Mercy, a French bulldog missing since December 26, 2012, has been found near its home in Bonneyville Mill County Park, but sadly, no longer alive. The body had surfaced in the Little Elkhart River, which runs through the park, in an area searched many times in the past weeks.
Mercy belonged to Krystin Hildebrandt, manager of [...]

Gary Lowell is pictured above enjoying one of the cards he received at the retirement luncheon held in his honor at the Bristol Town Hall on his last day. (Photo by staff photographer Amber Raeder)
March 29 was the last working day for Gary Lowell, age 65, who has retired from the Bristol Street Department after [...]

Congresswoman Jackie Walorski (IN-02) today announced her office will be accepting artwork for the 2013 Congressional Art Competition.  This is a nationwide art competition open to all high school students sponsored by the United States House of Representatives.  Any legal high school resident of the Second District is eligible to submit artwork to the Mishawaka [...]

2013 ECHS Winter Guard- The Winter Guard from Elkhart Central High School placed third in the state on March 16th at the divisional finals in Greenwood, IN. There were 37 groups competing in the Regional A division. Pictured above are, first row, all seniors: (l to r) Tristen Stahl, Sarah Congdon, Javaughn [...]

Zak Dempsey
The Student of the Month for the month of March is an exception student.  While this student may not be the most outspoken, he is a leader in the true sense.  Always one to get his work done on time and done well is an exceptional characteristic of this student.  This student has shown [...]

Bristol Elementary School won the Regional M.A.T.H. Bowl on February 28, beating five other Elkhart teams. The Elkhart teams were not only competing against each other, but also against approximately 450 teams statewide at 46 regional sites. The M.A.T.H. Bowl competition consists of four rounds with each round consisting of seven multiple-choice questions which are [...]

Northridge High School Band students are pictured above (left to right) Leah Jennings, Jack Wigren, Logan Berkey, Emily Lantz. (photo supplied)
The Northridge Band Booster Association will hold its Annual Pancake and Sausage Breakfast Concert on Saturday, April 13th, from 8 a.m. until 12 noon.  This event will be held in the cafeteria and auditorium at [...]

David and Michele Muir, owners of Fruit Hills Winery and Orchard, will host their second annual “Taste of Spring” on Saturday, April 20, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. The winery is located at 55503 State Road 15, about two miles south of Bristol.
The Muirs will introduce a new product at the spring event, a wine [...]

Steve Kruse and “Ruger” are ready to assist any customers at Kruse Farm Supply located at 19904 CR 6 in Bristol.
Kruse Farm Supply and Garden Center (KFS), located at 19904 CR 6, is more prepared than ever before to help homeowners who want to avoid the use of synthetic chemicals on their lawns and [...]

Greetings  Bristol!
This month I’d like to direct your attention to the recreational use of prescription medications. Adults, teens, and children are all being affected every day by “Purple Drank”, “Oxycotton”, “Benzos”, “Gym Candy”, and “Perc-a-pop”. These are simply street names used to describe some of the more common medications prescribed legally by doctors, dispensed legally [...]

Applications will be available April 8 for the Bristol Homecoming Queen and Senior Queen Pageants. Applicants must be 13 to 19 and have a parent or grandparent that lives in Bristol for the Miss pageant. Senior Queen applicants must be 55 years or older and have to live in Bristol. Applications will be due by [...]

Carol Willis is a freelance writer and editor. She specializes in written communications for businesses and nonprofits and other editorial projects. Carol also is the development director at Church Community Services.Sauntering into Summer
-Enchanted Spring Break
I never in my life went on spring break. There, I’ve said it. Are you shocked?
I [...]

Elkhart Civic Theatre’s production of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Jeffrey Hatcher won top honors at the Indiana Community Theatre Association’s annual festival on Sunday, March 24th in Kokomo, IN.  Competing against five other top-notch Indiana community theatres, Elkhart Civic, along with Kokomo Civic Theatre, won Outstanding Production and is now eligible to participate [...]

Traffic enforcement remains a major concern.  Our traffic flows continue to increase as manufacturing grows and products are moved both in and out of town.  With the daytime congestion, drivers appear to have adapted, keeping our crashes down.  As of the end of April, we are 12 crashes below last year’s number.  Thank you to [...]

Urban anglers will have more fishing opportunities this year thanks to a new program through the Indiana Department of Natural Resources called Go FishIN in the City.
With the help of local partners, the DNR will stock 5,000 catchable-size channel catfish in the spring and summer, spreading them throughout small lakes in urban areas. Selected lakes [...]

Linda Powell, president of the Bristol Park Board, reported on wide-ranging plans for the town’s parks at the March 21 meeting of the Bristol Town Council (BTC).
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will mark the opening of the new splashpad in Cummins Park on May 25 at 11:00 a.m. Two more fixtures will be added to the water [...]

The DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife reports that lab tests failed to detect chronic wasting disease in any of the 1,031 tissue samples collected in 2012 from hunter-harvested white-tailed deer in Indiana.
DFW biologists collected the samples at check stations across the state during last fall’s deer hunting season. The samples were submitted to the [...]

Santa’s Pantry is pleased to announce the organizations that have been selected to receive funds and/or commodities from festivals and events that Santa’s Pantry holds during the year. Of over 40 applications received, only 10 were selected.
Many nonprofit organizations struggle to hold their own fundraising events due to daily operations and directly helping those in [...]

We have waited all winter and the time is finally here, time to start planting the vegetable garden. We all should consider planting some garden this year. Every time I hear of a recall, I want to plant more and more food crops. There is nothing like growing your own food. Not only for the [...]

According to Marlene Lantzer, representative of Elkhart County Parks, the annual two-day Bonneyville Celebration will become a single-day event in 2013. A 20% reduction in the park department’s budget is the primary reason for the change.
The new name, Bonneyville Mill Heritage Day, reflects the reduction from a weekend to a single day celebration of the [...]

A new opportunity for outdoor recreation will soon be coming to Elkhart County. The Northern Indiana Mountain Bike Association (NIMBA) and the Elkhart County Parks have been planning a mountain bike trail to be constructed at Bonneyville Mill County Park, east of Bristol, Indiana, beginning this spring.
“The Bonneyville trail flagging has been completed and the [...]

At the March 21 meeting of the Bristol Town Council (BTC) Michael Swallow, town marshal, raised the issue of nonprofit organizations requesting permission to solicit funds from motorists on the town’s streets.
Swallow noted that the number of such requests has been increasing, perhaps because several other governing entities in the area have banned fundraisers in [...]

-Smaller Goverment
Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate say they want smaller government and the answer is to cut Social Security and Medicare.  If you really want to reduce the size of Government cut the number of Senators and Congressmen in half! The Senate and the House of Representatives is where money is [...]

Upcoming Community Events
This column lists upcoming local meetings
and events that we have received notice of.

Old Bristol High School Preservation Fundraiser Pancake & Sausage Breakfast. May 18, 6-11 A.M.  Held at the Bristol United  Methodist Church. Coffee, milk and juice included. Donations will be accepted.
St. Mary’s is having a Spring Clothing Sale. It will be held [...]

Ron Green is seen carrying a cross with a group of community church members from local churches as they walked through Bristol on Good Friday beginning the Easter weekend celebrations. (Photo by staff photographer Amber Raeder)