Grand Opening
Peoria Public Library McClure Branch. Ribbon-cutting at 10:00 a.m. Open to public. Branch open until 6:00 p.m. Regular hours are Monday –Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Make It! Take It! Crafts
01/07/12 10:00AM – 2:00PM
Make It! Take It! Crafts – North Branch
While looking for some fun books, stop in the Children’s Activity Room and make a cool craft. While supplies last. Ages 4-10. 497-2100 FREE

Winter Warm up Movie
01/07/12 2:00PM – 3:30PM
Winter Warm up Movie – Lincoln Branch
“Warm up your engines” and join us for a showing of Cars 2 and some fun snacks! All ages welcome. 497-2600 FREE

Bio & Non-fiction Book Club
01/08/12 3:00PM – 5:00PM
The Biography and Non-fiction Book Club will meet on Sunday, January 8 at 3:00 p.m. to discuss The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin. New members welcome!

Story Afternoons – North Branch
1/09/12 2:30PM – 3:00PM
Join us for an afternoon of stories, songs, and activities. All ages welcome. 497-2100 FREE

A Lusty, Bawdy River Town
01/09/12 6:00PM – 7:00PM
A Lusty, Bawdy River Town – North Branch – Seminar Room
Norman Kelly, well known popular author and Peoria Historian will be the guest of the Peoria Public Library North Branch for a series of four lectures on the History of Peoria, Illinois. His series promises to be a witty, fast-paced history of Peoria circa 1845-1950. January’s lecture will be “Peoria: Our Early Pioneer Days.” 497-2120 FREE

Sci-Fi- Fantasy Book Club
01/09/12 6:30PM – 7:45PM
The Sci-Fi/Fantasy Book Club meets on January 9 at 6:30 p.m. at Lincoln Branch to discuss Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi and Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper. Call 309-497-2149 for more information and meeting location. New members are always welcome.

MLK: The Power of a Dream
01/12/12 5:30PM – 6:30PM
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: The Power of a Dream – Lincoln Branch
Join us for a celebration marking the life and times of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “The Dreamer,” as he was affectionately known, demonstrated that dreams can become a reality. Through hard work and determination, Dr. King never wavered in his dream of equality, freedom, justice, and civil rights. All ages welcome. 497-2600 FREE

Book Signing with Julie Hyzy
01/12/12 6:30PM – 7:30PM
Anthony and Barry Award winner Julie Hyzy is the national bestselling author of the White House Chef Mystery series featuring the intrepid Olivia (Ollie) Paras, and the Manor House Mystery series featuring mansion curator Grace Wheaton. Join her for an interesting talk about her latest book, Affairs of Steak. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing. 497-2143 FREE

Tadpoles Storytime
01/09/12 10:30AM – 11:00AM – North Branch
01/11/12 10:30AM – 11:00AM -Main Library
01/12/12 10:30AM – 11:00AM – North Branch
Are you looking for a storytime that is just right for your 2 or 3 year old? Join us for stories, songs, activities, and easy crafts that are a perfect fit for little ones who are too big for the baby storytime but not quite ready for the preschool storytime. Children ages 2 – 3 years and their caregivers are welcome. 497-2200 FREE

The Peoria Park District’s Golf Learning Center has Virtual Golf available to play January and February. Play famous courses from right here in Peoria!

Cost is $20 for 18 holes, $12 for 9 holes, and $10 for ½ hour of range time. Tee times encouraged.

Indoor and outdoor hitting stations are also available all winter. Hit outdoors under our heaters or indoors into the nets.
For more information call the Golf Learning Center at (309) 690-7162.

The Peoria Park District’s Golf Learning Center has adult indoor lessons beginning in February. These four 1-hour lessons cover grip, stance and swing motion. Lessons are designed to accommodate various skill levels.

Cost is $55/residents, $60/non-residents. Dates and time are below:

Register with code: Day-Date Time
49234 Tu: 2/7-2/28 6-7 pm
49235 Th: 2/9-3/1 6-7 pm
49236 Sa: 2/11-3/3 9-10 am
49237 Sa: 2/11-3/3 10:15-11:15 am

For more information call the Golf Learning Center at (309) 690-7162.

The Peoria Park District’s Donovan Golf Course has closed for the season. Madison Golf Course will remain open as conditions permit. Please call the course at (309) 673-7161 for daily hours of operation.

All other Peoria Park District courses have already closed.

The Peoria Park District’s Franciscan Recreation Complex (FRC) invites you to bring your little ones ages 1-5 into their heated gym this winter to play freely with scooters, balls, hula hoops, tumbling equipment and more. It’s a great way for parents and children to socialize!

Motor Mites runs Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:15-11:15 a.m., plus Friday at 1:00 p.m. Cost is $2/visit or $20/12-visit pass. Motor Mites runs through May 25.

More information can be found at www.peoriaparks.org/frc or by calling FRC at (309) 677-6705.
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The Peoria Park District’s Franciscan Recreation Complex (FRC) is starting up their fitness class schedules once again to help you stay physically active. New this winter are Kickboxing In Motion and Aerobics, Strength & Core.

Kickboxing In Motion starts Tuesday, January 24 at 6:30 p.m. This 5-week class is a great cardiovascular workout, incorporating punches and athletic drills designed to get you on your way to a leaner body and healthier state of mind. All skill levels are welcome. Cost is $28/residents, $35/non-residents. Register using code 50030.

Aerobics, Strength & Core begins Thursday, January 26 at 6:30 p.m. It runs for 5 weeks and is a balanced blend between aerobics and strength training, rounded out with a core workout. All fitness levels welcome. Cost is $28/residents, $35/non-residents. Register using code 50088.

