Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012, is the one-year anniversary of a shooting in Tucson, Ariz., that plunged the nation into mourning and left a U.S. Congresswoman struggling for her life, 18 people shot and six dead including a state judge and a 9-year-old girl. To memorialize and learn from that horrific event, Too Many Victims National Candlelight Vigils are scheduled across the country this year on Jan. 8.

In Peoria, James K. Polk will speak at a candlelight memorial to remember local victims of gun violence as well as victims nationwide.

The Peoria event will be from 4:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Friendship Baptist Church, 3828 N. New York Ave. It is sponsored by United Usher Board, Church Women United-Peoria Unit and Stop the Violence, Start the Healing Project.

So many people are killed each year in this country, we must come up with some solutions,” Polk said, noting that nearly 100,000 people are shot each year in this country and nearly one-third of them die from their injuries.

Since 1968 when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated, the number of Americans killed with guns has exceeded 1 million.

“In Peoria, we know the cost too well. Last August, an 8-year old child asleep at home died from gunshots that pierced through the wall of his home,” Polk said.

The nationwide vigils are sponsored by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. The not-for-profit was formed after White House Press Secretary James Brady was shot in an assassination attempt on Pres. Ronald Reagan.

Peoria Park District’s Winter/Spring 2012 Playbook will be available throughout the Peoria area beginning on Saturday, January 7, 2012. Playbooks will be distributed in the Journal Star and can be found at all Peoria Park District facilities
and a variety of area businesses. For a complete list of locations, visit the Peoria Park District website at www.peoriaparks.org.

The Playbook publishes three times a year and publicizes Park District events, classes, programs and sports leagues for children and adults alike. The Playbook also features information on Park District rentals, becoming a Peoria Zoo Member and a host of volunteer opportunities. Program registration will begin on Monday, January 9 and can be completed
on the Peoria Park District website. Walk-in, mail-in and fax registration options are also available.

Josh Riekena

Chris Chadwick

Melissa Stigall

Children’s Hospital of Illinois is pleased to welcome the following members to its Community Advisory Board

Joining the Children’s Hospital of Illinois Community Advisory Board are Melissa Stigall, D.D.S, M.S., Midwest Orthodontic Associates, Ltd.; Chris Chadwick, General Manager, OEM Solutions Group; and Josh Riekena, Financial Representative with COUNTRY Financial.

Other members of the Children’s Hospital Advisory Board are: William Albers, M.D., Vicki Bahr, Jayme Bailey, Stephen Bash, M.D., Patti Bash, Melody Berry, Terry Best, Jon Burklund, Rob Currier, Seth Davis, Bill DiSomma, Rich Draeger, John Drury, Paul Dubravec, Sister Judith Ann Duvall, O.S.F., John Ginder, Seshardi Guha, Jay Harms, Bob Hoerr, Linda Kepple, Scott Klaus, Jeff Kolbus, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, Nancy Levenick, Rex Linder, Karen Magers, Roger Meyer, Joy Miller, Theresa Murphy, Dan O’Brien, Rev. Tony Pierce, John Riley, Sara Rusch, M.D., Jeff Ruskusky, D.P.M., Tim Saurs, James Scherer, U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, Thomas Spurgeon, Keith Steffen, Jim Stowell, Jim Thome, Sandra Ullman, Jamie VanBuskirk, Mary Ellen VanBuskirk, Pete Vonachen, Joshua Waite, Jack Weekes, Bill Wills, Peter Wong, Bob Woolsey, Jan Wright, Sue Yoder, and Christine Zak-Edmonds.

CAPtions, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, will discuss with guests on the topic “Reflecting on Dr. King. Guests include Alma Brown, Rita Ali, Agbara Bryson, and three young African-American men, two of which are students at Illinois Central College.

Topics include the upcoming MLK Holiday events, including the 20th
Annual MLK Luncheon, the Freedom March, and the Commemorative
Service and Awards. CAPtions then goes on location to ICC and discusses
King’s impact on the young men, and how King would react to the minority youth of today. Rounding out the hour is a clip of Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech.

