos at the site.●Drawings for outdoor din-

ing at Lehman’s Farmhouse also were displayed.

Keep informed! the pub-lic is invited to attend the City Commission meetings to learn about these projects and other items of interest, the second and fourth Monday of each month, at 7:00 pm.

If people cannot attend the commission meetings, watch for future conversations with the commissioners at the Buchanan area Senior Center.

You can also follow events in the city on you tube and Channel 17. An app is available to download, and the city’s website is www.cityofbuchanan.com.

City ordinances can be found on the city’s website.

Buchanan is a “City Man-ager Model” city, meaning that we have a city manager, Bill Marx, and you can contact him with concerns any time. He will either handle concerns himself or bring matters to the city commission. Mr. Marx can be reached at 695-3844.

The city commissioners fol-low the city charter and have strict rules to abide by.

All of the city commis-sioners and Mayor Hess have mailboxes in City Hall if you would like to write to them.

Commissioners share plans with public

by Jan Ferris

“Life is better here...” is the City slogan. So in this regular feature you can tell

us what makes life better here — and how it can be improved. We encourage your submissions.

eMPTy Bowls

Art feeds the soul. Art can also feed the

hungry. On Friday, April 20, 2018, Buchanan High School will be hosting Buchanan’s 23rd Annual Empty Bowls Soup and Chili Supper, a fundraiser for Redbud Area Ministries’ Food Pantry that supports our neediest area families. Empty Bowls is RAM’s biggest annual fund-raising drive. This year’s event takes place from 4:30-7 p.m. in the Buchanan High School gym and cafeteria. The cost is $5 for adults and $3 for children in middle

school and younger. Dinner includes a soup, chili or mac and cheese and the bowl or artwork of your choice. Last year, Buchanan Elemen-tary, Middle and High School students, area potters with the Buchanan Art Center and local business donors raised $5300 for RAM. With the community’s generous support we hope to do it again.The Empty Bowls Project is a way for students to understand the value of giving. The Buchanan students create and donate ceramic creations.

The community buys the bowls along with a simple soup supper and all profits go to feeding the hungry. The lesson in philanthropy learned by the students lasts a lifetime. Throughout this school year, students, staff and volunteers at Buchanan Schools have been creating bowls and artworks to donate for the soup supper. The Buchanan Art Center, in partnership with the schools, has as-

sisted by conducting free public bowl-making workshops and coordi-nating local participating potters. Several hundred bowls, cups, plates and vases will be available to purchase. Guests are invited to select and keep the bowl of their choice as a reminder of the meal’s purpose. Every time you take the “EMPTY BOWL” from the cupboard, you will be reminded that someone’s bowl is always empty and that on one occasion you helped to alleviate hunger and could do so again.

Keep laughing!

A student in Mrs. Tapia’s preschool classroom at Ottawa School.

serving the community for 40 years

by Jan Ferris

Six months after Hurricane Maria dev-astated Puerto Rico, island residents

still are in need of much help. Two teams with roots in southwestern Michigan have recently returned from separate missions in Puerto Rico—an electric power crew from indiana Michigan Power (part of Ameri-can Electric Power - aEP), and a disaster behavioral health response team from an-drews University. I recently spoke with members of each team for two different perspectives.

Teams from AEP have been helping restore power to Puerto Ricans since De-cember, sending workers in three waves for more than 30 days each. The island was divided into seven regions, each re-gion covered by an Incident Management Team. AEP covered the Caguas-Humacao Region, which was the most severely hit by the eye of the storm and is the most moun-tainous region. AEP’s Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs) from 11 states, such as In-diana Michigan Power (I & M), made up that region. Eight employees from I & M in Berrien County were dispatched to the region in the third group, including Rick kuntz of Niles, LEAN Process Improve-ment Manager for I & M, who served as Incident Commander over the region.

“We averaged approximately 600 line workers in our region” Kuntz said. “The other IOUs in our region were Kentucky Utilities, Louisville Gas & Electric, PPL, and Excel. There were about 6000 linemen on the island in all regions at one time.” Kuntz said there are 1,473,000 electric cus-tomers in Puerto Rico, with about 55,000 still out of electricity, or 96.3% restored. Due to the mountainous terrain, the work is slow and tedious and Kuntz said it could take a couple more months to restore the remaining 55,000 customers.

