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EHMS Beta Club brings home two national championships

The East Hardin Middle School Beta Club is returning from the National Beta Conference in Savannah, Georgia, with some hardware.

The Beta Club raked in 15 total awards recognizing placement in the top 10 in several competitions, and Beta Club sponsor and East Hardin art teacher Molly Hazle said one of the crowning achievements capped an effort the students put into the entire school year.

“Our biggest thing we do, where we have about 90 kids participating, is our very big Large Group Talent performing arts, and that’s supposed to showcase any kind of talent for singing, dancing, or speaking,” Hazle said. “We put on a show about BETA through the ages, and we just got national champions for that.”

The club also won the national championship for the solo/duo/trio competition.

Hazle said she is very proud of a well-deserving group of students.

“The last two years, Group Talent is what we pour our heart into the most, and we were national runner up two years in a row, so this is really rewarding for all of us,” Hazle said. “It was a long time coming. We really wanted that national title.”

The Beta Club asks students to strive for achievement in and out of the classroom.

“It is a service organization, but you also have to make certain grades to stay in,” Hazle said. “We ask our students to maintain all As and Bs throughout the year. They have to do 24 hours of service in their community throughout the year, and the four pillars are “achievement, character, leadership, and service,” so it is for students that embody all four of those pillars.”

Hazle said the club will take all students that are willing to put in the effort, and if interested in joining they can reach out once the new school year begins.

Free pet beds to be given away Tuesday

PAWS Shelter Foundation member Diane Shoffner says Chewy has been one of the biggest supporters of the Hardin County Pet Pantry, and this Tuesday they are bringing a new opportunity to area pet families in need.

“They have a whole trailer truck of pet beds for us, and so we decided to do just a one time event, open to the public and people that are really in need is our preference and that’s what the purpose of it is for, and Chewy’s belief is to get it out there in the community where it can do the most good,” Shoffner said.

The dog beds will be given away at Helping Hand of Hope, located at 6796 South Wilson Road in Elizabethtown, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. or until the beds are gone on June 18.

Shoffner said the Pet Food Pantry was originally established to help families during the pandemic, but as costs have increased so has demand.

“For some people, it takes their cost of living up so much that they can’t afford the rent, and if they can’t afford the rent then they can’t afford the food to feed their dog, and that’s why we’re important to many people,” Shoffner said. “We served over 53,500 pets last year.”

Pet Food Pantry donations, be it products or financial contributions, can be brought to Shoffner at Sam Russell’s Pet Provisions or to Helping Hand of Hope. In the event of rain Tuesday, the dog bed giveaway will be rescheduled.

CASA of the Heartland fundraiser Saturday

CASA of the Heartland will host their annual Farm to Fork dinner Saturday at Highland Sod Farms.

“Farm to Fork is our biggest annual fundraiser,” said CASA of the Heartland Executive Director Michelle Kail. “We partner with several local farms to provide the community with a farm to table dinner. We have a live and silent auction, and also we will have a live band this year, Van Winkle and the Spirits.”

That’s CASA of the Heartland Executive Director Michelle Kail. All of the money raised through the event goes towards the organization’s efforts to provide advocacy for children involved in family court cases through court-appointed special advocates

“We recruit, train and support community volunteers who then are assigned to children who are under petition with the Family Courts for dependency, neglect, and abuse, and our CASA volunteers get to know those children and then help advocate for their best interests within the courtroom,” Kail said.

Learn more about CASA of the Heartland by visiting their website, finding the organization on social media, or by contacting their office.