CLOSE UP    Zooming in on
the people, places and things that make this community interesting.

sponsored by CHRIS COYNE, agent - State Farm Insurance

St. Jude Lincoln to Peoria Run, cat adoption, Health Concerns class, Relay For Life, library grant, writing club, Illini Girls State, 5K and downtown events June 8, Hartem Alumni Banquet, Route 66 weekend June 7-9

Send a link to a friend

[June 03, 2013]  St. Jude Lincoln to Peoria Run to host fundraiser Saturday

The St. Jude Lincoln to Peoria Run is planning a day of good, wholesome fun at Logan Lanes on Saturday, June 8.

From noon to 5 p.m., bowlers can enjoy a game for only 99 cents. There will be a bags tournament beginning at 1:30 p.m., with registration starting at 12:30. There will also be a Scotch doubles tournament at 7 p.m., with registration starting at 6:30. Both the bags tournament and the Scotch doubles will have cash awards for the winners.

For those who may not be familiar with Scotch double bowling, the team consists of two members: one male, one female. During the course of the game, members are told to do "different things" as part of their game. It is a fun and unusual way to bowl.

In addition, event T-shirts will be on sale and there will be a 50-50 drawing.

From 8 p.m. to midnight, the band The Shake will provide live entertainment.

There will be a cover charge for the entertainment and registration fees for the bags and Scotch doubles tournament, the proceeds of which will go to St. Jude's.

The Lincoln to Peoria Run is scheduled for Aug. 3. The run will begin at 5:30 a.m. at the Logan County Safety Complex, the police station for the city of Lincoln. The run will be conducted relay style and will end at the Peoria Civic Center at approximately 5:30 p.m.

Currently 30 runners are signed up to participate on the Lincoln team, but more are needed. There is still time to sign up if you would like to participate. The sign-up deadline will be June 20.

Each runner will be asked to raise $750, all of which goes directly to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

The Lincoln team pledged $30,000 to St. Jude last year and would love to top that this year.

The work that St. Jude does is important in the fight against childhood cancer and other catastrophic diseases. No family is ever turned away due to inability to pay.

Anyone interested in joining the Lincoln-to-Peoria team can contact Jennifer Bergman at st.judelincoln@yahoo.com or find the team on Facebook at St. Jude Lincoln.


Humane Society of Logan County offering 'cat special' during June

During the month of June, the Humane Society of Logan County is offering discounts on the adoption of adult cats.

Cats between 2 and 6 years old can be adopted for only $25 plus rabies and microchip registration fees.

Senior cats, those age 7 and older, may be adopted for only $10 plus rabies and microchip registration.

All the cats have been spayed or neutered, are up-to-date on their shots, and they are microchipped.

All they need now is a forever home with a loving family.

Stop in this month at 1801 E. Lincoln Parkway and visit some of these adoptable animals. Shelter hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 3 p.m.

For more information, call 217-737-4042, visit the website at http://www.hslclincoln.org/ or follow the links in Lincoln Daily News.


Dr. Dan's Health Concerns classes canceled until fall

This summer there will be no Health Concerns classes led by Dr. Dan Freesmeier. The classes have been on the first Monday night of the month at Faith Lutheran Church, but there will be no sessions during June, July and August.

The class will resume in September.


Relay For Life master of ceremonies and honorary chairs announced

Relay For Life has announced that Steve Sauer will be this year's master of ceremonies. Mr. Sauer, recently retired from teaching at LCHS, will help keep all aware of the activities and events from 6 p.m. Friday, June 14, until the closing ceremony at 6 a.m. Saturday, June 15, with balloons released. His is a familiar voice as he has announced basketball games at LCHS for many years and also announces the couples at the grand march for the LCHS prom every spring.

One of the honorary chairs for 2013 is Bill Post, who has been instrumental in getting luminaria distributed and labeled. During the ceremony, he has been the voice honoring all of the over 1,000 names read each year. Also, survivor Robin Ingram along with her caregivers Duane, Holly and John Meteer are honorary chairs for this "Heroes" year.

