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Saturday, October 6 2007, 8:00
am—3:00
pm
Interstate
Center
2301
W. Market Street, Bloomington,
IL
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Safely dispose of your
household and lawn chemicals and pesticides, paint products, fluorescent bulbs,
lead acid batteries, fire extinguishers, etc. and/or recycle cell phones,
eyeglasses, computers, and other electronics.
PLEASE DO NOT
BRING: latex paints,
medical wastes, business/commercial wastes, agricultural
waste, explosives, fire works, smoke
detectors, institutional wastes, farm
machinery oil
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For more information
contact the University of Illinois Extension at 309/663-8306 OR www.mcleanextension.org OR contact the Ecology Action Center at 309/454-3169 OR www.ecologyactioncenter.org/
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Open House - Chili Supper - Raffle
 
The Towanda Fire Department has successfully moved!! They will be celebrating
their new station and fire prevention week on Saturday, Oct. 6, with a dedication ceremony for all past
trustees and past firefighters at 3:30
and an open house, chili supper, and raffle 4:00pm - 8:00 pm.
There
will be door prizes, goody bags for kids, and a rock climbing
wall. The department is now located at 203 W Jackson (behind FS Station). Tickets are
available from TFD personnel or at the door. The chili supper tickets are $5
and the raffle tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5. Need not
be present for the raffle drawing.
Calls in September: accidents 5,
medical 7, investigations 3, mutual aid 2, brush fire 1
Note: If you have an emergency or need
to report an emergency, call 911. The fire dept. does not have an
emergency number. There is only a business phone number, and if no one is at
the station you will get the answering machine. The 911 operator
will take all your information and then page the firefighters.
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Fish Fry
The Towanda
Legion is hosting a Fish Fry at the legion hall, Hely Street, on the south edge of town (just
before the curve to the Towanda Barnes blacktop). Green Beans, Cole Slaw, and Dessert are included.
Carry outs available.
Friday, October 12 5:30pm - 7:30pm Cost: $7.00
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Halloween Costume Contest
 A Halloween costume contest will be held on Sunday, October 28th at the Community Building. Judging will start at 3:00pm. The contest is for newborns to
5th grades. Prizes will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each
age group. There will be Treat Bags for all kids who wear a
costume. Any one interested in being a
judge is encouraged to call Heather Lueschen at 728-2840.
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 Halloween Treats
There
will be treats and cookies at Community Building on Halloween, Wednesday, October 31, from 5:00 – 8:00pm, provided by the Baptist Church.
Jason at
the Post Office will also give out treats on Halloween night from 5:00 – 8:00pm.
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Special
Meeting of Money Creek Township
submitted by Terry Giannoni, Township
Supervisor
 There will be a special meeting on
October 8, 2007, at 6:30pm at the Lexington Community Center for the purpose of ratifying action
taken by the Township Board of Money Creek.
The
Township Board of Money Creek has determined that the purchase of land and
the construction of a township road maintenance equipment storage building,
with small office area, would be for the welfare of the township
inhabitants and would better enable the township to utilize its resources to
the fullest extent possible at the least expense to the residents and
taxpayers of the township.
Details
of the land and early working specifications of the building will be
available at the meeting.
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Towanda
Library News
(on the web at towandalibrary.org)
Monday, Oct.
15: GONE FISHING! 6:30-8:00pm
 You are
invited to join local fisherman Jerry Martoglio who will talk about how to
fish successfully in local lakes. He’ll discuss how and where to fish from
your boat in Evergreen , Dawson, Clinton and Spring Lakes and Lake
Bloomington; tips on how to best catch saugeye, crappie, muskie, bluegill and
bass; and the kind of equipment that works best to catch each. You’ll
also learn what to look for in the water and how to use electronics (fish
locators, temperature gauges, etc.) Please register for this program by
calling
728-2176 or by e-mailing towandalib@yahoo.com.
 Thurs., Oct. 26:
Fright Night, 6:30 - 8:00 (date is tentative)
Scary stories and creepy crafts for 3rd
through 5th graders, only. Advance
registration is required, by stopping by or calling the library at 728-2176. Parents may drop the children off at 6:30 and pick them up at 8:00.
 Thur., Dec. 13: Towanda Reads China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power
by Rob Gifford.
