The Champaign County Animal Welfare League's Dog Park and Trails will be having its grand opening on Sunday, September 26th from 2:00pm-5:00pm!

There will be food prepared by Recovery Zone of Urbana, live music by Charlie Tatman, prizes, and 10% off new memberships! Come out to see the new dog park and walking trails and have some fun!

Located at 3858 ST RT 56, Mechanicsburg.

Best Friends Pet Assisted Therapy have been educating and certifying  volunteers and their own dogs for animal assisted therapy nationally since 2006.  They serve in schools, retirement communities, veteran services, crisis intervention and people in need primarily in the Miami Valley.  The benefit and impact that pet assisted therapy has on both physical and mental healing is undeniable.  

Zeigler shared how special it will be to be back in the school volunteering where she spent so many wonderful years.    

The core of Best Friends Pet Assisted Therapy is servitude and their reach is immeasurable in the communities they serve.  Each year they choose an organization or worthy cause to support.  Karen, who sits on the selection committee chose West Liberty-Salem elementary educators to be one of this year’s recipients.  They gave 39 teachers $50 cash to put towards their classroom and supplies, a personalized mug, kind words of encouragement, and of course, a visit with their dogs!  

West Liberty-Salem is excited to embark on this new adventure with Karen, Millie and Best Friends Pet Assisted Therapy, who will begin volunteering at WL-S this fall.  

“We are very much looking forward to Karen, Millie and all of their friends to visit with our staff and students in the future,” Aaron Hollar, shared.  As the principal of the elementary, he and his team work hard to make school a place that students are excited to be.  “We try to make school a fun, safe place for students to learn and having visits from this group will certainly help with that goal.  We are very thankful that there are volunteers like this in our community that want to help make the day better for our students!”

Programs will include reading with Millie, teaching animal safety with young students, working with Guidance Counselor Matt Westfall, companionship, and serve in crisis situations when needed.

Submitted by Alliison Wygal.

The judges are Jamon Sellman, Mark Feinstein, Cortney Porter, Mark Runyan and Pam Bowshier.

Jamon was born in Ohio, spent three of his teen years in Chile experiencing some of the best South American and Mediterranean cuisine and local dishes available. He has traveled to 12 European countries, Central America and four South American countries sampling local cuisines and discovering new ways to enjoy food. “I LOVE good food, and I enjoy quality ingredients with unique twists” says Jamon.

Mark has been an avid “foodie” for decades. His love of cooking and all things culinary led him to open two restaurants, including the NottaDog Café on the Square in Urbana. The restaurant makes everything from scratch, using Mark’s recipes for it all – including the dogs themselves. He has traveled the country in search of culinary delights and is eager to try out the offerings of the contestants.

Cortney is a certified chef, graduating from Columbus State Community College Chef Apprenticeship Program in 2003. She served as special events director at CAPA in Columbus, planning twenty plus memorable galas which raised over $3.1 million for the performing arts in central Ohio. She was Executive Sous Chef at Shane’s Gourmet Catering for 12 years, cooking for events with as many as 1,000-plus guests. Currently she is the director of culinary development and events at The Woodruff Farm in Urbana. The farm has a market, event venue, and soon an onsite farm-to-fork restaurant, of which she will be the General Manager and menu consultant.

Mark returned to Urbana following graduation from OSU with a degree in agriculture. The family farm produced and sold purebred hogs internationally for over 40 years and his main focus has been pork quality – the taste, flavor and tenderness of the meat for the consumer. He opened the Oakview Farm Meat Shop and Oakview Promotional Trailer which sells frozen pork from the farm and beef and chicken produced by neighboring farms. He partnered with Pam Bowshier of Cosmic Charlie Breads to form Hippie and the Farmer Catering business and Champaign Locally Grown On-Line twelve month farmers market, both located at the Oakview Farms Meat Shop.

Pam Bowshier, moved to Urbana from Florida in 1999. She launched her bread baking business, Cosmic Charlie Baking and Bread following success at local farmers’ markets. She co-managed The Mechanicburg Farmers and Artisans Market and had a shop in downtown Springfield featuring her baked goods and vintage/mod clothing. Moving the shop to Urbana in 2015, she helped to bring the community commercial kitchen plan to fruition with the Local Foods Council, co-chaired the Art Affair, and served on the boards of the Monument Square District and the Local Foods Council of Champaign County. Hooking up with Mark Runyan of Oakview Farms at the local farm markets and creating great sandwiches with their products, led to the creation of Hippie and the Farmer Catering Business. They grow organic produce, offer upscale farm to table catering, host events, parties and private dinners and operate a full scale, fully licensed commercial kitchen at the Oakview Market. “Knowing where your food comes from, how it tastes, how inventive a dish is, and how it is grown has always been of most importance to me. I demand high quality, I provide high quality in my businesses and I acknowledge and applaud fellow foodies who feel the same. I am honored to be part of the judging team for this year’s Chili Cook-off, and will be looking for that one chili that offers a taste explosion to really impress me!” said Pam.

The audience can participate in judging their favorite chili by purchasing beads and dropping them in the container at the booth that created their favorite chili. The “Peoples Choice Chili” winner earns a trophy and “bragging rights”!

In addition to the contests, the festival includes a corn hole tournament, dunk tank, music, and lots of great food, ensuring a day of fun for the entire family!

The hospital opened its doors in 1951, with the help of area leaders dedicated to creating a hospital for the Urbana community. Today, the hospital continues to earn quality accolades and provide advanced treatments while continuing with its mission of providing good help and care to all those in need, according to a news release from Mercy Health.

“It has been an honor to serve the community of Urbana for the last 70 years,” said Jamie Houseman, president, Mercy Health – Urbana Hospital. “With the recent upgrades and achievements, including being rated as a 5-star CMS hospital, I am eagerly looking forward to continuing to provide the highest quality of care to this community for many years to come.”

Houseman credits the entire Urbana community for playing a vital role in Mercy Health’s ability to upgrade and improve the services and facilities available at the hospital throughout the years. New programs such as Community Paramedicine, senior behavioral health, intense Cardiac Rehab, and sleep studies have been added to the facility. Additionally, a complete renovation of the main entrance, an upgraded sterile surgery department, renovated imaging services, and the Moore consultation room were made possible with support of the amazing members of the Urbana community, Houseman said.

As a result of these many upgrades and program additions, Mercy Health – Urbana Hospital “offers high-quality and comprehensive care right here where our community lives and works,” the news release states.

The leadership, physicians and entire team at Mercy Health – Urbana Hospital looks forward to continuing to provide the highest quality care to Urbana and the surrounding communities for the next 70 years, according to Mercy officials.

Lance Jackson & Teresa Hill, who were both teachers in the Urbana City School district for decades, serve as official program advisors. They both keenly understand the challenges local students face.

UYC knows students at the youth center are incredibly fortunate to have the experience of two of Urbana’s very best educators working on crafting programs for them. Their expertise is a major asset to the youth center and this community.

Including official advisors and volunteer advisors, the entire program team brings more than a century of combined education and program experience to the table.

Justin T. Weller leads the team at the youth center as the Executive Director.

Now that the youth center serves more than 400 student members and is working to expand their program offerings, it is essential UYC builds a sustainable approach to serving the needs of our young people. These new team members are working to make some big and exciting things possible.

Information from UYC's Facebook page.