April 26 |On this day from the Sentinel

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Here is a digest of some of the OurSentinel.com stories we published on this day in the past.

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Knoll's 5th inning triple seals Rocket opening win

Unity's Damian Knoll is tagged out on a play at second base by a Hoopeston Area player during the Rockets' first game of the season. Later, the junior smacked a 3-RBI triple in the bottom of the 5th innning to make the score 11-1 and secured his team's first victory of the season.

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Delicious veggies and more, FFA plant sale starts on Monday

Looking flowers or vegetables for your garden this spring?

Tomorrow at 9am the next round of the St. Joseph-Ogden FFA Chapter will be open for business. Orders for available plants must be done online after it goes live tomorrow at https://my.cheddarup.com/c/st-joseph-ogden-ffa-chapter-greenhouse. Buyers can set a pick-up time to collect their purchase.

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When it comes to your health ask questions

You don’t have to stay in the nursing home if you don’t want to. If you can manage to get out and have a place to go then it’s your life. Even if you want to spend your remaining days crawling in the floor to the kitchen or the bathroom then it’s your God given right to live out your days in such a way.

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6 reason to consider a career in home healthcare

Photo:RODNAE Productions/Pexels

Over the past 13 months unemployment rates nearly doubled their pre-pandemic levels reported in February 2020, the prospect of starting a new career after age 50 may seem unrealistic. However, industry experts say that it’s actually a great time for those in this age bracket to consider making the leap.

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Are you ready for when your power goes out?

Photo: Artem Podrez/Pexels

More Americans suffered extended power outages in 2020 than any year since Superstorm Sandy struck the New York area in 2012, according to Generac, owners of Power Outage Central, a real-time outage tracking service that monitors outages throughout the United States.

Back in November of last year, power was out for about three hours in the south part of Champaign and another area covering Campustown.

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Baker sets hurdles PR, SJO girls snag 9 first at home meet

The St. Joseph-Ogden girls track team took first place in nine events in a home dual meet against Eureka last Thursday.

Haleigh Maddock turned in a 31.10 in the 200m Dash. She was followed over the finish line by teammates Yamilka Casanova (32.32) and Jayci Hayes (32.48) to secure the top three spots on the podium.

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Joining the tech workforce is easier than you might think

More than 12 million people are currently employed in tech-related occupations in the U.S., either as information technology (IT) professionals or employees of technology companies. Yet employer demand for tech workers is still strong in many markets and industries, including technology, financial services, manufacturing, retail, healthcare, government and education.

Tech jobs in Champaign County are plentiful at the moment. Technology Services at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is currently accepting applications for three positions on their Managed IT Services teams. Four days ago, Revature was seeking software developers and Niemann Foods advertised an opening for a Network Administrator with a starting pay at $40K annually.

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Guest Commentary |It's all around us, a world of ill words, deeds, rudeness and evil

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Jesus was all powerful. He was God in the flesh. He could do anything.

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by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator

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Pope Francis’ complete name was Jorge Mario Bergoglio. He was born in 1936. He served as Pope for 12 years, from March 13, 2013, until his passing on April 21, 2025. He was elected on the second day of the 2013 papal conclave and chose his papal name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi.

During the recent Holy week all the way through Easter. He was doing what he loved to do, serve God and help others. Even on his last day he was doing what he could for God and others. What an amazing legacy. He will be remembered for doing all he could, when he could.

There is a story in the Bible about a woman named Mary who anointed Jesus with an expensive fragrance. Her name was Mary and she had a brother named Lazarus whom Jesus brought back to life after being dead for four days.

They had a get-together to celebrate Lazarus’ second chance at life and her sister Martha prepared the meal. A short time later Jesus would he arrested, put through a mock trial and crucified. After three days he would overcome death and leave the tomb. Women would gather to anoint Jesus on that Sunday but would be met by an angel who would announce, “He is not here, he is risen.” The women would not have the opportunity to anoint Jesus. He was gone.

Back to Mary, Martha and Lazarus. If Mary had not anointed Jesus when she did, Jesus would never have been anointed. He actually said, “She has anointed my body for the burial.” Jesus knew what was coming. Mary had a special sensitivity about her that caused her to react in a special way. She knew she needed to act immediately and anoint Jesus while he was at the table eating because it might be her only opportunity and it was.

Mary will be grateful down throughout eternity that she didn’t delay doing something very special for Jesus.

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We live in a world of ill words, deeds, rudeness and evil. It’s all around us.

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We can learn something from Mary. When we have an impression to say a kind word or do a good deed we should do so. So often we never know when seeing someone might be the only or the last time, we will see them. Expressing a kind word, an affirmation, a compliment or however you might want to anoint the person would be a good thing to do. So often we miss our brief opportunities to demonstrate kindness, appreciation and love.

