McLean News Briefs

Chronicle Media

Students worked on the 25th Habitat for Humanity house during Welcome Week.

Regional

ISU/IWU Habitat for Humanity gets grant

Illinois State University and Illinois Wesleyan University (ISU/IWU) Joint Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapter is one of 20 groups selected to receive a grant from State Farm. 

ISU/IWU Campus Chapter has been awarded $10,000 and must raise a matching amount.

A Habitat campus chapter is a student-led, student-initiated organization on a high school or college campus that partners with the local Habitats to build, fund raise, advocate and educate to support the work of Habitat for Humanity.

ISU/IWU Campus Chapter has partnered with McLean County’s Habitat for Humanity since 1995 and will use the funds to build a new home alongside the Yetimbi Family, including work on every aspect of the project, such as framing, siding, drywall, insulation, painting, and landscaping.

Scheduled fundraising activities include the chapter’s annual Trick or Treat for Change where students from both universities go to local residences on Halloween and ask for spare change. The goal for this year’s Trick or Treat for Change is to raise $20,000.

ISU also organizes their annual “Big Tip Tuesday” with local coffee shops and the Habitat Home Run 5K. Illinois Wesleyan is hosting a table on the quad during the morning of their Homecoming on Oct. 6.

McLean County

Region’s unemployment rate falls

The Bloomington-Normal unemployment rate at the close of August stood at 4.1 percent, a 0.1 percent reduction from the 4.2 percent reported the year prior.

According to the Illinois Department of Employment Security, unemployment rates decreased in most of the state’s statistical areas in year-over-year comparisons.

County landfill, now at capacity, has closed        

In a long-anticipated move, officials associated with the McLean County landfill have officially closed the site because it is deemed to be at capacity.

The maneuver officially took place Sunday, Sept. 30. Moving forward, county residents’ waste will eventually wind up in the Livingston County landfill.

While McLean County’s landfill has been closed, a transfer station on the property will remain open to serve as an intermediary location. The landfill’s closure has been anticipated for a number of years.

Museum launching ‘titan of type’ exhibit Oct. 13        

The McLean County Museum of History will soon take the wraps off a new exhibit honoring Bloomington native Frederic Goudy, an artist who frequently held the nickname of “the titan of type.”

The exhibit, which opens Saturday, Oct. 13, will include displays of more than 30 posters highlighting Goudy’s contributions to metal type.

The museum’s new exhibit is timed to coincide with the 115th anniversary of the Village Press, which Goudy founded in 1903. The MCMH exhibit in honor of Goudy will continue through Wednesday, Nov. 24.

Leaders of Distinction program set for Oct. 10         

The McLean County Chamber of Commerce will host the annual Leaders of Distinction program at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10, at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, 201 Broadway, Normal.

Highlights of the program include the distribution of the Athena Award, which honors local leaders who empower women. Tickets to the event are $50 per person. For information, visit www.mcleanchamber.org or call 309-829-6344.  

Bloomington

Local food pantry may relocate to former school

Organizers with the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry have announced an effort to relocate operations to the former Bloomington-based Holy Trinity Junior High School facility, 705 N. Roosevelt Ave.

The proposal underway comes with a caveat: Organizers behind the effort need to raise $300,000 so the school building can be renovated to accommodate the repurposed use.

For more than a half-century, the local St. Vincent de Paul has operated a pantry in Bloomington at 711 N. Main St., but it reportedly has been bursting at the seams in recent years. For information on the organization’s needs, visit www.historicsaintpatrick.org or call 309-829-9611.  

Following standoff, man receives felony charges          

Bloomington resident Cody Powell, 31, received a felony and misdemeanor charge on Tuesday, Sept. 25 in connection with the widely-publicized standoff he was engaged in days prior. Powell allegedly had a gun and ammunition in his possession on Sunday, Sept. 23, when he was involved in a five-hour standoff with police in the 1400 block of West Locust Street. Powell, who has been diagnosed with a previous mental illness, allegedly threatened neighbors and hurled items at passersby before police arrived at his home. The standoff eventually ended peacefully.

City imposing stiffer fines for code violations          

A proposal to clamp down on issuance of fines for property code violations is moving forward in Bloomington, following the City Council’s pivotal vote.

Aldermen on Monday, Sept. 24, voted in favor of several changes, including a new stipulation stating property owners pay a $110 fee in administrative court, even if the fine is remedied in advance of the court date.

If the fine is not addressed beforehand, the violator will be required to pay the administrative court fee and a fine, which will be assessed based on the specific offense. The council also backed a plan to more frequently inspect properties owned by persons who are chronic offenders. 

Normal

Mandatory meter replacement notice is legit    

A notice on town of Normal letterhead about the need to replace water meters is legitimate, according to municipal officials. The water department is in the process of replacing meters. Residents in receipt of the notice are asked to call Ferguson Waterworks at 855-895-9707 or make an appointment online at www.fergusonscheduling.com.

 

 

–McLean News Briefs–