Jamie and I will be returning this year for the Annie Oakley Festival’s marksmanship contest this week.
nd, what a special time it will be, as it is the 60th anniversary for the celebration which honors Darke County’s famous sharpshooter.
I will be one of those taking the score and Jamie will help a small group of us to determine who has worn the best outfit on Tuesday evening.
This contest is open to young ladies ages 12-19 who have signed up to do so.
The winner will receive a cash prize and become the representative face of the festival until 2025.
The girls will be practicing Tuesday night, starting at 6 p.m. while the preliminaries are set for Wednesday at 6 and the finals on Thursday, also at 6 p.m.
Each contestant will shoot the same BB gun, provided by the festival committee, starting from a distance of 25 feet and increasing by the distance in five-feet increments each round.
In charge of this event again another year are Dennis Soward and wife Shelley. One or both of their sons will probably be there and another big help to them is Shelley’s father, Arnold Riffle, who sets up the balloons and gets the shooting range in order. (He is going to be featured in another article I have planned for this week on My County Link).
I have been doing this event for a number of years but not always consecutively.
It’s a fun time watching the talents of these young shooters.
Good luck to all of the girls!
A lot more is planned for this year’s event which continues Friday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the south end of the Darke County Fairgrounds.
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Jamie and I extend our condolences to the families and friends of Becky Everhart, Garth “Buddy” Jones, Phyllis Gibbons, Donnie Brickler, Janet Turner, Ralph Hurd Sr., Faye Minnich Lines, Rosie Vickery and Louise Clawson.
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Seeking prayers for these people: Patricia Maier, Ken Wombold, Delores Beisner, Mike Hopkins, Jodi Gilpin Snyder, Charlie Bulcher, Christopher Lincoln, Ron Moody, Charlyee Severance, Justin Fritz, Lisa Lockhart, Renee Kreitzer McGhee, Jeremy “Jerm” Burke, DeWayne Yohey, Katrina Hoening, Kent Snyder, (cousin) Carol Byrd, Kinley Bernard, Gladys Neff, Kara Didier, Carl Francis, Craig “Cheese” Thompson, Bridget Brown, Don DeBord, Otis Stewart, Chris Clark, Kyle Kaiser, Tina Ruble Ullery, Slug Midlam, Bob Peters, Phyllis Brumbaugh, Judy Collins, Linda Gasper, Carol Hemmerich, Stephanie Klingshirn, Brenda Schlechty, Betty Burnfield, Dan Lockhart, Roberta Hall, Pam Norman-Penticuff, Kelly Kelch, Mike Mayse, Steve Waymire, Jamie Knick, Nikole Baldridge, Chester Bryant, Lester Beisner, Kermit Foureman, Chuck “C.W.” Cruze, Mark Lovejoy.
Also, Judy York, Donald Booker, Dennis Leeper, Connie Stachler, Randy Heck, Ronnie Norton, Gary Eichler, David Pretzman, Clinton Randall, Ralph Byrd, Doug Winger, Sonja and Dan Coppess, Bruce Kaiser, Amanda Mote, Paul Gigandet, Doug Whittington, Tracy Pratt, John Rimmer, Joan Keen, Larry P. Fitzwater, Jim Thomas, Neal Gray, Judie Hathaway, Randy Garrison, Kathy Gragorace, Donna Bixler, Cathy Melling, Scott Clark, and all others who are suffering from other life-altering illnesses.
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Happy birthday:
July 25 to Amy Peters VanSkyock, Jason Aslinger, Andy Prasuhn and Bruce Shank.
July 26 to Kim Beam, Ron Barga, Judy Pepple, Terry Neal, Jacob Wuebker, Bill Fraley and Andrew Leeper.
July 27 to Clinton Randall, Gale Kenworthy, Corey Weiss, Marty McCabe, Susan Ellis, Ken Stiefel, Gary Peace, Jason Grieshop and Marilyn McMiller.
July 28 to Shaun Soward, Katie Hummel and (the former) Kim Beam.
July 29 to Jeremie Hittle, Kay McCracken, Brad Shook and Mark Bixler.
July 30 to Arnold Norton, Dennis Riffle, John Scott Burkett and Toby Winner.
July 31 to Dee Howell and Lindsey Foster.
Happy anniversary to Clarence and Norma Kammer, Sandy and Dan Garber, all on July 28.
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Think about it: “One-half of our troubles can be traced to saying ‘yes’ too soon and not saying ‘no’ soon enough.” –Author Unknown
