Cost Saving Tips

Living in a rural part of Southern Indiana, means not having access to many stores, that are close by.
Try the link below, called Tip Hero, for money saving ideas. Even if you have to drive "a ways", most of us do this to get the services we need. We just don't drive there as often!
As a nutrition instructor, I have to say, that many of Tip Hero's ideas are worth exploring.

Emaciated Horses

Please check out the link below, from the Courier Journal.
I am afraid that the stories of these horses, is being repeated far too often!
If you have the means, please donate to this worthy refuge's cause!

Joe the Plumber

I am not sure when this campaign season turned seriously ugly (on both sides of the fence). But, I do know what the meaning of "private citizen" is supposed to be.
This Joe guy, is a private citizen. As an American, we have certain rights and entitlements. One of these is, that we should be able to ask questions of our elected officials. WITHOUT REPRISALS!
I could not care less, if Joe the plumber owes taxes. I do not care, if he does not have his "official" plumber's license. I do not care, if he is a card carrying Republican or Democrat. I do not care, if the business he wants to buy is a "pipe dream". I just don't care.
What I care about, is the treatment that Joe the Plumber has received since he asked Barack Obama a simple question. News organizations, bloggers, campaign staff, whomever... have no business delving into a PRIVATE CITIZEN's personal life. Mr. Joe Plumber, is not running for public office.
If there had not been a "gaff" on Senator Obama's part (spread the wealth), the question would be buried in the dark morass of oblivion, by now.
I say leave the man and his family alone. As Americans, we have our self or a family member that have fought in wars to protect our way of life. If every "simple question" has a vicious consequence, then we as Americans are doomed. Our ideal is dead.
I am depressed that our media has stooped so low, as to think this type of behavior is acceptable. It is not. We are not electing royalty, a prophet or a God. We are electing a citizen of our country, to be President. One who has chosen a public life and chose not to keep his private life!
Joe the Plumber, did not make that decision. Keep the dirt digging to Obama and McCain. The "they did it first" mentality only works for 2 year olds.

Greens

Greens. A highly valued source of nutrition in "the old days".
One senior today told me that she decided against a mechanical valve in her heart, because she would not be able to eat her favorite greens anymore, if it was installed!
That would be poke weed.
Asked the group, what their favorites were and got these answers. It shows how varied a palate can be.

Cow parsnip ( she called it , princess flower)
Mustard greens, poke weed, turnip greens, wild onion, dandelion, miners lettuce, winter cress. Then they started talking about what could be battered and fried... green tomatoes, cattail stalks, rose petals and watermelon rind...
Miss Peggy says that down in the hollers of Kentucky where she grew up, people could find her house by the smell of food being fried and the goats on the roof. On the roof? Yep, she grew up in a sod house.

Poke Berries

The Path

This was told to me by Clara Agan. I have mentioned her before.
I do have a correction, though. She is the young age of 95!

In the old days, everyone had a privy. You know outhouse, little house, s---house. Whatever your family might call it. Then came running water! Some families could afford indoor plumbing, many could not.
When visiting someone, the polite way to ask where the bathroom was; "do you have a bath or a path?".

We didn't get a "bath" for a long while. One of the favorite things the boys did at Halloween, was to run around, tipping the outhouses over. One time they did this and someone was inside. We laughed and laughed!

Clara's first phone was a hand crank model.
She told me that you had to call the exchange. Then, she would place the call for you. Every house has a special ring. She couldn't remember hers, but you could bet, that everyone on that line picked up the receiver and listened in!

Rural words

Short post. Adding more words that I have heard...now that I keep an ear out for them!

Rule. In my neck of the woods, this is the pronunciation for RURAL. I pronounce both "R's".
Gully Whopper. This is a crane fly. About an inch and a half long with REALLY long legs.
Fixin. I am planning on doing something. I'm fixin to go to the store.
Sack. Same as poke. Put the groceries in the sack.
Carry them. Drive someone, somewhere. I have to carry them to school.
Boot. Trunk of the car.
Branch. Small creek. The kids are swimming in the branch out back.
Smidgen. Measurement. Same as a "pinch" (which is an exact measurement in cooking). 1/16 of a tsp, I think.
Ear Out. I believe, that I just used this. Means listen for.

Comment

Please read Ike's Indiana Aftermath, in order. Two through conclusion.
Thanks for listening. Just needed to get this "off my chest".

