IN OUR COMMUNITY

Metamora Township High School proudly presents their Spring Musical, Disney’s Frozen, to be performed in the Kenneth H. Maurer Auditorium from March 12-15, 2026, with performances starting at 7:00 p.m. on the 12th through 14th, and 2:00 p.m. on the 15th. 

Tickets are on sale now and available through the online MTHS Box Office at https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?ticketing=mths 

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for senior citizens 60 & older, $5 for students 8th grade & younger, and all MTHS Students with a school ID are free.

The production is directed by Tyler Smith and has a cast that includes Avery Wallick as Anna, Olivia Weldon as Elsa, Evan Enderle as Kristoff, Ethan Wolven as Hans, Derek Hover as Olaf, Jackson Bevard as Sven, Sebastien Ward as Weselton, Chris Farris as Oaken, John Jones as Pabbie, Ava McClure as Bulda, Elizabeth Jones as Queen Iduna, Jeremy Wilkes as King Agnaar, AbbiMae Sanchez as Young Anna, Elise Maurer as Young Elsa, and Ben Sondgeroth as the Bishop. 

This newly released production will feature brand new costumes, set pieces and props, newly designed backdrops, lights, projections, snow, fog, and more. This production will bring the magic of Disney’s Frozen to life!  

For questions about tickets or the box office, please contact (309) 367-4151, ext. 574 or kherrick@mths.us.

Join The MGS Foundation for this adult-only evening raising money to enhance the educational experience for their students on Friday, March 20th at Par-a-Dice Hotel in East Peoria. This crazy fun night includes raffles, silent auction, wine pull, and of course BINGO!

Get your tickets now: https://givebutter.com/c/MGS2026

The cost is $65/person (includes bingo and meal) or $480 for a table of eight (must enter Full Table in promo code).

Don’t forget your neon spirit wear for the whole family- $20 t-shirt/ $25 long-sleeve.

Saturday, March 28

Bring you basket to the Christian Union Church in Metamora for an Easter Egg Hunt for ages 0 - 10 (separate age groups)!  The hunt starts at 10:30 a.m.

Sunday, March 29

St. Mary’s Church Altar and Rosary will be hosting an Easter Egg that starts at at 12:00 noon! This FREE community event will have prizes in each age group and an appearance by the Easter Bunny!

Saturday, April 4

Come for a FREE community event and an afternoon of fun from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. at Willow Hill United Methodist Church in Germantown Hills! 

Choose from two Easter Egg Hunts at 1:30 p.m. or 2:30 p.m., snap a photo with the Easter Bunny, and enjoy make-and-take crafts, games, prizes, face painting, and temporary tattoos. In the event of inclement weather, all activities will transition indoors.

The St. Mary’s All-Star Auction Madness is tipping off soon — and you’re officially on the roster! Sports attire is encouraged at this annual auction that takes place on Saturday, March 14th at St. Mary of Lourdes Hall.  Doors open at 5:30 p.m., dinner at 6:00 p.m., with live auction and entertainment to follow.   

Enjoy a dinner of pork or chicken sliders, nacho bar, boneless wings, salads, and the legendary St. Mary’s pies for dessert!

For tickets, silent auction, and support, visit: stmarysmetamora.schoolauction.net/2026auction

Post 1115 Spring Bay American Legion is hosting a Quarter Auction on Saturday, March 14th!  The doors open at 4:00 p.m. and the Quarter Auction starts at 5:00 p.m.

Reserve your spot now--only 12 tables are available!  Text Trudy for reservations at 309-678-0562.  The cost is $10 per individual, or $80 per table.

You can bid on vendor items and raffle items, and the tasty Legion menu and drinks are available for purchase.  Wear green for this St. Patrick’s Day themed event!

The Annual Spring Fling, proudly sponsored by the Germantown Hills Chamber of Commerce, is located in the Germantown Hills Crossing Shopping Center (directly by the Casey’s.) This yearly event is a kickoff to all the great happenings in Germantown Hills during the Spring/Summer/Fall.

The May 2nd Vendor Show from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. will host approximately 50 vendors. They are still looking for vendors. If interested, please send an email to info@germantownhillschamberofcommerce.com Event space is $35 for a 10x10 spot, all spots are outdoors.

Come shop local vendors, purchase homemade cookies, and a catch up with friends old and new — all while supporting the Snyder Village Beautiful Project. Join us on Saturday, March 7th, from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., in the SV Center on the campus of Snyder Village. 

