IL State Budget -- June 30 compromise -- TV station summation

WAND-TV (Decatur, IL) online article :
SPRINGFIELD-----Illinois lawmakers averted a shutdown of schools and avoided further uncertainty in government operations with a partial budget deal that funds education for a year and other areas for six months.
The Illinois Legislature passed a package of bills Thursday (June 30, 2016) to complete an agreement by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democratic lawmakers after days of negotiations. But the deal means the state will still enter a second fiscal year Friday (July 1, 2016) without a full budget and will likely extend the partisan fighting over a comprehensive spending plan past the November elections.
The partial budget ensures schools will operate for a full academic year and brings a sigh of relief for districts that wondered whether they could open at all.
Higher education institutions, social services providers, and government operations will get money for six months.
 Chicago Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan indicated he had achieved what he's sought since Rauner took office 18 months ago (. He says the deal is the result of "serious compromise and good-faith efforts."
 He noted Rauner set aside his agenda for changes to the business climate that Democrats oppose but acknowledged Democrats didn't get everything they wanted either.
 Senate President John Cullerton -- a Chicago Democrat -- says it's an indication of what can be done when all sides work together.

Casting Crowns - CCM band - Block of Tickets for Effingham July 7, 2016 - Concert at Hall

Casting Crowns has an established foothold on the contemporary Christian music (CCM) scene, boasting album sales of more than four million, along with a Grammy Award and 23 Dove Awards, among other accolades. The inspirational music group keeps its lyrical focus on Christianity, while concerts fall in the soft rock range, occasionally tinged with pop influences.

The Georgia-based band really took off after the 2003 eponymous effort, which reached double-platinum status and produced three Top 10 singles. Most recently, the Christian outfit left the studio with its fifth effort, “Come to the Well,” which includes a track co-written by fellow CCM big shot Steven Curtis Chapman. That collection earned a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album and led to a successful support tour.
When they’re not performing before ticket holders across the nation, several of the seven Casting Crowns members enjoy full-time careers as youth pastors at their McDonough, Georgia, Baptist church.
http://www.ticketmaster.com/Casting-Crowns-tickets/artist/963100?tm_link=edp_Artist_Name

40 Public School Districts represented (June 29 Rally at Vandalia IL Courthouse vicinity) - Noon

from X FM Radio online coverage (Greg Sapp, News Director):
40 Illinois school districts were represented during an education funding rally Wednesday in Vandalia.
Superintendents, education advocates, and parents from across the state gathered near the Old State Capitol State Historic Site. Those gathered urged legislators and the governor to find an equitable solution to the K-12 education funding crisis by July 1, the scheduled start of a new fiscal year.
Participants represented the Altamont and Teutopolis school districts. Speakers included Altamont Superintendent Jeff Fritchtnitch. They were joined by representatives from education advocacy groups including Advance Illinois, Citizens for Education in Taylorville, and the Faith Coalition for the Common Good in Springfield. They are all members of Funding Illinois' Future, a coalition of more than 230 superintendents, education reform advocates, child welfare supporters, and other education leaders working to change the way Illinois funds its schools.

June 29 rally at Vandalia Old Statehouse - Funding for IL public schools in state budget (2016-7)

from VANDALIA Leader-Union online website:
To help explain the damage that the state’s budget impasse is having on Illinois school districts, Vandalia Superintendent of Schools Rich Well will be among those speaking at a public event next Wednesday at the Vandalia Statehouse, Fourth street, downtown.
At noon Wednesday (June 29), Well and Pana Superintendent Dr. David Lett will be among the school officials “talking about the need for a budget solution.
“We’re not taking sides,” Well told the Vandalia Board of Education. . .
[ updated information from Vandalia Radio dot-com ]

Administrators from school district around the region and state will be on hand for the event. Also expected to be in attendance is Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool, who is a St. Elmo native. In an update, Vandalia Superintendent of Schools Rich Well says there will be 13 speakers during the event that is expected to last about 45 minutes. The main topics are the fight to find an equitable solution to the K thru 12 funding and to have some plan in place by the start of the fiscal year on Friday July 1, 2016.
http://www.vandaliaradio.com/2016/06/29/education-update-and-rally-today-at-noon-on-4th-street-in-vandalia/

Happy Birthday JOHN WESLEY!