Ike's Indiana Aftermath, finale

Last (and this is a pearl), Crawford County's EMA director, stated during the second week of this situation, that this emergency was a "teachable moment" for the citizens of the county. They need to have a 3 day supply of food, water and first aid, etc.. They also, need to keep $50 in single dollar bills, so that they can purchase needed items. I agree. If a person or family HAS THE MEANS to do this, they should. My family has. But what about the low income, the elderly, the people who just do not get around to it? Our EMA can tell people that this was a "teachable moment", but it seems that they, themselves have learned nothing.

Many, many private citizens of Crawford County stepped up and worked hard to support their neighbors. Churches, youth groups and individuals alike. But, without guidance, help was slow to appear, this situation was disorganized out in "the field" and all help was sporadic in location. I am 100% positive, that some of our citizens lost out on any assistance, just because they did not know it existed. Some towns performed better than others, all worked hard.

Without the "management", in Emergency Management Agency. I am desperately afraid that this scenario will be repeated again. And I sincerely hope that the "next one", does not take place in winter.

Ike's Indiana Aftermath, conclusion

Here is my conclusion. Why I place the blame squarely on our EMA and a few other "beauties", that I observed in action over a two week period.
First and foremost, six months ago, after a flood in two towns in Crawford County, our United Way asked the EMA, if they could tell us where shelters were located in this county. We wanted to place the information in a brochure for our citizens. At that time, we were told that this information was on a "need to know basis" and we should let them handle it. Essentially, they did not need our help, thank you.
Second, Crawford County does not have an "official" emergency plan that has been approved on a State level. We have had at least, 5 weather related emergencies in this county, in the past three years.
Third. The Red Cross is stretched far to thin in this area of Southern Indiana. Our chapter is located a couple of counties away. They did not utilize some certified volunteers that live in our county. In addition, the director stood in the one EMA meeting, stating that "they" served 900 meals (in two days). In fact, the Wesleyan Church served the meals with their volunteers, their generators, propane and mostly their own resources. The Red Cross sent this church enough supplies for one day of feeding people. The Salvation Army, delivered supplies for another two days (and also sent food to the pantries). The balance of over 2,800 meals was on the church. The Red Cross Station in Leavenworth did an excellent job...but nowhere near as many meals went out of there, as they did in Marengo or Patoka Elementary. Ten days after the event, the library called me. The Red Cross of Harrison County had called, they had heard that we were going to distribute food to working poor families. They wanted to know, if we could include Harrison county families. Sadly we could not. Not enough resources.
Fourth, our local radio station was off the air for the entire power outage. Seems that they do not have a generator. This is the only way to get information out to all of the public. Unless, of course, they add all citizens of Crawford County, to the automated phone system. And that only works, if we have phone service. EMA, needs to focus on VITAL equipment and place less emphasis on a couple of 4 wheel drive vehicles.
Fifth. Many last minute volunteers were told, they WOULD be working 12 hour days. I am not sure that the "powers that be" understand the definition of volunteer.
Sixth, there is NO volunteer "net" underneath the EMA of Crawford County. Our director has only a handful of volunteers that work with him. Not one of these people have contacted other organizations in this county for advance preparation in case of emergency.
I am saving the best for last... read my next post!

Ike's Indiana Aftermath, five

This long narrative is to point out the failings in some small counties, including my own, with hope of resolution in the future. But, if lessons have not been learned, by existing infrastructure, I am afraid we are doomed to repeat the past.

Friday, I finally located the Red Cross Director. I gave her my list, picked up the 144 "heater meals" and spent the day, delivering them. I was interested to see, that with all of the people going without, very few of these meals had been distributed, at that point in time. Cases WERE given to the Fire Departments later that day. Some were given to the pantries, but not enough.
Saturday, I delivered food and safety information that the United Way of Crawford County had gotten together, including $200 worth from one of the cash donors.
Monday, September 22nd. Life is getting back to normal, people are assessing damage. Those that know, are reporting said damage to the IN Department of Homeland Security, many have no idea. Our EMA is certain that everything is running well. It is not.
My co-worker and I, are receiving calls from our libraries and some other locations. Working poor families are out of food and do not know where to go for help. Pay checks are a few days, to a week away. We decide to take the other promissory donor up on his offer of $500 for food. We then begin making plans for distribution to these working poor families. Even though we worked as fast as things can go, on spur of the moment, it took until Thursday afternoon to get the cash. Friday, three of us purchased food and dropped it off at a central location. Saturday, United Way volunteers and a couple of community service folks, handed the food out. 10 pounds of nutrient rich food per family. We served 50 families, by the end of the weekend. With NO advertisement. Life is back to normal...more or less.

