IN OUR COMMUNITY

Check out the Germantown Hills Chamber of Commerce Pork Chop Cookout and Vendor event this Saturday, May 3rd, from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at Germantown Crossing. You can purchase single Pork Chops for $7 and single Hot Dogs for $3, or a meal that includes chips and a drink.  Proceeds from this event help fund scholarships for MTHS students and support other fun school activities the Chamber gets involved with. 

The Garden Club will have plants and fresh-cut flowers for sale at the Vendor Event, plus 50 vendors will be on hand with lots of wonderful crafts and direct sale items.  Plus, you can take time to sit a bit and listen to the acoustic music from Will Spicher!  It will be a fun day in Germantown Hills. 

P.S.  After you shop the vendors, you might want to allow a bit of time to also shop at some of the 80 garage sales in the area!

All information regarding this event is at this link:  https://www.facebook.com/share/1YE3aTj9H5/   

The Village of Metamora’s Dinner on the Bricks has a full slate for May! They are excited to have a great lineup of trucks for the whole season. Scroll down to see the full flyer of the trucks you will see on Wednesday evenings in May.

In conjunction with the annual Spring Fling event, the Germantown Hills Spring 2025 Townwide Garage & Yard Sales will take place May 1st - May 3rd. There will be over 80 sales in the area!

Here’s the link to the event page with the online map:  https://www.facebook.com/share/1YE3aTj9H5/   

The Hot Rods & Hamburgers Car Show event will take place on Sunday, May 11th from 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Enjoy music, food, and amazing cars on the Square in Metamora!  Future car shows will be held on the 2nd Sunday of each month this summer through September.

Illinois Prairie is launching a new adult book club on May 1st.  The Silent Book Club will meet on the first Thursday of each month from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm at Eli’s Coffee Shop in Metamora.  Silent Book Club is for people who want to participate in a social book club setting but don’t want to be told what to read.  There’s no assigned reading — readers bring whatever book they like (ebooks, audiobooks, graphic novels, even textbooks are welcome) — and spend time reading silently together.

Registration is requested but not required for attendance.  If you register in advance, you will get a reminder email.  Register for monthly meetings on our Events Calendar at https://www.ipdpl.org

Friday, May 2nd

The Kiwanis Club of Metamora is holding a Pork Chop Cookout on Friday, May 2nd, from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at Kirby Foods Metamora.  

Friday, May 9th

The Metamora Area Business Association (MABA) is holding a Pork Chop Cookout on Friday, May 9th, from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at Kirby Foods Metamora.

Stop by for a freshly grilled pork chop and support their MTHS Scholarship fund for both organizations, plus their other local initiatives. 

Spots are open for the 28th Annual Germantown Hills Education Foundation Golf Outing on Thursday, June 12th at Metamora Fields!  Scramble Tee Time is at noon.

This golf outing is the primary fundraiser for the Germantown Hills Education Foundation. The Foundation has supported the District with over $60,000 toward technology. The Foundation is currently partnering with the Parent/Teacher Organization to provide teacher grants. Contact Stacy Tellor at tellors@ghills69.com with any questions or register at https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/3139/GHSD/5547723/Golf_Reg_Form_25.pdf

Join the Metamora FFA at their annual Petting Zoo to see animals, tractors, and educational posters!  This event takes place on Friday, May 2nd, from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. in the Grove area at Metamora Township High School.

Come see the Wedding Gowns Through the Decades Exhibit at the Metamora Courthouse on Saturdays only from 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., May 31st - June 27th, 2025.

Hear a special talk on the History of Wedding Traditions presented by Mary Penn at the Courthouse at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 31st!

Come be a part of our growing cheer family!  Registration will go live May 5th at 9:00 a.m. at www.mghjfl.com

For ages 5-14.

We work hard and we play hard. Learn basic cheer motions, jumps, tumbling, stunting, and more! Be a part of the homecoming parade, Rivermen game, Redbird Community Kickoff, and so much more within the community. 

Stop by the Metamora Future Farmers of America (FFA) Flower Sale at Metamora Township High School!  Flower sale hours are 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 8th, and Friday, May 9th, and 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 10th.

Mark your calendars for the Metamora Village-Wide Garage Sales are set for Thursday, June 5th through Saturday, June 7th.  To be placed on the list, contact Arlene at 309-367-2423 or Judy at 309-367-2411.  Please supply your top five items, with a $5.00 fee to Arlene or Judy by May 29th.

MTCO has seen an increase in scam phishing emails sent to MTCO customers with links to click on to check billing status, email storage, and more. To help protect yourself, please be vigilant:  

•  Phishing emails often use 

   generic greetings.

•  Urgent language is often used with 

   phrases like “Your account will be 

   suspended” or “Urgent action required.”  

•  Phishing emails often have 

   grammatical errors. 

•  Never click on unexpected links or 

   attachments! Hovering over a link 

   (without clicking) often reveals a web 

   website.  

The CommandIQ App gives you easy access to a snapshot view of your home Internet network.  Through the app, you can view usage on all the connected devices to your network, set up access controls and time limits, set up a guest Wi-Fi network, and more!  This app is free for MTCO digiMAX Internet customers with MTCO’s Premium Managed Home Wi-Fi.  

Check out this video about features of the app:  https://youtu.be/4j122rFKckg?feature=shared

Which iconic tech company started out selling fruit, yes, the kind that grows on trees and bushes, before pivoting to electronics?

A) Microsoft 

B) Apple

C) Samsung

D) Sony

Scroll down to the bottom of the “Spring Digging” article for the answer!

We’re in the middle of planting season, so be careful out there.  Here’s all the information you need to contact JULIE prior to any digging project!

Visit this link to submit a locate request: https://www.illinois1call.com/click-before-you-dig-using-e-request/

A quick video on Five Steps to Safe Digging:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oFoVRuxFvc

Tech Trivia Answer: Before Samsung made smartphones and TVs, they sold groceries. Founded in 1938, the company’s early days were exporting dried fish, noodles, and—you guessed it—fruit. It wasn’t until decades later that they pivoted into electronics.

Read this article to take a password strength test to see how secure your passwords are!

https://cyberguy.com/privacy/secure-password-test-find-out/?utm_campaign=4-27-25%20Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter

Unsubscribing from emails is not always safe.  If an email is from a legitimate, known business you have purchased from or a newsletter you signed up for, it’s usually fine to unsubscribe.  They typically have a working unsubscribe link, and the opt-out request is honored.

With emails that come from an unknown or random source, the “unsubscribe” link can confirm your email and invite more spam, or worse, it can initiate the download of a virus, spyware, or other threat.

Unsubscribing from suspicious emails can do more harm than good, so it’s best to report the email as spam and block the sender.