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Serving Bureau County Since 1847
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Caring for each other Abbey Fields to benefit seniors, students By Donna Barker dbarker@bcrnews.com
SPRING VALLEY — The St. Bede campus is expanding to include an assisted living and memory care community for senior citizens. Area officials and dignitaries attended a groundbreaking ceremony last week for the new Abbey Fields, a $13 million project to be located on the northwest corner of the St. Bede Academy campus just east of Spring Valley. Once completed next fall, RPM Management will oversee the project. In his comments during the groundbreaking ceremony, RPM Management CEO/President Blair Minton described the new Abbey Fields as an exciting project not only for the city of Spring Valley but also for the entire region. Catering to senior citizens, ages 65 and older, the new facility will consist of 40 assisted living rooms for seniors who may require various levels of assistance with daily living activities like bathing, dressing and transferring. The new center will also have a special secured section of 22 memory care rooms to take care of those seniors who have a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease or some form of dementia, he said. In giving some background on the project, Minton said the Abbey Fields project has been near and dear to the heart of Dick Janko, of the Janko Financial Group who is partnering on the project with St. Bede and RPM Management. This is something Janko has envisioned for 30 years as a way to help St. Bede Academy and also the senior citizens in the area, Minton said.
What are the chances? Illinois drivers have a 1 in 214 chance of hitting a deer By Donna Barker dbarker@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — Illinois drivers may breathe a sigh of relief, but not for too long, when it comes to deer/vehicle accidents. According to information released Monday by State Farm Insurance, Illinois has seen a 10 percent decline in the number of deer/vehicle crashes in this past year. Drivers in Illinois now have a 1 in 214 chance
of hitting a deer this year, compared to last year’s 1 in 162 chance. With these latest numbers, Illinois is now ranked as the 32nd most likely state in which to hit a deer, compared to the 30th most likely state last year. On Monday, State Farm spokesperson Chris Mullen said the busiest season for deer accidents is just approaching. About 18 percent of all deer/vehicle accidents typically happen in November, with October and December coming in as the second
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and third busiest months, respectively. On Monday, Bureau County Sheriff John Thompson said he doesn’t think Bureau County is seeing fewer deer/vehicle accidents, but those accidents certainly increase in the fall and winter months. Overall, deer/vehicle accidents may make up about 50 percent of the accidents investigated by his department. In addition to the fall and winter months in general, it appears deer are more mobile in the time just prior and during inclement
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Mobile Meals on the move for 42 years Clients, volunteers welcome By Donna Barker dbarker@bcrnews.com
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BCR photo/Amelia Bystry
A French soiree in the art district Matthew Anderson got a bird’s-eye view atop a set of stilts at Friday evening’s French soiree in Princeton’s North Main Street Art District. Anderson was helping welcome guests to the event. Area merchants invited the public to participate in a stroll through the district, where event-goers found artists, refreshments, extended store hours and more.
PRINCETON — Mobile Meals is celebrating its 42nd year of helping to provide meals for area residents. Pat Anson, director of the Mobile Meals program, said the lunch and evening meals are prepared through Perry Memorial Hospital, seven days a week, 365 days a year, including holidays. According to a recent Mobile Reports report, nearly 13,000 meals were served during the 2011 year. Anson credited the long-time volunteer organization, which began in April 1971, to its founders Shirley Coates and Barbara Mueller through Church Women United, as well as to Perry Memorial Hospital and all the volunteers who have given of their time during the years to deliver meals to Princeton area residents. “As from the beginning, the mainstay of Mobile Meals will be always be the volunteers,” Anson said. “Undeterred by weather or any other difficulty, Mobile Meals volunteers have enabled the meals to be delivered to Princeton and the surrounding area, up to five miles outside of town, almost every day since that first day 42 years ago.” Anson said the only time the volunteers don’t go are when the weather is extreme, and schools are cancelled. For those times, clients are encouraged to always keep a couple cans of soup or frozen meals, she said. As always, Mobile Meals can always use more volunteer drivers and dispatchers, Anson said, adding being part of this service is a rewarding experience. As far as its outreach, Mobile Meals service is available for persons of any age who have a problem shopping for food or preparing the food needed to remain in good health or to regain good health, helping people live satisfactorily in their own homes, she said.
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