City of Tuscola Cancels Fireworks Display

The City of Tuscola announced today that it has cancelled the community fireworks display originally scheduled for the evening of Friday, July 6^th due to the excessive heat and unusually dry conditions. All other scheduled events for the Sparks in the Park Festival on Friday, July 6^th and Saturday, July 7^th will take place as planned. Events include: live music, parade, food vendors, 3-on-3 basketball tournament, mud volleyball tournament, community pool party, downtown farmers’ market, American Legion pancake breakfast, 5K Run/Walk, and other miscellaneous activities.

“I love the fireworks every year, and I hate that we have been forced to make this decision. But, we have to come down on the side of caution,” explained Mayor Dan Kleiss. To complicate matters, Tuscola is currently without the benefit of its water tower during a repainting project. According to Fire Chief Steve Hettinger, “I would be concerned with the fire hazard just because of the dry conditions. With a diminished water supply, though, I think we really have no choice but to cancel.”

“Even though we have been forced to make this tough call for fireworks, there is still a lot to look forward to this weekend. With an increased number of activities in comparison to last year, we have fun events planned for all ages,” stated Carly McCrory of Tuscola Tourism.

At this time, the City of Tuscola has not set another date for fireworks. If they decide to do so, they will notify all media outlets.

For more information about the Sparks in the Park Festival on Friday, July 6^th and Saturday, July 7^th – including a schedule of events and registration forms – please visit www.point2tuscola.org. For questions about the event or for more information, please contact Tuscola Tourism at 217-253-2552 or email carly.mccrory@tuscola.org.

Watch for live updates this weekend on the City of Tuscola’s Facebook page (/cityoftuscola) and Twitter account (@cityoftuscola).

Sale Street Welcomes hotWire Networks as New Business

By: Colleen Lehmann
Tuscola Journal - Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

Don't let all the debris removal at the west end of Sale Street -- courtesy of the Dotson Building demolition -- keep you from paying a visit to one of Tuscola's newest businesses.

Take a moment to admire the handsomely refurbished façade at 134 West Sale Street, where hotWire Networks is now -- as of Tuesday, February 21st,  2012 -- officially open for business. At least the service side of the network and computer consulting biz is ready to welcome customers. There will also be a retail sales showroom, featuring new computers and products, in the building at 132 West Sale Street that was purchased by business partners Adam Burwell and Eddie Boutilier and 
it will soon be remodeled for that purpose.

Adam Burwell, a resident of Homer, has owned and operated the computer business for over 12 years, and is very excited about making Tuscola hotWire's corporate home.

So what does hotWire Networks do? Just about everything connected with technology, says Burwell, who along with Zachary Wozencraft, started the company. While Burwell bought out Wozencraft, the founding partner remains as an "extremely essential, couldn't-do-it-without-him" employee. The two techies have 34 years of combined experience.

Says Burwell, "We are a communications and networking company; we offer computer consulting, Internet consulting, Web site development and hosting. We can help you with buying a new computer or servicing what you have. Come to us for upgrades on your used or new computers, tablets, and other devices. We offer Web site design and hosting, can help you out with business networking -- both wired and wireless -- and offer computer security surveillance and monitoring."

Not sure what your business needs in the way of technology ... just that it needs something? Burwell says hotWire can develop a technology plan of action tailored specifically to your needs.

hotWire Networks, which has operated out of Philo and Champaign in the past, includes clientele of all kinds -- retail businesses of all kinds, property management firms, contractors, even fraternities and sororities on the University of Illinois campus.

With the hanging of a newly-minted sign on Monday afternoon, hotWire Networks officially threw out the welcome mat on Tuesday morning. Hours of operation have tentatively been set for 9 am to 6 pm Monday through Friday. To reach Burwell/hotWire Networks, just call 1-866-814-0770.

Watch for more information about hotWire Networks and its grand opening celebration, now in the planning stages.

New Brick Facades in Downtown + Hotwire Networks

Several projects are moving forward in Downtown Tuscola and one of the recently completed projects is already looking to expand.

Located at 134 West Sale, this project will be the home of a new business, Hotwire Networks. This project was made possible through the assistance of a TIF grant & loan package in combination with the owners' personal investment and private bank financing. Owners Adam Burwell and Eddie Boutilier are nearing completion of a renovation of 134 West Sale and have added a new brick facade to the first floor. The second floor brick facades of both 132 & 134 West Sale were tuckpointed as well.  

After getting their project underway, the owners approached Alan Hettinger about the possibility of purchasing the building next door (132 West Sale) which would allow additional space for the anticipated expansion needs of Burwell's business, Hotwire Networks. The 134 West Sale side had an existing apartment on the second floor. The anticipated renovation on the 132 West Sale side will allow for the addition of two new apartment units in the Downtown District. 

Overall, a win-win situation for their business and Tuscola. 

This was late summer - in the middle of construction.

The brick facade at 134 West Sale is now complete with only a few things left to finish.

The developers anticipate providing a face-lift to 132 West Sale (seen above) with a new brick facade exactly like the one on the west (left) building.

SAM Food Pantry Donation

Check out this story about a recent donation to our local food pantry and the amazing guy who made it all possible! 

Santa came a little early this year for the SAM Food Pantry and instead of a sleigh, he had two semi-trucks full of food – about 33,000 pounds worth or 16.5 tons. On Monday, November 28^th, SAM Food Pantry volunteers and City workers gathered to unload the donated items, which were stored at the pantry as well as in an empty storefront at Tanger Outlet Center due to the large amount of goods.

The magnificent donation was made by Jim Hausman through the Hausman Charitable Foundation – a foundation started by Jim to provide food donations to worthy charities. In the last few years, Jim has provided hundreds of thousands of pounds of food to Douglas and Sangamon Counties, which certainly meets their main goal: feeding hungry kids in Central Illinois. Jim also made a donation to the SAM Food Pantry last year, but wanted to increase it this year because of the increase in individuals/families using the pantry’s services. At the end of this October, the pantry had already served 6,499 persons – more persons than all of last year (6,382). The increase in donations included: 2 more pallets of veggies, 10 cases of noodles, 30% more fruit, and pallets of applesauce because that’s always a kid favorite.

Jim, son of Nancy (Rice) Hausman and the late John Hausman, has always considered Tuscola “home” because his family grew up here. Jim’s grandparents, Chop and Bethel Rice, lived in Tuscola, which is where his mom now resides. Plus, the Hausman family has always farmed around Pesotum. In 2001, Jim was awarded the Illinois Red Cross Corporate Leadership Award and has also been inducted into the Clara Barton Society of the Red Cross.

The SAM Food Pantry is located at the Tuscola United Methodist Church and is open on Wednesday and Friday mornings from 8:30 to 11:00 am. If you are interested in volunteering, please call the church office at 217-253-4232 or Betsy Stuerke (Director) at 217-253-4390.

Thank you, Jim! Your kindness and love will benefit a lot of individuals/families in Douglas County.

New Wind Turbine

Check out the City's new wind turbine - it should be in operation before the end of the month, generating electricity to power our sewer plant! 

Update: Installation is complete and they are finalizing the internet connection for the on-board diagnostics. 24-hour monitoring is part of the maintenance agreement, so any problems or faults can be identified immediately and repaired. The turbine will auto-stop in the meantime. We also have a monitoring computer at City Hall, so we can track power output, wind speed, direction, net electrical metering, and maintenance faults.

It is a Northwind 100 turbine built by Northern Power Systems and installed by Midwest Underground Technologies, Inc. It is the exact same model turbine that MUTI has at their facility west of Champaign.