The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 44

www.pantagraph.com F6 The Pantagraph Sunday, May 24, 2009 YOUTH Lake Shelbyville area gets a spring cleaning HA) 't For the Pantagraph Shooting events hosted by Young Guns are well attended. FROM Fl they know what to do. Most kids who play with guns never saw one. It's better to show them than to hide them." "It can be 100 percent safe if you know what you are doing," added Brandon. Brandon and Kristen, who are expe -rienced shooters, are clear on why they want to teach kids to appreciate the sport.

"It's the last-of-a-dying-breed kind of thing," said Kristen, 16, a junior active in FFA. "We don't want this to stop. So many of our ancestors relied on hunting. Now, it's a hobby sport. We don't want that to go away." Brandon, an Eagle Scout, agreed.

"I really think that keeping shooting sports alive in younger children is vital. If you don't know what you're doing, if you don't have family who do it, then there is no reason you'd go through all the the FOID card, getting a learning how to shoot." Said Fred Magers, "There are too many video games to keep kids indoors. Being an avid hunter, I believe this (Young Guns) is what needed to happen. We need more kids to carry on what we're doing. We don't need any more couch potatoes.

We've got plenty of those." No generation gap divided the Magers or Blackford households. Hunting was a bridge. Fred Magers learned how to hunt from his dad, and he taught Brandon and Brandon's spection. Fishermen will also have something to look forward to. Mike Mounce, a fishing biologist with the Illinois Department of Natural Re -sources said the flooding effectively doubled the lake's size, providing more fish habitat.

"Largemouthbass, crap-pie and white bass should be good," he said. "We're stocking walleye. Musky have been slow in the last two years but should be good." The corps has a variety of events scheduled during the season, beginning with the Spores More mushroom festival. The plans are all geared toward making Lake Shelbyville a family-friendly destination. Park ranger Steve Summers said new rules regarding boat "rafting" (tying groups of boats together) should reduce accidents on the lake.

"When you put a large number of people in a small space consuming large quantities of alcohol, it's not conducive to the family-friendly environment we want to create," he said. By Sharon Barricklow Sharon.bamcklowlee.net SHELBYVILLE -With budget-conscious tourists looking for fun closer to home, the Army Corps of Engineers at Lake Shelbyville is gearing up for a busy summer season. Revamped campgrounds, spruced-up picnic shelters and even new sand on the beaches will all be in place for tourists. The improvements were needed because years of past flooding had taken its toll on the lake, said Maria Schaf er, acting lake manager. "Because of the flooding over the last few years, this year we've received flood repair funds that will allow us to do some much-needed projects," she said.

Regular visitors will notice the improvements, including shoreline protection and refurbished showers at some campgrounds. In the woods, park rangers will be thinning trees and making improvements to the lake's timber stand while conducting a boundary in ing firearms, at every event. Most often, the grand prizes are two shotguns given to two lucky youngsters. Sometimes, they receive a rifle. At the fishing event, they received fishing rods, tackle boxes and other gear donated by Ed Kallal, a retired crime scene technician with the Illinois State Police who com-' petes in bass tournaments.

They also get Pheasants Forever gear, like hats, T-shirts and duffel bags. As members of the newly formed Young Guns youth advisory board, Kristen and Brandon intend to stay active with the program as teachers even though they're at or nearing the maximum age limit. "Even though I'm almost done, I'm still going to be a part of this organization because I believe in promoting shooting sports in young kids," Brandon said. younger brother, Benjamin. They usually stalk pheasant and deer.

They also go fishing either at nearby Clinton and Shelbyville lakes, a local fishing club stocked with catfish or to Missouri for trout. Lisa Magers also enjoys shooting trap. Kristen 's dad taught her to hunt pheasants. She's looking forward to her first deer hunt in a year or two. She's among a handful of young women at her school who buck the common stereotype that girls don't hunt, she said.

Young Guns hosts an all-female shooting seminar so participants could receive instruction in a non-intimidating environment. "We're trying to start a new generation (of shooters) here," Kirsten Blackford said. The Pheasants Forever chapter encourages kids to stay with the sports by giving away prizes, includ-' Paying homage to D-Day in tough economic times i grandparents in Lisieux when the Allies began bombarding German-held positions inland. "Like thunder. Only we knew it wasn't thunder," he recalled.

Now a retired mason, he's full of local lore, and advice on which Atlantic shores are best for scallops and skate. The Hotel du Casino offers both, at a reasonable price. The creperie across the street is a better bargain, and they'll let you wrap up a hearty $4 crepe and eat it outside on the sand. Walking along the beaches can bring D-Day alive. Investing in one good tour or museum will fill in the details.

D-Day beaches. The three Pierres run one of the town's many appealing guest houses, with attic rooms under the rafters overlooking a tranquil lane for about Or head to the coast, to the Hotel du Casino, perched atop the western shore of Omaha Beach in Vierville-sur-Mer in a lo; cation that should cost much more than it does. The Clemencon family has run the inn for three generations, and they have a soft spot for American guests. On the terrace of the brasserie downstairs; you may run into Martin Duquesne, who was 9 years old and living with ences around the anniversary. Veterans from across the English Channel and the Atlantic make their way to memorial sites and ceremonies at Colleville-sur-Mer, Arromanches and Sainte-Mere-Eglise.

