Flick’s Package Liquor has made business card holders, in high traffic entryway, available to BBA members.  Feel welcome to place your business cards in holders anytime.

Salvation Army of Monroe County will be having a SOUP DAY fundraiser on Thursday, February 16 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 202 W. Front St., Monroe.

Tickets are $7 each/pre-sale; $9 at the door. Contact: Mary Glover-Booher for pre-event tickets at (734) 224-7991, or the Salvation Army Office at 7200 Lewis Ave., Temperance (in the Bedford Plaza) on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Sample favorite and specialty soups from area restaurants. Vote for best soup and most creative soup!

Help the Salvation Army help those in need, throughout the Bedford Township community and beyond!

From Senator Zorn’s office

I attended Gov. Rick Snyder’s 2017 State of the State address with invited guests, Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Mark Braunlich and his wife Cherie. Once again, the governor kicked off the address by talking about what we have achieved and what we need to focus on in 2017.

Gov. Snyder addressed many issues during the 45 minute address. He talked about several of my own priorities which includes:

• Continuing to provide the tools to the medical field and individuals to fight opioid and heroin addiction;
• Working toward a smart managed plan to that addresses the state’s infrastructure including roads, water and internet services;
• Continuing to increase education funding, especially for career and technical education offers the skill sets needed for current and future business and industry jobs;
• Empowering local schools to be flexible in educating our children and to provide options for students that will provide a pathway to success right here in Michigan; and
• Meeting the needs of our veterans by providing updated facilities and access to high quality care.

It is still about jobs and educating our students to meet the demands of today’s jobs skills while providing a pathway to a lifetime of high wage employment. Expanding our economy and increasing trade will bring stability to our state and Michigan workers.

By Jerry Barron – Owner, Barron Insurance 

We have been talking the past few months about water damage from frozen pipes and ice dams.  This month I would like to discuss our agencies most popular homeowners claim we see each year- Sump Pump Failure.  The scenario we see goes like this: It is spring time and we are so happy to see that all the snow and ice have finally melted.  We welcome the thunderstorms to turn everything green again.  With all of this rush of water, it seems like our sump pumps run almost 24 hours a day.  What happens if my sump pump stops running?  Does it matter whether it is a mechanical failure or a power outage and I get 12 inches of water in my basement which ruins everything down there..Am I covered for this?

ANY ONE that has ever experienced such a mess knows the feeling.  As I have mentioned in a previous article, Water damage is an exclusion in the homeowner policy, and back up of sewer and water is an exclusion.  The only way to have coverage is to have this endorsement added to your policy.  Most companies offer between $5,000 to $75,000 in coverage options.  However, the next problem you need to solve and understand is that there  are some insurance companies that will only cover certain items in your basement such as your furnace, hot water heater, washer, and dryer..that is it!!

WHAT???  What about your carpeting, drywall, furniture, pool tables, etc..so be VERY CAREFUL to find out exactly what your policy will cover.  Please call our agency for any help or information so that if you experience this type of claim you can have the assurance of being properly covered.

If you ever experience and need help with water restoration, please call our good friends at AAA Standard Services (419) 535-0274 and tell them Barron Insurance told us to call.  They are great to work with!

Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging.

This introductory program is designed to help people learn how to identify the differences between dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, recognize possible signs of Alzheimer’s, better understand how Alzheimer’s is diagnosed, recognize the effects of Alzheimer’s on the brain and gain access to community resources.

Thursday, February 23rd

5:30-6:30 p.m.

Aspen Grove

Assisted Living & Memory Care

7515 Secor Rd., Lambertville

This program is free, but a donation of $10 per person (or family) per session is appreciated. Advance registration is required. Please call 800-272-3900 to register. Programs with less than five registrants are subject to cancellation.

The Monroe County Library System provides in-library as well as remote access to numerous business-related databases. From the library’s homepage at mymcls.com hover over the Research tab and then click Online Resources from the menu. Scroll down to the Business and Law category to find a list of business databases subscribed to by the library. Reference staff at the Bedford Branch Library are available to help users navigate the products.

