The following is the schedule for the Methodist Medical Center Mobile Mammography Van for the month of July 2008. Unless otherwise listed, the van will be in these locations from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Methodist now features all digital mammography equipment providing improved, faster and more comfortable exams.

• July 1-Methodist at Morton-1909 N. Morton, Morton
• July 2-Methodist Medical Group at Princeville-223 E. Main Street, Princeville
• July 8-Methodist Medical Group at Chillicothe-525 Sweetbriar, Chillicothe
• July 9-Methodist at Mt. Hawley Women’s Health-7725 N. Knoxville, Peoria
• July 12-City of Refuge Church-2201 SW Adams, Peoria
• July 15-Methodist at Morton-1909 N. Morton, Morton
• July 16-Cherry Tree Shopping Center-Washington
• July 21-Wal-Mart-2071 N. Main, Canton
• July 22-Heartland Clinic-1701 W. Garden, Peoria
• July 26-Wal-Mart-3315 N. University, Peoria
• July 28-Methodist at Pekin-1800 Broadway, Pekin

There is no need for a doctor’s order for a screening mammogram if you’re 40 or over.

Call for an appointment at 671-8282

Peoria’s intellectual safety net is about to receive its first major upgrade in half a century with the improvement and expansion of the city’s library system.

The City Council is heeding the voice of the Peoria citizenry and taking steps to improve the Peoria Public Library system with the renovation of the downtown library and McClure branch as well as additions to the Lakeview and Lincoln branches while also looking into creating a new north side location. While citizens who use the Peoria Public Library System have been voicing concerns regarding the library’s limited weekend hours and small space for resources, Peoria City Council members also wish to improve library facilities so that branch locations throughout the city will offer an equal level of quality service.

According to At-Large City Councilman and library liaison Gary Sandberg, the library expansion project has been ongoing for nearly a decade. “This wasn’t something that just surfaced within the last year,” he says. “It came about due to a recognition of dynamics. The city was sprawling to the north, and the northwest side was underserved.”

An article written by Mike McKenzie of the Peoria Public Library Board of Trustees stated that nearly 600,000 people utilize the Peoria Public Library system each year, and nearly $62,000 worth of library items are used by community members on any given day.

“The public has recognized the need for change,” says Sandberg.

An Overwhelming Majority

The population that makes use of the city’s library system falls across class lines. Cracks in the system affecting both the city’s poor and affluent eventually led to an overwhelming majority of citizens—72 percent—voting in favor of the $35 million bond referendum to improve the libraries. The vote took place on April 17th of last year. Although the Peoria City Council controls the library budget and could have issued the bonds without citizen approval, the council was wary of voting for a tax increase without putting the referendum on the ballot.

“It is important to note that the referendum received 72 percent approval in every city precinct,” says Peoria Public Library Director Edward Szynaka. “Seventy-two percent is significant. It is a very persuasive percentage by the citizens. In fact, it’s the largest percentage ‘yes’ vote on a library bond issue in the state’s history as told to us by those in Springfield.” Szynaka believes one of the reasons the referendum received such a high percentage is due to the fact that the library facilities have received very little attention for nearly forty years. “I think our citizens realize that this master plan is going to remedy that problem,” he says.

According to Szynaka, more than half of Peoria residents have library cards, and about 1,600 people use the libraries daily. Peoria’s lower classes, listed by Peoria School District 150 as comprising nearly 70 percent of its students, use the library for access to computers and learning materials. “The voters value the importance of the library and the library services,” says Sandberg. “That’s why every district voted in overwhelming support.”

Former Common Place Director Nancy Rakoff agrees and says that although it is difficult for citizens to vote themselves a tax increase, she believes the citizens acted based on the dire need of the city and the possibility of bringing positive change where it is needed. “There was a very broad range of people involved,” she says. “The vote passed in all five council districts fairly substantially. It wasn’t just the wealthy citizens who wanted this bond referendum.”

The $35 million will buy bonds that will be paid back over a period of twenty years by increasing property taxes. According to Sandberg, the Library Board is working to ensure that no more than $35 million in bonds will be needed so that taxpayers will not pay more than what they voted for. Sandberg claims that according to the referendum, the property tax will be no less than 15 cents and no more than 16 cents per $1,000, estimating out to be about 15.2 cents per $1,000 of assessed evaluation and making the annual property tax increase on a $100,000 home about $15.00.