The power infrastructure on the entire island was leveled. Electric poles of wood, steel, and concrete were snapped indiscrim-inately, wind turbine blades were sheared off, and solar farms were wiped out.

The mainland of Puerto Rico is roughly 35 miles from north to south and 100 miles wide from west to east, and the Caguas-

Humacao Region was 25 by 15 miles. All materials were shipped in on barg-es, including 60,000 wood, steel, and con-crete poles. Reels of wire contain 6000 feet,

and they were going through 40 reels each week! Because of the rough terrain, poles and other materials were dropped by heli-copter to the site, and even though crews worked very long days, they might get only 30 poles put in each day. Kuntz said that hopefully all of the new materials will be able to withstand future hurricanes better than the old ones.

Kuntz said that the people they met were the nicest, most polite and resilient people he had ever met. Everywhere he went wearing his AEP uniform, people would shake his hand and thank him for the work the crews were doing. The people took care of them, and even though he knew they didn’t have much to give, they would of-fer to feed them and have cookouts for the workers in the evenings. It was hard for the workers to go home and leave some people still without electricity, and Kuntz said that he felt bad that they couldn’t get them all restored.

Dr. Harvey Burnett, Associate Profes-sor of Psychology at Andrews University, led a very different mission to Puerto Rico during spring break in March. His team of 20 consisted of Andrews faculty and staff, graduate and under-graduate students in the areas of psychology, social work, coun-seling, international and community de-velopment, and emergency preparedness; several of whom also served as Spanish speaking translators.

As mentioned earlier, their mission was as a disaster behavioral health response team. We all know about the structural and environmental damage caused by hurri-canes, but we don’t think about what Bur-nett calls the disaster reaction—emotional, physical, cognitive, spiritual, and behav-ioral. People expend their energy dealing with the emergency, rescuing and caring for others, and rebuilding their homes and lives. It takes a mental and physical toll on them, and they often don’t take care of themselves or realize the need for emotion-al help. As Burnett’s team talked with peo-ple, they tried to make them see that what they are feeling is normal, while helping them find ways to cope with it all.

Burnett says Puerto Rico has a stigma about mental health, and people see it as a sign of weakness to talk about it. De-pression sets in and suicide has increased 400% since Hurricane Maria, so there is a real need for psychology professionals to help counsel the disaster survivors.

The Andrews group broke up into teams of four or five people and visited about 20 locations on the main island, from Aguadilla on the west side to the San Juan area, and the island of Vieques. They

stopped at schools, churches, and commu-nity centers, and Dr. Burnett preached in one church and spoke on a radio show. He estimated that they reached over 1000 people. The teams worked 10 to 14 hours each day and would gather in the evening to discuss their day and do a debriefing to take care of themselves.

They had activities for adults and children to help them deal with their emotions, and talked about the importance of taking care of themselves, their families and chil-dren, and the community. Burnett spoke to members of FEMA and

VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Ac-tive in Disaster, which is the forum where organizations share knowledge and resources throughout the disaster cycle—preparation, response and re-covery—to help disaster survivors and their communities).

They discussed Critical incident Stress and Post traumatic Stress Disor-der (PTSD), and explained the difference between the two. Critical Incident Stress is a normal reaction to an immediate and identifiable problem that is treatable with debriefing counseling, whereas PTSD can be crippling to the point that you are im-paired and can’t work or function normally.

Puerto Rico is accustomed to tropical storms and sometimes hurricanes, but they haven’t had a Category 5 hurricane in al-most 90 years. It caught them off-guard and as another hurricane season approach-es, they are fearful about the threat of more hurricanes. Burnett’s team tried to help the people heal from this di-saster, but also to say that it could happen again and they need to be pre-pared.

Burnett is no stranger to helping people deal with their emotions fol-lowing a di-saster. As a member of the Berrien Coun-ty Critical in-cidence Stress Management team, he re-sponds to about six calls each year as clini-cal director for police, fire-fighters, and medics, helping them process the traumatic events that they experience. He has answered the call to such disasters as

9-11, a riot in Baltimore, and an earthquake in Haiti. He says that the biggest concerns we have in our area are strong winds, tor-nadoes, and winter weather. in fact, he will be speaking at the Buchanan area Senior Center on May 2 about how we can prepare ourselves for severe spring weather, such as tornadoes.

