Don’t miss the opportunity to experience Pioneer Days this Sunday, August 31, 1-4 p.m. at the
Peoria Park District’s W.H. Sommer Park!         

          Come to Sommer Park this Sunday and experience firsthand the daily life of rural Peorians in the mid 19th century at our pioneer homestead and schoolhouse! Pioneer activities will include children’s games, marble making, blacksmithing, cemetery tours, horse-drawn hayrides and more.

          The last two Pioneer Days of the season will be held on Sunday, September 28, and Sunday, October 19, from 1-4 p.m.

             The admission cost is just $2 per person for ages 3 and up, and hayrack rides are FREE. W.H. Sommer Park is located on Koerner Road, between Route 150 and Charter Oak Road, west of the Shoppes at Grand Prairie.

             For additional information, call (309) 691-8423 or visit www.peoriaparks.org 

Fourth Forum in Statewide Series Builds on Momentum of Decatur, Alton and Belleville

A town hall meeting on global warming sponsored by the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC) and Environment Illinois originally scheduled to take place Aug. 28 in Peoria has been moved to Tuesday, Sept. 9, because of a conflict with the Democratic National Convention.

            The public forum, which is co-hosted by the Forest Park Nature Center , Heart of Illinois (HOI) Sierra Club, and the Central Illinois Global Warming Solutions Group, will run from 7:30-9 p.m. at the Forest Park Nature Center, 5809 Forest Park Dr. , Peoria Heights.  Admission is free and open to the public.

            Aur J. Beck, an alternative energy and global warming expert who runs Advanced Energy Solutions in Carbondale , headlines the town hall meeting. He is a founder and board member of the Illinois Renewable Energy Association and the Southern Illinois Center for a Sustainable Future and a speaker trained by The Climate Project, the nonprofit, nonpartisan project founded by former Vice President Al Gore. 

            Local speakers include John Mullen of the Forest Park Nature Center , Bob Jorgenson, chair of the HOI Sierra Club, and Kiersten Sheets, a member of the Central Illinois Global Warming Solutions Group.  The meeting will also include a short talk by local astronomer and global warming authority Sheldon Schafer, the vice president of education and planetarium director at Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences. 

            “Sun spots and natural astronomical cycles have contributed to climate change historically, and may have some very small effect today, but all the evidence indicates that human activity plays a vastly greater role in what we’re seeing” said Schafer.  “The majority of scientists agree on this point, but this message sometimes gets drowned out by the objections of a few skeptics.”

            The participation of so many local groups in the Peoria public forum on global warming underscores the fact that area residents recognize the reality of climate change and the need for everyone to help find a solution, according to IEC Executive Director Jonathan Goldman.

            “It’s great to see so many people interested and involved in this issue in Peoria .  It gives me hope that we will be able to muster the political will in this state to pass legislation that will curb Illinois’ contribution to global warming,” he said.

            IEC will discuss legislative options such as the Global Warming Response Act (SB2220/HB5254) and Illinois Clean Cars Act (HB 3424/SB 2238), which were introduced in
Springfield last spring.  Environment Illinois will explore energy efficiency as a solution.

            The generation of electricity continues to be the greatest contributor to global warming, with the amount of this pollution produced by electricity up 80% in Illinois since 1990, according to Brian Granahan, staff attorney for Environment Illinois

“Energy efficiency is the cleanest and most cost-effective means for addressing growing energy demand and its environmental impact,” said Granahan.  “Demand for energy in Illinois has risen approximately 2% per year since 1990.  Swift action is imperative, and increased energy efficiency is the solution we can get online and operating most quickly.” 

A recent report by Architecture 2030, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group based in Santa Fe , found that increasing building efficiency in order to gain one quad of energy — roughly 1% of our nation’s total consumption — would cost $42.1 billion.  At the same time, the report indicated that achieving this increase through new coal plants would cost three times as much ($122 billion) and at least five times ($222 billion) as much through new nuclear plants.

          The Peoria public forum on global warming is part of a statewide series sponsored by IEC that kicked off in Decatur June 24 and came to Alton Aug. 12.  The events attracted more than 140 interested citizens as well as local legislators and significant media coverage. 

The next stop in the global warming series is Belleville on Aug. 27, followed by the Peoria forum Sept. 9, two events that are co-sponsored by Environment Illinois as a part of its own summer town hall series on energy efficiency that began in Bloomington July 29.  The final event in IEC’s series is in Carbondale Sept. 16, when it participates in “The Cascading Effects of Global Warming—What Can I Do NOW?” 

The Carbondale event takes place at Southern Illinois University is sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Jackson County; Shawnee Group Sierra Club; United Nations Association-USA of Southern Illinois; SIU Student Environmental Center, Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, OxFam International and the League of Women Voters-U.S.

            For more information about IEC’s global warming series, call 217-544-5954 or visit www.ilenviro.org.  For more information about Environment Illinois’ series, call 312-291-0696 or visit  www.environmentillinois.org                   

The Holistic Health Center located at 4809 N. Sheridan Rd. , Peoria would like to welcome our newest Doctor of Chiropractic Sheena Gordon with New Life Chiropractic of Peoria.

She is now accepting new patients of all ages. For appointment call (309)685-5777.

Dr. Nicole Lackner and Dr. Sheena Gordon located at the Holistic Health Center, 4809 N. Sheridan Rd., Peoria will be participating in Wildlife Prairie Park’s-Wellness in the Wild on Saturday August 30th from 10am to 5pm.

