Independent Bank hosts first chamber breakfast Howe Middle School gets a bath

Independent Bank had quite the morning crowd on Friday morning in their lobby The new Howe Area Chamber of Commerce had their first chamber breakfast at the Howe bank which is celebrating over 50 years in Howe

Several historical items were on display in the lobby such as old bank bags, photos of the first board members, grand opening and The Howe Enterprise from 1964 showing the grand opening dedication

President of the Howe Area Chamber of Commerce Robert

Cannaday greeted the gathering with warm sentiments regarding the bank and the future of Howe

Several city and county officials were on-hand such as County Commissioner Jeff Whitmire, Justice of the Peace Rita Noel, City Councilman Bill French and City Administrator Joe Shephard.

Indpendent Bank in Howe was openend in May of 1964 as Howe State Bank A name change in the mid-1990's to First Bank Howe was temporary until the bank was purchased as a branch of Independent Bank

Nearly 50 years of dirt and grime was removed from the campus of the Howe Middle School on Thursday. The ongoing process will include the cleaning of Charles R. Thompson Gymnasium as well as the entire campus

The district hired the local company Everclean Home and

Business Solutions to do the dirty work.

Thompson Gym will not only get a cleaning of the brick, but the large trees in front of the building have been severely cut back for a much cleaner and nicer view of the front entrance continued from Page #1 and 2010, but both estimates were over $450,000 and the highest was $693,000. $11,500 was factored in to the remediation of the removal of asbestos from the outer layer of the shingles. These estimates were to completely renovate the building to one of the finest structures in the city

Walker, who is also the Director of Economic Development is putting together a committee to start phase two of the project which is to renovate the building with a price tag that is a fraction of the previous quotes He has recruited local pastors and members of each local church to start a community rally effort to "Save the Church " After talking with the leaders of Great Days of Service and the agreement was made for phase one, Walker scheduled estimates from three foundation companies to fix the flooring, which would make the rest of the restoration feasible.

"I would like this to be a community vested project It's already being jump-started by one of the best community-based groups - Great

Days of Service " said Walker "I'm envisioning a rally of "Save the Church" with fundraisers such as t-shirts sold, engraved bricks and other ideas to raise the funds necessary to get the old building back to being structurally sound and ready for use for various different ideas "

Walker sees the building used for shared church needs as well as Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, weddings, rehearsals, dinners, civic clubs, or even private businesses such as florists or coffee shops

"This will involve sweat equity from community members as well as monetary donations from community members We hear and read about people's frustrations with the current status of the building and now is their opportunity to help. " said Walker.

Great Days of Service is looking for volunteers to help with various projects this weekend continued from Page #6