Burnett says that approximately 300,000 people have left Puerto Rico and found jobs and made lives elsewhere. Tourism isn’t back up yet, but as they recover and business resumes, they may experience a shortage of workers.

Kuntz says that most power company workers have left the island now and it is up to Puerto Rico Power and Light to finish restoring electric to the most far-reached mountainous areas.

Thanks to the many volunteers and workers, such as these from southwestern Michigan, who left their homes and fami-lies for long periods of time to lend their skills and hearts to people in need, the peo-ple of Puerto Rico will eventually recover from this devastating event. And hopefully in some way, they have helped them be more prepared to weather whatever storm may come.

Follow the work of Burnett’s Andrews University team on Facebook – Puerto Rico Mental Health Mission Trip.

The PaPer April 20—May 4, 2018 Body, Mind, Spirit & Soul Page 4

“Body, Mind, Spirit & Soul” is a regular section featuring selections in the areas of faith, health, spirituality and wellness. We encourage your submissions.

LocaLs assist Puerto rico Hurricane VictimsAEP workers arrive at the San Juan Airport, ready for action; Dr. Burnett and the volunteers; an Andrews University volunteer fills “goody bags”

Richard Swem Cameron Ondresky

Starks Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services

301 W. Front StreetBuchanan, MI 49107

(269) 695-6881

SWEM CHAPEL

Dick@swemchapel.com Cameron@starksfh.com

Should Cameron’s pic be bigger?

Read and be happy! Compliments of

Joe Jilek, Insurance Agent695-2200

Andrews volunteers happy to have helped.

Celebrate Earth Day at FernwoodFernwood Botanical Garden will host an Earth Day celebration on Sunday, april 22 with a variety of activities. Enjoy the beauty of spring in

the gardens and preserve from 10am–5pm.●Visitors can make and take a seed bomb to plant in their

garden, learn more about turtles at a Nature Station, and make a recycled craft from 1–4pm. Free with Fernwood admission.●souThwesT MiChigan daFFodil show, 10am–5pmPresented by the St. Joseph Valley Daffodil Society & the Indiana Daffodil Society. Members of these groups and the American Daffodil Society, as well as private growers, come together to exhibit their private collections of one of the world’s favorite flowers—the daffodil. Between viewing these beautiful collections of award winning flowers, take in a free program from 1–2:30pm to learn more about daffodils from some of the top experts in the field today. Free with Fernwood admission.●kokedaMa: a CenTuries-old arT, 2–4pm (See image above.) Josephine Fowler of Puddingstone Farms will demonstrate and construct two to three Kokedama, utilizing simple and easy-to-care for plants and herbs. Learn about the technique and history of this centuries-old Japanese art and create your very own table top herb garden Kokedama. Instruction on taking cuttings to start new plants as well as care and maintenance are also provided. All materials and plants are included. $40 (Members $32). Register online or by phone by April 18.

Every year on April 22 many people, in the United States and around the globe, celebrate

Earth Day. This annual celebration is intended to raise awareness of environmental issues and inspire personal action towards a sustainable environment. There are, however, actually two Earth Day celebrations. In honor of our planet Earth, let’s take a closer look and discover some great environmental history. ●The very first Earth Day celebration took place on March 21, 1970, the vernal equinox that year. John McConnell first proposed his idea of a global holiday called “Earth Day” at a UNESCO Conference on the Environment in 1969. McConnell, peace activist and newspaper publisher, suggested an annual celebration to remind all people of their shared responsibility as

environmental stewards. He chose the vernal equinox because it is a day of renewal, believing Earth Day should be a time where people could set aside their differences and recognize the common need to pre-serve the Earth’s resources. On February 26, 1971, U.N. Secretary General U Thant signed a proclama-tion saying the United Nations would celebrate Earth Day annually on the vernal equinox. Each year the U.N. continues to celebrate by ringing the Peace Bell at their headquarters in New York at the precise mo-ment of the equinox. ●in the United States, the Earth Day we common-ly observe is celebrated on april 22. In September 1969 at a conference in Seattle, WA, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson announced that in the spring of 1970 there would be a nationwide grassroots demonstra-tion on the environment. He wanted to show other U.S. politicians that there was widespread public sup-port for a political agenda centered on environmental issues. The following spring was the first Earth Day, a nationwide day of environmental education and activism. The day was a success with over 20 mil-lion demonstrators participating that year, along with thousands of schools and communities. It is now cel-ebrated worldwide in over 192 countries, according to the Earth Day Network. Overall, whichever day you celebrate, the message of Earth Day is the same—it is a day to celebrate and honor the earth!

