Have you noticed the neatness to our neighborhoods and that they are basically free from litter on our streets and sidewalks? People in the City of Peoria complain about all their litter. Much of our neat appearance is due to a woman who I see walking in the mornings and picks up litter that she spots on her walks. Many thanks to this individual for making our area neat. Join us in the 2008 Jamboree Race on Saturday, June 7! If you would like to volunteer for this early morning event, please contact Krystiana, 674-1993. Volunteers are needed from approximately 6:00-9:00 a.m. The race starts promptly at 7:00a.m. Runners and walkers: Pick up your race entry form at the following locations: Haddad’s, South Side Bank, Geier Florist, Alwan Pharmacy, The Hair Shoppe, West Peoria City Hall, Farmington Road Hardware, Joe’s Barber Shop, the Riverplex, Franciscan Recreation Complex, Running Central, and more! See you on race day!

The West Peoria Residents Association will have a Parking Lot Sale, Saturday, May 3rd from 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. at the Deal Insurance Parking Lot, corner of Sterling & Barker. If you have items to donate to this event, or if you are able to donate an hour of your time to help on the day of the sale, please call Maggie Moore @ 673-0535 or Loretta Fehl @ 637-0326.

Another May 3rd event is the Hazardous Waste Disposal Event sponsored by Peoria County Recycling and the Illinois EPA at Exposition Gardens. The event will run from 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Now is the opportunity to clear your residence of many items that can cause potential problems. Some of the household materials accepted are: oil-based paints, paint thinners, stains, varnishes, aerosol products, hobby chemicals, insecticides, pesticides, herbicides, pool chemicals, cleaning products, auto (lead-acid) batteries, mercury thermometers, old gasoline, used motor oil, antifreeze, household batteries, florescent lamps, cell phones, driveway sealer, pharmaceuticals and medications. Materials not accepted are: ammunition, explosives, fireworks, agricultural wastes, business and institutional wastes, biological wastes, tires, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and propane tanks. If you have questions, call 681-2550. Take advantage of this opportunity because this event will not be returning to the area on an annual basis.

West Peoria real estate tax bills will be mailed the first week of May. Tax Collector Imelda Kelch will begin collecting taxes at her residence, 2206 W. Barker, once the bills are received. Hours will be 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The first installment is due June 10, 2008. Installment stubs from your tax bill are now required at the time of payment. Anything after June 10, 2008 needs to be mailed to: the Peoria County Courthouse.

The Neighborhood Watch at this time has nineteen streets with organized block watch programs. Community Watch signs have been ordered and will be placed on each street in the program. The goal is that every street in West Peoria will be involved in the Watch program.If you are interested in organizing a “watch” on your block, contact Maggie Moore at 673-0535.

The next Neighborhood Watch meeting will be held May 15th at 6:00 p.m. at the West Peoria City Hall. Deputy Chris Watkins will discuss criminal issues. The next West Peoria Residents’ meeting will be May 15th at 6:30 p.m. at West Peoria City Hall. The public is welcome.

The West Peoria City Council approved a new ordinance defining and restricting garage sales. Garage sales shall not be conducted more than one time or for more than three consecutive days each calendar quarter. In no event shall a garage sale be conducted either before 7:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m. on any one day of sale. Residents are advised that all public works projects are almost impossible to reschedule and will proceed as planned, regardless of garage sales. It is recommended that residents check with City Hall about planned public works before scheduling a garage sale. All garage sale advertising shall have the date, time and address of any such sale included thereon. All signs advertising any garage sale shall be removed within 24 hours after the conclusion of the sale. To view the entire ordinance, visit:

http://www.cityofwestpeoria.com/new_ordinances.asp. Please contact West Peoria City Hall with any questions at 674-1993.