Host of CAPtions is Andre Bohannon.

CAPtions will air Sunday, Jan. 8th at 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 11th at 7:00 p.m., and later at Midnight on Comcast Cable 22. It will be available on YouTube and FaceBook beginning Monday, Jan. 9th.

CAPtions is produced by the Peoria Citizens Committee for Economic Opportunity, Inc. Media Services Department. It is
funded in part by a grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

Effective January 3, 2012 Joanne Thomas will fill the unexpired term of Mary Harkrader as the City of Peoria Board of Election Commissioner.

For more information, please contact the Peoria Election Commission at 494-8683.

Midstate College is proud to announce the addition of Gale Grant of Caterpillar Inc. to the Board of Directors. Ms. Grant attended Midstate College to obtain an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Paralegal Services in July, 2002, and returned to Midstate to receive a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in May, 2011. She has also served on the Midstate College Paralegal Advisory Board since 2002.

Ms. Grant comes to the Midstate College Board of Directors with over eight years of Paralegal Services experience in the Peoria community. She is currently a Paralegal II at Caterpillar Inc.

Gale looks forward to continuing to engage with Midstate College in her new role. In her words, “I am honored to join the experienced Board of Directors for Midstate College. I look forward to contributing my skills and knowledge to this visionary higher educational institution, and as an alumnus, I am very excited to continue working closely with the College in the years to come.”

Midstate strives to keep alumni of the College engaged in both the College and the local community. Ms. Grant’s position serves as an alumni liaison to the Board of Directors.

For more information, please contact Ashley Spain, arspain@midstate.edu or 309.692.4092 ext. 1040

Thirteen teams of high school students from Illinois and Iowa will attend the kick-off of the 2012 FIRST Robotics competition on January 7 in the Renaissance Coliseum on the campus of Bradley University.

The kick-off event, involving more than 300 students, will begin at 9 a.m. and will include televised remarks from FIRST founder Dean Kamen via NASA TV. A sample competition practice field will be unveiled in the Coliseum during the program. The kick-off event is sponsored by Caterpillar Inc. and hosted by Bradley University’s College of Engineering and Technology.

FIRST, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, is an organization dedicated to motivating the next generation to understand, use, and enjoy science and technology. Kamen, president of DEKA Research & Development Corporation, as well as an inventor, entrepreneur, and tireless advocate for science and technology, founded the organization in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people.

Teams will receive a kit of parts made up of motors, batteries, a control system, a PC and a mix of automation components – but no instructions. Working with mentors, students have six weeks to design, build, program and test their robots to meet the season’s engineering challenge. They will then compete in one of 53 regional events. Winners move on to the championship that will be held in St. Louis on April 25 through 28. Nearly 60,000 high school students worldwide are expected to participate in the competition.

The mission of FIRST is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership.

Based in Manchester, N.H., FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering. With support from many Fortune 500 companies and more than $14 million in college scholarships, the not-for-profit organization hosts competitions for both grade and high school students.

Teams participating in the kick-off event at Bradley University are:
Robot Casserole – Richwoods High School, Peoria
Argos – Limestone Community High School, Bartonville
D.E.R.T. – Dunlap High School, Dunlap
Icarus – Notre Dame High School, Peoria
Roboteers – Tremont High School, Tremont
M/W ARS – Metamora Township High School
Ctrl-Z – Champaign, Illinois
Team Cyclones – Sacred Heart Griffin, Springfield, Illinois
Knox County FRC – Knox County, Illinois
MetalCow – Bloomington-Normal, Illinois
SUL – Springfield, Illinois
HTA – Tech Academy, Decatur, Illinois
Team Neutrino – Ames, Iowa

Peoria Players Theatre is proud to present Titanic: The Musical directed by Steve Bortolotti. Set sail with this Peoria premiere, opening February 3! This production, which opened on Broadway in 1997, features music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and is based on a book by Peter Stone. It won five Tony Awards including the award for Best Musical. The musical score is both beautiful and haunting. Titanic is set on the ocean liner RMS Titanic which sank on its maiden voyage on April 15, 1912. The year 2012 marks the 100-year anniversary of this tragedy.

