June 2008 Archives

I am officially a member on the Grundy County Chamber of Commerce & Industry's Young Professional Network committee. I've hit the big time, but don't be jealous you can join!

Besides being able to call myself a committee member and getting to feel important, it is nice to be a part of something that focuses on bringing other people my age together.

As a reporter in Grundy County I tend to run into a consistent problem, I'm not taken seriously by the professionals who are mostly old enough to be my parent. Grundy is growing, but is still a rural area made up mostly of people who have lived in the county their whole lives. Newbies, and especially the young ones, don't always fit in off the bat.

Luckliy, once they get to know me and see that I am accurate writer, it is usually no longer a problem. But that first introduction is always tough.

When I was younger I gave blood regularly. After the first blood drive I participated in at school I learned that I was o-, a much needed blood type. Once I learned this I felt like it was my duty.

Like most kids, my social life became more important and I didn't donate as often. It got down to about once a year when my mom ended up in the hospital and needed five blood transfusions.

After that I was back to the Heartland Blood Center in Joliet and every blood drive I could get an appointment at. But by this time I was in college and donating plasma became more appealing because they paid you. But at least I was still helping.

Thought I'd share a fun event the media was informed of. We don't cover a whole lot of LaSalle County, but for those of you who live close or are up for a short road trip here is the info provided to us.

LaSalle, IL - Come to the grand opening of the LaSalle Canal Boat, slated for Saturday and Sunday, June 28 and 29. Book your reservations now to be among the first to ride in a canal boat on the I&M Canal in 75 years. Rides will be held 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Kicking off the grand opening weekend will be the boat christening on Friday, the 27th at 1 p.m. Then Saturday morning, the public boat rides begin, launching the boat's inaugural tour season.

As part of the celebration, I&M Canal historian and author Ron Vasile will present "19th Century Passenger Travel on the I&M Canal," a talk on the history of canal "packet" boats. The LaSalle Canal Boat is an authentic replica of an I&M Canal packet boat. The free talk will be held Sunday at noon and 2 p.m. at the new Lock 16 Visitor Center, 754 First Street. Enjoy light fare and refreshments, and browse through a variety of history-themed gifts while you're there.

Click for more information.

The sight of watered down hotdog buns dripping from grown men's mouths is beyond disgusting.

As I witnessed this today during the annual hotdog contest at the Grundy Bank and WCSJ/WJDK Brown Bag lunch on the courthouse lawn, the only thing that kept me from gagging was knowing it was for a good cause.

One of the many functions I perform at the Herald News is compiling the stories and photos for the Properties section that goes in the Sunday Herald News. I read the Will County real estate transactions for the week and adjust for style errors and the like. I enjoy reading these because a.) I can see how much my neighbors paid for their houses and b.) some of the street names are completely ridiculous.

I am no stranger to ridiculous street names. In college, I lived for four years on Vachel Lindsay Drive in Springfield. All of the streets on campus were named after famous Illinois writers. It was so frustration to try and give directions to someone on campus (Turn left on Eliza Farnham Drive, then right on Edgar Lee Masters Lane and straight to Gwendolyn Brooks Drive).

Anyhoo, in my travails in the properties listings, I've come to the conclusion that Wilmington has the best and most random street names in the area. A sampling taken from our archives:

Widows Road
Trick Circle Court
Correct Craft Lane
Rivals Road
Angle Road
Dinosaur Road

Any weird street names you've come across in your area travels?

Wouldn't that make an awesome band name? I digress..

Tonight is the last full moon before the summer solstice, also known as the solstice moon. According to NASA, when the sun is high in the sky, the moon is lower in the sky and our eyes think the moon looks bigger even though its the same size.

Grundy County is too big of an area for one reporter to cover. Actually it's pretty impossible, although if I do say so myself, I don't do half bad. :)

But this is thanks to all the help I get from our freelance writers. The Herald News uses them in all of our areas and sections, but we have a few that really do a lot of work for us in Grundy County. They are Jeanne Millsap, Kris Stadalsky and Jean Tyrell.

Without them I could not do my job and honestly we are forever in debt to them.

And now we are lucky enough to add one more savior to our group of freelancers: Kathleen Fitzgerald.

Some of us are having trouble publishing blogs. We will keep you updated, but as of right now it is hindering new postings. We're working on it.

Every summer the city of Morris holds concerts on the Grundy County Courthouse lawn in June, July and August.

This year's series begins tomorrow. From 6:30 to 8 p.m. Chapter 6 will be performing. They have been called "an a cappella sensation."

All the concerts are held on the courthouse lawn unless there is rain or high heat. Then the concerts are at the Morris High School auditorium.

The rest of the concerts are as follows:

Ann Steward & The Banjo Buddies will perform from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday July 10. They are described as a "high energy Dixieland band."

The Neverly Brothers will perform from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday July 17. They play tunes from the 1950s American Rockabilly & Rock n' Roll to the British Invasion.

The Pontiac Municipal Band will play from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday July 24. They are an "old fashioned" concert band with Big Band sounds.

The Steve Cooper Orchestra will perform from 6:60 to 8 p.m. Thursday August 7. This orchestra also plays Big Band sounds.

For more information call Delight Belt at (815) 942-0502 or Jerry Belt at (815) 509-0877.

As most of you probably already know, the Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament returned to Morris this past weekend.

This Friday's Southwest Weekly addition will feature several stories and photos of the event that attracted more than 1,000 players.

Articles will feature a look at Julie Applegate's experiences running her first tournament, some profiles of the players and highlights of the volunteers who made it all happen.

When I started here at The Herald News I weighed about 20-25 pounds more. I was a short chubby girl.

After quitting pop, taking a trip to Mexico and bringing home a virus, in addition to watching what I eat, I was able to shed the pounds and am rather comfortable with myself now.

So comfortable in fact that my head shot, aka mug shot, you currently see next to this blog makes me want to hurl. I swear those 20 pounds are all in my cheeks.

Are you ready?

Photo by Larry Kane

The Gus Macker 3-on-3 basketball tournament is coming to downtown Morris this weekend. Christina and I volunteered at last year's event and it's a good time for fans of basketball. I'll be there Saturday morning so come over and say hi!

This week's Southwest Weekly features an interview with Julie Applegate, the executive director of the Morris Downtown Development Partnership, the organization that runs the tournament. Also, this year's contestant for the "Do-or-die shot," the opening half-court shot that traditionally opens the tournament, is Missy Durkin, former MDDP head. Good luck Missy!

Look for in-depth tournament coverage in the June 13 issue.