The PaPer April 20–May 4, 2018 Earthcare Page 5

by Jill K. McDonald

First Presbyterian Church is certified as a national PCUSA Earth Care CongregationFirst Presbyterian Church was certified as an Earth Care Con-gregation by Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Environmental Minis-tries through February 2019. This honor speaks to the great commit-ment that First Presbyterian Church has to caring for God’s earth.

“EaCh GEnEration takEs thE Earth as trustEEs”by Kathy Rossow

Buchanan Garden Club will host its

annual National arbor Day celebration on Friday, april 27th at Buchanan

Middle School. Open to the public and scheduled to begin at 10am, the event will include students and local dignitaries who will speak about the critical part that trees play in the maintenance of a healthy environment.

Local resident, Jill McDonald, will be the guest speaker. Four Canada red choke cherry trees will be planted to complement the four which were planted at last year’s Arbor Day celebration. Mark Hollandsworth, Director of Bands, will lead 35 seventh-grade band members as they play, and as tristan Delva sings the National An-them. Aiding in the planting will be representatives of the Buchanan Parks and Cemetery departments.

This event celebrates the unique and critical role that trees play in keeping the planet healthy. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and emit oxygen. Humans absorb oxygen and emit carbon dioxide. According to Coloradotrees.org, each person in the U.S. generates approximately 2.3 tons of CO2 each year. A healthy tree stores about 13 pounds of carbon annually—or 2.6 tons per acre each year.●An acre of trees absorbs enough CO2 over one year to equal the

amount produced by driving a car 26,000 miles. ●One full-sized tree produces enough oxygen to keep a family of

four breathing healthy for one year.the history of National arbor Day has its roots in Michigan.

J. Sterling Morton, originally from Detroit and the father of the founder of Morton Salt Company, was the editor of a Nebraska newspaper in the mid-nineteenth century. With that bully pulpit, Morton encouraged his fellow Nebraskans to plant trees for their many natural benefits. “Each generation takes the earth as trustees” is a quote attributed to Morton and, in 1874, he was behind the effort to make Arbor Day a Nebraska state holiday celebrated each April. By 1882, Arbor Day became a national observance on or near Morton’s birthday, April 22nd.

Buchanan Garden Club is made up of 49 men and women who meet eight times a year, usually on weeknight evenings. The members plant and oversee downtown planters during the sum-mer months and help with holiday street lamp decorations. The club is open to members of the Berrien County community who share an affinity for the fine art of making Mother Earth even more beautiful. For clarification or for further infor-mation, contact: Liz Miller, President, Buchanan Garden Club at 269.695.3309.

To become an Earth Care Con-gregation, this congregation af-firmed the Earth Care Pledge to integrate environmental prac-

tices and thinking into all facets of its church life, and completed projects and ac-tivities in the fields of wor-ship, education, facilities, and

outreach. The certification is designed to recognize churches

that make the commitment to take seriously God’s charge to “till and keep” the garden.

“It is exciting that First Pres-byterian Church is dedicated to intentional care of God’s earth. The congregation’s activities and commitment will inspire oth-ers to respond intentionally to God’s call to care for the earth,” says Jessica Maudlin, Associate for Sustainable Living and Earth Care Concerns for the Presbyte-rian Church (U.S.A.).

The Earth Care Congregations program was started in 2010 by PC(USA) Environmental Min-

istries. The goal of the program is to inspire churches to care for God’s earth in a holistic way, through integrating earth care into all of their church life. The Earth Care Congregation certifi-cation honors churches that make that commitment and encourages others to follow their example.

“Fruits of the labors to be-come certified can be seen inside and outside the church building. We’ve reconfigured our garden to provide produce to R.A.M. and we now have a special observance in worship to honor Earth Day each April, among other things,” says First Presbyterian Church Pastor Edwin Brinklow. “This program through the PC(USA) denomina-tion is simply a challenge for us to think about our stewardship of the earth that God has given us.”

For more information on the Earth Care Congregations program visit www.pcusa.org/earthcarecongregations.