(Writer's Almanac: Garrison Keillor for American Public Media):

June 28: birthday: John Wesley

Today is the birthday of the founder of the Methodist movement, John Wesley (1703). He was born in Epworth, Lincolnshire, England, and his father was a Nonconformist — a dissenter from the Church of England. Wesley studied at Oxford, where he decided to become a priest. He and his brother joined a religious study group that was given the nickname “the Methodists” for their rigorous and methodical study habits; the name wasn’t meant as a compliment, but Wesley hung onto it anyway and managed to attract several new members to the group, which fasted two days a week and spent time in social service.
By 1739, he felt he wasn’t really reaching people from the pulpit, so he took to the fields, traveling on horseback, preaching two or three times a day. He began recruiting local laypeople to preach as well, and ran afoul of the Church of England for doing so. He believed that Christians could be made “perfect in love” when their actions arose out of a desire to please God and to promote the welfare of the less fortunate.

Supreme Court decisions to be announced (June 27 - Abortion case in TX, Virginia former governor McDonnell)

from the Blog of the Constitution Center dot-org:
On Monday, June 27, the Court will announce decisions or per curium opinions in three cases, two of which are considered major cases. Here is where we stand as of June 23, 2016.

Cases Heard
Whole Women’s Health v. Cole (Abortion)
Status: Arguments on March 2, 2016; Decision Pending
The petitioners in Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole claim a Texas law enacted in 2013 would force about 75 percent of the state’s abortion services to close. Two provisions in the law require that doctors at clinics have hospital admitting privileges within 30 miles of the clinics, and that clinics have facilities equal to those of an outpatient surgical center. Texas officials believe the laws protect the health of the women seeking abortions by guaranteeing better care.
The Supreme Court will decide two issues. First, it will look at if the appeals court properly handled a question about if the new restrictions would actually work to protect the health of women. The appeals court said it needed to defer to the Texas state legislature on that issue.
The second question is a broader one. The Court must decide it the law imposes an undue burden on women who seek abortions. The Court last ruled on this question in a 1992 decision, Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, which reaffirmed the Roe v. Wade decision of 1973.
United States v. McDonnell (Political Corruption)
Status: Arguments on April 27, 2016; Decision Pending
This case involves former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell. In the public corruption verdict against McDonnell, the case pivots on the definition of alleged “official acts” undertaken by McDonnell to benefit a businessman, and if those acts were actually bribes.
McDonnell and his wife were convicted under a handful of laws that make it a crime to take money or other valuable things in return for the exercise of “official acts” in government, at the national, state or local level.   Congress, in passing those laws, however, did not specify what “official acts” would be covered.
McDonnell’s prison sentence is on hold while the Court considers the case, and his wife’s separate case is on hold.

Bird-chasing Border Collie to serve as Grand Marshal at 2016 National Cherry Festival

from M Live coverage (June 2016):
He's got the one-paw wave down. Now he's just working on flashing that toothy grin.
Piper, Michigan's popular bird-chasing border collie who helps clear the runways of wildlife at Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City, has been tapped to be the grand marshal of the DTE Energy Cherry Royale Parade at next month's National Cherry Festival.
The photogenic dog, who has become a social media sensation in the last year, is following in distinguished footsteps. Grand Rapids' native son President Gerald R. Ford led this "grandaddy" of festival parades in 1975.
The Royale Parade steps off at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday, July 9, 2016. An estimated half-million people attend the eight-day festival.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2016/06/michigans_k-9_piper_tapped_for.html#incart_river_home

Friday night kick-off for three day Benefit "Journey for Jordan" (C. IL to St. Louis)

Friday night June 24th, 2016 will be our 5th annual JFJ Kickoff! EVERYONE is invited to help send off the riders! There will be hamburgers, pork burgers, hot dogs, mac-n-cheese, baked beans, and drinks - free will donation. Lots of raffle items (tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5), including the CARDINALS Quilt & the CUBS Quilt (quilt tickets are $5 or 5 for $20). Also, our annual balloon release!! It will start at 6:00 P.M. at the Gays Village Hall on Front Street. Hope to see you there!!

https://www.facebook.com/JourneyForJordan/

THIS JUNE will be our 5TH year that we have been riding our bicycles from Gays, IL to STL (183 MILES) in memory of Jordan who lost his battle with cancer.

What are "Retail Health Clinics"? (answer given Thursday 6/23/2016 on Diane Rehm call-in show) - NPR dot-org

http://drshow.org/ (WAMU is home station for that NPR daily show):

Millions of Americans now get vaccinations and medical tests in health clinics in stores like CVS and Target. Thousands of these facilities can be found throughout the country. But doctors say relying too heavily on these convenient clinics and not ever seeing a primary care physician is risky. The pros and cons of the rise in popularity of retail health clinics.

