Uncertain future

 

Cory and Haley McIntyre were expecting to receive their college degrees Thursday from ITT Technical Institute but the for-profit chain school closed all its campuses nationwide Tuesday.

Defensive line

 

Brady Egelhoff, left, Dylan Chims, Jacob Dixon, and Ryan Kleeman will anchor Carlinville High School's defensive line this season.

Reflecting on history

 

Yosh Golden's great aunt was killed in the Hiroshima bombing at the end of World War II. Hiroshima is very much on Golden's mind as President Barack Obama prepares to visit the city, and the 30-acre Peace Memorial Park, on Friday. Obama will be the first sitting American president to visit Hiroshima, which lost more than 100,000 people in the bombing and the aftermath that essentially ended World War II in the Pacific Theater.

Success stories

 

Kanicia Green, left, Eric Mason, both seniors at Lanphier High School, and Alexa Brown from Southeast, have been through a lot growing up.  All three said they came from broken homes, and in the case of Mason, no home at all at times. But the friends since middle school have bright futures. Green is headed to Howard University, Mason is going to Stanford and Brown will attend Harvard.

Lincoln Colored Home

 

Lee Hubbard is a son of the late Lyman Hubbard Sr., a former Tuskegee Airman who returned to his hometown of Springfield in 2005 after a career in the military and bought the former Lincoln Colored Home, the first orphanage for African-Americans in Illinois. It was his father's vision of developing it into a museum and community center, but Lyman Hubbard Sr. died in 2012 before he could secure funding for the project. Lee Hubbard is working with volunteers and hopes to see his father's wishes carried out.

Authentic Springfield

 

The end of a downtown Springfield era comes this weekend with the closing of Food Mart, 416 E. Monroe St. Brothers Pete and Tony Pirrera are retiring as the fifth-generation to operate the deli, wine shop and grocery, which has been in business for more than 120 years.

All out for Christmas

 

Jean Hulbert, 92, is known to decorate her home in Nokomis for Christmas with exuberance, using every piece of her collection, which began 65 years ago with items from a Five and Dime.

Weather worn

 

Already battered by age and weather, an abandoned farm house along Old Jacksonville Road faces another day against the elements.

Pillsbury's past

 

At its peak in the years after World War II, 1,500 people worked at the Pillsbury Mills plant at Fifteenth and Phillips streets. Since Cargill Corp. closed the facility in 2001, there have been off-and-on demolition and salvage operations at the site and it has devolved into a dangerous eyesore, neighbors say. 

Leaving Bel-Aire

 

Residents of the Bel-Aire Motel learned this week they have fewer than 60 days to find new homes. Mayor Mike Houston estimated there were 15 to 20 residents, but property manager Dominic Marando said Friday the number was more like 50 to 60. Some residents appeared to be removing their belongings on Friday. Many of the others have no idea where they will go.

Birds of a feather

 

Pigeons are city birds. At home among the tall buildings, they make a mess of things where they gather in large numbers. But their synchronized movement can be mesmerizing to watch, like a school of fish in the air. What looks like an aerial performance from the ground is an act of self-preservation, defense against their urban enemies, the Red-tailed and Cooper’s hawks and peregrine falcons that also live downtown. Here’s a look at some their recent flights.