C M Y K 50 inch By BRENDA LUCAS For The Herald-Dispatch HUNTINGTON — Thin Mints, Do- Si-Dos, Tagalongs, Trefoils, Samoas, Lemon Chalet Cremes and Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips continue to battle to be the top seller during the annual cookie sale, sponsored by Girl Scout Black Diamond Council. According to four local girls ranging in age from 9 to 12 and one wannabe at age 5, they have found Thin Mints and Tagalongs run a tight race for first-place in their sales. However, they noticed the newest arrival to the cookie family, Dulce De Leche, has made a strong impression during its debut. Selling cookies to relatives, neigh- bors, friends and others in their town or city could have been difficult for this Huntington family. Two sisters and a wannabe helper in the Kennedy family and two sisters in the Preece family were Girl Scouts for their first year. They are members of the same troop — Troop 2808, which meets at Huntington’ s Cross Point Community Church. And if that’s not enough, they are also cousins. Keeping it in the family didn’t contribute to the crumble of sales. In unison, the first-time Girl Scouts agreed their parents and grandparents helped by cov- ering other areas by selling to their friends, co-workers and acquaintances. And the grandparents were fair by splitting the sales between each grand- child, each noted. Sarah Kennedy, the oldest of the cousins at 12, is a sixth-grader at Vin- son Middle. The daughter of Mickey and Kim Kennedy was the second highest seller with 64 boxes sold. Her biggest seller for her first year was the Tagalongs, but she admits her favor- ite is the newest cookie on the block, Dulce de Leche. Her 11-year-old cousin, Haley Preece, is a fifth-grader at Lavalette Elemen- tary. The daughter of Tricia Preece noted that her first-year sales topped 30 boxes. Thin Mint was her best sel ler, but her favorite cookie to munch is Tagalongs. Once-a-year treat yields special recipes MUSIC NIGHT: Bluegrass and gospel sung by Highway 316 from Wayne is from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, March 21, at Green- bottom Community and Senior Center, 7863 Ohio River Road, Lesage. Admission is $3 and free to children age 12 and younger. Concessions are available. Call 304-762-2858. CONDUCT: To receive a medal of this type, it’s most likely one would need to express good conduct. That’s why Barbara E. Mannon, correctional officer at West ern Regional Jail, recently was recognized for the state’s Good Conduct Medal. Barbara showed exemplary conduct, efficiency and fidelity during a three-month period. Cooper weighed 6 pounds, 5 ounces, and measured 18 1 ⁄ 2 inches long. FIRST: Thumbs up to Aman- da Warren — the first gradu- ate of the new Excel Career Club Program received the West Virginia Career Readi- ness Certificate by The West Virginia Region 2 WORK- FORCE Investment Board. SENIOR SATURDAY: Cabell Huntington Hospital’s Senior University Medical Center at CHH. The discussion provid- ed by gastroentero logist from the Med School’s Department of Internal Medicine features a tour of the new CHH Digestive Diseases Center and compli- mentary lunch. Seating is lim- ited. Registration is requested by calling 304-526-2695. HIGH STACKS: Kiwanis Club of East Huntington has been stacking pancakes high for 49 years. The club’s 50th annual pancake festival is from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, March 21, at Veter ans Memorial Field House. Advance tickets are $4 at local businesses or from Kiwanis members or $5 at the door. VOLUNTEERS: Are hands raised to become volunteers for Scholarship Fund, which ben- efits two scholarships and vari- ous projects for the Huntington Police Department. Registration fee is $18 before March 23, and $22 after that date. If interested, call Janina Michael , 304-522- 4736, or Teddy Johnson, 304- 634-5065. BUCKEYE: It won’t be held against Janice Beuhring for being a Buckeye now living in Chesapeake, Ohio. Before that, she resided in West Virginia. Even better, she enjoys reading this column. Thanks for shar- ing that bit of news, Janice, and keep reading. LATE BIRTHDAYS: Lindsey Wehmeier, Betty Baker, Madeline Adkins, March 1; Becky Williamson, March March 4; Stan Kirk, Isabell James, Andy Waite, Paw Taw square dancer, March 10; Leanna Reasor, March 11. BELATED ANNIVERSARIES: Dana and Donna Edwards, March 2; Dick and Thelma Preston, Paw Taw square dancers, March 7; Harley and Kim Cremeans, March 9. TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Y Alexis Daugherty, Mike Sumner, Joey Saxton, Chel- sea Shaver, Charles Swaf- ford, Frank Blake is two under 70 (68), Jenna Gooder- ham, Robert Force, Jason Drown, Sam Miller, Kelsey Smith, Jenah Martin, Jim Reed, Isabel Spindel, Nate Simpkins, Dorothy Law- rence, Ruth Prater, Nancy John and Becky Collins, Dan and Bonnie Meese. CHUCKLE: While serving as a guest minister to a local church, he noticed in the pro- gram an unfamiliar order of worship. Since the Sunday service had already begun, he was unable to ask a nybody. So when he reached that particu- lar moment, he swallowed his pride and asked from the pulpit, “What do I do now?” Someone in the congregation shouted back, “You say something and we respond.” Embarrassed, the minister admitted, “For the first time in my life, I’m speechless.” The congregation responded, “Thanks be to God.” Send items to Brenda n Screening: “Lioness,” 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 18. A feature documentary about a group of female Army sup- port soldiers who were part of the first program in American history to send women into direct ground combat. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with a reception to meet one of the directors and producers of the film in the Great Hall. A ques- tion and answer session will follow the screening. Call Tara Martinez-Toney, 304-558-0070 or visit www.lionessthefilm.com. Norman L. Fagan West Virginia State Theater, State Capitol Complex, Charleston. Free. n Electrorock with DJ Loki, Wednesday, March 18. Club Echo, 1318 4th Ave. Huntington. n After School Explorers Club: “Simple Machines,” Thursday, March 19. These machines work so well that they haven’t changed much in thousands of years. Learn how to move heavy objects using less work and how we use simple machines in our everyday lives. Pre-registration required; call 304-561-3529 . For students in grades second through sixth. Clay Center for the Arts & Science, One Clay Square, Charleston. $12; $15 per session. n Vince Morris, 7:30 p.m. Thursday; 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 7 p.m. Sun- day, March 19-22. He delivers passionate views on topics including ignorance, hip-hop, self-respect and more. Tickets, visit www.wvfunnybone.com or call 304-781-1000. Funny Bone Comedy Club and Restaurant, 26 Pullman Square, Suite 207, Huntington. $10-$12. Plan your week with our extensive events calendar at www.herald- dispatch.com. Send your events to newshelpdesk@ herald-dispatch.com. MORE ONLINE For a complete list of upcoming events, go to www. herald-dispatch.com . Send your events to newshelpdesk@ herald-dispatch.com. 4C Wednesday, March 18, 2009 Features: Robyn Rison 304-526-2799 What’s Up Li f e HUNTINGTON — Savan- nah’s Spring Wine Dinner will take place Sunday, March 22, in the Magnolia Room. The event will begin at 4:30 p.m. The dinner is a prix fixe multi-course gourmet feast featuring selected fine wines presented by guest Sommelier Dan O’Hanlon. Seating is limited, and reservations are required. Reservations confirmed when payment is received. Prix fixe $125 per person, all inclusive. For more information, call the restaurant at 304-529- 0919 or go online at www. savannahsmenu.com. Savannah’s to feature Spring Wine Dinner I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for the 1960s to be over and done with. That destruc- tive decade has ruled American parenting for 40 years and pretty well ruined it in the process. Before the ’60s, parents sought child rearing advice from their elders. Since then, parents have sought advice from a profes- sional class—which is to say, people like me. Courtesy of Dr. Joyce Brothers (Spock had nothing to do with it, real ly) we so-called “experts” were able to convince the American parent of a truly absurd proposition: to wit, that a 35 -year-old who pos- sesses a graduate degree in child psychology , has been married for five years and has one child, age 2, knows more about children and how to raise them properly than an 85-year-old woman who never finished the eighth-grade but who raised 10 kids i nto suc- cessful adulthoods. Like I said, absurd. I was driving (creeping is more like it) down the 405 i n Los Angeles the other day, getting really worked up about all this. Instead of road rage, which is justifiable in Los Angeles, I was having an attack of psychobabble rage. I started thinking about the really dumb things the bab- blers began telling parents in the 1960s. Take, for example, “children need to be able to f reely express their feelings.” In 1969, when Willie and I became parents, we believed that. It took three years for us to snap out of it, but by then our first child ruled our family with his habit of freely and loudly expressing his feel- ings whenever we failed to obey him. It took a while, but I finally realized that children should not be allowed to freely express any- thing. The natural inclination of the child is anti-social, narcis- sistic. Children believe that what they want, they deserve to have, and because they deserve it, the ends justify the means. T yrants believe the sa me thing. Therefore, children are tyrants by nature. Give a tyrant/child an inch, and the tyrant/child will demand a mile. Lose the 1960s-style parenting Please see PARENTING/5C The Herald-Dispatch HUNTINGTON — Tequila Rocks fought the fire marshal, and the fire marshal won. Rick Widdifield, promotions director for the new live music venue and nightclub at 611 4th Ave., formerly Fluid and The MonkeyBar, has had to post- pone a Thursday concert with Southern Rock legend Dickey Betts. The nightclub was not going to be able to install a shunt system required by local code until Thursday, the day of the show, Widdifield said. That system automatically turns off all music systems, and turns on alarms and mes- sages to vacate the building in case of an emergency in the three-floor nightclub. “They were talking that it wouldn’t be in until Thursday late afternoon, and I can’t have them coming here and us hop- ing that something gets done,” Widdifield said. “It would be a total mess, so I just canceled the show with the agency.” Widdifield said the club, which just opened a couple of weekends ago, would try and reschedule the show. People who bought advance tickets can get refunds at the point of purchase. The club is open from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. Call 304-523-7777 or e-mail Tequila Rocks at [email protected]. Widdifield said the rest of Teq uila Rocks’ schedule is a go including Jamie McClean Band on Saturday, March 21; Jus- tin James, comedy hypnotist, March 26; Bobaflex, March 27; Playboy centerfold Spencer Scott and L.A. Dance party, April 2; Hells Bells, Tribute to AC/DC, April 4; Mother- ship (Led Zep tribute), April 9; Warner Brothers artist Jason Jones, April 10; Chippendales, April 16; Seven Mary Three, April 17; Battery (Metallica tribute) , April 23; Girls, Girls, Girls (Motley Crue tribute), May 2; Artimus Pyle, June 13; Shenandoah, June 26; and Dokken, June 27. Dickey Betts show at Tequila Rocks rescheduled Dickey Betts Make your cookies count Courtesy of Brenda Lucas Local Girl Scouts, clockwise from left, Haley Preece, Ellie Kennedy, Sarah Kennedy , Megan Preece and Katie Kennedy enjoyed their recent cookie- selling experience. Girl Scout cookies can be frozen and used later in a number of recipes. Please see GIRL SCOUTS/5C John ROSEMOND Brenda LUCAS