300 Acres holding open house

300 Acres, LLC, will be holding an open house at its new location on Wednesday, Dec. 2. The open house will be held from 1 p.m.-6 p.m.

See the ad on Page 3 for more information.

Turkey Day carryout dinner at Red’s

Red’s Catering in Hartley will be offering carryout Thanksgiving dinners on Thursday, Nov. 26 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Orders must be placed by Tuesday, Nov. 24 to guarantee your meal. See the ad on Page 3 for more details.

Plan your entry for the Festival of Trees

The Hartley Public Library will soon look like a winter wonderland with uniquely decorated Christmas trees for the annual Festival of Trees.

Businesses, civic organizations and individuals are invited to bring a tree to the library and decorate it. Trees may be brought to the library during regular hours from Nov. 30-Dec. 4. Information about your organization can be provided with your tree.

The Festival of Trees is scheduled from Dec. 7-23. Visitors to the library can see the trees and vote for their favorite. A prize will be given to the winner.

Those who enter trees are asked to have them picked up by Jan. 9.

Blood drive Nov. 23 at Spencer

LifeServe Blood Center is asking community members to book an appointment to give blood on Monday, Nov. 23, from 12:30 p.m.-6 p.m. at Southpark Mall, 901 11th Street SW, Spencer.

Appointments are required. Donors should pre-screen themselves for fever prior to appointments and masks are to be to worn for the duration of the appointment. Donors who do not have masks will be provided with one.

Schedule a blood donation appointment online at lifeservebloodcenter.org or call (800) 287-4903.

HPL new winter hours start Nov. 30

New winter hours will take effect Monday, Nov. 30, at the Hartley Public Library. Masks are required to enter.

Hours will be Monday, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m .; Tuesday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m .; and Saturday, 9-11:30 a.m. The library is closed on Fridays and Sundays. The library will continue to close at 4:30 most days to clean and sanitize.

Online resources including the library’s catalog, newspaper archive and Bridges eBooks are available 24 hours a day. Call the library at (712) 928-2080 for any questions or for curbside delivery which is available during library hours.

H-M-S menus

Monday, Nov. 23: Breakfast – Cereal, pop tarts (9-12), fruit, juice; Lunch – Popcorn chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, garlic knot (9-12), applesauce.

Tuesday, Nov. 24: Breakfast – Breakfast pizza, fruit, juice; Lunch – Hot dog/bun, French fries, baked beans, peaches.

Wednesday, Nov. 25-Friday, Nov. 27: No School.

Between the Covers discussing ‘The 1-in-a-Million Boy’

Monica Wood’s novel “The One-in-a-Million Boy” will be discussed on Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 5 p.m, in the front room of Hartley Public Library. Please wear a mask and respect social distancing.

104-year-old Ona Vitkus is joined by an 11-year old boy sent to help her every Saturday morning. As he carries out her household chores Ona tells him about her long life and soon begins confessing secrets she has been hiding for decades.

One Saturday morning the boy doesn’t show up and the father arrives on her doorstep to finish his son’s good deed. Soon the mother shows up as well. Ona finds out that the world can surprise us at any age and that sharing a loss might be the best way to find ourselves again.

Small Talk program debuts in northwest Iowa

ISU Extension and Outreach has brought a new pilot program called “Small Talk” to Northwest Iowa.

“Small Talk” is specifically for parents of children under the age of 30 months and is based in science, according to Lori Korthals, local human sciences specialist in family life, who will lead the program.

According to Korthals, the “Small Talk” program dives into the idea of talking and reading to your infant or young toddler and utilizes the LENA® System, a digital system used in language programs all over the world, so that parents get real and tangible feedback.

“Small Talk” will be held virtually with sessions every Tuesday, beginning Jan. 5 through March 9. Parents have the option to choose to participate in a 1-1:30 p.m. session or an 8-8:30 p.m. session, depending on their schedule.

Korthals encourages parents to sign up as this 10-week round of “Small Talk” is free to the first 40 families. Included with their participation, parents will receive a variety of take-home resources, talking tips, books and entertaining activities, as well as support from trained instructors who know the program and know how to help.

To reserve your spot in the 1-1:30 p.m. session, register online at http://bit.ly/smalltalk17036 or for the 8-8:30 p.m., register at http://bit.ly/smalltalk17038.

For more information, contact Korthals at (712) 737-4230 or lhayungs@iastate.edu.

CC/E menus

Monday, Nov. 23: Breakfast – Cold cereal, fruit, juice; Lunch – Corndog, French fries, mixed vegetables, pears.

Tuesday, Nov. 24: Breakfast – Waffles, fruit, juice; Lunch – Chili, cinnamon roll, applesauce, baby carrots, crackers.

Wednesday, Nov. 25-Friday, Nov. 27: No School.

Milk is served with each meal.

Virtual service of remembrance viewing options

Warner Funeral Home, Hospice of Spencer Hospital, Abben Cancer Center and area churches are sponsoring a virtual Service of Remembrance for anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one.

To assure the health safety of everyone who would like to participate in the service, the event will not be held in person. It will be initially streamed on Monday, Nov. 30, at 6:30 p.m. and can be accessed at warnerfuneralhome.com, spencerhospital.org or the Facebook pages of the funeral home and hospital.

Food pantry hours at Hope Lutheran

Current hours for the food pantry at Hope Lutheran Church in Everly are Mondays, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., and Wednesdays, 1-5 p.m. Please knock on the church door and food will be brought out to you.