By Dixie SchroeDernews@tonicanews.com

LASALLE — The Better Fish-ing Association of Northern Illi-nois isn’t at all about fishing.

“The smallest portion of it is fishing. We promote fishing; that is what we do, but there is so much more,” said Dave Haupt of Peru.

Initially, the group organized behind the efforts and ideal of hav-ing the state of Illinois purchase the Hennepin Canal, so it could be rehabilitated.

“They were going to de-water it at one time. The club organized the people all along the canal all the way to the Quad Cities to gather together to get the state to purchase the canal,” said Ed Her-

man of Spring Valley.The group was successful, and

the Hennepin Canal has been improved through the years for generations to enjoy through the efforts of many, including the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

This goal is one of seven major goals the Better Fishing Associa-tion of Northern Illinois had when they started, which they still honor today. The group also:

• Promotes, encourages, fosters and supports the acquisition, reha-bilitation and development of other like, similar and suitable properties and natural resources, as conserva-tion areas and public fishing and recreation areas by the IDNR.

• Preserves and develops natural resources, fish, game and wildlife and to assist in the conservation thereof.

1 Front

The Tonica NewsVolume 141 No. 6 Friday, April 4, 2014

Single Copy Cost 50¢

TGS, LGS receive financial recognition

Better Fishing Association of Northern Illinois promotes nature

Does continues

tradition of service

Two children’s events are planned

By Ken SchroeDernews@tonicanews.com

The Illinois State Board of Education, (ISBE) has released the 2014 finan-cial profile for every school district in the state of Illinois. There are now more schools than ever before with the low-est financial ranking pos-sible.

The numbers show that one-third of the stu-dents who attend school in the state of Illinois are in schools that have poor financial health. This translates into Illi-nois schools that have cut staff and programs, enlarged class sizes or cut extra curricular activities and support services.

The ISBE has noted 532 districts are in deficit spending. Each school in Illinois receives a year-ly financial profile. The ISBE uses this profile to monitor each school dis-trict’s financial condition. The four levels include: 1. Financial Recognition - the highest ranking, this indicates a district has earned a score of

3.54 to 4.00; 2. Financial Review is when a dis-trict has a score of 3.08 to 3.53. Districts in this category receive limited review by the ISBE and are watched for poten-tial downward trends; 3. Early Warning school dis-tricts with a score of 2.62 to 3.07 are listed in this category. ISBE monitors these districts and offers

select assistance; and 4. Financial Watch districts scored at 1.00 to 2.61 and are placed in this catego-ry. ISBE offers extensive support to the district, and it is reviewed to see if it qualifies for a Financial Oversight Panel.

Locally, all but one area school district has achieved the Financial Recognition designation.

Tonica Grade School and Lostant Grade School have earned a 3.65 for the last two years. Put-nam County Community Unit School District has earned a perfect 4.00 for the last two years. LaSal-le-Peru Township High School has slipped by .10 percent in the last two

By Ken SchroeDernews@tonicanews.com

Editor’s note: This is another story in a series, as the Tonica News talks with members of the boards in the Tonica/Lostant area and gets their views on what is going on in their com-munities.

LOSTANT — A last-minute write-in candi-date in the 2007 elec-tions, Chris Does has been serving the Lostant Village Board for seven years, serving as streets and alley supervisor. Does oversees a two-person staff and has helped out several times this past winter with the assistance of fellow board member Andy Forrest.

“My guys do a really good job,” Does said.

Does’ father was a village board member before him and his grand-father served for a time as mayor, so volunteerism and community service

Tonica News photo/Dixie Schroeder

Tonica Junior High School attends IVCC Career DayKendall Yeruski, an eighth-grader at Tonica Junior High School, makes soap during the “Make Your Own Soap” seminar at the Illinois Valley Community College Junior High School annual Career Day on March 28. Area junior high school students could attend two of the 37 seminars that demonstrated potential careers to junior high school students.

Tonica News photo/Ken Schroeder

Chris Does

Vol. 141 No. 6

One Section - 8 Pages

© The Tonica News

See Recognition Page 3

See Fishing Page 2See Does Page 3

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LOSTANT — On the northern edge of Lostant located on Route 251 sits the River of Destiny Church, a relative new-comer in the religious community that has become popular for its charismatic approach to worship.

“We first started as a prison ministry,” said Ray Brierly. “We ran into a couple from Blooming-ton where he had been in prison for 15 years. When he got out, he start-ed a prison ministry, so we started going in with them in 1989. When they moved to Texas in the mid-’90s, we took over the prison ministry.”

Pastors Ray and Yong Brierly started River of Destiny as a non-denom-inational church in June of 2000. Services are on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. and Wednesday and Fridays at 7 p.m. An additional Sunday service is in the evenings at 6 p.m. on the first and third Sundays of the month.

The church has its roots in the Brierlys’ home when they opened their home to prayer services, which soon became Bible studies. The Brierlys felt a calling to start a church after a couple they had known through their ear-lier worship gave them money from an apartment sale to start a church.

A year later, the Brier-lys received the Casey’s building as a donation from a real estate agen-cy and used the money to renovate the interior, then to make an addition to the building and redo the parking lot.

“The Lord has been good to us, and we knew it was the Lord from the very beginning,” Yong said. “We’ve seen many

miracles here.”The church was first

known as Covenant Community Fellowship, which also is the name of the church in Canton where the Brierlys were ordained.

“Initially, we really could not come up with anything, so we decided to use that name until we could come up with a name that would rep-resent our vision,” Yong said. “Two years ago, we changed the name to River of Destiny.”

The Brierlys have become active in the vil-lage since moving here. Ray is a current mem-ber of the village board,

and they have done some community work.

“Last year, we had an appreciation supper for the fire and ambulance, and we plan on doing it again this year,” Ray said. “We helped in the Sum-mer Festival.”

“We’re just trying to serve our community,” Yong said.

The Brierlys have two children, Phillip, 39, and Crystal, 32. When they were younger, they also ministered with their par-ents in the prison min-istry.

Contact River of Des-tiny Church at 815-368-8117 or on the web at www.riverofdestiny.com.

• Encourages, supports and sponsors legislation,

laws, regulations and rules commensurate with the aforementioned purposes.

• Extends cooperation to other organizations having

like or similar purposes.• To generally extend

its efforts toward the bet-terment of fishing, conser-vation and outdoor recre-ation in the state of Illinois.

• To encourage, promote and sponsor children’s fishing programs and get local service organizations involved.

The last idea is what gets current group members excited. The organization sponsors two major fish-ing events in the spring every year which enables them to give area youth the ability to try fishing, some

for the first time. The first event is the 16th annual Kid’s Fishing Expo from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on May 17 at Baker Lake in Peru. The second event is the 29th annual Lock 14 Kid’s Fish-ing Tournament on June 7 at the I & M Canal in LaSal-le. Registration begins at 8 a.m., and fishing runs from 9 to 11 a.m.

