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.

The Hopedale Rescue Squad is a volunteer rescue squad that is a part of the Hopedale Protection District. The rescue squad has 15 members, 10 of which are EMTs and five are first responders. Brian Reed is the EMS Chief in Hopedale. When asked about the squad Reed commented, “We come from all backgrounds and we kind of share the responsibilities. We are primarily a transport unit that transports to all of the local hospitals. We don’t do medical transports, but 911 type transports.” The rescue squad started in 1971, so this year the squad will be celebrating their 50 year anniversary. 

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.

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.