Facts for Families: Coping With Grief This Holiday Season

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•December 8, 2021• By Cheri Burcham Family Life Educator The holiday season is fast approaching and given the loss, turmoil, and uncertainty that we have recently experienced, I wanted to share this article by Extension Educator Karla Belzer. While the holiday season brings about joy and celebration, it can also be a time of great sadness and pain as traditions and family memories can intensify grief. The season is truly bittersweet – sweet memories of a loved one combined with the reality of loss. Grieving the loss of a loved one is a difficult experience at any time of the … Read More

Which Words Sent us Running to the Dictionary in 2021

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•December 8, 2021• By Jim Baumann NP Guest Writer The Top 10 list, a popular news media vehicle for recapping the year and providing us with lifesaving copy when the news world tends to hibernate, can sometimes be upended when news actually happens. It always seems to bite us in the rear end when we revisit luminaries we lost during the year. For the purposes of this column, however, I turn to Merriam-Webster’s announcement of its word of the year and its Top 10 lookups. But what happens if such terms as “Invasion from Xenon 362,” “flesh-eating middle-schoolers” or “No-mo-California” … Read More

Remember When? 12-8-2021

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25 Years Ago This Week Little Theatre coloring contest winners were Courtney Radford, Dylan Short, Ashlyn Gregory, Megan Risley, Zayne Troxel and Zachary Righter. They received free tickets as their prize. The Lovington Panthers defeated the Bethany Mustangs 68-40. Lovington boys’ basketball won two in a row with a 53-40 win over Kansas. … Read More

Wits Fitness Program at Senior Center Focuses on Brain Health

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•December 8, 2021• by Crystal Reed NP Writer A program from the University of Illinois Extension held at Mid-Illinois Senior Services and Community Center is helping to keep brains active with fun activities. According to Cheri Burcham, University of Illinois Extension Family Life Educator, brain health is a hot topic because there is a huge population that is aging. The program called Wit Fit meets monthly at the center. … Read More

Brad Halbrook Announces Bid for State Representative in Newly Drawn 107th District

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•December 8, 2021• Citing the need for meaningful tax, pension, ethics, and spending reforms, State Representative Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) announced today he is running for re-election in the newly drawn 107th District. “There are many challenges facing our state right now,” Halbrook said. “We have not addressed pensions. We have done nothing to provide Illinois residents with any kind of meaningful tax relief. Spending is out of control, and we have failed to root out the culture of corruption in Illinois. We need a new approach and that can only happen if reform-minded candidates run for the statehouse and win. … Read More

Track Santa’s Flight

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•December 8, 2021• The North American Aerospace Defense Command is celebrating the 66th Anniversary of tracking Santa’s yuletide journey around the globe! The NORAD Tracks Santa website, www.noradsanta.org, launching December 1, features Santa’s North Pole Village, which includes a holiday countdown, games, movie theater, holiday music, webstore, and more. The website is available in eight languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Chinese. The official NORAD Tracks Santa app is also in the Apple App and Google Play stores, so parents and children can count down the days until Santa’s launch on their smart phones and tablets. Tracking … Read More

Community Blood Drive

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•December 8, 2021• St. Columcille Church will host a community blood drive on Monday, December 20 from 2:30 to 5:30 pm inside the church hall. To donate please contact ImpactLife Urbana at (800)747-5401 or visit www.bloodcenter.org and use code 71249 to locate the drive. The church hall is located at 516 W. Jackson Street in Sullivan. … Read More