Guests

• Dr. Ateev Mehrotra associate professor of health care policy and medicine, Harvard Medical School; policy analyst, RAND Corporation
• Dr. Nancy Gagliano chief medical officer, CVS MinuteClinic
• Dr. Wanda Filer president, The American Academy of Family Physicians; practicing physician in York, Pennsylvania
• Thursday 10 a.m. (Eastern Time) - June 23, 2016

Taylor vs. the United States (Supreme Court decision June 20, 2016)

from SCOTUS blog online article (6/20/2016):
When the Justices take the bench, the first of the cases is Taylor v. United States. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. writes for a seven-one Court that a prosecution under the Hobbs Act satisfies that statute’s interstate commerce element if it shows that the defendant robbed or attempted to rob a drug dealer of drugs or drug proceeds. And in this case, the government met its burden by proving that the defendant’s gang had intentionally targeted drug dealers to obtain drugs an drug proceeds, Alito says.
In his bench summary, Alito provides a variation of this statement from his written opinion: “For obvious reasons, drug dealers are more likely than ordinary citizens to keep large quantities of cash and illegal drugs in their homes and are less likely to report robberies to the police.”
Justice Clarence Thomas, the current Court’s strongest proponent of limiting congressional powers, is the lone dissenter in the case.
http://www.scotusblog.com/2016/06/a-view-from-the-courtroom-vehicle-problems/#more-244194

On the eve and day of Summer Solstice at "Stonehenge Site" - United Kingdom

Stonehenge Summer Solstice Tour Adult: £99

2016 - Each year on the 21st June visitors from around the world gather at Stonehenge overnight to mark the summer solstice and to see the sunrise above the stones. At dawn the central Altar stone aligns with the Slaughter stone, Heel stone and the rising sun to the northeast. 10th Year! http://stonehengetours.com/stonehenge-summer-solstice-tour.htm

June 20 Peak Alert (electric utility cooperative)

PEAK ALERT SCHEDULED FOR TODAY (June 20) 2 pm to 6 pm
Do to extreme heat conditions today our power supplier, Prairie Power, Inc., has issued a Peak Alert Today (Monday, June 20). What this means is members who have signed up for our interruptible rate plan or have disconnect switches on their water heaters -- your power will be interrupted this afternoon from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
AGAIN, This only affects members who are part of our interruptible rate plan or have water heater disconnect switches. Most all of the members on the interruptible plan have back up generators. Those with water heater disconnect switches will only lose power to their water heaters.
Questions call us 1-800-677-2612.
Be safe out there in this HEAT!
[ Shelby Electric Cooperative, Shelby County, IL ]

Summer Solstice 2016

June 20, 2016
 -- article excerpt from ALMANAC dot-com (Old Farmer's Almanac online): 

When is the Summer Solstice?

In 2016, the solstice falls on June 20 at 6:34 p.m. EDT. This is the “summer” solstice in the Northern Hemisphere.
The timing of the solstice depends on when the Sun reaches its northernmost point of the equator.

What is the Summer Solstice?

The word solstice is from the Latin solstitium, from sol (sun) and stitium (to stop), reflecting the fact that the Sun appears to stop at this time (and again at the winter solstice).
In temperate regions, we notice that the Sun is higher in the sky throughout the day, and its rays strike Earth at a more direct angle, causing the efficient warming we call summer.
This summer solstice is the day with the most hours of sunlight during the whole year.

NBA Championship comes down to 7th game in seven-game series

Sunday, June 19

matchup		time  (CT)
Cleveland Cavaliers	Golden State Warriors	Central Timse start 7 p.m.

Prayer for men (Father's Day occasion) - Discipleship Resources, UM Church

Prayer for Men for Father’s Day

A 21st Century Liturgy Resource

by The Rev. Nathan Decker

(Written for Father's Day 2008. Originally posted on Facebook)

O Lord Our Heavenly Father:
You, who adopt orphan children and care for the widows;
You stand at the door staring at the horizon,
desiring that your prodigal children come home.
Bless fathers and men everywhere this day
that the orphans may have role models,
that the widows may be provided what they need,
that the future men may see Christ reflected in the love
of piggy-back rides and hard-learned lessons
Through Christ and the Spirit to the Father, Amen.

