Spring into Action this Sunday to Change and Test the Batteries in Your Smoke Alarm

CHICAGO – Clocks are springing forward one hour this weekend and the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) is urging Illinoisans to take a few extra minutes to change and test the batteries in their smoke alarms.

“Daylight Savings Time is a great built-in reminder for us all to check that our smoke alarms are working in case of emergency,” said State Fire Marshal Matt Perez.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports that between 2009 and 2013 three in five home fire deaths occurred in homes that either did not have smoke alarms or the alarms did not work. More than half of the non-working smoke alarms either had missing or disconnected batteries. Dead batteries caused nearly a quarter of smoke alarm failures.

Illinois law requires every household to have smoke alarms within 15 feet of every bedroom and at least one alarm on each floor of the home.

The NFPA provides the following tips for installation and maintenance of smoke alarms:

• Install alarms close to each sleeping area of the house and on every level of the house. Ensure that the alarms are interconnected so when one sounds, they all do.
• Change alarm batteries at least twice a year. Daylight Savings Time is a reminder to “Change your Clock, Change your Batteries.”
• Test alarms at least once a month.
• Replace all smoke alarms when they are ten years old.
• Closed doors may slow the spread of smoke.
• Smoke alarms should be a part of a larger home escape plan for emergencies. Visit the NFPA website for more information on home escape planning.

Daylight Savings Time is this Sunday, March 11.

For more information on fire safety and prevention, please visit OSFM’s website.

By Pete Rosenbery, SIU News Service 

CARBONDALE, Ill. — The photographic works of Southern Illinois University Carbondale students and faculty are on display at the Cedarhurst Center for the Arts in Mount Vernon.

The 2018 exhibition “The Influence of Tradition in Contemporary Photography,” features work from undergraduate and graduate students and faculty within the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts. The exhibition, which dates back to 1993, runs through April 29 in the center’s Beal Grand Corridor Gallery.

Admission to the exhibition is free, but admission to the main gallery is $5, except on Thursdays, which are free.

Exhibition presents ‘unique opportunity for students’

The works on display include photographs by students across a varying range of experience levels — from graduate-level students to those who are taking their first photography class — according to Daniel Overturf, professor in the Department of Cinema and Photography.

The exhibition is also special in that it allows students to show their images in a regional arts center with an international reputation for its galleries and sculpture park, he noted.

“In many cases, the exhibit will be the student’s first gallery exhibit. While some students may eventually enter the professional, commercial photography field, many might also enjoy long careers in galleries and other public art events,” Overturf said. “The relationship that has been fostered with Cedarhurst over the years has resulted in many wonderful examples of creative interrelationships between students, faculty and staff in our college.”

Wanted to show ‘hard-working Americans’

John Penkala by Louis Washkowiak

Louis Washkowiak, a senior photography major from Spring Valley, chose a photo from his Applied II Photography class. It’s the last photo class students typically take, and one that helps them find their career paths once they graduate.

Washkowiak said he drew much of the inspiration for his photograph, “John Penkala,” from early 20th century street and documentary-style photographers, such as Walker Evans and Robert Frank. Penkala, Washkowiak said, is a miner for a sand company.

Evans and Frank “had a lot of images showing hard-working Americans, which is something I think is important to preserve,” Washkowiak said. “I simply wanted to create this visual still documentary of John Penkala while he was hard at work.”

Started her shoot with just a location

Delphian by Haley Powell

Powell’s photograph, “Delphian,” projects a deadpan style of photography which is generally described as a deliberate display of no emotion. The photograph is channeling the documentary portrait style of Alec Soth, as well as painting like the Mona Lisa and American Gothic, she said.

Powell, from Savannah, Ga., said she usually starts with a concept or subject.

“But after I found the location I knew I wanted to make a photo of a person in front of the beautiful landscape and somehow I got to this final image,” she said.

