TOGETHER WITH

Good morning, Princeton…especially the Princeton Tigers Boys Bball team, who beat Rockford Christian last night 69-66, with Noah Laporte scoring 28, and Daniel Sousa scoring 24. You are absolute warriors. And congratulations, Noah, for scoring your 1,000th point. On to the sectional championship Friday in Mendota, baby!

Let’s get to it.

—Justin Bullington

📬IN THIS ISSUE

💡What You Should Know
☀️Princeton Weather
💼Princeton Businesses
⛽️Princeton Gas Prices
🗓️Princeton Events
👷‍♂️Princeton Job Opportunities
📍Walnut, Tiskilwa, Sheffield/Buda

💡WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

• Happy Birthday, Gary Hanna! 🥳

• City of Princeton: After March 15th, the city crews will begin removal of any remaining winter decorations and grave coverings from the city cemeteries. Please remove any items you’d like to keep before that date.

• Chamber of Commerce: “The Princeton Area Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the annual Lunch in the Park and Bake Sale Lottery this Wednesday, February 28th at 5:30 pm at the Prouty-Zearing Community Building.

  • Lunch in the Park will kick off on Friday, May 17th and take place every Friday through September 27th, for 20 dates in total. This yearly tradition is intended to help non-profit organizations raise money for their individual causes.

  • All entities interested in the opportunity to host Lunch in the Park or a Bake Sale must have a representative present that evening. If someone from your specific organization is unable to attend, remaining spots will be filled on a first come, first serve basis starting the following morning. If there are no available spots then your organization will be placed on a waiting list to be contacted in the event of a cancellation.

  • Advertising will be provided by the Chamber throughout the season. The fee required is to offset those advertising costs. Payment is required the evening of the lottery. Each organization should also provide a menu with pricing to the Chamber at least one week prior to your hosting date.”

• PHS 2024 Senior Class: Is your dream to become a teacher? Want to work in the medical field? Are you going to enroll at IVCC this fall? Graduating PHS Seniors have one more month to apply for PPSF Scholarships. Deadline is March 20, 2024.

• Volunteers are needed for upcoming Chelsea Gives Back fundraisers. Chelsea is in need of at least 20 volunteers per event: 1) Saturday, April 27th - 9:45am-1pm at Freedom House for the Chelsea Gives Back Soap Fundraiser. 2) Saturday, August 31st - 7:45am-12pm at Chelsea’s house for the Chelsea Gives Back Charity Mum Fundraiser. They will unload the truck of chrysanthemums and load into vehicles.

• Princeton is a generous and giving community. If you have new or used items to give away around the house that others may need or want in Princeton, this is a great place to post.

• Clocks will "spring forward" one hour at 2 a.m. on March 10.

• The Main Street Concert Series Kickoff is June 7th on South Main Street, featuring the band Barracuda.

☀️PRINCETON WEATHER

Today: The day will be predominantly sunny. High temperature will be around 48°F, dipping to a low of 32°F. Expect a moderate breeze with winds around 14 mph.

Thursday: Sunny conditions continue. Temperatures will range from a high of 55°F to a low of 32°F. Winds will slow down a bit to around 13 mph.

Friday: Another sunny day. The temperature will increase, with a high of 64°F and a low of 37°F. The wind will be mild, and it will feel like the actual temperature.

Saturday: The sunny streak holds. The high temperature will be near 70°F, and the low at 56°F.

click here for road conditions.
click here for an I-80 traffic camera. 

💼PRINCETON BUSINESSES

• Dine in and donate to your favorite causes at Culver’s:

  • Daughters of the American Revolution: Feb. 27th

  • Manlius 4-H Club: March 4th

  • St. Louis Altar Rosary: March 11th

  • Lions Club: April 23rd

  • Happy Hands Preschool: May 7th

• Win a $25 gift card from Four Seasons. Here are the rules: they will be posting on Facebook twice a day, from now until Friday. A “like” and “comment” is one entry. A “comment” with a friend tag is an entry. A “share” is an entry. They will draw a name and announce the winner on Saturday March 2nd.

• Two Angels Photography is looking to partner with businesses who would like to host Easter Bunny photo ops. Call: 309-648-0320.

• Dune Part 2 starts tomorrow at the Apollo.

• Troop 1953 will be selling Girl Scout Cookies outside of the Boek-el-Zoo this Saturday at noon.

