One day I had an idea. “Where did it come from, why is it here?” I wondered. “What do you do with an idea?” The opening sentences of “What Do You Do With An Idea,” a children’s book by Kobi Yamada. Pryor Jordan had an idea. While working at a Jackson County computer repair shop, […]

Linemen are often the first on the scene of a disaster or called out in the middle of the night in the worst of weather. It could be a major outage after a tornado, hurricane or ice storm, or possibly a house fire and electricity needs to be turned off, or a car wreck on […]

There is the warm glow of a crackling fire, the smell of evergreen wafting in the air, sparkling lights in a rainbow of colors, along with holiday music and laughter as family reconnects. These are all sights and sounds of the Christmas season. But wait, one thing is missing – the mouth-watering aromas associated with […]

I’ve been making these for more than 20 years. They are my son Nick’s favorite cookies and also a family favorite. There are several cookie recipes that I usually make every Christmas but I also try some I haven’t made before. I bake at least a dozen or more different kinds, depending on how much […]

Mom always made these cookie bars at Christmastime. She knew I loved them and I don’t remember her making them any other time of the year. I really look forward to eating them each year. – Rick Polley, Manager/Field Services

My sister and I started making these cookies in our early teens. We made them every year until I moved out of state and got married. We would spend an afternoon rolling out the dough and carefully decorating gingerbread men, women, Christmas trees, stars, etc. with colored sugars, nuts and miniature chocolate chips. One year […]

My children (and now grandchildren) enjoy cutting these out and decorating them. From the time they were little, we would take a day to make these special cookies. We would use everything from colored sugars and sprinkles to forming different decorations out of Starburst candies. – Valerie Cheatham, Assistant Editor, Illinois Country Living

– Mary Zitek, Safety/Education Services Coordinator

My Dad and I shared a love of chocolate. Every year at Christmas he would make several batches of fudge. A lot of it was given away to neighbors, friends and family as gifts, but the rest was fair game. I used to love watching Dad make it and hung around to make sure I […]

My Grandma Barb’s father emigrated from Greece in 1909, and she is half-Greek. As I grew up, one of my favorite foods at Christmas time, and something I still look forward to today, are Grandma’s Greek butter “Crescent Cookies.” – Chris Reynolds, Coordinator of Web Services/Graphic Designer