What are you doing this weekend?
The Morning Thing suggests a picnic and tax-free shopping!!

It is National Picnic Month. Here are 4 great ideas for picnic locations and menus. Let us know if you try any of these simple recipes.
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/seasonal/fast-delicious-picnics

It is also a Sales Tax Holiday in Ohio. Do you know what that means? Check out this Fact Page about the restrictions and find out how to save money this weekend!
http://www.tax.ohio.gov/sales_and_use/salestaxholiday/holidayfaq.aspx

We also featured our August Presidential Update with MVNU President, Dr. Henry Spaulding. Click HERE to hear the conversation about what is happening at 800 Martinsburg Road in Mount Vernon.

Our Morning Thing Fave 5 combines National Picnic Month and National Romance Month.
Here is our list of Five Ultimate Romantic Picnic Destinations in the World.
1. On a beach in Hawaii at sunset – Hukilau Beach – Marcy

2. Cappadocia, Turkey. If you have a sunrise picnic, you are surrounded by Hot Air Balloons.

3. Italian Riviera, Cinque Terre

4. The banks of the river Seine in Paris – Wesley

5. On Waiheke Island, on a nice grassy area overlooking the beach under a Pohutakawa Tree – Annabelle

On Thursday, 8/6/15, The Morning Thing shared an update from Operation Christmas Child.

Did you know these facts about Operation Christmas Child?

• Operation Christmas Child is reaching to the ends of the earth- sharing God’s love to children in over 100 countries- Even in Timbuktu!
• It’s never too early to begin packing shoeboxes!
• Right now you can begin taking advantage of the “Back to School” sales and begin stocking up on various school supplies, such as crayons, pencils, and notebooks.
• Did you realize that a box of crayons in Uganda equates to a week’s worth of wages for many families and that having a pencil can make the difference between receiving an education, or not?
• The packing of the simplest of gift items can have a powerful impact in the life of a child.
• Operation Christmas Child is hoping to reach over 11 million children this upcoming season.
• By the way, if you would like to have your church considered to become a drop-off location for the Operation Christmas Child Project this November, or for more information on how you can become involved in packing shoeboxes, learning more about the discipleship of children, or volunteering on an Area Team, please visit the Samaritan’s Purse website at samaritanspurse.org.
• OCC is bringing Good News and Great Joy to the children of the world!

We also shared a story about Livia and how a shoebox changed her life.

Livia-and a-Necklace
The friendship necklace in my shoebox transformed my life.

An American mission team was helping to give out the shoebox gifts at our orphanage. Every kid wanted one of them to hold on to, to give them hugs, to talk with them, to look in their eyes and let them feel important.

I became super-glued to a woman named Connie because I wanted the attention and the love that I didn’t get in the orphanage.

I literally didn’t share her with anyone else. I was so defensive of her, protecting her from every other kid because I knew this was my only chance to ever have someone talk to me, to ever have someone hold my hand. I told every kid who tried to get Connie’s attention, “Go away. This is my person. You go find somebody else.”

Then Connie gave me a shoebox gift. Before we opened the boxes, they shared the Gospel with us. It was something brand new to us.

Connie was with me the whole time I looked at my shoebox. At the top of the box, I found hairclips that I loved. Then I saw a bar of soap, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and other hygiene items that meant a lot to me. And then I found a friendship necklace.

I really wanted to thank Connie for the gift and the Gospel. For the first time I knew that there was hope out there and there was a God who loves me every day. I just wanted to tell her thank you for everything.

I picked up the friendship necklace and told Connie, “You keep half of the necklace. I’ll keep the other half. Maybe one day we can put our hearts together.”

As I shared the necklace with her I told her, “I love you.” That’s when God told Connie that she needed to adopt me.

I didn’t just hear the Gospel and learn that there is hope and love and get a bundle of joy that day with the hairclips. God wanted me to have more than that. He wanted me to have a family.

Living in the orphanage, I never allowed myself to dream. There was no way I could ever dream because I’d never get any of the things I wanted to get.

So when I found out that Connie’s family wanted to adopt me I was blown away. It was one of the most unexpected things to happen in my life.

The same year that I received the shoebox gift I accepted Christ. For the next two years while I was waiting for the adoption to be finalized I prayed constantly that God would make a way for me to be able to come to a family that would love me unconditionally.

I got the shoebox when I was 12 and I came to the United States to a brand new family when I was 14. It was something that only God made possible.

My shoebox is something imprinted on my heart that never goes away. It’s an unforgettable moment that I talk about every day. It had an everlasting impact—an eternal impact.

We also shared details about the #ButterCowNameGame. You can name the Ohio State Fair butter cow and calf. 

Moo-ve over Buckeyes! The Ohio State Fair butter cow Twitter naming contest is back, and two fair favorites are counting on fairgoers to whip up the most creative names.

