More than 30 floats, such as this one, will be in East Peoria’s annual Parade of Lights, slated for Nov. 18 this year.

STATE

Winter preparedness guide available online

The Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and the National Weather Service (NWS) 

Have developed a winter weather preparedness guide to help people understand winter weather risks, along with tips for staying safe at home, in the car and at school. It also includes lists of suggested items for home and vehicle emergency supply kits. The guide is available on the Ready Illinois website at Ready.Illinois.gov.

The past two winters across the state have been mild with little snow and ice, but early forecasts call for harsher weather this season.

Follow the Ready Illinois Facebook (facebook.com/ReadyIllinois) and Twitter (twitter.com/ReadyIllinois) pages for winter preparedness tips.

CENTRAL ILLINOIS

Comcast to increase internet speeds

A system overhaul will increase Internet speeds for many Comcast customers throughout the Peoria area, including Eureka, Pekin, Washington and other towns. The overhaul that will be done over the coming several weeks will affect hundreds of thousands of customers in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan.

Some customers may see their download speeds more than double. The change in download speeds will differ across tiers of Internet service. The cable and Internet provider will alert customers to the specific changes to their accounts through letters in the mail and some email notifications.

Comcast customers may need to reset their modems to access the higher speeds. Directions on how to reset modems will be included in notifications to customers. Also, some modems provided by Comcast will not be compatible with the upgraded system and must be replaced.

Area libraries receive state funds for mentoring

Peoria Public Library’s Lincoln Branch is one of three central Illinois libraries that are receiving grants from Illinois Secretary of State and state librarian Jesse White’s Project Next Generation program.

Two other Central Illinois libraries  – the Pekin Public Library and the Brimfield Public Library – joins the Lincoln Branch in receiving funds under the mentoring program designed to help students develop technological skills and improve life skills such as effective communication, goal setting and conflict resolution.

Peoria’s Lincoln Branch will receive $12,500; Pekin will receive $14,769; and Brimfield will receive $19,460. A total of 25 libraries received grants.

Libraries receiving the grants serve culturally diverse, low-income or underserved populations.

COUNTY

A selfie could lead to prizes

Shop local this holiday season and get a chance to win prizes. To be eligible, post a selfie of you and your friends shopping Nov. 24-26 at local stores within Peoria County with the #GrowPeoriaCounty hashtag. You will be entered to win $100 worth of gift cards from local businesses. For more information, contact Leslie McKnight, PhD, at (309) 494-8651 or lmcknight@peoriagov.org.

PEORIA

Hale Avenue closed for repairs

The city of Peoria has closed north Hale Avenue between west MacTavish Road and west Bird Boulevard for road repairs. The closure is expected to last until after Thanksgiving, weather permitting. Motorists are encouraged to use detoured routes as posted. For more information, contact Sie Maroon at (309) 494-8850.

PEORIA HEIGHTS

Vocalist’s repertoire is a blend of musical styles

Legendary vocalist Judy Page will perform a new musical project featuring musician friends she has collaborating with for more than 50 years, in a show called, The Judy Page Project. The show will contain live instrumental and vocal music at 7:15 p.m. Nov. 19, at Trailside Event Center, 4416 N. Prospect Road., Peoria Heights. Page’s repertoire includes a mix of jazz standards from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, blended with show tunes, blues and R&B.

The Central Illinois Jazz Society House Band will open the show at 6 p.m. Call 692-5330 or visit cijs.org/events/. Admission $6 for Jazz Society members, $8 for non-members and free for students.

EUREKA

College officially welcomes its new president

Eureka College officially has a new president. The college community celebrate the inauguration of President Jamel Santa Cruze Wright at the Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena and Convocation Center Nov. 3.

However, she has served as president for longer. Wright was introduced as the 27th president of Eureka College on July 11. She has nearly two decades of experience in higher education as an administrator and full-time faculty member. A native of St. Louis, Mo., she arrived ‘Neath The Elms in 2014 as the college’s first chief diversity officer and also served as vice president for strategic and diversity initiatives. 

Wright is the first woman and first African-American to lead the college, founded in 1855.

Wright received a doctorate and a master’s degree, both from the University of Kansas, and a bachelor’s degree from Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Mo., all in communication studies. 

Several people important in Wright’s life attended the installation ceremony. They included mentors from her time as a student, faculty member and administrator at Missouri Western State University, the University of Kansas, Boston College and Saint Louis University.

Also present were representatives from 16 colleges and universities, local lawmakers and the mayors of Eureka, Peoria and Washington.

EAST PEORIA

Annual holiday parade to light up streets

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas as East Peoria prepares to close streets to make way for the annual Parade of Lights. The celebration, featuring approximately 30 lighted floats, many of them animated, will kick off at 5:45 p.m. Nov. 18.

The 2017 parade will start at the intersection of East Washington Street and Dolans Lane, where Auto Zone is located. It will continue along its traditional Washington Street route, turning left at the intersection with Camp Street. 

Shortly after that, the route will change. The floats will turn right from Washington onto Taylor Street at East Peoria Autobody, and continue along Taylor in front of Central Junior High School, ending at Taylor Street and Springfield Road at the U.S. Post Office. 

A map of the new parade route is available at folepi.org.

DUNLAP

Beekeeping program to be held at library

The Dunlap Public Library District is offering Beekeeping for Beginners Nov. 20. The program will be held 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the library, 302 S. First St. University of Illinois Master Gardeners Trudy Yazujian and Ella Maxwell will present information about bees, beekeeping and pollinator plants. For more information, call (309) 243-5716 or send an email to ask@dunlaplibrary.org.

–Peoria County News Briefs–