•August 10, 2022•
HSHS St. Mary’s Hospital’s substance abuse, treatment and recovery program, provided in conjunction with Gateway Foundation, is a resource available to patients in the emergency department as well as throughout the hospital. Gateway Foundation is the largest nonprofit provider of substance use disorder treatment in the U.S. with its largest footprint in Illinois and has been providing life-saving treatment for over 50 years. In addition, Gateway has been engaged in a statewide program with hospitals and health systems over the last few years. Read More
Letter to the Editor 8-10-2022
To the Editor:
I’ve never been much of a fan of clichéd words and hackneyed phrases. They are usually unimaginative, lazy and platitudinous tropes that quickly wear out their welcome. That said, occasionally one of these terms finds itself as the perfect descriptor for a situation for which no other word or phrase can suffice nearly as well. Read More
Just One More Day With You
•August 10, 2022•
by Sarah Hudson Pierce
NP Guest Columnist
Having lost a very dear friend, a year ago I am led to tell you a story about a widower who was looking through his old family trunk a few years ago and how he discovered a poem penned in his wife’s own hand. It was dated just days before she died, after a long illness, over thirty years ago.
The piece was titled Just One More Day.
It went something like this: “Give me just one more day with you!”
Those poignant words were overwhelming to him and are enough to get our attention because life is so uncertain. Our rugs can be jerked out from under our feet so quickly, with no warning. Read More
I spell tomato and you spell tomahto
•August 10, 2022•
By Jim Baumann
NP Guest Writer
An outfit called www.unscrambled-words.com decided to mine Google’s search function data to determine which words we seem to have the most trouble spelling.
After seeing many of them, I’m truly terrified for our future. Please share in my grief.
“Tomato,” “cheese” and “Idaho” are among America’s most misspelled words for 2022, according to the study.
Yet these are primary ingredients in most Burger King meals, if you count potatoes as Idaho’s chief contribution to the culinary world. I know this about Burger King from doing plenty of market research.
Do we really not know how to spell these words?
In defense of Alaska, where the biggest stumbling block is “cheese,” let’s consider that in the entire state there are only 10 dairies. So, like many of us, Alaskans probably eat Cheez-Its by the box and put Cheez Whiz on corn chips. Read More
Remember When? 8-10-2022
25 Years Ago This Week
Ciara Bush, Rachel Marshall and Sara Sims were contestants in the Little Miss Bethany contest.
Ray Shain, water supply operator for the City of Sullivan, was a nominee for “operator of the year award” given annually by the Illinois Potable Water Supply Operators Assn.
50 Years Ago This Week
The newly appointed zoning board of appeals and the Lovington Village Board approved a variance to the zoning ordinance to allow Moultrie Grain Assn. to build buildings higher than allowed by the ordinance. The association planned to build several grain storage bins at their property on the south side of the elevator office. The bins were 100 feet tall or 45 feet higher than allowed in the ordinance without a variance.
A five day canoe trip, from Cooks Mills to the Shelbyville Dam, was being planned by eleven Boy Scouts from Troop No. 39 and their leaders. During the fifty mile trip, the boys were required to spend at least 10 hours on a conservation project.
Understanding The Need For A Representative Payee
•August 3, 2022•
By Ileana Saveley
Social Security District
Manager in Decatur, IL
You may know someone who gets a monthly Social Security benefit or Supplemental Security Income payment and who also needs help managing their money. If someone you know needs help, we can appoint a person or an organization to act as a “representative payee” responsible for receiving and managing a person’s benefits.
When we assign a representative payee, we select someone who knows the beneficiary’s needs and can make decisions about how to best use their benefits for their care and wellbeing. Read More
Facts for Families: Coping with Back to School Anxiety
•August 3, 2022•
By Cheri Burcham
Family Life Educator
School will be starting again before we know it, and although it can be exciting, it can also be a little intimidating and scary for some children. Extension Educator Tessa Hobbs-Curley has written a great article about this topic and shares some tips for families to prepare for school. Tessa says: anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric diagnosis in school-age children worldwide. Anxiety may appear in different forms, including separation anxiety, social phobia, generalized anxiety, panic with agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and specific phobic disorders causing numerous problems in their lives.
Several issues can develop due to untreated stress, including lower academic achievement, increased difficulties with peers and parental relationships, poor self-esteem and intensified negative self-perception. Some anxiety is normal but be aware of the extreme. Transitioning back to class as summer ends can be a stressful time for children and parents. Read More
Illinois Farmer to Ag Lawmakers: Farm Credit Reforms Needed
•August 3, 2022•
By Timothy Eggert
FarmWeek
One of Adam Brown’s most painful financial decisions was selling the first tractor his father rode.
“While that was a difficult and emotional step to take, the survival of my farm for the next generation is my top priority, just like it was for the generation that passed it on to me,” Brown told federal lawmakers July 14, his voice cracking.
But trading the 1950 Ford Ferguson T20 for cash was not enough.
“I still needed some help to keep things running and the loan programs that were available for young, beginning and underserved producers came through for me in one of the most difficult and stressful times of my life,” he said. Read More
IDPH Offering Free Supplies of COVID-19 Antigen Tests
•August 3, 2022•
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced it is offering free, one-time bulk shipments of rapid COVID-19 antigen tests to all interested and eligible Long Term Care facilities in Illinois. The deadline to apply is August 9. Read More
Field Day of Learning at Douglas-Hart
•August 3, 2022•
by Jenny Lee
Master Gardener/Master Naturalist Coordinator, University of Illinois Extension Coles County
Local Master Naturalists want to inspire you to appreciate Illinois’ natural beauty and learn some interesting facts along the way. Join us for our second annual Field Day of Learning on Saturday, August 13, 8:30 am to 3:30 pm at Douglas-Hart Nature Center. Read More