Here is our latest list of area holiday events for Champaign, Ogden, Philo, Savoy, Sidney, St. Joseph, Tolono, and Urbana. Bookmark this page if you are looking for fun activities to do or unique places to shop this holiday season. in The Sentinel area. This page will be updated regularly with new events. Is your event not listed below? Send your event information to editor@oursentinel.com.
Practice sessions are held one or two times a week, depending on the age group and coach for that team, starting in March.
For more information visit the league website or email the league at stjoeybb@gmail.com. Parents can register players here.
Proceeds from the event will be donated to the fine arts program at the high school.
"Bring your family, your requests, and your wallets and let's pack the place for the SJO Fine Arts!" organizers wrote on Facebook.
Logan Allen Music is headlining the three-hour event slated to start at 3 p.m.
ST. JOSEPH -- Yesterday, Loman-Ray Insurance Group announced the company will open a new office in St. Joseph. The company, which currently has 12 offices in Illinois, will be located at 104 N. Main in St. Joseph.
An independent insurance company, Loman-Ray was started in 1981 by Lyle Loman and his wife Sue. The husband-wife team, who were also teachers, discovered selling insurance was financially rewarding beyond their expectations and purchased a small property/casualty firm in 1981. The company has expanded to locations in Atwood, Broadlands, Cissna Park, Clifton, Danville, Hoopeston, Tolono, Sullivan, and Villa Grove.
Loman-Ray, which expects to open the St. Joseph office this summer, specializes in auto, home, commercial, group and individual health, and agribusiness insurance coverage.
St. Joseph -- Next Monday, the St. Joseph Township-Swearingen Memorial Library, located at 201 N. Third in St. Joseph, will host their Winter Used Book Sale through January 27.
Buyers can choose from a variety of titles from adult fiction, non-fiction, mysteries, and science fiction to fantasy, horror, romance novels, adventure, cookbooks, and more. There will also be a selection of children’s fiction, non-fiction, and picture books available. A limited supply of DVDs, videos, music CDs, audiobooks, and large-print books will also be included in the sale.
The sale will run during normal library hours, which are: Mondays 1p to 8p; Tuesdays 9a to 6p; Wednesdays 1p to 6p; Thursdays 9a to 6p; Fridays 9a to 5 p; and Saturdays 9a to 1p.
For more information call (217) 469-2159.
St. Joseph - St. Joseph Church of Christ will host their second Winter Wassail on Saturday. Sherman Street in St. Joseph is transformed into a Christmas wonderland where visitors and guests can enjoy fresh wassail - a drink made from hot mulled cider and spices, caroling, storytelling in more.
Wassiling is an ancient English Yuletide drinking ritual and tradition from Great Britain. It has its roots in a pagan custom where merrymakers would visit orchards to sing to the trees and spirits to ensure a bountiful yield during the next harvest. Revelers would visit local orchards and fruit trees to sing and make a hullabaloo (loud noises often by banging pots and pans). After their celebration, they would be rewarded with some form of warm, spiced alcoholic beverage from a communal wassail bowl or cup by the property owner.
Saturday's wassail will also include a holiday lighting display, a Christmas tree competition, Santa, and of course, plenty of wassail.
Admission to the outdoor event is limited to one hour for each guest and advance reservations are required. There will be no indoor activities so organizers recommend dressing appropriately.
For more information, contact the SJCOC via email at https://sjcocil.ticketleap.com/sjcoc-winter-wassail/contact/ or by phone at (217) 469-2207.
PHILO -- The Philo Exchange Bank announced this morning its plan to open a new bank facility in St. Joseph. The new location at 109 N. Main Street is tentatively scheduled to open on December 1, 2021.
The bank will be located across the street from the Busey Bank branch office which will cease operations almost two weeks earlier on November 19.
In addition to bank teller operations, the branch will also have an in-house loan department overseen by Royal native Les Hoveln. Formerly with Gifford State Bank for the past 16 years, he will serve as Executive Vice President and Senior Lender. Hoveln, who transitioned to the new position on August 3, has more than 35 years of financial lending expertise.
According to today's press release, the Main Street location "will serve as a temporary facility for the bank as it establishes a permanent location in the next 12 to 24 months."
"We are excited for this opportunity to expand our bank footprint to the St. Joseph area," Hoveln said. "We look forward to providing the community with a banking partner that can assist in all banking needs while providing friendly customer service that has served six generations of customers."
