Abbi Shekleton and Haley Bickelhaupt, both 2nd graders at the West Carroll Primary School, won the Webkinz drawing that was held at the end of the 1st Quarter at the WCPS. Students who earn 20 points in the Accelerated Reading Program get their name put in a drawing for a Webkinz. Two names are drawn at the end of each quarter. The Webkinz were donated by the Great River Garden Center. (Photo courtesy of Jennifer McGinnis)

Witt-Ruppert To Wed

Brian and Sharon Witt of Lanark announce the engagement of their daughter Stephanie Witt to Jordan Ruppert, son of Randy and Joan Meyer and the ate Jim Ruppert of Witt, IL. The future bride is a 2004 graduate of Eastland High School, a 2008 graduate of the University of Illinois, Champaign/Urbana in Animal Science and is currently working o Biology Teaching Certification through the University of Illinois, Springfield. The future bridegroom is a 2002 graduate of Nokomis High School, a 2006 graduate of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale in Agribusiness Economics. He is currently employed as a loan officer at Security National Bank in Witt, IL. The couple will be married on November 29, 2008 at the First Brethren Church in Lanark.

Carroll County Democrats To Meet

The Carroll County Democrats will hold their monthly meeting on November 18,2008, at 7:00 p.m. at Aunt Mannie's Kitchen, 417 Main Street, Savanna, Illinois. All present, and future Democrats are welcome. For information, Call Gerald Bork at 1-815-244-8975.

The Chadwick Junior High Art Club members had a good time carving pumpkins, eating roasted seeds, and painting likenesses of famous artworks on their pumpkins at two October Art Club meetings. "Students worked in groups to create artist pumpkins," said Andrea Jordan, Art Club Advisor. "Among the pumpkins created were a Van Gogh pumpkin, a Klee pumpkin, a Matisse pumpkin, a Grant Wood pumpkin, and several more." The pumpkins that created all this fun were donated to the art club by Bim McGinnis and McGinnis Melons of Thomson. (Photo, L to R) Kiana Aude, Macey Medenblik, Megan Knight, Gabby Sheddan, and Clarissa Bosley pose with their artist pumpkin. (Photo courtesy of Andrea Jordan)

Eastland November Art Gallery

The following students have art pieces in the November Art Show in the Eastland Art Gallery located in Mr. Hansen's office:

K-Christian Hamblen, Jody & Tammy Hamblen; 1-Harmony Murbach, Thera Anspach; 2-Alban Seferi, Aslan & Dashurije Seferi; 3-Mac Byer, Stacey Byer; 4-Zoe Strohecker, Ronald & Ann Strohecker; 5-Kayla Olson, Julie Olson; 6-Jared Gaughan, Jennifer Gaughan; 7-Blake Steen, Tanya Kuberski; 8-Delanie Giedd, Rodney & Tammy Giedd; HS-Kara Weber, Thomas & Judy Weber; HSSara Runyan, Carol Runyan; HS_Ryan Mueller, John & Robin Mueller; HS-Morgan Moll, Brenda Moll.

Sunday, October 26th was the date for the Eastland FCCLA and Student Council to hold their annual food drive known as "Grocery Goblins". About 30 members of the combined organizations, some shown in the photo above, canvassed the town of Lanark for non-perishable food items. The food is donated to the Eastland Council of Churches who then prepare holiday food baskets for families in need from the area. A special thanks to Lynn Smith and Marcia Merchant for their help in organizing the baskets. (Photo courtesy of MaryBeth Landherr)

Punky is one of several older cats living at the Heartland Pet Welfare shelter in Savanna.He is a big, lovable guy looking for a home. If you want a laid back yet friendly lap cat, Punky is the one for you.There are lots of cats and kittens looking for forever homes, so call for an appointment to visit the shelter soon. 815/244-6543 ot 815/273-3183.

Friends of Chadwick Library Meeting

The Friends of Chadwick Library will meet on Wednesday, November 19th, at 2 pm at the library. Even if you have never attended a meeting of the Friends, please feel welcome to do so this Wednesday. New members are always welcome. Phone the library at 815-684-5215 for further information.

NARFE Meeting Notice

Chapter 604 of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) Association will hold their monthly meeting at noon Thursday, November 20, 2008, at the House of Events, Savanna. A luncheon buffet will be available at noon for those who wish to eat. We hope to have a Blue Cross/Blue Shield representative to speak and answer questions. The business meeting will follow at 1:00 and will include election of officers for 2009/2010. Come and get involved in your future-NARFE. All active and retired federal employees, spouses and survivors, are cordially invited.