Search for a North Branch

The property tax increase will fund the expansion of Peoria’s library system by helping to cover the purchase of a new building to serve Peoria’s north side. According to Szynaka, site selection is in process for Peoria’s north branch. The Farnsworth Group Inc., a Peoria architectural firm, was hired to locate a new north branch building. According to a report on the Preliminary Site Selection for a Potential North Branch Library drawn up on April 10, 2008, Farnsworth is currently assessing the possibility of locating vacant buildings for sale or acres of available land as close as possible to the intersection of Allen Road and Pioneer Parkway.

The search for a north branch building began with six or seven possible sites, including the former Shopko building, the eServ building, and the former Menards building. The search eventually dwindled down to three potential sites, two of which are vacant big “box” buildings. Greenfield sites of approximately 5 acres in size located along Allen Road are also being considered. “We need to come up with a northern branch with no new operational costs,” says Sandberg.

The two leading buildings for the site are the old Festival Foods grocery store, located at North Point Shopping Center along Knoxville Avenue, and the old K’s Merchandise building, located at the corner of Sommer Street and Pioneer Parkway. However, the current asking price for Festival Foods is significantly high, and both buildings are much larger than the proposed library space of 35,000 to 40,000 square feet. The report also states that the ideal site or building chosen should possess a significant location to a major street so that the public can find it easily. Sandberg claims that although citizens are pulling for the purchase of an existing building, buying undeveloped land may be the cheaper option. “We have to do what is most cost-effective,” he says.

The Library Board has also consulted citizens regarding a suitable location for the new library. According to Szynaka, the Board plans to keep the selection process open to public opinion as a way of continuing to promote good relations with voters who supported the library expansion project last year.

Once a location is determined, an existing one level of commercial property will be renovated. The earliest construction date is estimated to be in the summer of 2009.

Improvements &Additions

Aside from the selection of a new north branch, much discussion has been raised regarding improvements to existing branch locations. The downtown branch, located on 107 N.E. Monroe and built in 1967, is in sufficient need of repairs as well as upgrades in technology. Four of the five levels of the existing main branch library will be updated; two of the levels are below ground, and two are above ground. According to a draft report of the Peoria Public Library Building Programming Study drawn up on March 13 of this year, updating the main branch includes refinishing 21,395 square feet of existing space and renovating 56,126 square feet of existing space on the four levels. Improvements will involve replacing floor and ceiling finishes as well as repainting walls.

Technological improvements are also a priority. “Upgrading computers and information technology is a huge component to increasing the quality of our local libraries,” says Sandberg. The City Councilman claims that interior improvements to the downtown library will help bring the library up to twenty-first century standards rather than those of the twentieth century. Bringing the downtown library up-to-date involves increasing customer self-sufficiency by allowing customers to check out books themselves with the implementation of a self-serve system similar to the systems in local grocery stores. “There’s a lot of new demands and new services to be brought in that the citizens want,” he says.

According to Szynaka, the interior of the downtown library should be renovated with the goal of increasing efficiency. Promoting efficient workflow means having the right amount of space to work effectively with various resources. Szynaka says that space will be created by opening up the area below the first floor of the library to the public. The board will also evaluate the library’s collection of antique volumes. The volumes are part of the library’s original collection. “When we finish with this project, all of the libraries will have the physical space to house the private collections of all the locations,” Szynaka says.

In addition to interior improvements in the existing facility, the main branch will also receive a 6,292 square foot four-story addition located along the building’s Northeast side. The addition will include a glass entry volume circulation tower with stairs and elevator, washrooms, and accessory spaces. Other building strategies include relocating the library entrance to the north side of the building, adjacent to the parking lot and Monroe Street. The earliest construction date for the new addition is estimated to be the summer of 2009.

The Lakeview branch, located on 1137 West Lake Avenue, will also require expansion and renovation. The addition to the old facility, now approximately 12,000 square feet, will be 20,212 square feet and will be one level to match the existing building. The new addition will be located along the North and East facade of the library.

The library system’s Lincoln Avenue branch, located on the south side of the city, west of downtown, will also undergo expansion. The addition will be one level approximately 14,016 square feet and will be located along the south façade of the existing building. Construction for both the Lincoln and Lakeview branches is estimated to begin in the summer of 2010.

