...clips
Robinson Daily News articles:
Local fans bring Becker's songs of life and faith to free concert
For a musician who cut her teeth on the New York jazz scene, it seems unlikely Margaret Becker would emerge as a leading force in Nashville's contemporary Christian music community.
But that's exactly what she did. And though it's also unlikely for a performer of her stature to make a stop in Crawford County, several big Becker fans here in town gathered enough support to bring her to Robinson for a free concert Saturday at the Community Center.
Becker, 50, has built her internationally-acclaimed career by writing music through the lens of faith, and she has penned and recorded more than a dozen albums since 1987. Becker has since racked up 20 No. 1 singles, four Grammy Award nominations and four Gospel Music Association Dove Awards. She's been nominated for Dove Awards 13 times and the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers has recognized Becker as its Christian Artist of the Year seven times.
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Climbing the Mountain: Kor and Powden tell story of Buchenwald camp
Editor's note: Today we begin a series of stories based on the rememberances of Michael Kor and Wib Powden about the life in and the liberation of the Buchenwald Concentration Camp during World War II.
Michael "Mickey" Kor has a hard time putting into words the hatred, the anxiety and the psychological tornado he experienced as a 13-year-old boy.
He was carted away from his family, only to find himself in a Nazi concentration camp as a young Jewish prisoner of the Holocaust. His brother had left for Israel. His father was murdered on a work detail. After living in a ghetto, he was separated from his mother, who was murdered, too.
Though he's told it many times over the course of 60 years, his story still drives him to tears. Now 81 and residing in Terre Haute, he remembers those four years behind the barbed wire and reminds those who visit the CANDLES Holocaust Museum, founded by him and his Holocaust survivor wife, Eva Mozes Kor, in 1995.
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Recycling popular, but a 'trial and error' startup
When the city of Robinson started its new curbside recycling program in November, Crawford Solid Waste employees looked forward to getting some extra loads of recyclables.
But they didn't anticipate the deluge of garbage.
Five mornings a week, a dump truck drops off recyclable materials collected from Robinson curbside bins. The materials sit outside the facility on South Eaton Street, piled in an area surrounded by a three-sided fence, until they are ready to be sorted by CSW's three employees.
But much of the pile consists of non-corrugated cardboard, Styrofoam, waxed cardboard containers, shredded paper and glass - none of which can be processed and recycled at CSW.
It's this mixture of garbage and recyclables that has posed problems for the recycling center's employees, who are already hard-pressed to keep up with the increased amount of work created by the curbside recycling program.
"We knew there would be more trash, but not like this," CSW's Gary Otey said.
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Groups may need to check their tax status
New filing requirements under the 2006 Pension Protection Act may jeopardize the tax-exempt status of some small non-profit organizations in Crawford County.
The change in the law, which is buried in a 393-page bill geared toward pension reform, directs the Internal Revenue Service to revoke the tax-exempt status of organizations that have failed to file information for three consecutive years.
This affects one-fifth to one-quarter of nearly 1.6 million charities in the United States - a handful of which are in Crawford County.
Since 2006, tax-exempt organizations have been required to annually file IRS Form 990, which is a document used by approximately one-third of all public charities to report information about an organization's finances and operations to the federal government.
If a non-profit failed to file before May 17 of this year, it is at risk of losing tax-exempt status. But many leaders of small organizations not previously required to file annually were not aware of the deadline or the change in the law. Because so many leaders of active non-profit organizations were unaware of the three-year-old law change, the IRS is urging those with annual receipts of $25,000 or less to go ahead and file, despite the passed deadline.
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New tech gives cops an edge on cyber criminals
Computer forensics has helped police crack some of the highest-profile cases in the country, and now could do the same in Crawford County.
The technology helped solve the "BTK killer" cases in Kansas after police were able to identify and locate Dennis Rader by tracing a floppy disk back to his personal computer. It also helped prosecutors get a conviction in the 2002 Laci Peterson case in California after police took a look at Scott Peterson's computer.
Computer forensics can also help find evidence to solve cases like burglaries, cyber-stalking and threats sent through e-mail.
Officer Ken Pryor thought the Robinson Police Department could use the technology here in Crawford County, so he secured grant money that will help buy new software for investigating computer-related crimes.
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IECC looks at bonds, credit to meet shortfall
As the state seeks to close its nearly $13 billion budget deficit, the Illinois Eastern Community Colleges board is considering opening a line of credit and possibly issuing funding bonds to make up for a lack of state funds.
Since IECC offers some of the lowest tuition in the state, the district depends heavily on state money. The financial shortfall is pushing board members to look at other avenues of funding.
During their Tuesday meeting at Wabash Valley College, Mount Carmel, trustees authorized Chief Executive Officer Terry Bruce to research establishing a line of credit for the colleges. Bruce said the line of credit could be an alternative to raising revenue, as board members don't expect the state's financial woes to improve this fiscal year or next. Before a line of credit is established, the board must approve the amount borrowed, the interest rates and other components of a credit line. Bruce said he will look at a $5 million line of credit.
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Daily Eastern News articles:
Eastern 'tweeting' students campus news, information
Twitter is one of those social networks, much like Facebook and MySpace and a myriad of other social networks. But, unlike the latter networks, those who wish to "tweet" have to keep their cut-to-the-chase messages under 140 characters long.
The site is used for giving quick updates to family, friends or co-workers about what you are doing - it also boasts being the "modern antidote to information overload."
According to the Twitter Web site, the social network is used because "real life happens between blog posts and e-mails."
Twitter was a hot spot for Web users on inauguration day after the site saw five times the normal tweets per second. Some Twittered from home while others waited to hear from people actually standing on the National Mall, Twittering from their cell phones.
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Rock wall investment questioned
The Apportionment Board recently granted the Student Recreation Center $50,000 to install a rock-climbing wall with hopes of helping students climb to the top, literally. But a few students and faculty are becoming a little more skeptical about the idea.
Rec Center Director Ken Baker said putting in a new rock-climbing wall would add a tremendous amount of liability.
"Climbing hours would be limited because of supervision," he said. "People would have to be hired and employee costs will go up. (We are) maxed out on student payroll."
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