The Pantagraph Bloomington, IL

Others Enjoy Craft Ladies' Talented Quilting

BLOOMINGTON -- The Tuesday Craft Ladies are thinking of others when they meet each week at the Miller Park Senior Center. The women use their talents to make items others will enjoy. For the last couple of years, many items have been donated to local nursing homes.

Special Census Shows Mackinaw has 210 More People in City Limits

MACKINAW -- Preliminary results of a special census have exceeded the best hopes of Mackinaw village officials. "We're very excited about it," said Mayor Phillip Thames, who said the special census will bring more money into village coffers.

Dailydigest

Bloomington Prairie State Legal Services taps officers

Governmentglance

CHENOA Prairie Central gives football field to city

5 Dead in Storm Crashes

BLOOMINGTON -- Authorities spent a grim Thanksgiving Day investigating the deaths of five people with ties to Central Illinois who were killed in separate weather-related traffic accidents Wednesday and Thursday. The victims included a policeman from the Chicago area, a minister from Lincoln, a nursing student from Fairbury and two men from Bloomington and Manito.

Good Fellow Drive Begins

BLOOMINGTON -- Seventy-seven years ago, the Good Fellow Fund started when a lone Pantagraph newsroom employee answered a family's cry for help on Christmas Eve. This "good fellow" started a tradition of giving -- first by newsroom employees, then by the entire Pantagraph staff and later the whole community -- to provide needy families with holiday assistance. This year, the program is expanding to provide assistance throughout the year, said Henry Bird, president and publisher of The Pantagra...

Bloomington Should Seek Bids On Arena Management

Bloomington's sudden switch in firms to manage the arena complex under construction downtown without seeking alternatives is disconcerting. The council hurried into its first management agreement last spring and Monday night approved negotiations with a second firm because the first hasn't signed a contract yet.

Botching Anthem a Crime?

How many times have we heard various entertainers attempt to add their personal touch to the National Anthem before major sporting events? And how many times have those improvisations made us cringe? It's enough to make some say, "There oughtta be a law!"

Founding Fathers Used Bible Teachings

I write this letter in reply to Matt Pulford and any others who may share his point of view concerning the results of the recent election, ("Voters put Bible ahead of the Constitution," YourViews, Nov. 9) . I am certain Mr. Pulford does not have more than a rudimentary knowledge of the facts surrounding the drafting and subsequent approval of our Constitution or he would know that not only our Constitution but also our original Bill of Rights were both based on biblical teachings.

'Treasure' Coded for Family Escapist Appeal

National Treasure 3 StarsDirector: Jon TurteltaubWriters: Jim Kouf, Cormac WibberlyCast: Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel, Sean Bean and Christopher PlunnerRating: PG for action, some violence, scary imagesRunning time: 2 hrs. 4 min.Theaters: Palace Cinemas, Bloomington; University Cinemas, Normal; Morton Cinemas, Morton ---------- I've been advised that "National Treasure" -- about a treasure map hidden on the back of the Declaration of Independence - - i...

Kindergarten Options Explored ; Cash-Strapped District Tries for All-Day Program

DANVERS -- Susan Robertson says her 5-year-old daughter, Bond, loves kindergarten, but Robertson worries it's not enough. Bond loves her teacher, Becky Stroud, at Olympia North Elementary School, she said. Unlike her brother in the second grade, Bond goes to school only from 8 to 10:40 a.m.

Mission to Serve ; Home Sweet Home Feeds Nearly 500

BLOOMINGTON -- In a 92-degree kitchen at Home Sweet Home Mission, 20 people engaged in a swirl of activity, making meals for nearly 500 people. The head cook, Michelle Cook, made an exasperated face when asked how it was turning out. "I'll tell you when I recover," said Cook.

Library Puts Kids, Adults On Same Page

Talking about books What: One Book-One Community, a multigenerational book discussion of the book, "Foster's War"

Redbird Women Out to Pull Rank in the Bahamas

NORMAL -- Snorkeling, sightseeing, sunbathing ... Yeah, the Illinois State women's basketball team knows how to spend the Thanksgiving holiday.

High School Honors Kimball

BLOOMINGTON -- Veteran broadcaster Art Kimball of Normal has received the Distinguished Alumni Award given by South Side High School in Fort Wayne, Ind. The award was presented in recognition of Kimball's 54 years in broadcasting. He is a 1951 graduate of South Side and a 1955 graduate of DePauw University.

Reading Holds Off Rivermen

PEORIA -- Reading scored two first period goals Thursday and held on for a 2-1 East Coast Hockey League victory over the Peoria Rivermen before a crowd of 3,958 at Carver Arena. Mike Souza and Ryan Kinasewich scored in the first 14 minutes to stake the Royals to an early lead. Peoria cut the deficit in half late in the second period on a goal by Brian McCullough. Justin Maiser and Troy Riddle assisted on McCullough's goal.

Deaths

Ruth Argo CLINTON -- Ruth Argo, 90, of Clinton, died at 5:40 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 21, 2004) at Crestview Healthcare Center, Clinton.

Deaths

Jay E. Downes Jr. CHENOA -- Jay E. Downes Jr., 64, of Chenoa, died at 6:34 p.m. Monday (Nov. 22, 2004) at University of Chicago Hospital, Chicago.

Deaths

Laurie Alan Tockey LINCOLN -- The Rev. Laurie Alan Tockey, 50, of Lincoln, the chaplain for Lincoln Correctional Center, died at 11:40 a.m. Wednesday (Nov. 24, 2004) from injuries suffered in a car wreck in Clayton.

Deaths

Doris Whitehead Doris Alma Whitehead, 90, of Brownsburg, Ind., formerly of Bloomington, passed away at 1:10 p.m. Tuesday (Nov. 23, 2004) at the Brownsburg Healthcare Center in Brownsburg.