Located in a residential neighborhood west of the intersection between McClure and Knoxville Avenue, the McClure Branch will experience no new additions at this time due to the fact that the library is located on a flood plain. Instead, both levels of the branch will undergo renovation, including repainting and refinishing walls and floors.

All library locations will have the same types of facilities with the same level of quality. “All of our library locations will have designated functional uses in the buildings for computers as well as equal meeting room facilities,” says Szynaka.

Szynaka claims interior improvements to the library branches will not require the hiring of new employees. The City Council wishes to forgo creating more jobs in order to stay within the limits of the $8.2 million operational budget. Keeping the same number of employees will require redesigning the downtown library to eliminate some working compartments. “In 1968, the downtown building was constructed to be compartmentalized in order to fit the outline of having several employees,” says Sandberg. “By opening up the first floor, it will eliminate the compartments, and we can move some of the employees from downtown to staff the north branch.”

Looking Ahead

Although the library expansion has been nearly a decade in the making—eight years to be exact—project leaders claim meeting deadlines is not the priority. “The main thing we are concerned with right now is the process,” says Sandberg. “We’re not so much concerned with rushing the process in order to meet a deadline as we are with taking the time we need to do it right, use the $35 million bond referendum, and ultimately meet the needs of the citizens.”

Rakoff agrees and adds: “This project has been worked on for a long time. But the important thing is that the library is going through all the steps it needs to in order to ensure what’s best for the people.”

Members of the Library Board as well as the City Council are optimistic that improving the library system will lead to community development and economic growth. And with the demand for the city’s library services on the rise, it’s likely Peoria citizens will reap rewards on their investment.

Don’t you just love those small business success stories? They make the average person believe that just maybe they too can follow their dream and be successful. While it can be a long road to get to that success, finding the right combination of priorities is important. If you can make yourself an expert at what you want to do, if you can go at it in earnest and sincerity, and if you’re willing to work hard, just maybe you too can do it.

That’s exactly what Raymond and Kathy Arnold did when they started Central Illinois Courier back in 1997. They started with just two vehicles - a family extended van and the purchase of a box truck - working from their home making local deliveries at all hours. Ray Arnold had spent quite a few years working in the trucking industry and strongly felt that customer service was missing from such delivery services. Read the rest of this entry »

School District 150 is in the middle of another controversy—again. This time it’s about reducing the school day for all primary students by 45 minutes. A few schools, like Edison, will not be affected by the ruling.

The school board accepted the recommendation for a shorter school day made by Ken Hinton, superintendent. Shortening the day should save the district an estimated $645,000 says Hinton. However, a number of parents, teachers and others are saying, “Not so fast.” They want school board members and District 150 officials to consider other alternatives to reduce the district’s budget.

One of the objectors is Diane Vespa, mother of two children and a well-known realtor. Appearing on WOAM’s “Breakfast with Royce and Roger,” Vespa argued that a reduction of the school day will be harmful to students and will create hardships for parents. “Parents will have to change work schedules to accommodate the new departure and arrival times for their children,” Vespa said. “I don’t think the decision was thoughtfully considered by the board,” she stated. “There are alternative ways of reducing the deficit,” Vespa added.

Former board member Alicia Butler suggested district officials should give consideration to alternatives that have the least impact on students and parents. “A reduction of the school day has an immediate and direct negative impact on children,” Butler said.

Several knowledgeable and experienced educators and interested people have been meeting to study ways to help the school district reduce the budget deficit by the desired $645,000. Here are some of the cost-saving measures they recommend:

1. An immediate freeze on filling new positions.
2. Elimination or reduction of the number of cell phones by school personnel.
3. Institute a bidding process for all legal and auditing services.
4. Sell all of the homes on Prospect Road that cost the district $877,500.
5. Sell White & Loucks schools.
6. End the practice of allowing district vehicles to be driven to and from employee homes each day.
7. Evaluate the need for assistant principal positions at schools with student populations under 400.
8. Re-evaluate administrative staffing.
9. Eliminate rehiring retired administrators as consultants.
10. Eliminate all overtime except campus police for extra-curricular events.
11. End all travel except when paid for by grants.
12. Revisit outsourcing services including food service.