Other Get Fit At FRC classes include:
Drop-in Yoga: Mondays and Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. and Tuesdays and Fridays at 10:00 a.m. $4.50/drop-in

Pilates Plus-Core Strength: Mondays and Wednesdays starting February 6 at 5:30 p.m. Cost is $48/residents, $54/non-residents. Register using code 49564

Zumba: Tuesdays beginning February 14 at 5:30 p.m. Cost is $32/residents, $36/non-residents. Register using code 49582.

Gentle Yoga-Yoga Basics: Sundays beginning February 12 at 2 p.m. This series of 5 classes are $8/resident, $10/non-resident each, or attend all five for a special rate. Register using code 49527.

More complete descriptions can be found at www.peoriaparks.org/frc or by calling FRC at (309) 677-6705.

During its holiday STEP Campaign from December 19, 2011 – January 1, 2012 the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) supplemented its regular patrol schedule by eleven (11) additional hours with a focus on impaired driving and safety belt enforcement. As a result of the increased enforcement, the extra patrol details made one DUI arrest and issued five additional tickets. The PCSO also participated in a Roadside Safety Check in conjunction with the Illinois State Police on December 10, 2011.

Financed through a Sustained Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office was able to increase traffic safety enforcement – namely impaired driving enforcement – during its Thanksgiving campaign. This effort marked the second in a series of similar campaigns the Sheriff’s Office will be conducting during the holiday seasons over the next year. The next enhanced enforcement effort will be a St. Patrick’s Day campaign from March 12-20. The Sheriff’s Office was awarded $7,659.45 from the State’s Division of Traffic Safety to be used for these enhanced safety restraint and impaired driving enforcement efforts. This is the second year the Sheriff’s Office has received funds through the STEP grant.

The purpose of STEP is to lower the incidence of motor vehicle crashes – and their resulting injuries and fatalities – through increased highly visible enforcement of safety belt use and impaired driving during national and state enforcement campaigns. The stepped-up, year-long traffic enforcement focuses on specific times of year and on specific times of day when data shows impaired driving and unbuckled fatalities are highest. The increased patrol presence deters potential impaired drivers and potential unbuckled drivers. Through the STEP campaign, increased traffic enforcement has a positive impact on reducing serious injuries and fatalities on our roads.

For more information on the STEP grant, please call the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office at 697-8515.

Jason Marks acccepted the Patriotic Employer award from Col Frank Rezak. The award credits Jason Marks and Peoria City/County Health Department as a Patriotic Employer for contributing to national security and protecting liberty and freedom by supporting employee participation in America’s National Guard and Reserve Force.

Jason supervises Joe Bechtold in his Emergency Preparedness planning activities and supports Joe in his Guard and Reserve duties.

Operation Cookie Share is offered again this year to support military troops

The wait is over! Girl Scouts of Central Illinois kicks off its annual Girl Scout Cookie Activity on January 13, 2012. Girl Scouts throughout the region will take orders from family, friends, and neighbors through February 5, 2012.

This year’s sale offers eight cookie varieties – Thin Mints, Caramel DeLites, Shortbreads, Lemonades, Peanut Butter Patties, Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Shout Outs, and Thanks-A-Lots. The Shortbread box will come in a special box this year to mark Girl Scouting’s 100th anniversary which will officially occur on March 12, 2012.

Every year, thousands of girls gain valuable knowledge while providing the community with a special treat.

The Girl Scout Cookie Activity is an integral part of Girl Scouting’s Business and Economic Literacy initiative for all girls ages 5 to 17. Girls develop essential skills such as goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics.

Operation Cookie Share allows customers to not only support their local Girl Scouts, but also show their support for our military. When customers are asked if they would like to purchase cookies, they will also have the option to purchase additional boxes for military troops.

This is the third year for the program, which has resulted in a total 145,164 boxes being delivered to military troops. Operation Cookie Share will run from pre-sales ordering throughout Cookie Booth season.

Operation Cookie Share is held in sponsorship with the Adopt-a-Soldier program sponsored by State Farm’s military affinity group (MAG), an employee resource group that supports the military and their families.

The Girl Scout Cookie Activity has become a famous annual event that helps girls develop important leadership skills they will use throughout their lives. The activity provides finance, marketing, and public speaking skills, along with valuable experiences that build a girl’s self-confidence to help her develop her own personal leadership style.

“Many successful businesswomen today say they got their start selling Girl Scout Cookies,” states Pam Kovacevich, CEO of Girl Scouts of Central Illinois. “Girls practice useful life skills like planning, decisionmaking, and customer service. It’s always exciting to see girls developing skills they might not realize they are developing while it’s happening.”

Proceeds from the Girl Scout Cookie Activity remain local. This revenue is used to directly benefit girls by supporting troop activities and allowing the council to provide year-round programming on topics of community service, outdoor education, financial literacy, science, and the arts. Proceeds also provide support for training adult volunteers and financial assistance to make Girl Scouting available to all girls.

For more information about Girl Scouts of Central Illinois or the Girl Scout Cookie Activity, go to www.girslcouts-gsci.org or contact Erica Douglas at 877-477-4757, ext. 1506.

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin will be doing a fly-around on Wednesday, January 4, to Peoria, Rockford, and Quad Cities to officially announce his endorsement of Cheri Bustos. She is running for for the 17th Illinois Congressional District. He will be at Byerly Airport to host a press conference at 10:00 a.m. Come early to meet the candidate, Cheri Bustos.