The annual butter cow and calf are sharing the spotlight with life-size butter replicas of Brutus Buckeye and Ohio State Coach Urban Meyer at the State Fair this year.

Today through Aug. 9, fairgoers can submit names for the butter cow and calf via Twitter using the hashtag, #ButterCowNameGame. The American Dairy Association Mideast will award the winner with a Go Pro HERO LCD Camera on Aug. 10.

The 2014 winning names were, “Scarlett and Grayce,” celebrating Ohio pride. Other submissions played off of Lebron James’ return back to the Cavs, including “LeButter James,” and the “LeBron Cattleiers.” Even President Barack “Moo-bama” made his way to the list.

For updates, follow: @OHDairyFarmers

Hashtag: #ButterCowNameGame

Did you know that August is National Romance Month? We shared 50 simple ways to be romantic. Try a few of these before the end of the month. *Some of these tips are for married couples only!* 🙂

http://www.dumblittleman.com/2011/01/50-ways-to-be-romantic.html

Despite the fact that Back-to-School advertisements are out in full force it is still the peak of summer. August is one of the sunniest and hottest months, after all. This means many things- vacations to the beach, ice cream, tanning… and grilling and sweating. Granted, grilling and sweating typically aren’t two things that are talked about in tandem, but that is exactly what we did on the show this morning. Well, grilling and deodorant at least.

Do you apply your deodorant in the morning? Research shows that this might not actually be the best method. Applying it at night might actually make the bigger difference. Want to know why? It’s all right here. We also shared some other interesting facts about deodorant. Why? It’s an $18 billion a year industry and something most of us use every day- but if you check out the facts we shared you’ll learn that not everyone has to do that.

When it comes to grilling we usually think about dinner. But what about brunch? Turns out you can mix things up and throw your brunch on the griddle. Check out all the recipes that we shared this morning here.

And perhaps you decide to have a little coffee with your brunch. Perhaps it’s still a little early and you’re not paying attention and the next thing you know… OH NO! The coffee has spilled and now you’re facing the daunting task of cleaning up the stain. Or is it so daunting? Here are the tips we found for getting coffee stains out of just about anything!

On The Morning Thing today we talked about essential beauty products that you didn’t know you needed! Anti-aging facial serum, hand cream with SPF, silk pillow cover, and clarifying shampoo and conditioner are just some of the few! You can see the list from today.com here:

Also, in our segment What’s Trending, we shared about how the toy company Ty Inc. has created a beanie baby of Cecil the Lion in order to raise funds for animal conversation efforts! Creation of the toy comes after an American dentist was accused of killing the well-known lion named Cecil in Zimbabwe in an allegedly illegal hunt. The incident set off a worldwide uproar. Ty Inc. CEO Ty Warner said Monday the company, based in the Chicago suburb of Westmont, hopes the Beanie Baby will raise awareness for animal conservation and “give comfort to all saddened by the loss of Cecil.” The toy will go on sale at the end of September.

We also talked about paper towels and five place you should NOT use them! Paper towels are great yes, but they also can potentially scratch and damage some surfaces. So be wary about where you use them. Check out the Good Housekeeping article we found that talks about where not to use them here.

The Knox County Fair wrapped up this past weekend and we got a chance to talk to Kurt Bechtel, the Fair Board President and Ken Boeshart who was the treasurer at the Knox County Fair. Click here to listen to their interviews.

Today is Chris Tomlin’s concert at the Ohio State Fair so if you are going down there, make sure you stop by Big Blue because Joe Rinehart, Kelsey Bryte, Wesley Boston and Annabelle Harray will bring us highlights from the Fair from Noon–2 p.m. and 4–6 p.m. Plus you can also register to win a great prize basket!

AP has announced that they are going to make 1 million minutes of historical footage that will be available on YouTube.  There will be 550,000 video stories. So make sure to check out this link for more information about it.

Also we talked about 5 ways to  protect your memory from Alzheimer’s and the different ways you can stimulate your brain. For the 5 ways click here.

2015 Junior Fair Results

The 2015 Knox County Junior Fair Sales brought in a total of $646,255.56 (includes Dairy Product)

• That is a decrease of $54,922.49 from 2014, but a major increase ($85,426.66) from 2013.
• Dairy Product brought in $4,005.
• Sale of Champions (including the Dairy Product) total was $79,259.50

(The individual sale totals below include the amounts collected from the grand and reserve champions).

The Swine Sale had a total of 229 hogs up for sale and brought an average price of $3.85 per pound.  The total from the swine sale was $236,668.95

The Grand Champion hog was shown by Brock Stute of Mount Vernon.
Dusty’s Ag Service of Mount Vernon purchased the hog at $20 a pound bringing a total price of $5,380.

