Journal Gazette from Mattoon, Illinois • Page 28

SATURDAY, JUNE 16, 2012 JG-TC www.jg-tc.com Records AREA DEATHS Inez Gose MATTOON Inez E. Cisna-Smith-Gose, 90, of Mattoon died at 11:15 a.m. Friday (June 15, 2012) at Douglas Rehab and Care Center. The funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday (June 19, 2012) at Mitchell-Jerdan Funeral Home in Mattoon.

Visitation will be 9 a.m. until service time. A complete obituary will be published in Monday's paper. Brenda Spencer-Flynn FRANKLIN Brenda Marie Spencer-Flynn, 51, of Franklin, formerly of Mattoon, died Thursday (June 14, 2012) at her home. Arrangements are incomplete at Lovins-Lockart Funeral Home in Windsor.

Walters service CHARLESTON The funeral for Edward L. Walters was Friday at the Harper-Swickard Funeral Home in Charleston with Pastor John Best and Tom Daugherty officiating. Burial with military honors was at Union Cemetery in Charleston. A recording of "Amazing Grace" was played. The pallbearers were Cole Chumbley, Jessie Walters, Wyatt Walters, Matt Daugherty, Jeff Daugherty and Gauge Sharp.

Honorary bearers were Daniel Walters, Ronnie Jewell and Rod Franklin. Military honors were conducted by Paul McVey V.F.W. Post 1592. Participating members were: Detail Commander, Henry Bough; Chaplain, Bob Jones: Bugler, Dick Smyser; Flag Detail, Henry Bough and Gary Craig; Color Bearers, Dale Downs and Ronald Krukewitt; Color Guard, Gary Craig and Phil Kerz; Firing Squad, Dave Bradley, Jackie Tucker. Auxiliary members participating were Riflemen Terry Scott, Mike Morgan and Chet Campbell.

Mr. Walters, 81, of Charleston, died Tuesday (June 12, 2012) at Charleston Rehabilitation Center. Kathryn Swickard URBANA Kathryn Talese Swickard, 61, passed away at 12:40 A.M. on Friday, June 15, 2012 at Provena Covenant Medical Center in Urbana, IL. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 AM, Monday, June 18, 2012 at the Arcola Presbyterian Church.

Rev. Donald Winch will officiate. Burial will be in the Arcola Cemetery. Visitation will be two hours prior to the funeral at the church. The Edwards Funeral Home is assisting with arrangements.

Talese was born on August 26, 1950 in Mason City, IA. She was a daughter of Daniel Clinton and Margaret Elizabeth (Rugh) Swickard. She is survived by two brothers, Sam Swickard and his wife Christal of Lewistown, IL and Jay Swickard of Arcola, IL; two sisters, Ruthann Swickard of Milwaukee, WI and Truby Szwczyk and her husband George of Sandwich, IL; one niece, Laura Swickard Bertsch and her husband Robert of Edwards, IL; one nephew, Scott Swickard of Philadelphia, PA; one greatniece, Ashlyn Bertsch of Edwards, IL. She was a dedicated member and deacon of the Arcola Presbyterian Church. She was also: member of the Illini Quilters and worked often with Project Linus.

Talese was a teacher and librarian for several years. She later became a computer software instructor and developer for many national corporations. She loved to travel, especially to the Presidential Library. Talese was an Illini Football fan and wonderful salsa maker. Talese's giving spirit will be greatly missed.

She was a kind and gentle soul, and loved by all. To sign the online guestbook, visit www.jg-tc.com and click on obituaries. Furries looking to 'shed" bad rap in Pittsburgh Associated Press PITTSBURGH The furries are gathering in Pittsburgh, and they're ready to shed. No, not clumps of fur. They're looking to dispel what they contend are the mistaken perceptions that their fascination with all things anthropomorphic animal characters who exhibit human characteristics are dangerously weird or fetishistic.

More than 5,000 devotees are expected at the city's convention center through Sunday for Anthrocon. They refer to themselves as though only about 1 in 5 will be cavorting in "fursuits" full-bodied costumes including otters, foxes, cats and dogs. There's even a guy who dresses as an extinct species of zebra. They're celebrating animal characters from movies, TV shows, comic books, video games and, most especially, the characters they create themselves. Gary Guy Mathews, an unemployed, self-described computer geek from suburban Green Tree, prefers to appear in public in a costume of shredded paper that looks much like the "The Shaggy DA," a Disney movie that unleashed his inner canine when he was about 11 years old.

He prefers to be called Boomer since becoming enamored with "Here's Boomer," a short-lived NBC TV series about an adventurous, gooddeed-doing mutt. "It's a very personal thing to me, as my dog persona. It's just something I feel I should be, having had the name for so long. It just says who I am: Boomer. The.

Dog," Mathews said. Samuel Conway, Anthrocon's chairman, is a chemist for a major pharmaceutical firm. He dresses in a lab coat and goes by the alias Uncle Kage (pronounced KAH' -jay). That's short for Kagemushi, the samurai cockroach char- Keith Photo In this photo made on June 14, people in animal costumes walk down Penn Ave. near the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.

Anthrocon, the world's largest convention for people who dress and assume the rolls of fictional animal characters, is 'back in its adopted home with an expected 5,000 participants acter he dreamed up years ago. Though he speaks with the exaggerated inflection of some cartoon characters, Conway doesn't dress like a bug because the costumes are, "too hot, they're unwieldy." "That's what people seem to think Anthrocon is all about, but it's about more than just costumes," Conway said. The 'convention draws artists, puppeteers, costume makers, writers and just plain fans. This year's guests of honor are Mike Kazaleh, a comic book and TV cartoon animator known for his work with characters ranging from Bugs Bunny to Ren and Stimpy, and Dev Madan, a video game and comic books illustrator. The convention features displays and vendors, an artists' show, cartoon and characterrelated presentations, dances and live performances.

So where can one see Kage- publicity, Conway said when Americans "encounter something that people do that they don't understand, they immediately draw the conclusion that it must be a sexual fetish." "I find it highly annoying. because some of our people have lost jobs over it," Conway said. "They'll go into work on Monday and the boss will say, 'I heard you were at one of those things over the weekend' and that's it." Cooper Tom, dressed as a life-of-the-party housecat, confesses to be named Jim, a 29- year-old systems manager for a New York City advertising agency who restores classic cars. "I was actually afraid of this kind of thing," he said of learning about furries online. After determining they were both friendly and normal, he joined their ranks in 2009.

"Just becoming something different kind of hooked me," he said. It's a bigger deal to some members, like Matthews. Only a reluctant Allegheny County judge kept Mathews from legally changing his name to "Boomer The The judge ruled such an unusual name could confuse a 911 operator into believing Mathews was making a crank call should he ever need emergency help. Mathews said individual furries have supported him but some Anthrocon officials have not, especially since the convention moved to Pittsburgh in 2006 after outgrowing Albany, N.Y., and Mathews received widespread local publicity when the judge rejected his name change in 2010. "The convention heads were a little put off, I think, because I'm kind of out there with it," Mathews said.

"Furries and Anthrocon are going through these growing pains right now where, I think, they're a little bit shy of the press." UK council lifts gag on 9-year-old food critic BY JILL LAWLESS AND RAPHAEL SATTER Associated Press LONDON A 9-year-old blogger won a food fight with authorities in her Scottish town Friday, after an online outcry prompted officials to lift a ban on posting photos of her school lunches. Martha Payne's images of uninspiring school meals one consisted of two croquettes, a plain cheeseburger, three slices of cucumber and a lollipop -drew international attention. The blog, set up about six weeks ago as a writing project and to help raise money for a school-meals charity, has drawn more than 2 million hits. Martha, who lives in the coastal town of Lochgilphead, about 130 miles (210 kilome- Larry Howard CALIFORNIA Larry D. Howard, formerly of Mattoon, passed away at home in Garden Grove, Ca.

on Tuesday, May 29, at the age of 76. He was a former lighting director for the Motion Picture studios and owner of Phenix Rod Bait Co. in California. He joined the marines in 1953 along with several other Mattoon boys. SIREN REPORT Charleston police Shirley M.

Cox, 49, 1540 18th was ticketed for improper lane use for a collision with a vehicle driven by Max. A. Adams, 1 104 McLeod at 1:04 p.m. Monday on Lincoln Avenue west of 20th Street. A vehicle driven by Holly O.

Easter, 421 N. 12th struck a vehicle parked by Eunice O. Davis of Oakland at 11:28 a.m. Monday in the Wal-Mart parking lot, 2250 Lincoln Ave. Easter's vehicle also pushed a shopping cart into a vehicle parked by Jodi L.

Hildebrandt, 55 Kickapoo Valley Drive. Coles County sheriff Norma B. Frazier, 78, of Terre Haute, Ind. was ticketed for failing to reduce speed to avoid an accident for a collision with a vehicle driven by Daniel K. Leffler, 248 Jackson Ave.

in Charleston, at 4:45 p.m. June 9 at the temporary stop light erected for construction work on an Illinois Route 16 bridge over the Embarras River. A Charleston ambulance took Leffler, 31, to Sarah Bush He is survived by his wife, Pat, of 49 years, sister brother-in-law, Judy Dick Hickman of Gays, niece Kelly Murphy, nephew Jeff J. Howard, sister-in-law Joan Howard, all in California. Preceded in death by his son, Lyman D.

Howard, parents, Perry N. Myra May (Flora) Howard, and brother Jerry L. Howard. Graveside services were held Thursday, June 7, 2012 at Melrose Abbey Memorial Park in Anaheim, Ca. To sign the online guestbook, visit www.jg-tc.com and click on obituaries.

Lincoln Health Center for treatment of injuries. Mattoon fire Firefighters responded to a smoke alarm at 9:39 p.m. Wednesday at 800 Shelby Ave. No fire was found there. Mattoon police Donald A.

Pepperdine, 49, 109 14th St. in Charleston, was injured at 4:01 p.m. Wednesday in the 1700 block of Champaign Avenue when he overturned his motorcycle to avoid striking a vehicle in front of him that was turning north. A Mattoon Fire Department ambulance took him to Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center for treatment of injuries. BY JOE MANDAK Sylvia K.

Leitch, 61, 10 Carrollton Estates, was injured at 12:34 p.m. Sunday when her motorcycle struck a curb and overturned at Phillip's 66, 4920 Lake Land Boulevard. A Mitchell-Jerdan Ambulance Service crew took Leitch to Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana for treatment of injuries. mushi this weekend? "I'm not an artist, I simply imagine him," Conway said. "He exists primarily in my mind.

It's fun." Media members were escorted and warned that some characters might be reluctant to speak because of past publicity portraying the group as "some kind of whacked out, crazy culture," Conway said. Accordingly, Anthrocon.org advises furries that all public areas are rated "PG," except for "events or exhibits that are specifically noted to be inappropriate for minors." Minors must have a parent's notarized permission to attend "due to unfortunate situations in years past," the website says, without explanation. Fetish wear is discouraged, though collars are acceptable as a fashion statement, "but leashes attached thereunto are not." Asked about the adverse The council complained of "unwarranted attacks on its schools catering service" and said the blog "misrepresented the options and choices available to As a result, it said, "a decision has been made by the council to stop photos being taken in the school canteen." Martha's father, David Payne, said the blog was never intended to make the food look unappetizing. It includes such positive assessments as "lunch was really nice today and it helped cheer me up." "The last photograph of a meal at school that she blogged, she gave it 10 out of 10," Payne told the BBC. The ban quickly became an online talking point Friday, with free-speech group the Index on Censorship even California lawmakers pass budget on deficit BY JUDY LIN social services and proposed Associated Press "more compassionate alterSACRAMENTO, Calif.

natives to some of the gover(AP) Democratic lawmak- nor's proposals." ers have approved a plan to Republicans called the balance California's $15.7 bil- plan incomplete and urged lion deficit without Gov. Brown to veto the budget Jerry Brown's endorsement bill. so they can keep collecting Passing the main budget their paychecks. bill before midnight Friday The Senate on Friday meets the minimum requirepassed the main budget bill, ment for lawmakers to get which has fewer welfare cuts paid, however, the Legislathan the governor proposed, ture passed only a few of the on a 23-16 vote. The bill was companion bills needed to also passed by the Assembly enact the entire budget.

on a 50-25 vote. Many contentious issues, In introducing the Democ- from welfare to ratic spending plan, Senate rail, still need to be worked Budget Committee Chairman out. Mark Leno of San Francisco "This budget is full of bor' called it "a budget which is rowing and gimmicks," said painful yet hopeful, sobering Sen. Bill Emmerson, the yet with vision." ranking Republican on the Assemblyman Budget budget committee. He objectChairman Bob Blumenfield ed that the budget docusaid lawmakers tried, to soft- ments were kept secret until en the most severe cuts to just hours before the vote.

Obituary Policy The JG-TC prints two kinds of obituaries basic and custom. The newspaper has a standard format for basic obituary information that is printed free of charge. For those families who wish to include additional information or "customize" an obituary, a fee will be charged. Call (217) 238-6859 before 4 p.m. Monday through Friday for information.

PERSONALS Memoriams IN LOVING MEMORY OF Earl Clapp who left us 6 years ago today. Though you are gone you will never be forgotten. Love your family IN LOVING MEMORY OF Fred M. Davis Our dear husband, dad grandpa. June 7-1975 May, Marlene, Phil, Loretta IN MEMORY OF Joseph Jordan on Father's Day.

Wife, Children and Grandchildren. ters) west of Edinburgh, gave each meal a "food-o-meter" rating, and offered an assessment of its contents. "I'd really like to know where the chicken comes from," she wrote in an entry about chicken fajitas, "so I am going to write to the lady in charge to ask. I know it comes from a hen but I'd like to know where the hen lived." Local officials weren't amused, and ordered the schoolgirl to stop taking pictures. In a statement, Argyll and Bute Council said Payne's photos were misleading and had caused distress to cafeteria staff.

The council was particularly irked by a report about the blog in Scotland's Daily Record newspaper headlined "Fire the Dinner Ladies." weighing in on Payne's behalf. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver tweeted "Stay strong Martha" to his more than 2 million followers. The Internet storm was quickly followed by an official U-turn. Council leader Roddy McCuish said he had ordered officials to lift the ban on cafeteria photos. He praised Martha as "an enterprising and imaginative pupil." "There is no place for censorship in this council and never will be whilst I am leader," McCuish said.

Amid the blaze of publicity, donations to Mary's Meals, the charity the blog had been promoting, climbed from 3,000 pounds ($4,700) to more than 40,000 pounds ($62,000) Friday. GLAUCOMA May destroy your peripheral vision. Regular eye exams help in early detection. Mattoon Eye Center 220 Richmond Ave E. Mattoon, IL217-234-3937 mattooneye.com.