•April 20, 2022•
By Jim Baumann
NP Guest Writer

Now that it’s officially spring, it’s time for some spring cleaning of my bloated email box.
I’m going to sift through some that aren’t infested with black mold and, by way of apology, publish some reader questions I’ve never gotten around to.

Bulls is in the playoffs?
Dave DeVries had been wrestling with sports team names and whether they should get a singular or plural pronoun.
He teaches a PR/crisis communication class in Northwestern University’s sports management program, which is perhaps why he employed “wrestling” in his question.
“I often correct students’ assignments to indicate a team is ‘it,’ not ‘they,’” he wrote. “My belief is that a team is a single unit, and thus a singular pronoun must be used.” Read More

Photo furnished
The Lake Land College Foundation recently received its largest cash gift in the amount of $1.7 million, donated to benefit Shelby County students from the Cecil Paul and Marjorie Wilson Davis Estate. Pictured are Cecil Paul and Marjorie Wilson Davis.

•April 13, 2022•
The Lake Land College Foundation recently received its largest cash gift in the history of the organization. The $1.7 million gift was donated to benefit Shelby county students from the Cecil Paul and Marjorie Wilson Davis Estate.
“This transformative gift will positively impacts hundreds of students’ lives from Shelby County through traditional scholarships, dual credit and dual enrollment opportunities,” Executive Director for College Advancement Christi Donsbach said.
Cecil Paul and Marjorie Wilson Davis were very involved in their communities and professions and wanted to be able to give back by creating opportunities for Shelby County residents to pursue a college education. Read More

•April 13, 2022•
Cheri Burcham
Extension Educator
University of Illinois Extension

Often grandparenting means a weekend with grandchildren every now and then, an evening babysitting, a summer vacation, or chats on the phone and Facetime here and there. But when life circumstances change, grandparents often assume full- or part-time responsibility for their grandchildren. Here is another great article from Eastern Illinois University Graduate Student Kayli Worthey:
Many grandparents are now taking on the parenting role for their grandchildren, changing the traditional grandparent/grandchild relationship. According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, 2.5 million children were living with grandparents who were responsible for their care in 2005. In 2015, that number rose to 2.9 million (Wiltz, 2016).
There are many different reasons grandparents assume the primary parenting role, including family crises like disability of child or parent, death, divorce, deportation, incarceration, or military deployment. Others may raise their grandchildren due to state removal from parental care because of parental substance abuse, abuse, and neglect, unemployment, mental or physical illnesses, or child abandonment (Wiltz, 2016). Read More