Wethersfield Superintendent Shane Kazubowski and Athletic Director Jeff Parsons joined WKEI on People to People on Friday to talk about the IHSA decision to follow the guidelines of Governor J.B Pritzker and put a stop to High School Athletics until at least January. No in person practices or, of course, games, can be played until early next year and then, only if Region 2 is off of the Orange Warning list and back to Stage four mitigation while we wait for the COVID-19 vaccine to arrive. We also talked about a special scholarship now available for female students at Wethersfield who are planning to go into the Health Care field.

This Week at The YWCA by Regional Media

The Henry County Board on Thursday night signed off on sending a letter to Governor J.B Pritzker regarding the new mitigation efforts that went into effect recently for restaurants and bars. In the letter, signed by Board Chairman Marshall Jones, the Henry County Board asks Governor J.B Pritzker to consider not having Henry County in Region 2 which shares a border with Iowa via Rock Island County. The letter doesn't state which Region the board would like Henry County to be part of, only stresses that including Henry County in this Region leaves it open to being kept in Tier 3 mitigation not because of numbers from Henry County but from counties that border a state with even higher COVID-19 numbers and fewer restrictions. 

The letter also asks the Governor to reconsider the mitigation efforts that have bars and restaurants closed to indoor dining. The letter alleges that there is no definitive link between indoor dining and drinking to the spread of COVID-19. The letter goes on to state that keeping bars and restaurants closed could cause those businesses to close permanently, costing jobs in the county and leading to devastating economic impact on all of Henry County. You can read the letter in full below, provided to WKEI by Henry County Board Chairman Marshall Jones who was our guest for our Noon Hour Show on Friday.

Sinnissippi Centers Holiday Chat by Regional Media

CGH About Your Health by Regional Media

Ameren Illinois is touting the Warm Neighbors, Cooler Friends initiative to help people in need with their heating bill this winter as well as get you set for the heat of the next Spring and Summer. Warm Neighbors and Cooler friends is a year round assistance program that can help you when you need the most help with your energy bill. Susan Sams Susan Sams, Executive Director of the Energy Assistance Foundation’s Warm Neighbors Cool Friends program, was our guest to talk about energy assistance on Tuned In.

RaeAnn Tucker from the Henry and Stark County Health Department joined WKEI to discuss the number of active cases of COVID-19 in Henry County. The good news is that statewide the infection rate is down a little. The bad news, it continues to go up in Henry County with a 16% rolling positivity rate over the last 7 days. 8% is the warning threshold for the state of Illinois. We talked to RaeAnn about the new restrictions going into effect on Friday as well. They are basically the same as the phase 3 mitigation rules that were put in place during the Spring before being lifted late in the summer when the infection rate was relatively steady below 8%.

The new documentary The Power of Movement tells the story of Dr Niraj Mehta whose made waves with his belief that the key to recovery, any recovery, is movement and with that theory, he began teaching people who've recovered from cancer to dance. It's a remarkable story and an inspiring one as the doctor brings Bollywood magic to helping cancer patients get back on their feet again, quite literally. Power of Movement director Aaron Abelto talked about the movie and Dr Mehta, with WKEI on Wednesday.

Dave Clark joined WKEI for the latest edition of Kewanee Back When. Dave and Sean Kernan talked about what Thanksgiving in Kewanee was like 100 years ago, in 1920. It was, as you can imagine, a very different time with different stories and perspectives. Dave's research brought a new revelation about Kewanee's Presidential history and Sean was surprised about a community Thanksgiving meal that may come as a surprise to you as well as it does not involve Turkey.

Hometown Holidays Rock Falls by Regional Media