Category Archives: Waveland

The American Legion Booth DeVries Post 0275 of Prairie City would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to anyone and everybody who had any part in making the Memorial Day observance the huge success it was. This includes anything from putting up and/or taking down the flags, large pole flags and individual grave marker flags, organizing the program, being a participant in the program, use of equipment during the program, as well as all individuals who attended the Memorial Day observance. Without volunteers and people of the community, (we had both) who realize what Memorial Day is all about, this day could very easily become just another holiday to be spent camping, fishing, catching up on lost sleep and other reasons (excuses) for not honoring and respecting Memorial Day as it should be. Lets not let this happen in our community.

Thank you again to all who participated in any way in the Memorial Day observance.

We, the Prairie City American Legion have and do take pride in having a grave marker flag holder for every Veteran interred in Waveland Cemetery. However, there are many reasons why a burial site could be missed when putting out the grave markers. If you know of or see a gravesite of a deceased Veteran who does not have a grave marker flag holder, please contact us at American Legion, Box #42, Prairie City.

The American Legion Booth DeVries Post 0275 of Prairie City would also like to encourage any Veteran, family of Veteran, friend of Veteran or anyone who would like to see a Veterans name engraved in a brick in the Veterans Memorial in the City Park, to contact the Prairie City Lions Club, P. O. Box #76, Prairie City or the Prairie City City Hall for a Veterans Memorial Brick Order Form.

American Legion Booth DeVries Post #0275

Gene Vande Lune

Prairie City

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To the residents of the Prairie City community Newton Daily News - Newton Daily News

Io Maeda | Journal Review

The Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County will have its annual Roll and Stroll on Saturday, beginning at 11 a.m. at the shelter, 1104 Big Four Arch Road. It will be the second year the fundraiser has been held at the shelter. In previous years, the event was hosted at various venues.

This is the first year the event will feature a motorcycle ride as part of the fundraising efforts. Participants will leave the shelter at noon and ride to Raccoon Lake State Recreation area and then return to the shelter. The ride will include two stops, the first at Thirty Six Saloon, a bar and restaurant, and the Waveland Pub on the return trip.

The event also will include food and craft vendors, an animal rescue group called Hedgehog Hannah and an exotic animal show. They are going to bring some different animals for the kids to be able to touch and learn about.

This (the event) is just a great way for the community to come together and show their support for the shelter, said Misha Anderson, AWL director.

Organizers are looking forward to holding the event this year because they were not able to have it last year due to the pandemic. They hope to raise between $8,000 to $10,000 through T-shirts sales and collecting donations during the event.

Proceeds from the event will help the AWL with the daily expenses, such as vet care, food and medication.

Each one of our fundraisers is a huge deal for us, Anderson said. We rely heavily on the support of our community.

The local animal shelter takes in domesticated pets surrendered by their owners as well as stray animals. They will medically treat the animals with vaccinations and spay and neuter them. After the procedure, the animals are ready for adoption.

People can meet the animals to see if they would be a good fit for their families. After their application is approved, they pay an adoption fee and add them to their families. Adoption fees are $125 for dogs and $35 for cats.

For more information about the event or AWL services, call the shelter at 765-362-8846, vist online at https://mcawl.com or connect with them via Facebook.

Read the original here:

'Roll and Stroll' to benefit AWL - Journal Review

The two-run blast hit by Javier Baez in the seventh inning on Wednesday left the bat at 111.4 mph and 20 degrees.

CHICAGO Scorching a lined shot out to left field, Chicago Cubs shortstop Javier Baez provided the North Siders with a 6-1 lead atop the San Diego Padres on Wednesday. The 384-footer landed in the left field bleachers and bounced out of Wrigley Field and onto Waveland Avenue.

Reliever Miguel Diaz gave up the blast, Baez's 14th of the season, on an 85.6-mph changeup. The lined shot put the Cubs up 6-1 in the bottom of the seventh and came after a chopper off the bat of center fielder Ian Happ was misplayed, thus plating second baseman Sergio Alcantara, who led off the bottom of the seventh with a triple. Happ scored as a result of the homer by Baez, who now has 38 RBIs.

