Participants helped “pink out” Soldier Field Oct. 22 as part of Advocate Health Care and the Chicago Bears’ efforts to raise awareness for a disease that one in eight women develop during her lifetime.

CENTRAL ILLINOIS

Model train fair to attract enthusiasts

Whether you are a model railroad enthusiast, train buff, or just someone looking for unique holiday gifts, there will be something for everybody when the Peoria Train Fair pulls in to the Illinois Central College East Peoria campus Nov. 19. The fair will run from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., and is sponsored by the Illinois Valley Model Railroad Club in Peoria and Pekin’s River City Model Railroad Club. Admission is $3 for adults and free for children 12 and under when accompanied by an adult.

The operating layouts return to the Train Fair this year courtesy of the River City Model Railroad Club, giving attendees an idea of what is possible in model railroading. “Run a Train” returns, giving children the opportunity to play engineer and run selected trains on a small layout. 

DVDs, videos, books, and photos, as well as many model railroad parts and supplies will be available. The latest products will be available and experts will answer attendees’ questions. 

All proceeds from the fair support the Illinois Valley Model Railroad Club in Peoria and River City Model Railroad Club in Pekin and their efforts to highlight and promote the hobby of model railroading.

EUREKA

Women ‘Pink Out’ Soldier Field, raise breast cancer awareness

Three Central Illinois women joined dozens of breast cancer survivors, fighters and family members from across Illinois to help pink out Soldier Field Oct. 22 as part of Advocate Health Care and the Chicago Bears’ efforts to raise awareness for a disease that one in eight women develop during her lifetime.  

Breast cancer survivors and Bears fans Chris Jones of Germantown Hills, Karen Schaffer of Ellsworth and Janice Weber of Minonk were invited to attend the game by Advocate BroMenn Medical Center, Normal and Advocate Eureka Hospital, Eureka. 

Schaffer, a kindergarten/first grade teacher, and Weber, a retiree, learned of their breast cancer this past spring, while Jones, a nurse at Eureka Hospital’s family practice clinic, was diagnosed in 2014. All three women received their post-surgical treatment at the Community Cancer Center in Normal and are now cancer-free.

Fans throughout the stadium wore “Real Bears Fans Wear Pink” t-shirts, which are on sale at chicagobears.com/pink and benefit breast cancer programs. Bears ambassadors, broadcasters and coaches incorporated pink into their outfits, as did Staley Da Bear. Fans entering the stadium also received a pink breast cancer rally towel. 

Advocate Health Care offers online scheduling, with same-day mammograms and same-day results. For more information, visit advocatehealth.com/breasthealth.com.

Chamber music performance at Eureka College

The Estampes Trio will perform a tapas-style program of piano trios featuring music from around the world at 3 p.m. Nov. 4, in McCallister Hall of the Eureka College Chapel.

Sarah Hansen, cellist, and Meng-Chun Chien, pianist, from the Bradley University music faculty along with Katie Cousins, violinist, will perform “appetizer” style compositions by a variety of composers including Anton Arensky, Mark O’Connor, Astor Piazzolla, Franz Schubert and Bright Sheng. 

The program will be free and open to the public. For more information, call (309) 467-6398.

PEORIA

Portillo’s to open in Peoria in ‘18

The highly anticipated opening of a Chicagoland fast-casual restaurant Portillo’s is now official. Portillo’s, known for its Chicago-style hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches, is expected to open sometime next year at 4412 N. Rockwood Drive, Peoria.

The chain will operate a 9,000-square-foot restaurant. Plans already submitted to the city contemplate seating for 204 patrons indoors, with seating for an additional 50 in a seasonal, outdoor area. The restaurant and its signature double drive-through lane will be situated toward the back of the wedge-shaped parcel.

The interior of the restaurant will be designed on a 1950s theme.

CHILLICOTHE

Road named for Navy SEAL hero

Illinois Route 29 in Chillicothe will be named for fallen Navy SEAL William “Ryan” Owens, to honor his as a dedicated and selfless hero. 

Owens, a graduate of Illinois Valley Central High School, died during a mission in Yemen in January 2017. Throughout his military service, Owens won two Bronze Stars, the Purple Heart, the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, and a posthumous Silver Star for his actions during a 2015 mission in Somalia, among other awards.

Route 29 will officially have the title Senior Chief Petty Officer William “Ryan” Owens Memorial Highway within Chillicothe city limits. 

–Woodford County News Briefs–