Using these databases from home requires a password. All passwords are located in our Online Resources Brochure, which is available at any of our 16 branches.  You can also call your local library for more information.

February Business Spotlight

Reference USA is a premier database that provides an excellent source of business and residential information including business start-up and marketing, job searching, company directories and sales volumes, SIC codes. Data on millions of U.S. and Canadian households such as income and home value. Reverse phone directory.

If you are looking for something fun to do to help break up the monotony of winter, the Women of Bedford United have just the answer!

The organization will be hosting their 23rd annual High Tea on Saturday, February 25 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at LaRoy’s Hall, located at 12375 Telegraph Rd. in LaSalle.

For the price of a ticket you can enjoy an afternoon of tea, food, fashion, entertainment, shopping and fun. What would make the day even more fun is if you invite a best friend or family mem­ber to share all of the events of the High Tea with you!

In addition to a delicious luncheon and of course tea, the Women of Bedford United have been working hard to pro-vide a lineup of events during the High Tea that everyone will enjoy.

“Models will be modeling fashions by LuLaRoe, there will be celebrity waiters, prizes for hats, door prizes and there will be photos again this year taken when the guests come in all dressed up,” said Meg Smith, an organizer of the High Tea.

Over the past 22 years, an attendee favorite is the teapot auction. Each celeb­rity waiter brings a teapot to be auctioned. Before the bidding begins, the waiter has to tell what makes his teapot so ex­traordinary. The tales that they tell are hilarious and very entertaining.

Vendors will have some unique items for sale for a little treat for you or maybe to purchase as a gift for an upcoming birthday or special occasion for a family member or friend.

Women of Bedford United member Tammy Lamb has selected some excep­tional vendors for this year’s tea that will each have something different for sale. “We will have LuLaRoe by Debbie Perry, Purse Love, Country Candles by Carrie, Just Dazzle, Designs & Dabbles, Mary Kay and Cards by Stefanie,” she said.

This year High Tea organizers have come up with some new things that will take place during the tea. “We’ve added a couple of different things this year that should be exciting,” Smith said.

The Women of Bedford United have a fund that they have created with a goal of assisting families in the Bedford community. Proceeds from the High Tea provide funding for this assistance through the Bedford Community Foundation.

“We were able to help a family this year get into their first house, so the fund is working,” Smith said.

Make plans to attend the 23rd an­nual Women of Bedford United High Tea and get your tickets now so that you don’t miss out on this fun event.

Tickets are priced at $30 per person and can be purchased from any Women of Bedford United member, Laura Collins at Collins Accounting & Tax Service, 3352 Dean Rd. in Lambertville, (734) 854-2926 or Karen Daggett at (419) 290-6846.

For over 10 years the Bedford Business Association has paid tribute to our active military men and women at our annual BBA Trade Fair. This tradition started 11 years ago with a proud army parent asking if we had a space at Trade Fair for the community to write notes to our local military personnel. The first year of our military tribute booth, we had 10 service men and women displayed. Now, we have 40 service men and women displayed in the booth. As time went on the BBA decided to expand our military tribute booth to include our many veterans who have defended our country and last year we added a display for those Bedford men and women who died while serving our country.

The BBA Trade Fair will be held on March 11 and 12, 2017. We encourage residents to come out to write a note to our active military men and women and to pay tribute to our local veterans. The BBA will be displaying pictures, branch, and rank of those serving in the military. If you have a loved one actively serving our country and you would like to see them recognized, please contact the BBA office. A picture, branch of the service, rank, and a local contact will be needed. Your picture will be scanned and the original will be returned to you.

The BBA will also acknowledge all the men and women who have defended and served our country.  We have an additional display of veterans in our area who have served our great nation.  We need a picture, name, branch of military, rank, and years of service.

For more information you can call the BBA office at (734) 850-2200 or email info@bba.org. The BBA office is located at 8204 Secor Road in Lambertville. Questions can also be directed to Dona Folk at (734) 850-6000 along with dropping off pictures at Bedford Public Schools Administration located at 1623 W. Sterns Road, Temperance.  An additional drop-off location for pictures and information is Collins Accounting and Tax Service located at 3352 Dean Road, Lambertville.