Story Round-Up: Features in The Herald-News, March 10 through March 15

Proof copy for the third installment of Before the Blood arrived last night!

Two typos found in chapter one with more I'm sure to weed out before the weekend is done.

Last night, I stopped into the Book and Bean Cafe in Joliet for a reception for the two featured artists, both members of WriteOn Joliet. If you live in the area and have a chance to stop, please do!

The owner is cheery, the is coffee terrific, and the art (photography, mostly) is phenomenal.

Have a wonderful Friday, readers, writers, and vampire fans!

Non-bylined features:

Monday through Saturday I assembled my non-bylined works - brief posts and calendar listings - into one convenient file and posting them on Facebook in the evening, so readers can easily choose the ones they want to read.

One can also find those event listings, the Gotta Do It calendar, as well as the pets, health, faith, and arts and entertainment calendars, under the sections tab on the left hand side of http://www.theherald-news.com/. Click on "features" and the topics drop down.  Gotta Do It runs under "people."

Community news? Again, under the sections tab, under features, and by topic. Updates are posted on these days in print and web (and some only on web on other days as I have the time): Monday (pets), Tuesday (health), Thursday (faith), Friday (arts and entertainment), and Sunday (people).

 Social media:

Daily updates: I do post the briefs and calendars on Twitter during the week, so you're welcome to follow me at @Denise_Unland61.

BryonySeries stuff: I post curated content relating to the BryonySeries at @BryonySeries. And assorted related content at www.facebook.com/BryonySeries. And of course, please follow the adventures of Bertrand the Mouse on Instagram at bertrand_bryonyseries.

If you're a writer anywhere in the world, you're welcome to jon WriteOn Joliet's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/writeonminooka/?ref=bookmarks. We're based in Joliet, Illinois, but we love to meet and interact with writers outside our area, too.

Upcoming events:

These are listed here: https://www.bryonyseries.com/fetes-and-feasts.

Books and Such

Information on my books (including where to buy) along with upcoming events is at www.bryonyseries.com.

Thank you for reading The Herald-News. And for reading this blog. And if you've read (or plan to read) any of my books. Your support is greatly appreciated.

These boots were made for Woodie

Joliet Junior College students creating prosthetic paws for a dog who's missing two

During the meetings with Woodie and the Grelcks, Christina Bunde discussed with them their goals for Woodie's future and their expectations from the prosthesis. Once Bunde had that information, she began experimenting with designs and materials.

https://www.theherald-news.com/lists/2019/03/07/3f0ae2687c1243fe9b3c8835b7b33f9f/index.xml

Plainfield doctor cared for the very poor
Dr. Imran Qureshi performed medical relief in Bangladesh

Qureshi said: "The Rohingya people, for all the losses that they’ve endured and deaths that they’ve suffered, are incredibly resilient people. It’s inspiring to see their strength, given what they’ve gone through, and its quite humbling. And, as I’ve mentioned before, this grounds us in our own reality. as well. It makes us incredibly thankful for what we have back home."

https://www.theherald-news.com/lists/2019/03/05/b2efb9e165544055a356e9e657cb95e0/index.xml


Joliet Junior College chef achieves his lifetime dream
Timothy Bucci is now a certified master chef

Bucci said, "I felt the judges were all very supportive. They want you to do well. They want you to pass. But you have to take the information they're giving you and adopt it the next day. If you take something personally, it isn't going to end up well for you."

https://www.theherald-news.com/lists/2019/03/12/2c7ca8a338e54ce6976d0c2620671874/index.xml


Bacon and Cheddar Irish soda bread? You bet! 

Bacon, cheddar cheese and green onion add a hearty taste to traditional soda bread.

https://www.theherald-news.com/lists/2019/03/13/9f8e66ac84d34592b1e857021c69ce84/index.xml


Adding Guinness makes Irish soda bread even more Irish

This makes a dense loaf, similar to pumpernickel, but moister and sweeter.

https://www.theherald-news.com/lists/2019/03/13/2a9f1d61cf8341969bbbce32eb71ac0e/index.xml


Make traditional Irish soda bread with or without raisins

We made our favorite recipe (without) and then changed it up.

https://www.theherald-news.com/lists/2019/03/13/cb0c02ad89c34ce088b0bb9dfcdaf81a/index.xml


A community celebration of art
Artworks 2019 will include exhibits, demonstrations and performances 

This fine arts festival, which takes place at Lincoln-Way East High School, will include 900 pieces of student art, kindergarten through grade 12; performances by school choirs, youth strings and jazz combos; and art demonstrations and workshops.

https://www.theherald-news.com/lists/2019/03/12/6b8f346579aa4632a8b612a164920378/index.xml


Artworks: From dog hair to paper filigree 
Lemont fiber artist will demonstrate the ancient art of quilling 

"I thought, 'What can't you buy at K-Mart? Well, you can't buy dog hair spun into yarn at K-mart,'" Betty Burian Kirk said.

https://www.theherald-news.com/lists/2019/03/12/62c5738120a347a3abae15ea6db486e9/index.xml


LocalLit book spotlight: The Heart's Bone' by Jennifer Russ

Not many authors can tackle such an edgy topic and do it well.

https://www.theherald-news.com/lists/2019/03/12/63ca53eb0c6d4270bcff1d7dafde748e/index.xml

Illustration by Matt Coundiff for "Visage." Follow him at www.facebook.com/artbymattcoundiff

Story Round-Up: Features in The Herald-News, Feb. 5 through Feb. 10

Okay.

I'm sure I'm sounding like a hiccuping record: a busy week going into a packed Friday and moving into a working weekend.