In other activities related to the Relay For Life, Monday, June 3, will be Bank Night, starting at 5:30 at Illini Bank.

On Friday, June 7, beginning at 6:30 at the Lincoln Center on the Lincoln College campus, participants will "Paint the Town Purple" with purple ribbons.

On Wednesday, June 12, from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., the public is encouraged to eat at Culver's for Relay For Life. Ten percent of all sales at Culver's that day will go to fight cancer in Logan County.

More information is posted on the Relay For Life website at www.relayforlife.org/loganil.

For more information, contact Tonita Reifsteck, 855-1645, or Nicole Lee, 828-1100.


Library receives $5,000 'Fix-It Lincoln' grant

The Lincoln Public Library District has received a $5,000 grant from the office of Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White. "Fix-It Lincoln" is a grant that will add and update maintenance and repair books in the library's collection.

Funding for this grant project was awarded from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services to the Secretary of State/Illinois State Library under the provisions of the Library Services & Technology Act.


Writing club to meet June 11

Lincoln Writer's Club will meet Tuesday, June 11, at 6:30 p.m. in the Alumni Room of the Lincoln College student center.

Suggested topics: a three-minute fiction piece, 600 words or less; fall chores; or describe the first time you began to appreciate the world around you.

All are welcome.

For more information, call 732-2723.


American Legion 17th District Auxiliary hosts Illini Girls State tea

FORREST -- The American Legion 17th District Auxiliary hosted their annual tea for Illini Girls State candidates on May 19 at the J.A. Fowell Post 174 in Forrest.

Beth Rieger, 17th District Illini Girls State chair, welcomed the Girls State candidates, parents and guests. She introduced two from the Illini Girls State board: Sara Wycoff, dean of education, and Carolee Smith, assistant director. They spoke to the girls on what Girls State is about and what to expect when attending.

Illini Girls State is a simulation patterned after the state of Illinois; it follows Illinois governmental procedure as closely as possible. It is a practical application of Americanism and good citizenship that attempts to teach and inculcate in our youth a love of America and a sense of individual obligation to community, state and nation. It is a powerful, intense learning experience. Girls State this year will be held June 16-22 on the Eastern Illinois University campus, Charleston. Girls who have just finished their junior year in high school come from all over the state of Illinois for this program. They are sponsored by American Legion Auxiliary units.

Attending the afternoon tea were Jacquiline Martincic, sponsored by Logan Unit 263, Lincoln; Rachel Schoener and Brooke Tuftie, sponsored by American Legion Auxiliary 456, Flanagan; Jacqueline Walters and Ashlyn Gramm, sponsored by Carl S. Martin Auxiliary Unit 635, Normal; Kacey Short and Heidi Maier, sponsored by J.A. Fowell Unit 174, Forrest; Katelyn Feldkamp and Kadie King, sponsored by American Legion Auxiliary of Skinner Trost Unit 122 of Cullom; Cassidy Brucker, sponsored by Martin H. Sunthken Unit 244, Sibley; and Paige Schwarz and Karli Eastin, sponsored by Wagner-Dao's Auxiliary Unit 641, Roberts.


Main Street invites everyone to the 'Cruise into Main Street 5K & Health Expo'

The Main Street Lincoln organization is inviting everyone to make their way downtown to the courthouse square for a day of good, healthy fun on Saturday, June 8. The event is dubbed as the "Cruise into Main Street 5K and Health Expo," and there will be a lot of interesting and fun activities going on the entire day. So whether you choose to participate in the 5K or not, it may still be worth your time to come check it out.

According to Main Street board member and 5K committee chair Tracy Welch, the day will begin with the 5K, but there will also be other activities, such as vendors for a community health fair, and hours and hours of live entertainment on the square.