• Toddler time at Once Upon a Craft is tomorrow at 11am. The theme is “St. Pat-Rex.” There will be painting, a story time, and a snack.

• There will be a children’s basket weaving class at the Prairie Art’s Center Tuesday, March 12th, 5:30pm.

• Princeton Dairy Queen: Make sure to download the DQ App before they open so you can start earning rewards on the first day, March 4th.

• The new hats at Eclectic Joy are selling quickly. Stop in 10am-4pm to check them out.

• Mavolan’s is having a $10 blowout sale on kids shoes. They also have gotten a shipment Easter-basket fillers and children’s spring outfits 2T-14.

• Did you know Princeton has Airbnb’s available to stay at?

• Golden Rice Authentic Thai Food is serving Thai Tea today.

Does your Princeton business have a sale or update you’d like to share? Email me: [email protected].

⛽️PRINCETON GAS PRICES

Regular

Amoco, 720 N Main St: $3.33
Sullivan’s Foods: $3.36
Casey’s West/North: $3.39
Beck’s West/North: $3.39
Road Ranger, N Main St: $3.34
Shell, 2225 N Main St: $3.39

Diesel

Amoco, N Main St: $3.59
Beck’s West/North: $3.99
Sullivan’s Foods: $3.99
Casey’s West/North: $3.99
Road Ranger, N Main St.: $3.99

Soundcore Earbuds by Anker Space

• Reduce Noise By Up to 98%: Space A40 has an upgraded noise cancelling system to block out a wider range of distracting noises. So wherever you go, you'll always have the space you need to focus.

• 50 Hours of Personal Space: That's enough playtime to enjoy up to 1,000 songs or 25 movies. The earbuds have a 10-hour single charge playtime, and fast charging gives you 4 hours of listening from a quick 10-minute charge.

• Highly Detailed Sound: Thanks to soundcore's pioneering double-layer diaphragm drivers, Space A40 noise cancelling earbuds produce sound with strong bass, clear mids, and bright treble. You can also listen using LDAC mode for Hi-Res Audio Wireless sound.

• Comfortable, No Matter How Long You Listen: Space A40 noise cancelling wireless earbuds are smaller than all other soundcore ANC earbuds, are as light as a sheet of paper, and have an ergonomic shape so they fit comfortably in your ears.

Click to view online

🗓️PRINCETON EVENTS

• Royal Family Kids Bureau County will host a comedy night March 9th. It is a fundraiser to benefit abused, neglected, and abandoned children with a week-long camping experience. Fundraiser offers a walking taco, dessert, popcorn, silent auction, and an evening of improv, starring Well Versed Comedy. The event will take place that the Simon Conference Center, 446 Elm Place at 5:30. Tickets are $25.

• The Princeton Fire Department is hosting KWQC meteorologist Cyle Dickens for an informal presentation about weather events March 14th at 6:30.

• The Flags of Freedom will host a draw down on April 13th at the Moose Lodge, beginning at 7:30pm.

• The Shadows of the Blue and Gray Civil War Ball is April 13th at the Bureau County Fairgrounds.

• “A Night To Remember” Prom is Saturday, April 20th at the Bureau County Metro Center, 5:30-8:30pm. This a wonderful event for special needs people, high school age and up. Each attendee will receive a crown, and corsages and boutonnieres will be provided. For more information and to RSVP, email Diane Van Drew by April 6th: [email protected]. This is a free event.

• Nellie Becker: A Titanic Story presented by Peter Cook is May 11th at Venue 450

 🤝GRIEFSHARE PRESS RELEASE

Community members who have experienced the death of a spouse, child, family member or friend, recent or not so recent, are invited to participate in the GriefShare support group being held at the Evangelical Covenant Church, 24 N. Main St. in Princeton.  The new session begins Monday, March 11^th and runs through June 3, 2024.  The group will meet every Monday afternoon from 1:00 to 3:00 PM to help face challenges and move toward rebuilding your life.   The meeting that falls on Memorial Day will be held on Tuesday, May 28^th .  There is a small cost of $20 for the participant guide.

GriefShare is a 13-week video seminar series that features grief and recovery topics as seen from a biblical perspective.  Each GriefShare session has three distinct elements – video seminar, support group discussion, and a participant guide with personal study exercises that reinforce the weekly session topics.  Each session is “self-contained” so participants are welcome to begin at any point within the 13-week program.