Carroll County Crime Stoppers

Carroll County Crime Stoppers is requesting your help in solving the following crime. Information leading to an arrest could earn the caller a reward of up to $1000.00 and the identity of any caller will be kept strictly confidential. The Carroll County Sheriff's Office is investigating a burglary to an outbuilding in rural Lanark. Sometime on or about Sunday October 26, 2008 unknown subjects entered an outbuilding at a farm site located at 24740 Straddle Creek Road and took a chainsaw and an unknown quantity of gasoline. Persons having information about this crime, or the location of a wanted felon should contact Crime Stoppers at 244- STOP (244-7867).

Governor's Award for Unique Achievement to Whiteside County Senior Center

SPRINGFIELD ­ The 2008 Illinois Senior Hall of Fame and Governor's Unique Achievement Awards were presented recently by Illinois Department on Aging (IDoA) Director Charles D. Johnson during a special ceremony at the Governor's Mansion. The Governor's Award for Unique Achievement recognizes groups, individuals and programs that make a positive impact on the lives of seniors in the state. They were nominated by Area Agencies on Aging throughout the state.

Whiteside County Senior Center was nominated by the Northwestern Illinois Area Agency on Aging. This senior center was floundering before a meeting was convened of the center's funders - Northwestern AAA, United Way and the Whiteside County Board. This team saw the need to revitalize the center and worked to make that happen.

Key to the success was the board of directors of the Lee County Council on Aging and the Council's Executive Director, Roxanne Bauer, who has more than 28 years of experience in the field. Under her leadership, funding has been restored. The agency was restructured and new staff hired. Customer service became a priority and there is now strong oversight. Through Bauer's hard work, seniors and people with disabilities in Whiteside, Lee and Ogle Counties have an improved quality of life.

Northwest Illinois Grazing Conference

The Northwest Illinois Grazing Conference is planned for Monday, December 8, 2008, at Highland Community College, Freeport, IL. The conference will run from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. with registration beginning at 9:00 a.m.

Jim Gerrish, national known grazier and grazing specialist, will provide the keynote address on how grazing competes with high commodity and energy prices. Dave Forgey, who grazes 250 dairy cows on 350 acres near Logansport, Indiana; and Dr. Alan Miller, University of Illinois Beef Cattle Specialist, who, along with family members, operates a 140 cow purebred Angus beef operation on 90 rotational grazed acres near Gridley, Illinois, are also on the program. Conference topics to be covered include a virtual tour and discussion of each guest presenter's farming operations, dollars and sense of feed resources, how to manage legumes and residual grazing heights, and lessons learned in grazing. The event also includes an exhibitor fair with numerous commercial and agency representatives sharing information about programs, products and services targeted to livestock graziers in Northwest Illinois and the greater Tri-State area.

To register or to obtain a flyer or more information on the workshop, contact your local Extension office or Jo Daviess County Extension at 815-858-2273. On-line registration can also be done via the Jo-Carroll Unit website at http://jdc.extension.uiuc.edu which offers a credit card payment option.

Duane and Doris Kruse of Lanark will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with an open house on Sunday, November 16. Friends and family are invited to join them for a luncheon from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Heritage Center, 106 South Broad St, in Lanark. The couple asks that gifts be omitted. Duane Kruse and the former Doris Gelwicks were married at the First Baptist Church in Mt Carroll, Illinois on November 14, 1958. The couple is involved in farming and raising purebred Angus cattle on the family farm at 21908 Georgetown Rd, Lanark Illinois. The couple has four children: Dan (Mary) Kruse of Mt Carroll, Dena (Mike) McKnight of DeKalb, Danita (Dick) Emford of Lena and Darci (Josh) Francque of Dixon. They have 8 grandchildren, Mistia, Joey, Rebecca, Haley, AJ, Mary, Victor, and Alyssa.

Lt. Kelsey R Knutti of the United States Naval Reserves has deployed with the NEMU-09 (Navy Expeditionary Medical Unit) beginning September 15, 2008. She is working at the hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. As a squadron leader for a nursing team, she will take care of those injured and/or ill sent from Iraq and Afghanistan. It is estimated her deployment will be for 13 months. Lt. Knutti is serving her second tour related to Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom as she was previously deployed to Iraq from February 2006 through September 2006 where she served in a Shock and Trauma Platoon near Baghdad. As one of the flight nurses, she flew 26 missions retrieving and delivering wounded soldiers. Lt. Knutti graduated from Milledgeville High School in 1999 and received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Luther College in 2004. She is the daughter of Steve and April Knutti of Chadwick. (Photo courtesy of April Knutti)

Enroll Now in Food Handler's Recertification Class

University of Illinois Extension will be offering a Food Service Sanitation Manager Recertification Class on December 2, from 9:00 a.m. ­ 3:00 p.m., at Naaman Diehl Auditorium, Mt. Carroll. This is an approved refresher class.

