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These features youll find only in this weeks print edition of the Washington Times-Reporter. For details, see page A3.

Panthers escape with win vs. Pekin Page B1

WedNeSdAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2011

Your Hometown News Since 1840

www.WashingtonTimesReporter.com

Vol. 171 No. 39

WCHS Homecoming 2011

Washington Square to receive face-lift

BY BRANdoN ScHATSiek
TimesNewspapers

Washington community High School kicked off its 2011 homecoming festivities with the parade Friday afternoon through town. Above, from left, the freshmen class float rolls through the Washington Square during the parade Friday. Jessica Sullivan, Jonathan Neis and elise Skulte prepare the sophomore class float on Sept. 21. The junior class float with a roasting dragon (representing the football opponent the Pekin dragons) was on display during the parade. Seniors ella Schoney and Zoe Volk work on their class float with the help from Ben Stevens, 8. For more photos, see page A6. PHOTOS
BY PHILIP LASSEIGNE AND BRANDON SCHATSIEK/TIMESNEWSPAPERS

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ONLINE

The WcHS varsity football team was paraded through town aboard the Washington Fire departments fire truck during the WcHS Homecoming Parade Friday. PHILIP LASSEIGNE/TIMESNEWSPAPERS EVENT REPORT | Brandon Schatsiek, editor bout later Friday night, 14-7.

For more photos from the parade, window decorating contest and class floats, visit www.Washington TimesReporter.com.

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

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Hundreds of Washingtonians, both young and old, lined the streets for the annual Washington Community High School Homecoming Parade Friday afternoon. The WCHS varsity football team hitched a ride on the Washington Fire Departments fire truck during the parade. The team then went on to defeat the Pekin Dragons in the Mid-Illini

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Some of the parade entries included various student-led clubs at the high school, performances by all of the middle school bands, past WCHS graduates and plenty of candy to go around. Aaron Walker and Jordyn Hofer (pictured on the right) were seen waving at everyone as the 2011 WCHS Homecoming King and Queen.

Washingtons historic Downtown Square will soon be undergoing some changes after city council members approved enhancements at its Sept. 19 meeting. Specific bids were solicited based on the plan after meeting with master gardener Ella Maxwell. The plan includes: One 4-inch minimum caliper swamp white oak to be planted on the southeastern quadrant. One 2.5-inch minimum caliper weeping higan cherry on the northeastern quadrant about 20 feet from the douglas fir. One 2.5-inch minimum caliper prairie fire crabapple planted near the existing hawthorn tree. Brick edging placed around each of the shrub areas. Mulch around all of the shrubs and trees. An irrigation system, which would allow for better long-term maintenance of the landscaping. The public services committee met Sept. 12 to discuss the various enhancements and the low bid for the landscaping work came in at $4,822 from Oak Grove Landscaping. An additional $5,900 was included to install an irrigation system around the perimeter of the Square. Other projects the committee recommended include: A new cable-based flagpole from Peoria Flag & Decorating for $4,249. A 10-foot flood light to match other lights within the Square from
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Calling all Washingtonians: city-wide food drive this week

BY BRANdoN ScHATSiek
TimesNewspapers

Pay it forward for Dax Locke

BY HollY RicHRATH
TimesNewspapers

This week marks the second year in a row South Side Bank in Washington is putting together a Washington-wide food drive for Washington Helps Its People. The food drive, which began Monday, is a way for all of Washington to rally and support an organization that feeds 120-130 families every time they open its doors, said South Side Bank Branch Manager Brad Mahony. We started this last year ... me and a few others took part in the (Washington Chamber of Commerce) leadership program and our project was to come up with a food drive for WHIP
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For the third consecutive year, community members have given a gift in honor of a local boy who lost his battle with leukemia in 2009. Thirty pints of blood were collected Thursday at Five Points Washington during the third annual Donate for Dax Blood Drive in honor of Dax Locke. There are a lot of people who will have a memorial blood drive as a way to give back or pay it forward, said American Red Cross spokeswoman Theresa Kuhlmann. But what makes this drive unique is the fact that this isnt something that just impacted central Illinois, or even just in the United States. People world-wide got to know who Dax was. There

were so many people whose lives he touched. Dax was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia when he was 13 months old. His love of bright Christmas lights coupled with a doctors diagnosis that he would not live to see another Christmas led to people nation-wide decorating their homes a little early in support of the little boy. Dax held on to see his favorite holiday, but died days later on Dec. 30, 2009. Here we are two years later and his family still wants to give back, Kuhlmann said. The way that they support St. Jude and the American Red Cross is a reminder that there are other patients out there just like Dax and they need the blood or the platelets. So theyre helping those
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locke family friend dawn Gladieux donates blood Thursday during the third annual donate for dax Blood drive at Five Points Washington. im donating because its for dax, she said. im happy to do anything for St. Jude and anything for dax. HOLLY
RICHRATH/TIMESNEWSPAPERS

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