Do you have a great idea to improve the neighborhood but you’re not sure how to accomplish it? Is there a problem in on your street that could be fixed if….? We can help you – help yourself! The East Bluff Community Center, 512 E. Kansas, will be hosting a series of seminars designed to empower residents so they can implement lasting neighborhood improvements. The sessions are free and food, door prizes, and good company are included! Seminars start on Tuesday, August 25 and you can register online http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c054aa8a72ba1fb6-east or visit our Facebook page, East Bluff Neighborhood Academy, to view the schedule. For more information contact ebnapeoria@gmail.com or call the Center at (309) 682-5823, ext. 2.  We hope to see you there!

WHO: Title Sponsor Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino will present their sponsorship check to The Center for Prevention of Abuse. Friends and fans of the Duck Race, volunteers and staff will be there to cheer on the winningducks.

WHAT: DUCKS!! Thousands of Yellow Rubber Ducks will be launched into the Illinois River to race for prizes. Grand Prize is $5000.00 sponsored by Associated Bank.

• Food for purchase from Haddad’s Restaurant Food Cart
• Emack and Bolio’s Ice Cream
• The Unique Twist
• Kid’s Games

WHEN: Saturday, August 23, 2014

• Fun starts at Noon
• Ducks Race @ 2:00pm
• Winners announced before 2:30pm

WHERE: Peoria Riverfront Marina next to the Spirit of Peoria.

WHY: To raise funds to help fill the gaps of needed services in our communities including:

• Additional Prevention Educators to meet the great demand of teaching kids how to keep their bodies safe, respect others, build healthy relationships and solve problems in a positive way.
• Additional Therapist to help children and adults who have been abused and who are on the waiting list.
• Additional Adult Protective Services Caseworkers to meet the steady rise in monthly intakes of abuse, neglect and financial exploitation of adults over 60 and adults with disabilities 18 – 59.

“The support from the community and the increased awareness about the mission of The Center is extremely important,” says Martha Herm, Executive Director. “With cuts to human services, we need the race to bring in record sales to support our work throughout central Illinois.”

Starting Monday, August 25, Water Street will be closed at the intersection of Water and State Streets.    This intersection work will be done in two stages.

• For the first few weeks, the Water Street side of the intersection will be re-built.  Once complete, the work will move to the other side of the intersection (adjacent to WTVP), at which time access from Water Street to State Street will re-open.  ·
• State Street will remain open throughout the intersection re-construction, from Adams Street to the river, to provide access to the Post Office and ELM.  It will be reduced to one lane during work hours, and flaggers will control traffic.  A detour for Post Office/ELM access will also be posted thru the Water Street parking lot.
• Planter boxes, lighting, sidewalks, and decorative brick will be installed to complete the construction on State Street, from Water Street to Adams, by the end of October.  Finally, later this fall, State Street will be re-surfaced from Water Street to Adams Street.

Reminder, the next public meeting is on Thursday, September 4. 

What :   TIGER II / Washington Street Public Update When:    Thursday, September 4, 2014                 5:00 PM-6:00 PM Where:   Art Guild – 2nd Floor                203 Harrison Street

If you have any questions or comments regarding the Warehouse District TIGER II Project, please visit our website at http://www.warehousedistrictpeoria.com.  You can also contact Karen Dvorksy directly at kdvorsky@terraengineering.com or at (309) 472-3132.  Thank you for your continued patience as we work to make the Warehouse District a safer, more accessible, and more attractive place to live, work, and shop right here in the heart of Peoria.

The City of Peoria has been installing flashing yellow arrow left-turn signals at various locations as part of the city’s signal system upgrades. A National study found that drivers make fewer mistakes with the flashing yellow left-hand turn arrow; and the new left-turn signals improve intersection efficiency by allowing more left turns during the light sequence.

What the arrows mean:

• Solid red arrow: Drivers intending to turn left must stop and wait. Do not enter an intersection to turn when a solid red arrow is being displayed
• Solid yellow arrow: The left-turn signal is about to change to red and drivers should prepare to stop or prepare to complete a left turn if they are legally within the intersection and there is no conflicting traffic present.
• Flashing yellow arrow: Drivers are allowed to turn left after yielding to all oncoming traffic and to any pedestrians in the crosswalk. Oncoming traffic has a green light. Drivers must wait for a safe gap in oncoming traffic before turning.
• Solid green arrow: Left turns have the right of way. Oncoming traffic has a red light.

Some of the locations that you will find flashing yellow lights are Allen and Wilhelm, and IDOT has also placed some on the War Memorial Corridor and the KnoxvilleCorridor.  To download a free brochure, please visit the City of Peoria’s website at:

http://www.peoriagov.org/content/uploads/2012/11/Flashing_Yellow_Arrows.pdf  

or contact the City Traffic Engineer Nick Stoffer, at (309) 494-8800.

Event:  Riverfront Museum ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Date & Time:  Mon., Aug. 25, 5:15 p.m.

Location:  Sun Plaza · Peoria Riverfront Museum · 222 SW Washington St. · Peoria 

The Riverfront Museum CEO, staff and board members will be cooling down for a good cause this Monday afternoon. Museum associates will be collectively taking the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, in order to draw attention to the need to support research for ALS – a rapidly progressive and fatal neurological disease – and other diseases like it. 

“Our goal is to increase public knowledge about ALS by joining with others in this fun effort to draw attention to a serious need for research funding,” said Sam Gappmayer, museum president and CEO. 

“It’s important to fund scientific research,” said Renae Kerrigan, the museum’s planetarium curator. “The application of science has the power to change the world, and funding research into treatment or a cure for ALS could change the worlds of thousands of families.”  