Dr. Nicole Lackner and Dr. Sheena Gordon will be performing complimentary Chiropractic evaluations using the latest in Chiropractic technology-The Myovision. This computerized evaluation tool scans the spine and helps assess the spine for areas of abnormal activity. They will also be providing articles on a variety of health topics.

Bradley
University will welcome students back for the Fall semester this weekend.

The residence halls, home to about 2200 students, open at 8 a.m. on Saturday and at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday. Fraternity and sorority members will be available at each residence hall to help students and parents unload their cars.

It is expected that traffic will be heavy in the area around the University throughout the weekend. The Main and University intersection as well as Western and Bradley avenues and Farmington Road will be particularly congested on Saturday morning and motorists should expect delays when traveling in those areas.

Among the activities for Welcome Week at Bradley are the annual Activities and Volunteer Fair on Monday and the Ribs for Cribs fundraiser on Tuesday.

The Activities and Volunteer Fair will be held from 1:00 – 4:00 at Founder’s Circle. Thirty community agencies will be represented at the Fair as well as hundreds of campus organizations.

The Panhellenic Council and Interfraternity Council will host the Ribs for Cribs fundraising event on Tuesday during the All-School Picnic from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. at Meinen Field.  The cost is $5 and proceeds will go to the Bradley chapter of Habitat for Humanity.

Fall semester classes begin on Wednesday, August 27^th.

Apple’s Bakery, Inc. is pleased to announce the launch of its new blog site – www.smilesmadefromscratch.com .  This space will focus on Apple’s Bakery’s business of high-quality healthy baked goods and will highlight the company’s fastest growing division, the gluten-free kitchen.

The purpose of the blog site is to promote conversations about gluten-free alternatives, food and business trends, issues related to Chicagoland and Central Illinois, and Apple’s Bakery’s exciting endeavors such as the promotional program Corporate Call.

Mary Ardapple, owner, stated “Apple’s Bakery is committed to providing healthy and delicious gluten-free baked goods to those with Celiac disease and those simply looking for alternatives.  Smilesmadefromscratch.com will be a great forum for me to share my thoughts and to receive feedback from consumers.”

Apple’s Bakery is partnering with a Chicago firm Canright Communications, Inc. (www.canrightcommunications.com) to produce the blog. 

 Since 1989, Apple’s Bakery has worked to carve out a niche as a gateway to Midwestern hospitality. With the best customer service and farm-style scratch baked goods in
Central Illinois, Apple’s Bakery strives to facilitate conversations through their “smiles made from scratch” philosophy. 

Kevin Lyons and Darin LaHood will be at the West Peoria Presidents Assoc. for a one-on-one debate.

 TONIGHT - August 21st from 7:00 - 7:45 p.m.

Location: West Peoria City Hall, 2506 West Rohman Ave.

 Call WPRA President, Dave Pittman at 676-5237 or email at dvdpttmn@aol.com

August 20^th @ 5:30 p.m. at the Gateway Building, 100 NE Water St.   

Delegates include: Margaret “Maggie” Koehler, Senator John Sullivan Jackie Petty, Robert Markham & General Parker 

Speakers: Colleen Callahan, Jehan Gordon, Steve Schmidt & Kevin Lyons, Allen Mayer and Sen. Dave Koehler to speak

Bauer Power, the largest installer of renewable energy products in West Michigan, announces the opening of it’s new office in Dunlap, Illinois. A provider of renewable energy solutions for residential and commercial applications since 2002, Bauer Power serves customers throughout the Midwest, specializing in solar electricity, wind electricity, solar water heating, and solar pool heating.

Their commitment and experience as renewable energy installers and educators provides customers with smart and affordable alternative solutions to conventional power choices. Their services include site surveys, design, and installation, as well as an Energy Consumption Intervention (ECI) to help customers determine where and how to cut energy costs.

 Bauer Power is a proud member of the American Solar Energy Society; American Wind Energy Association; Co-op America; Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association; Michigan Renewable Energy Association; Southwest Michigan Sustainable Business Forum; and the U.S.Green Building Council.In addition to recently installing the largest thermal array (200 collectors), Bauer Power recently received the Dealer/Installer Contract for Cascade Engineering’s SWIFT RooftopWind Turbine. This agreement authorizes Bauer Power to be the sole company to sell and install the first building-mountable, vibration-free, residential/commercial wind turbine. Bauer Power is an authorized dealer for Schuco, the leading supplier in the solar energy field; Sharp, the #1 manufacturer of cost-effective, quiet, attractive, safe, and reliable solar cells worldwide; SMA, supplier of renewable energy markets with the most efficient and reliable inverters available; Southwest Windpower, the world’s largest producer of small and reliable wind generators; Xantrex grid-tie and off-grid systems; and Alternative Energy Technologies, LLC, specialist in manufacturing solar thermal collectors and solar hot water. Their new office is located at 1715 W. Woodside Drive in Dunlap. For more information or interviews, contact Bauer Power at 309-243-1500.

Beyond Breast Cancer Support Group

Wednesday, August 13th

5:30 - 6:00 p.m. - Networking & Support

6:00 - 7:00 p.m. - Speaker

Center for Health, Rte. 91, First Floor Conference Room.

 ”Self-Care Thru Your Feet” will be presented by Becky Cobb, Reflexology by Becky.