This week we are celebrating the retirement of Billie Cheek as an Alderman of the Atlanta City Council. Cheek has served on the council for 38 years. Aldermen help to govern the city, while making decisions and presentations for the betterment of Atlanta. Cheek has seen and worked on many changes throughout her time serving as an Alderman.

This weekend brought back two loved events in our community. Danvers Days was a Friday through Sunday event and the Waynesville Fall Fling was a Friday and Saturday event. Both celebrations were filled with activities for community members to enjoy. If you missed the fun, here is an overview of the events that occurred!

Looking for local and fresh produce? No need to look any further! We have lined up a list of where you can find fresh produce in our Central Illinois area. Our first find begins in Atlanta, IL.

McLean’s Ebenezer United Methodist Church celebrates their 150th anniversary! A committee was set up to plan events for this whole year to celebrate, but like many other things, the pandemic forced the church to halt their plans. One thing from the agenda that was able to be accomplished was a history book that holds information from the start of the church to current day. The book is available to be seen in the church and contains interesting artifacts. These artifacts include: pictures, recipes, and items from events such as weddings, Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving celebrations. 

K & R Country Band is a local band that performs classic and outlaw country music. The band consists of six members who are: Kelly VanDyke, Roger VanDyke, Jimmy Birkey, Rick Tackett, Marty Davis, and Mark Martin. The band began in the spring of 2019 when Kelly and Roger VanDyke would play music at the Kentuckiana Kampground outside of Hopedale, IL. They would have 15 to 20 other people from the campground sit and listen to songs, and even sing along. Roger and Kelly began the band as a duo, and they would play for small venues. They invited Jimmy Birkey to a practice, and they all clicked together perfectly. It didn’t take much time for Marty Davis and Rick Tackett to join. Kelly VanDyke plays the rhythm guitar and leads vocals, Roger VanDyke plays the rhythm guitar and does vocals, Jimmy Birkey plays the lead guitar and does vocals, Rick Tackett plays the bass guitar, Marty Davis plays the drums, and Mark Martin does the soundboard. 

The Olympia High School agriculture department has recently added a chicken coop outside of the school where they will raise hens and have hands-on learning opportunities. Richard “Dick” Johnson of Atlanta passed away last year, and his family chose Olympia FFA to be one of the organizations to donate some memorial money to. Johnson was a local farmer who had an egg delivery business, so the Olympia agriculture department found it fitting to buy a chicken coop for the school. The high school agricultural science class already raises chickens every year as part of their class experience. The class does a feed trial to learn about animal nutrition and the basics of taking care of animals. In the past, the hens would be sent to a local farm, but the new chicken coop offers the opportunity to keep the hens on campus for a year-round experience with the animals.

Mosquitoes are described as small flies that are part of the family of dipteran flies, with females that have organs adapted to puncture the skin of animals to suck their blood. Or, more simply stated, small flies that leave itchy, annoying bites. Mosquitos have hit hard in our area this year, especially in areas that have had a lot of rain the last few months. Knowing this, it is easy to wonder what our local governments are doing to fix the problem. Here’s the answer. 

To the outsider, small towns may seem boring and uneventful. However, we know that is not the case. From festivals to tractor pulls, there are lots of things that bring excitement to small towns. Town bands also bring excitement, and this week we spotlight the Danvers Town Band. President of the band, Andrew Argo, is unsure exactly when the band first started, but they have pictures of a Danvers Band from 1905. Many families have had generations of members in the band. Argo is a fourth-generation member. At the beginning of the 1900s, many little towns had a community band to give entertainment to the people living in each town, according to Argo. The Danvers Town Band began playing on Saturday nights, but changed performances to Sunday nights in the 1990s because it was easier to get members to play in the band. In over a century, the band has only missed two years of performances. These two years were during World War II.

This week we go to Armington for our “Meet the Chief” series. Bob Stroud has been Armington’s Fire Chief since January 2021. When asked about what the best part of being the chief is, Stroud proclaimed, “The best part is being a part of a good group of people who are there to help out when others need it.” Armington’s Community Fire and Rescue Protection District was founded in 1948. The firefighters are all volunteer workers. Their district services parts of Logan and Tazewell counties. 

The Irreverent Warriors, a group with an impactful mission. The Irreverent Warriors are an organization working to improve mental health and prevent suicide among Veterans. They strive to create a healthy culture among their members. They work to accomplish their goals through events, creative engagements, and strong Veteran-based support networks.

Gingerbread Park is a park located on the corner of Isham and 4th in Waynesville. There is playground equipment, a basketball court, green space for playing ball, and a pavilion. Gingerbread Park began in 1975, when the pavilion was built. The next additions were the merry-go-round and swings from the Waynesville Grade School after it closed. The park has only developed greatly since then, and much of the credit can go to the Waynesville Women’s Club. 

Independence Day: “the annual celebration of nationhood”. July 4th brings excitement and celebration across our entire country. In our small towns we have many options for fireworks and fun in honor of the day the United States officially became its own nation. The annual 4th of July Celebration in Hopedale is approaching fast and you do not want to miss out. Here is what the small town has in store for the Fourth of July weekend.

How can you tell when someone truly loves their job? Danvers’ Police Chief, Michael Kemp, shows his passion and love for his job. In this week’s edition of “Meet the Chief” we learn about why Chief Kemp became a police officer, what it is like working in his profession, and why he loves his job. 

