Read more about the article Slices of Life: Area families struggle to find life after a soldier’s deathRobin Scholz /The News-Gazette
Robin Scholz /The News-Gazette connie Bickers sheds tears at the memorial she has built in the front yard of their home in rural St. Joe on Thursday, May 15, 2008.

Slices of Life: Area families struggle to find life after a soldier’s death

By Jonathan Jacobson -- Connie Bickers gave me simple directions to her house in St. Joseph, but the country roads in central Illinois all…

Continue ReadingSlices of Life: Area families struggle to find life after a soldier’s death
Read more about the article Slices of Life: Never give up: The constant message at Restoration Urban MinistriesBradley Leeb/The News-Gazette
Pastor Ervin Williams of Urban Restoration Ministries poses for a portrait in the main sanctuary.

Slices of Life: Never give up: The constant message at Restoration Urban Ministries

By Candice Norwood -- The Rev. Ervin Williams loves Sunday night, the rare time when he can stop, relax and listen. As the founder…

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Read more about the article Slices of Life: Dave’s Firearms is a place for camaraderie — and camouflageDarrell Hoemann/The News-Gazette
Dave Costley tries to get Gus to quiet down at Dave's Guns in Mayview on Thursday, June 6, 2013.

Slices of Life: Dave’s Firearms is a place for camaraderie — and camouflage

By Gabrielle Irvin -- The sooty, unpolished wood floor in Dave's Firearms hasn't been refinished in years. Laid with random planks of different widths…

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Read more about the article Shadow Wood Mobile Home Park computer lab celebrates “El Dia Del Nino”Darrell Hoemann/CU-CitizenAccess.org
Children try to break a piñata as part of a Children's Day party at Bristol Park in Champaign on April 30, 2014.

Shadow Wood Mobile Home Park computer lab celebrates “El Dia Del Nino”

Giovanna Olea works for CU-CitizenAccess.org as a community ambassador in a computer lab at Shadow Wood Mobile Home Park. CU-CitizenAccess.org has opened and operated a computer…

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Read more about the article Champaign seeks to expand online services for neighborhoodsDarrell Hoemann
Colleen Madera with the revised city of Champaign Neighborhood Services web site at city hall in Champaign on Thursday, February 5, 2015.

Champaign seeks to expand online services for neighborhoods

The city of Champaign's Neighborhood Services Department says it is close to completion on an upgrade of its website to create an interactive, social forum for community groups.

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Slices of Life: Entrepreneur has spent much of his adult life belying a label from his high school days

By Phil Johnson/For The News-Gazette -- Cutting hair in the barbershop no one ever expected him to own, Seon Williams entertains in frenzied, fluid…

Continue ReadingSlices of Life: Entrepreneur has spent much of his adult life belying a label from his high school days