Ike's Indiana Aftermath, four.five

The balance of Wednesday was spent cleaning out refrigerators, handing out and explaining food safety in emergencies, checked in on my disoriented seniors, checked on others, I had never met, left messages for the Red Cross Director, in three locations, handed out water and on and on.
Thursday, I woke up to "Ta Dah!, POWER! And phone service. Now you may have noticed that I have not complained about our utility companies. Nor will I. Many of these men and women were down in Texas, trying to help with their massive damages from Hurricane Ike. It took a couple of days to get back here. Once they did get here, they worked their proverbial tails off. Saw them all over the county, all of the time I was out on the road.
Received word that our United Way had a food donation to pick up, so I did. $377 and change of product from one of our local general stores. I took it to the Marengo Food Pantry, which was almost out of stock. Called the Director of The United Way of Perry County, told her of the "fix" our pantries were in, vented, asked her if she could make some calls on our county's behalf, so that I could continue to do my job. She readily agreed and did as she promised. By end of day, we had $700 dollars in promised donations and information as to where our pantries could pick up emergency food for free, plus additional donations of canned food. Thank You to a couple of anonymous donors, many private citizens and the Dare to Care Food Bank out of Louisville, Kentucky!
I then had a meeting with the manager of 3 senior apartment complexes. We got together a complete list of all of her senior shut-ins with no family. I added my live alone clients to the list and went "a hunting" for the Red Cross Director, once again. Down in Leavenworth, at the Red Cross feeding station, I asked a young volunteer if he would deliver a couple of hot meals to two of my clients that were not in good shape. He did this, pretty close, to immediately. I appreciated that, alot! I continued to visit senior citizens for the rest of the day. Let it be known, that on Thursday, I still found people eating out of their refrigerators. And the EMA, still clueless.

Ike's Indiana Aftermath, four

It's now Wednesday. I get to the Crawford County office, hoping to find enough food safety brochures in my file cabinet. Some, but definitely, not enough. Fortunately, my boss had hooked up a small generator and I could make copies. While the machine was working away, a co-worker brought me a memo. It said that the EMA was having a meeting at 10am. We decided that we will attend. First, the meeting was not where they said it would be. We found the meeting anyway, arriving 5 minutes late. As we walked in, the first thing said to us was, "you cannot be here". My co-worker stated that we were with "agencies". We were told again, that we could not be there. After the third time, I said, "we were the ones that unloaded your precious water and you are going to tell us to leave?". Oops, my temper again.
At this point, we were asked to sit down. Smart move on their part. At this meeting, we found out where citizens could get a hot meal, that we now had ice at the fairgrounds for food storage, the Red Cross had served 900 meals at the Marengo Wesleyan Church and a bunch more logistical stuff.
Time to ask some questions...how were they handling seniors in distress? How were they getting oxygen and meds to people in need? How were citizens being notified as to where the services were? Why was there not a central shelter or shelters for the people in need? Why don't citizens know where to go in advance? Has anyone gone door to door, checking on people, other than the three of us (officially checking)? Answers, I wanted answers!
Well , here are the answers we got (for, what they are worth). No one was handling any individual. They could call if they were in distress (no phones, remember!). Oxygen supplies were the medical companies responsibility (how were they going to know, no phones). Our EMA, was working with the school district. Families with school aged children would get an automated message, as to where to locate services (again, many do not have service. And, what about anyone without children in school, 39.7% of our population). Shelter locations were on a need to know basis (what?). Basically, The Red Cross decided that a shelter was not needed. "People still had a roof over their heads" (this was so wrong minded, that I was confused). Finally, yes, people were going door to door...the 3 of you!
Other answers were, that the Food Stamp people were putting some money back on recipients EBT cards, to make up for spoiled food. The county would shut down feeding stations by Friday evening (as one Fire Chief stated, "otherwise people will never do anything on their own"), after all, power would be back to most homes in Crawford County by then. That the Red Cross had a trailer load of "heater meals", these would be placed at the Fire Departments for week end use, by families still without power. And so, on.
We asked a few more questions. What about families that lost their food, are not on assistance and do not qualify for our food pantries? Could we get some "heater meals", for senior shut ins? (yes, but it took another day and a half to get them), etc. Time to go to work, in more ways than one!

