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Saturday, August 2, 2014
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JFK project winding down Hermes: ‘It’s just a building, but seeing what takes place afterwards in the building will be the neat thing’ By Goldie Currie gcurrie@bcrnews.com
SPRING VALLEY — The John F. Kennedy School addition project is just weeks away from being completed.
Workers are checking off the last items on their punch lists, making final inspections of their work and preparing to pick up the tools and head to the next project. Superintendent of the project, Chris Rossman of
Williams Brothers Construction, is looking at Aug. 15 as being the last day workers will be in the building. “A lot has been accomplished in one year,” he said. “The first footing was dug on July 3 of last
year. Sometimes we hit stagnant parts of the job when we felt like nothing was getting accomplished, and then boom, it all came together at once.” As for school Superintendent Jim Hermes ... he’s itching for that first day of school on Sept. 6 and can’t wait to see the expressions of students as they take their first walk
down the new hallways. “I cannot wait. I’m just going to sit back and relax. There’s going to be a sense of pride of what we were able to provide for our students,” he said. As this marks his first school construction project, Hermes explained the experience of seeing it progress over time will be unforgettable.
“I’ve learned so much from the people on the job … how things are coordinated and how meetings are run to keep projects on tasks. Looking around, just a year ago, this was a field, and to see what we have now, it’s incredible,” he said.
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Developing a healthy workplace Health department wins Silver Award By Donna Barker dbarker@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — The Bureau/Putnam County Health Department is one of 32 organizations statewide to receive “Illinois Healthy Worksite Designation.” The Illinois Department of Public Health announced the 32 organizations were selected for their outstanding worksite health promotion efforts. The Illinois Healthy Worksite Designation was created as part of the statewide We Choose Health Community Transformation Grant, funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and overseen by the Illinois Department of Public Health. Sixty-three organizations submitted applications for the Healthy Worksite Designation, with six organizations receiving Gold recognition, 11 receiving Silver designation, and 15 receiving Bronze designation. The Bureau/Putnam County Health Department received the Silver designation. Diana Rawlings, administrator for the local health department, said the Illinois Healthy Worksite program started locally when the health department received the We Choose Health Grant. The focus was to provide a tool kit for rural communities and businesses to help employees become healthier and happier, which benefits the employee and the employer. The decision was made
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BCR photo/Becky Kramer
The best contest ever! Brendon Neff puts his heart and soul ... and face into Thursday evening’s ice cream eating contest at the Tiskilwa Pow Wow festivities. Other events included a kids’ tractor pull, the Lil’ Spurs Rodeo Queen Pageant and music by The Generics. Keeping with tradition, the annual Pow Wow festival also included the 13th annual Lil’ Spurs Rodeo on Friday, a parade and classic car show on Saturday morning, and a community church service on Sunday.
Celebrating 20 years of helping animals in need More than 1,700 cats and 900 dogs adopted since 2006 By Donna Barker dbarker@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — The Friends of Strays animal shelter is celebrating its 20th year of helping find homes for unwanted dogs and cats. In the last eight years alone, since 2006, Friends of Strays has adopted out more than 1,700 cats and 900 dogs.
Interim Director Bev Eden and board member Cheryl McLane said Friends of Strays continues its same mission for the past 20 years, but there is now a new energy and focus to the non-profit organization. Since January, Friends of Strays has been under new management with a new director and headed in a positive direction, McLane said. Unfortunately, the public percep-
tion of Friends of Strays had become somewhat negative in the community, and the new management and director are out to change that perception, she said. One of the top goals is to get the community and the people of the community involved with Friends of Strays again, McLane said. Volunteers are welcomed and needed. Though there are a few paid staff for Friends of Strays, volunteers are always important to the ongoing success of the shelter, which is located at 2845
N. Main St. in Princeton, Eden said. Volunteers are needed in many ways, such as to walk the dogs, to pet the cats, to clean an area within the building, or to help outside the building by pulling weeds. Students are welcomed to volunteer as part of the community service hours for school. Volunteers are also needed to help at the Friends of Strays’ new Finders Keepers retail store, located at 306 E. Backbone Road in Princeton. Opening in May
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