Growing up in Vermilion County, Roxy Reed never imagined she would own and operate a therapy ranch. 

After high school and earning both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Northern Illinois University, Reed moved to Nashville to work at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in the traumatic brain injury unit, before returning to Illinois and working in Chicago with inner-city children with speech and language deficits. 

Eventually, she made her way back to Danville and opened a private practice, but discovered her true calling one day while taking a group of toddlers outside. 

“I initially had a speech therapy private practice in town,” Reed said. “One day, I took a toddler language group outdoors, and we walked trails in the woods and had a picnic. It was so easy to teach new vocabulary words like butterfly, cattail, daisy, flower, etc. when we were looking at the real thing.  

“That’s when it hit me that I needed to move my private practice to the country. I wanted to focus on nature-based therapy and animal-assisted therapy. Less than a year later, we found our current property in Homer that had an 11,000 square foot pole barn that was wheelchair and amtryke accessible!”

The location is ideal because it’s on the line between Champaign and Vermilion Counties, allowing Reed to serve them both. 

But, despite its potential in the beginning, a lot of work went into transforming the property to what it is today. 

“There was space for animals, events, fundraisers, a therapy clinic, and outdoor therapy sessions,” Reed said. “Things fell in place, and we moved to the ranch. The property was in disarray, and we got to work building the therapy clinic inside the barn, building fences, cleaning up the neglected property, and learning how to live on a farm. 

“I took classes on alpaca care and animal husbandry and finally I was able to open as a private therapy practice.”

Reed has also founded and organized the non-profit, Roxy’s House, which will open in June for speech therapy. 

Housed on Blue Heron Ranch, services at Roxy’s House will include speech therapy, reading and other programs for children with disabilities as well as typically developing children, through animal-assisted therapy and nature-based therapy. Reed’s hope is to expand to other services, like physical and occupational therapy in the future.

Reed feels the use of animals is an important factor in working with children, stating “It has been my experience that children learn best in natural settings through movement, animals, and a variety of sensory experiences. There are several reasons why animals help children to learn. 

“The most obvious is that they are highly motivating for children. When an animal is there, it doesn’t feel like work. Also, children can ‘teach’ the animals what they are learning and often teaching is the highest form of learning.” 

She adds that coming to the barn is a sensory experience in itself through different textures, smells, sights, and sounds. Additionally, interaction with animals and learning how they communicate can sometimes help instill better communication in children. 

In terms of animals currently on the Blue Heron Rance, there are three alpacas, three potbelly pigs, chickens, two peacocks, and barn cats.”

“We choose animals based on their temperament with children,” Reed said. “Although I have 25 years of experience as a speech pathologist, I find myself stepping back to allow the wisdom of the animals to sometimes lead the way in a therapy session. 

“It’s really the connection between the three of us: child, animal and therapist that creates a greater healing experience.” 

In the future, there is hope of adding more alpacas, mini-donkeys, mini-cows and horses, though any animal that brings a healing connection to children and families could be considered.   

Reed’s two daughters, Lexy, 20 and Izzy, 17 also play significant roles in the ranch. 

Izzy, who has been part of therapy sessions with her mom since age three, helps with maintaining the property as well as working at times with the children, while Lexy, a sophomore at the University of Illinois Chicago, helps with technical issues and maintaining the website along with coming home to help with occasional events. 

In a region where gathering places are often difficult to find, Blue Heron Ranch also includes a barn that can be rented for such events as proms, family reunions, weddings, showers, corporate retreats, company picnics, barn dances, graduation parties, and birthdays. The trio also hosts ranch events like yoga and wellness retreats.  

“There is an indoor children’s play area with a 22-foot pirate ship, hanging chairs and swings, a buffet area, and animal experiences available with our animals. We have indoor seating for up to 350 and outdoor space for more tables. There’s a variety of games (pool table, cornhole, yard games, washers, horseshoes, volleyball) as well as a firepit. We believe families should have an affordable venue to host gatherings and connect,” Reed added.