Canada Red Choke Cherry

“He that plants trees loves others

besides himself.”-Thomas Fuller

A special place where nature blends with gardens and art to create an experience of wonder for all ages, Fernwood comprises 105 acres on the St. Joseph River at 13988 Range Line Road, Niles. Hours are Tues–Sat, 10 am−5 pm, and Sun, noon−5 pm. Café hours are Tues–Sat, 11am−3 pm and Sun, noon–3pm. Call 269.695.6491 or visit www.fernwoodbotanical.org for more information and to confirm status of classes.

Are there “cookies” on my computer? What are these? Are they chocolate chip?

It’s a question I’ve been asked often in my line of work in IT – “cookies” are files stored on your computer during your visit to Inter-net web sites that store information about you and your preferences on the Internet. The information in those “cookies” ranges from your name to the last web site you were on, or even what you searched for during your time online. This information can then be used to serve advertisements to you on other web sites that you browse, as well as pop-ups.

Ever notice how sometimes when you’re visiting a web site such as Facebook or Amazon, the ads on the sides are something similar to what you were just searching? You could’ve searched for Chevrolet cars and all of a sudden, those ads are related to Chevrolet. One of the ways that information is placed there comes from the “cookies” stored on your computer. All web sites store or use “cookies” within your computer.

Cookies can be useful when you enable the site to save your login and password for faster access next time. However, it’s always best practice to delete your “cookies” and “temporary Internet files” after In-ternet use, not only for performance purposes—as sometimes you may notice trouble logging into sites—but for security reasons as well. Some web sites will set “cookies” on your system and track your web usage. But, cookies can threaten your privacy if a hacker, or malicious site that is accidentally visited, attempts to use them for their own benefit.

You’re thinking: Why should I care about cookies? Do I really need to worry about them? What’s the worst that could happen by keeping these?

Well—cookies can support malicious actions on your computer. You can be browsing any site and accidentally click on an advertisement on the side and all of a sudden, you may run into Malware, and if your password or other information is saved in a cookie, you may run into some trouble. Think of them as “post it notes” on your computer with your browsing habits and possibly important web site credentials noted on them.

My personal recommendation: Clear out these “cookies” often. I would recommend weekly. You can either clear manually (going to “In-ternet Options”—“Delete Temporary Internet Files/Cookies”) or have your web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari etc.) do this automatically for you within the options of each respective browser.

Private Browsing: Depending on the browser—(check first!) won’t save cookies, history, etc. as you browse.**Note: These won’t save your cookies, etc. after you’re done

browsing, but can still send along your browsing habits to third par-ties for advertising purposes. How to clear cookies:●iPad/iPhone: Go into your “Settings” > Tap “Safari > Tap “Clear

History Website Data.”●Firefox: Click “History” at the top of the menu bar, click on

“Clear All History” > Select the time range of which you’d like to remove and what you’d like to remove > then “Clear now.”●Chrome: Click the Chrome menu (Looks like 3 dashes) > Select

“More tools” > Clear browsing data. Select the check boxes for the information you’d like to remove and the time going back to the date you’d like to remove. Click “Clear browsing data.”●internet Explorer: Go to your “Tools” > “Internet Options”—a

dialog box will appear, you’ll see where it says “Browsing history” > (You have the option to delete browsing history on exit for an auto-mated setup as we talked about above) > or simply click “Delete...” and then select “Temporary Internet files/website files, Cookies and website data and History.” These are some of the answers I’ve given to folks when asked about “cook-ies.” I hope this helps you understand more about them as well. Chocolate chip or not, these “cookies” are a big part of the World Wide Web.

Until our next cup!

The Paper Plate

Chef Danielle Kaiden

Salads might be one of my favorite things

to eat, not because they are healthy, but because

dressing is delicious. What makes them one of

my favorites is the variety of foods that you can put in them,

a nice combo of healthy ingredients make the not-so-healthy ingredients seem good for us. It also helps that they make a great summer meal because they are not heavy and are not a warm meal, or are they? One of my go-to salad recipes is a grilled romaine salad. I know it sounds weird, however, grilling the lettuce makes the bitterness of the greens become sweet and soft. Grilling the lettuce makes it seem like you are eating a completely different meal than just another boring salad. I make the dressing first so the flavors have time to get to know each and meld. Then I cook the bacon before I put the romaine halves on the grill, I want every step done so when I pull the lettuce off the grill all that’s left to do is assemble and serve.