This will be will be the book club’s annual Christmas
party and will be held at 7:00pm at Ruth Parson's
home. Bring an appetizer to share.
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Autumn Celebration at Sugar Grove Nature Center
sugargrovenaturecenter.org
The Sugar Grove Nature Center is hosting an autumn celebration
at the center on Saturday, Oct. 20, 10am – 5pm. It will feature music, wagon rides, Old Tyme Medicine Shows, storytelling, a Native American
encampment, blacksmith and woodturning demonstrations, crafts, pumpkins, good
eats, plenty of kids’ activities, local artisans and crafters, and much
more. Take the Shirley exit on RT 55
south of Bloomington and turn right and then left onto
old Route 66 to Funks Grove and follow the signs. Admission $2.00, children under 3 free.
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Towanda Elementary PTO News
 The Towanda Elementary students
will begin the PTO Fall Fundraiser on Friday October 5th. Funds are
being raised to complete a much needed update to the Instructional Media
Center (IMC), which formerly was the library....but now includes books, computers
and more). The students will be selling Kathryn Beich Candies, Gifts,
Wrapping Paper and Magazine subscriptions until October 15th.
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Towanda Historical Society
by Gail Ann Briggs
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Photograph taken around 1900 of Harlan Sachs, Ward
Sachs, and Horace Henderson
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The grant
work has been completed. You are invited to take a look at our website towandahistory.org and at the Illinois State Library
Digital Archives idaillinois.org/cdm4/browse.php?CISOROOT=%2Ftdl
If you find errors in the information, please let us know! A final grant report, containing some awesome
statistics, will be posted on our website soon. The community can take
great pride in this accomplishment!
Work to
update the history book was the primary topic when the Society met Tuesday,
September 25. Areas to be researched during the next month are
cemeteries (specifically Pennell, Bishop-Zion, Holy Cross) and
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families for whom little or no information has been
received to date. Locations and residences in photographs (circa
1970s), provided by Don Story, a former resident, are
being identified. Fundraising ideas were discussed including
calendars with photographs of our history, and a meal, but no decisions were
made.
People are
urged to provide names of families and contact information to the
Society, either by sending information to TAHS, PO Box 217, Towanda, calling Gail Ann
Briggs, 728.2187, or through the website: towandahistory.org (click 'Contact Us').
Or, better yet, write up the histories, save them to a disk or flash
drive, and get them to us. Thanks in advance for letting us
know how you can help research our history....many hands make light work....and
it is a LOT of fun! The next meeting is Tue.Oct.23, 7:00 p.m. at the Community Building.
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VFW Report
by Thomas Wagner
 As a member of Post 462, I am
proud to welcome home Cindy Singley and the rest of the 33rd Military Police Battalion
from their recent tour of Iraq. All of your donations for the
care packages were greatly appreciated.
Another
member of 462, Kim Shwab has been deployed to Kuwait and Iraq for one year. He is a Blackhawk pilot. We will be sending
him care packages also, so pray for a safe tour and may he come home soon.
Post 462
would like to thank Jeannie and Donald Wager for their recent donation of
clothes that will be sent up to the Mantino VA
hospital. The veterans will greatly appreciate them.
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 Helmet Liners
If there
are any knitters in the neighborhood who would be interested in making helmet
liners for our troops, visit www.geocities.com/helmetliner
or contact Kathy Dumler (728-2009) who has the directions to make them. She says it's her
understanding they can't get enough of these.
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 Classifieds
For Sale
Kurt Patti, 728-2065
Skateboarding ramp –
“Grind Spine” $25 Contact
John and
Mary Ann Boyd, (309) 531-0442
·
Florida Condo for Sale: second home and/or vacation
rental property
Beautiful fully-furnished 2 bedroom/2 bath condo in gated
golf course community in Fort Myers. Minutes to beaches of Sanibel Island & Fort Myers Beach. Golf equity included.
Pictures/information at www.flgolfcondo.com.
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Towanda Busy Bees 4H Club
by Craig Morris
 The Towanda Busy Bees 4H Club next
meeting will be held on October 16th
at 7:00 at the Towanda Community Center. The program will be given
by McLean County Federation members. The Club's focus for the year is
Animal Science. We'll have many programs on animals and animal science
this year. New members are
always welcome!
