The Little Rock Cannery, Hernando County, received an anonymous donation of $55,124, the amount of the programs entire annual budget! The cannery has had to look at the possibility of closing their doors twice recently, due to lack of funds.

Founded in 1975, the Little Rock Cannery provides a place for locals to can meats, fruits and vegetables year round.  The cannery provides steamers, pressure canners and juicers for locals to can their harvest with no muss, no fuss.  With the recent popularity of self-sustainment, this type of business has the potential to serve the community for many years to come.

Last year, Little Rock faced extinction when Hernando County considered cutting the cannery from the annual budget. After a multitude of donations, pleas from the locals and numerous meetings, the County Commissioners saved the program.  However, once again, the cannery’s existence lay in the hands of the County Commissioners who plan to bring forth heavy budget cuts this summer.

The Little Rock Cannery is located at 15487 Citrus Way in Brooksville and can be reached for appointment at 352-540-4306.

After the acceptance of the large cashier’s check that was received for the sole purpose of keeping the cannery open for another year, the future of the cannery has brightened up a bit.  

The Little Rock Cannery, Hernando County, received an anonymous donation of $55,124, the amount of the programs entire annual budget! The cannery has had to look at the possibility of closing their doors twice recently, due to lack of funds.

Founded in 1975, the Little Rock Cannery provides a place for locals to can meats, fruits and vegetables year round.  The cannery provides steamers, pressure canners and juicers for locals to can their harvest with no muss, no fuss.  With the recent popularity of self-sustainment, this type of business has the potential to serve the community for many years to come.

Last year, Little Rock faced extinction when Hernando County considered cutting the cannery from the annual budget. After a multitude of donations, pleas from the locals and numerous meetings, the County Commissioners saved the program.  However, once again, the cannery’s existence lay in the hands of the County Commissioners who plan to bring forth heavy budget cuts this summer.

The Little Rock Cannery is located at 15487 Citrus Way in Brooksville and can be reached for appointment at 352-540-4306.

After the acceptance of the large cashier’s check that was received for the sole purpose of keeping the cannery open for another year, the future of the cannery brightened up a bit.

The sound of sleet woke Hernando County residents Saturday morning for the first time in 14 years. Saturday and Sunday night reached temperatures low into the teens, bringing two nights in a row of hard freezes!

The early morning rains on Saturday entered sub-freezing air, causing the rain to freeze and produce sleet. Temperatures are expected to continue to rise throughout the week, returning to 70-degree weather by the afternoon on Friday!

Remember to keep your plants covered, your pets inside and your Snuggie near by!

The Angel Tree Program, hosted by the Salvation Army, is a program that allows families in need to sign up for community assistance in an effort to provide gifts to their families. The information regarding the gifts are placed on a paper angel ornament and hung on a tree. Individuals or groups that wish to purchase the item for a family remove the angel from the tree, purchase the item and bring it back unwrapped to the Salvation Army.

Friday, December 18th is the deadline for Angel Tree gifts to be turned in to the Salvation Army of Hernando County. On the first day of winter, December 21, representatives from the Salvation Army will be distributing the gifts to the families. Due to the economic downturn this year many families have been hard pressed, however residents of Hernando County have strived to keep up with the increasing demand.

According to Cathy Southard, social services case worker, “The families who used to give to us in the past are now the ones asking us for help because of the economy,” Southard said. “We have closer to 450 families this year, and they’re still coming.”

Thanks Hernando for pulling together and helping your neighbors this holiday season!

The holidays are upon us and many Hernando residents are finishing up with last minute shopping, I know this because I am one of them! I received an e-mail from a young couple with three children in South Carolina the other day. In this e-mail the young woman stated that the financial difficulties across the nation have struck them hard. Her husband had lost his job and they have found themselves without any financial means to buy Christmas gifts for their children. She was wondering if I knew of any groups that would be able to help her and stated that she had signed up for the gift registry at Walmart in South Carolina. It was then I knew I would have to put on my battle gear and head out to Walmart to help these people in need.

So, yesterday I woke up regretting the trip to Walmart that I knew that I would be making, understanding that the parking lots would be full, the lines would be long and the people would be irritable. When I pulled into the parking lot of the Super Walmart on SR 50 in Hernando County, I noticed the full parking lot and sighed in despair, the line of cars leading into the parking lot were backed up all the way into the next shopping plaza! I realized if I was going to survive this shopping experience I was going to have to change my mindset and accept the fact that I wasn’t in a hurry, I HAD to go into the store and I should just make the best of it.

Much to my surprise and joy, I found a parking spot four spots from the front door! I even double checked to make certain that I was not in a handicap spot, as the reality that I didn’t have to park 10 blocks away was almost surreal. I went into the store knowing that I needed to go directly to customer service to ask questions about the gift registry. I walked past the Customer Service line that protruded all the way out to the registers and filled up my water jugs for the house. By the time I was finished I walked back to the line only to notice that everyone was gone and I was the first in line! No waiting! I looked around again wondering where the camera’s hiding; first…a close parking spot? then…no waiting? Something had to be up. The lady behind the counter was more than helpful, she took time away from the counter to walk me to the Gift Registry area by the jewelry section and helped me print out the information that I needed. She then wished me a Happy Holiday and went on her merry way…smiling! Looking for the hidden cameras again; I figured that must have just been a fluke and cautiously continued on to the boy’s clothing department.

I began looking at my gift registry print out and realized that this was not going to be an easy task. The items were all listed by UPC code! How in the world was I ever going to find a Blk T lion sht med UPC code 45789656623? I proceeded with caution to the next sales clerk in the boys clothing department and asked if there was an easy way to find these items. The woman looked at me, smiled and said “Sure, follow me.” She then took me from tee shirt to hoodie and spent a good 30 minutes of her precious holiday time actually shopping with me! When we were done with the boys items, it was time to proceed into the girls clothing department. She radioed the sales clerk that took care of the Miley Cyrus clothing line and both of these incredible ladies took me by the hand and shopped with me for another 30 minutes!

I was able to finish my shopping for the couple in South Carolina in no time flat, thanks to the wonderful sales clerks at the Brooksville Walmart on SR 50, and for the first time in my life I left a Walmart in December whistling “Deck the Halls.”

I’m still looking for the cameras…