Preheat a grill to medium heat.Stir to combine the first 4 ingredients to make the dressing;

put in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Cut romaine hearts in 1/2 from top to bottom (leaving the bot-

tom intact so they don’t fall apart while grilling) and brush the cut side with olive oil. Place on the grill cut-side down—you don’t want to burn the

lettuce, just a nice char, and to warm it slightly. Depending on the heat of the grill it should take roughly 5 minutes.Once you’ve made the grill marks and the romaine heart is

warm, remove and place on your serving dish. Top with dress-ing, cheese, and bacon, and serve immediately. Croutons, avocados, tomatoes, corn, and blue cheese crumbles

would also make a great addition to this salad—whatever you like in your salads!

Grilled Romaine Salad

Ingredients1/2 cup “real” mayonnaise1 lemon zested and juiced1 glove of garlic grated

4 slices bacon, cooked and chopped4 oz crumbled feta cheeseSalt and pepper to taste2 romaine hearts

The PaPer April 20–May 4, 2018 Recipes, Computing, Etc. Page 6

The retired law books at Shelf Life Community Book Store in Niles

have been ruled “Ready To Sell At Deep Discount.” The law books, many dating back several decades, can be used to enhance book shelves as the volumes have clas-sic bindings with raised bands. Other options include using the books in the

creation of crafts. Customers can choose from more than 200 volumes. The books are retired volumes on federal and state law.“We continue to receive donated books from generous residents and we need the additional space,” said april Gargis, manager of the store. “All of our sections from fiction to children’s books to multiple genres of non-fiction need additional space for display. We felt it was time that we offered the law books at a deep discount,” she said.

The books are being sold for one dollar each or ten books for five dollars. Boxes to carry them in are provided. Shelf Life Community Book Store, 223 North 4th Street, Niles, is a volunteer-run store with proceeds benefiting the Niles District Library and various community events through the city’s Main Street project.

Open Wednesday and Thursday 10-7, Friday 10-5, Saturday 10-3, and Sunday 12-4.

iNDiCtED FOR takiNG UP tOO MUCH SPaCE

Kari Black has a BS from Ball State University, a BFA from Indiana University South Bend, and was recently accepted into the MFA program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has been

Niles art association will present kari BlaCk, Ceramicist and PaintertHE Way i SEE itMay 1, at 7 pmCommunity Room, Niles District Library

teaching for many decades and presently is an adjunct professor of ceramics at Bethel College and an instructor at the South Bend Museum of Art. For many years in the past she taught ceramics classes for children. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the South Bend Museum of Art, the Board of Directors of the Friends of Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame, and a board member of the Northern Indiana

Artists where she is serving a second term as President. Kari works in the media of clay, oil, pastel, graphite, and acrylic. Her work is represented by the Dot Shop at the South Bend Museum of Art, the Hoosier Salon Gallery in Carmel and Arts on Main in Elkhart.

Niles Art Association meetings are free and open to the public, and new members are encouraged.For more info:P.O. Box 801, Niles, MI 49120Email: nilesart49@gmail.comFacebook: Niles Art Association

The market will open for the 2018 season

May 5 at 8 a.m.

by Ed Marshalled@askthemarshall.com

COOKIESCOMPUTING OVER COFFEE

Beyond BucktownOne of the things that makes life better here is that there is so much going on all around us. This is the first of regular features about people, places and things—just “a little ways down the road.”

The PaPer April 20–May 4, 2018 Misc. Page 7

Those of us old enough to have seen The Graduate when it was released in 1967, most likely remember the scene when the recent graduate, Ben (Dustin Hoffman),

was given career advice from an older man at a cocktail party: One word—Plastics. Three years later, the first Earth Day was proclaimed.

For many years, we only perceived the benefits of plastic and knew little of the damag-ing consequences for human health, natural ecosystems and the climate. Now we know that plastics are a problem mostly due to their non-biodegradable nature, the materials used for plastic production (hydrocarbon molecules—derived from the refining of oil and natural gas), and the challenges behind properly discarding them.

From poisoning and injuring marine life to disrupting human hormones, from litter-ing our beaches and landscapes, to clogging our streams and landfills, the exponential growth of plastics is now threatening the survival of our planet.

