The staff of the Woodford County Sheriff’s Office poses at the office’s annual awards ceremony.

CENTRAL ILLINOIS

Special Olympics seeking volunteers for summer games

Special Olympics Illinois has opened volunteer registration for its upcoming summer games, which will be held from June 9 to June 11 at Illinois State University and Normal West High School. In keeping with past tradition, volunteers are the backbone of much of the logistics and planning for the annual event, which gives more than 4,000 Special Olympics athletes across the state opportunities to compete in one of six sports.

For information or to sign up for a volunteering slot, call the state Special Olympics office at (309) 888-2551 or visit soill.org/summer-games.

COUNTY

Deputies, others honored for service

The Woodford County Sheriff’s Office honored deputies for their service and outstanding achievement in 2015, 2016 and 2017 at a recent award ceremony. The following are some of the deputies that were honored.

Deputy of the year (road) 2015: Sgt. Marshall Smith

Deputy of the year (corrections) 2015: Dan Thompson

Deputy of the year (road) 2016: Jesse Polston

Deputy of the year (corrections) 2016: Chad Pyles

Telecommunicator of the year 2016: Jessica Adolphson

Lifesaving awards went to Sgt. Jake Evans, Deputy Dan Crowley, Deputy Nate Campbell, Deputy Kent Hair, Deputy Marc Wright, Deputy Brad Duley and Deputy Jeff Boone.

The canine teams, past and present, were honored. They are Ron Reysen and Jerry Smith (with General), Terry Glaub (with Chim), Marshal Smith (with Bullet), Al Holocker (with DiOGi) and Nate Campbell (Amos Moses).

EUREKA

Ceremony will mark Reagan’s death

The Ronald W. Reagan Society of Eureka College will recognize the 13th anniversary of Reagan’s death at the annual Ronald Reagan Memorial ceremony at 9 a.m. June 5 at the Reagan Peace Garden on the campus of Eureka College. Eureka College Professor Emeritus of English Dr. Loren Logsdon will be the keynote speaker.

The ceremony is free and open to the public.  Attendees are encouraged to RSVP by calling (309) 467-6319 or emailing reagan@eureka.edu. The Ronald W. Reagan Society supports Eureka College programs that promote the leadership lessons the 1932 graduate learned at Eureka College.

Logsdon graduated from Eureka College in 1958. He later served the EC faculty for more than three decades and has long been a pillar of the campus community.

Hospital gets national award for work in sustainability 

In recognition for leading the health care industry in sustainability and environmental stewardship, Advocate Eureka Hospital in Eureka received the prominent Greenhealth Emerald Award from Practice Greenhealth, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to environmental sustainability in health care. The award is one of the Environmental Excellence Awards given each year to honor environmental achievements in the health care sector.

The Greenhealth Emerald Award honors hospitals driving the health care sector toward a greener, healthier future. The award recognizes health care facilities that are setting the standard in eliminating mercury, reducing and recycling waste, sustainable sourcing and other areas. Winning hospitals have demonstrated a strong commitment to sustainability and shown leadership in the local community and in the health care sector.

Last year, Eureka Hospital was one of only two Illinois hospitals to earn Energy Star certification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Eureka Hospital’s sister hospital, Advocate BroMenn Medical Center in Normal, was also recognized with the Emerald Award, as well as with special Greening the OR recognition.

The awards were recently presented at the Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence Awards gala in Minneapolis, at the conclusion of the CleanMed Conference and Exhibition.

–Woodford County News Briefs–