Canine fashion, "Trucker Hats" made for dogs may help protect their eyes

NewsUSA -- Some clothes for pets are strictly stylish, some are purely functional, and some are both. The idea of a trucker hat for a dog may seem strange, but in fact many dogs, especially those with blue and light-colored eyes, suffer from sun sensitivity that makes them squint and become anxious in bright conditions.

Tony Choi, an engineer in San Diego, Calif., and his veterinarian wife, Dr. Kathy Burnell, launched the initial PupLid trucker hat for dogs in 2018 to help make dogs comfortable after they found it significantly reduced anxiety in their own sun-sensitive dog, Buddy. They experimented with other dog hats and designs for months, but determined that a modified trucker hat design stayed in place and provided the best protection for Buddy.

The Six-Panel Camo baseball cap for dogs is the latest addition to the PupLid product line for dogs who prefer a more adventure-ready look. Like the trucker hats, the baseball caps will feature a patent pending "Furfect Fit" system for maximum comfort, stability, and adjustability. Dogs with shorter noses have the additional benefit of protection from sunburn and sun induced skin cancers on the nose.

Even dogs who might resist a hat will warm up to it with the right approach, according to Burnell and the PupLid website. Start by letting your dog sniff the PupLid and get used to seeing it. Then, put the hat on the dog's head for a few minutes at time, and use treats and rewards as the dog keeps it on for longer periods.

"When hat wearing is paired with a favorite walk or trip to the park, many dogs start getting excited to see their hat because they know they are about to go on an adventure," says Burnell.

The hats are engineered to stay put with a five point system -- two-points of contact on each side and one under the chin. The hook and loop fastener under the chin allows for a customized fit, and slider loops on the sides allow for further adjustment. PupLid hats are currently available in five sizes, XXS, XS, S, M, and L, but the company will launch a sixth size later this fall to further refine the fit for more dogs. More sizing information is available on the company website.

The company also strives to enhance the style factor to dog hats -- the hats are a seamless extension of baseball caps and trucker hats for people, available in five colors and over ten designs. More custom design options are available from PupLid's growing network of wholesale partners, and dog families can even order their own matching "trucker hats for humans" for the ultimate in coordination.

PupLid is a supplier to retailers as well as organizations seeking a completely unique option to add to their promotional products. Orders of 25 or more can feature a company logo or other design, and preorder options are available to reserve large supplies.

For more information, email wholesale@puplid.com.

Photo-of-the-Day: January 26, 2022

ST. JOSEPH -- Spartans' Logan Smith hops into the paint to take a shot during SJO's home varsity basketball game against St. Thomas More. The sophomore forward finished with a 14 points in his team's dramatic come-from-behind 45-43 win over the visiting Sabers on Tuesday. St. Joseph-Ogden travels to Monticello Friday for another Illini Prairie Conference showdown. See more photos from this game here.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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Area Covid-19 Dashboard for January 26, 2022

Active Cases:

(Champaign County)

1,694

Total Area Cases:

(Sentinel Area)

676

New Cases:

(Sentinel Area)

250

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Current local cases as of 1/26/22

Number in parenthesis indicates new cases since 1/25/22

Ogden • 12 (3)
Royal • 0 (0)
St. Joseph • 42 (11)
Urbana • 517 (195)
Sidney • 14 (5)
Philo • 21 (13)
Tolono • 53 (19)
Sadorus • 5 (1)
Pesotum • 12 (3)

Net change in local cases: 261

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Total Local Confirmed Cases: 20,848

Brief Notes:

The CUPHD reported two additional deaths for Covid-19 today bringing the total number to 29 for the month of January. There have been seven deaths this week linked to the virus.

The Illinois Education Association, the Illinois Federation of Teachers reached a compromise with the state to retain teachers by extending benefits to teachers who need to be off work to recover from a Covid-19 infection or to take care of family members.

Omicrom BA.2 has about 20 mutation in the spike protein. Referred to as the "Stealth Omicron" it has been indentified in both Europe and Asia.

The information on this page is compiled from the latest figures provide by the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District and the Illinois Department of Public Health at the time of publishing. Active cases are the number of confirmed cases reported currently in isolation. Local is defined as cases within the nine communities The Sentinel covers.

Effective 1/16/22, the CUPHD dashboard updated their reporting parameters to reflect the reduction from a 10-day isolation period to 5 days per the CDC guidance issued last month. Under the previous 10-day policy and based on the data released today, there should be approximately 5,363 residents in isolation.

Rockets drop non-conference bout at Mt. Zion

MT. ZION -- The first quarter of the game made all the difference in the outcome of the Unity's boy's basketball team's road game at Mt. Zion.