Each member speaks with great enthusiasm when talking about the two children’s events. The Baker Lake event is looked at as a teach-ing activity by the group.

There are stations where children can learn things from casting a fishing pole to tying their own flies (bait) to eating fish. The kids get a free lunch, door prizes and participation gifts. The Lock 14 Fish-ing Tournament is where children can compete to catch the largest fish.

At each event, if a par-ticipant does not have equipment, it is provided for them. The goal of the group is to promote fish-ing and the love of out-doors to those who par-ticipate.

The group then works hard throughout the year to raise money for both of these events. They hold fish fries and also have area sponsors who help. Each event also has many volunteers who help make it a success.

“We love what we do,” Haupt said. “Fishing and the outdoors is what we do best.”

2 Local2 • The Tonica News • Friday, April 4, 2014

Seeking Sources

Where in the world is The Tonica News? Are you planning a vacation or holi-day trip? Don’t forget to take along a copy of the The Tonica News. Once you get to your destination, have someone snap a photo of you holding the newspaper, and then send the photo to us along with pertinent information about who is in the photo and where you are. We’ll be happy to share your photo with other Tonica News readers, your friends, family and neigh-bors. Email your photo and information to news@tonicanews.com. You can also drop it by our office in Tonica.

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Published every Friday at Tonica, IL 61370

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ContactPublisherSam Fishersfisher@tonicanews.com

EditorTerri Simontsimon@tonicanews.com

The River of Destiny flows through Lostant

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Tonica News photos/Ken SchroederAbove: Music is an important part of worship at the River of Destiny Church in Lostant, where musical instruments share space with the pulpit. Right: The church began life as a Casey’s General Store, and later served as a black-smith shop. The building was donated to the Brierlys by the real estate company for the purpose of starting a church at the request of Yong Brierly.

3 Obit RecordsFriday, April 4, 2014 • The Tonica News • 3

Tonica Cemetery cleanup set for April 6

WIC program celebrates 40 years

Registration now open for Girl Scout summer camps

Three arrested in I-80 stop, search

Lostant Fire responds to single-vehicle crash

TONICA — The Tonica Cemetery cleanup will be at noon April 6. The quarterly meet-ing will be at 11 a.m., and the main topic of discussion will be the deteriorating condi-tion of the roads. Anyone having any input can attend. Anyone interested in helping with the cleanup can come at noon. All seasonal items will be removed in preparation for the upcoming mowing season. For information, call 815-488-8456.

By Ken Schroedernews@tonicanews.com

OTTAWA — The WIC program in Illinois is celebrating 40 years of service. It’s a successful program used by nearly 40 percent of the babies born in the state but could still be used by many more families.

WIC stands for Women, Infants and Children. It is a supplemental food pro-gram that provides nutri-tion information and free foods to help mothers, babies and children get

the nutrients they need for proper growth and development.

WIC is available to infants and children up to age 5, pregnant women, postpartum women up to six months after giving birth, or breastfeeding women up to 12 months after giving birth. WIC income guidelines must be met, or the fam-ily must have a current AllKids or Medicaid card from the Department of Health Services. Appli-cants may have a job and still be eligible.

“A client can start at birth and stay on until they reach the age of 5. Five is the cutoff age for children. Pregnant women can be on WIC for the duration of their pregnan-cy plus six weeks post-partum,” LaSalle County Health Department Direc-tor of Personal Health Cathy Larsen said. “They can then re-certify in WIC for a six-month post-partum period or a one-year certification if they continue breastfeeding for the infants first year of life.”

WIC provides free healthy foods such as milk, eggs, cheese, juice, cereal, peanut butter, whole wheat bread, fruits and vegetables, baby food, and iron-fortified infant formula. WIC appointments are usually scheduled every three months after the initial visit.

For more information or to find out if you or a family member is eli-gible for WIC, call the LaSalle County Health Department at 815-433-3366.

SPRINGFIELD — Girl Scouts of Central Illinois (GSCI) is now accepting registrations for a variety of sum-mer camps and activi-ties at four regional camp sites throughout central Illinois. Girls in Grades 1-12 have the opportunity to spend their summer horse-back riding, canoeing, kayaking, sailing, swim-ming, backpacking, and camping, among other activities.

Camp is one of sev-eral pathways through which girls can devel-op their inherent lead-ership skills in Girl Scouts, as they expe-rience independence, develop new skills, and learn to live in harmony with the environment.

Camps are open to all girls, including non-Girl Scouts. Financial assistance is available. The deadline for regis-

tration is 2 weeks prior to each session; camp sessions start as early as June 6.

“Camp provides an opportunity for girls of all ages and skill lev-els with a wide range of interests with some-thing exceptional to do this summer,” Girl Scouts of Central Illi-nois CEO Pam Kovacev-ich said. “The experi-ences we provide dur-ing these camps are designed to develop leadership and indepen-dence as well as create lifelong friendships and memories.”

Camp sess ions are available at four regional camp sites: Camp Peairs in Hud-son on Lake Blooming-ton; Camp Kiwanis in Mahomet, adjacent to Lake of the Woods For-est Preserve and bor-dered by the Sangamon River; Camp Tapawingo

in Metamora; and Camp Widjiwagan on Lake Springfield. All sites are accredited by the Amer-ican Camping Associa-tion. Resident and day camps are offered.

Resident camp is a camping experience in which campers live at camp, typically for a week. Girls sleep in platform tents with other girls and enjoy a variety of outdoor activ-ities during their stay. Campers can go horse-back riding, boating, canoeing, and hiking, enjoy archery and arts and crafts, and take on our challenge course. They may attend as individual campers or go with a buddy. The girls and their counsel-ors plan activities and take advantage of the many resources avail-able at camp.

Mini resident camps are a great way to try

out residential camp and gain the experience of staying away from home while having new and exciting adven-tures, usually for three days. Activities include exploring the outdoors, going on scavenger hunts, making hands-on crafts, writing fantastic fiction, swimming, hik-ing, boating, and work-ing on puzzle and riddle challenges.

Day camp is camp-ing by the day. Girls may attend day camp as individual campers or go with buddies. The girls and staff plan and carry out activities. Day camp is held at our camp sites as well as in our council com-munities with council- trained staff.

For more information or a copy of the activity guide or to register for camp, visit www.GetY-ourGirlPower.org.

The Illinois State Police were conducting routine patrols at 10:35 a.m. March 25 on Inter-state 80 eastbound, Mile Post 66, when a vehicle was observed follow-ing too closely and was stopped for that viola-tion.

The driver of the vehi-cle, James E. McKinney, 20, of Davenport, Iowa, stated he did not have a driver’s license, and that his license was sus-

pended. Lostant Police Department canine per-formed a free air sniff of the exterior of the vehicle and gave a posi-tive alert. A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed an unrecover-able amount of canna-bis residue and numer-ous items of children’s clothing with the secu-rity tags still attached.

McKinney and two passengers, Tarica S. Wright, 25, of Daven-

port, Iowa, and Deandra M. Cooke, 18, also from Davenport, were trans-ported to ISP District 17 Headquarters for pro-cessing. Wright was also wanted on an outstand-ing warrant from Will County.

The total amount of merchandise was $1,200, which was found to have been stolen from numer-ous retail stores in the Quad Cities area using a “Grab and Run” method.

McKinney was charged with driving while license suspended. He posted bond and was released. Wright was confined at the LaSalle County Jail for the outstanding war-rant, and Cooke was confined at the Bureau County Jail and charged with possession of stolen property over $500.

Authorities in the Quad Cities area are assisting with the ongo-ing investigation.

LOSTANT — A single-vehicle accident brought the Lostant Fire Depart-ment into action on March 29.

The department received a call from the LaSalle County Sheriff’s Department directing them to the accident at 10:54 a.m. to Inter-state 39, Mile Marker 39, northbound in Marshall County. Upon arrival, firefighters found a white Chevy Malibu lying on its passenger side in the ditch between I-39 and Route 251.

The driver had to be extricated from the vehi-cle and then transported by ambulance to hos-pital.

The vehicle was trav-eling northbound on Route 251 when for unknown reasons it left the roadway traveling through a fence into the ditch of I-39 coming to rest on its side. Lostant Fire Department and Ambulance was assist-ed by the Wenona Fire Department and Ambu-lance, and Illinois State Police District 8.

years with a score of 3.65 in 2012 to a score of 3.55 in 2013. How-ever Fieldcrest Com-munity Unit School District, which had a Recognition rating in 2012 with a score of 3.55; has slipped to a rating of 2.75, earning it a spot on the Early Warning list in 2013.

Local school superin-tendents note it is very challenging in these financial times to keep their district budget balanced.

“I think schools now live in a state of pro-rated funds for gener-al state aid, and it is financially prudent to build some reserves in case of an emergency or if the state of Illi-nois makes further cuts to education,” Tonica Grade School Superin-tendent John Suarez. “A school should be saving when times are good, so they can spend

some when times are bad like right now.

“I think we are able to stay strong here in Tonica because we have a solid board that is financially prudent and makes smart choic-es with the money we spend. I also think that because we do not have a huge staff, that has been a blessing for the school,” Suarez said. “People need to under-stand that a school budget is primarily made up of salaries. The school board and administration along with teachers and staff have ratified contracts that have benefited both parties to their credit while keeping the students’ learning first.”

The rating level is based on the fund bal-ance to revenue ratio, expenditures to reve-nue ratio, days cash on hand, the percent of short-term borrowing available and the per-cent of long-term debt remaining.

are nothing new to his family. Does joined the board to serve the vil-lage and sees the econ-omy as one of the big issues facing Lostant.

“I’d like to see some development in the TIF district south of town,” Does said. “I’d also like to see some projects done in town, some streets done. But it’s

going to take more tax dollars from Route 18 to improve our streets.

“There are a lot of things I’d like to do, but it comes down to financ-es,” Does said. “It’s a pri-ority thing because we do have that well prob-lem month after month; we have to get the water tower repainted. There’s bigger problems to meet before we get a new Vil-lage Hall or some other projects.”

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4 Biz Ag4 • The Tonica News • Friday, April 4, 2014

Five common causes of prevalent tax mistakes

Whether you’ve filed for an extension on your taxes this year, or have waited until the last min-ute to complete paper-work, or want a better strategy for the future, chances are you could be doing a better job throughout the year to save on income taxes, says seasoned investment advisor Paul Taylor, a member of the National Ethics Bureau.

Forty-nine percent of Americans think they personally pay more than their fair share in taxes, according to 2013 Ras-mussen reports.

“Come tax time, many of the other half could be doing more to legal-ly and strategically save money,” says Taylor, an architect-turned-found-er and owner of Capital Advisory Group & Tax Planners of Lake Norman and Capital Investment Advisors Inc.

He cites mistakes that many taxpayers are lia-ble to make now and in future years.

•  Not  knowing  which tax deductions are avail-able. Tax reform measures are enacted frequently by Congress, which makes it hard for U.S. taxpayers to know which deductions are currently available for maximizing savings. One of the most overlooked deductions is state and local sales taxes. Taxpay-ers may be able to take deductions for student-loan interest, out-of-pocket charitable contri-butions, moving expenses to take a first job, the child care tax credit, new points on home refinanc-ing, health insurance pre-miums, home mortgage interest, tax-preparation services and contribu-tions to a traditional IRA.

•  Misunderstand-ing deduction value for medical expenses. The Affordable Care Act has altered the guidelines for tax-deductible medical expenses. Effective Jan. 1, 2013, the new policy increased the threshold for the itemized deduc-tion for un-reimbursed medical expenses from 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income to 10 per-

cent of adjusted gross income for regular tax purposes. The increase is waived for individuals age 65 and older for tax years 2013 through 2016.

• Confusing when taxes must be paid on IRA and employer-sponsored retirement funds. Tra-ditional IRAs and most e m p l o y e r - s p o n s o r e d retirement plans are tax-deferred accounts, which mean they are typically funded with pre-tax or tax-deductible dollars. As a result, taxes are not payable until funds are withdrawn. Exceptions are the Roth IRA and the Roth 401(k) and Roth 403(b). Roth accounts are funded with after-tax dollars. That’s why quali-fied distributions – after age 59.5 and the five-year holding requirement has been met – are free of federal income tax.

•  Overlooking  tax-advantaged investments. Tax-advantaged invest-ments can include real estate partnerships, oil and gas partnerships and suitability, which refers to how appropriate an investment may or may not be to an investor. Two of the most common types of real estate part-nerships, for example, are low-income housing and historic rehabilitation. The federal government grants tax credits to those who construct or rehabil-itate low-income housing or who invest in the reha-bilitation or preservation of historic structures.

•  Uncertainty  when accounting for gift taxes. The federal gift tax applies to gifts of prop-erty or money while the donor is living. The feder-al estate tax, on the other hand, applies to prop-erty conveyed to others, with the exception of a spouse, after a person’s death. There are several exceptions to gift taxes, including gifts of tuition or medical expenses that you pay directly to a medical or educational institution for someone else, gifts to a spouse who is a U.S. citizen, gifts to a qualified charitable orga-nization and gifts to a political organization.

Illinois prospective planting

Livestock farmers urged to keep good records

White: Avoid distracted driving

Illinois farm prices

•  Corn  growers intend to plant 11.9 million acres in 2014, down 1 percent from 2013.

•  Soybean  planted area is expected to total

9.50 million acres, up 1 percent from the pre-vious year.

•  Sorghum  planted area is expected to total 30,000 acres, up 30 percent from 2013.

•  Winter  wheat  area seeded last fall is esti-mated at 740,000 acres, down 15 percent from the previous year.

• Area planted to oats is expected to total

35,000 acres, down 12 percent from 2013.

• Producers intend to harvest 630,000 acres of all hay in 2014, down 5 percent from last year.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Juan  M.  Garcia  remind-ed livestock producers affected by natural disas-ters such as the drought in the West and the unexpected winter storm in  the  upper  Midwest  to keep thorough records. This includes livestock and feed losses, and any additional expenses that are a result of losses to purchased forage or feed.

“The 2014 Farm Bill provides a strong farm safety net to help ranch-

ers during these diffi-cult times,” said Garcia. “We’ll provide produc-ers with information on new program require-ments, updates and sign ups as the infor-mation becomes avail-able. In the meantime, I urge producers to keep thorough records. We know these disasters have caused serious economic hardships for our livestock producers. We’ll do all we can to assist in their recov-ery.”

In addition to western drought and the early-winter snowstorms,

there are a variety of disasters from floods to storms to unexpect-ed freezes. Each event causes economic conse-quences for farmers and ranchers throughout the United States. FSA recommends owners and producers record all pertinent informa-tion of natural disaster consequences, includ-ing documentation of the number and kind of livestock that have died, supplemented if possible by photographs or video records of ownership and losses; dates of death supported by

birth recordings or pur-chase receipts; costs of transporting livestock to safer grounds or to move animals to new pastures; feed pur-chases if supplies or grazing pastures are destroyed; and crop records, including seed and fertilizer purchases, planting and production records.

Visit www.fsa.usda.gov or an FSA county office to learn more about FSA programs and loans. For information about USDA’s Farm Bill imple-mentation plan, visit www.usda.gov/farmbill.

April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month

SPRINGFIELD — Illi-nois Secretary of State Jesse White is reminding people to travel safely and avoid driving while distracted as April is National Distracted Driv-ing Awareness Month.

“As the weather warms and travel increases, I encourage everyone to put away their cell phones while they are behind the wheel and focus completely on

the task at hand: driv-ing safely,” said White. “Studies show that dis-tracted driving contrib-utes significantly to oth-erwise preventable fatal crashes.”

A recent study com-missioned by the National Highway Traf-fic Safety Administra-tion (NHTSA) which was conducted by the Virginia Tech Transpor-tation Institute found the use of handheld cell phones increase the risk of a crash by three times. According to U.S. Department of Trans-

portation, in 2012 more than 3,300 people were killed in crashes involv-ing distracted driving.

Texting while driv-ing is perhaps the most dangerous form of dis-tracted driving. Accord-ing to NHTSA, driving while texting is six times more dangerous than driving while drunk, and texting drivers are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash than drivers not texting.

Illinois has been a national leader in efforts to combat distracted driving. White chaired

the state’s Distracted Driving Task Force, which led to the state’s ban on texting while driving  in  2010.  More than 5,000 people have been convicted of tex-ting while driving since the law took effect Jan. 1, 2010.

On Jan. 1, the new state law banning hand-held cell phones while driving took effect. In the law’s first three months, more than 2,800 drivers having been convicted for texting, talking or dialing on a handheld cell phone.

The United States pre-liminary All Farm Prod-ucts Index of Prices Received by Farmers in March,  at  111  percent, based on 2011=100, increased five points (4.7 percent) from February. The Crop Index is up two points (2.2 percent) and the Livestock Index increased six points (5.0 percent).

Producers received higher prices for broil-

ers, hogs, corn, and cattle and lower prices for mar-ket eggs, grapefruit and sunflowers. In addition to prices, the overall index is also affected by the seasonal change based on a three-year average mix of commodities produc-ers sell.

Increased monthly movement of cattle, milk and calves offset the decreased marketing of cotton, soybeans and hay.

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5 PerspectiveFriday, April 4, 2014 • The Tonica News • 5

Considerations by Nedda

Marking time

The imperfect ones

Walking down to the Gulf shore was the first thing for me to do in the morning. I spent as much time as I could on the beach, and watching others enjoy the sea was also part of the fun.

We would stroll along, and some of us were nonchalant about our search of shells, drift-wood and other treasures. Oth-ers would take a few steps, bend over, look closely and pick, choose, sort through and toss aside those not just right.

Gathering our prizes was an art, we believe, and each of us has a different technique. Some of us were very discriminat-ing. I also looked for the little shells — perhaps because I am very short; and the little ones seemed to be overlooked, and many times they were the most perfect.

Now that I think further, it makes sense that when we find a perfect specimen of anything we exclaim, “Oh look at this one!” We do this with people and put them on platforms and pedestals for all to see, and we marvel at their perfect faces, bodies and feats of strength and athletic ability until — they do something that disappoints, and then they are tossed aside like damaged shells we sort through at the beach.

How discriminating we are in

evaluating shells as well as peo-ple. We have no use for the bro-ken one in a culture that prizes perfection. Our bodies must be slim and molded to a certain standard. We spend billions on cosmetics and clothes to bring ourselves to the mythical stan-dard we know is valued.

To succeed — to make a mark — to be somebody — to win the trophy is part of the perfec-tion image as well. We value the extraordinary effort. We want people to portray a life that is balanced with no problems. We overlook the average. Average seems ordinary and downright boring.

The man or woman going to a job, raising a family, pay-ing their taxes and attending a house of worship are not worthy of attention or scrutiny. Like a worn or less than perfect shell, they don’t draw attention. They will be the “filler” in our display jar.

Yet these shells and average people are who we are.

What we try to ignore or pre-tend we don’t see is that we are all damaged, broken gifts from the sea. We need to see ourselves as part of the com-munity of the “Less than per-

fect.” About the imperfect ones of us, the flawed ones? We are uncomfortable and like our own deaths, we try to ignore or pre-tend or don’t see them or toss them aside.

We must understand that to accept being less than perfect is the only way to have peace. If we cannot see the value in the broken shell, the beauty beyond the damage and scars, then we cannot truly see ourselves, nor value ourselves or others.

A broken shell has great value. It tells the story of its complete-ness before it ran into rough seas and rolled and scraped its way to the shore. It ran into life and suffered pain. It is no less imperfect than we are — injured and perhaps broken to such an extent that we will never be the same. But we have the same value as before.

There is so much relief in knowing we are not perfect or ever will be! We feel a calm descend, and our life truly begins when we can forgive our-selves for not meeting the cul-tural standard set by others. We can say, “This is who I am,” and start to enjoy life. We can gain compassion and understanding for others. We see them with flaws and see nothing but value and beauty.

Let us see the whole little shell and value the wholeness of us all.

Nedda Simon can be reached at neddasimon@ymail.com.

It was a day I had been waiting for ... and to be quite honest, I didn’t think it would ever come. I don’t mind telling you I’m sharing this long-awaited discovery in hopes it offers others the same sense of peace it gave me.

Most of you know I heard the word “cancer” uttered from my doctor’s mouth. The actual words I remember were “can-cer, serious and malignant.” I remem-ber walking out of that doctor’s office more of a woman than I had walked in.

Those three words carved a hole in my soul, never to be forgotten. Never. It’s difficult to believe I first heard those words seven years ago, and like other cancer survivors, those words have continued to haunt me on a daily basis. They come and go, but they never leave. In fact, they resurface several times a day — usually without warning, and I’m left to decipher and attempt to deal with them.

Once you hear the word cancer — and I’ve said this before, your world changes forever. Nothing is the same again, and life is different. If a cancer survivor/patient tells you otherwise, I need to learn their secret because the words, the worry, the unknown will forever etch them-selves in your mind, your heart, your soul, your dreams and your waking moments.

That’s right. You remember the day you first heard the word. The exact date, the exact time. You remember the number of chemotherapy treatments you had, and you remember how many radiation treatments you underwent. You never forget the exact day of your surgery. You don’t forget all the days you went back for check-ups, hopeful everything was OK. You rehash, remember and recall. It’s just part of it.

Much to my dismay, I’ve resigned myself to those facts. I will always carry around the emo-tions, the worries, the trepidation and every-thing else that goes along with that diagnosis. Whether the cancer is gone or not, one still lives with the word and everything that accompanies it. It’s just that simple. It’s just that convoluted.

And so it was the other night ... The clock was nearing midnight, and as I laid awake in my bed ... the darkness swirling around me ... my mind was busy preparing for the next day and what needed to be accomplished. I spend a lot of time with my thoughts on those late nights — not that I accomplish a lot, but I attempt to sort out a variety of situations, issues, ideas, etc. In my crazy world, it’s a peaceful time I cherish more than most will ever know.

And then it hit me. Wow! My eyes popped open like a child startled by a loud noise in the middle of the night, however, this “noise” was something I hadn’t planned on hearing — or should I say not hearing. You see, it was the late evening hours of March 5 — the day I first heard the word “cancer” associated with my own body seven years ago. As the clock neared midnight, I realized that fateful day in my own personal history had nearly passed me by with-out even the slightest remembrance.

As a matter of fact, as I contemplated my late-night discovery, I realized I hadn’t thought about the cancer for quite a few days. What? How did that happen? How did I forget such a horrifying and awful experience? What changed? Why did I miss that all important anniversary date? Why hadn’t the thought of cancer crossed my mind for a while?

I guess my point to all of this is that old say-ing that, “Time heals all wounds,” might just literally be right. There was a point in my life when the word “cancer” plagued my world, and now, I’m happy to report that while I still think about it a lot, time has allowed me to forget now and then. That’s a pleasant discovery, and if you’ve walked in my shoes, I know you under-stand.

Time ... from both perspectives ... well, I guess that’s what it’s all about, my friends.

Tonica News Editor Terri Simon can be reached at tsimon@tonicanews.com.

“Probably Portillo’s Italian Beef sandwich. It’s my

favorite. But I do like Lou Malnati’s pizza. Those are

my favorites.”Rose Stabrakas, Oglesby

“My favorites are pizza and chicken. I love it. It’s easy to fix, and it’s good for me, and I generally

enjoy it.”Carrie Colmane, Tonica

“My favorite is yogurt. I like the taste. I try to eat healthy. The only thing I generally put in my yogurt

is chi seeds. I guess I really like pizza.”Kim Kummerow, Tonica

“I really like fruits and vegetables. I could eat

them all day. My favorite is apples. I love the Honeycrisp apples. I’m Italian, so I also like breads and

pasta.”Jordan Arkels, Tonica

“Chicken wings. Smittys in Leonore is the best.

I like swordfish on the grill. I get it at the Hy-Vee tent sale and cook it on the grill at

home with mango sauce with it.”

Clint Carrera, Marseilles

The Editorial Page

Sam R FisherPublisher

Terri Simoneditor

The Tonica News

Letters to the Editor should not be more than 500 words in length. Only one person can sign a Letter to the Editor. The author of the letter must include his/her name, hometown and telephone number. The author’s name and home-town will be published, however, the telephone number is only used to verify the authenticity of the author’s signature and will not be published. Unsigned letters are never read or published. No letter will be published until The Tonica News contacts the author of the letter to verify the signature. The Tonica News reserves the right to edit or refuse any Letter to the Editor.

On the street April is National Food Month. What are some of your favorite foods?

TerriSimon

Nedda Simon

COMMENTARY

6 Life6 • The Tonica News • Friday, April 4, 2014

Community Panthers 1-1-1 after weekend playBy Dixie SchroeDer

news@tonicanew.coms

SENECA — The Put-nam County Panthers varsity squad took a page out of the famous Ernie Banks’ playbook and ‘played two’ on March 29 against the Seneca Irish. The Panthers split the twin bill on March 29.

The Panthers won game one by a final score of 9-1. Evan Kreiser earned the win for the Panthers, going 5 and 2/3 innings in the contest. Kreiser struck out five and had 22 first pitch strikes against batters he faced. He gave up only four hits and one walk in his time on the mound. Michael Glenn came in relief and gave up only one hit and one walk along with one earned run. The Panthers played

shaky defense in this contest with three errors.

The Panthers however had big sticks on offense, earning 13 hits for the team overall with four walks to the total. Neal Stasell had a double in the extra base hit cate-gory, while Nick DiazDe-Leon, Michael Glenn and Matt Galetti had a stolen base. Kreiser, DiazDeLe-on and Stasell had two RBI each.

However in the sec-ond game of the day, the Panthers outhit the Irish, but didn’t make the hits translate into runs as they lost 6-4. Dan Pav-lovich took the loss as he gave up five hits in five innings as well as three runs, one unearned. DiazDeLeon pitched an inning in relief giving up three runs and three walks.

Offensively the Pan-thers pounded out eight hits, earning four runs and three walks. Stasell and Michael Weide each had an RBI.

The Putnam Coun-ty Panthers played 10 innings on March 28 and notched a 2-2 tie in Pon-tiac.

Senior Harold Fay went five innings for the Panthers, giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits. Fay also threw four strikeouts and gave up two walks. Aus-tin Biagini came in to relieve Fay in the sixth and threw five innings of shutout ball. Biagini gave up three hits and two walks while striking out four in the game.

Offensively the Pan-thers only managed four hits in 33 at bats. R.J. Copeland, Austin Biagini

and Kreiser all hit singles while Pavlovich hit a dou-ble. Kreiser’s single was the fuel which allowed both Copeland who had walked, and Biagini who had advanced him to second on a single, to score in the sixth inning rally the Panthers put on which tied the game. The Panthers fanned nine times during the game, further hampering their offense.

Defensively, the Pan-thers had two errors. Pontiac had one.

Pontiac did not score until the fourth and fifth innings where they laid in one tally each. The team hit a total of seven hits off Fay and Biagini in the contest.

The Panthers will play the Dwight Trojans on April 4. All home games start at 4:30 p.m.

LaSalle Library will host program April 8

Travel program set for April 11 at IVCIL

Genealogy Guild will meet on April 19

RVP will present ‘A Grand Night for Singing!’

IVSO will present concert on May 10

LASALLE — The LaSal-le Public Library will present a program titled “Songs of the American Labor Movement” at 6 p.m. on April 8.

Guest presenter Adam Miller returns to sing folk songs about the people who built America and their

struggle to improve the conditions of their labor.

Autoharpist Miller is a renowned American folk-singer and storyteller. A folklorist, historian, musicologist and song-collector, he has amassed a repertoire of more than 5,000 songs.

LASALLE — Seasoned travelers Linda and Roger Gustafson will be at Illi-nois Valley Center for Independent Living, 18 Gunia Drive, LaSalle at 2 p.m. on April 11 to dis-cuss how to plan accom-modations for travel needs for handicapped tourists,

including accessible air travel, accessible van rent-als, taxis, hotel rooms and cruises. They will also dis-cuss accessible travel as it is addressed in the Ameri-cans with Disabilities Act.

Call IVCIL at 815-224-3126 (V or TTY) by April 8 to reserve a seat.

OTTAWA — The LaSal-le County Genealogy Guild will meet at 1 p.m. April 19 at the Guild Library, 115 W. Glover St. The speaker will be Rachael Mellen.

Mellen was born and educated in England and received her bachelor’s degree in history and edu-cation from the University of London in 1974. She earned her Masters of Arts in humanities from the California State University Dominguez Hills in 2008. She has more than 30 years of experience in Eng-lish genealogical research and has written two books on the subject, “The Prac-tical Guide for the Gene-alogist in England (1986) and “The Handy Book to English Genealogy” (1987 and 1990.) Both were pub-lished by Heritage Books of Maryland. She is cur-rently writing a new book on English family history research, updated for the 21st Century.

An experienced lecturer, Mellen has given presenta-tions on English geneal-ogy and related topics to many genealogical societ-

HENRY — River Valley Players will present its production of “A Grand Night for Singing!” on April 26 and 27, and May 2, 3 and 4 at St. Mary’s Center in Henry.

“A Grand Night for Singing” is a revue showcasing of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein featuring songs from every Broad-way musical written by the award-winning pair, including “Carou-sel,” “Oklahoma!,” “The King and I,” “South Pacific,” “Cinderella” and “The Sound of Music.”

This show takes a lively and creative approach to the beloved songs while putting smiles on faces

and keeping event-goers guessing what will happen next.

Co-directed by Ron Fried-rich and Jane Knapp, and cho-reographed by Deana Brown, “A Grand Night for Singing” will feature the talents of Charlotte Balensiefen, Deanne Crook, Rob-ert Eckert, Bill Entwistle, Morgan Friedrich, Ron Friedrich, Chris-tine Gaspardo, Derrik Gaspardo, Bob Herath, Jane Knapp, Donald Knuckey, John Lionberger and Dixie Wheeler.

Tickets for the meal and show on Saturdays and Sundays will be $28.50, which includes a lavish

salad bar, buffet dinner, three bev-erage choices, coffee, dessert and the show. Note: When ordering tickets for the Saturday and Sun-day shows, tickets will need to be confirmed by April 25 for perfor-mances on April 26 and April 27, and by April 29 for performances on May 3 and 4.

No tickets will be available to purchase at the door for the meal performances. Tickets for the performance on May 2 will be $15 and are for the show only. Refreshments will be available for purchase. For tickets, call Judy at 309-364-3403.

OGLESBY — The Illi-nois Valley Symphony Orchestra (IVSO) and Lucia Matos, music direc-tor and conductor, invite the public to their May concert. The concert will be held at 4 p.m. on May 10 in the Illinois Valley Community College Cul-tural Centre.

Solo violinist Kam-Lung Cheng will be performing Saint-Saens Violin Con-certo No. 3 in B Minor,

Opus 61 plus Prince Igor: Polovetsian March by Borodin and Tchai-kovsky’s Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Opus 47.

The concert is sponsored by Illinois Cement Com-pany and season spon-sor Central Radio Group. Admission is $12 for adults and $5 for student K-col-lege with ID; and season subscribers. Tickets are available at the door or online at www.ivso.org.

Jesse White announces writers competitionEntry form deadline June 30

SPRINGFIELD — Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White announced entry forms are available for the 10th annual Illi-nois Emerging Writers Competi-tion Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award.

“We created the Illinois Emerg-ing Writers Competition to pro-mote creative writing and provide a new outlet for talented writers,” White said. “Great poems have the ability to enrich and enhance

our lives, and I am looking forward to discovering talented new poets with this year’s competition.”

The competition is named in honor of the late Pulitzer Prize-winning Illinois Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Brooks, and is co-sponsored by the Illinois Center for the Book and Kevin Stein, who succeeded Brooks as Illinois Poet Laureate.

The competition is open to Illi-nois residents age 18 and over. Entries must be postmarked by June 30. Cash prizes will be awarded for first ($500) second

($300) and third place ($100) and winning poems will be submitted for possible publication in the Ninth Letter, RHINO, and Quid-dity magazines and Poetic License Press publications. Winners will read their poems and receive their prizes at a ceremony later this year at the Illinois State Library in Springfield.

Forms and other information may be found at www.cyber-driveillinois.com. For more infor-mation, contact Bonnie Matheis at 217-558-2065 or bmatheis@ilsos.net.

ies and libraries, includ-ing the Chicago Branch of the National Archives. She will speak about the Irish side of her ancestry, show photos of her recent research trip to Ireland and offer hints on how to proceed with researching Irish ancestry.

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7 LifeFriday, April 4, 2014 • The Tonica News • 7

MenusPutnam County Community Center

April 7 — Barbecue chicken quarters, baked potato with sour cream, Malibu blend vegetables, fruit cocktail, wheat bread.

April 8 — Chicken salad on bun, cole slaw, chips and dip, dessert.

April 9 — Vegetable lasagna, carrots, romaine salad with dressing, chunky applesauce, Italian bread.

April 10 — Roast pork, mashed potatoes and gravy, buttered corn, bread and butter, dessert.

April 11 — Cheese omelet, hash browns, pineapple and mandarin oranges, apple juice, English muffin with jelly.

Lostant Grade SchoolBreakfast

April 7 — Biscuit and gravy, various cold cereals, milk, juice, yogurt.

April 8 — Donuts, various cold cereals, milk, juice, yogurt.

April 9 — Sausage biscuit, various cold cereals, milk, juice, yogurt.

April 10 — Pigs in a blanket, various cold cereals, milk, juice, yogurt.

April 11 — Breakfast pizza, various cold cereals, milk, juice, yogurt.

LunchApril 7 — Mini corn dogs, fries, veggies and dip,

pears, milk.April 8 — Sub sandwich, chips, pineapple, baked

beans, milk.April 9 — Sloppy Joes, carrots, peaches, chips,

milk.April 10 — Pasta, lettuce salad, peas, pears,

bread butter, milk.April 11 — No lunch, early dismissal.

Tonica Grade SchoolBreakfast

April 7 — Sausage, egg and cheese biscuit, cere-al, yogurt or toast, fruit, juice and milk.

April 8 — Pancakes, cereal, yogurt or toast, fruit, juice and milk.

April 9 — Scrambled eggs, cereal, yogurt or toast, fruit, juice and milk.

April 10 — Waffle, cereal, yogurt or toast, fruit, juice and milk.

April 11 — Bagel and cream cheese, cereal, yogurt or toast, fruit, juice and milk.

LunchApril 7 — Teriyaki chicken nuggets or southwest

salad, rice, roasted broccoli and cauliflower, pine-apple and mandarin oranges, milk.

April 8 — Hamburger and cheese slice, french fries, applesauce, milk.

April 9 — Hot ham and cheese on bun or peanut butter and jelly, carrots, green beans, pears and milk.

April 10 — Taco in bag, nacho corn chips, apple slice and caramel, milk.

April 11 — Cheese Bosco stick, marinara sauce, Romaine lettuce, peaches, graham crackers, milk.

Library CornerLostant — April 8, 15, 22 and 29:

Families First, a state-funded early childhood grant, is a program for families with children ages birth to 3. It is sponsored by the Oglesby Early Childhood Programs. Chil-dren will read stories, sing songs, learn finger plays, do an easy art project and have a snack. The pro-gram also includes field trips and parent education meetings. Fami-lies First meets from 10 to 10:45 a.m. every Tuesday.

LaSalle — April 8: Storytime Express is an interactive mix of stories complemented with a variety of engaging activities like crafts, flannel boards, rhymes, songs and puppets. It is formatted to introduce children to the library and early literacy skills. The short-er, 30-minute length and fast pace make it perfect for active children with shorter attention spans, and the express is a great way for busy parents to share special times with their children. Time will be set aside to help families find just the right books to check-out. Fun and educational, Storytime

Express is a free program, open to the public. Storytime Express will be offered from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Tuesdays. For more informa-tion, call 815-223-2341.

Tail-Waggers is an opportunity to read with therapy dogs and will be hosted at 6 p.m. on April 24 as well as at 4 p.m. on April 8. Bring an adult and book to read with Til-lie, the therapy dog. Kids choose a favorite short book or story and read aloud to Tillie for about five minutes. Kids not yet read-ing independently are welcome to read to the dog and the group with the help of their adult care-giver. Both the audience and Tillie love the pictures, so even non-readers can hold up the book to show the illustrations to everyone. To help children feel confident in their reading, they should plan to read from a favorite familiar story. Choose a book from the library or from home. For more information, call the library at 815-223-2341.

Join the LaSalle Library at 6 p.m. April 8 for Songs of the

American Labor Movement. The folk songs are about the people who built America and their strug-gle to improve the conditions of their labor.

One of the premier autoharp-ists in the world, Adam Miller is a renowned American folksinger and natural-born storyteller. An accomplished folklorist, historian, musicologist and song-collector, he has amassed a remarkable repertoire of more than 5,000 songs. Miller accompanies his rich, resonant baritone voice with lively finger-picking acoustic guitar and stunningly beautiful autoharp melodies. A masterful entertainer who never fails to get his audience singing along, he has distinguished himself as one of the great inter-preters of American folktales and folksongs, and as a performer who appeals to audiences of all ages.

This program is made possible through funding from the Alwin C. Carus Trust. This program is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the library at 815-223-2341.

PAC announces cast for ‘Steel Magnolias’PRINCETON — The Prairie Arts

Council has announced the cast of its spring play, “Steel Magnolias.”

The show, written by Robert Harling, is centered around six women: Truvy, the gossip with a heart of gold and owner of Truvy’s Beauty Spot; Annelle, a shy, new beautician; Clairee, a true south-ern Grande Dame with a wicked sense of humor; Shelby, a young woman determined to live life to the fullest despite numerous health problems; M’Lynn, Shel-by’s sometimes overly protective

mother; and Ouiser, a caustic older woman whose sarcasm can-not completely conceal her genu-ine kindness.

Harling’s play follows the lives of these southern ladies as they congregate in Truvy’s beauty shop and share in each other’s joys and sorrows. Full of acerbic humor, hilarious one-liners, deep emo-tion and beautiful poignancy, this show promises to bring audiences to both laughter and tears.

The cast includes Julie Grady of Princeton as Truvy, Kate Buckley

of Princeton as Annelle, Karen Rogers of Peru as Clairee, Rachel Gorenz of Princeton as Shelby, Kathy Missel of Streator as M’Lynn and Jill Marti of Princeton as Ouis-er, with Shelley Gorenz of Princ-eton serving as the director.

“Steel Magnolias” will be per-formed at 7:30 p.m. April 25 and 26 and at 3 p.m. April 27 at the Prairie Arts Center, located at 24 Park Ave. East in Princeton. Tick-ets are $10 and can be reserved by calling Mary Sue Goldsmith at 815-872-3503.

Ebertfest in Champaign April 23-27CHAMPAIGN — Roger

Ebert will not be at his namesake festival this year, but he will kick it off just the same.

“Life Itself,” a documen-tary about the late film critic’s life, will open this year’s Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, running April 23-27 in Champaign-Urba-na.

Also headlining the 16th annual “Ebertfest” will be director/writers Spike Lee and Oliver Stone, “Life Itself” director Steve James (also known for “Hoop Dreams”), comedian and actor Pat-ton Oswalt, actress Brie Larson and New Orleans piano bluesman Henry Butler, all coming as festi-val guests.

Lee and Stone will be coming with their respec-tive films “Do the Right Thing” and “Born on the Fourth of July,” which tackled issues involving race and the Vietnam War 25 years ago. Both films were on Ebert’s top 10 list for 1989, and both men were nominated for screenwriting Oscars that year. “Fourth of July” also brought Stone his second Oscar for directing, and the film was nominated for best picture.

Oswalt starred in “Big Fan,” screened at the 2012 Ebertfest, and is coming this year with “Young

Adult,” in which he played a key supporting role. Larson, perhaps best known for her role on the TV series “United States of Tara,” will be coming with “Short Term 12,” in which she stars as a coun-selor of at-risk teens.