Continue reading here:

WATCH: Javier Baez smokes two-run blast that bounces onto Waveland Avenue - CubsHQ

Waveland is a town in Brown Township, Montgomery County, Indiana, United States. The population was 420 at the 2010 census.Waveland was platted by John Milligan in 1835. The settlement began as a resting place at a good spring between Terre Haute and Lafayette, Indiana. After a trading post and post office were established, Milligan developed the surrounding property. By 1850, the town had three general stores, three churches, two inns, two wagon shops and a blacksmith. Waveland was the boyhood home of American Impressionist T. C. Steele. His parents, Samuel and Harriett, moved to the thriving settlement when Steele was five years old, around 1852. Steele's father rented a saddle shop from John Milligan. Young Steele was enrolled in the outstanding Waveland Academy. The Presbyterian Church had recognized the need for higher learning in this community and provided a new brick building for the education of children. Steele family records show that, until 1870, they owned the cottage at 110 Cross Street in Waveland, built on one of Milligan's lots.Waveland is located at 395242N 87235W / 39.87833N 87.04306W / 39.87833; -87.04306 (39.878330, -87.042937).

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Waveland, IN - Waveland, Indiana Map & Directions - MapQuest

LEXINGTONS ULTIMATE 2021 SUMMER GUIDEDid someone say staycation?

Long before a pandemic entered the lexicon and kept everyone at home, Lexington has always been brimming with summer staycation options.

Once again, the city is anything but sleepy this summer.

From live music to movie series and dozens of Fairs and Fests, Lexington has something for everyone, in every neighborhood, nearly every week this summer.

JUN 1 DiMartino, Osland Little Big Band

JUN 8 Marlin McKay Quintet

JUN 15 Tim Lake and the Jazz Blues Persuaders

JUN 22 Ross Whitaker Jazz Trio

JUN 29 Lexington Summer Concert Band *patriotic concert*

JUL 2 The Metrognomes *patriotic concert, special Friday show*

JUL 6 Dan Brock & Friends

JUL 13 Walnut Street Ramblers

JUL 20 Osland/Dailey Jazztet

JUL 27 Ozone

AUG 3 Brass Impact

AUG 10 DiMartino/Osland Jazz Orchestra (DOJO)

AUG 17 Young at Heart Big Band

JUN 3 Seven Shades of Soul

JUN 10 Rae Camp Band

JUN 17 Band New

JUN 24 Miss Tina Fondren & Big Chill

JUL 1 Tim Talbert Project

JUL 8 Honeychild

JUL 15 Benny J & Friends

JUL 29 One Sound Band

JUN 17 Kenny and Amanda Smith

JUN 24 Ida Clare

JUL 8 Alan Bibey and Grasstowne

JUL 15 Blind Ricky

JUL 22 Hammertowne

AUG 19 Custom Made Bluegrass

AUG 26 Blue Eagle Band

SEP 16 Fenced In

SEP 23 Kentucky Wild Horse

JUN 25 Second Hand News

JUL 23 The Other Brothers

AUG 27 Honeychild

SEP 24 C the Beat

JUN 27 The Wooks, Oleika Temple Great Lawn on Southland Drive

JUL 31 Riders in the Sky, 7 pm

SEP 8 John McEuen and the Mclain Family Band, 6:30 pm

Railbird Festival returns to Keeneland for its second festival on Saturday, August 28 and Sunday, August 29.

The inaugural Midway Music Festival: Off the Rails is on Saturday, July 24.

JUN 4 Frozen 2

JUN 11 The Croods 2

JUN 18 Trolls World Tour

JUN 25 Iron Giant

THU JUN 3 The first official funnelcake of the season must traditionally be consumed at the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Country Fair

THU JUN 10 The Bluegrass Fair is June 10 through June 20 at Masterson Station Park. Gates open 5 pm onweekdays & 3 pm on weekends

SAT JUN 12 Franciscos Farm Art Fair in Midway, 10 am

SUN JUN 13 Franciscos Farm Art Fair in Midway, 10 am

CANCELED: Festival of the Bluegrass 2021

JUL 3 Theres no Fourth of July Festival and Parade this year but Lexingtons Fourth of July celebration for this year includes fireworks at 10 pm and a twist on the Patriotic Concert

JUL 9-11 Berea Craft Festival in downtown Berea. Friday/Saturday 10am-6pm; Sunday 10am-5pm

JUL 16-18 BreyerFest 2021 (virtual event, no in-person event/activities at Kentucky Horse Park)

SUN JUL 18 Diamond RIngs & Pretty Things Wedding Show, 11am-4pm, Central Bank Center

