The Peoria Historical Society has planned a bus trip for June 2-5 to Wilson Creek-Pea Ridge & Branson. Travel will be by Deluxe Peoria Charter Coach. The travelers will stay at the Branson Radisson.

 You will enjoy lectures and visits to Civil War Battlefields by day and dinner and shows in Branson by night.

Contact Amy Kelly at 674-1921 to book your trip.

The Peoria Park District’s Newman Golf Course, 2021 W Nebraska, and Donovan Golf Course, 5805
N Knoxville are now open. 

Newman, Donovan, Kellogg and Madison are now scheduled to remain open for the season, weather permitting.  For more information, contact Golf Operations at 689-3329.

Motorcyclists Take to the Road May 10^th for the 12^th Annual Komen Motorcycle Ride for the Cure® Fundraising Event. 

May 10, 2008 – The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Peoria Memorial Affiliate announces the return of the Ride for the Cure® to raise funds to eradicate breast cancer as well as to promote breast cancer awareness and education. Last year, the event’s committee adopted the motto “Live To Ride … Ride So Others Might Live” in hopes of encouraging everyone to make a difference in this battle. All riders wanting to take part in the parade of motorcycles may register online at www.komenpeoria.org or by using a Race for the Cure application. The first 1,500 participants to register for the Ride will receive a commemorative t-shirt. Registration is $25 per person. Team registration is also available.

With the popularity of this event, two Rally starting points will again be offered in Bloomington and
Springfield. Riders can meet at Chuck’s Harley-Davidson (

Springfield. These two rally points open at 9 a.m. on May 10^th, and both groups will depart for
Peoria at 10:15 a.m. with police escorts. Motorcyclists from the Peoria area may begin sign in at 10 a.m. at The Shoppes at Grand Prairie, just off of Routes 91 and 150 in
Peoria. The parade will leave from The Shoppes at
Grand Prairie at Noon on Saturday May 10^th.  The destination will be
Exposition
Gardens located on

Peoria.  Post-ride festivities include lunch, entertainment, and both live and silent auctions. 

If you’d like more information or to schedule an interview with a member of the Ride committee, please call Chris Reynolds at 309-685-8019; Keith Jenkins (Bloomington/Springfield information) at 309-452-9534; or
Joyce Harlan (
Peoria information) 309-745-9470. Email inquiries should be sent to: rideforthecure@insightbb.com.

GREEN VIEW NURSERY HOSTS FREESPRING SEMINARS THIS APRIL  

Green View Nursery, an expert in plants and landscaping, will once again hold free Saturday morning seminars this April. Seminars will be held on Saturday, April 12 and Saturday, April 26 at the Dunlap facility, located at

. 

Seminars are free and open to the public. For more information call Green View’s

Garden
Center at 309.243.7761 or visit Green View’s web site at www.greenview.com. 

April Seminar Schedule:To reserve seating please call Green View at 309.243.7761.Saturday, April 1210am “Annuals for 2008”Seminar by Scott Mozingo, Ball Horticultural Company Discover the annuals available this year for your landscape and garden. Mozingo is a representative of Ball Horticultural Company, an internationally renowned breeder, producer and wholesale distributor of ornamental plants. 

11am “Spring Blooming Trees & Shrubs”Seminar by Green View NurseryLearn about colorful blooming trees and shrubs that can provide the visual interest your early spring landscape needs. 

Saturday, April 2610am “All About Trees”Seminar by Green View Nursery

Stop in the Saturday after Arbor Day to learn about trees. Find out the difference between shade and flowering trees, which ones are best suited to growing in the Midwest, how best to care for the trees in your yard, and much more!

To find out more about Green View, visit www.greenview.com.

AMERICAN WATER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL GRANT PROGRAM IN
ILLINOIS

American Water is now accepting applications for its Environmental Grant Program to support innovative, community-based environmental projects that improve, restore or protect watersheds and community drinking water supplies.

Grants of up to $10,000 will be provided. Examples of activities supported by the program include watershed cleanups, reforestation efforts, underground tank inspection programs, biodiversity projects, streamside buffer restoration projects, wellhead protection initiatives and hazardous waste collection efforts.

“Every individual and community has the ability to positively impact our source water and watersheds,” said Karla Teasley, president, Illinois American Water.  ”We encourage communities, schools and non-governmental organizations to consider their impact and to apply for a grant.There are opportunities for communities to lend the water supply and watershed a helping hand,” continued Teasley. “It is American Water’s hope that this environmental grant program will support and enable our communities to improve the sustainability of this precious natural resource.”

To qualify, a proposed project must be located within Illinois American Water’s service area, be completed between June 1, 2008 and November 1, 2008, and be a new or innovative initiative for the community or serve as significant expansion to an existing program. Projects will be judged based on criteria including clarity of project goals and projected impact, nature and strength of collaboration with other community and/or municipal organizations, evidence that the project will provide sustainable environmental results after the American Water funding ends.

Grant application forms and additional information can be found at www.amwater.com.  Applications must be postmarked by April 11, 2008, and mailed to American Water,

. Attn: Kristin Ferguson.
More information can be found by visiting www.amwater.com.  

In its ongoing efforts to improve patient safety, OSF Saint Francis Medical Center has created two medication safety officer positions and has named two pharmacists to fill them.
The medication safety officers are Karin Terry and Sandy Salverson, who have been pharmacists at OSF Saint Francis for seven and five years respectively. Specifically, Terry is based in the Pharmacy and is the “micro systems” medication safety officer, meaning that she primarily will be looking at safe medication processes within the Pharmacy, whereas Salverson, as part of the Safety and Quality department, is the “macro systems” safety officer, and, as such, will be looking at safe medication processes house-wide.
Helping the medication safety officers address medication safety is a Pharmacy committee that looks at “near misses” to see how an error almost occurred so that any problems in the process can be fixed. Peminic event reporting also is instrumental in identifying and resolving issues related to medication safety.
Staff play a major role in helping Terry and Salverson improve medication safety and achieve the goal of “right drug, right dose, right time and right route.” “Our process improvement is only as good as the information we receive,” Terry said.
Terry and Salverson welcome input from staff and may be contacted at 655-3390 and 655-2719 respectively.

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