The Rev. Nathan Decker is the pastor of the Cheriton Charge on the Eastern Shore District and a clergy member of the Virginia Annual Conference. His great love is the diversity and inspiration of God's creative nature in worship.
"Prayer for Men" written for Father's Day 2008, Copyright © 2008 Nathan Decker. All Rights Reserved. Posted with permission on the Discipleship Ministries Worship website.
http://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/prayer-for-men-for-fathers-day

Annual day to remember Refugees (UN High Commission) - June 20

In a world where violence forces thousands of families to flee for their lives each day, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, believes now is the time to show world leaders that the global public stands #WithRefugees. To do this, we will launch our #WithRefugees petition in June to send a message to governments that they must work together and do their fair share for refugees.

On World Refugee Day, held every year on June 20th, we commemorate the strength, courage and perseverance of millions of refugees. This year, World Refugee Day also marks a key moment for the public to show support for families forced to flee.

Lecture on Nuremberg Trials on war crimes and World Law (Springfield Synagogue, June 27 evening)

John Q. Barrett

The Cardozo Society invites you to a very special presentation - JOHN Q. BARRETT "The Rule of Law at Nuremberg and Lessons for Today," Monday, June 27, 2016, Sangamo Club, 5:30 p.m. reception, 6 p.m. Presentation.  RSVP no later than June 20 to (217)-787-7223 x18 or sjf@shalomspringfield.org .

Professor Barrett, Professor of Law at St. John’s University, is a noted scholar on U. S. Supreme Court Justice and Nuremberg prosecutor Robert H. Jackson and the Nuremberg Trials. He has been Counselor to the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice, and Associate Counsel in the Office of Independent Counsel Lawrence E. Walsh (Iran/Contra). He lectures around the world, with recent presentations at the Nuremberg’s Palace of Justice, the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City,       Canada’s National Judicial Institute and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces in Washington D.C. He also addresses synagogue audiences and Yom HaShoah commemoration services. He is working on a biography of the late Justice Jackson. that will include the first inside account of Justice Jackson’s service as chief prosecutor at Nuremberg, Germany, during 1945-1946.

Americana Music Festival - "Moccasin Creek" (July 24 - 26) at Lake Sara Stage

Moccasin Creek Festival is an annual 3-day music festival, which typically celebrates other arts and crafts as well.  It takes place at beautiful Lake Sara in Summit Township, just west of Effingham, Illinois.  The lake was created in the 1950's from five creeks that run through the basin.  One of those creeks was named Moccasin Creek by a surveyor named Tipsword in the 1850's, because of moccasin tracks he found on the banks.

The founder of Moccasin Creek Festival is Bill (Poss) Passalacqua, an Effingham native who has built his life around writing, performing and promoting music.  The Passalacqua family has a rich musical history, and Bill has three brothers, all of whom are musicians.  Each of them have followed in father Larry's musical footsteps.  Folk, bluegrass, alternative country, roots rock, and blues - "Americana" music.  This is what MCF is all about - in an outdoor setting, using a venue with great acoustics, at a beautiful time of year.

Food and beverages sold on site.  Kids activities.  Camping is next door to the festival venue, as well as cabins for rent.  There is a beach and golf course within walking distance.  Boats, canoes and kayaks for rent.
www.MoccasinCreekFestival.com/

Effingham Chamber of Commerce Food Fest benefitting local charities (June 17, 2016)

Time: 5:00 P.M. - 9:00 P.M. CDT

Website: http://www.effinghamcountychamber.com

Event Description:

Join the Effingham Central Business Group for Summer Food Fest!  Downtown businesses will be serving up their favorite food items, with donations supporting local charities. After Hours Shopping!   

Come and enjoy the fun!

Location:

Downtown Effingham, IL

Date/Time Information:

Friday, June 17, 2016
5 - 9 pm

Contact Information:

Abby Zehner http://effinghamccoc.chambermaster.com/events/details/summer-food-fest-3352?template=http://www.effinghamcountychamber.com/member-center/events-test4