The Museum’s ALS Ice Bucket Challenge will be taking place on the Sun Plaza, Mon., Aug. 25 at 5:15 p.m. 

After completing the Challenge, the Museum will be issuing a challenge to three other local organizations – Peoria Park District, Peoria Symphony Orchestra and Peoria Civic Center.

ArtsPartners of Central Illinois, Inc. is now accepting nominations for the 2014 ArtsPartner of the Year Award.  This award is designed to recognize exemplary support and service to the local arts which has ultimately resulted in a stronger and more vital cultural arts environment in the Peoria area.

We will announce the 2014 ArtsPartner of the Year winner at our Annual Meeting on Wednesday, October 15 at The Waterhouse.

When nominating a candidate, consider the length and breadth of involvement in the arts as well as the impact the candidate’s actions has had on local arts here in the Peoria area. We are looking for candidates who have demonstrated outstanding efforts in the areas of advocacy, education, professional service, volunteer service, or funding of the arts. The nominee does not have to be an artist. The nominee can be an entity, such as a corporation or municipal body.

Send your nomination letter along with three (3) additional letters of support via email to admin@artspartners.net by Friday, September 26. Please include the following information with your submission:

• Your nominee’s name
• Organization(s) or program(s) the nominee has served
• Number of years your nominee has been involved in the arts
• Fully describe the role your nominee has played in support of the arts
• Your nominee’s most important contribution to the arts

Be sure to also include the following with your submission:

• Your name
• Mailing address
• Phone number
• Email address

Past winners of the award are Jim Maloof (2001); Jim Thrush (2002); Arts Alive! Magazine published by Central Illinois Business Publishers (2003); WTVP-47 (2004); The Peoria Park District (2005); Sally Page of Lakeview Museum (2006); Nita Sunderland (2007); Dr. George and Norma Kottemann (2008); Illinois Central College Department of Arts & Communication and Kathy Chitwood of Eastlight Theatre (2009); Vic Burnett (2010); Jeffrey Huberman (2011); Doug and Eileen Leunig (2012); Bob and Joan Ericksen (2013).

The mission of ArtsPartners of Central Illinois is to increase the vitality of arts and culture in the area.  ArtsPartners was founded in 1999 as a non-profit organization funded in part by the dedication of 2.5% of the collected restaurant tax, through a cooperative agreement between the City of Peoria and the Peoria Civic Center Authority.  Operational funds are also received from the Illinois Arts Council, an agency of the State of Illinois.  For a complete calendar of upcoming arts events, visit the ArtsPartners website at www.artspartners.net.

Peoria – Peoria County Recycling is hosting a Recycling Extravaganza Event on Saturday, August 23, from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at Landmark Rec Center, 3225 Dries Lane in Peoria. This event gives Peoria County residents an opportunity to dispose of their recyclables at one place.

The one-stop, drop-off event will allow residents to recycle items without getting out of their car. Residents may drop-off electronics, cell phones, eyeglasses, ink cartridges, batteries, CFLs, motor oil, documents for shredding, and more. For a complete list of acceptable items and limits on some materials click here; select the Recycling Extravaganza 2014 flyer. Paint, chemicals, and hazardous materials will not be collected at this event.

Partners for the event include the City of Peoria, ATR-Advanced Technology Recycling, Bartonville American Legion, Confidential On-Site Paper Shredding, Interstate All-Battery Center, Lenz Oil, Lion’s Club, and Midwest Fiber Recycling. For more information, please contact Peoria County Recycling and Resource Conservation at (309) 681-2550.

On Wednesday, August 20, Main Street will experience full lane closures during daytime hours for the installation of the lighted crosswalks. Weather permitting, construction is expected to last approximately one day for each location. No parking will be permitted along these streets. The following schedules for the full lane closures are:

• Wednesday, August 20, Main Street from Glenwood Avenue to Elmwood Avenue
• Thursday, August 21, Main Street from Bourland Avenue to University Street
• Friday, August 22, University Street from St. James Street to Moss Avenue

The installation of the lighted crosswalks will enhance the pedestrian safety and is part of the final phase of the University and Main Street reconstruction project.

Please observe the traffic signs for alternative routes and use caution when driving through construction zones. For more information, contact Scott Reeise, City Engineer at (309) 494-8800.

First Time “Haircuts for the Homeless” August 25th

Peoria – The Salvation Army is getting help from some local barbers to provide haircuts for clients of its Safety Net Shelter and Drop-In Center. LaMarr Randle, owner of Beyond Comparison Barbershop will be joined by Chad Dunlop, Jason Lobdell, Tink Johnson, Nick Howard, Chris Foster, and Dewyane Sledge, all of whom will donate two hours of their time and talents once a month to give homeless clients haircuts to aid in their employment and housing search.  The first-come, first-served event will serve as many clients as possible from 10 am until 12pm.

“We are excited to partner with the Salvation Army to offer haircuts to the homeless. We’re grateful and blessed to be able to help these individuals look and feel good when searching for housing or employment, said Randle.”

“We are grateful to Mr. Randle and his fellow barbers for their donation of their time and talents to help our clients in this way,” said Shay McMahan, Family Services Director for The Salvation Army. “We hope this will be the first of many Haircuts for the Homeless, and we are already working with LaMarr on making this a once a month program,” said McMahan. “Maybe it helps them in a job search, or just helps boost self-esteem.”

The event will be held in the Safety Net Shelter program room at the Sylvia Fites Family Service Center on August 25^th, beginning at 10 a.m. For more information, please contact Shay McMahan at 655-7272.