This is appropriate at all levels of life. We are never too big, too great or too important to say thank you or offer kind words to others.

Jesus was all powerful. He was God in the flesh. He could do anything. But what did he do? He laid aside his outer garment, girded himself with a towel and washed the feet of his disciples. Our Lord of all, was a servant of all even unto his death on the cross.

We live in a world of ill words, deeds, rudeness and evil. It’s all around us. The worst thing we can do is to become like those who act this way. It’s not always easy to rise above. If I had been Jesus, I’m sure I would have commanded the ground to open up and for the fires of hell to have consumed the mob that put me on the cross. That’s why he was able to do what he did for us. He was without sin but bore our sins on the cross.

If we can, let’s do what we can, while we can. Just one life, will not forever last, our opportunities soon will pass.

Pope Francis surely knew his time was close at hand and wanted to use his time doing what he felt God had appointed him to do.

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About the author ~

Glen Mollett is the author of 13 books including Uncommom Sense, the Spiritual Chocolate series, Grandpa's Store, Minister's Guidebook insights from a fellow minister. His column is published weekly in over 600 publications in all 50 states.

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The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization. We welcome comments and views from our readers. Submit your letters to the editor or commentary on a current event 24/7 to editor@oursentinel.com.

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Learning from the voices of war: Honoring the 80th anniversary of the final major battle of WWII

Photo courtesy of Library of Congress Veterans History Project

American troops pull back with wounded during World War II's Ardennes Offensive in December 1944.

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Family Features- The Ardennes Offensive, commonly known as the "Battle of the Bulge", stands as the single bloodiest battle fought by the United States during World War II. Waged in the bitter cold of mid-December 1944, it took the Allies a month to secure victory. The cost was staggering: nearly 20,000 Americans were killed in action, close to 50,000 wounded and another 20,000 captured.

In honor of the 80th anniversary of this pivotal battle, the Library of Congress Veterans History Project has launched an online exhibit to commemorate the milestone. While the battle itself is etched in the annals of history, the personal stories from those who endured it remain one of the most powerful testaments to its impact.

The online exhibit, "Serving Our Voices," features accounts from 12 Battle of the Bulge survivors, part of the thousands of narratives preserved by the project. These stories ensure future generations can gain deeper understanding of veterans' service and sacrifice.

One such story includes Eliot Annable, a 20-year-old radio operator serving with the Army's 106th Infantry Division. Just days after arriving at the western front, Annable found himself under German artillery barrages on. Dec. 16, 1944. He recalled the assault in his oral history, describing the intensity as "almost enough to knock you on the floor."

The following five days became the most harrowing days of Annable's military service. While on a communications mission, he became stranded behind enemy lines and spent nearly a week evading the enemy in the Ardennes Forest without food, shelter or appropriate winter clothing. After traveling more than 30 miles, he eventually safely rejoined the remnants of his unit.

Photo courtesy of Library of Congress Veterans History Project

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Back home, Annable's parents were gripped by uncertainty. On Dec. 31, 1944, his father wrote a letter expressing the family's anguish and love for their son, regardless of what happened. The moving letter, coupled with Annable's oral history, provides an intimate view into one soldier's Battle of the Bulge experience.

Another featured veteran in the exhibit, Guy Martin Stephens, also served with the 106th Infantry Division. Unlike Annable, Stephens was captured by the Germans during battle. In his oral history, he recounted the surreal feeling of combat, the relentless hunger he endured as a prisoner of war and the lingering effects of his time in captivity.

"It's hard," Stephens said. "It's something you can't ever ... your mind is just like a video, or camcorder, I guess. You put it in there. You get busy and get married. You get home, and you get an education, and get a job, and raise your family and everything like that. You can kind of gloss it over or try to push it back, but it's always there, you know?"

Veterans who served during the 20th or 21st centuries are invited to establish a collection, including interviews (video or audio), letters and original photographs, even if they did not see combat. Families can also submit collections posthumously to honor their loved ones. To explore more veterans' stories and learn how you can contribute to the program, visit loc.gov/vets.

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Commentary |Teaching about race is good, actually; states need to quit banning it

by Ian Wright
OtherWords.org

In this back to school season, millions of American students are returning to classrooms where the wrong course, lesson, or textbook can lead to deep trouble. Why? Because for the last several years, conservative activists and lawmakers have been waging a crusade against “critical race theory,” or CRT.

Critical race theory is an academic concept acknowledging that racism isn’t simply the result of individual prejudice but is also embedded in our institutions through laws, regulations, and rules.

