Montgomery’s Beautification Committee Seeks Help to Build Bluebird Houses

Montgomery’s Beautification Committee has undertaken an ambitious project to assemble 50 bluebird houses on Saturday, February 18th from 9:00 a.m. until noon at the Public Works Building, 891 Knell Road, and is seeking volunteers to help with the work. This would be ideal for anyone handy with woodworking, people interested in birds and birding, and scout groups who might find this a fun community service event.

After assembly, the bluebird houses will be installed at various locations throughout the Village, starting with ideal bluebird habitat areas. Bluebirds like to be near water, tall grass and within easy flight range of trees. The Village’s naturalized areas, water basins, river bank and river island areas, and the Parkview Estates water management areas will be areas of emphasis initially.

Urban development and competition from other animals have discouraged bluebirds in this area, and the Beautification Committee hopes to attract them back with this project. Once bluebirds nest and hatch young in a particular area, the young tend to come back to their "birthplace" in successive years. If the bluebird houses are able to attract bluebirds back to this area, there is an excellent chance that they will continue to return each year and re-populate Montgomery again.

This program also needs volunteers to help manage the birdhouses once they are installed. This would include observing them from time to time to alert the Village to any vandalism or repair needs, cleaning the house in the spring as bluebirds prefer to start with a clean nesting place each year, and helping to photograph these beautiful creatures. Bluebirds especially like mealworms for food, and volunteers will also be needed to manage feeding stations to initially help attract migrating bluebirds to once again make their home in Montgomery.

The committee hopes to install 50 additional bluebird houses each year until the entire Village has been served sufficiently by this effort to restore one of nature's beautiful creatures to our community. For additional information, please contact Trustee Stan Bond atbond@ci.montgomery.il.us or (630) 440-1007 .

LOW-COST PET WELLNESS CLINICS OFFERED AT ANIMAL CONTROL

A local non-profit, no-kill animal shelter is continuing to sponsor low-cost pet wellness clinics in association with the City of Aurora’s Animal Control Division, 600 S. River St.

Just Animals is making vaccinations to dogs and cats, heartworm tests, discounted heartworm prevention medicine, Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) tests and micro-chipping available for Aurora area pet owners. The clinics are usually held between 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the second Saturday of each month, depending on the weather. However, two clinics have been scheduled in March on the 3^rd and 31^st of the month.

According to Susan Knight, interim manager of Aurora Animal Control, “The clinics are a huge success and are obviously needed. We treated 118 animals at the last clinic.”

The services are available by appointment only and can be arranged by calling Just Animals at 815-830-6568 and leaving a message. Agency representatives will then call back and confirm an appointment time. More information on the clinics is available by calling Aurora Animal Control at 630-256-3630 .

Just Animals is a volunteer-based group that is based in Seneca. All the organization’s funding comes from donations and fundraisers. For more information on the group, visit www.justanimals.org.

'Rock, Paper, Scissors' exhibit at Aurora University gallery showcases works by 11 artists

AURORA, Ill. - "Rock, Paper, Scissors: Process & Perception," an exhibit by 11 artists, will be on display at the Aurora University Schingoethe Art Gallery from Jan. 19 to Feb. 29.

The display in Dunham Hall, 1400 Marseillaise Place, is free to the public. An opening reception will be held from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Jan. 19. Artists featured in the exhibit are Marissa Bero, Robert Blunk, G.E. Colpitts, Brian Dettmer, Katie Kahn, Kari Kraus, Nancy Legner, Maria Park, Matthew Picton, Mark Rospenda and Sarah Steinwachs.

Meg Bero, Schingoethe Gallery director, curated the display. She said the exhibit explores the relationship between an artist's vision, medium and process.

Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday; and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call (630) 844-7843 , email museum@aurora.edu or visit aurora.edu/museum/gallery.

Wintertime Fun in Aurora - 2011

Check out these cold month possibilities for outdoor fun and more:

From Chicago Tribune: "When it comes to outdoor winter recreation in the Fox Valley Park District, spokesman Jeff Long says, children and teenagers do most of the sledding and skating, while adults focus on cross-country skiing.

Sledding in Aurora takes place at Lincoln Park, with gentle slopes suitable for children; McCullough Park, offering Fox River views; and Waubonsie Park, which has intermediate slopes. According to the district's Web site, the fastest and steepest slope in the area is a big hill on Fifth Avenue, just west of Kautz Road, in the Oakhurst Forest Preserve, managed by the Forest Preserve District of Kane County.

The Fox Valley Park District maintains two outdoor skating areas: Wheatlands Park pond on the east side of Aurora and Splash Country Water Park pond on the west.

The most popular cross-country trails are the Fox River Trail and the Gilman Trail, which have the fewest number of road crossings, Long said. The Gilman Trail goes through wooded areas and past a golf course; the Fox River Frail north of Aurora can be more challenging."

Check out New Haven Community Park near Highland Avenue in central Aurora for free ice skating. Phillips Park on the East Side is a great place for sledding. Visit Paddle and Trail in downtown Aurora (Spruce and River) for other outdoor adventures, like snowshoeing and more.

If indoor fun is more your style, then don't forget to take the kids to the Vaughn Center for indoor swimming and other recreational opportunities. A hot chocolate at River's Edge Cafe is also a nice wintertime treat. Or how about some soup at Tecalitlan Restaurant on the corner of Downer and Broadway?

There are a ton of fun ways to stay active, and enjoy the cold months. Happy Winter!

Time Inc. deputy general counsel, best-selling author to speak at Aurora University

AURORA, Ill. - Aurora University will host presentations by a best-selling author and an Aurora pastor to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Both events are free to the public.

Rhonda Joy McLean, deputy general counsel of Time Inc. and co-author of "The Little Black Book of Success: Laws of Leadership for Black Women," will discuss "Leadership in a Multicultural Society" at 7 p.m. on Jan. 12 in Crimi Auditorium, 407 S. Calumet Ave. McLean, a 1972 Aurora College graduate, will address what she considers the building blocks of true leadership: self-confidence, effective communication, collaboration and courage.

McLean's book has been consistently ranked in the top three on Amazon's best-seller list for leadership and management. She will sign copies of the book after her presentation.

Based in New York, McLean manages one-third of the Time Inc.'s law department and conducts regulatory compliance efforts for consumer marketing materials for the publishing company's 21 magazines in the United States and Canada. Prior to joining Time in October 1999, McLean was the assistant regional director of the Northeast Region of the Federal Trade Commission for nine years. She holds a bachelor's degree in criminology and social work from Aurora College, master's degree in adult education and leadership development from North Carolina A&T State University, and law degree from Yale.

On Jan. 13 at noon, the Rev. Julian E. Spencer, pastor at Main Baptist Church in Aurora, will bring a message in Lowry Chapel in Eckhart Hall, 347 S. Gladstone Ave. An Oswego resident, Spencer became the 20th senior pastor in Main Baptist's 140-year history in 2007. Spencer also serves with the Fox Valley Christian Ministerial Alliance, Love Fox Valley, North Woodriver Missionary Baptist District Association and Illinois Missionary Baptist State Convention; and chairman of the Good Samaritan Network, a not-for-profit organization that provides holistic services to those in need.

Call 630-844-4924 for more information on the presentations, or visit aurora.edu/calendar.