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McLean
County Home and Community Education
by Pat Pulokas
 Friday, October 12, 1:00-4:00pm at the Extension Office Auditorium, 402 N. Hershey Rd, Bloomington: there will be a Gourd Decorating Workshop ($5.00
fee). Call Judy Mohr, 963-5552 by October 8 to reserve a spot.
Wednesday, October 24, 9:00am – 3:30pm: “Ride Around McLean County”, #2 will depart the south parking
lot at the McLean County Extension Office. Tour includes the Gridley Telephone Museum, the Furrow Winery in El Paso, lunch
at the El Paso Tea Room, and a stop at the El Paso Antique Mall. Cost
is $20 and includes transportation, but lunch is on your own. Call Mary Ellen
Gottselig, 663-1689 to make reservations and for
further information.
Thursday, October 25, 6:00pm, at the
McLean County Extension Building Auditorium: there will be a presentation of
the culture and geography of Greece and a demonstration of
preparation of Greek foods. Call
Cindy Kelley, 663-4796 for more details and information.
A display
at the Towanda District Library during the month of October will showcase
past HCE activities and upcoming 07-08 programs. Anyone may join our
group. Call Robin Pearson, 815-579-1650 or e-mail at rbnprsn@mchsi.com for more
information or ask any HCE member.
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 Recycling Bin
The village of Towanda recycling bin will be available
on October 19 - October 24 this month.
The bin will be located at the village maintenance shed at 211 W. Washington Street.
If you have any questions, call Sharon Arteman at 728-2811, weekdays from 8-12pm.
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Water Summary
from Kurt Patti
 In mid-June this
summer, workers began to clean and repaint the interior and exterior of the water
tower. On Tuesday, June 13, an
explosion occurred at the water tower.
Two workmen were injured, but fortunately, not seriously. Work on the tower was halted while
investigations were conducted by all three insurance carriers: the Indian
Creek Homeowner’s Association property/liability carrier, the contractor’s
work comp carrier, and the contractor’s liability carrier. The investigations were all were completed
by July 11, 2007, but experts were
required to examine the evidence to help determine what happened and why.
At this point we have no definitive answers.
While the water tower was unavailable, a temporary holding tank
was used to hold the water for the subdivision. A loss of water pressure in early July was caused
primarily by two holes in the column pipe in the well. Small holes were
probably already present as a result of normal aging in the column pipe, and
when we switched over to the smaller holding tank the increased back pressure
from the temporary tank probably caused those holes to become enlarged at a
more rapid rate. Once pump and column pipe were repaired, water
pressure was restored on July 11.
Work resumed on the tower in mid-July and by August 25th
we were up and running water from our own tower again. Thank you to all for your patience and to
all those who practiced water conservation throughout the summer and
beyond.
These statistics comparing water usage between 2006 and 2007
show the extent of the water conservation:
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June
‘06
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832,900 gal
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June
’07
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692,400 gal
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July
’06
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856,400 gal
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July
‘07
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670,700 gal
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August
’06
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664,000 gal
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August
’07
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745,900
gal
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If you have questions, please contact Kurt Patti or another
board member.
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WAHOO
 A branch from a small tree I had
never previously noticed was hanging over the trail along the creek. Dangling from the branch were fruits the
like of which I had never seen before – so I picked one and showed it to Sue
Arnold, our resident tree and plant expert.
She knew immediately what it was – an eastern wahoo
(Euonymus atropurpureus).
The
eastern wahoo
is a small tree (up to 15 – 25 feet) that grows in
moist soils, especially thickets, valleys, and forest edges, and which is related to the
commonly planted Asian burning bush.
White-tailed deer browse on the leaves and young shoots. Although
a food to some birds, including the cardinal, catbird, eastern bluebird, and
wild turkey, the seeds are toxic to humans. An extract was used to kill head
lice in earlier times. The
powdered bark was used by American Indians and Pioneers as a purgative.
The wahoo is said to have red fall
folliage and fruit, so I intend to keep my eye on this tree as the fall
progresses. See illinoiswildflowers.info/woodland/plants/wahoo.htm for
more on the wahoo tree.
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