HOMERS

HOOVER COIN: It may be just one in a series of presidential coins, but last week's release of the Herbert Hoover $1 coin was anything but impersonal.

About 150 people, including many children, gathered at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library-Museum in West Branch to remember the West Branch native and nation's 31st President.

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TOP CHEF: Anabel Bradley, 8, of Palo, must be over the moon after her recipe for Over the Rainbow Veggie Pancakes earned her a trip to the White House. Bradley is one of 54 winners in the White House's third-annual Healthy Lunchtime Challenge. Her recipe, which includes carrots, sweet yellow peppers, diced tomatoes and chopped asparagus, also will be featured in a cookbook alongside other contest winners.

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NEW HOME: Five young Blanding's turtles dove in to their new home last week next to the Highway 100 alignment. The federally protected turtles were hatched and raised by biologist Terry VanDeWalle. Concern for the turtles has been one of the reasons for delays to the highway expansion project. VanDeWalle told The Gazette he hopes raise more Blanding's turtles, which can live to age 90, in his lab to support the fragile population.

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