Lisa Smith, president of the Sycamore Music Boosters, accepts a check from fifth-grader Noelle Sharp who raised money for the Elementary After-School Orchestra and Band program.

COUNTY 

Grants to support projects that help youth 

Youth Engaged in Philanthropy is now accepting applications for the 2017 grant season.

YEP grants help efforts that work to improve the quality of life for youth in DeKalb County. To be considered for consideration, projects must be dedicated to the community, directly involve youth and promote youth empowerment and leadership. Applicants may request a maximum of $2,500 and are required to present their proposal to the YEP committee through a site visit or presentation. Nonprofits with youth initiatives in DeKalb County are encouraged to apply.

Grant applications will be accepted online through Feb. 1. No hard copy applications will be accepted. Visit www.dekalbccf.org/yepgrants for grant guidelines and to apply.

As a youth-led program of the DeKalb County Community Foundation, Youth Engaged in Philanthropy provides opportunities for youth from across DeKalb County to develop leadership skills, learn about philanthropy and become engaged in their communities. For example, YEP volunteers distributed food, made possible by a 2016 YEP grant to Northern Illinois Food Bank, hosted at DeKalb High School.

For more information or to inquire about an application, contact Program Director Anita Zurbrugg at (815) 748-5383 or anita@dekalbccf.org.

Learn farming skills on your computer

Winter can be a “down” time for farmers, a good time to develop skills in small farming and local food production with the help of University of Illinois Extension’s Small Farms Winter Webinar Series. The series features practical, lunch-hour presentations on small farm enterprises and strategies. Log in every Thursday at noon, Jan. 19 through March 30.

The winter webinar series will include presentations on buying quality hay, rejuvenating old fruit trees, mite problems in honeybees, planning windbreaks, mulching vegetables, soil management in high tunnels, and new food safety rules. Each hour-long webinar will be presented by an Extension educator. Webinars will also be recorded and archived for future viewing.

Registration is free. Sign up for one or all webinars at web.extention.illinois.edu. Registrants will be sent log-on instructions and instructions on how to access the archived recording.

The webinars can be accessed online. In case you cannot attend these dates, register anyway to view an archived, recorded version. Information will be provided via email (by the Monday after airing) for viewing at your convenience.

Here is a partial list of webinar topics:

• Jan. 19 — ABCs of Strawberry Plasticulture Production, Bronwyn Aly, University of Illinois Extension Local Food Systems and Small Farms Educator
• Jan. 26 — Buying Hay: Quality vs. Cost, Jamie Washburn, University of Illinois Extension Local Food Systems and Small Farms Educator
• Feb. 2 — Slow Flowers: Small-Scale Cut Flower Production, Candice Hart, University of Illinois Extension Horticulture Educator
• Feb. 9 — Out with the Old: Pruning Old and Neglected Fruit Trees, Grant McCarty, University of Illinois Extension Local Food Systems and Small Farms Educator
• Feb. 16 — Small Commercial Microgreen Production, Zack Grant, University of Illinois Extension Local Food Systems and Small Farms Educator
• Feb. 23 — Food Safety Needs for Midwest Produce Growers, Angela Shaw, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Food Safety Specialist.

For March webinar dates and topics or more information, contact Andy Larson, University of Illinois Extension, local food systems and small farms educator, at (815) 732-2191 or andylars@illinois.edu

DeKALB

Police department  has two new officers

The DeKalb Police Department swore in two new police officers on Jan. 3. The new officers are Jonathan Bell, a DeKalb native, and Sebastian Lemus, who hails from Texas. The ceremony was held at DeKalb City Hall.

Library hires new director

The Board of Trustees of the DeKalb Public Library has announced the appointment of Emily Faulkner as its new director, starting Jan. 16. Faulkner has more than 10 years of experience as a professional librarian, most recently as the cultural and civic engagement librarian at the Chicago Public Library where she was responsible for managing more than 30 partnerships with educational institutions, museums, non-profit organizations, and city and state agencies as well as designing programs by authors, entertainers, and local experts for 80 branch libraries.

Faulkner was instrumental in implementing and expanding programming for the Chicago Public Library’s Makers Lab initiative. The lab offers patrons a hands-on, collaborative learning environment for using 21st century technologies such as 3-D printers and electronic cutters. The lab has extension projects in nine branch libraries and offers more than 20 programs each month.

In addition to her involvement in partnership and program development, Faulkner has experience in employee training, marketing, developing strategic initiatives, managing budgets and providing reference and circulation services. She will succeed Dee Coover, who is retiring after serving as library director for the past 10 years.

SYCAMORE

Student’s idea hits right note

A school music program is more important to a budding fifth grade musician than any birthday gift, so Noelle Sharp had an idea. She asked her friends and family make a donation to the Sycamore Music Boosters instead of bringing gifts to her birthday party.

They did, and she donated the money to the music boosters, a nonprofit volunteer organization that supports kindergarten through 12th grade musicians.

Noelle is a student at North Grove Elementary School in Sycamore and plays violin in orchestra and clarinet in band, and is a former elementary choir member. She was spurred to action when she learned about the School District 427 budget cut to the Elementary After-School Orchestra and Band program. She requested that her donation be earmarked to support the after-school program.

The 2016-17 Elementary After-School Music Program is funded in part by a Wurlitzer Foundation Fund grant from the DeKalb County Community Foundation and the music boosters.

For more information or to make a donation, contact Scott Mertens, Sycamore Schools Music Department chairman, at smertens@syc427.org, or Sycamore Music Boosters President Lisa Smith at lisasmith1615@comcast.net. Information about the music boosters is at sycamoremusicboosters.com.