By Anne Eickstadt Editor “Twenty years ago, on 9/11, firefighters, police, and first responders started up 110 flights of stairs in the Twin Towers to rescue everyone trapped there when the planes struck the buildings. They didn’t all make it,” said Belvidere Fire Department Firefighter Nick Thornton. “We are finishing […]
By Anne Eickstadt Editor A few years ago, attendees at the Sept. 11 Memorial Ceremony could be listed as law enforcement, firefighters, two or three people from City Hall, and about a handful of other attendees. This year, the 20th anniversary of the attack, brought over 70 people to the […]
By Bob Balgemann Reporter Monday night’s Committee of the Whole (Public Works) meeting has the potential for receiving updates on two of several important issues facing the city. There will be follow-up reports on water-related problems, one dealing with flooding and the other with Well No. 4. Also on the […]
By Anne Eickstadt Editor The alpaca show at the Boone County Fair is the first alpaca show to be held at a county fair in Illinois. Each year the show gets bigger and bigger. This year the show was big enough to separate male alpaca from female alpaca during judging. […]
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Boone County Fair was not sure of what kind of attendance the fair would have. They were prepared for a smaller turnout than usual but were delighted to discover that 209,439 people had come to the fair this year. In all of the BCF’s 61 […]
By Anne Eickstadt Editor Belvidere firefighters had the opportunity to train with OSFs latest training equipment–the Simulator. “North Region EMS has worked with the Belvidere Fire Department since 1977 when we started,” said Greg Snow, lead EMS education specialist and lead paramedic instructor. “They are a non-transport paramedic engine unit. […]
By Anne Eickstadt Editor John Edwin Smith (whose nom de plume is Jedwin Smith) started his award-winning journalism career at the Belvidere Daily Republican and went on to write for the Chicago Tribune, Kansas City Times, Racine Journal Times, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Gwinnett Daily News and others. After a long […]
By Bob Balgemann Reporter First of three parts The city for a number of years has provided funding to help owners of historic buildings downtown make needed improvements to those structures. This year $19,290 was set aside for the Downtown Facade Improvement Grant Program, with that money coming from video […]
By Anne Eickstadt Editor Not long ago, a citizen of Belvidere asked me what I knew about a mural of the “Bride of Frankenstein” that she had helped paint about a dozen years ago. I promptly began reaching out to my contacts at the Boone County Arts Council and was […]
By Anne Eickstadt Editor The Fire Explorer program was created to give high school age kids the opportunity to train as firefighters before they are eligible to become firefighters. It is intended to let them see if firefighting is a field that they would be happy in. The program is […]