Illinois American Water has been working to repair a water leak on Gale Avenue at Underhill St. During the repair, IAW encountered some unforeseen circumstances which required us to close down Gale Avenue at the location of the repairs.  Gale Avenue will remain closed until restoration to the roadway can be completed.  Weather permitting, IAW will have all lanes reopened for this coming weekend (6/13/14). We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we make the necessary repairs and investment into our water system.

If you have any additional questions concerning the road closure please feel free to contact Matt White via email at matthew.white@amwater.com

(Peoria, IL / June 9, 2014) –  The monthly meeting of the Better Breathers Club will be held Wednesday, June 25, 2014 from 2-3:30 PM in the Atrium Building – 900 Main St., Peoria. (Follow directions to room).

The program is “How to get the most out of your Doctor’s Appointment.” It will feature Dr. Kishore Karamchandani, Pulmonologist.

Anyone dealing with lung or breathing problems is welcome to attend. It is requested that those attending not wear perfume or cologne to meetings as it may bother other participants with breathing difficulties.

For more information about the Better Breathers Club contact Sara Fiddes, RRT with OSF Outpatient Pulmonary Rebab at 309.282.1646, or Revina McWhirter, Member Coordinator at 309.635.5442.

Stuttering is a frustrating and embarrassing problem for millions of people, but it can be especially tough on teenagers.  Help is available at most public libraries in the form of a video Stuttering: Straight Talk for Teens. A DVD version is available free to libraries who will shelve it.

“It’s meant to encourage teens, to tell them that there is hope out there,” said Professor Peter Ramig of the University of Colorado at Boulder .  Ramig is one of three nationally recognized experts appearing in the video produced by the nonprofit Stuttering Foundation.

David Wilkins, a high school student who stutters, narrates the video. It features students from junior high school through college talking about their experiences with stuttering and what they found to be helpful.  They talk openly about the ridicule they faced from classmates and how their stuttering affects their lives.

 “We really try to emphasize the embarrassment and frustration factor, and we think teens will relate to that,” adds Ramig. He appears in the video along with speech-language pathologists Dr. Barry Guitar of the University of Vermont and Dr. Hugo Gregory of Northwestern University .

The three experts answer questions about stuttering, refute myths and misconceptions, and present examples of therapy sessions showing how stuttering can be reduced.

 More than three million Americans stutter, yet stuttering remains misunderstood by most people,” said Jane Fraser, president of the Stuttering Foundation. “Myths such as believing people who stutter are less intelligent or suffer from psychological problems still persist despite research refuting these erroneous beliefs.”

Books and DVDs produced by the 66-year-old nonprofit Stuttering Foundation are available free to any public library. A library that will shelve them can contact the Foundation at 1-800-992-9392, e-mail info@stutteringhelp.org, or visit www.stutteringhelp.org orwww.tartarmudez.org.

Washington, DC – Congressman Aaron Schock (IL-18) announced today his concern for Peoria being listed in the investigation of medical facilities by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General.

 “Between the internal review of the Inspector General and the oversight investigation currently underway in Congress, the American people will get the answers they deserve about misconduct at our nation’s veteran care facilities,” Schock said. “I am concerned to note that facilities in Peoria remain under investigation, and I will work to ensure a full accounting in this matter. Public outrage over the mistreatment of these heroes is justified, and I am confident that a thorough review and appropriate action for the responsible parties will lead to reforms that strengthen our commitment to care for our veterans.”

 Peoria’s listing came as part of an audit of VA facilities nationwide after the recent scandal surrounding prolonged patient wait times, alleged patient deaths, and systemic dysfunction throughout the VA system. The scandal led to the resignation of former Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Gen. Eric Shinseki. Having assumed the post on May 30, 2014, Acting Secretary Sloan Gibson has promised “cultural change” at the agency.

Placemaking Strategies to Strengthen Downtown

Working with University of Illinois College of Fine and Applied Arts, a process of using both demographic data analysis and community observations will be conducted as a pilot in preparation for a reoccurring studio workshop with Illinois Main Street communities.  From Mid-May – Mid-June students will conduct an assessment of community business development strategies,  utilizing customer intercept surveys or other techniques design to garner public opinion, demographic analysis, identification of 1-2 comparable community case studies,  develop a core set of recommendations for community consideration.  Final report will be presented to the local community Main Street Board on June 11.  

WHO:             Canton Main Street in partnership with University of Illinois Extension

WHAT:          Studio Workshop
WHEN:          Wednesday, June 11 at 10  a.m.
WHERE:        MidAmerica National Bank, 100 W. Elm St. Canton, IL 61520

 Illinois Main Street Program has as its mission the development and promotion of the unique character of each member community’s marketable assets and creation of new business development opportunities.  Maintaining and revitalizing a downtown plays a critical role in overall economic development strategies, as a vibrant downtown infrastructure not only represents good use of land and infrastructure resources, it can also be a powerful tool spurring new business development.

Canton Main Street is a pilot programming initiative of the University of Illinois Extension and Illinois Main Street.