Recognizing the value of encouraging residents to help keep West Peoria an attractive place to live, the City has established a Paint Program for residential property owners. This paint program offers reimbursement of paint costs to residents wishing to paint the exterior of their homes or accessory structures (sheds, storage units, or garages). Reimbursement will be granted for exterior paint only. Participants who purchase paint in the City of West Peoria will receive reimbursement of 50% of total paint costs, up to a maximum of $250. For paint not purchased in West Peoria, the maximum amount reimbursed will be 30% of total paint costs, also up to $250. Paint is available in West Peoria at Ace Hardware at 2504 W Rohmann Avenue and Farmington Road Hardware at 2600 W. Farmington Road. Reimbursement of receipts will be received upon completion of project. Contact West Peoria City Hall with questions at 674-1993.

Curbside landscape waste pickup for 2008 has begun. City ordinance requires lids on your garbage cans! Remember, if it poops, you scoop! Please be courteous to fellow residents and pick up your dog’s waste.

The Code Enforcement Office would like to remind residents they are responsible for cleaning and maintaining their alleyways and disposing of all garbage and debris. Violations and fines will be sent to all who fail to comply with city ordinances in a timely fashion. Most fines start at $50.00; legal action will be taken against violators who fail to pay the fine.

To promote the public health, safety, morals, comfort and general welfare of the citizens of the City, West Peoria is initiating a Property Maintenance and Occupancy Code. This code will serve to prevent and control blight and pertain to the upkeep of residential and commercial structures and property in West Peoria. The code will take effect sometime in May or June 2008. For info, call West Peoria City Hall at 674-1993.

The City of West Peoria has an interest in pursuing a beautiful, clean and safe community all the while, continually striving to make West Peoria a better place to live and hope this is a goal shared by all community members. Thus, they have implemented a program to improve the quality of life for residents by focusing on one target area at a time. The code enforcement officer, community police officer and animal control specialist will be inspecting your neighborhood in the future. This team will survey the neighborhood, provide resources, will issue violations if deemed necessary and will be available to answer questions. If you have questions, comments or concerns, please call West Peoria City Hall at 674-1993.

Attention West Peoria entrepreneurs! The Turner Center for Entrepreneurship at Bradley University hosts free monthly workshops on Starting Your Own Business and Writing a Business Plan. Visit www.bradley.edu/turnercenter/events for more information and to register for upcoming workshops!

For businesses operating out of homes: All businesses in West Peoria operating within a residential building are required to complete a Home Occupation Permit. The permit can be found online at:http://www.cityofwestpeoria.com/permits.asp or at City Hall. The accompanying fee is $75. A home occupation annual renewal permit is also required whereby the fee is $25.

1476 Meals on Wheels were delivered to seniors in our community by the Rural Peoria County Council on Aging in 2007. If you or a neighbor would like to become part of this effort, call West Peoria township supervisor, Robert DeSutter. West Peoria Government Day, a program for local students at Manual, Notre Dame, Calvin Coolidge & St Mark’s Schools to visit both township and city government, was held on April 11th. Forty-one students and four teachers participated. The City had them run a mock city council meeting on recycling and the township offered students a chance to run a mock township caucus.

On April 12th, Bradley students and Bob DeSutter spent three hours picking up twenty-seven bags of litter on Swords, Pierson Hills and Farmington Road. The students from the Alpha Phi Omega Service fraternity are: Chad Miller, Ricky McAdams, Brandy Payne, Alexa Davis, Angie Roccasalva, Robin Flick, Linda Pineda, Jake Seger and Steve Bannon. Their hard work is very much appreciated and these areas of West Peoria look much better. Think twice before throwing litter in our community. Many hours of hard work is spent keeping our area clean that could be prevented by simply taking your litter/waste to your home and disposing of it there.

West Peoria Garden Club members and guests are invited to the home of Bob Monier on Tuesday, May 20 at 6:30 p.m. to create their own hypertufa pot or stepping stone. There is a cost of $5.00 associated with the project if you were not part of last year’s efforts.

Work has already begun on revitalizing and redesigning the corner garden at Western, Heading, & Main streets. June, July and August are garden tour months for the club. 2008 dues remain $10/individual and $18/families for the West Peoria Garden Club.To join, mail a check to Pat Sharp, 609 N. Swords Ave, West Peoria, IL 61604.

