CAPtions, now broadcasting in Peoria for 36 years, gives viewers an look into “Government at Work”

City Councilmen At-Large Chuck Weaver and W. Eric Turner discuss City of Peoria issues, including the deficit, working with District 150 on education, and the balance between basic servies and the need for economic development incentives.

In another segment, Mike Phelan, Peoria County Board member, brings us up to date on various Peoria County issues, including
the RiverFront Museum and minority business opportunities.

In the final segment, Diana Scott, Peoria City/County Health Department PR Director, explains programs and services on the Health Department, which goes far beyond prevention and inspection of food providers.

These segments were taped June 15th.

CAPtions will air on Sunday, July 10th at 5:00 p.m., and Wednesday, July 13th at 7:00 p.m., and later that night at Midnight on Comcast Cable 22.

It will also be available on YouTube and FaceBook by July 14th

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.

Bradley University was named a “Best Bet” college in a new guidebook, The Financial Aid Handbook: Getting the Education You Want for the Price You Can Afford.

Authors Carol Stack and Ruth Vedvik have compiled a list of 60 selective U.S. colleges where average student loan burdens don’t exceed $8,000 per year and where average grants exceed average loans.

“Every single school we list is a wonderful place to get an education,” Stack and Vedvik said.

The profile of Bradley compares the university to Goldilocks’ chair – not too big and not too small – just the right size. Bradley is large enough to have separate career-oriented colleges – business, communications, education and engineering, in addition to liberal arts – and Division I athletics, yet small enough that students text their professors with questions, the guidebook found. Bradley students receive academic and curricular options available at large universities on a campus with just 5,000 undergraduates.

Among the University’s strengths, the profile said, are Bradley’s connection with the business community – there are a plethora of centers and institutes on campus that provide services to business from construction to small businesses to executive development – and Bradley’s high degree of “connectedness” for students, including Internet2 access.

U.S. News & World Report recognized Bradley as the top Illinois university of its type and number six overall among Midwest universities providing a full range of undergraduate and master’s programs. The university is ranked fifth on the list of Best Values and is one of 15 schools in the country singled out for internships and co-ops. Bradley also has been identified for excellence by The Princeton Review, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Peterson’s college guide, and Forbes.com.

Among the other institutions identified as being a “best bet” were Southern Methodist University in Dallas; Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles; Elon University in Elon, North Carolina.; Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia; and St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.

Stack and Vedvik are both veteran college admission officers and have worked at a national college enrollment consulting firm that works with admission and financial aid offices across the country. Together, they have more than 70 years of experience in the college admission process. Their book was published by Career Press.

Bradley is a private, independent university in Peoria, Illinois, offering 6,000 students the choice of more than 100 academic programs. This size provides students extensive resources not available at most small colleges and the personal attention not commonly found at large universities.

Red Cross instructors and ICC EMT students will provide basic first aid and hand out water at the Heart of Illinois Fair

For the last 21 years, the American Red Cross Central Illinois Chapter has run a first aid station at the Heart of Illinois Fair. 50 to 80 people are treated each year, usually the injuries are minor with only a handful of cases being severe enough for transport to the hospital.

This year, Red Cross certified instructors and EMT certified students from the Illinois Central College EMS program are providing basic first aid and water to prevent dehydration.

•Red Cross will pass out water to fair goers in attempt to keep patrons well hydrated
•Red Cross instructors and Illinois Central College students will provide basic first aid to fair goers as needed
•The Red Cross First Aid Station will be located in the rear of the “Opera House” on the fair grounds.
•The station will be manned with certified personnel July 8th through July 16th from 4pm to 11pm

In addition: Henry’s Kitchen will be also be at the fair. Patrons will be able to tour Henry and learn about how he responds during a large scale disaster. For more information on Henry and where he will be in the coming months, please visit www.redcrossillinois.org/wheres-henry.

Weather permitting, construction is scheduled to begin at the intersection of University Street and Glen Avenue on Monday, July 11, 2011. The project extends on Glen 600 feet east and west of University, 700 feet north of Glen on University, and to the south side of the Marlene Avenue intersection on University. The improvement includes removal of the medians at the intersection, new traffic signal systems, ADA accessibility at the quadrants, and removal and replacement of the deteriorated curb and sidewalk along Glen and University. Lastly, the entire length of the project will receive a new bituminous overlay. One travel lane in each direction on University and Glen will be kept open at all times. Motorists are urged to use caution in construction areas, and to use alternate, main routes, when possible.

Kick off your Shoes!
Head down to the Peoria RiverFront
Celebrate 100 Years at the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours!

THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011
5 – 7 PM
RIVERFRONT VILLAGE PLATFORM
100 SW WATER ST, PEORIA, IL

Local Chapter helps with workplace learning

ASTD (American Society for Training & Development) is the world’s largest association dedicated to workplace learning and performance professionals. ASTD’s members come from more than 100 countries and connect locally in more than 125 U.S. chapters and with more than 20 international partners. Members work in thousands of organizations of all sizes, in government, as independent consultants, and suppliers.