AUG 21 & 22 Woodland Art Fair, Woodland Park

SEP 10-12 Festival of the Horse, downtown Georgetown. Fri 4pm10pm; Sat 11am10pm, Sun 11am5pm

SEP 11-12 Waveland Art Fair, Sat 10am-5pm; Sun 11am-5 pm

The perennially popular Down to Earth Plant sale hosted in May by the Down to Earth Garden Club at the Woodland Christian Church, was CANCELED for 2021 and hopes to return in May of 2022

CANCELED: Kenwick Bungalow Tour

JUN 3 Lexingtons Chapter of Wild Ones presents Hummingbirds at Pollinators, 6:30 pm, St. Michaels Church at Bellefonte

JUN 22 Fayette County Extension Office Gardening Workshops hosts Fall Blooming Perennials. Check ahead to see if the workshop is virtual or in-person. Visit fayette.ca.uky.edu and click the Upcoming Events tab

JUN 26 AND JUN 27 For the 2021 Open Gates to Bluegrass Living Garden Tour, Lexington Council Garden Clubs will host a self-guided tour of eight carefully curated Lexington gardens. This years participants include gardens on Sallee Drive, Meadowbrook Drive, Blenheim Drive, Kingsway, Hart Road, and Walton Avenue. Attendees may also tour the community garden at Ashland Terrace, located at 475 S. Ashland Ave. 1-5 pm both days

JULY 31 The Bluegrass Iris Society hosts their annual club fundraiser Iris Sale, 10 am, the lower level of Lexington Green (They always sell out early. Trust us.)

AUG 5 Wild Ones Picnic, 6:30 pm, Unitarian Universalist Church at 3564 Clays Mill Road

JUN 26 Paint the Town 2021. Artists will spend the day painting cityscapes throughout downtown Lexington

JUN 27 JUL 17 Kentucky Performing Arts announced Governors School for the Arts (GSA) returns to in-person and traditional instruction at the University of Kentucky this summer

AUG 3-8 Ballet Under the Stars, Woodland Park

SAT AUG 14 Picnic with the Pops

SEP 16-19 An abbreviated version of the typical 10-day Chamber Music Festival of Lexington returns

JUN 5 Lexington Humane Societys Mutt Strut, 8 am, Keeneland

JUN 5 North Lime Donut Dash 3K, 8 am, Wellington Park

JUN 12 Run for the Nun, 8 am, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

JUN 19 27 The Hundred Acre 5K (virtual)

JUN 19 Wild Hearts Fun Run Superhero 5K & 10K, 8 am, Keeneland

JUN 26 No Greater Honor 5K, 8 am, Keeneland

JUN 26 RJ Corman 5K, 8 am, Wilmore downtown

JUL 2-4 Virtual Great Buffalo Chase 5K

JUL 3 Bluegrass 10,000, 8 am, downtown Lexington

JUL 9 Distillery Dash 5k/10k, 7 pm, Masterson Station Park

JUL 16 Crank & Boom Sprint for Scoops 3K, 7:30 pm, Wellington Park

JUL 16-18 BreyerFest 5K Virtual Run/Walk

JUL 24 Christmas in July 6K, 8 am, Coldstream Research Park

JUL 24 Shepherds House Run For Recovery, 8 am, Keeneland

JUL 30 Radler Rush Cross Country 5k/10k, 7 pm, Masterson Station Park

AUG 14 Midsummer Nights Run, 7:30 pm, downtown Lexington

AUG 21 DV8K Life Changing Run, 8 am, Keeneland

AUG 22 Kids Triathlon, 7:30 am, Beaumont YMCA

AUG 27 Cabernet Canter Cross Country 5k/10k, 7 pm, Talon Winery

AUG 27 Cupcake Classic 3K, 7:30pm, Wellington Park

MAY 29 Aquatic Centers at Southland, Tates Creek, Woodland, and Castlewood open

JUN 5 Pools at Shillito and Douglass open

The spraygrounds at Masterson Station Park and Jacobson Park are already open daily, and the Jacobson boat dock is open on the weekends

THU JUL 22 SUN AUG 1 Lexington Restaurant Week

THU JUN 17 SUN JUN 27 SoulFest Week

SAT AUG 7 Kentucky Wine & Vine Festival

Original post:

Lexington, Kentucky Summer Guide 2021: Fests, Music, Movies and More - Ace Weekly

LAKEVIEW Outdoor dining is returning to the Southport Corridor this weekend as part of the citys efforts to continue offering safe, outdoor dining options for neighbors this summer.

