Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce members will learn about how two Bluffton residents have gone "green" in business. Bob Fett, co-partner with his brother, Dave, is the featured speaker at the 7:30 a.m., Friday, March 11, chamber breakfast.

The event, in the community room of the town hall, is open to the public, but requires an RSVP to attend. The complete and free breakfast is provided by Richland Manor. Serving begins at 7 a.m. The meeting begins at 7:30 a.m.

Here's an island you don't see often in these parts. The Icon spotted this Rhode Island plate in the BHS parking lot.

The season of Lent is upon us. Several Bluffton churches launch the season with an Ash Wednesday service (March 9). That service usually includes distribution of ashes.

A complete list of mid-week and other special Lenten services will be published next week. Here is a listing of Ash Wednesday services in The Icon viewership area:

o Bluffton Presbyterian Church - 7 p.m.

o First Mennonite - 8 p.m., in fellowship hall

o English Lutheran - 6 p.m.
Fellowship soup supper prior to service

Jen is a certified public accountant. That much we can guess. The Icon spotted this plate in the village parking lot on the east side of Main.

Bluffton's Feb. 28 flood damages are estimated at $179,400, according to Rick Skilliter, Bluffton police chief. It is likely that the figure will climb.

Skilliter released additional figures for the response to the flooding:
o Village General Fund Expenditures (payroll, supplies, dumpsters) - $3,707.96
o Total sandbags generated - 2,354
o Volunteers (making sandbags, feeding assistance) - 182 (average 2 hours of work per person) = 364 hrs

Donations and contributions

A group of historical-minded Bluffton residents is contacting family members who may have ancestors buried in an old Bluffton cemetery.

"We want to contact all possible heirs and share with them what our hopes and desires are for what is known as the Shannon Cemetery on Bluffton's Jefferson Street," said Dick Boehr, who is spearheading the committee.

According to Boehr, the plan is to create a very nice park area, which could be maintained and would have an identification plaque, which would list as many people as can be verified, who were buried in the cemetery.

Bluffton University recreation students and intramural staff will host Kid's Night Out from 6-10 p.m. Saturday, March 26, in Founders Hall.

Open to children in grades 1-6, the event costs $13 per child if registered by March 24 and $15 at the door. Families who pre-register more than one child will pay $11 per youngster.

A parent must accompany any child who registers at the door. Checks should be payable to the Bluffton University Recreation Club.

Dr. Gerald Mast, professor of communication at Bluffton University, will deliver the 2011 C. Henry Smith Peace Lecture, "True Evangelical Faith and the Gospel of Peace," at 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 15, in Bluffton's Yoder Recital Hall. His presentation is free and open to the public.

In the lecture, Mast, a Bluffton faculty member since 1996, will explore how people of faith can respond without cynicism or naivet'e to the overwhelming amount of violence and human need in the world.

Bluffton University seniors Peter Kidwell and Brittany Sinnema-Jackson will showcase their artwork during the first of Bluffton's two Senior Exhibitions, March 15-25 in the Grace Albrecht Gallery in Sauder Visual Arts Center.

The exhibit, titled "Controlled Chaos," is free and open to the public, as is a reception for the artists from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, March 20.