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Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Garden Hills principal: Teacher will be greatly missed

CHAMPAIGN – Venita Hubbard was a talented teacher, passionate about her profession and warm and caring toward her students – someone with a "teacher's heart," said her principal at Garden Hills Elementary School, Cheryl O'Leary.

The school's staff and students were grieving Mrs. Hubbard on Monday after she was killed in an accident on her way to school.

Officials: Crews were out clearing roads, monitoring situation

CHAMPAIGN – Illinois Department of Transportation crews had been at work throughout Sunday night and Monday morning clearing snow, putting down salt and monitoring road conditions.

Transportation officials can't say when they last salted Bloomington Road before icy pavement caused an accident that killed a 32-year-old Champaign woman, Venita Hubbard. But in high winds and blowing snow, they generally suspend salting to avoid ice building up on the road, said Howard Furnish, a service technician with the transportation department's district office in Paris.

Area police respond to dozens of accidents

Slick roads, streets, highways and interstates kept state and city police, sheriff's deputies and tow-truck crews busy all day Monday and into the night, responding to accidents and pulling vehicles out of ditches throughout East Central Illinois, according to area law enforcement officials.

From 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday, Illinois State Police in Pesotum handled more than 45 accidents on the three local interstates, but the majority were on Interstates 57 and 74, according to Master Sgt. Mike Garza.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Area drivers battle the elements

As if returning to work on a Monday after a holiday wasn't hard enough, Mother Nature threw in some wet snow to spice things up.

"For no more snow than we've got, it's a mess," said Tracy Wingler, Champaign County's maintenance supervisor. "Our county highways overnight started drifting. Wind is out of the north-northwest, and it's catching the east-west and north-south roads."

Friday, November 28, 2008

Two monthly warning siren tests canceled for C-U, Savoy, UI

Due to work on the outdoor warning sirens in Champaign, Urbana, Savoy and on the University of Illinois campus, there will be no monthly testing of the sirens for December or January.

The regular tests, which are scheduled for the first Tuesday of each month, will not be conducted on Dec. 2 or Jan. 9, according to Champaign County Emergency Management Agency Director Bill Keller.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Champaign won't salt secondary streets this winter

CHAMPAIGN – Jane Tock lives on South Highland Street in Champaign, in a brick-and-stone home just a little west of Prospect Avenue.

Her street has just the slightest rise – almost imperceptible – to the north of her house. But when it snows, she often can't make it up the incline in her car.

So Tock wasn't pleased Wednesday to hear that the city has announced plans to stop salting most residential streets this winter in an effort to cut costs.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Danville sets pickup periods for holiday-generated yard waste

DANVILLE – The weekly yard-waste collection program ends next week, but the city has set two special pickup periods for trees and other waste generated by holiday activities.

The last day for the city's regular weekly collection will be Dec. 5, but the yard-waste recycling facility will continue to accept dropped-off materials.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Out in the cold, pastor draws attention to homlessness

SAVOY – Friday night's camp-out was a cold one for Pastor James McClarey.

The 48-year-old leader of Savoy United Methodist Church planned to spend 12 hours sleeping outdoors as a way to experience firsthand what many of the area's homeless do – outside without a home.

"I know we can't really duplicate what it really feels like to be homeless, but I thought, you know, let's try to enter into the experience," McClarey said.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Urban League's closure won't affect power-bill help in Rantoul

RANTOUL – Low-income residents in this city will still be able to get help paying utility bills after the closure of the Urban League of Champaign County.

Last week, the organization closed its doors after 45 years of service to the area.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Want to play in the leaves? Get to Urbana, but be quick

From Robin Kearton, artistic director of Community Center for the Arts:

Crane Alley, on the north side of Main Street in downtown Urbana, just east of the Cinema Gallery, 120 W. Main, is hosting the city's largest collection of intentionally placed leaves. This display is at your disposal for dragging feet, breathing fabulous fall smells and generally having fun.