‘Personal achievement’ to have photos in exhibit

Washkowiak and Powell each appreciate the chance for others to see their work. Washkowiak would like to have a photo on permanent display in an institution or gallery.

“To me, having an image up at Cedarhurst feels like the first step to achieving my goals,” he said.

The experience is “extremely valuable,” Powell agreed. “This is the only time my work has been exhibited outside of the classroom or the school’s hallways.

“It’s also a safe introduction to the process because there are consistent reminders of deadlines and it’s a student show, which I think makes people respond differently to the work.”

Faculty also contribute work

The 34-piece exhibition is comprised of work from 31 students and three faculty: Overturf, Antonio Martinez, associate professor, and Alison Smith, a visiting lecturer in the department.

‘Visually exciting show with lots of good ideas and execution’

The exhibition is also important for people from the community as it enables them to observe the students’ current ideas and techniques as well as their abilities, Rusty Freeman, Cedarhurst’s director of visual arts, said. He said it is Cedarhurst’s honor to bring awareness of the “teaching and student work being offered” at SIU Carbondale.

“The exhibit is a way of keeping our finger on the pulse of what is happening in today’s world from the students’ unique perspective,” Freeman said.

Exhibit part of larger Paul Strand photography exhibition

Main Gallery admission, which features “Paul Strand and the Masters of American Photography,” is $5 per person; Cedarhurst members, and children 10 and under are free.

Admission is free on Thursday.

Cedarhurst Center for the Arts is at 2600 Richview Road, Mount Vernon.  The facility is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and 1-5 p.m. on Sunday.  There are extended hours until 8 p.m. on Thursdays. The facility is closed on Mondays and national holidays.

Washington, DC – U.S. Representative Mike Bost (R-Muprhysboro), Co-Chairman of the Congressional Steel Caucus, released the following statement after U.S. Steel announced it will restart one of two blast furnaces (“B” blast furnace) and the steelmaking facilities at its Granite City Works plant. The company anticipates calling back approximately 500 employees beginning this month.  The restart process could take up to four months.

“This is a big victory for the hardworking steel families in Granite City and the entire Metro East economy,” said Bost. “I was heartbroken by the plant’s idling. Not only did I hear you, I took your fight to the Halls of Congress to combat unfair and illegal trade practices that have hurt American steelworkers. Through bipartisan legislation, we empowered the Department of Commerce to help American companies and workers respond rapidly to illegally-traded imports, but more needed to be done. That’s why I helped advance efforts for the Section 232 investigation and took the case of Southern Illinois’ steelworkers directly to President Trump as he was deliberating its findings and recommendations. But we’re not done. We still have more work to do, because I have no doubt in my mind that the American steelworker is second to none when competing on equal footing.”

“Congressman Bost has been a champion for battling unfair trade and reviving steelmaking at Granite City,” said U. S. Steel President and Chief Executive Officer David B. Burritt. “He’s been a vocal, aggressive leader for America’s steel industry. We appreciate his advocacy throughout the Trump Administration’s Section 232 national security investigation of steel imports.”

In its announcement, U.S. Steel specifically cited trade remedies resulting from findings in a Department of Commerce Section 232 investigation. The purpose of the Section 232 investigation is to determine whether imports are harmful to national security and whether measures should be taken to protect domestic industries critical to national security.  The Commerce Department report summarizing findings from the Section 232 investigation was delivered to the President on January 11, 2018. The Administration had 90 days following the delivery of the report to decide on any potential action.

Recent actions taken by Rep. Bost on American Steel:

 March 1, 2018: Bost Applauds Steel Tariff Announcement

February 16, 2018: Bost Statement on Commerce Department’s Steel Report

February 13, 2018: Bost Takes Plight of Southern Illinois’ Steelworkers to White House

December 5, 2017: Bost, Steel Caucus Leaders Meet with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross

October 27, 2017: Congressional Steel Caucus Urges President to Complete Steel Imports Investigation