You can help make a difference in your community! The City has created a volunteer program to assist the elderly, disabled or otherwise incapacitated. This program helps the elderly and disabled with outdoor tasks they may find difficult or impossible. Volunteers are needed on a minimal basis to perform services such as raking leaves or shoveling driveways. If you would like assistance from this program or to volunteer for this program, please call Krystiana Bronny at 674-1993. Your minimal commitment can have a huge impact on someone’s life.

The community of West Peoria, Troop & Pack 11, the West Peoria Lions Club all extend an invitation to join them in the annual 4th of July Parade and Flag Raising Ceremony. The parade steps off at 10:00 a.m. from Waverly & Moss Avenues and concludes with the Flag Raising Ceremony at the United Disciples Christian Church at Kellogg & Cedar. Pastor Dwight Winnett of United Disciples Christian Church will deliver the invocation. Troop 11 & Pack 11 will lead the flag raising. West Peoria mayor, Jim Dillon will be the guest speaker. All are encouraged to attend. To take part in this year’s parade or nominate a grand marshal, contact Mark Wrhel at mwrhel@comcast.net or 472-4258.

Join the Largest Service Organization in the World and become a Lion. As a Lion you can help a child see, hear, or send that child to camp for a week this summer. Save our planet Earth by recycling glasses, hearing aids, keys, cell phones, ink cartridges, aluminum cans and tabs. Enjoy the companionship of friends and neighbors while working on projects together for the betterment your community.

The West Peoria Lions are currently selling 100% Soy Candles and Tart Warmers. The candles will be available at the West Peoria Residents Association Sale on May 3rd at Sterling and Barker (parking lot beside John Deal’s Insurance office).

Watch for the Lions at Haddad’s Market on May 24th for Tootsie Pop Day. Proceeds from this event help the Hearing and Visually Impaired in your community. For more info call Linda at 673-6409 or Jim at 208-3516 or Carolyn at 208-3815.

A few people have asked me this month if I’ve stopped writing my column, and I have to report that my life just got too hectic around deadline time last month. My column was not in the Community Word, because I had a couple bad weeks and just didn’t get it written. I was in training at The Center for The Prevention of Abuse where I am working part time. It was quite intense as you could imagine to be focused on domestic violence, sexual assault, child and elder abuse and pressing gender problems. Right in the middle of this intensity on a Saturday, I got a call from my son Jason who was vomiting, had a terrific headache and feeling really lousy.

I stopped by the pharmacy and got him some medicine for nausea before I drove down to his house. When I got there he also had a very high fever. I gave him the medicine which he promptly vomited up. When I asked how he had anything left in his stomach, he said he was throwing up bloody bile. When he said that I realized he’d been throwing up since the middle of the night and was starting to get disoriented, and was definitely dehydrated. I called an ambulance and he went into Methodist. They weren’t sure what was going on and gave him lots of tests. His blood pressure was high as was his blood sugar, and he was pretty much out of it. He got up to go to the bathroom and pulled his IV out because he wasn’t aware of were he was. They did many tests and couldn’t find anything wrong, but said that the flu had probably caused all those high tests.

This was confirmed this week when he was scheduled to go in for a arterography, but the doctor told him he had checked all of his other tests and could see that he was very ill with the flu and that effected pretty much everything else. I am again so thankful that there was nothing serious, and he seems to be doing well now.

He was in the hospital for four days and came home on a Tuesday.

On Wednesday a good friend’s obituary was in the paper. She was a wonderful person and very vibrant: I worked with her at Global Village. She was younger than I, but I knew she had been falling quite a lot, and she fell in the bathtub and injured her head severely. Death is part of life as I have learned so well because of my many losses, but it is still very difficult and sad when someone so full of life is suddenly gone.

I love working at the Center, because I am doing some follow up with clients and also working with children there. Although it was tough to learn the horrific statistics about domestic violence, sexual assault and elder and child abuse, it makes me feel much more useful and helpful to work with the women and children there. Although I enjoyed working with Home Instead, it was pretty much one on one, and I have the sense that I can help more people in my present position. I have discovered that one of my strong passions is helping people, so this is a good fit for me.