Dine Out on Southport will close the stretch of Southport Avenue from Waveland Avenue to Grace Street so restaurants can expand their capacity by setting up tables in the street, according to the Lakeview Roscoe Village Chamber of Commerce. The first weekend of the program will happen this Friday through Sunday.

Were super excited to bring this program back after it was such a huge help to our businesses last year, especially the restaurants on the corridor, said Carisa Marconet, events and marketing director for the chamber.

Dine Out on Southport will continue periodically throughout the summer. The full schedule:

Marconet said the program will provide a much-needed boon to restaurants in the neighborhood, which have struggled over the past year with closures and indoor capacity limits brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Being able to eat outside in such a safe environment will bring more customers to the restaurants, Marconet said. Expanding their capacity onto the street is huge for them and allows them to hire more staff and bounce back.

Dine Out Southport will welcome new restaurants to the program this weekend, including Steingolds, a modern Jewish deli that relocated to 3737 N. Southport Ave. earlier this year.

Other participating restaurants:

Two other outdoor dining programs returned to Lakeview last weekend and will be open again this weekend for visitors to enjoy.

The Dine Out on Broadway and Dine Out on Sheffield programs are returning Friday through Sunday, closing Broadway from Belmont to Wellington avenues and Sheffield Avenue from Belmont to School Street so restaurants can serve diners in the street, according to the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce.

The street closures will be in effect 3-11 p.m. select Fridays, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays.

The street closures will run throughout the summer:

Last summer, outdoor dining programs helped restaurants, which have struggled with closures and indoor capacity limits during the coronavirus pandemic.

The outdoor dining programs will give businesses a chance to catch up on finances and provide outdoor serving space for restaurants that dont have patios, according to the chamber.

More information on the Dine Out programs, including their participating restaurants, can be found on the Lakeview East Chamberswebsite.

Jake Wittich is aReport for Americacorps member covering Lakeview, Lincoln Park and LGBTQ communities across the city for Block Club Chicago.

Subscribe to Block Club Chicago.Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicagos neighborhoods.

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Open Street Dining Returns To Lakeview This Weekend. Here's Where You Can Eat - Block Club Chicago

I dont know how much emotional meandering people are into before Jon Lester and Kyle Schwarber make their return to Wrigley Field tonight, but for me, I was curious about all of it. I wanted to hear what they were saying, to know what the Cubs were thinking, and to be honest to see how Ill feel when they actually take the field.

I gotta wait for tonight on that last part, but in the meantime, some of the comments flying before the game, and some of the fun:

Lester wants a perfect game with 27 strikeouts, naturally:

Take him down, Dave:

In all seriousness, if there are any little secret, subtle tricks that have heretofore remained undiscovered, Ross and the Cubs are gonna know how to exploit them

A couple of former teammates honored Lester before the game in their own fun way:

Pre-game hugs:

The Cubs will pay tribute to Lester and Schwarber on the video board, I expect, and in the meantime, you can remember this moment:

Pod hit on this stuff today, too:

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More From the Friends Becoming Rivals Tonight: Smack Talk, Perfect Game, Game-Planning, More - bleachernation.com

You can bet that the lobbyists and fans of partisan gridlock are cheering, tinkling their glasses and grinning like a mule eating briars after the Mississippi Supreme Court gutted the initiative and referendum process May 21.

Yes, the high court struck down the medical marijuana initiative that over 74 percent of Mississippi voters approved last November, but the stench of death to the ability of We the People to bypass the sometimes overweening power of lobbyists and special interests to have our priorities addressed on the ballot is the offense that should linger long in the nostrils of the people of Mississippi, Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike.

The ability of regular, everyday Mississippians to put in the sweat and shoe leather to gather signatures of registered voters, navigate an approval process for ballot language, attend public hearings and then have an issue placed on the ballot for an up or down vote has been not only a backstop against bad government actions, but a constitutionally protected bypass around, through and over a political system that has failed them many times. In some cases, its been their only way to get something done without the need to kiss the ring of the powerful.

