Kiwanis Division 20 Lieutenant Governor Ron Givens installed the 2015-16 officers for the Kiwanis Club of Morton. The Kiwanis Club meets the First Tuesday of the month at the Morton Pizza Ranch at noon.   Pictured left to right are Division 20 Lieutenant Governor Ron Givens, President Elect Jennifer Cunningham, Secretary/Treasurer Nancy Aldridge, President Cathy Reynolds, and Board Members Mike Thomas, John McVey, & Kirk Edwards. (Photo courtesy Kiwanis Club)

East Peoria

Fondulac Library to participate in game day  

Fondulac District Library will join more than a thousand libraries around the world from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21 for the eighth annual celebration of gaming in libraries – International Games Day @ your library.  The library district will celebrate its largest gaming event of the year and will offer special gaming programs and events suitable for the whole family. The library will create a vintage-to-modern videogame arcade, with console games spanning decades. Visitors will be able to try Minecraft or duel with a fellow Yu-Gi-Oh! players. Classic and modern board and card games for all ages will be available to play. Additionally, a human-sized Connect Four will be set up for all to enjoy. For more information, contact the Fondulac District Library, 400 Richland St., East Peoria at (309) 699.3917 or visit the web site, www.fondulaclibrary.org.

Police growing beards for Special Olympics

The normally clean-shaven East Peoria Police officers are looking look a bit hairier in November as a fundraiser for Special Olympics. East Peoria Police Department policy prohibits male officers from having facial hair, but that is being waived during No Shave November as a fundraiser for Special Olympics Illinois, according to the city of East Peoria. Officers can grow a beard in November and December if they donate $75 to Special Olympics, $50 for November and $25 for December. Participants include all ranks, including Police Chief Dick Ganschow.

Pekin

Police handle multiple reports of vandalism to vehicles and homes

Pekin Police say they have taken more than 30 reports of cars and homes being damaged by a BB or pellet gun in the overnight hours of Nov. 9-10. Over 30 cars including two city of Pekin police cars  and one Tazewell County car  were shot causing damage. Home windows were shot and broke, car windows were broken, and several dents and paint damage on cars throughout the city were reported, according the Pekin Police. The damage was not contained to one specific area in the city, according to police. If anyone has information regarding this damage, they are encouraged to call the Pekin Police at 346-3132, or Crimestoppers at 673-9000. Cash rewards are available.

Morton

Chamber reminds businesses of Shop Small Saturday

Morton Chamber of Commerce invites small business members to participate in this year’s Shop Small Business Saturday promotion on Saturday, Nov.28. In  addition to sending a coupon booklet to each Morton household, we will offer two $250 Chamber Check prizes for shoppers who make a purchase at a participating business on that day, For more information, visit the Morton Chamber Facebook page.

Tri-County region

LWV hosts program on sustainability of clean water

The League of Women Voters of Greater Peoria will host a discussion entitled “Sustainability: Why Should We Care About Water? “ from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at the Hearth Restaurant, 4604 N. Prospect Ave., Peoria Heights.  This evening is part of the LWV’s Drinks & Dialogue program. The importance of water is a global issue, and now the significance of water shortages hits close to home in the United States as droughts and water shortages impact many areas of the country.  The League has long been engaged in activities to protect groundwater sources to ensure the safety of drinking water. The dialogue will be facilitated by League members and led by Robert Fuessle of Bradley University.  Fuessle earned his masters degrees and PhD in environmental engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana. He is a specialist in the area of hazardous waste treatment and management modeling for environmental systems, stabilizing hazardous wastes, environmental management and policy analysis and environmental risk assessment. There’s no cost to participate, and refreshments are available to buy.

Public input sought on regional bike plan

The Tri-County Regional Planning Commission is inviting public participation on the BikeConnect HOI, the regional bicycle plan for the Heart of Illinois region. About 100 people stopped by the kick off event. But, there are two very easy ways to join the conversation — follow Tri-County Regional Planning Commission on Facebook and/or join the MindMixer site. Regular updates are posted on the  Facebook page (facebook.com/tcrpc.page) regarding the bike plan, asking questions, and providing updates on the planning process. One of the planners, David Smesrud, has vowed to bike to work every day until December and residents can track his progress on the Facebook page as well. Residents can join conversations on the MindMixer site (bikeconnecthoi.mindmixer.com). Creating an account is easy (you can link it to your Facebook page). Anyone who has additional questions can contact either one of two planners in charge of the planning process: David Smesrud, dsmesrud@tricountyrpc.org and Nick Hayward, nhayward@tricountyrpc.org.

–Tazewell County News Briefs–