Re-organization of UM Denomination's Council on Christian Unity and Inter-religious concerns (Summer 2016)

from UM News Service :
The United Methodist Council of Bishops announced on May 27, 2016 a plan to reorganize its current staffing structure to better align with the Council’s mission and vision and provide for a more efficient and collaborative team environment.
The plan would more fully integrate the work of the Council’s Office of Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, based in New York, and its staff in Washington D.C. Under the plan, all staff will be centralized and housed in the United Methodist Building in Washington, D.C.
“These changes should improve our ability to utilize our resources to their fullest potential and provide better support for the work of the global church,” said Bishop Bruce Ough, president of the Council.
Prior to January 2013, the denomination’s ecumenical and interfaith ministries were carried out by the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns. The 2012 General Conference took action to consolidate those functions within the Council of Bishops by creating an Office of Christian Unity and Interreligious Relationships responsible for creating and strengthening relationships with other denominations to work toward unity and peace.
“This reorganization will complete this consolidation by more fully integrating these responsibilities with the Council’s other functions,” said Bishop Mike Watson, who will assume the role of ecumenical officer for the next quadrennium. “But it also signifies a change in philosophy toward how we execute the ecumenical and interreligious objectives of The United Methodist Church. The new structure will empower staff to work through the bishops as ecumenical leaders.”
Former Council president Bishop Warner Brown convened a task force of the Personnel Committee in the fall of 2015 to take a comprehensive look at how the organizational structure could better support the Council’s vision for the future, including more support for both residential and retired bishops.
As incoming Council president, Bishop Bruce Ough led the task force, which included Bishop Watson and Bishop Marcus Matthews, who becomes executive secretary for the Council September 1.
All of the eight current staff positions are being eliminated to make way for the new staffing model, which includes an ecumenical staff officer, an associate ecumenical staff officer, a chief administrative officer, a receptionist/administrative assistant, an event coordinator and accounting assistant, and a communication and special project specialist. The reorganization is not expected to incur additional costs.

Obituary for IEMA Methodist church of Argentina Bishop Federico Pagura (June 6)

“Bishop Pagura was one of the pillars of Latin American and world ecumenism in the last fifty years, a faithful and courageous champion of human rights and the cause of peace in Latin America and around the globe”, wrote Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), after the passing of Bishop Emeritus Federico José Pagura, on 6 June, in Argentina.
On the letter addressed to the Evangelical Methodist Church of Argentina (IEMA), Tveit also remembered that already during his bishopric in Costa Rica and Panama, Pagura, who has served as WCC President between 1998 - 2006, was extremely sensible to the social and political changes occurring in the continent.
“Pagura talked about a ‘time of labor’ of Latin American people, awakening up to ‘the dawn of a new liberation’; and preached in his parish a kingdom of God which is embodied and manifested in human history”, wrote the WCC general secretary.
As pastor of the Methodist church in Mendoza, Argentina, Pagura led the reception to Chilean refugees fleeing the coup and the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, and was one of the founders of the Ecumenical Committee for Social Action (CEAS) that welcomed thousands of people of that country- actions deemed intolerable for Argentine rightist elements, who exploded a bomb in Pagura’s church the morning of 4 September 1975.
Elected bishop of the Evangelical Church in Argentina in 1977, Pagura served as an outstanding leader of the Ecumenical Movement for Human Rights (MEDH) and worked closely with the Human Rights Office for Latin American of the World Council of Churches, opposing the blatant violations perpetrated by the Argentinean military dictatorship.
Between 1980 and 1989, Pagura participated in the WCC’s Commission on World Mission and Evangelism, contributing to the debates on mission and the kingdom of God, church of the poor, enculturation of the gospel and interreligious dialogue.
In his seventeen years as president of the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI), Pagura advocated for the need to maintain simultaneously the call to conversion and the new birth in Christ, and the demand for freedom and justice for the peoples of the continent, particularly for the poor and needy.
https://www.oikoumene.org/en/press-centre/news/wcc-mourns-the-death-of-federico-pagura

Happy Birthday to novelist Joyce Carol Oates!