Well today It got up to eighty degrees, so I think we’ve jumped right into summer. I was able to get out in to my yard only once between rain showers, so I have a lot to do, but I’m looking forward to being outside again after this dreary, cold winter.

I also got to go for a Reunion this last weekend to the Allerton Conference Center which is owned by the University of Illinois and is located in Monticello. Our women’s group church had met there for years, but were forced to stop in the year 2000 because the dates couldn’t be worked out, but this was our fiftieth reunion, so it was very special. We shared many great memories of women and events at many retreats held there over the years. Robert Allerton was a very wealthy man who built a mansion outside of Monticello, and there are many formal gardens, statuary and beautiful objects in the house and on the grounds. He donated the estate to the University to be used as a Conference. It reminds me somewhat of the Hearst Mansion in California. It was a magnificent building as those men at that time were inclined to build.

It always made us feel like royalty to stay there, and this last weekend was no exception. In fact they have added even more antiques, oriental rugs and restructured the rooms, so you feel like you are the only ones staying there. A beautiful dining room in the former stables completed our sense of luxury, because we are able to just share, rest, eat and reminiscence. It was fun to be spoiled and pretend for a weekend.

I’ve been reading mostly lighter books this month. I read another David Baldacci novel called Total Control. His plot convolutions and quirks truly fascinate me. Sometimes I can tell what’s going to happen, but often I can’t and I like the suspense. I also read Meant to Be by Walter Anderson which is autobiographical and a good read. Another light one was Lover’s Lane by Jill Marie Landis. I just started a book by James Tully called The Crimes of Charlotte Bronte: a Novel, which is fiction but based on many records, letters and writings found in an attic after many years which sheds a strange new light on what really was the truth about the Bronte sisters’ writings. It is very compelling and insightful. ENJOY THE WARMTH!

As far as I know, they never did domesticate the dryland fish. To get them you still have to trespass on private property. Leastways that’s where a lot of avid hunters claim they find their luck. Back in the twenties, a certain young lady thought the secret to success was “yellow clothing.” Frankie always wore her yellow hat whenever we hunted those elusive morsels. We braved the wailing in Harpers’ Woods because that land wasn’t posted. Truly a forest primeval, with more plants-n-animals than a person could shake a stick at. Frankie was sure the color “yellow” affected those tidbits the same way a red light affected nightcrawlers.

According to her, the hat, through its’ shape and color, actually stunned those ‘thangs’ and they couldn’t slither back into the ground. They wouldn’t run off because they were in shock. All that was left for us to do was lift them into our baskets. Strange as it may seem, we always came home with enough food to share with neighbors.

Back before I was born, the morel mushroom was hunted as it is today. However, in rural areas of certain locales, the morel was referred to as “dryland fish.” Frankie and I always used that term just to confuse other hunters. Besides, our parents still used it.

Why were they called dryland fish? – search me. I do know most people soaked them overnight in brine before they were cooked. A lot of salt was consumed back in those days.

This particular weekend which I’m fixin’ to tell you about, was the time we decided to hunt (whatever they were), prior to our slam-bang ball game.

We had only been out 20 minutes or so when a bad storm blew in from the west and we became disoriented. We knew we were lost after passing the same spot two or three times.

During one of our rounds we came upon a shallow depression on the ground, layered with old brown leaves. Frankie screamed, “It’s a bear wallow!” I knew it wasn’t, because there hadn’t been any bears in Harpers’ Woods since Charlie Hatfield got converted in a drain culvert hiding from ole Slewfoot. That was a great many years before. Charlie was somehow related to the feuding Hatfields of West Virginia.

The wind and lightning became so fierce we started looking for shelter. Seeing a large hollow tree nearby, we risked extinction and huddled inside an opening at the bottom. During such a storm, menfolk shied away from old dead trees, calling them “widow makers.”

