Train fair pulls into town
The Peoria Train Fair held Nov. 15 at Illinois Central College’s  East Peoria campus drew enthusiasts of all ages.  Longtime hobbyists came for the shared camaraderie and to check out products on display. But the fair drew younger fans as well as  Cameron Hardy, with his mom Tara Jans, wants a closer look at the trains on display. The fair was sponsored by the Illinois Valley Model Railroad Club in Peoria and Pekin’s River City Model Railroad Club.  (Photos courtesy of Rick Stephenson)

Central Illinois

Youth Symphony Orchestra presents upcoming concert

The Central Illinois Youth Symphony, its  Preparatory Orchestra, and Percussion Ensemble will be holding a concert at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 22. at Metamora High School in Peoria,  The Preparatory Orchestra and Youth Symphony will be playing side by side on several pieces during the concert, a new activity for both orchestras.  “This November’s concert will prove to be exciting for both the Preparatory Orchestra and Youth Symphony students,” says Preparatory Orchestra conductor Rosemary Ardner. “Both groups will perform separate pieces as well as two pieces together. This gives the opportunity for the Prep students to be inspired by the Youth Symphony’s level of performance. Furthermore, it allows the Youth Symphony students to remember how much they have achieved in their playing.”

Tickets are $10 per adult and $5 per child. Tickets can be purchased by calling a CIYS representative at (309) 370-6424 or online at www.CIYS.org.

Morton

Former high school baseball coach dies

Mike McDonald, who served 24 years as head baseball coach at Morton High School, leading them to a 452-313-4 record, died on Nov. 14. He was 68. McDonald also served as head coach at Eureka College between two stints as an assistant at Illinois Central College. A standout college player, he was a member of  Bradley’s 1968 NCAA playoff team where he was an All-Missouri Valley Conference third baseman. In March 1970, he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals organization as a catcher and reached the Double-A level. McDonald was inducted into the Bradley Athletics Hall of Fame in 1976 and was a 1991 inductee into the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. That honor was followed in 2012 by being inducted into the Spoon River College Athletics Hall of Fame.

North Pekin

Police investigate body found in wooded area

Authorities are investigating  a decomposed body  that was found Nov. 17 in a wooded area between Illinois Route 29 and the Illinois River.  The state of the body leads authorities to believe the body has been there for a few months, according to reports. No specific information about the body, gender or age, has been released as of press time.  The area where the body was discovered is under the jurisdiction of the Illinois Department of Conservation, which will work with the Illinois State Police on the investigation. An autopsy will be conducted by the Tazewell County Coroner’s Office.

Pekin

State moves DCFS offices from downtown

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Service moved from downtown Pekin to Peoria County on Nov. 17 over the objections of many in the community as well as the department employees, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and local legislators.  About a dozen employees were forced to move.  AFSCME Local 51 president said the move was all part of the ongoing state budget battle and will hurt the department’s service to local families. Cost estimates for making space for the additional staff at the Peoria office is at  $50,000, but AFSCME said there are additional costs for social workers traveling back and forth for court hearings in Pekin and to make local home visits and investigate allegations of abuse.

State

Ban on transporting firewood being reviewed

The Illinois Department of Agriculture said the state might need to lift the 10-year ban on transporting firewood because the emerald ash borer has become so prevalent across the state.  More than half of Illinois’ 102 counties report a presence of the insect, including Woodford, Peoria, and Tazewell counties. Keeping quarantine in place when the ash borer has become so widespread no longer seems feasible, officials with the Ag Department recently stated. Neighboring states Missouri, Iowa and Kentucky have lifted their own quarantines and now permit cross-border firewood sales. Illinois remains under a federal quarantine which bans the transportation of ash-wood products, including firewood, to states that still have state-regulated quarantines. The borer was first detected in Illinois in 2006 in Kane County, in the far western suburbs of Chicago.

–Tazewell County News Briefs–