After years of publicity and fund-raising, the Old Depot along the CSX line in Flora is nearing completion and at last, some of the building’s new tenants are moving in.

While the Flora Chamber of Commerce made the move to the new digs earlier in the month, this past week, the staff at the Clay County University of Illinois Extension Office have been gritting their teeth through the heat and moving into their new third floor office.

Do you know where your children are? Even if they’re in the living room or their bedrooms, if they’re on the computer, you might want to ask yourself that question again.

Giving parents an idea of how to find out what their children are doing on the Internet and what dangers they may face there was the point of what Detective Sergeant Brent Maguire of the Fairfield Police Department was saying during a presentation called “Myspace, Friendster and Facebook, oh my!”

Maguire gave his presentation at a meeting sponsored by the Coalition Against Drug Abuse (CADA) of Clay County which took place on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the Clay County Health Department.

In the article titled “Internet safety in parents hands” on the front page of today’s Advocate-Press, I covered Fairfield Police Department Detective Sergeant Brent Maguire’s presentation, “Myspace and Facebook and Friendster, oh my!” to the Coalition Against Drug Abuse (CADA) of Clay County and guests at the Clay County Health Department.

Maguire made a number of good points and gave a number of good tips in his presentation, but for parents seeking to keep their children safe on the Internet and on social networking sites, one point stood out above others: parents should use the Internet with their children.

The corollary to this is that if parents are not computer savvy or are merely not experienced with computers, they should strive to become so. I say this, because your children’s presence on the Internet, is for better or worse, a given.

Earl Leroy Slover, age 89, of Flora, passed away on June 23, 2009.  He was born July 20, 1919 to Leroy and Florence (Bothwell) Slover, the fifth of seven children.

Earl enlisted in the Navy in 1942.  As an enlisted man, Earl was one of the relatively few naval veterans who fought WWII on both sides of the world, serving from 1942-1945.  He first saw action in Operation Torch and the invasion of North Africa.  Then he saw action in the South Pacific, including the invasion of Okinawa and preparations for the invasion of Japan, which was not needed after the use of the atomic bomb and the surrender of Japan. 

Bailey’s Flower Garden an anchor of Louisville’s square has a new name and a new owner. The Potter’s Shed, as it is now known, will have some things change, but for the new owner, Cindy Bailey, “It feels like I was never gone.”

Jean Bailey, the former owner, is Cindy’s mother-in-law. Cindy was also Jean’s business partner in the Flower Garden for close to 15 years, so when Jean thought about retiring, she called Cindy and husband Darren, her son, and asked them if they would be interested.

Members of the Flora Chamber of Commerce gathered at Illini Ice near ACT Automotive on Friday morning for a ribbon cutting and the presentation of the location’s first dollar of clear profit.