The effort to decorate the house at 419 S. Ohio St. Morton, earned the Beautification Award in the Morton Kiwanis Club and Morton High School Key Club annual Christmas Lighting Contest for 2016.

COUNTY

Project to help today’s farm women

A project designed to help farm women develop their management and decision-making skills in the current complex world of agriculture is being planned for March. Annie’s Project – Education for Farm Women is being co-sponsored by University of Illinois Extension, Fulton-Mason-Peoria-Tazewell Unit, Tazewell County branch office and Tazewell County Farm Bureau starting in March. Dates of the six-session series are March 6, 8, 13, 15, 20, and 22 with each session running from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at Tazewell County Farm Bureau, 1505 Valle Vista, Pekin.

Using several agriculture industry professionals as speakers, Annie’s Project will cover topics that include goal setting, business planning, family communications, keeping track of financial records, interpreting financial information, understanding insurance options (liability, health, life, long-term care, crop, etc.), land values and leases, retirement and estate planning, risk management, FSA & USDA programs, and much more. 

Registration is required by Feb. 27.  To register, call University of Illinois Extension at (309) 547-3711 or by going online at go.illinois.edu/fmptanniesproject2017. Registration cost is $75.

MORTON

Homeowners awarded for lighting efforts

A Christmas light display synchronized to music broadcast over the radio earned the house at 248 Fernwood, Morton, the overall winner title in the Morton Kiwanis Club and Morton High School Key Club annual Christmas Lighting Contest. 

The Beautification Award went to 419 S. Ohio St., which had 650 feet of lights which brightened up Ohio Street. The Griswold Award went to 707 N. Main St., where the house was literally draped in Christmas lights. Prizes were donated by the Morton Kiwanis Club, Cathy Reynolds and Morton Cinema.

WASHINGTON

Armstrong to fill school board vacancy

Chris Armstrong will return to the School Board for Washington Community High School. Armstrong, 44, who served on the board from 2009 to 2013 and did not run for re-election, will fill a two-year vacancy created by the resignation last month of Kim Flanders, who was elected in 2015. Flanders moved to Arizona.

School Board members appointed Armstrong to the vacant seat Wednesday after separate closed-session 40-minute interviews with Armstrong and fellow applicants Tony Kertz and Bonnie Nofsinger. Kertz and Nofsinger are among nine candidates for four board seats in the April 4 election. Had Kertz or Nofsinger been appointed to the vacant seat, he or she would have had to drop out of the election.

Armstrong will be sworn into office Feb. 13 and will serve until 2019.

EAST PEORIA

Study finding ways to hike ICC enrollment

Adapting to potential students’ lifestyles may help increase enrollment Illinois Central College, according to a new enrollment analysis. More night programs for adults, more occupational programs to attract recent high school graduates and expanded use of cellphone technology, are some of the suggested solutions to stem Illinois Central College’s enrollment decline. The suggestions, presented recently to board members, are the result of a study conducted by a Nebraska-based company that specializes in marketing and managing enrollment for community colleges.

The study dissected trends and age demographics specific to ICC’s slide, and found opportunities to increase enrollment, particularly by targeting young adults and students who graduated from low-achieving high schools within ICC’s 10-county boundaries.

Based on credit hours, total enrollment declined 14.5 percent from 2012 to 2015. Attendance by high school graduates 21 and younger declined 9 percent, while enrollment in both the 22-to-34- and 35-to-49-age ranges declined about 25 percent each.

The enrollment management project is part of broader strategic-planning process. Final recommendations will be presented to the board later in the year.

PEKIN

Social media seminar to go beyond basics

Social Media Beyond the Basics is the topic of a seminar that will be held at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 26 at the Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce, 402 Court St., Pekin. The seminar will cover new trends for business, personal vs. business, use of Nixel and Instagram and more. Presentation by Mike Eeten, public information officer for the Pekin Police Department, will give the presentation. Call (309) 346-2106 to register and more information.

–Tazewell County News Briefs–