The Reserve Champion hog was shown by Wyatt Tudor of Centerburg and sold for $17.50 per pound and was purchased by Custom Cutters of Mount Vernon.  The total price was $4,532.50

The Steer Sale (including Beef Feeders) brought in a total of $188,949.
Beef Steers and Beef Feeders brought in $120,593.
Dairy Steers totaled $68,356.

The Grand Champion Beef Steer was shown by Nick McConnell from Mount Vernon. John Hinderer Honda made the purchase at $11.00 a pound for a total price of $15,246.

The Reserve Champion Beef Steer was shown by Ethan Staley from Fredericktown. Country Court Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, and The Living Center purchased the animal for $5.00 a pound for a total price of $6,855

The Grand Champion Dairy Steer was shown by Amanda Annett from Utica. Smalls Sand and Gravel made the purchase at $7.00 a pound for a total price of $10,927

The Reserve Champion Dairy Steer was shown by Amanda Annett from Utica. Movers and Schuckers purchased the animal for $5.00 a pound for a total price of $7,905

The average price of Beef Steer was $3.21 a pound
The average price of Beef Feeders was $4.80 per pound
The average price of Dairy Steer was $1.86 a pound

The Dairy Market Feeder Sale had a total of $113,867.80
The average price per pound was $3.26

The Grand Champion Dairy Market Feeder was shown by Amanda Annett of Utica. Didinger and Son Crop Service purchased the animal at $8.00 a pound bringing a total price of $4,000

The Reserve Champion was shown by Alivia Elliott of Howard. Lisa Grassbaugh and Killbuck Savings Bank purchased the animal at $6.75 per pound for a total of $3,402

The Lamb Sale had a total of $32,094.25
The average price per pound for individual lambs was $5.70
The average price per pound for a pen of three was $5.25

The Grand Champion Lamb was shown by Monique Adam of Howard. G & G Feed Supply purchased the animal at $33 a pound bringing a total price of $4,686

The Reserve Champion was shown by Monique Adam of Howard. John Hinderer Honda Power Store purchased the animal at $21 per pound for a total of $2,793

The Grand Champion Pen of 3 market lambs was shown by Hannah Smith of Fredericktown. First Knox National Bank purchased the animal for $5.25 per pound for a total of $2,168.25

The Reserve Champion Pen was shown by Jack Stotts of Mount Vernon. The Aisle Club – “Kids Supporting Kids” were the buyers at $5.25 a pound for a total of $1,853.25

The Market Goat Sale had a total of $24,175.56
The average price per pound for individual goats was $6.18

The Grand Champion market goat was shown by Isaiah Bailey of Butler.
Bullocks Drive Thru bought the animal for $24.50 per pound for a price of $1,935.50

The Reserve Champion market goat was shown by Josiah Bailey of Butler.
John Hinderer Honda was the buyer at $18 a pound for a total of $1,476

The Broiler (Chicken) Sale total was $20,325
The average price was $344.49

The Turkey Sale total was $5,075
The average price was $362.50

The Rabbit Sale total was $15,570
The average price was $374.31

The Grand Champion rabbit (Market Fryers) was shown by Jacob Van Slyke of Bellville and was purchased by First Knox National Bank for a total price of $1,050

The Reserve Champion rabbit was shown by Ethan Teet of Butler and was purchased by In Demand Event Services/Eugene Robinson for a total price of $1,045

Showman of Showmen Competition:
Grand Champion – Monique Adam
Reserve Champion – Emily Roberts

Junior Fair Hall of Fame Inductee – Toni Day (the first Junior Fair Coordinator in 1994).

It has been a busy and fun week at the Knox County Fair.

Thursday is always exciting as we attend the Junior Fair Sales.
WNZR teamed up with Kokosing Inc., Mount Vernon Nazarene University Admissions and A+ Autobrokers to purchase 4 hogs at the Knox County Fair.  We will give these away on Saturday night.  We start drawing names at 6pm.  If your name is drawn, you will have 9 minutes and 9 seconds to claim your prize.  Call 740-392-9090 or be present at the Knox County Fair.
Hog #1 – A 265 pound hog from Lucy Quinn from Mount Vernon.  The purchase price was $2.50 a pound giving a total price of $662.50.  4-H Club is Llamas R Us.
Click HERE to hear our conversation with Lucy.

Hog #2 – A 254 pound hog from Nicholas Peterson from Fredericktown.  The purchase price was $2.70 a pound giving a total price of $685.80.  4-H Club is Blue Ribbon Livestock.
Click HERE to hear our conversation with Nick.

Hog #3 – A 239 pound hog from Wyatt Nissley from Danville.  The purchase price was $3.00 a pound giving a total price of $717.00.  4-H Club is Better Livestock.
Click HERE to hear our conversation with Wyatt.

