Tomorrow, Peoria County will celebrate a milestone in the construction of the Peoria Riverfront Museum project with a “Topping Out” Ceremony at 10:00 a.m. Participants and media are asked to enter the construction site on Liberty Street, near its intersection with Water Street. Those attending the ceremony should dress appropriately for an active construction site.

Speaking during the ceremony will be Peoria County Board Chairman Thomas H. O’Neill, III; Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis; PRM Chairman of the Board Dave Ransburg, and Caterpillar Foundation Director Michele Sullivan. Senator Dave Koehler and Representative David Leitch will also say a few words during the ceremony. Participating in the ceremony by video is Congressman Aaron Schock. Immediately following, a signed, 56′ steel beam will be raised and placed on the structure.

For more information about the Topping Out Ceremony, please call Jenny Fulton, Peoria County’s Director of Strategic Communications, at 672-6918.

Thomas Lerczak will be signing his book, Side Channels: A Collection of Nature Writing and Memoir, on Saturday, October 15th from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. at “I Know You Like a Book,” 4707 N. Prospect Ave., Peoria Heights, IL 61616.

In this unique collection of previously published articles, with several unpublished pieces and memoir, author Thomas V. Lerczak illustrates the natural beauty of the outdoors, mostly focused on the Midwest, with topics such as birds, birding, natural areas, and rivers, especially the Illinois River.

Lerczak’s memoir stories trace the development of his interests and perspectives on nature, from descriptions of himself as a boy being introduced to the outdoors in Chicago during the 1960 to a grown man contemplating the true meaning of a ”wilderness experience.”

Everyone is invited to an old-fashioned barn dance, Friday, October 21 at Camp Wokanda in Mossville. The fun starts at 7:00 p.m. First time dancers and families are welcome. No partner needed. Expert caller Martha Tyner will teach all the dances. The ever-popular string band Too Old To be Controlled will provide the music.

Admission is $5, with a $20 maximum for families. You are invited to bring a snack to share. For more information and directions, call Gail Hintze, 274-5358 or 868-7163.

Tri-County River Valley Development Authority

The Heartland Partnership is proud to announce a new funding opportunity for regional businesses. The Tri-County River Valley Development Authority (TCRVDA) is now operational in Central Illinois. TCRVDA was created by the Illinois General Assembly and the Governor and has the ability to issue up to $100 million in bonds for economic development purposes and is a general development tool for Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford Counties. The TCRVDA is one of ten such development authorities in the State. The other nine authorities have issued over $900 million in bonds since the early 1990s.

TCRVDA is a localized unit of government that provides long term financing using bonds instead of traditional lending and is most beneficial for manufacturing and non-profit businesses. TCRVDA can issue bonds allowing local companies to access an additional allotment of bonding volume cap that is presently not available.

TCRVDA has been granted the authority to:
· Issue taxable bonds
· Issue tax exempt bonds
· Issue moral obligation bonds (with consent of Governor)
· Issue notes or other evidences of indebtedness

TCRVDA board of directors is made up of 11 members: Gary Densberger, East Peoria; Jimmy Dillon, Peoria County; John Abel, Pekin; Bob Knepp, Woodford County; Russ Crawford, Tazewell County; Tim Riggenbach, City of Peoria; Marc Miller, IDNR; Tony Rolando, DCEO; and 3 more to be appointed by the Governor.

Kip McCoy, VP of The Heartland Partnership says we have been looking into various avenues to offer additional support to local companies and projects that are seeking financing. “We determined TCRVDA could bring additional financing options to the local communities. The Heartland Partnership is administering the program, and the Heartland Community Development Corporation has agreed to fund the first 12 months of TCRVDA activity which will enable the Authority to begin operations without seeking additional start-up capital. After the initial 12 months, the TCRVDA will need to have a plan in place to be self sustaining.” McCoy believes the TCRVDA offers our region another economic development tool that can work closely with our local municipalities and civic leaders.

People seeking financing from TCRVDA should contact Kip McCoy directly at kmccoy@h-p.org.

Methodist Medical Center has announced the October Employees of the Month. Their peers in the areas of patient care, nursing, and non-nursing support recognize three separate employees each month for their outstanding service to patients.

The three selected were Barb Johnston of Peoria for Nursing Services. She is a Nurse Practitioner with in-school health. Also selected were Krystle Bosanco of Cuba, IL who works with Methodist Medical Group Internal Medicine at Dunlap for the area of Patient Care and Todd Hayes of Peoria for Non Nursing Support. Todd works in Information Services.