Ike's Indiana Aftermath, three

Oops! I now realize that, perhaps, I should have kept going. Left to unload the water trucks were 2 Milltown volunteer firemen, 4 women and my boss, running a tractor.
On the trip down, the gallons of water had shifted and a good half of the product had to be unloaded by hand. After a short while, the truck drivers felt bad, that the men present were running equipment and the 4 women were unloading gallons of water by hand. They pitched in, Thank Heavens! When we were finished, or nearly so, a volunteer EMA man, finally showed up.
My first question was, where was our help? My second, how were people going to find out water was available to them? He began to leave. I asked again, a bit more forcefully. His answer just about set me off my rocker...we WERE the help and "they" were going to send the message out by short wave radio. What? This will not stand! Okay, I was in his face by then, I will admit it. Is this water for the privileged? Is there any other plan to notify citizens? No? Are you retarded? Or just an asshole? Well, I guess you can see what direction this conversation was going. I left.
As I was driving to my destination, I had many thoughts. Most were not amiable, but one was pretty good. I began driving down streets in Marengo, telling anyone who was outside, where to find free water. Asking them to pass the word to other neighbors. It worked! I then stopped by as many senior homes as I could. A little after dark, my day was over. When I got home, I realized that I was distressed and angry. I had seen a number of seniors who were confused, some who were low on oxygen, a few that were disoriented and many that were still eating food out of their refrigerators! Mind you, this is two and a half days after the power outage began. Tomorrow, I want answers AND valid information!

Ike's Indiana Aftermath, two

During our last County emergency, events AS I SAW THEM, happened like this;
After the windstorm that lasted 4 plus hours, everyone lost power and all phone service. Due to the power loss, many properties could not draw water from their wells. "City" water was limited to what was in the storage tanks. There was no communication between most citizens and government. Most folks did not know how long the power was going to be out, how bad damage actually was, where to get gas or water or where they needed to go for assistance.
After cutting our way out of the driveway on Monday, I checked in with my office in another county (drove until I found one working phone). Everything was okay there, the outage only lasted a few hours. I told them that I was cleaning up debris and would be back to work on Tuesday.
Back to work. This might have been an understatement. First thing Tuesday, I arrive at my office in Crawford County. No power, no phones, no e-mail, no EMA. Yes, I share a building with the Emergency Management Agency and Health Department. The county nurse and her crew, were working in the dark. EMA, had been moved to the courthouse (the only building with powerful enough generators to run things effectively) and our office was moving it's headquarters to the 4H park. Why I wondered?
Seems that EMA and the IN Department of Homeland Security had requested emergency water for our county, that it was being delivered to the fairgrounds and this was happening by 10:30am. Alright, I thought. I could check on some seniors, go to the fairgrounds and be back on the road by 1:00pm, no problem.
Problem. One o'clock rolls around, no water trucks. By three-ish, I hit the road. Two miles down, I see 9 brand new State dump trucks heading towards the fairgrounds. I whip a U turn and follow them to their destination. Ahh...Crawford County's water has arrived!

Old Saws

In Laws. These names are still handed down
from generation to generation.

The Great Depression

I was reflecting on what has been happening over the past two weeks, with my senior friend Clara. She was telling me that some family members had lost a lot of money in the Market. I told her that it was probably going to be rough for awhile. (double here, with the disaster in the county)
I asked her how she was doing on food, after the blackout. She said fine, she had spent most of her social security check on food this week. But she missed the fresh corn, rhubarb and persimmons, that she had frozen earlier this year. Had to throw them out. Mighty hard to replace, right now.
I agreed. Can't buy them in the store and the growing season is pretty much over. Guess we will have to wait until next year.
What would you do if we had another depression, I queried?
Just like I told my daughter in law...lived through one, guess I'll live through another, she said. You know though, most people won't make it. You probably will. You can cook from scratch, you grow your own garden and I know you can hunt...most young people I know, cannot do anything in the old ways. My neighbor had 6 tomato plants. Last year when it was really dry, he told me, I suppose I will not have tomatoes this year. I said, why not? You got water. He said, he didn't want to carry water in a bucket to them!
I reckon, was my response. Of course, unless he gets hungry enough.
Clara laughed. Asked me if I thought a young person would eat goat, possum or even ground hog.
I said, of course, if they get hungry enough!

