Woodford County News Briefs

Chronicle Media

This is an Emerald Ash Borer on a tree trunk. Information about how to handle the insect which damages ash trees will be available at the next Woodford County Master Gardener Information Booth at the Eureka Library.

CENTRAL ILLINOIS

Residents asked to identify top health needs

The Partnership for a Healthy Community (Healthy HOI), representing hospitals, clinics, public health, higher education, and social service agencies, is conducting a community health needs assessment in each of the communities it serves. Residents in the tri-county area can participate in an online survey or a paper survey to help identify the most important health issues impacting individuals and families.

Health officials hope that the results of the survey will help them understand and focus on the challenges and opportunities unique to each community in Woodford, Peoria and Tazewell county.

The survey, as part of the assessment process, is conducted every three years and provides a baseline to address identified health needs.

The anonymous community survey is available through Aug. 31. Both English and Spanish versions are available online at HealthyHOI.org. Paper copies are available at the Woodford, Peoria and Tazewell county health departments.

Add heirloom plants to your home’s landscape

The University of Illinois Extension McLean County Master Gardeners will conduct a plant propagation workshop 9 a.m.-12 p.m. July 28 at Sarah’s Garden at the David Davis Mansion. Many of the plants propagated will be of heirloom origin and a plant that Sarah Davis grew more than 100 years ago.  

Sarah’s Garden is an original, restored 144-year-old treasure at the David Davis Mansion State Historic Site in Bloomington. University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners of McLean County partners with the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and the David Davis Mansion Foundation Board to restore, care, provide educational programming, host tours and outreach from Sarah’s Garden. David Davis was the friend, mentor and campaign manager for Abraham Lincoln. As president, Lincoln appointed Davis as United States Supreme Court Justice in 1862. Sarah was his wife.

This collaboration resulted in Master Gardener development of ever-expanding educational efforts for youth and the public while restoring this unique historic quarter-acre flower garden as a living museum with seven plants original to its 1872 creation and 70 more documented heirlooms.

All attendees will

  • Create more perennials using proven propagation techniques,
  • Learn to harvest and save seed to grow new perennials and annuals, and
  • Enjoy an exclusive tour of Sarah’s Garden.

Registration is required, and there is a $10 fee to cover the cost of supplies. To register, visit go.illinois.edu/RegisterLMW or call the McLean County Extension Office at (309) 663-8306. Sarah’s Garden is located at the David Davis Mansion, 1000 Monroe Drive, Bloomington.

COUNTY

Back-to-school immunization clinic offered

The Woodford County Health will host a Kindergarten-12th grade walk-in immunization clinic from 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Aug. 15. Walk-in clinics see patients on a  first come, first serve basis. This clinic is for kindergarten-12th grade state-required immunizations only.

Additionally, immunizations are available by appointment only during regular business hours. If a student has never been immunized or following an alternative immunization schedule, call (309) 467-3064 for an appointment.

Immunization records are required in order to be seen by a county health professional. A parent/legal guardian must sign required paperwork and be present during immunizations. Parents are encouraged to visit woodfordhealth.org for immunization forms and bring the completed forms to the clinic.

Woodford County Health Department works with most insurances and also has private pay options. For more information about Illinois’s required school vaccinations, accepted insurances and fees, visit woodford-county.org. To make an appointment for immunizations, call (309) 467-3064.

Information about tree insect available Aug. 6 at library

One way the infamous Emerald Ash Borer has spread across Illinois has been by transporting infected firewood. “With the presence of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) in Woodford County, homeowners and city officials must consider lengthy and costly treatment or loss and replacement of valuable urban trees,” said Kelly Allsup, University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator. 

Symptoms start with branch tip die back and thinning of the canopy, then over time, the entire tree dies, to leave behind naked bare eyesores and safety hazards. Another telltale sign is the sprouting, growth of new branches and leaves clustered along the trunk or the roots of the tree. When original branches are killed by the larvae (worm-like) of the beetles that live and dine on the inside of the tree blocking major food and water transportation, the tree tries to compensate by sending out this new growth, called epicormic shoots.

For more information and tips about how to manage EAB and its impact on trees, go to the next Woodford County Master Gardener Information Booth at Eureka Library, which will be set up from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Aug. 6. The library is at 202 S. Main St.

 

 

–Woodford County News Briefs–