from Writer's Almanac (American Public Media, Garrison Keillor):
June 16 is the birthday of Joyce Carol Oates, born in Lockport, New York (1938). She grew up on her parents’ farm in nearby Millersport and used the area as the inspiration for the fictional Eden County, where many of her stories are set. When she was little, her grandmother would walk with her to the Lockport Public Library. She wrote in Smithsonian Magazine about the day she got her first library card there, as a child: “What is most striking in the children’s library are the shelves and shelves of books — bookcases lining the walls — books with brightly colored spines — astonishing to a little girl whose family lives in a farmhouse in the country where books are almost wholly unknown. That these books are available for children — for a child like me — all these books! — leaves me dazed, dazzled.”
Her parents weren’t educated, but they encouraged her in her passion for books and writing. “I can’t remember when I first began to tell stories — by drawing, it was then — but I must have been very young,” she said in an interview with The Paris Review. “It was an instinct I followed quite naturally.” Her grandmother gave Joyce her first typewriter when she was 14, and she never looked back, writing novel after novel in high school and then throwing them away immediately. She was the first in her family to graduate from high school, and she went on to Syracuse University, from which she graduated valedictorian of her class. Oates published her first story, “In the Old World,” in Mademoiselle magazine in 1959, just before her senior year of college. She published her first short-story collection, By the North Gate, in 1963, and her first novel, With Shuddering Fall, in 1964.
In 2008, Oates’ husband of 47 years, Raymond Smith, died suddenly after a bout of pneumonia. She wrote a memoir, A Widow’s Story (2011), to come to terms with her grief during the six months following his death. From the memoir: “Forever after, you will recognize those places — previously invisible, indiscernible — where memory pools accumulate. All the waiting areas of hospitals, hospital rooms, and, in particular, those regions of the hospital reserved for the very ill: Telemetry, Intensive Care. You will not wish to return to these places, where memory pools lie underfoot, as treacherous as acid.”
In her 50-year career, Oates — who writes for eight hours a day — has published more than 100 books. She’s written plays, poetry, novels, memoirs, story and essay collections, and works of criticism. She’s been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize five times. In addition to the numerous books published under her own name, she has also published suspense novels under the pen names Rosamond Smith and Lauren Kelly. Her latest book is the novel The Man Without a Shadow, and it just came out this year (2016). It’s the story of a man named Eli whose short-term memory was destroyed after he contracted encephalitis. It’s written in the present tense because Eli can only remember things that have happened in the last 70 seconds.
Joyce Carol Oates, who said: “We all have numerous identities that shift with circumstances. The writing self is likely to be a highly private, conjured sort of being — you would not find it in a grocery store.”

Bulletin from Dept. Homeland Defense - Jeh Johnson (June 15, 2016 for next six months)

Summary

In December, we described a new phase in the global threat environment, which has implications on the homeland. This basic assessment has not changed. In this environment, we are particularly concerned about homegrown violent extremists who could strike with little or no notice. The tragic events of Orlando several days ago reinforce this. Accordingly, increased public vigilance and awareness continue to be of utmost importance. This bulletin has a five-month duration and will expire just before the holiday season. We will reassess the threats of terrorism at that time.

Duration
Issued:  June 15, 2016
Expires:  November 15, 2016                                        

Details

• Since issuing the first Bulletin in December, our concerns that violent extremists could be inspired to conduct attacks inside the U.S. have not diminished.
• Though we know of no intelligence that is both specific and credible at this time of a plot by terrorist organizations to attack the homeland, the reality is terrorist-inspired individuals have conducted, or attempted to conduct, attacks in the United States.
• DHS is especially concerned that terrorist-inspired individuals and homegrown violent extremists may be encouraged or inspired to target public events or places.
• As we saw in the attacks in San Bernardino, Paris, Brussels, and, most recently, Orlando, terrorists will consider a diverse and wide selection of targets for attacks.
• Terrorist use of the Internet to inspire individuals to violence or join their ranks remains a major source of concern.
• In the current environment, DHS is also concerned about threats and violence directed at particular communities and individuals across the country, based on perceived religion, ethnicity, nationality or sexual orientation.

Juneteenth (observed June 18, 19 this year in Springfield, IL ) -- Basketball as sports tie-in

http://www.sj-r.com/news/20160615/juneteenth-bringing-father-son-focus-to-annual-event

Also, the event also features food, live music, a Gospel concert on Sunday.  There will be a parade beginning 10 a.m. Saturday at Martin Luther King and Brown streets that ends at Corner Cox.

Anniversary of historic flight (woman Pilot Amelia Earhart)

NY Times List Serv:

On June 17, 1928, Amelia Earhart embarked on the
first trans-Atlantic flight by a woman. She flew from
Newfoundland to Wales in about 21 hours.