The late Speaker of the House Billy McCoy once spoke of the vested interests that clog the halls of the Capitol each day and then famously invited citizens who didnt believe that was the case to just come and take a look. I think in our gut, we know he was right. In my time in office, the undue influence of lobbyists has made my stomach churn. From Walnut to Waveland and from Natchez to my hometown of Nettleton, Mississippians have been disenchanted with a decades and decades old system that shut them out and favored the well connected.

Mississippians have gathered signatures, placed issues on the ballot and seen them fail after a robust public debate, but the right to do so has always been sacred. Years ago, when some elites in Jackson favored allowing the government to be able to use eminent domain to take your private property from you and then give it to a private developer, Mississippians came together and put a stop to that foolishness through the very system that now is laying corpse thanks to the courts ruling and legislative inaction.

Whether the insiders believe it or not, Mississippians listen to these debates and study these issues. Getting the signatures and going through the process doesnt exactly guarantee passage of the amendment, but there has, up until Friday, always been that avenue for the people.

While the medical marijuana initiative was the measure struck down by the Supreme Court, I hope that Mississippians see the greater threat of their voices being muzzled, discarded and locked out of the process, if the initiative and referendum process isnt fixed by the Legislature. At the heart of the problem is the old language referencing gathering signatures from five congressional districts across the state when, in 2021, we only have four thanks to consistent population loss. That seems like a one word fix to me.

Make no mistake about it, unless the existing laws are changed, you will not have the right to gather signatures and effect your state government through the initiative and referendum process anymore. From what Ive read and heard, there seems to exist broad support among legislators to restore this right to the people and fix this problem.

Gov. Tate Reeves should immediately call a special session of the legislature to do just that. Why wait? With the change of one word in one hour, the legislature could restore the peoples power. Gov. Reeves should get that ball rolling today by calling a special session.

PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSIONER BRANDON PRESLEY represents the 33 counties of North Mississippi.

Originally posted here:

Reeves should call special session to restore ballot initiative rights - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

If those six days in May at Wrigley Field were a dream, Mark McGill didnt want to wake up.

It all was too good. It all was too real.

It was the dream McGill first lived as a kid in south-suburban Dolton, Ill. When it comes to baseball allegiances around Chicago, the dividing line is clear. Live to the North? Root for the Cubs. South side your home? White Sox are your team. McGill bucked those boundaries and his south-side roots to choose Dave Kingman and Bill Buckner and everything else about Clark and Addison.

A love for the Cubs runs deep in the McGill family. It was in his blood, and had been since the first time McGills mother put him on a Metra train at the Ivanhoe station with instructions not to exit until it arrived at the Randolph Street (now Millennium) station. Waiting there would be McGills father, Jim, who worked in the city and whose employer owned Cubs season tickets. The two would hustle over to the Red Line, and ride the El to Addison Street.

That's where Wrigley Field stands. It beckoned McGill to step inside and lose himself in baseball for a few hours.

The 53-year-old McGill cant remember the opponent for that first game he attended at age 8, but he does remember everything around it. Like making that climb up the steep concourse stairs into the grandstand and the panorama of Wrigley the green grass, the greener ivy, the bang/echo of the metal boxes the food vendors carried. The crack of the bat. The catch of the ball.

Just the smell of summer, of baseball, of perfection.

When you first see Wrigley Field, theres always this energy, this excitement, McGill said. It's like a dreamland."

McGill recently was back at Wrigley. The grass and the ivy still looked so green. The crack of the bat and the catch of the ball still sounded the same. The buzz of the ballpark still so alive. It looked and felt just like it had in the countless times McGill had been there as a fan. Only this time, McGill stepped into the stadium as a Cubs employee with one of the best seats in the old house.

What a week, he said. It was just crazy.

Wheels in motion

In March, McGill learned that Andrew Belleson was leaving after 10 seasons as the Wrigley Field public address announcer. A former morning radio show host in South Bend and current on-field/in-game emcee for the South Bend Cubs, McGill is no stranger to a microphone or an audience or public speaking or baseball.

Open auditions were held for a new P.A. voice, so McGill tapped a text to South Bend Cubs owner Andrew Berlin, also a minority owner of the parent club.

If they need any help...Im there for you.

Having seen McGill work at Four Winds Field, Berlin believed McGill was perfect for the P.A. job.

He is naturally out-going; hes got a genuine, warm heart and a good soul, Berlin said. Hes got that beautiful voice and clear enunciation. Hes just a positive guy. For Wrigley, hes terrific for the culture.