Advance registration is required and must be completed on or before November 21. For a registration form contact University of Illinois Extension office in Mt. Carroll at 815-244-9444. The Recertification Class fee is $30 which includes all course materials, lunch and breaks. This fee is the course fee only and is separate from the IDPH license renewal cost. Instructor for this session will be Sarah Todd, Extension Educator with University of Illinois Extension.

Private Pesticide Safety Education Clinics

The Illinois Pesticide Act requires individual farmers to become certified as a Private Pesticide Applicator in order to purchase and use restricted use pesticides (RUPs). These products will clearly state the words "Restricted Use Pesticide" on the label. Common examples include the insecticides Counter, Force, and Pounce, and the herbicides Atrazine, Gramoxone Max, and Harness.

To become certified, you must pass a closed-book, 50 question examination administered by representatives of the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDA). Once passed, a three-year certification license will be issued by the IDA upon receipt of a $20 licensing fee. To help you prepare for the examination, the University of Illinois Extension offers Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) clinics as well as a training manual and workbook. The manual was revised in 1999, and the workbook was revised in 2005. Use the manual as a reference to complete the workbook before attending a clinic.

The University of Illinois Extension-Jo Carroll Unit will host three pesticide safety education clinics this winter. These programs will be held at the Elizabeth Community Building on Wednesday, December 10, Carroll County Farm Bureau Building in Mt. Carroll on Friday, December 12 and the Holy Cross Catholic Church in Stockton on Wednesday, February 11. The clinics will run from 9 a.m. to noon and will be followed by a test that will be administered by the IDA. Please be advised that there is a $30 clinic fee and pre-registration requirement. This $30 fee is for training only, and is separate from the $20 licensing fee charged by IDA. Current study manuals can be purchased at the University of Illinois Extension offices. For more information or to register for the clinics call the University of Illinois Extension-Jo Daviess County at (815) 858-2273 or Carroll County at (815) 244-9444.

September Rainfall

A big "thank you" goes to all of our University of Illinois Extension Rainfall Reporters in Carroll and JoDaviess counties. Here is their report for the month of September and for those that kept track from April through September the sixth month total will be listed.

Mt. Carroll: Richard Fuller 4.97 - 30.65; Nancy Gable 4.65 - 31.60; Les Grim 6.15 - 35.90; Maynard Kehl 4.45-39.26; Kenneth Rahn 5.30-32.10; Mary Rapp 4.85 32.06; and Tom Tuite 5.50-34.10.

Savanna: Allen Beyer 4.90-32.50; Leroy Getz 5.30-35.05; Keith Rath 4.81-32.77; and Paul Rath 4.95-35.35.

Chadwick: Tim Adolph 5.20-31.70; Raymond Henningsen 5.39-30.24; George Weber 4.80-30.50; and Bob Yingling 5.50-na.

Milledgeville: Frank Fogel 6.10-33.00; and Phyllis Wagenknecht 5.50-30.20.

Lanark: Edna Beattie 6.20-30.20; Kris Lauritzen 5.70-33.20; and Robert Michael 5.20-29.20.

Shannon: Jim Endress 4.15-27.03; Eileen Kent 4.78-28.88; and Mary LaShelle Mantle 4.80-28.95.

Douglas Kalec, Thomson, 5.20-36.10.

Greg Haas, Elizabeth, 4.20-35.68.

Raymond & Riley Wolter, Hanover, 5.00-38.90.

Virginia Niemeier, Lena 5.60 40.30

Stockton: David Fernstaedt 5.50-35.23; Herbert Hill 4.83-30.23; Ronald Lubick 4.44-28.42; David Marcure 4.46-31.41; Arlo Paxton 3.20-37.85; and Nancy Winter 2.60na.

Thomson Bike Trail Reopens

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has reopened the two mile section of the Thomson Sand Prairie Bike Trail on Tuesday, November 4. This section of the Grand Illinois Trail was closed since early October to complete a rehabilitation project that replaced the limestone surface with asphalt. There will be an additional short period of closure on the trail in the near future to install bollards at the two entrances.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses 552 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas.

For more information, contact Ed Britton at the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife

and Fish Refuge Savanna District at 815-273-2732 ext 11

Recycle Those Old Holiday Lights

Beginning on America Recycles Day, November 15, 2008, and continuing through January 15, 2009, Jo Daviess and Carroll County residents can recycle their incandescent holiday light strands at University of Illinois Extension offices in the Jo-Carroll Unit.

When replacing your Halloween and Christmas light strings because they don't work or because of decorating changes, instead of throwing out the old ones, consider recycling them. When purchasing new decorative light strings, the website www.energystar.gov recommends buying Energy Star LED lights. LED lights, which consume 75% less energy than conventional incandescent lights, can last up to 10 times longer than traditional incandescent strands. They are also cool to the touch. In addition, because they do not have filaments or glass, they are more durable than other light strings.

