Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • A3

DECATUR HERALD REVIEW FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2017 A3 1 LOCAL STATE JUSTIN CONN Herald Review After emigrating to Illinois from Germany in 1832, Hieronymus Mueller was looking for a railroad town to settle in and picked Decatur. His started H. Mueller Gun Shop in 1857, but soon began expanding it, adding locksmithing and sewing machine repair. By 1871, he had been appointed rst city plumber to oversee the installation of a water distribution system. It was as a plumber that Mueller began inventing.

In 1872, he designed the Mueller Water Tapper, which became the standard in plumbing. By 1885, the name of the company was changed to Mueller and by 1895, it moved to where it still stands at Eldorado and Edward streets. Though no longer headquartered in Decatur Mueller Co. is now based in Chattanooga, Tennessee it remains one of market leaders in plumbing, with the Mueller Water Tapper still the basis of used to control water ow today. If the water tapper had been only invention, still have been cant.

But Mueller was just beginning. He and his sons went on to produce 501 patented inventions, including water pressure regulators Mueller valves were used in the Panama Canal faucet designs, the rst sanitary drinking fountain, a roller skate design and a bicycle kick-stand. In 1892, Mueller turned to cars. At rst, his orts were utter failure. But eventually his improvements on the German Benz led to the which won the rst uno cial road race in the nation in 1895 and nished 2nd in the rst cial race held a few weeks later in Chicago.

Even after death in 1900, Mueller Co. remained a vital part of the Decatur economy for much of the 20th century. In 1995, the Hieronymus Mueller Museum was founded by his descendants, and in 2005 a permanent facility was built next to the Mueller Co. factory on East Eldorado that displays artifacts, memorabilia and library materials chronicling life and cant contributions. 421-7971 inventions still are REASONS TO LOVE THE Decatur area REASONS TO LOVE THE Decatur area 100 CLAIRE HETTINGER Herald Review DECATUR Police said they are treating two Wednesday night home invasions, one of which resulted in a woman being shot, as related incidents.

A woman, 52, was shot three times after two people entered her home at 10:44 p.m. Wednesday night, Decatur police said. Detective Sgt. Chris Copeland said police are investigating the incident as an attempted murder. cers were sent to Delta Circle on the north side where the victim was found to have three gunshot wounds, which were determined to be nonlife-threatening, police said.

The victim was taken to a local hospital, and Copeland said there are no suspects in custody. The victim told police that she walked out into her living room about 10:35 p.m. because her dog was barking, so she thought one of her children was home. Instead, she told police she saw a white female with a heavier build standing in her hallway and a black male about 6 feet tall and a slim build standing in her front door. soon as the white female saw her, she left out the front door, then the black male came into the residence and he began demanding Copeland said.

victim) said she have any money, and he struck her three times on the head with the The victim ran out of her front door and tripped on the front porch, where she was shot three times, Copeland said. About an hour earlier, cers were sent to Kent Avenue in the Park City Mobile Home Community, where another home invasion was reported, police said. A 22-year-old woman told police that two black males, both about 6 feet tall with slim builds, and a white female with a heavier build entered her home with guns. entered with guns and did not demand anything and ran out because of the dog in the Copeland said the victim reported. The two incidents occurred within an hour of each other in the same area with matching physical descriptions, he said.

are working on the assumption that they are Copeland said. Police encourage anyone with information regarding these incidents to call police at (217) 424-2711 or Crime Stoppers at (217) 423-8477. 421-6985 Home invasions, shooting related, police report JIM BOWLING PHOTOS HERALD REVIEW Carlos Andres Gomez shares one of his poems during his appearance at Richland Community College Thursday morning. DONNETTE BECKETT Herald Review DECATUR Gabrielle Morrow know what to expect when she sat down to listen to the national poet, actor and author Carlos Andres Gomez. was she said after his show in the Richland Community College library.