With the official opening of Roxy’s House in early June, Reed has several events planned for the coming weeks. 

She explains “A is for Alpaca” is a pre-reading camp for 4-5-year-old children entering kindergarten in the fall. 

“We’ll be focusing on phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension and language through nature and our animals,” Reed said. “We meet Mondays from 9-11:30, and families can choose June, July or both. Camp begins June 5th or July 3rd. 

Another event called “Breathtaking” is an adult yoga, meditative, and animal retreat on June 5th. 

“We will also have a children’s animal and yoga retreat on July 9th,” she said.

The hope is to continue to provide a space to fill a need within the community.

Reed’s hope for children visiting the ranch is to know that they were born perfectly. She expresses that the goal is to meet them where they are and understand them better, not making them fit a certain mold while striving to help them reach their maximum potential. 

“When children leave the ranch, we hope they feel accepted, loved, challenged, and amazed at what they can accomplish,” Reed said.

Blue Heron Ranch and Roxy’s House are located at 13801 N. 130 East Rd. Homer, IL, just nine minutes south of I-74 on the Champaign, Vermilion County line. 

Events are often posted on the Blue Heron Ranch Facebook page, and barn rentals are available April-October, with some small group options year-round in the heated portion of the barn. 

To set up an appointment with Roxy for an evaluation, she can be reached at 217-369-4496.

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Residential home sales in the Champaign County area retreated for the fourth consecutive month in January amid fluctuating interest rates, while prices softened from their record pace of growth, according to the Champaign County Association of REALTORS®.

Champaign County area home sales totaled 127 units in January, down 29.05 percent from 179 home sales in January of 2022.  The monthly median home sale price of $155,000 in January 2023 was 7.46 percent less than $167,500 in January 2022. The average home sale price for the Champaign County area was $187,415 in January, down 9.7 percent from $207,628 in January of 2022.

“Winter temperatures, higher mortgage rates from a year ago and inflationary pressures hindered home sales this January,” indicates PJ Trautman, president of the Champaign County Association of REALTORS®. “Champaign County area home sales this January were pretty much even with sales in 2020, before the pandemic rush to purchase housing. Demand for housing persists but inventory continues to be an ongoing challenge. Higher mortgage rates have cut into housing affordability from a year ago, as rates continue to fluctuate and are causing some unsteadiness currently in the overall marketplace. The market has been overheated for so long, it was inevitable there was going to be a slowdown period at some point.”

The average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, according to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) was 6.27 percent in January 2023, up from 3.45 percent in January 2022 and up from 6.36 percent in December of 2022. The 30-year mortgage rate for the week ending Feb. 16^th averaged 6.32 percent.  Mortgage rates could linger at around 6.5 percent for a few more months before heading below 6 percent by summer—and maybe even 5.5 percent by the end of the year, indicates NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. 

Inventory of homes for sale dated February 21, 2023 stood at 562 properties on the market, down from last month’s inventory total of 571 properties.

“Some buyers remain cautious, waiting for inventory levels to improve while keeping a watchful eye on economic conditions and making sure the property they purchase meets their financing terms given the higher costs of borrowing,” said Trautman. “More gradual improvements in the market are anticipated in the months ahead as spring homebuying season gets underway. We remain optimistic there will be more movement in the spring and hopeful individuals are preparing their homes now for the spring market.”

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When Candice Della Sala launched Overflow Wellness in 2021, she faced a number of challenges, but despite a slow start, her venture is now beginning to thrive.

She got the inspiration for Overflow Wellness in seeking a business she could operate from the home that would allow her to care for her four school-aged children while sharing her love of scripture, faith, and healthy lifestyle alternatives.

The first offering from Overflow Wellness is Grains of Grace, a program where Della Sala offers bread, cookies, and other baked goods made with stone-ground, organic flour from Janie’s Farm, a family-run farm in Iroquois County. Initially, these products were offered at the local Farmer’s Market in Oakwood. But, thanks to the passage of legislation allowing Cottage Food Providers to sell online and for delivery, she is now able to offer healthy alternatives on a much wider scope.