Saturday, April 18, 2026

Step back in time for a night of nostalgia and friendly competition at the MTHS MARS/WARS Decades Trivia Night!  This rescheduled event now takes place from 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 18th at the MTHS Old Gym.  The cost is $35 per person, or $250 for tables of eight.   Food is included and 1st and 2nd place prizes will be awarded!  Reserve your spot now at https://marswars.store/collections/all

Join Christ Church at 110 Holland Road in Germantown Hills on Sunday, March 8th at 3:00 p.m. for an Old Fashion Hymn Sing, featuring local artist Amy Thompson.

Amy began playing the piano at age five and became a church pianist at age 13. Amy shares that “Hymns have always been my passion. I enjoy sharing Christ and the message of salvation through them.  I am very much looking forward to participating in the Hymn Sing!”

Registration for Germantown Hills Athletic Association tee-ball, in-house softball, and in-house baseball is live and open until March 1st at midnight!

Parents: please consider the opportunity to coach as this is what can hold up team selections and delay the start of the season.

Tee-ball is open to Ages 4-7

Baseball and softball K-8

Visit Germantownhillsathleticassociation.com to register or visit each sport directly:

Softball: https://go.teamsnap.com/forms/510655

Baseball: https://go.teamsnap.com/forms/510654

Tee-ball: https://go.teamsnap.com/forms/510656n 

Been thinking about garage sales? Working on purging your home?   Get ready for the Germantown Hills Community Wide Garage Sale Event from April 30th - May 2nd.  Save the dates for this weekend as the Chamber will also be hosting a Pork Chop Cookout and Vendor event on May 2nd, located right behind the Casey’s in Germantown Hills.   Look for more details soon at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1569629883354148/user/100057592384085

Geared toward students interested in a career in healthcare, this competitive program offers a hands-on opportunity to gain real-world exposure to clinical environments and team-based cancer care.

Students will gain valuable experiences, build professional skills, and make a meaningful impact on our patients and their families.  

The application deadline is March 31st, and space is limited. Apply via the link provided or contact jheintz@illinoiscancercare.com with questions. https://illinoiscancercarefoundation.org/volunteer/

Here’s a guide to writing better AI Prompts to optimize your results.  A good prompt can be the difference between getting what you want and getting frustrating, irrelevant answers: https://www.pcmag.com/explainers/prompt-engineering-101-the-secret-formula-for-writing-ai-prompts-that-actually

Do you wish your social feeds showed what you want? Use these steps to clean up your social media feed and cut the noise: https://cyberguy.com/tech-tips-tricks/clean-social-media-feed-cut-noise/

2018

- Google releases BERT, helping 

  computers understand sentences more 

  like humans do.

- Search engines and voice assistance 

  begin to feel noticeably smarter.

2019

- Apps like YouTube and Instagram vastly

  improve recommending videos & posts.

- Phone cameras use AI to improve 

  photos automatically.

2020

- Early AI writing tools appear in emails 

  and apps.

- AI becomes better at fixing blurry photos 

  and enhancing images

2021

- AI models start powering chatbots, 

  writing helpers, and coding assistants.

2022

- People realize AI can write essays, 

  explain ideas and answer questions.

2023

- AI art and coding become common for 

  students and professionals.

2024

- AI becomes better at planning tasks and 

  analyzing documents.

- Governments and companies start 

  creating rules & safety guidelines for AI.

2025

- AI continues to become stronger and 

  awareness shifts from “AI can write” to 

  “AI can think through problems.”

Every new tax season brings new tactics from scammers so be aware!

Refund Alerts

The message usually states that your refund has been delayed due to a verification issue and asks you to confirm your information.  Do not click on the link provided, it will lead you to a fake government or tax filing site where they will capture your identity.

Fake IRS Emails and Texts

“Your account is under review. Immediate action is required to avoid penalties.” It may look real, but if you click and enter your social security number, date of birth, etc., the scammers have the information they need!

Verification Scams

The goal here is to make you panic by saying you need to act to restore an account or confirm if unusual activity took place.  Be sure to slow down so you can realize that it is very likely a scam.

Pokemon has announced that in honor of the 30th anniversary of the franchise, players will be able to enjoy Pokemon FireRed and Pokemon LeafGreen on the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2.  The release is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 27th at 4:00 p.m. CST.  Full story at:  https://gamerant.com/pokemon-firered-leafgreen-switch-release/

Spring TV sun outages began on Wednesday, February 25th and are expected to last through March 10th. You can expect to see video issues these days between the hours of 10:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.  Video outages will range from a few blips of interrupted video to channels that may go dark for several minutes. 

Sun outages are a natural phenomenon that occurs in early spring and fall when the sun lines up directly behind the satellites that deliver TV signals. The sun’s energy interferes with the satellite’s signal and affects the signals received by the earth station.