Thorns & Roses

May 23, 2008 02:25 pm

— Thorns & Roses is a weekly feature highlighting the best and worst of the week.

Roses

• To Deanna Crispen and the Cass County Community Foundation for organizing a recent visit by famed Mexican artist Lucia Maya. Maya spent some time working with students at Columbia Elementary School. Crispen said Maya helped the students become aware of both cultures. “Lucia is a bridge between two cultures,” she said. “Being born in the United States and living in Mexico, she has a real appreciation for the two cultures.” Prints of Maya’s work will be on display at the Logansport Art Association through the end of next week. The public may view the show from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday.

• To Project T.I.P.Y., which stands for “Together Improving People’s Yards.” The project’s organizers staged a one-day event last weekend at the Winamac Town Park where residents of Pulaski County were able to replace some of the landscaping they lost to recent flooding. More than 100 people took advantage of the opportunity.

• To Terry Farrer, who was part of a research study that led to approval of a new cancer drug. Farrer, a breast cancer survivor, actually wasn’t helped by the drug, but she had no regrets about participating in the trial. “When you’re diagnosed with cancer, you’ll do anything,” she said. Dr. George Sledge, an oncologist at the Indiana University Medical Center, had high praise for Farrer and the other women who participated. “They’re literally putting their lives and bodies on the line,” he said. “When we get positive results, the entire world should be grateful for these women.” Indeed.

• To the Cass County Historical Society and the organizers of last weekend’s Historical Preservation Day. The event featured tours of the 1853 Jeroloman-Long Home, the 1863 Chick Family Log Home and the society’s archives and research library. Also on display were artifacts and information from the Logansport State Hospital’s Longcliff Museum dating to the 1800s and Alan Taylor’s vintage cars circa 1907. Logansport and Cass County have a rich history, and it’s important that the guardians of that history share it with future generations.

• To the 130-megawatt Benton County Wind Farm, the state’s first commercial power station fueled by the wind. The $250 million project went online this month about 90 miles northwest of Indianapolis near the Illinois state line. It’s is the first of six Indiana wind farms in the works that will generate a combined 3,000 megawatts, and several other projects are in the planning stage. With gasoline approaching $4 a gallon, the United States clearly needs alternative sources of energy, and this project is a step in the right direction.