3-25-2011

 

WILHITE ON RELAY FOR LIFE ROAD RALLY

The Second Annual Greenville Elementary School Road Rally sponsored by their Relay for Life team will be this Saturday, March 26. The Road Rally will begin at 4:00 p.m. but you may take off any time before 6:00 p.m. Jane Wilhite describes the Road Rally as, “A scavenger hunt in your car.” Tickets are $8.00 in advance and $10.00 at the event. For more information or to purchase your tickets, call the elementary school office and ask for Jane Wilhite. All proceeds benefit Relay for Life.

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HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR TO SPEAK

World War II Holocaust survivor Jerry Koenig will speak at the First Baptist Church in Greenville Thursday, April 14 at 7:00 p.m. WGEL spoke with family friend Judy Schneck and she gave us the outline of the story. Koenig was a child when his family was moved into the infamous Warsaw Ghetto in 1939.  He came from a “well-to-do” family and they used smuggled money and jewelry to buy black market food while in the ghetto.  The family owned a 60-acre farm outside Warsaw and it was the farm that saved the family’s lives. Koenig’s parents escaped the Warsaw Ghetto in 1942 and traded their farm to a Christian family as a reward for hiding them and they lived in a hole dug beneath the barn for more than 20 months.  There were eleven people living in the hole and they did not see the light of day for the entire time they were hidden. Koenig will tell his horrific but inspirational story at the event April 14. Everyone is welcome and there is no admission charge.

BCHS QUILT SHOW

The Bond County Historical Society will host the 9th Annual Quilt Show Saturday, April 2 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Free Methodist Church in Greenville. June Wise, a coordinator for the event, said more than 100 quilts in categories of hand-quilted, machine-quilted, wall quilts and antique quilts will be featured in the show.  A quilt block will be on display with the theme of “Illinois.” Viewers Choice Awards will be given in each quilt category and door prizes will be awarded.  Seven vendors have committed to the show and the Greenville 4-H will be serving food.
This year’s featured quilter is Bernice Kovach of Pocahontas. For more information, contact Jan Eyman at 618-326-7343 or June Wise at 618-664-0844.

LEATHERNECKS MEMORIAL GRANT

The Lincoln Land Leathernecks Detachment 1174 of the Marine Corps League will award two one-time grants of $500.00 to two students in our area. To qualify for the award, students must have a GPA of at least a B, good work and attendance habits, and must write an essay of 100 words or less explaining their goals in life and why they believe they should receive the grant. Applicants must be high school seniors or high school graduates who are first-time college students in the fall of 2011 and must plan to enroll in full-time undergraduate study at an accredited two or four-year college or technical institute for the entire 2011-12 academic year.  Applicants must also be U.S. citizens and have permanent residence in the United States. Scholarship recipients will be selected based on academic achievement, participation and leadership in community and school activities, work experience, and educational and career goals.
Special consideration will be given to applicants who have a family member who served in the Marine Corps or elsewhere in the U.S. Military. Applications may be downloaded from the group’s website: www.lincolnlandleathernecks.org/grant.html.

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KARRICK ON CELEBRATION OF DIVERSITY

Kaskaskia College hosted their annual Celebration of Diversity Sunday at the main campus in Centralia.  A buffet of foods from around the world was available before five musical and informational performances.Food samples from Greece, North Africa, Southeast Asia, Germany, France, the British Isles and the Caribbean, all prepared by KC Culinary Arts students, was available from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. In the auditorium, the entertainment portion of the day’s activities included a vocal performance by KC student Vikki Siddell, a gospel music performance by Women of Crowns, a presentation by local artist Elise Gordon, a historical portrayal by Barbara Paulic as Betsy Ross, and the featured performance by Dennis Stroughmatt and Creole Spirit. The event was well attended.  WGEL spoke with Celebration of Diversity organizer Cathy Karrick about the success of the event.  She said more than 200 people were in attendance at the world food buffet which, unlike the performances, required a ticket.  Karrick said it was the fourth year she has chaired the event and that it gets to be more fun every year.  The event helps show how important diversity is to our culture and our community.

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NEWWAVE UPGRADE

NewWave Communications has completed a cut-over to an upgraded fiber optic network.  Sales and Marketing Manager Bill German said the new network will allow customers to access high definition television and will allow the use of digital video recorders. The fiber optic network will also carry more channels including 18 new digital channels and 24 that are in high definition for those customers with the additional box hardware. German said Internet speeds will be stabilized by the change and there will be less system slow-down during peak-use periods.  He added, "We have effectively gone from a two-lane to a four-lane highway.”

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