But you can still feel the commemorative spirit in May or throughout the balmy, windy summer. Renting a car awards the most liberty, but rentals and gasoline costs in France are high. Another option is the easy two-hour, 15-minute train ride from Paris to Bayeux, a pleasant town famed for an 11th century tapestry weaving the tale of William the Conqueror's conquest of England, and an easy launchpad for the By Angela Charlton ASSOCIATED PRESS OMAHA BEACH, France A silent moment on France's most evocative shore, a thoughtful stroll over once-bloodied Nor -i mandy cliffs, a mug of cider with a Frenchman who remembers hearing the D-Day bombers as a scrawny child, hiding in his cellar. Keeping the memory of the D-Day invasion alive doesn't have to be about costumed, costly tours and pricey museums with mock exhibits. Simply being there, on the wide beaches still rimmed with ruined pillboxes and among the gravestones, may make for a more lasting memory.

President Barack Obama will pay homage to D-Day's heroes andits fallen next month, 65 years after their epochal military undertaking helped lead to the Nazis' demise. Just his presence on the bluff overlooking Omaha Beach, Associated PressREMY DE LA MAUVINIERE In this photo, visitors look at the sculpture, "The Braves," erected at Omaha Beach, in memory of Allied soldiers killed on the Day. Traces of World War II can still be found across this stretch of Normandy. and some of the finest ap -pies France. Take the train from Paris and'climb on the BusVerts, a local bus that takes you to key D-Day sites for around $3 to $6.

Stretched across 50 miles of Normandy coastline, the five beaches where the allies landed on June 6, 1944 percolate with exhibits and experi alongside French President Sarkozy, will send a mes -sage as strong as any speech: We will not forget. For more ordinary visitors, straitened economic times don't mean Normandy is off-limits. Curl up in a guest house in one of the many peaceful seaside towns teeming with history. Picnic on local Pont l'Eveque cheese Meet the Coupon Queen 1 SSStl Saving! i Jiw mmr WO INTFRFST NO PAYMENTS FOR 12 MONTHS': ON AIL MODELS SHOWN Intrigued? When I'd hear of people getting great deals like this, I used to think, "There's no way that can be true," while simultaneously thinking, "I want to be one of those people." Now I am. I've also discovered that it's a lot of fun to show other people how to effectively use coupons to save more money than they ever thought possible.

With the economy worsening and food prices on the rise, I began teaching couponing classes at Chicago-area libraries. At the first class, our library anticipated 20 to 30 registrants. We had 162. Local media took notice, and one newspaper dubbed me a "coupon queen." More library workshops followed with similar turnouts. My coupon workshops broke registration records and shattered expectations of the men and women in attendance, who had no idea how valuable coupons can be.

But more importantly, people learned a new, better way to shop that will save them thousands of dollars a year. Forget all stereotypes you may have about coupons. Using coupons is smart, fun and becoming trendier by the day It's also not just Mom's domain anymore. Plenty of men and young adults are using coupons and enjoying getting great deals on everything from razors to roast beef. The principles of Super-Couponing will change the way you think about grocery shopping and will help you learn how to save money in other areas of your life unrelated to groceries.

In the weeks ahead, I'll share my knowledge with you. XUV620L Green Yellow i You got a sample column last week Now let me tell you what I'm all about. I am a coupon queen. I wasn't always. In fact, it's not even a title I gave myself.

But two years ago, I completely changed the way I shopped for groceries for my family. Perhaps you've seen stories in the news about some frugal person gleefully purchasing hundreds of dollars worth of groceries for pennies. Well, I am one of those people. And I've been getting a lot of attention over the past few months for something that anyone can do. I'm now dedicating a large portion of my time to educating other people in what I call "Super-Couponing," an easy and fun way to save money on groceries.

This isn't the coupon-clipping of our parents' generation. You won't find yourself spending hours cutting and sorting coupons when the Sunday paper arrives in your driveway Nor will you struggle with carrying piles of loose, disorganized coupons to the store with you. The Internet has completely changed the way people use coupons. It's made finding the best deals and the best prices not only enjoyable but also incredibly addicting. If -you don't believe me, imagine walking out of the grocery store with 58 boxes of cereal and 40 boxes of granola bars, all name brands, for a total of $5 15 including tax.

Or 66 packages of diapers for $7.92, also tax I did both of those things last summer and I have the receipts-to prove it. Those weren't even my favorite deals! Believe it or not, you can even get stores to pay you to shop. This summer, one of my favorite stores gave me a $20 bonus coupon for a future visit after I purchased nine tubes of name-brand toothpaste for 63 cents. On-demand i true WD Electronic fuel injection A X534 3V Select Series Z4 EZtrak 25-hp Wl 5V or Wor5V Til ir" New 5v High-capacity t2f I 4 mower deck Vv. Deck r-year limited warranty mmm.

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