Earth Day Network, the organization that leads Earth Day worldwide, announced that Earth Day 2018 will focus on mobilizing the world to End Plastic Pollution, including creating support for a global effort to eliminate single-use plastics along with global regulation for the disposal of plastics. EDN will educate millions of people about the health and other risks associated with the use and disposal of plastics, including pol-lution of our oceans, water, and wildlife, and about the growing body of evidence that decomposing plastics are creating serious global problems.

Visit their website for information and resources: www.earthday.org

Buchanan School Farm

3588 Andrews RoadSaturday, April 21 (Rain Date 04/28)

Featuring Antique Tractors and Plowing Plowing from 10am to 3pm

(Call Shane Masten at 269-470-5106 for additional info.)Pancake Breakfast from 8am – 11:30am

(In the Barn)Lunch from 11:30am - 2:30pm

(In the Sugar Shack)●Visit historic Gardner School & School Farm●Blacksmithing demonstrations●Drone Demonstration by MegaHurtz Robotics ●Modern Farm Equipment Display ●Quilting Display●Stroll the tree plantation and prairie...and much, much more

Free Admission

22nd AnnuAl

Old Fashioned Plow Day

Every plastic container or bottle has a recycling symbol. The symbol is a number, ranging from 1 to 7, within a triangle. While you may have barely noticed these symbols, they can actually offer a great deal of information regarding the toxic chemicals used in the plastic, how likely the plastic is to leach, how bio-degradable the plastic is, and ultimately the safety of the plastic.

For ExtEnsivE rEcycling inFormation, visit BErriEn county’s wEBsitE: BErriEncounty.org and click onrEcycling sErvicEs

PoLyetHyLene terePHtHaLate, also known as Pet or Pete, is con-sidered food-safe and most commonly used in disposable soft drink and water bottles, but also used to make bottles and jars to contain food and condiments. PET plastic is very recyclable and can be shredded and reprocessed to make polyester, which in turn can be used to make fleece for clothing, stuffing or carpet.

HigH Density PoLyetHyLene, also known as HDPe is considered food-safe and commonly used to make milk jugs and packaging for soaps and cleaning products. Other uses are for plastic grocery or garbage bags. It is also easy to recycle. Because it doesn’t easily break down under outdoor conditions like heat and sun, it is recycled to make plastic wood, waste bins, and park benches.

PoLyVinyL cHLoriDe or PVc is not considered to be food-safe, however some plastic wrap, especially the film that your meat from the grocery store comes wrapped in, might be #3. It also can be used to make toys, containers for cleaning products, raincoats and jewelry. It is also commonly used for plumbing pipes, window frames, garden pots and trellises. PVC is difficult to recycle.

Low Density PoLyetHyLene, or LDPe is considered to be food-safe. It is used to make cling wrap, shopping bags and some reusable drink and food stor-age containers. Some baby bottles are made from LDPE. It is harder to recycle, but can be used to make plastic lumber or floor tiles.

PoLyProPyLene, also known as PP, is considered food-safe and is used in things like dairy containers and reusable containers for storing food or drinks. It is also used as the liner in your cereal box, bottle tops, potato-chip bags and dispos-able diapers. PP is recyclable, but often not taken in recycling programs.

PoLystyrene, or Ps, is most commonly used to make egg cartons, meat and bakery trays, take-out food cartons and hot drink cups. It is also used to make some plastic cutlery. Although it has been coded as generally food-safe, it is very difficult to recycle and while it breaks into pieces (and then is carried by the wind) it does not break down. It is considered to be one of the most environmentally unfriendly plastics.

“otHer” includes Polycarbonate, BPa , Lexan and bio-based polymers. It’s a catch-all category that is used for all plastics that do not fall into the above 1-6 cat-egories. This category could include BPA (but not necessarily) which has been in the news associating health risks with exposure, particularly to children. compostable plastics (made from cornstarch) also fall into this category but have the added initials PLa under the symbol or be labeled as “compostable.”

CRACKING THE PLASTIC CODE

16580 BakerTown rd. (Corner oF galien-BuChanan rd & BakerTown)

(269) 695-2334 www.CounTryheriTageCu.CoM

Looking for passionate, dependable, patient, gentle and caring individuals

to care for our seniors at Buchanan Meadows.

Please send resumes to Barb at btordrup@homesteadhc.com

or call 248-735-1020.

cLean uP

aPriL 20

- may 4

“What’s the use of a fine house

If you haven’t got a tolerable planet

to put it on.”—Henry David Thoreau

aPriL 20

- may 4