Morrow was one of about 60 students and sta to hear Gomez recite his poetry and tell his stories during show. The Richland gathering was part of of One College The event was a performance focusing on themes such as masculinity, race and ethnicity. to have some Gomez said. Gomez, 35, has been able to channel his life experiences into his one-man show as well as his book, Gomez said the title of the book was a phrase that haunted his childhood. His mother often told him, that if you want to kill the monster, you have to turn the lights on.

is my way of killing that he said. The subjects of his art often reveal use of stereotypes and how they can be misconstrued, yet still affect others. book is about me, being a sensitive kid, feeling like I had to be some emotionless, macho Gomez said. show addressed many of the stereotypes often heard through the hallways of colleges, including Richland. At 22, Morrow said she has already experienced this.

is something that resonates with me because it is something gone she said. tell someone something about yourself, and that is how they see Alex Berry, coordinator of student engagement, invited the poet to Richland because of his subject matter. Gomez discusses culture, heritage and masculinity. that we need to discuss on college Berry said. could carry on those conversations As a student, Morrow has seen the importance of communication in her small college.

just categorize people, but it is important to let people know who you she said. like this (show) teach Gomez is a spoken word poet who has performed on and in the Denzel Washington movie He has spent much of his career performing on campus stages, as well as teaching workshops and participating in class discussions. The Richland library was initially chosen for the venue because of the construction in the center of the college campus of the Student Success Center. had to get Berry said. chose the library because it was an intimate Gomez said he was happy to be performing in the Richland library.

is a nice, intimate, quiet he said. a New Yorker, and New Yorkers typically 4216983 Poet visits Richland college JAYLYN COOK Herald Review DECATUR Justin Brooks said he was feeling pretty dent Thursday evening. It was his rst time participating in the annual Decatur Games in about two years. While his teammates tackled the other activities, euchre and karaoke, Brooks was waiting to compete as a nalist in the wing eating contest. He was still full from eating in the rst round, but that make him any less hungry to win.

really could have gotten rst, but I want to choke on the said Brooks, who was a member of the Deca- tur Indoor Sports team. time, not going to hold Hosted at Place, 4335 W. Main event was the second to last night of competition for this Decatur Games. Traditionally, the games have taken place on multiple nights over a two-week span, but for the 2017 games, organizers decided to try out a new format. This games kicked off on Sept.

7, and competitions were held on the two following Thursdays. On Saturday, the games will conclude with a daylong event at Rotary Park off of U.S. 51. Games ranging from trivia to pick- leball have been played in the previous weeks. The nal day will feature a variety of backyard games, like sand volleyball and Wi ball, and a traveling trophy will be awarded to the team that earns the most points at the end of play.

Rachael Bishop, recreation supervisor for the DISC, said she and other organizers decided to change the format because participating in the games for two straight weeks had become too taxing for some teams in recent years. Seven teams registered for this games, she said, and their reactions to the changes have so far been mixed. companies like the old format, and some companies like the new Bishop said. 50-50. hard to please all of the people, but we decided to try something di erent and switch it up a As a participant in past Decatur Games, Michelle Burns said on the fence about the new format.

She likes that the competition nights are more spread out throughout the month, but is not yet sold on the daylong event on Saturday. Regardless, Burns said her experiences representing Tate Lyle at the games have been enjoyable. always think she said. always like to have a team, and we come together, and you sometimes get to see people you get to see all the time. We get to know each other, and just a fun Bishop said the DISC usually asks all of the teams to take a survey at the end of the games to gauge their experience about the competitions.

There are currently no plans for what next games might look like, but Bishop said she and her committee will take all of the feedback into account. lot of teams said the 4 out of 5 weekday format was a little much, so the once a week kinds of things are pretty she said. (217) 421-7980 Family fun reformatted Decatur Games range from trivia to pickleball HERALD REVIEW FILE PHOTO Mueller Co. was founded in Decatur in 1857 by Hieronymous Mueller. The earliest mention of Mueller Co.

in our archives is an 1878 ad for H. Mueller dealers in guns, revolvers and all kinds of goods. Today Mueller Co. manufactures water distribution products such as re hydrants and gate valves. Carlos Gomez inspires students, attendees always think fun.

We always like to have a team, and we come together, and you sometimes get to see people you get to see all the time. We get to know each other, and just a fun Michelle Burns, former participant in Decatur Games.