Wow! That’s an impressive list of alternative ways to save district revenue. It sure beats reducing the school day. Hopefully, the District 150 board will look at these suggestions and reconsider the decision to reduce the school day for 2008-2009. Read the rest of this entry »

June should be Computer Month, and it’s a fine time to starting recycling common materials most folks may not even see as waste.

Or as toxic.

Computer scientists Howard Engstrom and Maurice V. Wilkes were born in June (on June 21, 1902, and June 23, 1913, respectively).

The first commercial electronic computer, UNIVAC 1, was dedicated at the U.S. Census Bureau on June 14, 1951. Three years earlier, on June 21, a computer used a stored program for the first time at the University of Manchester in England.

More recently, the personal computer was given a boost on June 10, 1977, when Apple shipped its first Apple II models. And on June 8, 1979, the first computer information service, The Source, went online.

Finally, the woman recognized as the first computer programmer, Lord Byron’s daughter, Ada Lovelace, on June 5, 1833, met British mathematician and engineer Charles Babbage, who’d invent the first mechanical computer.

June is more than a time for brides, then.

This June is a good time to realize that computers eventually make up a huge part of the stream of electronic waste – “e-waste” – that threatens people and communities’ landfills.

“Electronic waste is something that a lot of people don’t really know much about,” says Karen Raithel, recycling director for Peoria County. “There are computer components and parts of TVs and other devices we just don’t associate with batteries and oil and so on.” Read the rest of this entry »

The World Trade Center in New York was officially dedicated in 1973. That was the year Spiro Agnew resigned from the Vice Presidency charged with income tax evasion. A first class stamp cost only eight cents. Watergate hearings began, and the Miami Dolphins won the Super Bowl after an undefeated season.

But many associate 1973 with the OPEC Oil Embargo. Mostly Arab nations got together, motivated perhaps by the Yom Kippur War, and decided to use the oil weapon against allies of Israel, mainly the United States and the Netherlands.

Oil supplies were cut off, resulting in shortages, price increase, and an economic downturn. There were long lines and lots of waiting at gas stations. The price of oil quadrupled by 1974.
Read the rest of this entry »

You know, for a moment there last month, I had hope.

The administrators who run Peoria School District 150 wanted to cut 45 minutes out of the schedule at all of Peoria’s primary schools. They also wanted to fire part-time teachers of music and art. The savings is about $650,000. They rushed to get the change on the agenda for the May 5 school board meeting.

Thanks to a lack of media coverage at that time, it looked like it was going to be approved.

Then I ran into some friends, who were livid. I wrote about it on PeoriaPundit.com. Then other bloggers wrote about it. Then WHOI picked up the story. Some school board members showed up at a meeting of concerned parents.

And for a while it looked like the stink being raised would prompt the school board to wise up and find some other way to make the cuts they needed (the Edison Schools contract project and the bloated administration itself come to mind).

And that’s how things stood when I submitted last month’s City Beat column. Read the rest of this entry »

I had some thoughts on some of Peoria’s recent news items that I thought I’d share with the Community Word readers.

The first item of interest is District 150’s latest cost-saving efforts. While it is usually quite acceptable by taxpayers for schools to be conscientious of their spending, no one truly believes that cutting 45 minutes off of the grade school’ day is a cost-saving effort. Nor do they believe that this would be of great educational value for the students. My two grown kids are products of District 150 and I was an active parent doing all I could to support the school system. I was a Parent-Teacher officer on several PTO boards within District 150. In fact, when my husband and I decided to move 15 years ago, we made a concerted decision to stay within District 150. Not too sure I’d make that same decision today. Some years ago the school district pushed for year round school, saying they desperately needed more time with the students in order to teach them everything they needed to teach. And, now they say less time is better. hmmmm. I’m no longer “plugged in” at the school district and cannot really make any proclamations on this decision. But, I do know enough to understand that something is up. I applaud receent parents’ efforts to make their opinions known, to apply pressure, and to make preparations to focus on future school board elections.

Another “hot topic” in the city, one that’s a true sign of summer weather, seems to be about loud stereo systems loudly playing as the drivers tool around town. While I am bothered by those loud systems shaking my car and blocking out my ability to talk to my passengers or listen to my radio, or even to hear necessary traffic noises, I’m equally bothered by the fact that besides getting tickets for their noise pollution, their cars are impounded. Excuse me? Do we impound cars for other tickets? If I get a speeding ticket, my car is not impounded. I encourage the police to continue to write the tickets. But, I’d also encourage city leaders to reconsider the impounding of vehicles for this infraction.