Della Sala also uses eggs from Foraging Feathers, a farm in Vermilion County, when available, and honey from a local honey bee farmer goes into her Empower Bars. Initially, she admits some adjusting was needed with the natural products to make her recipes line up properly.

When Grains of Grace started, she was juggling the baking and packaging of products then transporting them to the Farmer’s Market for sales and taking care of her kids, one of which requires special needs, all on the same day. Now, she is able to offer products online and work on her own schedule to meet the needs of those in the community and surrounding areas.

Preparing food for her children led to the idea of offering healthy alternatives for breakfast, lunch, or snacks to families seeking options outside of processed foods. Prices for her baked goods are around $22 per dozen with loaves ranging from $6-$8 each.

As yet another means of helping people in both local and online communities, Della Sala launched her Prophetic Dance segment of Overflow Wellness in 2022. 

“I offer creative ways to connect to God and His Word through dance/movement, through colored dance scarves, through imagination and The Immanuel Approach (a connection approach used in inner healing),” Della Sala said.

She initially wanted to offer the experience at the YMCA or church, but with a special needs child, she was unable to be as reliable as necessary.

So, Della Sala and her husband transformed a portion of their garage into a fitness studio. This allowed her to not only operate from home, but also offer an online alternative for those seeking a faith-based, spirit-filled program they can experience in their own space as well.

“In the Prophetic Dance Fitness membership program: I teach prophetic dance exercises from my Overflow Wellness Exercise Library; I provide daily deep dives that include prayer activations, praise declarations, and instructional videos. I host monthly group inner healing sessions using the Immanuel Approach, and I host weekly live Prophetic Dance classes on Zoom where we practice the exercises to scripture and worship music,” she said.

Information on the Prophetic Dance program can be found on the Overflow Wellness Facebook page. Della Sala runs monthly challenges that allow those interested to try out the program before joining. A monthly subscription runs $29.99.

 Overflow Wellness will also soon have its own web page, overflow-wellness.org, but this is still under construction at this point. Aside from the Overflow Wellness Facebook page, Della Sala can be reached at 217-597-1601 for more information on the services she offers through the Overflow Wellness program.

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For years Scott Block found himself raising cattle and farming grain, until one day he decided he was ready for a change of pace.

“I’ve always enjoyed cooking,” Block shared. “I always made our family meals.” Eventually, Block’s passion turned into his livelihood. 

Originating in Paris, IL in the Spring of 2021, House of Brisket was born. Block hit the road with his food trailer in tow. 

While Block and the food trailer venture all around the state, the House of Brisket seems to be a frequent site in St. Joseph. On (typically) the fourth Wednesday of every month Block parks the trailer in the IGA parking lot for an evening dinner shift. 

He claims the invite came after one of the IGA owners visited the House of Brisket during a trip to Urbana. From there Block was asked to set up during last year’s August festival. After quickly selling out, it was clear the trailer would become a local favorite. 

Usually, on the menu, pulled pork sandwiches, belly burnt ends, and bbq ribs are often the most popular items. Though for Block, he awards his title of personal favorite to the sweet chubby – a baked sweet potato covered with all the fixings like sour cream and butter, then smothered with chopped brisket and topped off with fresh coleslaw. 

“I love it. I love what we do. I love the food that we’re making. And I love to see people happy when they’re eating it,” Block exclaimed. 

As running a food trailer is a big change of pace from farming, Block finds himself just as busy. In a regular week, the trailer goes out 4-5 times. On those days Block, his wife, and sometimes an additional employee are up at 5 a.m. putting ribs on, prepping sides and serving by 11. 

After a few hours of lunch shift, the trailer packs up and moves to a different location to begin the dinner shift. Once all that is said and done, Block returns home around 8 p.m. where he then proceeds to clean the trailer and set it all back up for the next trip. 

“A day when the trailer goes out is a pretty long day,” he shared. 