From May 9 – 26th, 2014, Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and Peoria Police Department as well as other law enforcement agencies statewide reminded motorists to buckle up both day and night during the Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement mobilization. Peoria Police Department joined other state and local law enforcement agencies across Illinois in this annual effort to get more motorists to buckle up, in the front and back seat – and save more lives.

During the mobilization, The Peoria Police Department issued:
• 21 seat belt citations
• 11 child safety seat citations
• 4 DUI arrests
• 2 fugitives apprehended
• 3 suspended/revoked licenses
• 3 uninsured motorists
• 12 speeding citations

The annual Click It or Ticket mobilization may be over in Peoria, but that is no excuse to stop using your seat belt. “Our officers are out all year long. If you or your passengers, in the front seat or back seat, are caught not wearing a seat belt, day or night, you will be cited for the safety violation,”said Lt. Steve Roegge.

For more information on the Illinois Click It or Ticket mobilization, please visit www.buckleupillinois.org.

At its May 27, 2014 meeting, staff presented the City Council with an opportunity to attract the LST 325, a working World War II naval craft, to Peoria’s downtown river front.  The ship is currently moored in Evansville, IN but its contract in that community ends in 2015. The City has been negotiating with the LST Ship Memorial Foundation, the organization that owns the ship and operates it as a museum, to determine their interest in potential locations in Peoria.

Along with refining its proposal and answering questions raised at the meeting, the City Council asked staff to do more public outreach to gauge the interest of the community in brining the LST 325 to Peoria.  Staff has organized three opportunities for citizens to share their input and express their support or opposition:

·  A public meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 17, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. in the ballroom of the Gateway Building (200 NE Water Street, 3^rd Floor).  Staff will make a brief presentation regarding the project, answer questions and take public comment.

·  An on-line survey seeking to measure support and opposition to the project and its elements has been created and is now available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/lstpeoria.   A paper version of the survey is available by contacting the Office of the City Manager at (309) 494-8524.  The survey will be open until June 20, 2014.

·  Staff has created a Facebook page to share information on the project.  The site can be accessed atwww.facebook.com/lstpeoria.  In addition to being a source of additional project information, site visitors can leave comments expressing their support or opposition. 

Staff intends to compile and summarize all public input for the City Council meeting on June 24, 2014.

Questions regarding the LST 325 project should be directed to Christopher Setti, Assistant City Manager, at (309) 494-8618 orcsetti@peoriagov.org.

Friends of Rocky Glen is sponsoring a Dog Day fundraiser from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 21 at Vicary Bottoms, an un-fenced dog park near West Peoria.

Vicary Bottoms has a large meadow, woods, and a creek with a sandy beach area for dogs and people to enjoy!  People can bring up to two dogs to enjoy the event.

Sandwiches, chips, cookies, water, table and chairs will be provided, along with treats for the dogs.  People should bring water bowls for the dogs, and it is strongly recommended that dogs be on a leash.  A $10 donation will be requested.

Directions:  from the Farmington Road and Sterling intersection, head west (towards the Speedway).  Go past the Speedway and turn RIGHT onto Kickapoo Creek Road.  Vicary Bottoms will be on your right.

More information is available on the Facebook page for the event at https://m.facebook.com/events/257223184463518

All funds raised will go toward developing a parking lot at Rocky Glen, the Peoria Park District’s newest park on Kickapoo Creek Road.   A parking lot near the Rocky Glen trailhead, will facilitate visits to Rocky Glen.

The Friends of Rocky Glen (FORG), is a non-profit group dedicated to the  preservation and promotion of this 125 acre natural area that includes a box canyon with 80 foot sandstone walls covered with carvings, seasonal waterfalls, rare plant communities and a history of coal mining and early labor union organizing efforts in Peoria.

June 4, 2014 (Peoria, IL) — The City of Peoria, in conjunction with All-America City Committee, is hosting “Celebrating Peoria: You Told Us”, a community celebration of the one year anniversary of the All-America City award.  At the event, the art initiative which asked residents and visitors “why” Peoria is in fact an All-America City will be unveiled.  The event will be held on Thursday, June 26, 2014 from 5 PM to 7 PM at the Peoria Riverfront Museum (222 SW Washington St., Peoria, IL, 61602).  This family-friendly event is FREE and opened to the public and will include food, prizes and fun!

The City of Peoria was awarded the distinction of being an All-America City for the fourth time in 2013.  To celebrate the award, a community art initiative was started to ask residents and visitors “why” Peoria is in fact an All-America City. The feedback has been tremendous!  The artwork will include the responses received throughout the past year. It will be a lasting piece of history that incorporates and celebrates all of the ways Peoria is an All-America City!

Additionally, during the event, the Peoria Riverfront Museum will offer free admission to The Science of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!® exhibit.  This 6,000 sq. ft. exhibit is an adventure that takes you through the remarkable realms of scientific discoveries and real artifacts.  For more information about the exhibit, please visit the Peoria Riverfront Museum athttp://www.peoriariverfrontmuseum.org/.

For more information about the “Celebrating Peoria: You Told Us” event, contact the City of Peoria, City Hall, at (309) 494-8524.