Hog #4 – A 259 pound hog from Andrew McNeil from Fredericktown. The purchase price was $3.50 a pound giving a total price of $906.50.  4-H Club is Green Valley Giants.
Click HERE to hear our conversation with Andrew.

Smithhisler Meats will provide the processing.
The total amount of our hog purchase:  $2,971.80
For more details on how to register, click HERE.
We also shared 2 more Fantastic Fair Finds!
There is a secret garden that is peaceful and shaded! Click HERE for the details.
On Saturday, 8/1, the Knox County Fair will host Youth Games. Click HERE for details on this fun morning for kids.

Our Morning Thing Fave 5 is our favorite Fantastic Fair Finds for 2015:
1. The best bathroom at the Fair. It is clean and air conditioned!
2. The Porkette sandwich. It is a MUST-EAT Fair Food that is famous with anyone from Knox County.
3. The secret garden that is peaceful and shaded. Details right above.
4. Our secret parking space at the Fair.
5. The shuttle golf carts that have helped people get across the fairgrounds all week.

All week we have been sharing Fantastic Finds at the Knox County Fair.

Today, we talked about the best place to park at the Knox County Fair! Sometimes parking can be chaotic and sometimes a little far away, but if you come in the back entrance of the fair – off of McKenzie RD, turn left up Perimeter Drive, and then left again up the hill, then you might just save yourself from some parking nightmares.

We also talked about one of Annabelle’s fair finds – the Elf Garden in the flower show building! It was made by Dan Behr and won First Place in the show, and is a little garden in a flower pot, that has tiny fairy like features.

You can hear both of these stories here:

Today is the Sale of Champions!

In preparation for today’s event, we had the opportunity to talk with Alivia Elliott who was the Reserve Champion in the Dairy Market Feeder category. You can hear her story here:

And we talked with Jacob VanSlyke who was the Grand Champion in the Rabbits category. You can hear our conversation with him here: 

We hope that you have a wonderful day!

All week, we have been sharing Fantastic Finds at the Knox County Fair.

Today, we shared some information about transportation.
Many local residents struggle with the challenge to find a parking space once they get to the Fair. Knox Area Transit is helping you by providing shuttle service back and forth to the fairgrounds. Click here to hear Marcy Rinehart share the details of how you can catch a ride to the Fair.

Once you get to the Knox County Fair, it can be a challenge to walk up and down the hills to get to your favorite attractions. NO problem! This year, there is complimentary golf cart transportation  around the fairgrounds. Click here to hear more details on how to catch the golf cart.

Are you bringing kids to the fair? The Sonshine Kids Clubhouse is definitely a Fantastic Fair Find for you! Click here to hear Marcy chat with Kim Bradley about this wonderful outreach of Mount Vernon’s First Church of the Nazarene.

We can’t talk about the Knox County Fair without talking about FOOD! Marcy stopped by a the Knox County Pork Council’s “Little Red Barn” to talk about the famous Porkette! Listen here.

Wesley Boston of The Morning Thing had a chance to talk to the Junior Fair Queen, Abby Pozderac from Fredericktown. Click here to get to know Abby.

We wrapped up the show by going back in time to the 1964 World’s Fair. Check out this list of 20 awesome things that people got to see at that Fair.
http://mentalfloss.com/article/56322/20-awesome-things-people-saw-1964-worlds-fair

The Knox County Fair continues! The Morning Thing crew is sharing fantastic fair finds each morning. This morning, we shared several fantastic finds at this year’s Fair.

The Resource Adventure Zone is the newest attraction at the Knox County Fair this year.

This educational experience is located in the parking area down by the pond on “the back 40.” Guests can participate in continuous activities, free of charge, from 3-6 p.m. on Wednesday 7/29 and Friday 7/31.
WNZR’s Kelsey Bryte talked with Rob Clendening of the Knox Soil and Water Conservation District about this new attraction. Click HERE to hear about the exciting activities.
A shuttle is available to transport fair guests to the Resource Adventure Zone.

Marcy Rinehart and Annabelle Harray shared 2 other Fantastic Finds at the Knox County Fair. Listen HERE to find out where to find the best bathroom and ice cream on the fairgrounds.

FOOD is a BIG part of going to the Fair. Check out this list of the most insane fried foods at fairs across the country.

Do you know how many kids are participating in shows at the Knox County Fair? The numbers are impressive! WNZR’s Kelsey Bryte talked with Andrea Daubenmier, 4H Youth Development/OSU Extension Office. Click HERE to hear how our Knox County kids are involved at the Fair this week.

We shared some history about the Knox County Junior Fair Kings and Queens. Click HERE for the complete list that dates back to 1973. Congratulations to the 2015 Queen, Abby Pozderac from Fredericktown and Caleb Hickman from Mount Vernon. WNZR’s Joe Rinehart talked with Caleb. Click HERE to hear their conversation.

We also shared information about a Kroger spice recall. Click HERE for more information.