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compiled by Helen Mogill,
hmogill@frontiernet.net, |
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Vote!
Don’t forget to vote, Tuesday, November 7 |
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Proposed
Levy for Ambulance Service
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Legion Auxiliary Pork Chop
Dinner
Pork chop
dinner Friday, Nov. 10, serving
from
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The Towanda
HCE’s November meeting will feature a lesson by Jeanie Wager on 'Digital vs
Traditional Cameras': keys to purchasing and tips on taking good
pictures. Contact Cindy Kelley Monday, Nov.13, |
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Towanda
Library News
(on the web at towandalibrary.org) Family Movie Night
Fri., Nov. 10 from Fri., Dec. 8 from 6:30-7:30pm: The
Year Without a Santa Claus Pajama story time on Family
Reading Night Thur., Nov. 16th
Make greeting
card boxes for holiday gift giving Mon, Nov. 27 6:30-7:30pm These little boxes can be used
to box homemade gifts but are also pretty enough to be used as gifts
themselves! Volunteer Pat Pulokas from
the Towanda Home Extension will show you how to make the boxes and will supply
greeting cards and samples. You will
need to bring a ruler and scissors with you to the program. Please register for this program by calling
TOWANDA
READS! Tues.
Dec. 5th at The Friends of the Towanda
District Library invite you to join them in a book discussion of March by Geraldine
Brooks at president Kay Liebenow’s house.
Attendees are invited to bring a few homemade Christmas cookies to
share. Call the library for more
details. Look What I
Can Do The library has a supply of “Look
what I can do” brochures, posters, magnets, growth charts and pencils from the Illinois
Dept. of Human Services and State Board of Education, for parents to track
the developmental progress of their children from birth to age 5. This is an early intervention program and
we are pleased to offer these materials to you free of charge. These materials are located near the
Parenting Section in the library. Board meeting
time change Due to the new library hours,
the library board has changed its meeting times from A note from the Library Board President The Towanda District Library
is continuing to find ways to enhance the library experiences for you, your children,
and the used-to-be resident patrons of our library (expanded hours,
downloadable digital audio books and videos, and programs for all ages, to
name a few). We are, however, losing
property and income to the Bloomington/Normal expansion as they annex Towanda
District Library property and thus take tax revenues with them. We want you to know that the Board of
Directors of the Library is looking at this situation - and we would surely
welcome your participation! - Tim Mogill, President, Board of Trustees. You and your
library board Do you love your library? Are you over 18? How about running for a library board
seat? There will be three positions
available for the May 2007-2011 term.
We need you! Contact the
library director or the library board president, Tim Mogill, for more
information.
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Towanda Historical Society Work has
begun on the LSTA grant project.
Funding for this grant was awarded by the Illinois State Library, a Division
of the Office of Secretary of State, using funds provided by the
The next
meeting of TAHS is Tuesday, Nov.28,
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Nature Club by Sue Arnold The topic
for the October Nature Club meeting was bird identification. Dale Birkenholz and Les Allen from the
local John Wesley Powell Audubon Society talked to us about the birds which
make their home in our subdivision in winter, summer, or year-round. The discussion was very informal and
interactive. Dale and Les passed
around stuffed specimens from the ISU collection. Here's a few fun facts which you may not
know: a. Robins are year-round residents of
b. The drab olive-colored birds you
see on your sisal feeders in winter are the same bright yellow goldfinches
you see in the summer. They change
their feathers twice a year to throw us off! |
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c. We have two types of
nuthatches. The larger, more common
White-breasted Nuthatch is a year-round resident. The smaller Red-breasted Nuthatches are
less common and are typically seen during migration and during the winter months. d. The Indian Creek Nature Area has
been included in the annual Bloomington-Normal Christmas Bird Count for many
years. It's part of a larger,
nationwide bird count. A couple
of members relayed sightings of a large, white owl in the subdivision. If anyone has a picture of this owl, please
submit it for identification. The two
common owls we have are the Barred Owl and the Great Horned Owl. A Barn Owl would be an extremely rare find! |
Barn Owl (not a local photo) |
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The next meeting
of the Nature Club is planned for the end of January. |
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Indian Creek Fall Work Day by Jim
Russell |
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Honeysuckle |
After a
dreary gray week we had a beautiful Saturday for the Indian Creek Fall 2006
work day. The neighbors who
volunteered were Jon Rosenthal, Helen Mogill, Greg and Carol Beneze, Jim
Larson, Dave McCarty, Sue Arnold, Dennis Maze and Jim Russell. After coffee, juice and doughnuts (thanks
Carol!) we got to work. The bird
houses in the nature area and along Eastwood were cleaned out. This required
Helen to evict a few mice who thought they had a nice place to stay for the
winter! Jim L and Jim R dismantled the
goals in the soccer field which much improved the view of that area. Greg and Carol braved the strong winds
coming off the fields and picked up multiple bags of trash along the
highway. |
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Everyone
pitched in on honeysuckle control in the nature area with much pulling,
cutting, clipping and spraying. We made
a lot of progress in the on-going battle against invasive species in our
nature area. Please
consider joining your neighbors for the next Indian Creek work day Spring
2007.