I'm covering two events today and members of a coin club are coming into the office this afternoon. I have my Sunday cover to finish, my Sunday pages to fill, extra social media today because our associate editor is gone for the day, two interviews before 10 a.m...and I'm sure I'm missing something...

Next week should bring some relief.

One of my sons is tentatively scheduled for surgery on Monday, so that will be a lighter work day. And I'm off on Friday, ready to embark on a fiction writing marathon. And if my muse is slow to engage, I have WriteOn Joliet on Thursday night and my monthly fiction writer workshop on Friday night. so there!

Note: For the story about Joliet Junior College's culinary competition, I uploaded one video clip to The Herald-News site and five additional videos to the Joliet Facebook site, which I moderate. Four are about five minutes in length and show each JJC team member's skills portion of competition. The fifth is longer, about five minutes, and contains highlight from the actual cooking part of the competition.

If you don't belong to Joliet Connect, message the page or send me an email at bryonyseries@gmail.com, and I will add you.

And now onto the stories...

First, the non-bylined work: the health, faith, and arts and entertainment calendars. Three of them can be found at the link below. http://www.theherald-news.com/lifestyle/ Gotta Do It, runs each Sunday and often stays on the home page throughout the week.

Feature briefs for Tuesday (health), Thursday (faith), Friday (Arts and Entertainment), and Sunday (People) are also edited (texted and photos) by the lady of this blog, but only the stories have bylines.

Another option: I do post the briefs and calendars on Twitter during the week, so you're welcome to follow me at @Denise_Unland61. And of course, I post curated content relating to the BryonySeries at @BryonySeries.

Just an FYI: On free days, holidays, and Sundays I'm not on call, I only post the blog to my "real" Twitter account, as my company insists we do take time off. I'm less reasonable, so unless I'm on a real vacation, I still post to the BryonySeries accounts.

FYI: videos have not been attaching to my Herald-News stories, although they do run for a time on the home page. You may also find them under the "videos" tab.

If you'd like to watch a video, and it's not showing up for you, message me, and I'll manually attach it. No worries for this week, though, although I will have videos for Sunday.

Thank you for reading The Herald-News.

Joliet Junior College hosts culinary regionals, comes in second   (VIDEO EXTRA)

JJC wins gold medal, second place in regional culinary competition

Michael McGreal, JJC culinary arts department chairman, said that judges said the food was some of the best they’ve tasted, and the student’s floor skills – the way they worked as a unit – were flawless.

“I’m extremely proud of them,” McGreal said.

http://www.theherald-news.com/2017/02/04/joliet-junior-college-hosts-culinary-regionals-comes-in-second/a7zklgb/

Joliet area residents meet monthly to discuss abolishing income tax (VIDEO EXTRA)

Local group supports Fair Tax Act of 2017

“If the Fair Tax bill law came in today, at your next pay period you would have 23 percent more money.  It’s oversimplifying, but it’s that simple,” said Jan Nahorski of Joliet. “People would now be able to save up for a down payment on their house quicker, be able to save up to buy that newer vehicle and be able to pay off old debts faster. That’s money in our pocket.”

http://www.theherald-news.com/2017/02/03/joliet-area-residents-meet-monthly-to-discuss-abolishing-income-tax/aav1a62/

An Extraordinary Life: Minooka area priest served the Diocese of Joliet's Deaf Apostolate Ministry

The Rev. Mark Fracaro loved theater, but loved serving people more

“You could feel there was something more than a human touch there,” said Rev. Lee Bacchi, chaplain at St. Edward Hospital in Naperville, who considered himself Fracaro’s best friend. “There was a grace working through him. God’s grace was working through him. He was just so good; he was someone you could count on.”

http://www.theherald-news.com/2017/02/04/an-extraordinary-life-minooka-area-priest-served-the-diocese-of-joliets-deaf-apostolate-ministry/ag3uh4/

Plainfield preschooler battling kidney tumor (VIDEO EXTRA)

Wilms tumor the most common kidney tumor in children ages 3 and 4

The tumor had grown into Brooklyn’s inferior vena cava, a main vein that supplies blood from the lower half of the body to the heart, Amy Rauen said.

http://www.theherald-news.com/2017/01/31/plainfield-preschooler-battling-kidney-tumor/ae8egi8/

Mystery Diner: Plainfield's Katie O'Connor's has wide array of Irish options

The wings were good, not doused with sauce, but enough to make your hands messy. I vowed to used just one hand in this meal and I held true to it. The bartender saw I was a mess quickly and helped out with an extra stack of napkins as I sipped on a Lagunitas Sumpin Sumpin Ale, an IPA.

http://www.theherald-news.com/2017/01/06/mystery-diner-plainfields-katie-oconnors-has-wide-array-of-irish-options/a6rl32m/

Community invited to Bolingbrook mosque for tour, presentation and 'some nice ethnic food'

Muslim Association of Bolingbrook to host open house Feb. 18

Dr. Sabeel Ahmed is the director of Gain Peace, an outreach division within the Islamic Circle of North America. He said the open house will consist of a tour of the mosque with an opportunity to watch how Muslims pray, using chants, bows and prostrations.

http://www.theherald-news.com/2017/02/08/community-invited-to-bolingbrook-mosque-for-tour-presentation-and-some-nice-ethnic-food/aopez27/

Joliet chapter of beer can collectibles to host show on Feb. 12

Camaraderie half the fun for beer can enthusiasts

“One group of guys coming down from South Bend deal in cans,” William Novak said. “They have cans in the $1,000 range for one can.”

http://www.theherald-news.com/2017/02/08/joliet-chapter-of-beer-can-collectibles-to-host-show-on-feb-12/aeyl9tb/