While the Rockets ran up and down the floor stride-for-stride during the last three periods of the non-conference game, it was the first-quarter eight-point advantage the Braves carved out that sealed their 62-56 win.

Led by senior Blake Kimball, Unity's starting five delivered the bulk of the team's total score. Kimball, who spent 35 minutes on the floor, finished with 19 points, eight rebounds, and two steals.

The Rockets' second-leading scorer, Henry Thomas, finished with 16 points, six boards, and three assists. Austin Langendor rounded the team's top three scorers with nine points.

Mt. Zion's Carson Cuddy and Ethan Hamrick finished with 23 and 21 points, respectively.

Box Score

Final: Mount Zion 62 - Unity 56

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	1	2	3	4	OT	F
Unity	12	12	14	18	0	56
Mount Zion	20	14	10	18	0	62

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Unity --
Kimball 8 (1) 0-0 -- 19, Cowan 1 (2) 0-0 -- 8, H. Thomas 4 (2) 2-3 -- 16, Rawdin 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Warfel 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Saunders 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Porter 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, O'Neil 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2, Price 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2, A. Thomas 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Langendorf 2 (1) 2-2 -- 9, Maxwell 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0.

Mount Zion --
S. Driscoll 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2, Adams 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Koester 2 (1) 0-0 -- 7, McAtee 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, J. Driscoll 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Bauman 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Hamrick 4 (2) 7-11 -- 21, Owens 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Trimble 2 (0) 0-0 -- 4, Cuddy 4 (4) 3-3 -- 23, K. Clark 2 (0) 1-2 -- 5, R. Clark 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Hart 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,

Ketchum and Birt pick up wins for SJO at road match

St. Joseph-Ogden won five matches during their dual meet against host El Paso-Gridley on January 20. The wins were not enought to carry the Spartans to victory who dropped the match, 48-28.

Emmit Holt picked up the team's only forfeit win at 113-pounds.

Holden Brazelton (120 lbs), juniors Hunter Ketchum (183 lbs), and Owen Birt at195 lbs, along with frosh Quincy Jones (220 lbs), recorded the Spartans' other victories.

Brazelton, a freshman, won his match by major decision, 15-3. His other three teammates all won by pinning their opponents.

The Spartans will celebrate senior night with a triangle engagement verses Hoopeston Area starting at 5:30pm and Westville at around 6:15pm on Thursday, January 27.

Results

Final Score: El Paso-Gridley 48 - St. Joseph-Odgen 28

113 Holt, Emmitt (SJO) over Forfeit (EPG) Forfeit 6-0
120 Brazelton, Holden (SJO) over Gibson (EPG) Maj Dec 15-3 10-0
126 Roth (EPG) over Butts, Landen (SJO) Fall 1:15 10-6
132 Greene (EPG) over Forfeit, (SJO) Forfeit 10-12
138 Melick (EPG) over Denhart, Garrett (SJO) Fall 1:48 10-18
145 Gentes (EPG) over Falls, Matt (SJO) Fall 0:36 10-24
152 Jeffereys (EPG) over Forfeit, (SJO) Forfeit 10-30
160 Whitman (EPG) over Forfeit, (SJO) Forfeit 10-36
170 Langland (EPG) over Forfeit, (SJO)
182 Ketchum, Hunter (SJO) over Shaffer (EPG) Fall 1:21 16-42
195 Birt, Owen (SJO) over Duffy (EPG) Fall 2:38 22-42
220 Jones, Quincy (SJO) over Blackmore (EPG) Fall 4:30 28-42
285 Evans (EPG) over Cotter, Austin (SJO) Fall 0:46 28-48

Girl Scout cookies are coming and Troop 2945 is ready

TOLONO -- Friday, February 4th is the first day of nearly eight weeks of absolute cookie bliss. It is the first day that Girl Scouts around the country can officially start selling cookies to raise funds for their troop.

Tolono-based Troop 2945, with 13 members in grades 3 through 5, has just over 2,000 boxes ordered to sell this season.

Girl Scout Troop 2945

Photo courtesy Kristina Toney

"Girls who sell 250 boxes get their Girl Scout fee for the following year waived," Girl Scout leader Kristina Toney told The Sentinel via messenger. "Cookie sales help girls pay for summer camps and they learn a lot of fundamentals with selling cookies."

The annual cookie sale teaches Girl Scouts fundamental business skills by counting-out change, order fulfillment and delivery processes, and developing customer service skills. Local girl scout councils, prepared for a successful selling season, will be monitoring local data and public health mandates.

