ORION—The Henry County Tourism Bureau learnedit will receive an increase of 11 percent in funding through the Local Tourism and Convention Bureau Program Grant.

ORION—Two of the top educators in the area graduated from Orion High School.  Janice Gustafson, a 1969 graduate, and Kirk Humphreys, a 1997 graduate, both received Master Teacher Awards from the Moline Dispatch and Rock Island Argus.

ORION—Top students have been listed for the fourth quarter at Orion Middle School.

ORION—Orion High School has compiled the fourth quarter honor roll.

ORION—Top students have been listed on the honor roll for the second semester at Orion High School.

ORION—Orion Fall Festival once again will offer a full weekend of events, ranging from the pie auction on Friday, Sept. 4, to the talent contest on Sunday, Sept. 6.

ORION—The Internal Revenue Service announced that taxpayers who buy a new passenger vehicle this year may be entitled to deduct state and local sales and excise taxes paid on the purchase on their 2009 tax returns next year.

GENESEO—The Illinois Department of Public Health has approved Hillcrest Nursing Home's $100,000 grant for full-spectrum indoor lighting.

CAMBRIDGE—Henry County has a new resident judge who has been in Cambridge for a little more than a month. Judge Charles Stengel is now the judge of Henry County.

SPRINGFIELD—Henry County 4 H horse judging teams consisently placed in the top 10 during contests this spring.

ORION—Editor’s note: Senior Rob McDonnell gave the valedictorian’s speech at graduation on Sunday, May 24, at Orion High School. Valedictorians were Janel Cross, Jamie Harrington, Jim Hills, Tori Matzen and McDonnell. His speech is reprinted below.

ORION—Editor’s note: Senior Jim Hills, president of the class and of Student Council, gave the farewell speech at graduation on Sunday, May 24, at Orion High School. His speech is reprinted below.

ORION—The historic band shell in Central Park, Orion, will be the site of two big events next week. Illinois Main Street directors from all over the state will visit the band shell on Thursday, June 25.

ORION—Enlisting in the U.S. Army in December 1968, Ty Simmons rose to the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 4 before retiring in 2004. Simmons, now a resident of Aurora, provided the message at the Memorial Day service on Monday, May 25, in Orion.

ORION—Two Orion area girls will vie for the title of Miss Henry County Fair Queen at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 23, in the grandstand at the Henry County Fairgrounds in Cambridge. Melissa Blumenshein, 20, of Coal Valley is the daughter of Kirk and Kandra Blumenshein of Coal Valley.
 Amelia Martens, 17, is the daughter of Patrick and Annette Martens of Orion.