All three will be honored at a hospital reception October 19, 2011.

The traditional campus tour is not so traditional at Bradley University. The Peoria institution began piloting a program this summer that introduces iPad interactivity to the tour.

Bradley is believed to be the first university in the nation to offer the technology as part of its campus tour experience.

Prospective students visiting the campus log on to a pre-programmed iPad and indicate the specific college and major(s) they plan to pursue as undergraduates. Student admission representatives then take the visitors on the regular tour route and stop at strategic places to activate select videos on each of the tour group iPads. Prospective students and their parents are immersed in the Bradley experience through engaging video segments that fill the void of myriad activities that cannot be experienced at the exact moment when visitors are present.

Video topics include classrooms, science and robotics labs, theatre and musical productions, athletic competitions in an off-campus 10,000-seat arena where men’s basketball plays, special events, and activities on the quad. They are particularly valuable for visits on Saturdays and during summer and holiday breaks when fewer students are on campus, and give winter visitors a view of other seasons.

“The pilot project was an enormous success and underscores Bradley’s commitment to meeting the needs of our students in innovative and creative ways,” said President Joanne Glasser. “This new and exciting cutting edge technology demonstrates the strength of our faculty-student collaborations in creating useful and visionary tools that result from experiential learning opportunities.”

The idea was conceived by Associate Professor Jim Ferolo, chair of Bradley’s Interactive Media Department. The programming for the iPad was completed by Eric Johnsen, an undergraduate student in the Interactive Media Program. “The project gave me a chance to apply what I had learned in the classroom to a real-life situation,” Johnsen said. “It also challenged me to extend myself and my skills beyond normal expectations. It has been a truly invaluable experience.”

Plans are underway to increase the interactivity and meaningfulness of the iPad experience in the upcoming year.

Community Workshop Training Center has announced a change of starting point for this Thursday afternoon’s cleanup with the Friends of Rock Island Trail’s “Adopt-A-Trail” program.

CWTC Community Integration Manager Don Rulis says crews will meet Thursday at 4:00PM, at the Connor Company parking lot, 1209 W. Pioneer Parkway in Peoria, and head north. After an inspection of the area, it was determined the initial clean-up concentration should begin at that location.

For information on the Friends of the Rock Island Trail, check out their web site: http://www.ritrail.org/

CWTC provides programs and services to adults with disabilities; enriching their quality of life, promoting social change, and optimizing their potential for independence.

Due to inclement weather, the Lighting of the B ceremony, which signals the beginning of Homecoming at Bradley University, will be held this evening in the Michel Student Center ballroom rather than on the quad. The ceremony will begin at 9.

The ceremonial lighting of the Bradley “B” is a homecoming tradition that was begun in 1928. The “B” was placed on what was then called the Bradley Polytechnic Institute Tower – or as we know it, the top of Bradley Hall. It was used as a beacon to welcome all to campus for the homecoming festivities.

OSF Saint Francis Medical Center is pleased to announce Mary Fisher has been named Nursing Director of Cardiac and Critical Care Services.

Fisher, of Mapleton, began her career at OSF Saint Francis as a staff nurse in 1992 before serving as a nursing supervisor for six years. She was named Patient Care Manager of 5100 in 2004 before becoming the manager of the combined 5000/5100 unit in 2009. Fisher has a Masters in Health Service Administration and will finish her Masters in Nursing Leadership in May 2012.

In her new position, Fisher will direct patient care delivery on 5 Gerlach, the Milestone Adult Heart Unit, Surgical ICU and Intermediate ICU as well as Medical ICU and Intermediate ICU.

Keep Peoria Beautiful, in collaboration with Peoria County, the City of Peoria, PARC, and the Illinois EPA, is rolling out new recycling bins to be installed along downtown Peoria sidewalks.

A news conference will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 18, near the Lincoln Memorial at the Peoria County Courthouse Plaza to launch the program. In addition to others, Peoria County Board Member Lynn Scott Pearson will be speaking on behalf of the County’s Health, Environmental, & Welfare Issues Committee.

Beginning next week, people eating lunch outdoors will be able to recycle their beverage containers. Bins for the collection of plastic and glass bottles and aluminum cans will be placed next to garbage receptacles located around the courthouse grounds. Additional bins will be placed along streets in the central business district. The bins will be clearly marked with acceptable items so the public will know what types of recyclables can be placed inside.

The new recycling bins will further enhance the City of Peoria’s recycling program.