Welch said some may think the event got its name from the downtown car cruise-ins, but in fact this event is about an entirely different kind of cruise.

And there will be two big giveaways: a week at the Biggest Loser Resort in Chicago and an ocean cruise.

Anyone age 18 and older who registers to participate in the 5K will be eligible to win the cruise, listed as a $500 value.

Anyone age 14 and older in attendance at the event will be eligible to win a week's stay at the resort. Welch said the week at the resort is a buy-one, get-one-free promotion for a new resort in Chicago. For those who are fans of the television show "Biggest Loser," you will know that there is a Biggest Loser Resort on the West Coast. The company that owns it is expanding to Chicago, and the week's stay is a $2,500 value, or 50 percent off the cost of a stay for two.

When asked how the committee managed to get the resort stay, he said, "You'll be surprised what can happen when you send an email." Welch said he and his wife, Annette, are big fans of "The Biggest Loser" television show. On the show, the contestants participate at the Biggest Loser Resort in California. Welch said he'd learned that another resort was going to open in Chicago, so he sent an email and asked them to donate to the Lincoln event. They responded that they were not able to give away a free trip, but they would give a buy-one, get-one-free.

In addition to the prizes and the run, there will also be vendors on hand to discuss their products and your health. Welch said he is still trying to work out the details right now on who will be there, but he is optimistic that there will be several when the big day arrives.

The downtown portion of the city will be blocked off for the daylong party that will take place during and after the race. Welch said the Railsplitter Auto Club has been invited to come for a special cruise-in, and there will be live music the entire day.

Among those on the stage will be Erin Eskra Vargo and Mike Vargo. Some will remember Erin as part of a sister duo who have performed at events in Lincoln in the past. Welch said both sisters were not available, but Erin said she would come with husband Mike, who is also a professional musician. The Vargos now live in Nashville and are developing their careers in the music profession.

Julia Kay Rhodes is another powerful songstress who will grace the downtown stage. From the Chicago area, Rhodes has been on several nationally televised shows, such as "Nashville Spotlight," "Seven on Ridge" with Michael Essany, "Today's Talent Network" and "American Kids Nationals."

Others who are scheduled to entertain are musicians Joe Borbely and Greg Gemberling, and of course in Lincoln, you can't have a party without a little bluegrass. The Blue Grass Pickers who entertained at last year's Railsplitter Festival will be on hand to offer some of their best stylings.

 

[to top of second column]

In addition to all this, there will be a special guest in attendance. Joe Briseno will address the audience. Briseno is a 5K runner who recently found himself in Boston during that very tragic event.

Main Street is also encouraging local retailers to have special sales that day and to set up sidewalk sales to draw attendees toward their stores.

Welch also said that of all the things visitors will find on the downtown square, food vendors are the one thing they won't find.

For the runners there will be food at the Oasis Senior Center, but he hopes that everyone who attends will take the time to visit the local restaurants on the downtown square. There are several eateries on the square and just off the square, including Guzzardo's, Hallie's, Mama's Arcade, Sorrento's and Vintage Fare.

Welch also explained that for the serious runners, the committee has made arrangements for "chips" for their shoes. These chips accurately measure the time of the run. Welch said this is important because serious runners are always working to improve their time, and this record helps them see their progress.

The committee is also offering some special incentives for school groups to participate. With the help of wife Annette, Welch said they have sent out special registration forms to the area schools. Kids are encouraged to register for the 5K, and if they do so on the special form for their school, the school will receive $5 for each entry.

And finally, Welch said they are hoping for some serious public participation at the end of the run. As a runner himself, Welch said it is really encouraging to see a crowd of people cheering the runners at the end of the race.

The organization also has plans for several future events, some of them familiar from the past, some new and some restructured.

The Art of Wine this year at the Lincoln Art & Balloon Festival is going to be revamped and will be the Art of Wine and Brew. Welch said they will have more details on that later, as well as on a new event in October that is right now being called "Lincoln in Lincoln -- 1858." Trick or Treat with the Mayor is scheduled for Oct. 26 this year.

