There used to be a reporter in the newsroom a few years ago that could not understand how phrases or attitudes, judged by modern standards to be offensive, were ever allowed to happen in the past. We talked about cartoons when I was little that contained inappropriate stereotypes of Indians and Japanese. We talked about the commonly accepted name for a game of tackle-tag that contained a homophobic term and how the story of Br’er Rabbit was printed in childrens’ books. This young reporter simply couldn’t believe that people could be so obtuse to other cultures and lifestyles. He couldn’t…
Author: Chad Williamson
Bruce Daniels, left, gestures towards plans he and Rick Crago, in the pink shirt, have for an expansion project at the property containing Leon’s Garage and the House of Spirits, during a meeting Wednesday. The stakeholders invited neighbors to the House of Spirits to share their concerns during the two-hour meeting. Also shown looking at the plans are neighbor Patricia Croy, second from left, and her son, Kelly. Also pictured, wearing the mask, is Liz Martin. (Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson) At meeting on Leon’s expansion, official says information is being gathered Whenever the expansion of the Leon’s Garage reaches…
Marysville educators fear jump in student regression Although administrators in the Marysville School District don’t yet know what the start of class will look like in August, they know students will be dealing with the effects of an amplified “summer slide.” At Thursday night’s meeting, the Marysville Board of Education was told to expect students to show a traditional skill regression, known as the summer slide, when they return, multiplied by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Summer slide is the tendency of students to lose some of the educational gains made in the previous year while they are out…
At this point, all of the local high schools have held graduation ceremonies to send well trained minds out into the world. The amount of knowledge a current high school graduate absorbs – not to mention the added learning pulled in from colleges, trade schools and the military – make the minds of today’s young adults the broadest source of brain power on in the country. I can tell you right now that I was more intelligent immediately after college than at any point in my life. Outside of learning about journalism, ethics and fairness, I had a wide knowledge…
Three siblings fear parking, noise issues at 90-year-old mother’s adjacent home An expansion to a house and garage is usually a pretty pedestrian project, however adding a brewery and outdoor entertainment venue to the plans will apparently draw the attention of neighbors. Concerned parties lined up Wednesday night to give comments during a virtual meeting of the Marysville Design Review Board over renovation and expansion plans involving the properties housing the House of Spirits and Leon’s Garage on a city block on Oak Street, between Fourth and Fifth streets. The project involves an expansion at Leon’s Garage, 326 E. Fifth…
The North Lewisburg Fiscal Officer will be receiving a pay bump, but the money comes with some added, temporary, responsibilities. The $500 monthly stipend was one of a handful of routine issues before village council members at Tuesday night’s meeting. Because Utility Clerk Jayne Leiter retired at the end of March, those duties are now falling to current Fiscal Officer Jennifer McCombs. Mayor Cheryl Hollingsworth said the stipend will remain in place until a permanent replacement can be found for the utility clerk position. Hollingsworth added that there is a possibility that the duties could be added permanently to McCombs’…
Federal safety suggestions for school reopening in the fall have sent a wave of concern through parents and educators who pictured classrooms of masked children sitting behind desks equipped with plastic partitions. At Thursday’s Marysville Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Diane Allen said the real concern is how you even get the students to the buildings. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently offered guidelines for schools operating in the age of the coronavirus. Those guidelines included suggestions for classroom operations, but also urged social distancing on buses, such as seating one child per row and skipping rows where possible.…
At this point everyone has heard about the Murder Hornet. Also known as the Asian Giant Hornet, they can grow to be two inches long, have an intensely painful sting and can decimate honeybee populations. The Washington State Department of Agriculture verified four sightings of the massive insect in December, the first such sightings in the United States. I know why the Murder Hornet is now in the United State. It has nothing to do with natural migration, global warming or searching for freedom. They came because word just reached Asia that my dad is no longer protecting the motherland.…
A little more than a week into its existence, the North Lewisburg Police Department is already thinking bigger. Village council met Tuesday night and approved measures setting pay rates for part-time officers and creating an auxiliary police force. Members of the auxiliary force are not paid but are trained and certified police officers and have full arrest powers within the village. North Lewisburg Police Chief Scott Bodey said some agencies use their auxiliary as support personnel, but in the village they will be regular patrolling officers. The auxiliary will be comprised of no more than five members and those serving…
Will be paired with virtual ceremony It appears the Marysville Class of 2020 will be the first to graduate in the new football stadium after all. On Thursday, the Marysville School District announced it will conduct a drive-up graduation ceremony on May 23, allowing its 380 seniors to walk across the stage in the stadium, completed earlier this year. Previous plans for an online, virtual graduation ceremony, where each senior is honored, are still in place. Marysville Superintendent Diane Allen said the new plan was the result of conversations with numerous parents and students which carried a near-universal idea that…
Pictured above is a placeholder on Youtube for the Marysville 2020 graduation ceremony video. The video, featuring prerecorded messages and highlighting graduates, will be released on May 23. Though the placeholder says 6 p.m., officials said the video will be released at 7 p.m. (Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson) Marysville will hold a virtual graduation ceremony for the class of 2020, a fitting end to a school year marked by distance learning and virus-related upheaval. Marysville School Board members held an online meeting Thursday and went over plans for the event, which will essentially be a pre-recorded video piecing together…
The newly striped North Lewisburg Police SUV is shown outside the village municipal building Tuesday night. While the department is not fully operational yet, Chief Scott Bodey expects it to be ready for service by May 1. (Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson) Starting next month, North Lewisburg’s Police Department should be fully operations, according to Chief Scott Bodey. Creating the police force was originally expected to take six months, but during Tuesday night’s village council meeting Bodey said he estimated the department will functional by May 1. The village made the decision to operate its own police force in March,…
In the fight against the coronavirus, I have to say that through all of the sacrifices that are being made, both in finances and freedoms, I believe the grieving population in the country is bearing the greatest weight. There are a lot of people right now dying alone in nursing homes and hospitals, despite the best efforts of their friends and families. I had a friend recently relay her story of a dying grandmother who was not able to say a proper goodbye, despite days of advance notice. The nursing home she was staying in allowed just one visitor per…
With no contract extension, village rushes to get own PD in place It would appear the relationship between the villages of Mechanicsburg and North Lewisburg has soured quickly, leaving the later without dedicated police protection as of Wednesday. A three-year contract between the two villages, in which the Mechanicsburg Police Department provided 80 hours per week of dedicated coverage to North Lewisburg, expired on April 1. Mechanicsburg Mayor Benjamin Layne said village council voted to allow the original contract to expire. The Champaign County Sheriff’s Department will respond to calls for service in the village and carry out occasional patrols,…
Pictured above is the emergency room entrance at Memorial Hospital. The tent shown at right is ready for use as an assessment center should the facility see an increase in patients. It is currently not in use. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon) Repurposed space, and possibly rooms in new tower, could be used for patient spike While some hospitals are scouting new locations to create bed space ahead of the predicted mid-April surge in coronavirus related admissions, Memorial Hospital believes it can meet the need by making adjustments within the facility. “In addition to existing inpatient rooms, we would have…