Hello Friends!                                                                                        April 18, 2018

Spring – what Spring?? Fingers crossed that we don’t jump right into Summer – but it’s Illinois, so all bets are off!!

 

I had the honor of touring one of the Mosaic facilities here in town last week. Our Community is so blessed to have them here! They provide such an invaluable service to their Clients. My hat is off to everyone involved with Mosaic – they are all so wonderful! 

Our Big Bang Breakfast was a smashing success!! So many thanks to those folks who contributed to our outstanding Fireworks!! City Clerk Tashina Bradford was the force behind this amazing event and amazing is what she pulled off!! We raised over $2100!! The food was outstanding – Linda Bradford, Tashina’s Mom and Marietta’s Village President, is one fabulous cook!! Mary Brown (Deputy City Clerk) and Tashina worked side by side with Linda cooking (starting at 4 am I might add!), Mike Ebbert was a man of many talents making sure all the details were attended to, Brent Glisan (Alderman Ward 2) stepped up and washed dishes all morning; Dawn Duckwiler (Utility Office) and Donna Coates (Alderman Ward 1) set up and tore down tables and chairs and many other tasks to make this Breakfast come off without a snag! We ran out of food – we have some good eaters here in Bushnell!! And then there were those folks who donated items for our Silent Auction – all great supporters of Bushnell!! I know we learned a lot and will make this an annual event!! Thanks again to those that supported us!! We still have a way to go to reach the $10,000 cost for the Fireworks. If you would like to donate, please contact City Hall to make a donation – every dollar counts!

 

Our Bushnell Clean-up days are fast approaching! The City will pick up brush as well that week. Please have your yard waste to the curb on Monday by noon as they City workers will be around Monday afternoon and Tuesday to pick up and dispose of your yard waste. Limbs no bigger than 6 inches in diameter are allowed. Also, if you have a neighbor that isn’t able to collect their yard waste – it would be a nice gesture if you asked to help them get it to the curb! Clean up days are the week of the 23^rd, with yard waste Monday afternoon and Tuesday and other household items on the curb for your regular garbage pickup days – Thursday or Friday. 

On Friday, April 27^th, The Bushnell Women’s Club will be hosting their 2^nd Annual Card Party at the Bushnell Recreation Center from 6:30-9:00. Their fundraising this year is for playground equipment in the West Side Park. The cost is $10 per person. There will be a book sale, snacks and door prizes! Games that will be played include Pitch, Dominoes, Canasta, Court Whist and more! A Fabulous way to spend a Friday night and help support our Community!

 

The School year is starting to wind up in the next month – another year down for our youth – really our future! Award nights and programs and ending with Graduation for our Seniors. Please keep these people in your thoughts as they wrap up another school year! 

The Bushnell Park District will be holding their own Park Clean Up Day on Saturday, April 28^th at 9 am. Please bring your own tools (rakes, hoes etc.) and trash bags! We need to get it all ready for the upcoming season!! We have a gorgeous VFW Park and need YOUR help!

 

I have spoken to two families that were originally from Bushnell but moved away  - they are moving back home! I love that they are coming back to our Community!! We need the growth and the life they will be bringing with them to our town! Please let me know if you know of someone new moving into Town. I would love the opportunity to Welcome them!

 

With growth also comes loss unfortunately. We have lost some wonderful people young and old from Bushnell.  Please keep these families in your thoughts as they take a journey that no one wants to travel. And to these families, please know that the contributions that your loved ones made to Bushnell, big or small, do not go unnoticed but often unspoken. Let me take this opportunity to thank you for sharing their lives with us.  
 

Be Kind Bushnell!

Robin

 

Wanted: Spring!!!!!

Where in the world is our Spring!! Seems like Mother Nature has other plans for us!! Snow on Easter? Does that mean *gasp* 7 more Sundays of snow?!?! I truly hope not!! Don’t let the weather get you down friends, I really think that Spring will be here before we know it!! Keep the faith!!

 

Our Community has been busy these past few weeks, and I know it’s just a taste of what is to come! I had the honor of being a judge at the Pool Chili Cookoff on the 24^th of March. What fabulous cooks we have in our area!  The auction was a success as well! Our Community is so blessed to have the Community Pool and it is truly heartwarming to see us all pull together to keep it up and running!  So many thanks to all you put this together to make it run smoothly! The Easter Egg Hunts were well attended despite the cold weather. Thank you to Ludlum’s, The Park District & Lions Club, and the folks in Prairie City for hosting the hunts this year! There was a Fun Run for the John Martin Benefit that looked like it was a blast, and the main event-benefit will be this weekend – April 8. I know that the Community will pull together as we always do to help John and his family.

 

April 14^th, the City will be hosting a Big Bang Breakfast at the Recreation and Cultural Center from 8-12. We will be serving all the delicious breakfast foods and treats as well as have a silent auction. This is to benefit our AMAZING fire works display on July 3^rd. The cost of the fireworks is around $10,000, so we need all the help we can to pay for this fabulous show! Please come out to the Rec Center and fill your bellies up and support the City in the fireworks show! Tickets are adults - $6; children - $4 and those under 3 are free.  That evening, the Presbyterian Church is having a spaghetti supper at the CCC. What a great day – supporting your Community and not having to cook!! Please make plans to attend these events and get together with your friends and neighbors!

 

The City is in the process of updating our phone systems at City Hall, the Utility Office, Police Complex, Recreation Center, Power Plant and the Street and Alley Shed. We are meeting with a prospective company this week. Our systems are outdated and need the updating to keep up with the City business. This upgrade was in last years budget and we hope to have at least a partial upgrade done within the next month.

 

The Real Estate Committee is continuing work on cleaning up some properties in town. All avenues of funding for this work are being probed so we can get this done. Hopefully we will have a plan set in place soon.

 

Our Economic Development Committee has secured a webinar series with the help of the Chamber of Commerce in updating our downtown area. I watched the first of a series of webinars and it is going to be a wonderful tool for us to use to make our downtown a more appealing place for business and shoppers! Think about it, Bushnell has changed so much in the last 50 years, and we must change to make it a better place for our Community. Spending time and money in our hometown is essential to its growth. We need to attract out of town shoppers to keep us going – and I know that we can do it, but it must be a group effort! And by group effort, I am including all citizens in that job! Look for much more information in the future on how you can help make a difference! And though the emphasis is on the downtown area – we won’t leave out any businesses that are not downtown! We want to include all in this effort! Do you have ideas on what we can do? Please call City Hall and let us know! If you want to speak to me, leave me a message at City Hall and I will call you back!

 

Our Bushnell website is almost finished, and I can’t wait to share this incredible site with you all! It is going to have so much information on it and be so easy to navigate! I will let you know the minute it is live!! Jonny Miller and Jill Griffith are the creative minds that are making this happen, so many thanks to them for their hard work!

 

Stay positive friends!

Robin