In the chances Block and his crew have some downtime, they like to give business back to the locals. 

“When we’re not out we try and go to somebody’s restaurant, see what they got and support everyone.”

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The Philo Exchange Bank is excited to open its doors in St. Joseph with the University of Illinois’ head baseball coach Dan Hartleb.

The Feb. 8 event dubbed as the “Home Opener” will feature Hartleb and some University of Illinois baseball players signing autographs from 4-6 p.m.

The bank will be showcasing their brand-new facility that is a fully-operational bank including teller operations, safe deposit boxes, drive-up lanes, ATM, night depository, a coin machine, and a loan department comprised of Les Hoveln, EVP | Senior Lender and Jason Snyder, VP | Lending with over 55 years combined banking experience.

The lobby is open Monday-Friday 8am-5pm and Saturday by appointment. The drive-up hours are Monday-Friday 7am-6pm and Saturday 8am-12pm. If you have questions or would like any additional information, please call 217.469.2100.

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The 2023 edition includes 13 unique gyms and has close to 1,500 Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Famer birth dates.

Calendars can be ordered by mailing a check payable for $25 to the Basketball Museum of Illinois at PO Box 8004, Elburn, IL 60119 or at basketballmuseumofillinois.com. On the website click Support the Museum, and make a $25 donation. Include your address to have one mailed.

If there are any technical difficulties email us at info@basketballmuseumofillinois.com.

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For as long as she can remember Mary Ellen Stites has had a love for crafts. 

“I kind of have always been creative but I like quick and easy,” Stites explained.“I want results fast . . . that’s why I’ve done the paper crafting.” 

For Stites, her idea of quick and easy crafting involves rubber stamping and cards. And unlike other crafters, Stites has transformed her hobby into a lifestyle of sorts. 

Around three years ago, before the pandemic initially hit, Stites and her husband built 1200 square feet of creative playground, which Stites now refers to as The Creativity Nest.

Sharing her love of paper crafting, Stites uses the Nest as both her own studio as well as a classroom. 

Before the Nest, Stites offered a few in-home classes of which often took place in her basement. Though, once her husband suggested the idea of expanding, Stites knew she wanted to create a place that would be accessible to everyone. 

Now, The Creativity Nest is open and accessible to the public. 

Stites and her studio host a number of events including weekly paper crafting, holiday card classes, and perhaps one of the most popular – M.E’s 3c’s: Coffees, Cookies, and a Card. 

Every other Friday from 9-10:30 a.m. Stites invites people into the studio to create greeting cards while also indulging in coffee, fresh baked goods, and various other treats – all while socializing and getting the chance to meet new people with similar interests. 

Aside from hosting her own classes, Stites hopes that the studio will one day bring in other creatives. She mentioned how her goal for the Nest was for it to serve as a creative space for a number of different crafts such as paint parties and even baked goods. 

For more information, including upcoming event dates you can find Stites and The Creativity Nest on Facebook. 

“Come enjoy and learn about rubber stamping and this craft we go crazy for.”

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Nearly a year ago Busey Bank closed its doors and said goodbye to St. Joseph. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Philo Exchange Bank is set to open a full service facility at 802 E. Warren Street. 

Acquiring the vacant property, the bank, alongside members of the Village board, worked through some zoning concerns. The lot on Warren had been zoned as an R-1 or Single-Unit Residential. This means the area was designated to be used for single-family living units rather than businesses. 

According to Village Administrator, Joseph Hackney, the original idea was to rezone the lot so that the bank could build there; however, the board’s attorney advised against it. 

“We can’t just change a lot to a commercial or some other type of light industrial,” Hackney explained. 

With that in mind, the board went with the next option, which included “Revising the R-1 Residential special use allowances.”

Hackney described how a number of the special use allowances for residential zones tend to be “pretty disruptive” such as churches, schools, government buildings, and funeral homes – all of which have the potential to intensify traffic in the area. 

“The way that the zoning board and the board of trustees were looking at it. . .a bank is not all that much more significant of an impact as what a school or a municipality [would be],” Hackney shared.

From there, the board allowed neighbors of the area to come in and voice their concerns regarding the revision of the special use allowances. 

“Ultimately we got a little bit of feedback in the beginning but Philo Bank did a good job of explaining how they want to be good neighbors,” said Hackney. 

In terms of the zoning, the board amended the R-1 Residential special allowances to include banking institutions, and Philo’s submission for a banking institution on the lot was approved. 

Since, Philo has been working to clean up the lot as they prepare for construction. 

Hackney foresees the bank being a good addition to the area, both for the people but also for the appeal it will add visually.

“It’s already making a difference,” he claimed. “I’m hoping that the neighbors eventually see it as a positive.”

As for the bank itself, it still has a while to go before it is ready to open. 

The outside structure is expected to be complete around fall, leaving the inside work to be finished throughout the winter months.

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The new building will be a fully-operational bank including teller operations, safe deposit boxes, drive-up lanes, ATM, night  depository, and a loan department comprised of Les Hoveln, EVP, Senior Lender and Jason Snyder, VP.

During this process, Philo Exchange Bank’s temporary facility at 109 N. Main Street, St. Joseph will remain open Monday-Friday  8am-5pm and Saturday 8am-12pm.  

“We are excited about the opportunity to have a permanent facility in St. Joseph. Finding a location that was convenient to our new  and existing customers, while providing all the products and services one might expect from a full-service bank was our top priority  and we feel that we have accomplished that at this location. We look forward to being a part of St. Joseph and the surrounding  communities for many years to come.” said Les Hoveln, Executive Vice President and Senior Lender.  

Philo Exchange Bank currently has five locations in Philo, Allerton, Broadlands, and St. Joseph. Operating since 1883, Philo  Exchange Bank takes pride in serving our communities and providing friendly, personal service.  

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A Villa Grove native Deem left East Central Illinois to study biochemistry at Illinois College in the western part of the state. During that time, he took the opportunity to shadow a family practice physician.

“I just thought that was like the coolest job in the world,” he said. “I loved interacting with patients and the science part of it. I applied to medical school and never looked back. 

“Now I’m doing exactly what he’s doing as a primary care physician, and it’s been a really good choice for me, I think.”

After finishing his residency at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Deem joined the team at Christie Clinic on Windsor, seeing some familiar faces from his hometown while also developing relationships with others. 

He and his wife, Katie, also decided to settle in Mahomet.

That was seven years ago.

“My goal has always been the same. I want my patients to come in; I want to address their complaints; I want them to feel like they are being listened to and heard; I want to be able to work through their problems and find solutions to their problems,” Deem said.

With internal medicine, Deem diagnoses and treats non-surgical illnesses or disorders and promotes wellness care for adult patients. 

He sees everything from heart disease to diabetes to orthopedic complaints. He said the variety of ailments is what makes the day-to-day interesting, but he always wants to be the kind of doctor who helps patients prevent illness from happening. 

Deem said that while some patients have put routine health care or checkups on the backburner during the COVID-19 pandemic, continuing to see a doctor annually can help detect some conditions that are completely asymptomatic: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, blood work, for example. 

“I think that prevention there is key as well,” he said. “Are we hitting the marks on preventative health care like mammograms, colonoscopies, vaccines, bone densities: that kind of stuff is all important no matter what.”

Deem will bring the same vision for his practice to the Mahomet area. He said ultimately, he just wants each patient to become a better, healthier person. 

“I’ve developed a long-standing relationship with several of my patients here at the clinic,” he said. 

Even though he will be “a little farther down the road” from Windsor, patients have said that they will follow him. 

“I want the patients to have that trusting faith in me and work through their health problems together and to get them as a healthier person and a healthier lifestyle,” he said. “I want to see them over time and have that lasting relationship with them.”

To make an appointment with Dr. Deem, please visit onlinescheduling.christieclinic.com. 

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