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Towanda Elementary PTO News By Karen Showalter A BIG
THANK YOU to all who supported Towanda Elementary through the Beich Candy
Sales Fundraiser. Over $7000 was earned this year! Delivery of items will take place starting
Nov. 13. Congratulations
to the students. They raised $1238.21
for A new
offering: Bergner’s Community Day on Nov. 11 for $5 (100% of which goes to
the school). You will receive a $10
coupon good towards any purchase and 7 other money saving coupons. Contact Amy Kinsella at Mr. Smock
trained the staff on CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver recently in order to
provide a safer school environment.
Thank you to Mr. Smock who is a Captain on the Towanda Fire Dept. Residents
are also invited to attend our annual Turkey Trot for fitness on Nov. 22 from
We're
looking into starting a chess club after school. If anyone would be interested in helping,
please contact Principal Sarah Edwards at the school |
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Property Taxes Information provided by Jim Larson
and Dave Schulthes
Last year
an 8.15% multiplier was applied. This
year a 9.46% multiplier has been applied.
When the multiplier is applied, the result is your new assessed value
and is permanent unless you file a complaint and have your assessment
changed. The multiplier is determined by It is up
to the homeowner to determine whether to file complaint or not. This is a judgment call. Each property is different and some
properties can actually be under assessed. Appeals need to be filed by November 13th. The Assessment Notice has information on
how to file and where to get the forms.
The complaint form and instructions can also be printed or downloaded
from http://www.mcleancountyil.gov/Assessor/complaint_forms.htm
. You will need to be prepared to state your case and provide evidence of why
you believe your property is over assessed.
The complaint form requires information about your property that you
can obtain from your assessment notice or from the McLean County Assessor's
website (http://www.mcleancountyil.gov/tax/main.aspx). The
complaint goes to the assessor for review to determine if your complaint is
valid. You will receive a notice
whether or not an adjustment is made.
If no adjustment is made, you will have seven days to contact the
Assessor's office to set up a meeting with the McLean County Board of
Review. At that meeting you would have
an opportunity to state your case further. If you
have questions or would like further information, including a copy of the
McLean County Sales Analysis report, you may call or email Dave Schulthes,
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ATV’s
One of
the purposes of the Homeowner's Association is to preserve the natural
woodlands and wildlife. At the March,
2006 homeowner’s meeting it was noted that no wheeled motorized vehicles are
permitted or appropriate for use in the common areas. To re-emphasis this, a
formal vote of homeowner’s can be taken at the next homeowners meeting. If you or your child has been riding an ATV
in the common areas, please cease. And
note that riding ATV’s on public roadways is against the law.
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Towanda
4-H Club - Chili Supper
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Sightings |
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Groundhog (Woodchuck) Photo by Janet McCarty |
Janet and
David McCarty have been welcoming hosts this summer to a groundhog that has
made its home under their deck. They
have enjoyed observing its activities. The
groundhog, also called a woodchuck, is a rodent and a member of the squirrel
family. Few of the groundhogs’
natural predators are present to control their number. Some people consider
them nuisances because of their tunneling habits and their lack of fear of
humans. |
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The
groundhog’s sight, hearing, and smell are all reported to be keen. It produces a shrill whistle when alarmed.
Although it lives on and underground, the groundhog can also swim and climb
trees. The
groundhog lives alone in a burrow near a source of food. Favorite foods are
grasses, clover, alfalfa, and crops like corn, so burrows are typically in
fields and meadows. There is a separate summer and winter den, and the latter
will often be sheltered by trees or shrubs. The burrow dug by the groundhog
may be 5 feet below ground and extend for 30 feet. The groundhog prepares a nesting chamber,
where it can sleep, and also makes a separate excrement chamber for its
toilet needs. Old groundhog burrows may be used by other animals, such as
skunks and foxes. The winter den is generally
used from October through February. With a thick layer of fat in the fall,
the groundhog retires to its winter den, seals the sleeping chamber with
dirt, and curls into a ball on its nest to sleep. A true hibernator, the
groundhog’s heart rate slows down to about 4 beats per minute, its body
temperature is lowered to about 40 degrees, and its breathing is slowed
considerably. The
legend of the Groundhog and its shadow is the basis of Groundhog Day. It is
said that on that day, February 2, the Groundhog will leave its burrow. If it
sees its shadow, it returns to its den to wait out six more weeks of winter.
However, if its cloudy and the groundhog does not see its shadow, it remains
outside because winter is over. There is no truth to the legend. Groundhogs
in the southern United States do not hibernate and those in the far north do
not come out of hibernation until April. |
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