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Would a wind turbine be beneficial to either the City of Havana, the District126 School District, or both? Havana Mayor Dale Roberts and Economic Development Coordinator Terry Svob invited Superintendent Mark Twomey to sit in on a discussion possible benefits with engineers familiar with green technology. |
Park District Nature Center debuts for Eagle Days
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BY WENDY MARTIN
When visitors come to Havana’s river front to look for eagles on Saturday morning, they will also get one of the first looks at the Havana Park District’s new Nature Center at the north end of Riverfront Park.
The furniture for the building has not been ordered yet, but Director of Parks and Recreation Jill Hills said they will have tables and chairs and the heat turned on to provide visitors a place out of the weather with a great view of the river for Eagle Days.
Sponsors of the Eagle Days Festival event, are excited about the new addition to it.
“The Park District has always been a great partner for this event, and the addition of this building is something we could only have dreamed of when we started Eagle Days ten years ago,” said Jo Skoglund.
Members of the Emiquon Audubon Society will be manning spotting scopes nearby to assist visitors with their eagle watching from 7:30 am to 12 noon on Saturday.
“This is farther north than we have set up before, but the eagles love to roost at the mouth of the Spoon River which is just across the Illinois River from where we will be,” Skoglund added.
Information about the Illinois River Road, eagles and the Illinois River will be on display at the new Nature Center, too.
Eventually the Nature Center will have a snack bar as well as its own tables and chairs, but at least for now there are restrooms and a place for Eagle watchers to get out of the weather, and enjoy the displays that will be set up.
The balance of the Eagle Days Festival activities will be held at Dickson Mounds Museum, co-sponsored by them along with the Emiquon Audubon Society, Fulton and Mason County Arts Councils, Havana Library District, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, The Nature Conservancy, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. members of the Emiquon Audubon Society and Dickson Mounds will have different hands on activities for youth, including a Birds in the Past Scavenger hunt in the museum’s exhibits.
Starting at 10 a..m. to 2 p.m., “Birds of Prey Up Close” presented by Wildlife Prairie Park provides an opportunity for people to see a variety of birds such as hawks, eagles, and owls.
At 10:30 a.m., and again at 2:30 p.m., the Illinois Raptor Center, Decatur, will present “Illinois Raptors” a one-hour program with live birds of prey. Admission is free, but tickets must be picked up in the lobby of the museum for the shows as seating is limited to 150.
At Noon there will be a showing of the movie Fly Away Home in the museum auditorium. This movie, featuring Jeff Daniels, presents the soaring adventure of a 13-year-old girl and her estranged father who learn what family is all about when they adopt and orphaned flock of geese and teach them to fly!
At 4 p.m. the day at Dickson Mounds will end with the Eagle Art and Poetry Awards ceremony. Winners of this year’s competition will be honored during this ceremony.
Two special exhibits will be on display: the Illinois Winter Wildlife Photography Show which is open to residents in Fulton and Mason Countries, and Eagle Art and Poetry created by students from Fulton and Mason Counties. These exhibits will be on display through March 1, 2010.
The Fulton and Mason County Arts Councils will sell food for lunch, the proceeds of which will fund their respective programs.