Another topic of concern does not relate to only Peoria, but rather to all Americans that filed an income tax return. And, that topic concerns those people who have or will receive a 2007 income tax return. They are eligible for a “stimulus check.” Our president wants us to spend this money in order to stimulate the economy. Whether or not this works remains to be seen. But, the various “rules and regulations” used to deny or to restrict access to such payments makes one wonder just how badly they really want us to spend this money. First of all, we learn that many college students who qualify for this money in every other way, do NOT get a stimulus check because they’re listed as a dependent on their parents’ income tax return. In spite of advice and/or opinions from others, the money does NOT go to the parents’ return either because a qualifying child is under the age of 18. But, I recently heard (via an email) from the very popular TurboTax, the software program I used to file my tax return. It seems that if I e-filed through TurboTax, we do NOT get our automatic deposit in May, as promised and promoted everywhere. There’s a quirky thing, they explain, that because TurboTax uses a bank to deposit funds into individuals’ bank accounts, the IRS cannot deposit the stimulus money into the taxpayers’ accounts. So, believe it or not, those of us who filed with TurboTax will have to wait for paper checks to be written and MAILED to our homes. It will be at least mid-June before those checks will arrive. Stimulate the economy when?

Graduation is indeed an accomplishment worth celebrating - a time to reflect on hard work and good times. For high school seniors, it’s like a wedding. Students order invitations, gowns, rings and flowers. They attend rehearsals and welcome relatives from far away. They pose for endless pictures, hug everyone at least once and secretly wish they could skip the formalities and go right to the reception. Most of all, they nurse a nagging tension that life is about to change forever.

When ceremony night finally arrives seniors mingle aimlessly outside the auditorium while moms fuss over caps and straighten ties. Their dads stand stiffly by in the obligatory suit. Aunts and uncles spread their coats, purses and programs across multiple seats in the auditorium attempting to flag down the rest of their entourage. All eyes are misty and hearts swollen with pride as the band breaks into Pomp and Circumstance.

After what seems like hours, names are called A to Z and Reality hands each senior a certificate. It reads, “Welcome to the rest of your life Graduate! This hereby certifies that you are fully responsible for the knowledge you’ve attained. As of this moment you are completely responsible for your actions, your choices and your debts. Now you are the parent – discipline, correct and organize yourself. Here is your own voice! Speak with thought, wisdom and passion. Give to the world what you have been given to share expecting nothing in return. There are no guarantees. Honor your parents, obey the laws of the land and fear God.”

It seems that not a ceremony is held without these somber reminders, yet rarely is there a graduate who is listening. Many see the diploma as an end in itself instead of a means to an end. For those who hold that attitude, life is an upward climb. They turn off their ears when the ceremony is over and throw away lessons learned like a cap and tassel flipped in the air – as if to say, “I got the paper, that’s all I need.” The gown comes off and they expect everything to just fall into place. They step out into society and act as if the government owes them a living. They grumble and complain about their taxes and jobs. Just moments after they leave the classroom they forget that back-talking and fighting once cost them a trip to the principle’s office.

Then, they have kids. Some sit in their children’s graduation ceremony and wish for a chance to do it over. They swallow hard as their child’s name is called and pray for something wise to say - regretting that their lifestyle has already said too much. For the few who met the challenge of their diploma, their children’s graduation is their reward.

Perhaps some of us need to step back into the classroom. “My people die from lack of knowledge” God says in His word. Wisdom cries out in the streets, “Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies and nothing you desire can compare with her.” Proverbs 8:10, 11. Let’s graduate from our childish ways. Let’s change our major from ignorance to integrity and learn how to keep our children from killing each other in their schools. We can all graduate with honors if we study God’s textbook, learn our lessons and pass the tests.

Training began in earnest January 1st. While we are not an inherently athletic family, my children participated in sports in school including basketball, volleyball, soccer, and baseball. Collectively they achieved a respectable level of success and then some. Obviously I’m not totally impartial. Moms never are.

As adults they aren’t dashing to the gym or the golf course, but they’re not couch potatoes either. We recognize the value of moving in some form.