The sun came out and we got home shortly before game time. All our friends were there and a few unknowns. Back then boys and girls played together, not like they do nowadays with separate clubs. The gender of the person being yelled at didn’t make a lota of difference. No boy hesitated to yell at the prettiest girl on the team when she made a blunder. After all, she was a ball player, not just a girl.

The longer we played, the louder the yelling. There was no certain number of innings. Before the game was over we all had the same color of clothing – grass green. We’d play a while, then fight a while. The girls’ pretty hair-dos looked like rat nests.

The following Monday Miss Winans asked Frankie who gave her the black eye. Frankie smirked and replied, “Nobody gave it to me. I had to fight for it.” The teacher didn’t take kindly to that remark and told Frankie she’d rue the day.

I have yet to be considered an “alarmist” and have no thought of being one now. Yet, I do “prepare to be prepared.” Last week we, in central Illinois, were served an appetizer of what the New Madrid fault has to serve up. Once more we are reminded that we are incapable of controlling all that nature has to give us.

University of Illinois Extension, in its focus on disaster preparedness, has some thoughts regarding each of us being prepared to respond in the event of another earthquake.

“As we’ve been recently reminded, earthquakes capable of causing damage, injuries and even death can and do occur in Illinois. As in any natural disaster there are things you can do to increase your family’s likelihood of surviving unscathed.

Earthquake related injuries are usually caused by building collapse, falling debris, flying glass, fires, downed power lines and, occasionally, panic reactions.

You can keep safe by assessing possible hazards in your home. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, it is important to fasten shelves securely to walls and place large or heavy items on lower shelves. Breakable items such as bottled foods, glass and china should be stored in closed cabinets, preferably with latches. Heavy items such as pictures and mirrors should not be hung directly over beds or couches. It’s a good idea to strap water heaters to wall studs or to bolt them to the floor. They are notorious for tipping over and severing gas lines. Repair any loose plaster and securely store hazardous household, lawn care and agricultural chemicals.

If an earthquake occurs and you are indoors, drop to the ground and take cover under a heavy piece of furniture. If none is available cover your face and hands with your arms and crouch in an inside corner. Stay away from glass, windows, outside walls and anything that could fall like lighting fixtures, home entertainment systems and shelves. If you’re in bed when an earthquake strikes, stay put and cover your head with your pillow unless there’s a danger of a lighting fixture or ceiling fan falling on you. Use a doorway for shelter only if it is close and you are confident that it is well-built and load bearing. Stay inside until the shaking stops. Most injuries occur when people inside buildings move about or try to run outside before the situation stabilizes.

If you are outdoors when you begin to feel a tremor, stay there. Move away from buildings, streetlights and utility wires. Stay in the open until the shaking stops. Most earthquake injuries occur from being struck by debris, if you are in an open space, you are relatively safe.

It is often difficult to feel an earthquake in a moving vehicle, but if you do, stop as quickly as safety permits and stay in the vehicle. Avoid parking near buildings, utility poles, overpasses and trees. Proceed cautiously after the earthquake has stopped and avoid roads, bridges, ramps and other infrastructure which might have been damaged.

Expect aftershocks. These are normal and can be strong enough to do additional damage. Aftershocks can continue for days, weeks or months. Listen to a battery powered radio, television or all-hazards (weather) radio for additional information. Once it is safe to do so, open cabinets carefully. Stay away from damaged structures. Help any injured parties immediately. Emergency aid may be hard to come by, so keep first aid kits handy and participate in training in how to use them.

It is also important to check for gas leaks, electrical problems, sewer and water line damage and other obvious structural problems. Inspect the entire length of chimneys for damage. You may need to hire a professional for this task to insure you won’t have issues with carbon monoxide poisoning later.

If you are travelling in a coastal area, be alert for tsunami warnings and follow local evacuation instructions.

You may have noticed that many of these suggestions also apply to other natural disasters, so review your family’s communication plans and check your disaster supply kits. Earthquakes are less predictable than many other disasters, but are common enough that it’s important to understand proper precautions so you can react instinctively.”

If you have other questions, call the Peoria County Extension Office. The number is 309-685-3140 or visit: www.extension.uiuc.edu/peoria.