The 1908 Pekin High School yearbook showing the school’s graduating class has been preserved for future generations, now that the Pekin Public Library has digitized copies of The Pekinian.

NATIONAL

Report: Student loan debt prohibiting millennials from buying homes

Student debt is delaying millennials from buying their first home by seven years, according to a study recently released by the National Association of Realtors.

The report focuses on younger millennials (born 1990 to 1998) and older millennials (born 1980 to 1989). Those surveyed – even older millennials earning higher incomes – say that they can’t save for a down payment because they are paying off school loans.

The study found that 20 percent of millennial respondents own a home.

The respondents said they are typically carrying a student debt load of $41,200 that surpasses their annual income of $38,800. Some 79 percent borrowed money to finance their education at a four-year college; 51 percent are repaying a balance of more than $40,000.

About 60 percent say that if they didn’t have a student loan, they would put that money toward buying a home.

The report says there are ways for people with student debt to get mortgages, but many millennials are unaware of them. It calls on the federal government to do a better job of educating would-be homebuyers. It also calls for tax breaks to encourage businesses to pay off student loans as part of their employee compensation packages.

PEKIN

Pekin yearbooks digitized for the future

The 1908 graduates of Pekin High School most likely could not imagine how their yearbook would be preserved 109 years later. The Pekin Public Library has had its Pekinians for 1908 to 2014 scanned and digitized, to ensure that they will be available for future generations.

Each yearbook was scanned from cover to cover, and the scanned images were burned to individual disks. These scanned images were then uploaded to a portable external hard drive that library patrons may use in Adult Services. Those who would like to make copies of images from the digitized yearbooks can borrow the external drive.

The yearbooks are among the library’s Local History Room collection that get the most use, whether it’s someone looking up old friends, researching family history or simply reminiscing. The Pekinians are invaluable sources of information about Pekin High School history.

The yearbooks had been available for patrons to read or photocopy. With the passage of time, however, the older volumes suffered wear and tear. The digitization will make the information available and save the fragile volumes from further harm.

The original Pekinians will remain in the Local History Room. The more recent yearbooks have not yet been digitized but will still be available there, also. 

Little Stars hockey signup to open

Registration for the Pekin Park District’s popular Little Stars Hockey League opens Oct. 9. This program, the oldest running hockey program in the area, is designed to engage the new hockey player and teach them the fundamentals of hockey in a fun environment. Emphasis is on skating and basic game play. This league consists of two 45-minute ice slots per week and one 45-minute game slot each week for players 3-5 years old.

All games are noncompetitive. Loaner equipment is available at no charge. The sessions will be held Oct. 9-Nov. 17, Nov. 27- Jan. 12, 2018 and Jan. 15, 2018-Feb. 23, 2018. Fees are $79 early bird and $89 regular; additional for non-residents.

EAST PEORIA

Native son returns for performance

East Peoria native Tim Atwood will return to his roots Sept. 29, when he performs at The American Legion, 101 Legion St., East Peoria.

Atwood has spent the last 41 years making a name for himself in Nashville, where he played in The Grand Ole Opry staff band for 38 of those years and became a sought-after studio musician. Atwood returned to The Grand Ole Opry stage earlier in September, where he performed with Opry legend Jeannie Seely. He soon will be seen as a performer on the Gabriel Entertainment TV series, ’Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting,” with The Oak Ridge Boys, Randy Travis, The Isaacs and Rhonda Vincent.

Atwood performs his high energy brand of country music coupled with his down home story telling style throughout the United States, and brings the show home. Tickets are $10 at the door. The show starts at 7 p.m.

A graduate of East Peoria Community High School, he began his career at 13, playing piano for a Peoria gospel group, The Harris Family.

–Tazewell County News Briefs–