And there is going to be an annual Christmas parade. Welch said that Main Street director Bill Hoagland is hoping to breathe a little new life into the parade, and we should all look forward to hearing more about that later. Also, there will still be Saturdays with Santa in December.

5K route

The city has agreed to allow for North Kickapoo to be closed to traffic when the runners get there. Welch said he would love to see both sides of the street from Lincoln Avenue to Broadway lined with spectators cheering on their favorite runners, or all the runners in general.

The race will begin near the intersection of Kickapoo and Pulaski streets and head south on Kickapoo. At Frorer Avenue runners will turn left. At Bryant Avenue they will turn right and take the curve onto Comet. From Comet they will proceed to Home Avenue and take a left. Shortly afterward will be their first checkpoint.

Runners will then proceed northward on Home to Wyatt and take another right turn onto Wyatt. They will pass the Odd Fellows home, where the Y and Christian Child Care are located, and run onto South Ladue, where they will turn left. They will take South Ladue all the way to Pekin Street and turn left onto Pekin. They will then proceed onto North Elliott Street, where they will find their second checkpoint. They will then take North Elliott northward to Tremont Street, where they will turn left. They will stay on Tremont to South Sherman and then make another right turn.

When they reach Lincoln Avenue, they will turn left again and proceed to North Kickapoo Street. They will turn left on Kickapoo and proceed southward toward the downtown square. The third checkpoint will be at the southwest corner of Latham Park. From there everyone will run or walk the home stretch to the finish line, just beyond the Kickapoo and Broadway intersection.

This is the first year that the Main Street organization has done a 5K, and Welch said their only real goal here is to raise the traffic level in the downtown area. The purpose of the Main Street organization is to bring shoppers to the city's historic downtown area, to help keep the downtown a living and vital part of the community.

___

Main Street now has a separate website for its Lincoln events. You can access the website to read more about the 5K, as well as other events as they progress. You can visit that website at http://www.mainstreetlincolnevents.com/.

[By NILA SMITH]


Hartsburg-Emden High School Alumni Banquet will be June 8

HARTSBURG-EMDEN -- The 86th annual Hartsburg-Emden High School Alumni Banquet will begin at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, June 8, at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Lincoln.

Invitations to the banquet will be sent out the first week of May. Anyone who did not receive an invitation but would like to attend the banquet may send a request via email to Ron Spencer at coach_spencer@hotmail.com, or you may reach him on his cellphone at 309-838-0360.

Anniversary classes being honored this year are 1933, 1938, 1943, 1948, 1953, 1958, 1963, 1968, 1973, 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2003, 2008 and the senior Class of 2013.

The winner of the "Wall of Fame" award will be selected and announced at the banquet. This year's award will be represented in the category of "Athletics/Sports."

Please mail nomination letters to Ron Spencer, 8923 Blooming Grove Road, Bloomington, IL 61705.

Due to the rising costs of the banquet, the alumni association will accept donations to help out with the cost of the event and to continue funding the Alumni Scholarship. Donations are payable to the Hartem Alumni Association and may be sent to Greg Phillips, 208 Market St., Emden, IL 62635.

Officers of the alumni association for 2013 are Chris Boerma, president; Ron Spencer, vice president; Loretta Hellman, secretary; Greg Phillips, treasurer; and Kay Mullins and Verna Lessen, corresponding secretaries.


Route 66 will anchor weekend of activities in Logan County

Route 66 will be the centerpiece for a diverse series of activities taking place in Logan County on the weekend of June 7-9, Friday-Sunday.

Events will range from garage sales, auto racing and an electric car show to art exhibits and the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame Banquet.

Festivities will begin with the annual Route 66 Garage Sale, which will take place from 7 a.m. until dusk Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Lincoln.

