Bluffton Parks and Recreation Department

Deadline for cardboard boat race approaching
Anyone interested in entering Bluffton's annual cardboard boat race should contact the Parks and Recreation Departmet at 824-6069 by July 18. Admission is $2. To learn more, go to the Parks Department's summer events website.

Peewee Basketball Only a few more days to register!
Stop by the park office to pick up a form or call and we can e-mail it to you. This league will begin playing Aug. 13 and runs for six Saturdays. The league is for boys and girls who will be entering kindergarten through fourth grade in 2010-11 school year. Cost is $15 per child. Call 824-6069.

Not too late to register for Iron Kid Triathlon
Download the registration form and mail it to the park office at 128 E Market St. Bluffton Indiana 46714. Race date is set to start at 8 a.m. sharp. This event is for children ages five through 12. Cost is $15 and includes a t-shirt, finishing medal, snacks, and trophies to the top 3 in each age group and gender. For questions call 824-6069 or e-mail parks@ci.bluffton.in.us.

Weekend events at Ouabache

From the Indiana Department of Natural Resources

(Click on image for a larger view)

Mobile tennis court arriving near Wells County

From the United States Tennis Association:

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., July 12, 2011 – The USTA announced today that SmashZone, the premiere fan interactive attraction at the US Open, will be hitting the road for a 15-city mobile tour. SmashZone Mobile includes a 53-foot trailer, which anchors four kid-sized tennis courts for youth play and is a complement to the USTA’s ongoing youth participation initiative, 10 and Under Tennis. Since it is targeting a family audience, the tour will stop at fairs and festivals, along with some retail environments and downtown locations in markets across the country, including some of the Olympus US Open Series markets. The mobile tour will be part of the Children’s Fest at the Three Rivers Festival in Fort Wayne, I.N., on July 15 - 16, 2011. The Childrens’ Fest has grown into an immensely popular two-day event, which offers amusement rides, a costumed character parade, live entertainment, educational displays, and games.

The trailer, which is handicap accessible, will feature interactive activities for visitors, including a Tennis Magazine Green Screen Cover Shoot, Wii Tennis and Touch Screen Kiosks. The kiosks will allow the public to find a facility in their area offering 10 and Under Tennis programming, and also will afford them the opportunity to design their own racquet (from an array of colors, frames, grips and strings), to become a USTA member, and to sign up for the Home Court Championship Sweepstakes, in which the USTA is giving away a tennis kit every day through the conclusion of the US Open. In addition, SmashZone will allow participants to try their skills on any of the four 10 and Under Courts, which will feature games such as “Champion of the Court” and a Target Challenge. All of the courts are made of Sport Court's high-performance PowerGame™ modular playing surface.

10 and Under Tennis is part of an ongoing effort to encourage young people across the country to get active and start playing the sport. Similar to other youth sports where equipment and playing fields are scaled-to-size for kids, 10 and Under Tennis, utilizing the QuickStart Tennis play format, gives children age 10 and under the chance to achieve immediate success by playing tennis on smaller courts, using smaller and lighter racquets, and slower-moving and lower-bouncing balls. These monumental changes to the sport make tennis more fun for kids by allowing them to learn and develop their skills in an enjoyable way, increasing the likelihood that kids will continue to play and continue to improve.

“Taking one of the premiere attractions of the US Open on the road to showcase our 10 and Under Tennis initiative allows us to reach audiences that might not have ever experienced tennis before,” said Jon Vegosen, USTA Chairman of the Board and President. “To be able to get more racquets in kid’s hands at a young age, and to share with them the idea that tennis can be played anywhere from schools yards, to parks, to clubs, and even at home, underscores the fact that tennis is the sport of opportunity.”

To find more information about the SmashZone mobile tour and to find if it is coming to a city near your check out www.10andundertennis.com.

Webcast to feature landscaping

From the Indiana Department of Natural Resources:

What is a successful native plant landscape? Native plants are used for a number of reasons that can be quantitatively measured, like gallons of runoff reduced, number of species increased, hours saved on maintenance, and more. Despite this, native plantings fail every year because designs often fail to address human needs for space and simplicity,or physical needs like circulation and drainage. A successful native plant design begins long before a trowel hits the ground, and continues many years after establishment.

Join Mike Appel of Appel Environmental Design LLC and Lisa Brush of The Stewardship Network for a 1 p.m. webcast Wednesday to learn more.

Click here to view webcast http://www.stewardshipnetworkwebcast.org.
(Link will become live day of webcast)

Ossian Conservation Club events for July

• July 16-21, Saturday through Thursday, the Ossian Conservation Club will be at the Wells County 4-H Fair. Stop by for some old-style sugar corn made in a cast-iron kettle. We also will be selling raffle tickets for a chance to win a chainsaw-carved bear by Sid King. His work is on display at the Bluffton River Greenway Walking Trail. Tickets are $1 each or 6 tickets for $5. There is an optional cash prize of $250. The drawing will be at the OCC meeting Oct.7. You need not be present to win. Proceeds will go to the clubhouse remodeling fund. For tickets or more information, call Dave Saalfrank at 622-7107 or Rose Barrick at 622-4733.
• July 17, Sunday, the Ouabache Archers will have a bow shoot at Ossian Conservation Club. Several new Rinehart 3-D Targets. 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. All are welcome.
• July 24, Sunday, Ossian Conservation Club Shotgun Shooter’s informal shotgun shoot – regular clays, middies, minnies and rabbit targets. Noon until 4:30 p.m. Bring the whole family. Public is welcome.

Farmers’ Market held Saturday, Wednesday

The Farmers’ Market will be open from from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday (tonight) and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday at the Dutch Mill Plalza.

Available items include: Gluten free baked goods, regulare baked goods, red beets, potatoes, onions, frozen organic beef and pork, handcrafted cards, pots, gourds, apple cider, maple syrup, perennials.

Tincaps plan patriotic events

From the Tincaps website:

SUNDAY, JULY 3
Game time: 7:05 p.m. - Jake the Diamond Dog & Fireworks!
Enjoy a Sunday evening of baseball during the holiday weekend at Parkview Field! Everyone's favorite canine, Jake the Diamond Dog, will take over the ballpark. Make sure you stick around for post-game fireworks!

There is also a chance that the TinCaps might welcome their 1,000,000th fan during this game. If this happens one randomly selected fan will have the chance to win $1,000,000!

MONDAY, JULY 4
Game time: 7:05 p.m. - Fireworks & Family Feast Night & Jake the Diamond Dog!
Celebrate everything red, white, and blue on the 4th of July at the ballpark! Not only will there be a patriotic post-game fireworks display, it is also a Family Feast Night with $1 hot dogs, soft drinks, popcorn, and pizza slices! Jake the Diamond Dog will be performing again and many more surprises will be in store! This could be the game we welcome our 1,000,000th fan. You never know, you could be the one to walk out of Parkview Field a millionaire!

Make sure you come early to take part in the pre-game KRAFT Singles Block Party inside the gates of the ballpark as well as half price KRAFT Singles Cheeseburgers all game long!