The beginning of summer always brings excitement to our small towns because of the nice weather and break before the next school year. Without school to fill the time during the days for the children in our community, what is there to do? Our local park districts have you covered! Here is what each town has to offer:

After missing last year’s contest due to COVID, the Miss Tremont Pageant was able to happen on June 6th. In order to compete for the title, one must be a female, junior or senior in high school, and a Tremont resident. Madison Jones was crowned Miss Tremont for 2021. She is going into her senior year at Tremont High School. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to conduct an interview with her, where we discussed all aspects of the pageant. 

The Tremont Turkey Festival ran from June 11th through the 13th this year! It was the 55th year that the festival has occurred. Last year it was not able to happen because of COVID restrictions, so this past weekend was an exciting time in Tremont, IL. The event is organized by community volunteers, who do an excellent job at making the festival an exciting time for the community. 

When you think about the small towns in our area, the first word that likely comes to mind is farming. However, we know that all small towns have their own gems that distinguish them aside from farming. Atlanta has The Bunyon Giant, Danvers has Danvers Days, but what about Hopedale? Well, Hopedale has the Willis Snowmobile Museum. The Willis Snowmobile Museum began with a small collection of snowmobiles and has grown rapidly since. They have about 150 on display at all times, but more than double that amount in their total collection. Willis Snowmobile Museum is located in a refurbished general store in downtown Hopedale, IL. Two generations of the Willis family have been involved with the museum. Russel Willis and his three sons, Danny, Darrin, and Donny, find the snowmobiles for the collection and take care of the museum. The family keeps the snowmobile museum as a hobby and passion of theirs, more than just running it like a business.

On Monday, May 31st, Americans celebrate Memorial Day. Memorial Day is celebrated to honor the men and women who have died while serving in our United States military. The holiday is always observed on the last Monday in May and was originally called Decoration Day. It was originally called Decoration Day because it isn’t an observation of one particular battle.

Our community spotlight for the week highlights CORE of McLean. The nonprofit organization is made up of a small group of volunteers who are dedicated to bringing more pride, life, and activity into the town of McLean. CORE President, Katie Funk, stated “We want to make McLean a great place to live as well as a community that attracts visitors and businesses.” Along with President Katie Funk, CORE’s other board members are Jeff Hake, Vice President, and Tom Ludlam, Treasurer. The small group of volunteers help with the organization’s projects and events. The organization’s motto is: Pride in our Past, Progress in the Present, Prosperity in the Future. Katie Funk has been involved with CORE since 2013 and has been their President since 2017. While discussing her involvement with the organization, Funk proclaimed, “My favorite part is seeing people enjoying the fruits of our efforts, whether that's taking a photo in front of our mural, admiring the beautiful flowers on the square, or having a great time at our run/walk. Seeing people's smiles is always the best part.”

Climate change has been apparent throughout the world’s history due to natural forces such as solar radiation, volcanoes, etc. However, humans can also impact climate change. The current climate change situation in the world is the cause of a mix of natural and human forces. What does climate change look like in our state?

This week we are celebrating the retirement of Billie Cheek as an Alderman of the Atlanta City Council. Cheek has served on the council for 38 years. Aldermen help to govern the city, while making decisions and presentations for the betterment of Atlanta. Cheek has seen and worked on many changes throughout her time serving as an Alderman.

Olympia FFA has been a FFA chapter since 1972, the same year that the area high schools consolidated. However, most of the individual high schools had their own FFA chapter. This year Olympia has 114 members, including 9 students on the officer team. The 9 officers for the 2020-2021 school year are: President- Tyler Miller, Vice Presidents- Chloe Scroggins, Adam Swartzendruber, and Kailey Little, Secretary- Kari Simpson, Reporter- Tarah Hilt, Treasurer- Noah Reber, Sentinel- Ethan Davis, and Historian- Brooke Rogers. The Olympia FFA Chapter installed next year’s officers a few weeks ago at their end of the year banquet on April 18th. However, the year is not over for this year’s FFA members because spring is their busiest season of events. 

The Tremont Museum and Historical Society started in 1985 as a way to gather the history of the town. It is a non-profit organization that has had two presidents since it began. Jan Lee was the president for 30 years until Richard Sauder took over about 6 years ago. Tremont has both a historical museum building and an agricultural history museum building. Tremont was set up as an agriculture town, so there is a lot of agriculture history for the area. In the regular history museum, you can find artifacts from someone very famous. Abraham Lincoln came to Tremont during his time working as a lawyer. During Lincoln’s time frame, Tremont was the Tazewell county seat, so he would argue cases at the courthouse that was in the town. The museum is very nice with clean, well put together displays. The people who keep the museum as nice as ever are all volunteers. Lori Fuoss, secretary for the Tremont Museum and Historical Society, proclaimed that they have a great group of volunteers to help take care of the museum.

April 11th through the 17th was National Public Safety Telecommunications Week. What better way to celebrate than to learn more about our very own Tazewell and McLean County dispatch teams! This week of celebration was first established in 1981 by Patricia Anderson of California. The celebration is in place to celebrate and thank all of the telecommunicators who serve their areas. 

Danvers Township Library is a public library that serves 1,925 residents in Danvers Township. They offer a variety of different services which are: a collection of more than 20,000 books, 35,000 E-books, 3,700 DVDs & Blue-Ray discs, 120 audio books, over 30 specialty cake pans, and periodicals, plus a variety of reference materials. There is also internet usage, faxing, printing, copying, & laminating available to the public. The library holds different activities for different age groups of people.