Features

TELL CITY - Beth Fortwendel has angels on her shoulders, lots of them, offering reassurance and comfort in the face of a life-threatening disease and help raising money for a stem-cell transplant that could take place as early as next month.

Fortwendel, who lives in Hancock County, Ky., but grew up in Perry County, suffers from scleroderma, an autoimmune disorder that hardens the skin and often harms organs. The impacts on victims vary and Fortwendel's case has become more serious over the past year and threatens to shorten her life.

The first Sunday shower of the month is an important one in my house. That's the morning I give my Nordic skin a careful examination. I twist and turn my torso while gazing into a mirror, examining areas I don't normally explore, like the soles of my feet, eyelids, the skin between my toes and all those places where the  sun doesn't shine. You get the picture.

I'm looking for possible signs of skin cancer and my monthly Sunday routine might one day save my life. You should consider doing something similar.

TELL CITY - Sunday afternoon will see City Hall Park rocking as the next round of the Tell City Regional Arts Asociation's Shoot for the Stars competition returns with 14 competitors. Joining them will be two musical acts, Naked and Abby Jenkins.

The first Shoot for the Stars competitors will step onto the the park gazebo's stage around 2:45 p.m. with the two guest performers playing later in the afternoon.

DERBY - "I sell the daylights out of them," Jeff Piper said of birdhouses built from recycled fencing materials and license plates.

The owner of Rainbow Pay Lake near Derby boasted that he's helping to keep hundreds of pounds of materials out of landfills. Their reuse serves a higher purpose he hopes to expand upon, however. He has several of the finished products on display at the lake, and they're also available through his Web site, www.ovrthere.com, where his threefold mission is described:

PERRY COUNTY - Twelve Perry County 4-H members have reached their 10th and final year in 4-H. Ten-year members include Alexandria Bashor, Samson Benjamin, Leighsa Carter, Krista Evrard, Kayla Hagedorn, Katie Hess, Ryan Kessens, Jake Paulin, Abigail Preher, April Sherman, Derek Suhrheinrich and Emily Tempel.

Alexandria Bashor

Bashor is a member of the Branchville Bunch 4-H Club and daughter of Dwaine and Martha Bashor. A Perry Central High School graduate, she will attend Purdue University to study biology with plans to go to veterinary school.

HAWESVILLE, Ky. - Two angels on his shoulders and those in the form of emergency medical technicians, police officers, firefighters and more are who Chad Preston and his family credit with saving his life.

On April 20, Preston and his brother, Steve, were involved in a four-vehicle accident at the intersection of Indiana 66 and Washington streets in Tell City. Two people died in the collision.