911 BOARD MEETING

At Thursday's 911 Board Meeting, 911 coordinator Allan Davis gave an update on the storm damage to the antennas on the Police Department tower.  He said that a tower crew was in Greenville a few weeks ago and they found no damage to the tower.  The antennas did require some adjusting.  Out of the four antennas that were out of alignment, three were straightened.  The bracket on the fourth antenna is bent so tower crews are going to have to come back out and take the bracket and the antenna off of the tower to fix it. Davis said they were very fortunate that the storms from last month did not cause more damage.

In other business, Davis told the Board about Voice Over IP.  Voice Over IP is a system that you can buy from a technology store. If you go on vacation and have a laptop computer you can take this Voice Over IP system with you and use your computer any place that there is Internet access and you can make phone calls at no cost.  The concern with Voice Over IP is people using it to call 911 are directed to a call center in Canada where the call is then transferred to a local responder.  Davis said that he his hoping to get a system set up to where people calling 911 from the Voice Over IP box while they are at home, will be directed to Greenville and not Canada.  Davis said that currently, there are 30 people in Bond County using a Voice Over IP. 

TODAY IS DEADLINE FOR MEDICARE PART D ENROLLMENT

Today is your final chance to get enrolled in Medicare Part D program without a penalty.  The next opportunity to enroll is in November with the Part D benefits not beginning until January.  The State of Illinois is offering extended hours for those interested in calling one of the senior agencies for help with enrollment. 

The Illinois Cares Rx Hotline will be available from 7am until 8pm.  The number is 1-800-506-1998

The Illinois Department on Aging Senior Help Line will be staffed from 8am until midnight.  The number is 1-800-252-8966. 

The Health Benefits Hotline staff will be available from 8:00am until 8PM.  Their number is 1-800-226-0768.

Locally, you may also call the Bond County Senior Center at 664-1465 for help with Medicare Part D.

SMITHBORO TRACKS TO BE CLOSED MONDAY

The Burlington Northern railroad crossing on the south end of Smithboro will be closed for several hours Monday for maintenance.  The work will begin around 10am with one lane opening around 1PM for use by the Smithboro Fire Department and First Responders only.  Smithboro Mayor Susan Moore told WGEL that Burlington Northern should have the repairs completed by 5PM Monday. 

GREENVILLE INDUSTRY HONORED BY KC

Carlisle SynTech was recently honored by Kaskaskia College during its staff awards and retirement dinner.  SynTech was given the Illinois Community College Trustees Association "Business and Industry Partnership Award."  In the presentation, it was noted that KC and Carlisle SynTech have enjoyed a strong partnership since 1992 with the goal of expanding the skill base of the factory's employees while also meeting the needs of the company.

Employees have had the opportunity to earn an Associate of Arts Degree at Kaskaskia College by taking classes at Carlisle SynTech.  The company provides financial support with eligible employees receiving as much as 90% of their tuition and fees paid by SynTech.  During the ceremony, Carlisle SynTech was commended as "an exemplary community industry that values education, promotes the success of their employees, utilizes the accessibility and affordability of the community college and demonstrates a high level of corporate civic responsibility." 

CHERIS CATERING MOVES TO NEW LOCATION

Cheri's Catering, run by Cheri Schilling, is currently in the process of moving to a new location, which formerly was Coast to Coast and Greenville Flower Shop. Cheri said that, after catering for 10 years, she has decided to move her catering company into the building because she wanted somewhere that she could do her own thing. She said she has a commercial kitchen in her basement, but is tired of hauling things back and forth and also said that the location is excellent.

Cheri said some of her friends and relatives help her with her company and also said that everything she makes is homemade, from scratch.  Nothing is pre-packaged or store bought.  She caters weddings, banquets, family reunions, graduation dinners, bar-b-ques, and just about anything.  

Cheri is hoping to open her new location in the middle of June and plans to have an open house on a Sunday afternoon where people can enjoy appetizers and some of the other food she has.  The address is 215 West College Street here in the Greenville and the phone number is 664-4610. The building is currently owned by Bob and Cathie Wiedenhoeft.

GES SELECTED FOR SPECIAL NASA PROGRAM

Students at Greenville Elementary School will have a rare opportunity to access a wealth of information from NASA thanks to a grant announced recently.  The fourth grade teachers at GES submitted a grant application with NASA for the Explorer School program and were one of 26 chosen nationwide.  Greenville Elementary teacher Jackie Blumer told WGEL that NASA received 270 applications from which 10 were selected in each region.  NASA interviewed those finalists through a teleconference with the winners emerging from that group.

The grant totals $17,500 over three years.  Blumer explains how the grant works.  The money must be used for technology, math, and science supplies.  The first year the school will receive $10,000 which must be used to purchased video conferencing equipment which allow the classrooms to interact with NASA staff.  The school now has access to NASA resources including their specialists who can visit Greenville Elementary for one-on-one learning. 

She offered a couple of examples on how the Explorer School program might be utilized.  For instance, a second grade teacher could have a NASA astronaut read a story to the class or another class might be taught a lesson on rocketry by a NASA scientist.

NASA originated the program has an outreach effort to encourage young people to pursue science and engineering as careers.