By Heidi Puckett Ranard's Hauling and Removal celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Taking part were Brianne Perigo (Greene County Economic Development Corp.), Stephanie Fernhaber (GCEDC), Judy Hammond (Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce), Joan Bethell (GCEDC), owners Matt and April Ranard, Bob Bradford (Linton-Stockton Chamber of Commerce), Monica James (Eastern Greene Chamber of Commerce), Cheryl Hamilton (Linton-Stockton Chamber of Commerce), Matt Miller (Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce), and Jenny Crites (Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce).

Congratulations to the Linton Hometown Sears Store.

The Linton store recently received the prestigious Five Star Excellence Award from Sears. This esteemed honor was awarded on Jan. 4 at the Sears' Hometown Celebration Conference in Las Vegas.

Only a handful of Sears Hometown Store receive this prestigious annual award.

On your next visit to Sears, be sure to congratulate Vic Brown and his staff.

* We would like to thank everyone who attended last Saturday night's Van-Dells performance at the Linton-Stockton High School auditeria. This was a benefit for the Linton Freedom Festival.

Thanks to all of you for helping with your contribution to this project.

Thanks to those who attended Tuesday's Chamber meeting at the Linton Elks Lodge. Our speaker was Eric Swickard, Transportation Planner with Bernardin Lochmueller & Associates. Eric updated members on the progress of the I-69 project and highlighted on INDOT's plans for Greene County as they stand to date.

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, April 21 at the Linton Elks Lodge and our speaker will be representative(s) from the West Gate Authority project.

* The Chamber's Spring Expo is scheduled for Saturday at the Linton National Guard Armory. This event is free to the public.

The hours for this year's Expo will be 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Businesses and non-profits interested in participating can contact the Chamber office for more information.

Concessions will again be provided by the Linton Rotary Club.

* Congratulations to Ranard's Hauling and Removal. Ranard's had a ribbon cutting last Friday on their expanded facility north of Bloomfield on State Road 157. This ribbon cutting was conducted by the Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce, Eastern Greene Chamber of Commerce, the Linton-Stockton Chamber of Commerce and Greene County Economic Development Corporation.

* As announced last week, if anyone in the community is holding a Certifichecks gift certificate, the Chamber office needs to know this as soon as possible.

Please stop into our office. We need to get your contact information and a copy of the gift certificate.

This applies to individuals who have not redeemed a gift certificate as well as businesses who may be holding an ISF check.

Cheryl is the executive director of the Linton-Stockton Chamber of Commerce. She can be reached at P.O. Box 208 Linton, Ind., 47441 or at 847-4846.