Laura's Blog

Seven-hundred-sixty people attended the Pink Ribbon Society's 11th Annual Tea Sunday at Avalon Manor in Merrillville. It was an honor to be asked to emcee the event, which raises funds for breast cancer groups and programs in northwest Indiana.  Since the inception of the Pink Ribbon Society, the group says they have returned more than 122-thousand dollars to the communities of Lake, Porter, Jasper and Newton Counties.  The founder of the Pink Ribbon Society, Ann Peters, is a 35-year survivor of breast cancer. The current president of the group is Susan Griffin, Marketing Manager of the Post Tribune.

For more information on the Pink Ribbon Society, visit their Facebook page at  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pink-Ribbon-Society/196728367038840 

The society puts together a calendar featuring twelve survivors, and the Pink Ribbon Society Breast Calendar Survivor Calendar Girls are recognized during the Tea. The event also features several community leaders serving as "Celebrity Servers" (their aprons are raffled off during the event). 

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Laura's Blog

Events in the Region this weekend and next month... newly added items at Animal Corner and Green Zone --

http://www.indiana105.com/on-air/laura-waluszko.html

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Laura's Blog

Here's some nostalgia for you on this Back to School week (for many, not all... lots of Region students went back last week).


[Photo -- Smithsonian]

Crayola Crayons were invented in 1903 by cousins Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith, founders of the Binney & Smith Co. of Easton, Pennsylvania.  They used paraffin wax and nontoxic pigments to produce a coloring stick that was safe, sturdy and affordable. "Crayola” was coined by Binney’s wife Alice, a former school teacher. The word was derived from "craie," French for "chalk," and "oleaginous" or "oily."

The Crayola set for "young artists" in this photo was one of the earliest produced, and the 28 colors it contained included celestial blue, golden ochre, rose pink and burnt sienna.

Colors that have since been retired include Orange Red, Orange Yellow, Violet Blue, and Raw Umber (sort of a dark brownish-reddish clayish earthy color).

This set is one of 137 million items in the Smithsonian Institute's collection and is currently on display in the National Museum of American History. To learn more about this item, you can visit the National Museum of American History website .

Also... new info at Animal Corner and Green Zone here at my Blog area of the website --lw

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Laura's Blog

We'll be at Portage High School this Saturday (August 11) from 9am to noon for a big collection event and gas can exchange for Porter County residents. The gas cans, courtesy of Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC), are available one-per-vehicle, in exchange for an old one, while supplies last.  Lake Michigan District Household Waste Collection crews will be there from 9am to 2pm collecting household hazardous waste from Porter County residents -- the list of things to bring includes all sorts of things, from aerosols to expired/unused medications, cleaning fluids, nail polish, fluorescent tubes and bulbs (because they contain mercury), and lots more.

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Laura's Blog

Portage Fire crews and NIPSCO responded to a major gas leak that shut down Willowcreek Road just south of US 6 around 11-o'clock this [Tuesday] morning.  It's in the area of the Porter County North County Government Annex and the Porter Portage Hospital campus.  Portage fire Chief Tom Fieffer had this update says the Porter County - North County Annex has been closed for the remainder of the day, but the Porter Portage Hospital campus is still open, but to access it, Chief Fieffer advises using 700-north to Willowcreek.

Rick Calinski with NIPSCO says a six-inch line was hit.  No information available at this hour on how. Crews got the call about 11 am.

The audio from my interviews with Chief Fieffer and Calinski is here at my blog  --lw