LIVING HERE
With graduation just around the corner, many teens are preparing for life after high school, and the next chapter in their lives.
Some students with special needs have a difficult time finding a place in college or afterward in work life. Many are left in a difficult situation. One local mother made the decision to create her own solution to help her daughter succeed and have a brighter future after graduation.
Stephanie Catozzi, a sixteen-year-old diagnosed with autism, apraxia, and a learning disability, loves to draw smiley faces. She can’t write her name, so she signs everything with a smiley face, and her real smile is always brightest when she’s with her family. Stephanie is always going to need the care of her parents and struggles with people crowding her space and overstimulation, so most careers and colleges are not a good fit for her. The family’s solution to this dilemma was launching Stephanie’s Shirt Shop. They hope to build an online business big enough to support Stephanie, along with hiring others with special needs. Each shirt purchased comes with the motto ‘Just Include Everybody’ and features a smiley face drawn by Stephanie. The shirts are printed at a local shop and, so far, Stephanie has helped send out almost three hundred orders to customers in twenty different states.
Anyone interested in placing an order can visit www.includestephanie.com.
The first Farmer’s Market of the season starts Thursday.
It’s spring and that means sun, fun, and the weekly farmer’s market (when spring really arrives in force, that is). Every Thursday, starting on Thursday, May 5th, through the last week of October, from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. the public can stroll through one of the best outdoor markets around. Lake Geneva Farmer’s Market is located on Broad Street in front of the classic and historic Horticultural Hall. The market has continued to grow along Broad Street, expanding in front of the Historic Holy Communion Church. It also wraps around to run up Geneva Street and Wisconsin Street, as well. The market has a variety of vendors, offering unique crafts, handmade food items, locally grown flowers, and fresh produce. The Lake Geneva Farmers Market is a weekly tradition for locals and visitors alike. Sean Payne (from Clearwater retail store) runs the market, and he does a fantastic job.
Cinco de Mayo is tomorrow Thursday, May 5th.
Cinco de Mayo which means the fifth of May is the anniversary of the Battle of Pueblo and is a celebration in Mexico and the United States in honor of a military victory in 1862 over French forces. In Mexico, Cinco De Mayo is mostly celebrated in the state of Pueblo, although other parts of the country take part in the celebration as well. Mexico celebrates this day in several ways, with parades, reenactments, and festivals.
In the United States, it has evolved into big celebrations all over the country. The day is all about Mexican culture and includes great consumption of Mexican foods and margaritas. Cinco de Mayo is great fun for Americans and has become more celebrated in the United States than it is in Mexico.