The church is premiering brand-new GriefShare 4.0 materials, which include fresh video content featuring nationally respected grief experts and real-life stories.  Topics covered include loneliness, sadness, self-care, fear, anger, regrets, relationships, resilience, and hope.  

You will find encouragement, comfort, and help in grieving the death of a spouse, child, parent, sibling, other family member, or friend.  You will learn how to recognize the symptoms of being stuck in grief and renew your hope for the future.  This is an opportunity to be around people who understand what you are feeling. 

Participants should bring their own water bottle.  Pre-registering is not necessary but helpful.  Visit www.griefshare.org/groups/176757 for more information or to register.  Or call the Evangelical Covenant Church at 815-875-2124 with questions.

👷‍♂️PRINCETON JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Bartending Team | Downtown Pub & Grill | click to apply

Assistant Store Manager | O’Reilly Auto Parts | Full-time

Kitchen Associate | Beck’s | Part-time

Server | Pizza Hut | Full-time, $8.40-10.40/hour

CSP/Receptionist | H&R Block | Full-time

Retail Sales Associate | AutoZone | Part-time

Assistant Store Manager | Scooters Coffee | Full-time

Restaurant Manager | Wendy’s | Full-time

Assistant Manager | Culver’s | Full-time, $17-20/hour

IT Support Specialist | Ollie’s | Full-time

Retail Teller | Heartland Bank | Full-time, $15-19/hour

General Cleaner | Chapel Hill | Part-time, $15/hour

HVAC Tech, plumber, electrician, administrative staff | Town and Country Services | Click for more info

Hydraful 40 oz Tumbler

• This 40 oz double-wall stainless steel Insulater tumbler is perfectly designed to fit most car cup holders, making it the ideal travel companion for your daily commute or road trips. This Insulated smoothie cup comes equipped with a versatile handle that makes carrying it a breeze. The handle's ergonomic design ensures a comfortable grip, allowing you to stay mobile without any hassle, allowing you to enjoy your favorite beverages effortlessly on the go.

• Experience beverage temperature retention like never before. This stainless steel water bottle keeps your hot drinks steaming for over 9 hours, ensures your cold beverages stay refreshingly cool for more than 12 hours, and maintains ice-cold temperatures for up to an impressive 34 hours. Whether it's a morning coffee or an icy drink, this tumbler has you covered.

• TheHydraful coffee mug 's lid features an innovative foldable sipper nozzle, eliminating worries about spills or leaks. When closed, the nozzle ensures a leak-proof seal, and when you're ready to sip, it flips open seamlessly. This user-friendly design keeps your beverages accessible and mess-free.

Click to view online

📍WALNUT, TISKILWA, SHEFFIELD/BUDA

Walnut

• The Rotary for Walnut, Illinois Ag Breakfast is March 16th, 7-9am at the Community Building.

• Mark your calendars on March 23rd for both the Annual Easter Egg Hunt at 10:30am at Allure, and the Eggstravaganza at The Rock from 11am-12:15.

• Pool opening day: Saturday, May 25th

• The owners of the Ice Box decided to sell. They are looking for new owners. If you are interested, call: 815-213-0204

• Youth Hot Rod Camp: they will be working on a 67 f100, teaching young men auto/life skills. This will be held at Walnut Bible Church and will last 6 days, June 10th-15th. 10-12 spots available. Contact Scott Bickett.

Tiskilwa

• 222 Ale House in Tiskilwa is looking for cooks.

• Pow Wow Days is August 1st-4th. Wild Card and Brushville will perform on that Saturday.

Sheffield/Buda

• KaChing Bingo is today from 1-2pm at the Mason Memorial Library. Public is invited, refreshments will be served. Handicap accessible.

• Parlor Coffee & Cream Co will have the Walnut Girl Scout Troop 1049 in the shop this Saturday from 10-2pm.

• The Buda Fire Department Breakfast is Sunday, March 24th, 7-1pm at the Community Hall.

• Registration for Sheffield-Buda Youth Baseball and Softball is happening at Parlor Coffee & Cream Co March 23rd from 10-11am.

Elsewhere

• A man was stabbed after breaking up an alleged fight in Peru.

• Two people have been found dead inside the La Salle high-rise complex on Second Street.