Peak Alert, 2 p.m. June 15, 2016

Due to extreme heat conditions today our power supplier, Prairie Power, Inc., has issued a Peak Alert Today (Wednesday, June 15). What this means is members who have signed up for our interruptible plan or have disconnect switches on their water heaters -- your power will be interrupted this afternoon from 2 pm to 6 pm.
AGAIN, This only affects members who are part of our interruptible rate plan or have water heater disconnect switches. Most all of the members on the interruptible plan have back up generators. Those with water heater disconnect switches will only lose power to their water heaters.
Questions call us 1-800-677-2612.
Be safe out there in this HEAT!
Shelby Electric Cooperative, Shelbyville, IL

"Mark Twain Prize for American Humor" -- 2016 recipient to be Bill Murray

June 13, 2016 | 03:29 P.M. PT

Bill Murray will become the 19th recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor when he receives the award at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. on October 23, 2016.
“I’m honored by this award and by its timing,” Murray said in a statement. “I believe Mark Twain has rolled over in his grave so much for so long, that this news won’t disturb his peace.”
Murray has starred in such hits as “Ghostbusters,” “Groundhog Day,” and “Caddyshack” over the course of his four-decade career, adding dozens of comedy films to his name.
POSTED at Variety dot-com.

Significant Weather Advisory - June 12, 3 p.m. Central Time

SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM CDT SUNDAY June 12, 2016

... SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHWESTERN SHELBY COUNTY UNTIL 400 PM CDT...

AT 252 PM CDT... DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM NEAR SHELBYVILLE TO NEAR TOWER HILL TO NEAR PANA. MOVEMENT WAS SOUTH AT 10 MPH.

HALF INCH HAIL AND WIND GUSTS OF 50 TO 55 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS.

LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE... SHELBYVILLE... COWDEN... TOWER HILL... HERRICK... CLARKSBURG AND MODE.

Reader with most points will win a "Kindle Fire" (Summer Reading Program)

Dateline - Cowden, IL (Township library is Dry Point Located at Cowden-Herrick Jr. Sr. High School - Session for Monday June 13, 2016 =
Kids Olympics at 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. will include challenge in various outdoor competitions to go along with reading program Theme ("Read to Win").  The program for Boys and Girls from Kindergarten to Sixth Grade will include as well a story and refreshments and chance to check out books from the library stacks and bookcases.  On hand for an "Animals Olympics" program will be Douglas-Hart Nature Center.  Reading Program participants win prizes for the amount of reading they do.  At the Summer Reading Program conclusion. the reader with the most points will win a KINDLE "Fire" e-reader.

What does June 6 mean as far as the historic day in 1944?

from NY TIMES list serv:

ON THIS DAY

On June 6, 1944, the D-Day invasion of Europe
took place during World War II as Allied forces
stormed the beaches of Normandy, France.

Muslims around the world observe this special month annually

from TIME dot-com online article posted June 3, 2016:

The Muslim holy month will last from early June to early July of 2016

Every year, the world’s 1.7 billion Muslims—roughly a quarter of the global population—celebrate the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, a time for fasting and extra piety to cleanse the soul and come closer to God. Ramadan is a major global event, but just when, exactly, it begins is a matter of some debate.

The month-long holiday is observed principally in Muslim-majority countries in Africa and Asia but also by the believers around the world, including the roughly 3.3 million Muslims living in the U.S. During Ramadan, from sunrise to sunset, observant Muslims (with some exceptions, mostly health related) are forbidden to eat or drink (or smoke, or engage in sexual activity) to purify their thoughts and increase their devotion to God. One of the five pillars of Islam, Ramadan is the month during which Allah is said to have revealed the first verses of the Qu'ran, the Islamic holy book, to the Prophet Muhammad. At sunset each day, the faithful are permitted to break their fast with a meal called iftar, thus ending what can be a grueling stretch of hours without food and water—especially when Ramadan falls during the long days of summer, as it does this year. Ramadan comes at a different time every year because it is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, a date-keeping system based on lunar cycles, unlike the Gregorian calendar (the one used by most of the world, including the U.S.), which is based on the solar year. A new month begins with the appearance of the new moon, or the crescent moon, and ends with the next appearance of a new moon.

The month of Ramadan thus moves backwards about 10 days every year relative to the Gregorian calendar.

But even within Islam there is debate over when precisely Ramadan begins, since, according to the faith-community website Pathos, different communities follow different protocol for determining when a new month begins. Some communities follow a set lunar calendar, others use scientific observations to make an official decree about the arrival of a new moon, and still others mark a new month only after the actual sighting of the crescent moon in their community.

Though the exact dates of Ramadan are never uniform around the world, they come pretty close. This year, Ramadan will last from June 5 or 6 to July 4 or 5, depending on where you live and how a given community marks the beginning of the month.