Ike's Indiana Aftermath

Good news. The Community Resource Center has received help. The wait in line is now only 2-3 hours, instead of 10. I hear that everyone applying, is receiving $162, to help replace food. This is a huge help to Crawford County. The wait for a FEMA adjuster is about 10 days, this is not horrible either.

I am adding some pictures here, to show some of the damage on our property and in Washington County.

The barn was in decent shape before the storm and the trees were healthy before the wind. This is nothing though, compared to some. Total losses on their homes. Trees in the living rooms, and so on.

Poor Washington County, has not even been "declared" yet!

Click on the pictures, to see them better!

Pajamas

I was with one of my groups yesterday. Somehow, after my lesson, the conversation changed to memories of childhood. (This actually happens, regularly). A gentleman who usually never discusses anything personal, told this story. When he was a boy, his family did not have much. For an entire year, he pestered his parents. He kept asking for a "Roy Rogers" cowboy outfit, not really expecting to get it, though the reward for trying might be worth the effort. Christmas morning arrives. He rushes downstairs and waits, finally it is his turn! He rips open his one and only gift. YES! Roy Rogers. Wait... they are pajamas! Never mind, he threw on the "special" pajamas and played all day in them. The next day, he had to go to school, he begged his Mother to let him wear his Roy Rogers pajamas. She patiently explained, that it would not be proper to wear pajamas to school. So he got dressed, hopped on the wagon and went to school. Much to his surprise, several other boys received those same pajamas and were wearing them to school! Maybe Roy Rogers was more "special", at home.

Grandma

After my last post, I realized that I had forgotten a few of my favorite words from this region!
Mee Maw and Pa Paw. This is Grandma and Grandpa. Which is fine for little kids, but sounds a bit odd, coming out of an 18 year old mouth.
Yearn. This translates to ,Yours. That's not mine, it's yearn.
Main. Means Man. Hey Main! Haven't seen you in awhile.

I Reckon

This is a short entry tonight. I would love some comments and additions to this list, please feel free to add your rural words and their alternate meanings.
I Reckon. Means I agree, more or less.
Poke. Out here that is a bag. As in, put your groceries in that poke.
Coal Tar. Suprisingly, it's really kerosene. People used to use this as a folk remedy.
Cigarmoror Tree. Would be a Catalpa tree. The seed pods look like cigars (kind of).
Mango. Do not assume you are speaking of a tropical fruit. In Southern Indiana; a green bell pepper.
A Mess. A quantity of food. This means "x" amount to feed one person, or "x" amount to feed a family. As in a mess of greens. No actual measurement.
Greens. Weeds that people harvest and eat. Dandelion, mustard and so on.
Dude. From my teenage neighbor. Dude still means dude, but now it's used as an exclamation (!).
Dinner. If you are from the West, this would be lunch. Breakfast, dinner & supper, I think. Can never keep this straight.
And my all time favorite...
Bear Ass Burn. I believe she was speaking of Bayer Aspirin!

School Cafeterias

I saw a freshly killed deer on the side of the road this morning. It made me think about a conversation I had with a 97 year old client, awhile back. Her name is Clara. She is a 4 foot 8 inch dynamo, that still cooks for every community gathering at her Senior Apartments. Clara, used to be a school cafeteria cook. Her story was verified by two other retired school cooks, while they laughed about what she had said to me.
I had stated, at one of my nutrition lessons, that kids really did not know what "home cooked" really meant anymore. At least they could get a well rounded meal at school, from the school cooks. That was IT! Bah, humbug, huffs and snickers.
Clara says; don't you know that everything they serve at school these days, is frozen? Those women should not be called cooks, they just reheat everything or mix water in it and BINGO, you have lunch. It used to be, we would cook everything from scratch. It was cheap and good for them. Mr. (I can't remember his name), the game warden, would bring us a couple of freshly dead deer every school year. We would butcher them and cook up roasts, stews and such. Add some boiled potatoes, carrots and cabbage...you would have many lunches! We made our own desserts, too! Cooks indeed.
I gave no reply, just laughed, I know when a conversation is not winnable.