To recycle your unwanted holiday light strands, just drop them off at either Jo-Carroll Extension Unit offices: 807D S. Clay Street, Mt. Carroll or 204 S. Vine, Elizabeth. This recycling program is co-sponsored by the Jo-Carroll Solid Waste Agency and University of Illinois Extension.

For your questions on holiday light or other recycling programs, contact Maggie Friedenbach, Recycling & Conservation Programs Coordinator, at 815-244-9444.

CWD Incidences Continue to Increase Deer Feeding Regulated

With deer hunting season approaching and as many people like to feed wildlife during the upcoming winter months, hunters and other wildlife enthusiasts should be aware of the continuing issues with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). Feeding deer is one of the issues. Deer may spread CWD at such feeding sites. CWD is a relatively new disease of deer in the Midwest which has spread across the country, says John Church, University of Illinois Extension Educator, Natural Resources, Rockford.

Incidences of CWD continue to rise, especially in northern Illinois. During the fall of 2002, CWD was officially diagnosed in Boone County, which was the first time in Illinois. Prior to that time, it was found in southern Wisconsin and had been present in western states for a number of years. Since then, much of the state's incidences of the disease have been concentrated in the Winnebago, Boone and McHenry County area, although surveys for the disease are conducted across the state.

As of June 30, 2008, Illinois Department of Natural Resources reported a total of 86 deer tested positive for CWD in Boone County and 97 in Winnebago County, which have the highest incidence of the disease. Since 2003, a total of 227 cases have been reported in Illinois in Boone, Winnebago, Ogle, McHenry, LaSalle, Stephenson and Dekalb Counties, which is up by 38 cases since approximately one year ago.

The means of transmission between deer is not yet completely understood. It is thought that the disease can be passed between animals in a herd, so preventing new feeding sites may help in reducing the spread of the disease. It may also be spread from mother to offspring. Unlike many other diseases, CWD is not an infection by a living organism (such as bacteria), but appears to be caused by an abnormal version of a protein that normally occurs in the animal's cells. This infectious protein particle is called a "prion." It is not easily eradicated by environmental factors, heat or disinfection, so transmission from a contaminated environment may also be possible.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has passed regulations as a precaution to help control the disease. This includes a ban on feeding deer, which includes salt or mineral blocks, grain feeders, etc. There are also restrictions on the importation of hunter-killed deer and elk carcasses. Illinois DNR has a special regulation fact sheet regarding deer hunting in CWD counties available at http://dnr.state.il.us/admin/08/IL1008.pdf.

More details of the CWD issue in Illinois can be found at http://dnr.state.il.us/cwd and http://agr.state.il.us/AnimalHW/cwd. The websites include the latest data, information on deer testing during hunting, and maps of the CWD incidences and other information. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources also has an excellent web site at www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/wildlife/whealth/issues/CWD. Another web site that contains information is the Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance at www.cwd-info.org.

The 'Ten Acre' Legislative Change

SPRINGFIELD, IL - Illinois Farm Service Agency State Executive Director, William Graff announced that on October 13, 2008, HR-6849 was signed into law and amended the commodity provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill to permit producers with small-acreage to participate in farm programs for the 2008-crop season. The Farm Bill modification for 2008 suspends the provision that prohibits Direct and Counter-cyclical Program (DCP) payments on eligible commodities if the sum of the base acres on the farm is 10 acres or less.

The legislation extends the 2008 crop year signup for producers with 10 base acres or less, until November 26, 2008. This regulation change ensures that no penalty can be assessed by USDA against participants who fell into this 10-acre prohibition, for failure to submit reports or timely comply with program requirements. The law also provides clarification on various aspects of the new standing disaster assistance program, specifically diminimis acreages and grazing land eligibility under the program.

Producers with ten base acres or less are encouraged to contact their local FSA office before November 26, 2008 to schedule an appointment to enroll in the 2008 DCP farm program.

For details, call the Illinois State FSA Office at (217) 241-6600.

Quilt Guild Meets

Country Crossroads Quilt Guild will meeton Monday, November 17 at 6 PM at Forreston Grove Church, 7246 Freeport Road, Forreston. The annual potluck dinner will be followed by show-and-tell, a quilting boutique, and installation of officers for 2009.

Winners of the October drawings were Kathy Clark for name tag; Kay Walker for show-and-tell, and Karen Bolen and Joyce Winnekens for fat quarters.

For more informationon guild meetings, contact Diane at 815/382-4544, Judy at 815/946-2025, or Joyce at 815/493-2557.

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