Living

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Kacich: Lincoln not the only one with a big birthday this year

This year, you may have heard, marks the bicentennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln.

Just as important, it's the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Kirby Avenue-Florida Avenue viaduct in south Champaign, the centennial of Tuscola's successful effort to retain its county seat and the silver anniversary of Champaign-Urbana's first shopping center.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Life Remembered: Ex-Mahomet mayor 'fun-loving,' honest

CHAMPAIGN – Though he had reason, Mahomet's longest-running mayor, Charles J. Oliger, never complained.

His long battle with cancer took one of his ears and part of his face. On Friday, it took his life.

Life Remembered: Caterer known for generosity, excellence

CHAMPAIGN – Even if you didn't know Michael Carragher personally, chances are you've sampled some of his cooking.

From box lunches to wedding buffets, his culinary creations have been a staple at Champaign-Urbana events for almost three decades.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Local options can help those laid off get back on their feet

When Heatcraft management announced the Danville branch's closing, Ben Gabbard felt heartsick. Four months before the notice, he had led union negotiations, getting a three-year contract for the nearly 300 union employees.

Too soon after, the 21-year employee and longtime negotiator for United Auto Workers Local 1271 had to help negotiate another contract – for a layoff package, including benefits for nonunion employees at the company.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Author's first novel a humorous take on family life

Commercialism is an easy target at the holidays, especially after your eighth stop of the day at a crowded mall as you finish up some last-minute Christmas shopping.

Running from store to store, trying desperately to find something for that brother-in-law who already has everything, combing the Internet for that "must have" Star Wars toy only to find that greedy collectors have snapped them all up and are selling them for $50 on eBay – who doesn't stop and think, Is this what it's really all about?

On Lincoln's Trail: Danville woman provides memory lane for walks

Roberta Allen of Danville is extremely proud of her Moonwalk T-shirt. No, it has nothing to do with Michael Jackson.

Allen earned her shirt when her walking club accepted a challenge from a Peoria club to see who could walk the most miles between April and June in the evenings. Allen took first place for the Ridgewalkers Walking Club, a chapter of the American Volkssport Association.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree, how you've worn out your welcome...

By this time of the season, we've all heard the song praising the Christmas tree and its lovely branches.

But hang onto that tree too long, and it will cease to be lovely as it dries out, sheds on your floors and becomes a fire hazard.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Brain tumor brings unexpected blessings for Urbana woman

URBANA – For years, even decades, a war went on within C.K. "Tina" Gunsalus' skull.

And through those years, her brain lost ground, squashing up against itself as a tumor grew into the size of a baseball, an insidious mass making a place for itself where her brain once resided.

If it sounds like "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," it almost was.

UI archaeologist wants 109-year-old house looking Sharp again

It was the house that Urbana's own Casey Jones built, with railroad iron in its foundation, and it was about to be restored to its 1899 grandeur when a fire snaked up from the porch to the third floor in May.

Now a University of Illinois archaeologist, Brian Adams, is putting back together the Queen Anne house at 412 W. Elm St., built for Zachariah F. Sharp, the tough-as-nails engineer for the Indiana, Bloomington and Western Railroad (IBW), better known as the I'd Better Walk.

Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club facing negatives in cash flow

CHAMPAIGN – Every day after school, a bus takes Tyanna Jones' two kids to the hub of activity known as the Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club.

There they can get help with homework, work with a tutor, make an art project or just unwind from the school day until their mom gets off work at 5 p.m.

The club is a godsend for Jones, a single mom with a full-time job. Membership is $5 a year, which she knows is an "incredible" bargain. She probably couldn't afford that much day care, and the club is so much more.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Champaign farm bureau delivers enough food to feed 152

URBANA – More than 150 area residents are getting food for their Christmas dinners, thanks to the efforts of the Champaign County Farm Bureau.

On Friday morning, Farm Bureau members delivered enough food items to provide meals for 152 people to the Eastern Illinois Foodbank.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Don't like the weather? It's going to get worse

If you've planned a weekend of gallivanting, you've picked the wrong weekend.

