Shawnee Community College offers massage therapy

Shawnee Community College’s Massage Therapy program will graduate ten students this summer. SCC has graduated 59 students since the program began in 2001. The SCC Massage Therapy also provides continuing education for licensed massage therapists. During the spring semester a two-day Rejuvenating Facelift Massage certification program was presented by Rita Woods, NCTNB, LMT. Woods will return next year. (more)

From row (left to right) Erica Armbruster, Jackson, MO; Keri McClellan, Grand Chain; Kelsey Goins, Anna; Crystal Jerrell, Dongola; Tasha
Fairhurst, Paducah, KY. Back row (left to right) Teresa Biggins, Vienna; Achasah Rogers, Brookport; Valerie Wheeler, Golconda; Jasmine
Kerr, Metropolis; Jennifer Wood, Karnak.
photo provided by SCC

Government wants suit over VA death tossed

by JIM SUHR, Associated Press Writer

ST. LOUIS (AP) _ The U.S. government has asked a federal judge to throw out one of two lawsuits filed by Kentucky women who claim that surgical care at a southern Illinois Veterans Affairs hospital killed their husbands. In court papers filed Friday in East St. Louis, Ill., the government claimed that Katrina Shank _ whose husband, Robert Shank III, apparently bled to death last August after gallbladder surgery at the Marion VA hospital _ failed to file a required affidavit, a letter from an expert attesting there's a reasonable basis for the lawsuit. (More)

Dark Knight's kind of town:Gotham City gets windy

By CARYN ROUSSEAU
Associated Press Writer

CHICAGO (AP) _ Christian Bale's Batman is perched atop a skyscraper, looking over a dark and foggy skyline pierced by glittering lights, preparing for a dive to the gritty streets below. But when he alights, he won't find the gargoyle-infested, bricks-and-mortar city that Washington Irving first coined “Gotham.” He won't battle the Joker on wet cobblestones, or loom in the shadows of a dominant spire that evokes the Empire State building. Heath Ledger isn't the only scene-stealer in “The Dark Knight.” In the newest incarnation of the movie franchise, the mythical Gotham City _ long assumed to be an allegorical Big Apple _ is unmistakably based on Chicago..(more)

Governor encourages Illinois landowners to take part in new SAFE program

SPRINGFIELD – Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today encouraged landowners in targeted areas of the state to participate in a new habitat enhancement program with the USDA Farm Service Agency, called the State Acres For Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) initiative. The program is designed to help address Illinois wildlife conservation needs and the goal is to significantly increase the abundance of grassland wildlife including endangered, declining and economically important species within highly focused project areas in the Grand Prairie and Southern Till Plain Natural Divisions of Illinois.
“This is a step in the right direction toward achieving state wildlife conservation objectives,” said Governor Blagojevich. “The SAFE program provides financial incentives for agricultural producers to install practices on their land that achieve these objectives, through targeted restoration of vital habitat, and I encourage landowners to look into this program.”
In Illinois, more than 99 percent of native prairie has been converted to other land uses. Meanwhile, the acreage of hay, pasture and other agricultural grasslands has declined by more than 50 percent in 50 years. The Illinois Wildlife Action Plan identifies a majority of the amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals that require grassland habitat as “Species in Greatest Need of Conservation.” (more)

MAP Assistive Technology Program

Shawnee Community College and the MAP Training Center in Karnak are sponsoring a low cost approach to assistive technology. The MAP Assistive Technology Program is designed to provide training to special education teachers and community agencies on a variety of experiences. Classes will be held at the MAP Training Center facility located in Karnak, Each date is a separate workshop Participants need only to attend one date to receive the adaptive training. 2008 MAP Assistive Technology Program Workshop dates are August 22, September 12, October 17, November 7 and December 12. All workshops will meet from 8 a.m. to 4 pm.
Students will construct and customize a switch for an individual’s need and abilities from an economical video box, modify an AM/FM radio for switch operation, experience a hands-on approach to computer access methods and education software. Students will also take a walking tour of the MAP Training Center and experience the yoga room sensory room and computer lab.
For more information call Dell Willis at 618-634-9401. Space is limited, so individuals should call in advance.

Extensive road work planned for US 51/US 60/US 62 intersection

The Illinois Department of Transportation would like to alert motorists traveling in the vicinity of US 51/60 and 62 near Cairo of upcoming extensive road work at this intersection. Work will begin soon to reconstruct the intersection using full depth concrete pavement. The reconstruction work is scheduled to begin Monday, July 7, 2008 and will continue throughout the summer. A marked detour route will be in place, and changeable message boards will alert motorists of current conditions or special instructions.
Beginning Monday, July 14, 2008, the intersection at the Illinois end of the Wickliffe-Cairo Ohio River Bridge will be posted with a restricted width of 10’ 6”. This restriction will remain in effect until all pavement work is complete.
Beginning Monday, July 21, 2008, the south leg of the intersection and the US 60/US 62 Mississippi River Bridge to Missouri at Birds Point will be closed to all traffic. A marked detour route is available via Interstate 57. Motorists should follow marked detour and observe message boards for current information. The US 60/US 62 Mississippi River Bridge is expected to be closed from July 21ss until about the first week in August.
All work is dependent upon weather conditions and completion of work is expected in late September.
Motorists should use extreme caution and observe flagmen or message boards when traveling in this area.