Chamber's Christmas party will be Dec. 1

Thanks to everyone who attended the Linton-Stockton Chamber of Commerce's November meeting Tuesday at Pizza City.

Heather Yung and Valerie Abshire from the WorkOne office updated those in attendance on services offered to employees and employers through WorkOne and the Indiana Workforce Development Office.

If you have questions regarding their services, free employer posters, free workshops or the MindLeaders program, contact the local office at 847-4479 and ask for Heather or Valerie. Both should be able to assist you.

* Our annual Christmas party will be at the Old Bank and Company Restaurant on Dec. 1. This is always a fun night in a relaxed atmosphere.

No official business is conducted; we want you to enjoy your evening with fellow Chamber members. As always, we would like our members to bring an unwrapped toy to share with the Greene County toys-for-tots program.

* A Pleasant Grove Christmas Musical will soon be approaching. Once again Pleasant Grove Farms south of Linton will be offering its Christmas music choreographed to lights. The choreographed light show will run from Dec. 12-27 from 6-10 p.m. each night. A patriotic show is planned for Dec. 27 through Jan. 1.

It is recommended that you use one of the four parking lots, tune your radio to FM 90.1 and sit and enjoy the shows.

For more information check out www.pleasantgrovechristmas.com .

* Again in sharing news from the Better Business Bureau: The first phase of the 2010 U.S. Census has begun as workers are starting to verify addresses of households across the country. More than 140,000 U.S. Census workers will count and gather information about every person living at each address, including name, age, gender, race and other relevant information.

Households will be contacted by mail, telephone and possibly even be visited in person by a Census worker. Unfortunately, people may also be visited by individuals who impersonate a Census worker in an attempt to gain access to banking and financial information with the intent to commit fraud and identity theft.

So how do you tell the difference between a potential scammer and the real deal?

No. 1-- If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, that person will have a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag and a confidentiality notice. Ask to see identification and a badge before answering any questions.

No. 2 -- While the Census worker might ask for basic financial information, such as your salary range, the worker will not ask for your Social Security number, bank account or credit card numbers. He/she also will not ask for you to make a donation for any reason.

No. 3 -- Eventually, a Census worker may contact you by telephone, mail or in person, but you will not be contacted by e-mail. If you receive an e-mail that has the appearance of coming from the Census Bureau, do not click on any links or open any attachments. Forward any suspicious e-mails directly to the U.S. Census Bureau at itso.fraud.reporting@census.gov.

For more information regarding the 2010 Census, visit their Web site at http://www.census.gov/.

* The holiday season is fast approaching. We would like to remind local shoppers to visit our Chamber members when shopping this holiday season. Our local businesses are those who continue to support our community and school functions year after year.

We never hesitate to ask them for a donation to a good cause, let's remember to repay the favor and shop with them this holiday season ... and throughout the year. Don't see what you're looking for? Ask. Perhaps they are able to locate that special item for you.

Remember to support those who support us.

Cheryl is the executive director of the Linton-Stockton Chamber of Commerce. She can be contact by telephone at 847-4846.