A backing from Berlin and a few more calls and correspondence set everything in motion. The Cubs brought in McGill for a March tryout. The club had Aprils home games staffed, but the first two series in May against the defending World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates were open.

There also was a chance that it wouldnt proceed any further than McGills run-through in an empty stadium. Taking nothing for granted, and leaving less to chance, McGill treated his first run as his only run.

I drove in that day telling myself, Just soak it in, enjoy the moment, McGill said. I was going to be in the P.A. booth at Wrigley Field for three hours. It's a Chicago kid's dream to be in that booth. I didnt know if anything else would happen from there.

Something happened. The Cubs called and offered McGill those six games in early May three against the Dodgers, three against the Pirates. McGill took little time to decide. As the fill-in, he was all in.

I just thought, Man, Im the luckiest guy alive, McGill said. Think of all the people that would want to do one game in that stadium.

Most likely wouldnt have as long of a commute as McGill. He knows the exact number of miles (101) it takes from his Mishawaka home to the employee parking lot north of the ballpark. He followed his go-to route the Toll Road to the Chicago Skyway, then to Stony Island and Lake Shore Drive. Exit the Drive at Belmont, head west to Broadway, then north on Broadway.

A left onto Addison brings Wrigley's exterior and light towers into view for the first time. Each time, McGill felt like that 8-year-old getting off the El with his dad.

Fueled by all that adrenaline, McGill made that drive several times last week. Couple nights, he stayed at his mothers home in Chicago to cut down the commute. He often arrived at the park way early, but didnt have to wait until the gates opened to the public. Hed get to the booth and enjoy the silence. He'd sit and look around and remind himself that it wasn't a dream.

A Saturday surprise

McGills first game a Monday contest against the Dodgers was rained out, which meant a Tuesday doubleheader. Games on Wednesday and Friday followed the same script get to the employee lot early, make the walk to the ballpark, go in and go to work. He walked the same ramps from the concourse to the upper deck that he once ran as a kid. When he reached the top, hed show his employee badge to security outside the P.A. booth. Theyd say Have a good game, Mark!

It was like, Who am I right now? McGill said. There were so many outer-body experiences and crazy moments.

Like that Saturday morning after McGill had settled on a gameday routine. That morning on his walk down Waveland, McGill turned to head into the ballpark and noticed a woman in her mid-20s with a colorful sign.

Came All The Way From Wilmington, North Carolina for the P.A. Announcer.

Holding the sign was McGills daughter, Madison, who caught a 6 a.m. flight that day to be there. She attended that afternoon game with her sister, Kennedy, and McGills wife, Julie. Just when McGill thought his week couldnt get any better, it did. It took a minute for McGill to process seeing his daughter there. Seeing both of them. Seeing his wife.

When youre shockingly surprised, your mind cant catch up, he said. I just couldnt figure out what was going on.

McGill had no such issues when it was time to work. When he learned hed be doing those two series, McGill raced to MLB.com to study the visiting teams rosters. No names were going to trip him. Pittsburgh outfielder Kaai Tom was a bit tricky, but McGill had that one down by the end of the weekend.

As much as the place means to him like, everything he put it all aside and was the P.A. announcer.

I was doing the job and tried not to get caught up in all that it was, he said. It wouldve messed with my head.

At times, it did. Perched in the P.A. booth, McGill would breathe it all in the center field scoreboard, Lake Michigan in the distance, his favorite team on the field. The atmosphere. The energy. The everything.

Occasionally, McGills gaze would drift toward the stadium's first-base side and a section seven rows behind the visitors dugout. Thats where his fathers season tickets were located. Thats where McGill fell hard for the Cubs, fell hard for Wrigley, first had that true connection with his father, who died in 2018 at age 78.

I thought of him every single day, said McGill, who even carried a picture of his father into the P.A. booth. I know my dad was with me."

Current pandemic protocols mean limited attendance at Wrigley. Fans sit scattered around the ballpark in odd groupings of sections and rows. McGill looked out at those seats seven rows behind the visitors dugout each of the six games. They remained empty for the entire home stand.

I took that as a sign, he said. It just made it even more special."

Whats next?

Mothers Day was McGills last scheduled day of Wrigley work. The last batter he introduced was Cubs shortstop Javy Baez, who grounded out in a 6-5 loss. It was the only game the Cubs didnt win during McGills run.