Month-long Strawberry Festival (honoring Indiana's 200th Anniversary)

Bicentennial Strawberry Festival

Start Date:  6/1/2016 Start Time:  10:00 AM End Date:  6/30/2016 End Time:  10:00 PM      Entry Description June 2016 10 AM - 10 PM Strawberry Festival Committee 509 Hubbard Road Crawfordsville, Indiana 47933 At the 2016 Strawberry Festival on the Lane Place grounds, the Bicentennial will be celebrated with important information reported during each activity of entertainment. There are over 100 vendors with arts and crafts and food booths. entertainment is continuous starting at 10 AM each day and ending at 10 PM in the evening. Admission is free. Location Information: Montgomery County, IN http://www.in.gov/activecalendar/EventList.aspx?view=EventDetails&eventidn=243773&information_id=239385&type=&syndicate=syndicate

Streetside Concert series Champaign, IL (downtown Free Music and Arts) - June to August 2016 - 40 North

FRIDAY, June 3rd, 2016
Walnut & Chester Streets:
6pm: Billy Galt – blues guitar
7pm: John McMahon & Alyssa Gambill – acoustic rock
Neil & Park Streets:
6pm: Rev Gusto – indie rock
7pm: The Underwerewolves – punk rock
Neil & Church Streets (One Main Plaza):
6pm: Paul & Gloria – pure rockin’ pop
7pm: Kittens Incorporated – breezy pop

Also featuring glitter tattoos from Party Prep!  

Downtown Champaign is the backdrop for 40 North's Friday Night LIVE, a free street-side performance series open to the general public. Friday Night Live, in its fifth year, is presented through the generosity of Midland States Bank, No Regrets Tattoos, and Illini Radio Group, with support from Champaign Center Partnership as well as a grant from the City of Champaign.
Friday Night Live is held from 6-8pm every Friday from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Performances are held at the intersections of Neil & Church, Neil & Park, and Walnut & Chester in Downtown Champaign, IL.
Friday Night Live includes an eclectic mix of music and street performances including bluegrass, jazz, folk, rock, and blues, along with a cappella, bellydancing, and live painting.

In 2016, Summer Solstice begins June 20

from ALMANAC dot-com (Old Farmer's Almanac online article):
The summer solstice heralds the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. The timing of the summer solstice depends on when the Sun reaches its northernmost point of the equator.
In 2016, summer begins with the solstice on June 20 at 6:34 a.m. EDT / 7:34 a.m. Central Time.
The word solstice is from the Latin solstitium, from sol (sun) and stitium (to stop), reflecting the fact that the Sun appears to stop at this time (and again at the winter solstice).
In temperate regions, we notice that the Sun is higher in the sky throughout the day, and its rays strike Earth at a more direct angle, causing the efficient warming we call summer.
This summer solstice is the day with the most hours of sunlight during the whole year.

First Friday in June - National Donut Day - June 3, 2016

National Donut Day was originally established in 1938 by the Chicago Salvation Army to honor women who served donuts to soldiers during World War I. The holiday is traditionally celebrated on the first Friday of June. Dunkin' Donuts has been serving guests signature donuts for 66 years.

National Donut Day – celebrated this year on Friday, June 3 – and once again the brand will ring in the day in a most delicious, delightful and delectable way, offering guests a free classic donut of their choice* (while supplies last) with the purchase of any beverage. The offer is good all day on June 3 at participating Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants nationwide.
* Excludes Fancies, Squares and Croissant Donuts
http://news.dunkindonuts.com/news/dunkin-donuts-sweet-celebration-for-national-donut-day:-free-donut-offer-on-friday-june-3

Peace Prayer

Prayer of St Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.

Read more: http://www.lords-prayer-words.com/famous_prayers/make_me_a_channel_of_your_peace_lyrics.html#ixzz4ATLphBgG

Volumes on Social & Political Tracts / Catechetical - Educational writings - John Wesley Works (Bicentennial Edition)

Forthcoming from Abingdon Press (publication dates to be announced)
 vol. 15on “Social/Political Tracts” edited by David
Hempton and
vol. 14  on “Catechetical/Educational Works” edited by Rex Matthews and Rebekah Miles.

Footnote 26 from METHODIST REVIEW article (vol. 4):

"John Wesley’s Rebuke to the Rebels of British America: Revisiting the Calm Address"

Glen O’Brien

http://www.academia.edu/12654334/John_Wesley_s_Rebuke_to_the_Rebels_of_British_America_Revisiting_the_Calm_Address