Food Assistance for Former DHL Employees

On Thursday February 19, 2009 local churches helped distribute truckloads of food and other items to former DHL employees. Feed the Children provided the boxes of food and other items. The Dickey Group Realtors moving truck helped transport the boxes from Wilmington to Highland County. We were honored to be a part of meeting the needs of our community!

To read more about this click here.

Spring On The Farm!

My favorite time of the year is here! New babies are being born! As of this posting, five new baby beef calves are on the ground...actually up and running all over the place with more on the way! New life, a new season, a new hope, Spring around the corner, Winter almost over...I like this time of year! Watch as you enter our driveway to the office....we have been known to have babies get out and lay in the driveway!

Passing of Charles "Lou" West

A dear friend of Karen and I recently passed away and will be deeply missed. Lou West was the song leader for decades at the Fairfax United Methodist Church where we attend. Saying that Lou loved to sing is an understatement. He was always looking for a partner his sing what he called "a special". He would come into Church and announce we need to sing "a special". My wife would sing with him on many occasions. Lou would sing solo's, duet's, with small groups...you name it! Any one he could round up! They would gather around the piano at choir practice and sing until 10:00 p.m.! Lou loved the Lord and loved the youth. He could often be seen at ball games and ball parks. It didn't matter who's kid it was... Lou faithfully supported the youth! Lou played fastpitch softball on a Church team many years ago with my father, Lowell. Dad would occasionally recall the great times they had playing together. Karen and I will miss that man! Lou was preceed by his beautiful bride Clarice! We will meet again some day.

Highland County's History

I was reading the Times-Gazette this week and came across an article related to Highland County's beginnings. I found it very interesting and thought I would share the link for all readers.

Find out more about Highland County's rich history by clicking here.

Highland County Chamber of Commerce

Chamber welcomes new board membersFive newly elected members of the Highland County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors began their tenure at the Jan. 22 board meeting. The new board members bring a variety of backgrounds and experience to the county chamber board. "I welcome our new board members, thank them for their willingness to serve and look forward to their input and guidance as we work to build and strengthen our chamber," said Katy Farber, chamber president. The new board members are pictured, from left: Jeff Dickey, The Dickey Group Inc.; Marta Cox, Leesburg Federal Savings Bank; Heather Cummings, NCB; and Amanda Bledsoe, Crowe Financial Group. Brad Markwood, South Central Power Company is absent from the photo.

Cow Tax Draws Critcism

Our Genius Leadership! Your EPA is proposing to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act resulitng in new taxes on livestock operations. The fees proposed would be $175 for a dairy cow, $87.50 for a beef cow and $20 per hog! There is an article in the Buckeye Farm News, a Farm Bureau publication describing the proposal. Only in a America! To Read More http://ofbf.org/page/DTOD-7LWJHU.

Hudson River Crash - A True Miracle

On Thursday, January 15th, US Airways Flight 1549 crashed into the Hudson River shortly after takeoff at La Guardia Airport in New York City. This happened after the plane's engines were hit by a flock of birds. The pilot, Chesley "Sully" Sullenbrger, heroically landed the jet, resulting in 0 fatatlies.

This crash is a reminder to all of us just how fast accidents happen and truly what a miracle it was that no one lost their life.

Read more about this event by clicking here.

Market Update

It's 10 degrees right now which is a 20 degree temperature swing in just a few hours! A regular heat wave! I got up at 3 A.M. and it was 10 below on my front porch. That makes two nights in a row below 0. I grew up hearing Will Parr on WSRW call Harry Hart and talk about how cold it was in the Belfast valley and thought they were crazy about the temperatures they would report. It was always colder in Belfast than any where else. I thought Harry's thermometer was broke. Now that I'm in the area, I've become a believer!

Real Estate...We are quickly headed back to the way Banks and Lenders used to do business 20 years ago. If you don't have a down payment, a good credit score, and a good income...you will probably be a renter! Many folks ask me... what's wrong with that? Much of the real estate related crisis and foreclosures we are experiencing we brought on ourselves. Many families were allowed to buy homes (because the loan programs were available) that did not stand a chance of making it. When the mortgage broker, realtor, and title company are betting at the closing the buyer won't make it 6 months before going into default, it not a good sign! It was just matter of time before trouble would come...payday is here! Most of the foreclosures in our area are happening because of no money down loans and doublewide financing.

It depends whichside of the fence you are on! Buyers are loving the new market. Home values are down, interest rates are at record lows, inventory levels are high meaning there are some good opportunities and excellent values out there! I had a young couple say to me, "it' about time values come down...we can now enter the market, stop renting and buy a home! We have been waiting and felt like we were priced out the market and could not afford a nicer home." Guess what...they're right and they recently bought a home $20,000 under what it would have cost 18 months ago.