Following that game, there was one final commute home to Indiana. McGill needed the next day to decompress. He didnt sleep much the previous seven, then snagged 10 solid hours. Not only did he catch up on his sleep, McGill finally caught his breath. The job never really felt like one.

The magic was there from start to finish, he said.

Theres a chance that McGill might not work another game this year. Theres also a chance that he might get a call or two or three in June and July and August. The Cubs dont have a firm plan on a permanent P.A. announcer, something that McGill might have to consider. Given the roots hes planted in Michiana, it would be a tough sell.

McGill serves as director of community engagement for A Rosie Place for Children, a licensed hospital for medically fragile children in South Bend. He works part time at WSBT Radio. Hes still on-field emcee at Four Winds. Every employer gave him the time and space and days off needed to make his Wrigley gig work. They knew what it meant to him.

If an offer for McGill to be the permanent P.A. voice surfaces, Berlin may give him a nudge.

We love having him (at Four Winds) but I have to be loyal to the man first before Im loyal to my own company, Berlin said. Ill support him in that journey.

The first day of May also saw McGill serve as fill-in color radio commentator for Notre Dames annual spring football game. He kept thinking that in 48 hours, hed be at Wrigley Field. Working two historic sports venues in three days? How cool was that?

None of it seemed real, McGill said. Im really a lucky, blessed man to have the support that I have and the family that I have and the friends that I have and the opportunities that I have.

It was just an honor.

See the original post:

Mishawaka's Mark McGill went all in on fill-in role as announcer at Wrigley Field - South Bend Tribune

You can bet that the lobbyists and fans of partisan gridlock are cheering, tinkling their glasses and grinning like a mule eating briars after the Mississippi Supreme Court gutted the initiative and referendum process on Friday.

Yes, the high court struck down the medical marijuana initiative that over 73% of Mississippi voters approved last November, but the stench of death to the ability of We the People to bypass the sometimes overweening power of lobbyists and special interests to have our priorities addressed on the ballot is the offense that should linger long in the nostrils of the people of Mississippi, Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike.

The ability of regular, everyday Mississippians to put in the sweat and shoe leather to gather signatures of registered voters, navigate an approval process for ballot language, attend public hearings and then have an issue placed on the ballot for an up or down vote has been not only a backstop against bad government actions but a constitutionally protected bypass around, through and over a political system that has failed them many times.

In some cases, its been their only way to get something done without the need to kiss the ring of the powerful.

The late Speaker of the House Billy McCoy once spoke of the vested interests that clog the halls of the Capitol each day and then famously invited citizens who didnt believe that was the case to just come and take a look. I think in our gut, we know he was right. In my time in office, the undue influence of lobbyists has made my stomach churn. From Walnut to Waveland and from Natchez to my hometown of Nettleton, Mississippians have been disenchanted with a decades and decades old system that shut them out and favored the well connected.

Mississippians have gathered signatures, placed issues on the ballot and seen them fail after a robust public debate, but the right to do so has always been sacred. Years ago, when some elites in Jackson favored allowing the government to be able to use eminent domain to take your private property from you and then give it to a private developer, Mississippians came together and put to stop to that foolishness through the very system that now is laying corpse thanks to the courts ruling and legislative inaction.

Whether the insiders believe it or not, Mississippians listen to these debates and study these issues. Getting the signatures and going through the process doesnt exactly guarantee passage of the amendment, but there has, up until Friday, always been that avenue for the people.

While the medical marijuana initiative was the measure struck down by the Supreme Court, I hope that Mississippians see the greater threat of their voices being muzzled, discarded and locked out of the process, if the initiative and referendum process isnt fixed by the Legislature. At the heart of the problem is the old language referencing gathering signatures from five congressional districts across the state when, in 2021, we only have four thanks to consistent population loss. That seems like a one-word fix to me.

Make no mistake about it, unless the existing laws are changed you will not have the right to gather signatures and effect your state government through the initiative and referendum process anymore. From what Ive read and heard, there seems to exist broad support among Legislators to restore this right to the people and fix this problem.

Gov. Tate Reeves should immediately call a special session of the Legislature to do just that. Why wait? With the change of one word in one hour the Legislature could restore the peoples power. Reeves should get that ball rolling today by calling a special session.

The rest is here:

BRANDON PRESLEY: Legislature could restore initiative process with one-word change in special session - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal