The National Covid Center opened at Cass and Eastern Ave. a week ago to provide urgent COVID lab services to the community. The Addison, Il based company has 1 site in Joliet and is affiliated with the Illinois Department of Health, according to Mr. Taki a senior executive for the center. They are CLIA certified and follow the CDC COVID-19 recommendations to provide a safe environment for all patients who wish to get tested. This information was posted on their website. Taki said, “the center is not a pop-up site,” and that they set-up sites in communities that don’t have access to testing.
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Posted inTimes Weekly News
New automated Vote-By-Mail system coming together for Clerk’s office
Will County Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry earlier this week accepted the first major piece of equipment to automate the Vote By Mail program in Will County. The high-speed, state-of-the-art EvoluJet Printer from BlueCrest has the capability of printing 2,200 ballots per hour. Specialists from BlueCrest and the manufacturer, Kyocera, were on hand to assemble the EvoluJet’s components and make the necessary adjustments to begin printing test ballots on location at the Will County Clerk’s Office. The EvoluJet Printer will be joined by two other major pieces of equipment: The high-speed Relia-Vote MSE Inserter will automate the assembly of Vote By Mail packets, and the Relia-Vote Vantage Sorter will streamline the sorting of Vote By Mail packets for outbound mailing and for organizing return ballots. These three machines will improve efficiency and accuracy across the entire Vote By Mail program. They also will save Will County taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars each election compared to the cost of assembling and processing Vote By Mail Ballots manually. Staley Ferry announced back in August that the Will County Board had unanimously approved $1.9 million in funding to purchase equipment to automate her office’s growing Vote By Mail program.
Posted inTimes Weekly News
CDC: Test positivity rate for Will County nears 10 percent
Due to the holiday, new reported COVID numbers from the Illinois Department of Health will not be available until this week. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control, the test positivity rate as of Dec. 26 for Will County was 9.8 percent.
Posted inTimes Weekly News
Local families are looking forward to the Thanksgiving holiday
Unlike last November’s small gatherings, this week’s Thanksgiving celebrations across the country have many people saying “go big or go home.” As many in this country have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, residents in Will County are confident celebrating the holiday with family and friends will not cause medical issues for them. Marisha Jackson of Joliet said she plans to go all out this Thanksgiving. “Besides my family, I am having my cousins, aunts and uncles over,” she said. “I love to cook so this holiday is ideal for me. Last year, it was just my husband, myself and our two children. I would rather cook for a large group than a few. It makes the holiday much more special when we can pass the food around and share laughs.”
Posted inTimes Weekly News
Joliet Central, Joliet West high schools to host information nights for incoming freshmen
Joliet Central High School and Joliet West High School will host an evening of important information about registration, testing, athletics, activities and more for eighth grade students and parents at the two schools next week.
Posted inTimes Weekly News
Salvation Army’s Red Kettles return
The Times Weekly – Newswire The bells will soon be ringing, as the first of The Salvation Army’s Red Kettles were brought out in Chicago and the suburbs on Monday, November 8. Bell ringers will collect donations at the iconic Red Kettles, beginning at area Jewel-Osco and Hobby Lobby stores this week. The Red Kettle campaign kicks off as thousands of Illinoisans are still experiencing the ongoing impacts of the pandemic and struggling to stay in their homes. More than 200,000 households in Illinois are behind on rent, according to Policy Link. The Salvation Army has seen an increase in requests for emergency financial assistance in the last 18 months, a need that’s only expected to grow substantially since the lifting of the state’s eviction moratorium last month.
Posted inTimes Weekly News
Forest Preserve's month 'Buzz' show airs this week on YouTube
October’s episode of “The Buzz,” the Forest Preserve District’s monthly nature show, highlights Hickory Creek Preserve, fun forest floor facts, and tips for building a successful fire.
The show will air at 8:30 p.m. this Wednesday, October 27, on the District’s Facebook and YouTube pages.
Posted inTimes Weekly News
Troy Shorewood Elementary students hold "Start with Hello" week
Thetimesweekly.com The past couple of years have been unique for students in many respects. With learning from home much of last year and social distancing at school this year, some are still adjusting to the periods of social isolation. Troy Shorewood Elementary School counselor Kellie Calderon, along with the school’s Social Emotional Learning Leaders Committee, recently initiated a program at the school to help students who are feeling left out, lonely or alone.
Posted inTimes Weekly News
Silver Cross ups the ante in employee compensation
Employees of Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox will soon be seeing more money in their paychecks. Hospital officials announced last week major enhancements to its employee compensation and Total Rewards program that impact nearly every Silver Cross employee.
Posted inTimes Weekly News
AG Raoul announces $56 million settlement with pharmacy benefit manager
Attorney General Kwame Raoul late last week announced a more than $56 million settlement with the largest Medicaid managed care organization in the United States. The settlement resolves an investigation the Attorney General’s office conducted into whether, as a pharmacy benefit manager for the state of Illinois, Centene Corp. (Centene) entities submitted inaccurate billing requests to the state.