Lary Lohse, mortgage broker for Midwest Mortgage called yesterday and said another one of his sources for doublewide financing pulled all loans. This has steadily been happening one by one. This gradually forces buyers to have a bigger down payment and go with a conventional type loan. We'll see how this all plays out.

Be Your Own "Weather Channel"

There was an interesting article in Rurallife magazine that addressed predicting the weather. I found it very timely with some recent years' unusual weather. Following are the links to the two pages which include the article and chart.

Page 1
Page 2

Maybe now we can all become a little better at knowing what the weather will be!

The Christmas Gift

I read this and thought of our family, friends and clients....

The Christmas Gift of Knowing You
The Christmas season fills our hearts with joy;
Bright, happy days bring special kinds of pleasure.
We're wrapped in the excitement of it all,
The sights, the sounds, the smells, the tastes we treasure.

Yet when we have some quiet time to think
About our finest blessings all year through,
We focus on our family and our friends,
And appreciate the gift of knowing you!

By Joanna Fuchs

This Sunday marks the anniversary of the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. That attack, as you know, spurred President Franklin D. Roosevelt to send the United States into World War II.

It is a sad reminder of the past and of our amazing soldiers that lost their lives.

Noah Today!

A good friend shared this link with me.....it makes us think about how much different the world is today!

Noah Today

Nashville

My wife Karen's mom & dad Bill & Hazel Gustin just celebrated their 50th wedding anniverary in late October! This past weekend the four of us took off to see The Grand Ole Opry and stay at The Opryland Hotel. I'm not able to get out of the office very often so for me it was a breath of fresh air! The Hotel is a must see...simply incredible! The Rockettes were performing and we got tickets to the show. The girls liked it! The Grand Ole Opry was held at the Ryman downtown Nashville! A blend of old country music and modern artist were featured. A good time was had by all! We toured Studio B on Music Row were over 30,000 songs have been recorded including half of Elvis Presley's recorded songs. That was a great field trip!

Vote!

Why Every Vote Counts:

WallBuilders.com has a Voter Guide that emphasizes moral, religious and constitutional heritage.

Line Fence Law

Ohio legislators recently passed a new line fence law that was based upon the recommendations of a Farm Bureau task force. The law overhauled a century-old fence statute that many farmers found unworkable.

If you have more questions, Ohio Farm Bureau has developed a complete breakdown of the new line fence law. For a copy, visit www.ofbf.org and click on "Featured Links" or call 614-246-8231.

Fall Festival of the Leaves

This weekend Bainbridge will host the 41st annual celebration - Fall Festival of the Leaves! With music and entertainment, food, arts & crafts, flea market areas, contests, rides, and much more, this festival is sure to have something for everyone. Please support our local events!

Read more in the The Highland County Press.

Birthday Party

On Friday, September 26th, our Projects Manager, Mary had a birthday....the big 3-0! Our team celebrated with an office party. We enjoyed pizza, chips and chocolate (yes, chocolate! Mary's favorite!) birthday cake with ice cream.

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"We know we're getting old when the only thing we want for our birthday is not to be reminded of it." Author Unknown

No such luck for Mary - we wouldn't let her forget!

Hurricane Ike

Higland County experienced it's first ever hurricane and his name was Ike! We still have power outages in the county and minor to extensive damage. Brett at Nationwide Insurance just informed me that they have 40,000 possible claims across the State. Cincinati still has thousands with no power and homes ripped up. High winds began to blow last Sunday afternoon and became fierce. The amazing thing was that the sun was shining and no rain! We personally lost shingles off the office, broke our company sign beyond repair and lifted up a section of barn roof that I have not repaired yet. I may add hurricane straps to it! Our prayers are for the families in the area that are suffering the most. Don't tell me a huricance can't hit Ohio!

Remembering September 11th

We remember.

Jeff Holbrook Memorial

The Highland County Fair is in full swing and it is a hot one! Temperatures in the 90's all week! That has not affected the die hard fair goer. Labor Day was a large turnout and we had the Wharton building full of people as we gave away 1500 free ice creams! It hit the spot on a very hot day! We also picked up several good buyer and seller leads!

The Jeff Holbrook Memorial was recently finished and on display in front of the Dairy Barn. It put a lump in my throat. Jeff was a man who loved the Fair and especially the Dairy area! I knew Jeff most of my life since I was a dairy kid myself. My memories of Jeff were of him consistantly beating me in classes, showmanship, you name it. When he finished his showing career, I then was consistantly beat by his sister! A man respected and held in the highest regard by all! In my opinion...all generations of the Holbrook family are 1st class!