Stories from Saturday, December 4, 2010

The legacy of E. Joy Roberts lives on. In the early 1920s, the Spencer man collected broken toys, fixed them and distributed them to local youth who otherwise may not have had a gift to unwrap on Christmas. Spencer Jaycees took over for Roberts in the 1930s...

Funeral service for Margaret Zinn will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 4, 2010, at Hartley Funeral Home Chapel in Hartley. Rev. Chuck Kellogg will officiate the service. Interment will take place at Pleasant View Cemetery in Hartley. Margaret Helen (Gould) Zinn the daughter of George and Mary (Elder) Gould was born in Spencer, Ia. on March 6, 1926. She grew up in the rural Spencer area and attended Spencer Public School and graduated in 1943...

Funeral services for Mr. Mark Muckey, 47 of Spencer will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 4, 2010, at First Baptist Church in Spencer. Rev. Matthew Winslow will officiate the service. Visitation will begin after noon on Friday, with the family present from 6-8 p.m. at the funeral home...

Spencer Main Street is celebrating its 24th annual Grand Meander from 6-8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 6, in downtown Spencer. In addition to the 11th annual TubaChristmas performances - featuring all brass instruments - at 6 p.m. at Bogenrief Studios and at 6:45 p.m. at Midwest Piano, several live window displays will be featured in select downtown business locations along Grand Avenue. The windows will feature carolers, dancers, the Journey to Bethlehem as well as winter and holiday safety tips for pets...

Former talk show host and U.S. Navy officer Montel Williams met with members of the Illinois House of Representatives this week to urge them to vote in favor of SB1381, a bill that would make Illinois the 16th state in the nation to allow chronically-ill patients to use marijuana with the recommendation of their doctor. ...

One Man's Perspective Like many of the service clubs in the community - the Kiwanis, Jaycees, Rotary, and on and on - the spirit of giving really comes out during the holiday. These agencies perform acts of service year round - thus the title "service club" - but for the Dream Center, this is really its first opportunity to reach out during the Christmas season...