After a morning of what Alan Black, a climatologist at the Midwestern Regional Climate Center in Champaign, called "the double whammy of the treacherous roads and the fog" – with visibility only about 800 feet at Willard Airport in Champaign at about 8:30 a.m. – expect the weather to only get worse.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Holy Cross eighth-grader takes acts of service to extreme

MANSFIELD – Whether she is collecting gently used shoes or making comforting fleece blankets, Faith Taylor knows that the best gifts come from the heart.

This fall, Faith, 13, of Mansfield took an interest in serving her community. From Sept. 8 to 23, she collected 620 pairs of gently worn shoes to donate to Soles4Souls, a charity that distributes shoes to those in need.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Danville Salvation Army sees big jump in requests for assistance

DANVILLE – As holiday giving campaigns wind down, the needs still far outweigh the giving.

The Salvation Army in Danville has seen the number of families applying for holiday assistance that includes food, toys and other needs specific to the applicants, such as rent and heat, double this holiday season.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Take care when you go out to shovel that snow

CHAMPAIGN – Heading out to shovel your driveway?

Don't forget shoveling can take a lethal toll on your heart.

Couple, community pull together to brighten holidays for family

URBANA – If he doesn't watch out, Santa might find himself out of a job this holiday season.

Some Christmas angels at the Transitions Resale Shop at Lincoln Square filled the wish list – and more – of one Urbana family that is giving back to the community despite facing its own challenges.

Loss of city funding spells trouble for Renaissance Danville

DANVILLE – Renaissance Danville board members are uncertain about the future of the downtown neighborhood revitalization organization, now that the city is cutting its primary source of revenue.

Some Renaissance board members, like Steve Rodman, are hopeful the nonprofit organization can survive in some form.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Police officer recruits, their families get 'wellness' lessons

URBANA – Ron and Annee Wallace of Peoria saw positive changes in their son as he progressed through his 12 weeks of training at the University of Illinois Police Training Institute.

Michael Wallace, 29, was one of 48 police recruits who graduated from basic police training in ceremonies Dec. 4 at the Vineyard Church, 1500 N. Lincoln Ave., U.

The ceremonies featured a bit of training for the recruits' families and friends as well.

Local woman packages joy - and it's bigger than a shoe box

CHAMPAIGN – A 7-year-old girl in an African country soon will be exclaiming over her collection of presents:

A T-shirt picturing a sparkly cat and dog, washcloths, plastic animals, a purple Teddy bear, flip flops, colored markers, tablet of paper, toothbrush and toothpaste, and hard candy.

After adoption, sisters repaying kindnesses they received

ST. JOSEPH – All Loren remembers about the shoe box full of Christmas presents is the picture of the family it came from.

She was a 10-year-old, living in an orphanage in Peru with her two younger sisters.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Holiday Tour of Homes to be Sunday in Hoopeston

HOOPESTON – The Hoopeston Area Healthcare Foundation will present a Holiday Tour of Homes from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Featured on the tour are the homes of:

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Gold rush: Salvation Army receives fourth, fifth gold coins

This weekend wasn't exactly the fifth day of Christmas, but it produced similar benefits for The Salvation Army.

Instead of five gold rings, the organization received its fourth and fifth gold coins in area red kettles.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Paxton man named VFW national deputy chief of staff

James Ellis of Paxton has been appointed national deputy chief of staff for the Veterans of Foreign Wars for 2008-2009.

As deputy chief of staff, he will be involved with opening new posts, assisting existing ones and administering bylaws.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Volunteers send holiday packages to troops

CHAMPAIGN – Lori Stewart remembers first hearing a little over a year ago about how some soldiers were virtually forgotten by their families over the holidays.

"One soldier told me they get nothing for Christmas but bills," she recalled. "No letters. No calls. It broke my heart. I want to send every single one of them something."

That last task might be a bit much for Stewart, a 45-year-old Champaign mother of an Army specialist. But she's definitely trying.

On Sunday, Stewart and about 20 other volunteers were accepting and packaging gifts for U.S. troops at the Village Inn Pizza Parlor in Champaign. It's the second year of such an effort for Stewart, who has since 2007 sent Thanksgiving and Christmas care packages to soldiers.