This year, vendors can rent indoor or outdoor space at the VFW, 915 Fifth St., or flea market space at The Mill, 738 S. Washington St. For reservations at the VFW, or general information about the garage sales, call Andrea Dykman at 217-735-0294. The Logan County Tourism Bureau at 217-732-8687 is taking reservations for spaces at The Mill.

For the first time, Logan County Outreach, a community betterment organization, and Lincoln Printers will host the Route 66 Garage Sale.

Private garage sales will also take place throughout the community. Those planners are urged to use traditional news and social media outlets to advertise their sales.

On Friday night, race fans can watch the POWRi competition at Lincoln Speedway on the Logan County Fairgrounds. Gates open at 3 p.m., with hot laps at 6:30 p.m. and racing at 7 p.m.

The Mill 2nd Saturday Flea Market on June 8 is the premiere event for a series of flea markets there on the second Saturday of each month through October. The flea market will run from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

The Lincoln Art Institute gallery at 112 S. McLean St. in downtown Lincoln will be open on Saturday from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Main Street Lincoln will sponsor a PLUS 5K run and health fair in downtown Lincoln on Saturday.

Also on Saturday, an Electric Vehicle Cruise-In will take place from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. along the original Mother Road in historic downtown Atlanta. The free public cruise-in is sponsored by the Atlanta Betterment Fund.

After it was commissioned in 1926, Route 66 was responsible for a huge increase in automobile traffic that led to the need for businesses to serve the traveling public. Among these new businesses were service stations.

Now, Route 66 is poised to help create the next big transportation infrastructure -- charging stations for electric vehicles. Atlanta is interested in helping other Route 66 communities discover how to better serve the traveling public that will be searching for an electric plug-in instead of a gas pump.

The June 8 Electric Vehicle Cruise-in, Illinois' first, will display some cool EV cars and offer a chance to learn more about how the Mother Road is working to give birth to a new travel infrastructure.

All electric and hybrid cars are invited to participate in the cruise-in. The event will also feature vintage music, great food, a 50-50 drawing and hourly drawings.

Atlanta offers two Level 2 Eaton charging stations, available by advance reservation at no fee. There are also 16 Level 1 charging stations available at no cost on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information about the cruise-in, or to make reservations to use the Level 2 charger, contact Bill Thomas of the Atlanta Betterment Fund at 217-648-5077 or wthomas@teleologic.net.

Atlanta will also exhibit the results of its first Rt. 66 Reinterpreted Art Project from May 1 through Aug. 13.

Modeled on Chicago's "Cows on Parade" exhibit, the Rt. 66 Reinterpreted Art Project presented artists the opportunity to create their own take on one of the 20th century's most iconic and recognizable symbols, the U.S. Route 66 highway shield.

Artists were provided a blank 2-by-2-foot wooden cutout of the Route 66 highway shield, painted white, which then became their personal canvas. Each shield was required to incorporate the text "U.S. 66," but otherwise the design was left to each artist's imagination.

The Atlanta Betterment Fund, sponsor of the project, selected 10 shields as finalists. Visitors can vote on their favorites, and those with the most votes will be named winners of the contest. At the conclusion of the project, the five winning shields, along with the names of the artists who created them, will be displayed on a permanent basis in the Atlanta Rt. 66 Park. For more information, contact Bill Thomas at the telephone number or email address above.

The annual Route 66 Association of Illinois Motor Tour will pass through Logan County on Saturday, June 8. Many of the participants will stay overnight Saturday before continuing the tour on Sunday.

The Route 66 Association Hall of Fame Banquet will take place Saturday evening at Lincoln College. Advance reservations are required for the banquet. For more information about either the banquet or the motor tour, visit the Route 66 Association of Illinois at il66assoc.org.


< Top Stories index

Back to top


 

News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching and Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries

Community | Perspectives | Law and Courts | Leisure Time | Spiritual Life | Health and Fitness | Teen Scene
Calendar | Letters to the Editor