Butler will be a guest on the final day of the festival, following a docu-mentary about the bril-liant but overlooked New Orleans singer-pianist James Booker. Butler will play several Booker tunes for the audience.

Director/writer Ramin

Bahrani, an Ebert favor-ite, will be coming with his third film to show at the festival. Also return-ing, for their 13th year, will be the three-man Alloy Orchestra, of Cam-bridge, Mass., accompany-ing this year’s silent film, “He Who Gets Slapped,” from 1924.

“Capote,” starring Phil-ip Seymour Hoffman in his Oscar-winning role, is also among this year’s films. Hoffman died Feb. 2.

Three international films at the festival will

tell the stories of an enter-prising Saudi girl pushing boundaries in her quest for a bike; of a museum guard and visitor explor-ing Vienna, life and art; and of an elderly Hong Kong servant, who now needs care from the man she has cared for all his life.

All the festival films will be screened at the 1,500-seat Virginia Theatre, a 1920s-era movie palace, now much closer to its early grandeur thanks to extensive renovations prior to last year’s festival.

• • •

Items for the Community section can be emailed to news@tonicanews.com. Visit us online at www.

tonicanews.com and on Facebook.

If you smell an odor like rotten eggs in your home, leave immediately. Call Ameren Illinois at 1.800.755.5000

from a different location to report the odor. If you smell gas outside, call Ameren Illinois to report.

Stay safe when you’re working outdoors, too. Always, call JULIE at 811 before you dig.

Visit AmerenIllinois.com for more safety tips.

SMELL GAS? LEAVE FAST. CALL US!

8 History/Classifieds8 • The Tonica News • Friday, April 4, 2014

Butterflies and birds at Lostant School

LOSTANT — In March, Dianne McCurdy from the University of Illi-nois Extension – LaSalle County and the LaSalle County Soil and Water Conservation District visited Lostant School. She did two presenta-tions at the school. Kin-dergarten and first-grade students attended a pre-sentation on butterflies and second- and third-graders attended a pre-sentation about birds.

The butterfly presen-tation taught the chil-dren all about the butter-flies and their life cycle. McCurdy had exhibits to show the butterflies in the different stages of their life cycle. Once her presentation was com-plete, the children were given a project to do about butterflies. Each child got the chance to color their butterfly and cut it out. Then McCurdy attached antennae (pipe cleaner) and a tongue (party blow out) to the butterfly. The children were then able to take their butterfly to the flowers around the room and demonstrate how the butterflies eat nectar from the flowers.

The bird presentation

taught students all about the birds from our area. They read a book, saw exhibits of feathers and tried to identify different bird calls. They learned the importance of the different types of feath-ers and which birds left the area for the winter. McCurdy brought plush exhibits of area birds including the robin, blue jay, crow, cardinal, wood thrush, purple martin, pileated woodpecker, yellow bellied sap suck-er and the house wren. When the presentation

was over the children were given the materi-als to make a bird feeder from Cheerios.

After the presenta-tions, the children were given material to take home. The chil-dren attending the bird presentation were also given a handout of local area birds to help them identify birds from their yards. All the children in both presentations really enjoyed McCurdy’s visit.

For more photos of the presentations, visit www.lostantcomets.org.

IVCC receives tree recognitionOGLESBY — Illinois

Valley Community Col-lege has earned Tree Cam-pus USA recognition for the fourth straight year. Tree Campus is a national program honoring col-leges and universities for promoting healthy trees and engaging students in the spirit of conservation.

IVCC met the five core standards for effec-tive campus forest man-

agement: a tree advisory committee, a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance and a student service-learning project.

Leading IVCC’s pro-gram are Vice President for Business Services and Finance Cheryl Roelf-sema, biology instructor Lauri Carey and math-

ematics instructor Wes Black who helped choose planting sites for 11 trees on the disc golf course including red oaks, a hackberry, American Linden, red bud and wild cherry.

Roelfsema said a larg-er number of trees were planted this year because of construction projects on main campus and east campus.

Photo contributedVice President for Business Services and Finance Cheryl Roelfsema and math instructor Wes Black were instrumental in IVCC receiving Tree Campus USA recognition this year.

BriefsCody O’Brien inducted

LASALLE — Cody O’Brien, the son of Darren and Sheri O’Brien of Lostant, was among 50 senior students from the Class of 2014 inducted into L-P Honor Society on March 27.

Each member received a ribbon and pin symbolizing their excellence in scholarship, service, leadership and character. It is the highest honor given to a senior at L-P.

O’Brien was also named as an Illi-nois State Scholar.

IVCC raises GED test fundsOGLESBY — The Illinois Valley Com-

munity College’s 2013-14 support staff service project will help several stu-dents pay increased GED testing fees. The $1,344 raised will pay the equiva-lent of 11 students taking the complete test. In 2014, the GED transitioned from paper to computer-base and the cost went from $50 to $120.

Support staff fundraising included a cookout, bake sale, gently-used sale and lasagna dinner. Since 2005, IVCC support staff have raised money for various community and college causes including the Illinois Valley Food Pan-try, a student emergency living needs fund and local animal shelters.

IVSO fundraiserUTICA — The Illinois Valley Sympho-

ny Orchestra will sponsor a “Trivia with Friends” fundraising event May 2 at Celebrations 150 in Utica. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and trivia will begin at 7 p.m. Food will be available for purchase and there will be a cash bar. Also included in the evening is a silent auction, 50/50 raffle, “Stock the Bar” raffle and prizes. The cost is $10 per person with 6-10 people per table.

For ticket reservations or informa-tion, contact Jayne Henry at 815-252-1419 or email jaynehenry@netscape.net.

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ILLINOISESTATE OF ) BERNICE ) ROSPLOCH ) Deceased )

No. 14-P-56 CLAIM NOTICE

Notice is given of the death of BERNICE ROSPLOCH. Letters of Office were issued on March 19, 2014, to JAMES F. PYSZKA, 505 Garfield Ave., LaSalle, IL 61301 as Executor whose attorney is John, Balestri, 149 Gooding Street, LaSalle, Illinois 61301. Claims against the estate may be filed in the Office of the Clerk of Court, LaSalle County Courthouse, Ottawa, Illinois 61350, or with

the representative, or both, within 6 months from the date of issu-ance of letters and any claim not filed within that period is barred. Copies of a claim filed with the clerk must be mailed or delivered to the representative and to the attorney within 10 days after it has been

filed. Dated this 19th day of March, 2014.

Attorney John BalestriAttorney for Estate149 Gooding Street

LaSalle, IL 61301815-223-6600

Published in the Tonica News Mar.28, Apr. 4 and 11, 2014.

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Photos contributedDianne McCurdy from University of Illinois Extension – LaSalle County and the LaSalle County Soil and Water Conservation District visited Lostant School. She did two presentations at the school.