•September 13, 2017•

The Illinois Press Foundation is pleased to announce a $5,000 grant, for which Illinois high school and college journalism programs are eligible. This grant will reward the program that locates the most missing photos of Vietnam veterans for the foundation’s Wall of Faces effort.

When the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. was finished in 1983, the wall listed about 58,000 servicemen and women who had either died in action or went missing in action during the war. Due to a fire at a government storage facility in 1973, the U.S. military lost millions of personnel records, including records for many of those who were listed on the wall. While the military and other organizations made efforts to recover the lost data, 24,000 veterans listed on the wall still had no picture in military records in 2013. Read More

•September 13, 2017•

Sarah Bush Lincoln has launched a new patient portal and SBL AdvantAge 50 is offering a free class for those who want to learn how to use it from 10 to 11 a.m.  Thursday, September 14, in the Cottonwood Room of Prairie Pavilion II, second floor. During the class, participants will get registered on the portal and also learn how to navigate through it. There is limited seating available so reserve your seat early. Read More

•September 13, 2017•

The Regional Office of Education #11 and Charleston School District #1, in conjunction with the Teachers’ Retirement System, is scheduling a group meeting to provide information about TRS benefits and to explain the retirement process. Members of the retirement system who have questions about their benefits and the retirement process should plan to attend the group meeting.

Teachers eligible to retire are invited to the meeting in the Charleston High School Auditorium at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, October 11.

•September 6, 2017•

What concerns local teens the most? Many would assume that drugs and alcohol, bullying, or body image would top the list. In fact, according to the 3,159 students polled by the Illinois Youth Survey (IYS), depression and suicide are now the biggest concerns for eighth grade students in a seven-county area. In all, 38 percent of eighth-graders surveyed listed depression or suicide as their top health concern for people their age.

Sarah Bush Lincoln child psychiatrist Katie Hecksel, MD, explains, “Adolescents and teenagers developmentally have a difficult time seeing beyond an immediate stressor or tolerating strong emotions without acting on them,” she added, “This makes them more susceptible to act on suicidal thoughts, particularly when encouraged by others.”

In an effort to help people learn more about teenage depression and suicide, Sarah Bush Lincoln is teaming with WEIU-TV to present a live broadcast entitled “Choose Hope.” The program airs at 7 pm, Tuesday, Sept. 12 on WEIU-TV throughout the region. Sarah Bush Lincoln experts child psychiatrist Katie Hecksel, MD, and pediatrician David Stoltz, MD, will answer call-in and email questions throughout the program.  Read More

•September 6, 2017•

September is National Preparedness Month and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) is joining with emergency management agencies throughout the state and across the U.S. to encourage people to spend a few moments during the month on disaster preparedness.

The campaign’s theme Disasters Don’t Plan Ahead. You Can. urges people to set aside time to discuss emergency plans with family members and develop a plan to stay safe when disaster strikes. The goal of this annual preparedness push is to increase personal and community disaster preparedness throughout the U.S. Read More