The local chapter of ASTD, Heart of Illinois American Society for Training and Development is announcing the date for their annual event Employee Learning Showcase which will be December 8th at the Professional Development Institute in Peoria, IL.

Ashley Lovell the VP of Marketing for HOI-ASTD says, “This will probably be the most comprehensive event for business professionals. Our theme this year is Becoming a Performance Partner, which will offer a wide range of topics from performance management to performance coaching. We are really excited about the speakers who have submitted proposals so far. We hope this will be the best attended event for us so far. ”

Last year’s event featured social media topics as well as employee engagement and motivation for employees. Lovell stated this year’s keynote speaker will be Marvis Meyers, VP of Organizational Development for the Peoria Area Employer’s Association. “She has presented at one of our chapter meetings and our members talked about it for weeks. Her presentation was fun and compelling. She is a very talented presenter.”

Early bird registration is now available for $40 for members and $35 for non-members for the entire day of presentations. Lunch is included in the registration fee. Anyone interested in taking advantage of this learning experience should contact HOI-ASTD by calling (309) 253-3947 or visit their website at www.ASTDHOI.org to register online.

Award for the State of Illinois and Region V by the United States Small Business Administration and SCORE. Ken Klotz, Director of Illinois Small Business Development Center located at Bradley University attended the conference with Doris as her nominator for the two awards.

The 48th Annual Illinois Small Business Week Awards ceremony was held at the Union League Club of Chicago. Doris is the President of Teaching and Learning for Knowledge and is a strong mentor and advocate to empower and encourage women to create small businesses/jobs in the local community. Recently, she was selected as the new vice president of communications for the local Central Illinois NAWBO Chapter. She is a dedicated SCORE Counselor for new entrepreneurs in Peoria. She produces the largest women small business conferences in Peoria.

A group of geese is called a gaggle and a gathering of goldfish is a glint. The Peoria Zoo needs to know what to call a group of geckos and they need to know fast. So we searched the internet for “what do you call a group of geckos” and found out that there is no name since geckos don’t form groups in the wild.

On May 5th, two eggs were found in the Zoo’s Standing’s Day Gecko exhibit which houses an adult pair. To prevent the eggs from damage, they were removed to an off-exhibit “incubator” of sorts. The pair had laid eggs before so they were no surprise, but the two babies found in the gecko exhibit on May 20th were!

Shortly after posting a sign encouraging visitors to look for 2 babies, a 3rd baby was found in the exhibit on June 14 followed by a fourth on the 18th.

The female continued to lay eggs and the next three were not concealed so they were pulled from the exhibit. Two of these eggs hatched as well bringing the grand total to 1.1.6 which is Zoo shorthand for 1 male, 1 female, 6 unknown sex. The remaining three eggs were found to be infertile.

On the prospect of having to catch a gecko youngster when new homes are found, Doug Holmes, the Zoo’s resident herpetologist, said “That should be a LOT of fun!” referring to their size and speed.

For questions, call the Peoria Zoo at (309) 681-3513 or check out our website at www.peoriazoo.org.

The Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Illinois unanimously adopted a new delegate selection plan in advance of the 2012 Presidential election cycle.

“This plan puts Illinois Democrats in full compliance with the Democratic National Committee requirements,” said Chairman Michael J. Madigan. “All Illinoisans can now begin the process of launching their campaigns to win election as a delegate to the 2012 Democratic National Convention.”

The 2012 convention will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina Sept 3-7. District-level delegates will be elected during the March 20, 2012 primary. Nominating petitions and statement of candidacy forms must be filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections between January 3 and January 6, 2012. Copies of the statement of candidacy and pledges of support must be filed with the state party during that same period.

Party leaders, at-large delegates and at-large alternates will be selected by the state delegation at the May 7, 2012 meeting. Statements of candidacy and pledges of support must be filed with the state party by April 9, 2012. Standing committee members, the delegation chair and convention pages will also be selected during the May meeting.

The full text of the delegate selection plan and required filing documents are available at www.ildems.com or by calling the Springfield headquarters at 217-546-7404.

THIS CAMP HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL NEXT WEEK DUE TO OUR HEAT SITUATION!!!
Features individualized instruction in sprinting events ranging from the 100m – 800 m dash. Instruction will focus on both theory and application of the fundamentals involved in successfully competing in these events.

Camp directors: Antwon Dussett (USA Masters National/
World Masters Champion in 100, 200 and 400m dash)
Constance Jackson (NCAA All American/ Peoria Area Track Coach) & other members of the Peoria area track community

Who: Boys & Girls; Ages 7 – 17
Where: Notre Dame High School Track, 5105 North Sheridan Road
Time: 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. daily
Cost: $100 per camper or $80/camper for families with 2 or more
Contact: amd_running@yahoo.com or constancejackson200@gmail.com
309-453-9910 / 309-642-0581