"Girl Scouts across the country will embark on a new adventure with the world's largest entrepreneurial program for girls: the 2022 Girl Scout Cookie Program," the Girl Scouts of America said in a release. "In prior years, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Girl Scouts quickly and cleverly adapted their selling methods to replace the iconic in-person cookie booths with new, innovative options.

The familiar favorites like Thin Mints, Lemonades, Carmel Delight, Peanut Butter Patties aka Tagalongs, and Shortbread or Trefoils®, are back.

New this year! Adventurefuls.

Adventurefuls™ is the newest cookie to the Girl Scouts of the USA line-up. It is a brownie-inspired cookie topped with caramel flavored crème with just a hint of sea salt to make it a satisfying snack. Toffee-tastic®, another new option, is gluten-free and described as "rich, buttery cookies with sweet, crunchy toffee bits."

Troop 2945 will have booths set up to sell cookies, and a list of sale locations will be available after January 28.

"We haven't figured out any cookie booths yet around town as we can't officially start selling until the fourth," Toney said, "I have 13 girls in my troop, and we all love to deliver cookies."

She said anyone who wishes to place a pre-order or get a list of sale locations can contact by email at kristinatny@yahoo.com or via a phone call at (217) 722-7945. Follow Troop 2945 on Facebook here.

Six area residents on fall SIUC Dean's List

CARBONDALE -- Six area residents at Southern Illinois University Carbondale earned a spot on the Fall 2021 Dean's List. Full-undergraduate students enrolled at SIUC whose grade point average meets or exceeds the minimum SIU GPA are recognized each semester. This fall, 1,882 students earned recognition for their academic effort.

Students who make the list transcript receive a special notation on their transcripts identifying semesters where their academic performance excelled. Below are the fall semester's recipients.

The announcement above does not include Dean's List honorees who did not register Urbana, Royal, Ogden, Philo, Tolono, Sidney, or St. Joseph as their hometown with the University.

URBANA:
Avian R. Wilkins, Senior
Chris J. Cross, Sophomore
Rachel E. Gatewood, Junior
Alyssa K. Pankau, Freshman

TOLONO:
Connor L. Eastin, Sophomore
Lauren N. Frost, Senior

Two area student make WIU fall Dean's List

MACOMB -- Derek Samson, from Ogden, and Elizabeth Decker, from Philo, are two of 1,164 students named to the Fall 2021 Dean's List at Western Illinois University. Students must earn at least a 3.6 grade-point average on a scale of 4.0 or an A in a minimum of 12 credit hours of graded courses to receive the honor. Samson is a senior and Decker a junior.

The announcement above does not include Dean's List honorees who did not register Urbana, Royal, Ogden, Philo, Tolono, Sidney, or St. Joseph as their hometown with the University.

St. Joseph businesses robbed

ST. JOSEPH -- Salon 192, Geschenk Coffee, Cafe & Gifts, and Country Chics were burglarized early Tuesday morning. The break-ins are still under investigation.

If you have any information to help solve these crimes, contact the Champaign County Sheriff at 217-384-1213. If you would like to stay anonymous, contact by phone at Champaign County Crime Stoppers at 217-373-8477 or online at 373tips.com.

14 U of I faculty members to become AAAS Fellows

University of Illinois chemistry professor Martin Burke and 13 other faculty members across campus join 551 scientists from around the world elected as 2021 Fellows by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

AAAS Fellows are scientists, engineers, and innovators who are recognized for their ability to converge research, technology, and teaching sharing information in a format for the general public. Recipients are formally recognized at the AAAS Annual Meeting where they are presented with a certificate and blue and gold rosette.

The 13 other campus professors who were also named include crop sciences professor Brian Diers; physics professor Aida El-Khadra; physics professor Eduardo Fradkin; cell and developmental biology professor Brian Freeman; evolution, ecology, and behavior professor Mark Hauber; plant biology professor Katy Heath; bioengineering professor Joseph Irudayaraj; anthropology professor Lyle Konigsberg; anthropology professor Ripan Malhi; computer science professor David Padua; civil and environmental engineering and geography and geographic information science professor Murugesu Sivapalan; geography and geographic information science professor Shaowen Wang; and computer science professor Tandy Warnow.

The AAAS Fellowship is a lifetime honor that started in 1874.

Last-minute heroics lift Spartans over St. Thomas More

On his way to the locker room after the game, St. Joseph-Ogden's Ty Pence shakes hands with fellow student Conrad Miller after SJO's 45-43 home victory over St. Thomas More. Pence, who drained the game-winning free throw in the last 30 seconds of the game, and teammate Logan Smith finished with 14 points each in the Illini Prairie Conference win. The Spartans improve to 16-4 on the season and 3-1 in conference play. Pence & Co. play on the road Friday at Monticello, who are 4-1 in the IPC.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks