The Pantagraph Bloomington, IL

Changes Added to Annual Fairbury Community Sale

FAIRBURY -- The 54th annual Fairbury Community Sale promises a few changes from the previous years, including a new date and new activities for children. The sale closes four blocks of Locust Street downtown. Hundreds of items for sale line the street, and volunteer auctioneers move from item to item, selling as they go.

On Therecord

Police report Thefts

Internet Adds to Independents' Struggle

NORMAL -- Internet retailing has hit full stride as consumers become comfortable with shopping by Internet and pleased with the convenience it provides, said one e-commerce specialist. For the small, independent retailers, the Internet's success can "make their lives miserable," said Mike Humphrys, an Illinois State University marketing professor who specializes in e-commerce.

Blaming Schools Is a Tired Cop-Out

In responding to a guest column about how Republicans and Democrats will only believe what they want, a writer of a Jan. 3 letter to the editor ("Poor education leads to lack of critical thinkers") went on to conclude that our schools are the explanation for the poor reasoning skills found among our citizenry. Admittedly, breakdowns in the use of reasoning skills do occur, and ironically, such breakdowns are contained in this Jan. 3 letter.

Pantagraph Photos On Display

CLINTON -- "Art Photographs in the News," a collection of photographic images produced by The Pantagraph, will be featured in an exhibit at the Vespasian Warner Library in Clinton. The exhibit of 30 photographs opens Tuesday and continues through March 12 in the library's second-floor Museum Room. A public reception is set for 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 15. Both events are free and open to the public.

Deaths

Leslie H. Wilmoth BLOOMINGTON -- Leslie "Les" H. Wilmoth, 46, of Bloomington died at 7:47 a.m. Tuesday (Jan. 25, 2005) at his residence.

Lincoln Christian Men, Women Win in Own Classic

LINCOLN -- Caleb Edson led Lincoln Christian with 25 points as the Preachers topped Emmaus Bible 82-56 in the men's portion of the Lincoln Christian Hall of Fame Classic Friday night. Howie Wickersham added 12 points, Frank McCollum scored 11 and Adam Everett and Travis Chase each finished with 10 for the Preachers (3-15).

Dunson Lifts Bhs Into Tie Atop Big 12

DECATUR -- After two straight losses, Dodie Dunson took matters into his own rather large hands Friday night. The 6-foot-2 Bloomington High School senior guard, who can palm a basketball like a grapefruit, pushed the pace from start to finish against Decatur Eisenhower. Dunson made 9 of 14 shots, scored a game- high 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds in lifting BHS to a relatively easy 70-47 Big 12 Conference victory at the Robert Witt Gymnasium.

Illini Central Rallies for League Win

Tyler Schrick scored 11 points to lead Illini Central High School's basketball team to a come-from-behind, 47-43 Sangamo Conference win over Pleasant Plains on Friday night at Pleasant Plains. The Cougars (18-2 overall, 6-0 Sangamo) trailed 24-18 at halftime and narrowed their deficit to 31-28 going into the fourth quarter. Illini Central made 12 of 15 free throws down the stretch to key the victory.

Deaths

Nancy JoAnne Sweet WENONA -- Nancy JoAnne Sweet, 71, of Wenona died at 2 a.m. Friday (Jan. 28, 2005) at Saint Francis Medical Center, Peoria.

Deaths

Katherlian Burch HEYWORTH -- Katherlian R. "Kathy" Burch, 68, of Taylorville, mother of a Heyworth resident, died at 10:55 a.m. Tuesday (Jan. 25, 2005) at Memorial Medical Center, Springfield.

Drug-Sniffing Dog Ruling Takes a Bite Out of Crime

The minimal intrusion of a trained dog sniffing the outside of a vehicle that has been legitimately stopped by police for a traffic infraction does not constitute an unconstitutional search. That's what a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, and law- abiding citizens should applaud the decision, which reversed the Illinois Supreme Court.

Purcell has Shown Strong Work Ethic

I would like to encourage those who live in Bloomington Ward 7 to vote for Steven Purcell on April 5 for Bloomington alderman. I have known Steven for almost seven years and one characteristic always comes to mind: hard worker. Just as he has worked hard on each occasion I have been associated with him, Steven Purcell will be a hard worker as your alderman.

Deaths

Florence Egli HOPEDALE -- Florence M. Egli, 83, of 700 N. Main St. in Eureka, formerly of Hopedale and Bloomington, died at 12:22 p.m. Thursday (Jan. 27, 2005) at Maple Lawn Health Center in Eureka.

Dailydigest

Home sweet home The State Journal-Register/Jeff Thompson

Drunken Driving Suspect Sought

BLOOMINGTON -- Crime Stoppers of McLean County needs the public's help in finding a man charged with felony drunken driving. Jessie C. Ellis, born in 1962, is 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighs 170 pounds. He has brown hair and green eyes; he last lived in Fairbury.

Upscale Pj Luxe Will Close

BLOOMINGTON -- Patricia Stark used to have Christmases she could enjoy, instead of stress-filled 12-hour days minding stores during shopping sprees. After this season, she reassessed operation of her three stores - - the pj Luxe stores in Bloomington and Champaign and Luxi on the University of Illinois campus.

Battle Anniversary Ignored by Press

Dec. 16 marked the 60th anniversary of the fiercest and most famous World War II battle in Europe -- the Battle of the Bulge. The capture of Antwerp, Belgium, in November 1944 had opened up a very important entry port enabling Eisenhower's armies to push toward the Rhine river. Hitler saw this as an opportunity for a counteroffensive in the Ardennes forest and Dec. 16, 1944, marked the beginning of this famous battle, which lasted until Jan. 25, 1945.

Arts in Brief

EXHIBITS Lincoln display

Without a Referee, Being a Parent Is a Learned Job

I wish there was such a thing as a child-rearing referee.How great would it be if the next time you found grape juice spilled on the carpet, instead of having to sift through several choruses of "not me" from children whose halos are firmly in place, you could simply turn to your in-house umpire for a ruling: "Child No. 2 hit the showers." * A stripe-shirted family judge who cares about "fairness" enough to keep up with who gets the red cereal bowl on third Sunday mornings in months that beg...