Category Archives: Whats New

The Paxton Church of Christ will provide a free home-cooked Thanksgiving Day feast to the public at 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 28. If you, or someone you know, would like to attend, you are asked to email Liz at pccsecretary@conxxus.com or call her at 379-4443 by Nov. 22.

Monday, November 11 is Veteran’s Day.  There will be two Veteran’s Day programs that day, hosted by

the Paxton-Buckley-Loda school district and the PBL High School band.

The first one is at 8:30 and is aimed at younger children.

A community-wide program will be at 9:30 and will include a color guard made up of veterans from the Paxton and Loda American Legion posts.

Both programs will be held in the high school gym.

The Paxton Park District’s board of commissioners plans to decide in November whether to move forward with a proposed community garden at Coady Park, including whether the district might help fund the nearly $12,000 needed to install a water line for the garden.

The board heard last week from Ruth Ann Noble, a member of the Paxton United Methodist Church’s outreach committee, which proposed the community garden last year.

Noble said initial plans for the community garden include renting out 20 garden plots, each 30 by 17 feet in size, to individuals, families or organizations. The garden would be built east of the soon-to-be opened dog park.

One obstacle still in the way, however, is the source for the garden’s water supply, Noble said. Noble and her outreach committee estimate that the garden needs at least three accessible water faucets among the plots.

The outreach committee contacted plumber Joe Emberson of Emberson’s Quality Plumbing of Paxton to determine the cost to access the city’s water supply and to provide a water source and linkage to hydrants for the proposed garden.

In a written estimate, Emberson proposed the installation of 800 feet of 2-inch water line and 4-yard hydrants for the garden that would extend from a city water source on Fall Street — which is parallel to the west edge of Coady Park — and run along the north side of the park.

The estimated costs total $11,734, including $3,200 for digging, $6,534 for plumbing and $2,000 to the city of Paxton. Emberson told Noble the water line would be able to accommodate most of the future water needs related to other proposed activities at Coady Park, including the dog park.

“That price sounds big, but it would probably be adequate for most of the other plans,” Noble said.

The board’s vice president, Steve Sample, said following last week’s meeting that the idea for the garden was “still in the research phase” but would be discussed further in November.

“It looks like next month we’ll have it on the (meeting’s) agenda, and the board will vote on whether we want to pursue that,” Recreation Director Neal McKenry said.

The Ford-Iroquois Public Health Department’s walk-in flu vaccination clinics are being held through Oct. 24 at sites in Paxton, Gibson City, Watseka, and Clifton.

It is requested that those attending a clinic wear a shirt or blouse that provides easy access to the vaccination site.  Persons on Medicare, Health Alliance or Health Alliance HMO are required to present their card at the time of vaccination.  Those not having Medicare Parts A & B, Health Alliance or Health Alliance Medicare HMO as their primary insurer will be required to pay for their vaccination at the time of service.

A schedule of clinics offered in Ford and Iroquois counties follows:

Paxton
Ford-Iroquois Public Health Department, 235 N. Taft St. — 9-11:30 a.m. Oct. 18.

Gibson City
Big R — 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 19.
Gibson City American Lutheran Church — 8:30-11 a.m. Oct. 24.

Watseka
Big R in Watseka — 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 19.
The Arc of Iroquois County — Noon to 1 p.m. Oct. 23.

Clifton
Countryside Villas-Merkle Knipprath — 3-5 p.m. Oct. 16.

The Center for Rural Health and Farm Safety at Carle Foundation Hospital is offering free courses on CPR and first-aid certification on Tuesday, Oct. 15, and Wednesday, Oct. 16, at Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative, 330 W. Ottawa Road, Paxton.

On Oct. 15, an American Heart Association HeartSaver CPR certification course, also focusing on AED use, will be offered from 1:30 to 5 p.m.  From 5:30 to 8 p.m., an American Heart Association HeartSaver first aid certification course will be offered.

On Oct. 16, from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., an American Heart Association HeartSaver CPR certification course will be offered. From 1:30 to 4 p.m., an American Heart Association HeartSaver first aid certification course is offered.

Participants may attend one or both of the classes.

Courses will include hands-on instruction and a workbook. For each class completed, participants will receive a certification card.

Registration is required at least 10 days prior to class. Participants must be at least 14 years old. For more information or to register, visit carle.org/cpr or call 383-4601.

The Paxton Dog Park Committee will hold a garage sale from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, and from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 28, to raise funds for a proposed dog park at Coady Park. The sale will be held at 725 N. American St., Paxton. Items for sale include household décor, dog toys, books and shoes. For more information, email paxtondogpark@gmail.com or rjj80@yahoo.com.