We're collecting letters for Santa

The turkey is in the oven and the delicious aroma of fresh-baked pie is in the air. That means Christmas is just around the corner.

Letters to Santa Letters to Santa first began regularly appearing in newspapers around the 1880s. Every December since then, newspapers across the nation have published children’s requests for the gifts they want most. Entering our third year of covering news and sports in our part of Champaign county, The Sentinel is ready to join the tradition this year by publishing Letters to Santa from readers in the six villages we cover.

In a one-on-one Zoom meeting two weeks ago, Santa was delighted The Sentinel volunteered to help collect some of the millions and millions of letters he receives this time of the year, sort them and make sure he gets them on time. In the newspaper business, deadlines are just another day at the office.

Starting today, Letters to Santa will be accepted via email until noon on December 18. That gives us plenty of time to publish as many copies of the letters as we can before forwarding them to the Jolly Ole Elf at the North Pole.

Write your list early so Santa can make sure he packs his sleigh with all the gifts he needs to drop off on Christmas Eve to all the good little boys and girls your house. With his permission, we created a new email address at The Sentinel to make sure we get every letter and can forward them on to our new partner up north.

Please include in the body of an email after the letter your name or the child’s name, age and town where he or she lives. Email your letter to DearSanta@oursentinel.com. You can also submit a handwritten copy of any letter to St. Nick by sending a sharp, clear copy of the letter taken with your smartphone.

The Sentinel looks forward to sharing the letters and lists from kids in your hometown.

Christmas lights contest in Tolono

The Tolono Fun Days committee is sponsoring a holiday lighting contest next month. Winning lighting displays and holiday scenes will be eligible to win gift card prizes provied by local business and the committee.

To enter, Tolono residents that wish to participate in the contest will need to turn their outdoor holiday displays and lights on by 6p on Friday, December 4. There are three categories that will be award prizes at the village tree lighting ceremony on Saturday.

The three divisions are the Fuse Buster, Frosty's Pick and Low Watt.

Fuse Busters are big, bold bright displays "that is spinning the watt meter" according to the flyer circulated by the committee on Facebook. The Frosty's Pick award will go to the best display that features a snowman. The Low Watt entries will be judged for the best display with a few lights.

The Tolono Fun Days committee asks that residents bring a non-fragile, weather-proof ornament for the village tree lighting at the police station 6p on December 5.

"Join us for a social distancing event to bring in the holidays."


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Photos this week


The St. Joseph-Ogden soccer team hosted Oakwood-Salt Fork in their home season opener on Monday. After a strong start, the Spartans fell after a strong second-half rally by the Comets, falling 5-1. Here are 33 photos from the game.


Photos from the St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team's home opener against Maroa-Forsyth from iphotonews.com.