Having trouble selecting that perfect tree for your yard? Visit with the Town of Normal forestry staff and the Normal Parks and Recreation Department as they discuss how to choose, plant, and care for a tree at a Tree Planting Seminar on Saturday, April 28 from 9 to 11 a.m. at Maxwell Park Pavilion, 307 North Parkside Road, Normal. No pre-registration necessary and free donuts and coffee for attendees. (Photo courtesy of Town of Normal Parks and Recreation)

McLean County

Chamber holds Agriculture Awareness Breakfast     

The McLean County Chamber of Commerce recently celebrated agriculture awareness with its annual Agriculture Awareness Breakfast.

The event served as a platform for University of Illinois Extension and McLean County 4-H organizers to celebrate teachers and students successfully integrating agriculture into lesson plans, classroom instruction and learning experiences.

Locally, various grant opportunities are available to carry out these goals, including the John Maitland Agriculture Awareness Grant and the George E. Holder Agriculture Awareness Grant.

Both programs offer funding, beyond district budgets. The chamber recognized the following teachers and students at this year’s breakfast: Angie Edwards and Angie Swartzendruber of Olympia West Elementary School, David Weber of Normal West High School, Laura Baner of Olympia North Elementary School, Kristen Myers of Tri-Valley High School, Katie Buckley of LeRoy High School, April Schermann of Normal West High School and Bryce Hoffman of Olympia High School.   

Two ISU students named to Goldwater Scholars program     

Two Illinois State University students were recently named to this year’s 2018 Goldwater Scholarship program.

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence Foundation named Torrey Saxton and Jonathan Unger of the university’s physics department as the award recipients. Unger, a junior from Bloomington, is a computational physics major. Saxton, a junior from Alton, is a triple major in physics, math and computational physics.

Lex has officially retired from the Bloomington Police Department’s K9 unit.

Bloomington

Lex retires from Bloomington PD’s K9 unit    

Lex, a 10-year-old Belgian Malinois, has officially retired from the Bloomington Police Department’s K9 unit. His last day on the job, after eight years of service, was Monday, April 16. Throughout his years of service, Lex was responsible for the apprehension of numerous offenders, including seizing more than $200,000 in cash, multiple pounds of cocaine and cannabis, according to a BPD news release. Lex will spend his retirement in the care of his handler, BPD officer Justin Shively.  

City names interim finance department director

Scott Rathbun has been named interim finance director, beginning May 1. Since July, he has been working at city hall as Bloomington’s senior budget manager.

Interim City Manager Steve Rasmussen said Rathbun had the qualifications and experience needed to maintain operations within the department as the search for a permanent candidate continues.

“(Rathbun) was integral to this year’s budget process and will provide the finance department with solid leadership during this time of transition,” Rasmussen said in a statement.

Rathbun has more than 30 years of financial management experience.

Mayor resuming original format of open house     

Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner announced recently he is reverting back to the previous format of his open house events at city hall.

Last year, Renner announced he was switching up the long-held practice by holding a series of five- to 10-minute appointments in his office during the block of time.

After reviewing the format, Renner said he has decided to go back to the large group format. “The original seems to work better at this time,” he said in a statement. The open houses are held from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Fridays before City Council meetings.  

Downtown Bloomington competing in contest      

Organizers within Downtown Bloomington are competing in the 2018 America’s Main Streets contest, according to a recent announcement. The race for quarterfinalist slots ended Sunday, April 22, and communities advancing to the next round will receive word in the next week. Tricia Stiller, the city’s downtown division manager, said she believes the contest is worth pursuing — hopefully all the way to the finish line.

“Downtown Bloomington is our city’s center, and we appreciate the support of our community,” Stiller said in a statement. “Winning this contest would be a true accomplishment and would help us achieve many of our goals that contribute to making a great downtown even that much better.”

The goal of the America’s Main Streets contest is to help promote the importance and strong economic benefits of main streets and the small businesses that help them thrive.

The top award winner of this year’s contest will receive $25,000 in cash and related prized to help in continued revitalization efforts. A winner will be announced in early June.

Bloomington named Tree City USA for 31st year      

For the 31st consecutive year, the Arbor Day Foundation has named the city of Bloomington to its Tree City USA designation. The city will hold an Arbor Day observance at 1:30 p.m. Friday, April 27 at Fox Creek Elementary School, 3910 Timberwolf Trail.

Municipalities must meet a number of pieces of criteria to receive the Arbor Day Foundation’s recognition, including a designated forestry department, tree care ordinance and a per-capita budgetary allotment for continued tree maintenance.

Normal

U of I Extension to hold food protection course  

The University of Illinois Extension will offer a food protection manager certification course and examination, which is required every five years for professionals working in the industry as certified food protection managers.

The Extension uses the National Registry of Food Safety Professionals examination. Participants learn about basic food safety, personal hygiene, cross contamination and allergens, time and temperature and cleaning and sanitation.

The upcoming class, which costs $125, will be held over two sessions: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, May 1, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, May 3. Both sessions will be held at Heartland Community College, 1500 W. Raab Road, Normal. For information, call Jenna Smith at the McLean County Extension office at 309-663-8306.

–McLean County News Briefs–