Performances are at 7:30 pm on February 3, 4, 8, 9, 10 and 11, and at 2:00 on February 5 and 12. Tickets are $18 for adults, and $12 for patrons 18 and under (with a special rate of $12 for all ages for the Wednesday, February 8 performance). For reservations, please call 688-4473 or visit us online at peoriaplayers.org.

The Penguin Project’s production of Thoroughly Modern Millie, Jr. will be performed January 13-15 at Eastlight Theatre at East Peoria High School . The show will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings and at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth.

The Penguin Project features a group of young people who take to the stage to perform a modified “junior” version of a well-known Broadway musical. These productions are unique, however, because all of the roles are filled by young artists with developmental disabilities. They are joined on stage by their “peer mentors” – a group of children without disabilities who have volunteered to work with them side-by-side through the rehearsals and on stage. The end result is a celebration of the ability of any child to succeed when given encouragement, support, and opportunity. Past productions have included “Annie, Jr” in 2005, “The Music Man, Jr.” in 2006, “Guys & Dolls, Jr.” in 2007, “High School Musical, Jr.” in 2008, “Beauty and the Beast, Jr.” in 2009, “Fiddler on the Roof, Jr.” in 2010, and “High School Musical 2, Jr.” in 2011.

Taking place in New York City in 1922, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Jr. tells the story of young Millie Dillmount, who has just moved to the city in search of a new life for herself. It’s a New York full of intrigue and jazz – a time when women were entering the workforce and the rules of love and social behavior were changing forever. Based on the popular movie, the stage version includes a full score of new songs and bright dance numbers.

“By providing access to community theater, the Penguin Project demonstrates that the special challenges of a disability do not need to handicap a child’s ability to participate in life’s experiences. The talents of these children have far surpassed all expectations, concluding in a professional, entertaining theater experience,” says Dr. Andy Morgan, Penguin Project director. “Our penguins may not be able to fly, but that does not prevent their spirits from soaring.”

The future goal for the Penguin Project is to take the program to other cities, allowing children with special needs across the nation to participate in a life-altering event. For tickets to the production of Thoroughly Modern Millie, Jr., call 309-699-SHOW (7469) or order online at www.EastlightTheatre.com.

ADULT RELIGIOUS EDUCATION CLASSES OFFERED
Free and Open to the Public
All classes held at the Universalist Unitarian Church, 3000 W. Richwoods Blvd., Peoria

Thursdays, Jan. 5-Feb. 2, 2012 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. 5 Weeks, The Evolution of GodFacilitator: The Rev. Michael Brown
Where did God come from and where is He/She/It going? Using Robert Wright’s excellent book The Evolution of God, we will trace the cultural history of God(s) from the beginning of recorded history to the present. Wright uses a cultural print of view which will be interesting to both theists and atheists. Reading of the book is not required.

Monday, February 6, 2012 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Abraham Lincoln’s Connection to Slavery &Civil Rights Facilitator: Timothy Townsend, Historian at Lincoln Home National Historic Site
Townsend illustrates Lincoln’s view of slavery, his steadfast stand against its spread, and shows how Lincoln ultimately championed slavery’s demise. Townsend brings the Lincoln story to the twentieth century by illustrating the interconnectedness between the Civil War and Civil Rights stories.

Tue. Feb. 22, 7 to 9 pm. VOTE SMART – VOTE EASY
Facilitator: Jean Sloan
Vote Smart and Vote Easy are two non-partisan, well-researched, interactive websites that assist voters in making informed decisions. The class will introduce the websites and explain their use via discussion and a short video.