Yard Sale

We had our annual, clear out the junk, yard sale on Saturday. People stop by looking for their treasure and we are happy to be rid of it. Unlike many garage sales in the city, a yard sale is kind of like a social event. I do not mean that the neighbors all come by, what I mean is, that it is a chance for people you have never met, to come by and stay awhile. Only a very few look around, say a few pleasantries, maybe buy something and then leave. Most of these strangers stay awhile! One couple came up, bought a few items, then talked to us for half an hour. Wanted to know if we were interested in buying a couple of Jennys (female donkeys), they were friendly (the donkeys) and maybe broke to drive. No? Then they admired our cabin, to which my husband took them on a tour. We gave them the number of the Mennonite manufacturer, before they left.
Later that day a man pulled up, looked around and then asked if we had any VCR movies. We sold him five. He proceeded to tell us that, where he and his wife lived, they only got 2 channels on TV, so he ran around buying up old movies to watch. One comment led to another, then the subject was on woodworking. He said that this was his hobby. My other half said, he used to like to do some woodworking himself, but could never keep the tools sharp. It was easy, this man stated. If we would like, he could show us how to sharpen the tools. He wanted to start a club down in Harrison County and wait a minute, he had a piece of his work in the truck. He brought it to us. It was an exquisite Yellow Throated Warbler sitting on a reed. His hobby was more like art and I said as much. He was humble, saying he never knew what to charge, so he never sold anything. Just showed them at a local lake's visitor center.
When he left, my husband looked at me and said, " I thought he meant whittling!".

Thieves in Crawford County, part two

About a month ago, a citizen of Louisville, Kentucky (big city), reported that someone had been stealing off of his "hobby farm", in Crawford County. Even though the rest of us, had filed complaints months ago, the priority was placed with this person's complaint. It took the law, less than 2 weeks, to set up a sting operation and make an arrest.
They arrested the undisputed "dumbest" member of the family. He is now ratting out his family, their friends, what they have done and for how long they have been doing it. Sounds promising. Evidently, not. We are now being told that old Justin Busick is not credible. He is talking too much. Even though, his confession is matching up with police reports on thefts and burglaries, I guess that is not enough proof for our police.

The Cobb/Busick clan usually lie to the authorities, go back and tell the victim "so what & prove it", or "you gave that to us". They intimidate and threaten their victim's, but not directly. That way the clan stays out of jail. Others in this county believe that the Cobb clan are confidential informants (watch out weed smokers) or are doing dirty work for county officials.

I do not know. Frankly, I do not care. In my household, we don't back down in the face of intimidation. Bring it on! Do your best. I will not shut up until the entire family are brought to justice or go back to where they came from, which is not Southern Indiana.

Thieves in Crawford County, part one

When a county is rural and the population is small, criminals and other "shady" characters tend to stand out.
In a big city, these individuals can hide for weeks, months or even years. Not out here in Southern Indiana! These people are lucky to hide out for one single day, unless of course, it's the cops who are looking for them.
One day. That is all it took for me to find the family who ripped us off. Even when they told everyone interested that they were moving out of the county, I knew better and made it my business to find them. One phone call and "tadah", found out where they had relocated to.
Over the past 6 months, the Cobb/Busick family have burglarized 5 households, (including ours). The losses are easily over 15 thousand. Doesn't seem like much? The average household income around here is between 28k and 36k. Now, 15k sounds a little more substantial, does it not?
Why, pray tell, are the Cobb/Busick's still running the streets? The local authorities would like us to think that this family "walks the line", never stepping over it enough to be arrested. In the next breath, the same authorities say that the entire family "are mentally deficient". Which is it? I believe that I know. In my opinion, it is a lack of effort on the part of law enforcement. Unless a complainant is from a big city, or are part of the "old boy" network in Crawford County, forget justice on "petty" crimes, like burglary.

Introduction

Welcome to Thoughts on Rural Indiana.

I am beginning this blog with a warning to thieves. You will be mentioned!
Most of the time, I will muse over the advantages of rural living. Share stories that
"old folks" have given to me, in hopes that they are not forgotten and generally write
about Crawford County Indiana and it's neighboring counties.