Opening its doors back in 1883, Philo Exchange Bank has grown to operate three existing locations in Philo, Allerton, and Broadlands.
Members of the community are welcome to express their input. If you plan to attend the meeting, only the side door which enters directly into the Village Board room will be open. The rest of the building will not be accessible during the meeting. Guests are required to observe social distancing guidelines. If you have something that you want to bring up at the Village Board Meeting but do not want to attend in person, you may email the information to tasmetzer@gmail.com. Please include your full name, phone number, and address in the email.
Members of the community may address the Board/Committee by completing the information requested on the Attendance/Oath Sheet prior to the start of the meeting. After state their name and address for the record, speakers will have the floor for a maximum of five minutes to address the board.
A jury of six men and six women took just two hours on Thursday, March 11, to reach a mutual agreement that Jonathon Perry, 30, murdered his girlfriend, Kimberly Coyne, 54, and her daughter, Blair Coyne, 24, in their home on the north side of St. Joseph a year ago this past weekend.
Perry was quickly arrested after the incident after Champaign County sheriff’s deputies were informed of statements he made to a family member consistent with the crime. During trial, prosecutors for the state noted that Perry had said he had killed the "Antichrist and Satan" when he was taken into custody last year at 4am on Sunday, March 29.
Three months after his arrest, a court-appointed psychiatrist examined Perry and declared him fit for trial.
Found guilty of first degree murder of both women, Judge Randy Rosenbaum is left no leeway to hand down nothing other than a life sentence during the sentencing phase on April 22.
St. Thomas Catholic School in Philo will host a Virtual Trivia night from 6-10pm on April 9.
There will also be a 50/50 raffle during the online ZOOM event. Each table package will include a Dead or Alive game sheet and one Mulligan to use for each trivia round. Reservations for tables are being accepted now.
"We are continually adding to our silent auction items, so make sure to check back often to see what has been added," it says on the event page. "Silent auction bidding will be open from 6 pm - 10 pm on Trivia Night".
For more information contact the event organizers at tcain@stthomasphilo.org
The St. Joseph Consolidated Community School Board voted to hire Alisyn Franzen as the new principal at the St. Joseph Middle School starting this fall. Franzen, who will take over the position with the retirement of Chris Graham, currently teaches English at St. Joseph-Ogden High School.
Schuren Garden Center, located at 1709 County Rd. 2200E, St. Joseph, will host their annual spring open house on Saturday, April 10.
The open house will start at 8:30am and run through 5:30pm. In addition to door prizes and refreshments, shoppers will be able to save 20% off their entire purchase. The business will hold purchases until Mother's Day if needed. Visit their website or call (217) 469-7962.
The number of confirmed cases of the Coronavirus is taking a steep climb this week with 65 new cases identified in the past four days. The rise comes during the projected incubation period predicted by epidemiologists and just a week before Region 6 could possibly bounce back to Tier 2 mitigation and less stringent restrictions.
There are now 97 active cases within the six villages, a level that hasn't been seen since December 1 and the highest level this calendar year. Just six days earlier, The Sentinel area enjoyed its lowest number of positive cases for nearly a five week period.
Zac White, a graduate from St. Joseph-Ogden High School, has joined The Littlefield Group. Over the past 22 years, The Littlefield Homes has assisted thousands of families buy and sell homes as well as investors interested in commercial property and farm land. White, a Champaign County native received his Bachelors Degree at Western Illinois University. White, a licensed agent and broker, he can be reached at (217) 841-9296 or by email at Zac@littlefieldhomes.com.
In addition to approving invoices for payment and changes to how St. Joseph invests village funds, The St. Joseph Village Board will vote on resolution to approve the Champaign County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (CCHMP).
The plan calls for identifying and prioritizing community policies, "actions and tools to implement in order to reduce potential risk and potential for future losses associated with the occurrence of selected natural and technical hazards. The goal is to use the plan to prepare for natural and technical hazards. A draft copy of the plan is available online.
The CCHMP meets the requirements of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, which includes planning objectives established by FEMA, inter-agency coordination as well as coordination of local mitigation planning with the state. Susan Monte, planner from Champaign County Regional Planning Commission will discuss the updated version of the plan.
The board will also take a vote on a Moter Fuel Ordinance and a resolution to wave subdivision regulations in a matter between Rudisill Trust and Arcadia Farms.
