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Every penny counts and the students at Shellsburg Elementary did a lot of counting! Penny Wars were held between the classes to raise money for Aiming for a Cure Foundation. This organization collects funds to help find cures for pediatric cancers.The children were able to help other kids in need. Through the work of the students and staff (and of course the parents), the students were able to raise a total of $1,137.

Week #4 winner in Vinton Unlimited's Holiday Lights Punch Card drawing is Lexa Speidel! Lexa's name was drawn out of a total of 1,715 cards for the week.Punches could be earned through Sunday, Christmas Eve.The 35 participating businesses and the locations were: Brickside Brew-n-Chew, Cameron’s Clothing, CarQuest, Casey’s, Clipper Corner, Dollar Fresh, Echo Vision-US Cellular, Ehlinger’s Express, Ervin Motor Company, Fareway, Flowers by Nature’s Corner, Henkle Creek Mercantile, Koop’s Sales & Service, Kromminga Motors, Kwik Star, LaGrange Pharmacy, Las Lomitas Mexican Grill, McDowell’s Building Materials, Michael & Dowd Furniture & Appliances, New Beginnings Salon, Pizza Ranch, Pourville Art Studio & Gallery, S & B Tack Shack, Simply Blooming Too, Stark Strength, Tactical Creations, The Bridal Garden, The Niche, Theisen’s, Tootsies Ice Cream & More, Total Balance, Viking Sewing Center, Winsor CBD, Yappy Hour Pet sPaw.

Noel Crawford was the youngest to visit Santa this week. Arriving at only 2 days old she had her picture taken with mom and dad along with Santa and Mrs. Claus.Santa and Mrs. Claus made their travel plans with Greg and Lylelene Svoboda to be at the Shellsburg Public Library on Friday.The library was bursting at the seams with excitement as the children gathered to color and some pictures, and wait for Santa to appear.

The business part...Because Christmas lands on Monday, there will be no outbound email on that day...and honestly, probably not on Tuesday. The same will be true on New Year's week. Mostly because you folks think you should enjoy the holidays and not much will be happening outside your respective homes, during the holidays and good for you!(UNLESS something urgent comes up…in that case I will zap out an email and post the info on the Vinton Today page!)From me.

By Gabby PowerThe Vinton-Shellsburg FFA Chapter welcomed Iowa FFA State Officers Lauren Beyer and Annabelle Newton as well as District Officer Creed Monroe to a chapter visit on December 15th, 2023. While at the high school, the officers discussed opportunities in FFA and the students participated in leadership-building activities. During a year of service to the organization, Iowa FFA officers serve as ambassadors for agriculture and the FFA.

Victoria Fink who is the director of Abundant Life Ministries in Vinton has been the recipient of some Christmas cheer to pass along to families who could use a hand this year. Since 2010 the Catholic Order of Foresters of Norway has delivered 10 turkeys plus the trimmings for a Christmas dinner to the ministry. “The Order has asked us to select and deliver them to 10 families that might need them," Fink said.

The Vinton-Shellsburg school board held its December meeting Monday night. You can always check the full agenda and supporting documents, including a video recording of the meeting online at the Vinton-Shellsburg school board webpage. Here are the highlights of the meeting:Difference Maker Presentation4. Myra Kearns - Myra has been a volleyball scorekeeper for 40 years, giving up many nights and weekends to support the program.

Last Sunday evening, the magic of Christmas was in the air when the Vinton Police Department teamed up with the Benton County Sheriff's Office, Benton County Conservation, Urbana Police Department, and the fantastic staff of Theisen's in Vinton. Together, they assisted 74 children of all ages to have a memorable Christmas. On behalf of the Vinton Police Department, we express our deepest gratitude for the charitable donations from our contributors.

Farmers Savings Bank & Trust held their Annual Christmas Open House earlier this month. With their tree decked out with tags supporting the local Angel Tree program sponsoring area children and Santa making a visit as well as homemade treats for guests, the bank continued to give. For each guest who signed up at the bank, the bank donated $3 to the church of their choice.

The Vinton Kiwanis outdid themselves again this year! As part of their annual tradition, they invited children from the school district to enjoy lunch at the Vinton Pizza Ranch...right before Santa stopped by!Santa visited and brought gifts to all of the children with the help of the elves at the North Pole and some of the local elves. To see