As school districts have emphasized, it’s a higher education concept rarely taught in K-12 schools. But cynical activists have used CRT as a catch-all term to target a broad range of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives — and seemingly any discussion about race and racism in the classroom.

Since January 2021, 44 states have “introduced bills or taken other steps that would restrict teaching critical race theory or limit how teachers can discuss racism and sexism,” according to Education Weekly. And as of this writing, UCLA has identified 807 anti-CRT “bills, resolutions, executive orders, opinion letters, statements, and other measures” since September 2020.

Critics claim — falsely — that CRT teaches that all white people are oppressors, while Black people are simply oppressed victims. Many opponents claim it teaches white students to “hate their own race,” or to feel guilty about events that happened before they were born.

In reality, CRT gives students of every race the tools to understand how our institutions treat people of different races unequally — and how we can make those systems fairer. That’s learning students of every race would be better off with.

But instead, this barrage of draconian legislation is having a chilling effect on speech in the classroom.

In 2022, Florida passed the “Stop W.O.K.E. Act,” which prohibits teaching that could lead to a student feeling “discomfort” because of their race, sex, or nationality. But the law’s vague language makes it difficult for educators to determine what they can or cannot teach, ultimately restricting classroom instruction. In my home state of Texas, SB3 similarly restricts these classroom discussions.

Running afoul of these laws can get teachers and school administrators in trouble. As a result of this hostile environment, the RAND Corporation found that two-thirds of K-12 school teachers have decided “to limit instruction about political and social issues in the classroom.”

Notably, this self-censorship extends beyond states with such policies: 55 percent of teachers without state or local restrictions on CRT have still decided to limit classroom discussions of race and history.

As a student, I find this distressing.

My high school history classes gave me a much richer understanding of race in our history, especially the discussions we had at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests. And in college, I’ve gotten to learn about racial inequalities in everything from housing and real estate to health care, politics, education, and immigration policy.

As a person of color, I can’t imagine where I’d be without this understanding. Neither white students nor students of color will benefit from laws designed to censor their understanding of history, critical thinking, and open dialogue in the classroom.

The fight against CRT is a fight against the principles of education that encourage us to question, learn, and grow. Rather than shielding students from uncomfortable truths, which they can certainly handle, we should seek to equip them with the knowledge to navigate the world, think critically about our history and institutions, and push for a more inclusive country.

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Ian Wright is a Henry A. Wallace Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and a student at Rice University from Dallas, Texas. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.

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In pursuit of art, the importance of building your personal collection

by Ian Wang

Photo provided

People who have experienced living and working far away from their hometown may feel the same: The farther away and the more time since you have left home, the more eager you are to know and to learn any and every detail that relates to your homeland. You feel so dear, so deep, and so emotional towards anything and everything, big or small, from your homeland. That was why I started collecting artworks created by artists of my homeland as a medium or vehicle for communication, expression, and socio-cultural exchange when I studied at Oxford University.

While serving as the president of Spurlock Museum's Board of Directors, I researched the history of the University of Illinois' first art collection at the museum. I learned how and why the University's first president, John Gregory, collected art and established the first art gallery/museum on campus.

From day one as UI president, John Gregory firmly believed that “man should be primarily educated as a human being and only secondary for his occupation.” Therefore, Gregory called for a university to produce “clear-headed, broad-breasted scholars, men of fully developed minds who would be valuable citizens capable of taking their places in legislative assemblies or other positions to which they might be called from their normal occupations.”

In other words, the University was to cultivate real men rather than technically trained professionals. His desire was to establish an institute firmly grounded in the liberal arts tradition.

Profoundly influenced by Gregory’s vision and deliberation, I started focusing on collecting, researching, and exhibiting UI art (artworks created by University faculty, staff, and students) for the same purpose of cultivating “real men”.

After more than 25 years of pursuit, I have collected multiple thousand pieces of UI art, studied and written/published a few hundred articles in local, national, and international newspapers and magazines. So far, I have curated almost 100 art exhibitions at the University and local community galleries/venues. In the process, I have learned and enjoyed much about art in general and our UI art in particular, and developed a personal doctrine for collecting art. Concisely, my philosophy is:

1. Collect art interactively with artists is the most important and enjoyable way of studying/learning art deeply and directly from its creator.

2. Collect art systematically.

3. Collecting art comprehensively.

4. Collect art creatively.

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A long-time resident of Champaign-Urbana, Ian Wang is an art historian and curator. Wang is currently providing an informative lecture series entitled "150 Plus Years UI Art Creation" for Tuesday At Ten at the Champaign Public Library at 10 am on Tuesdays through December 12.