Latest / WIXN AM 1460 - Shaw Local Radio / Talk-Line: Brandon Clark on Kitzman Farms and more local news

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Talk-Line: Brandon Clark on Kitzman Farms and more local news · WIXN AM 1460 - Shaw Local Radio

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  Speaker 1: Time for our report from Shaw Local News, and our
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  Speaker 1: reporter today is our good friend with Shaw Local News
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  Speaker 1: at live in studio this morning. Since Charlene is doing
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  Speaker 1: our news updates, Brandon Clark is going solo for us
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  Speaker 1: this morning here at wis In with our report from
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  Speaker 1: Shaw Local. Good morning, sir, good morning. Nice to have
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  Speaker 1: you with us. Of course, Brandon is with us as
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  Speaker 1: well throughout our news day here at wix In. One
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  Speaker 1: of our anchors of wix and News Service News is
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  Speaker 1: live with us this morning to give us the update
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  Speaker 1: the happenings across our area as far as Shaw Local
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  Speaker 1: is concerned. And Brandon, we want to start today talking
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  Speaker 1: about a business that, you know, it's kind of center staged,
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  Speaker 1: you know, over the past week or so Kitsman's talk about.
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  Speaker 2: K Kitsman's Farm Sanctuary. So I got the pleasure of
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  Speaker 2: visiting them when some Sterling High school students were there
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  Speaker 2: getting an entirely different classroom experience, rolling up their sleeves
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  Speaker 2: and getting risk deep, sometimes quite literally in their coursework.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah you know, yeah, so instead of just reading about
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  Speaker 2: animal care that they these students were, they were feeding goats,
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  Speaker 2: trimming their hoofs, and even collecting some very special samples
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  Speaker 2: as part of their animal science and horgiculture classes. Interesting,
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  Speaker 2: I'm sure, yeah. But Kitsman's Farm sanctuaries and nonprofit the
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  Speaker 2: rehabilitates wildlife and provides a safe home for animals that
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  Speaker 2: can't be released. Many of these are animals that have
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  Speaker 2: been you know, some of them are been are disabled,
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  Speaker 2: or have been injured. And I mean this is everything
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  Speaker 2: from chickens, cows, donkeys, pigs, you name it, they probably
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  Speaker 2: got it. And so they rehabilitate many of these animals
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  Speaker 2: to either be released later some of them just become
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  Speaker 2: permanent residents of the farm. And so the sanctuary relies
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  Speaker 2: heavily on donations to cover thousands of dollars in monthly
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  Speaker 2: feed and vet bills. Now, it's really cool Tracy Kitsman
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  Speaker 2: who her and her husband who also Kitsman's lumber Way,
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  Speaker 2: and you know here they've grown it. So she actually
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  Speaker 2: started with just a single goat and a few ducks,
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  Speaker 2: and today that's sprawling in doubles as an education space
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  Speaker 2: for these students and other visitors to come and learn
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  Speaker 2: about these animals and like what it actually takes to
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  Speaker 2: rehabilitate them and care for them and give some folks
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  Speaker 2: who might not ever get a chance to see a
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  Speaker 2: farm and you know, their life besides passing through the
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  Speaker 2: cornfield's you know, a nice up close look. So she's
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  Speaker 2: hoping in the future to be able to expand into
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  Speaker 2: a larger facility on the property that would be a
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  Speaker 2: dedicated agricultural education center for visitors. And so again this
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  Speaker 2: was more than just a field trip for these students.
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  Speaker 2: They were connecting what they were learning in the classroom
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  Speaker 2: right their hands on. I just encourage people to read
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  Speaker 2: the story because some very very interesting activities. They regularly
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  Speaker 2: do tours, so you need to call them to book
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  Speaker 2: that if you want to go on their final tour
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  Speaker 2: of the season that is coming up this Saturday, October
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  Speaker 2: twenty fifth. There's gonna be animals to be local vendors
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  Speaker 2: and some Halloween fun for kids.
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  Speaker 1: So next month, next month, So next month they'll have
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  Speaker 1: their final open opportunity than before. Obviously the colder months
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  Speaker 1: and probably a little bit of a shutdown because of
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  Speaker 1: the colder months ahead caring for these animals at the farm.
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  Speaker 1: So again that opportunity next month on October the twenty fifth,
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  Speaker 1: and we have the short story Inshaw local and Brandon
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  Speaker 1: covers that for us this morning.
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  Speaker 2: He very I'm sure it's a.
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  Speaker 1: Very interesting area is that you take part in as
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  Speaker 1: far as you know the care and learning more about
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  Speaker 1: these animals across our northern Illinois area. Brandon has that
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  Speaker 1: for us this morning here at WIX. And let's stick
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  Speaker 1: with new business and talk about a new business. Yeah,
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  Speaker 1: and we'll stay right here in Dixon. So a new
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  Speaker 1: tattoo shopped Merlo Max Tattoo Shack, and so some people
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  Speaker 1: may already have been aware of this business before they
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  Speaker 1: quite knew what it was by a very special bus
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  Speaker 1: they've passed as you're coming into Dixon off of two,
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  Speaker 1: passing the shell, so you look on the left hand
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  Speaker 1: side and.
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  Speaker 2: You'll think the ninja the teenage ninja turtles have come
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  Speaker 2: to town. Is that colorful? Huh? It is that colorful? Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: it was. They had this bus special specially painted with
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  Speaker 2: with decals to be ninja turtle theme. So he's about
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  Speaker 2: my age. I'm in my forties and so we were
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  Speaker 2: big Ninja turtle fans growing up, and he was he's
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  Speaker 2: been tattooing in the area for years and wanted a
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  Speaker 2: shop of his own. And while he doesn't have an
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  Speaker 2: actual shop in Dixon, what he also did was he
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  Speaker 2: he bought this bus, which he's been repurposing to be
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  Speaker 2: a mobile tattoo bus. Okay, now, for anybody, I know
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  Speaker 2: what some folks are thinking. Right, this is not that
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  Speaker 2: episode from the from the ED and TV show that
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  Speaker 2: I'm not sure I can say on air where we
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  Speaker 2: had Henry Rollins tattooing a guy while they were dune
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  Speaker 2: bugging through the Nevada desert. Right, No, this would be
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  Speaker 2: something where people could book a party, pull up to
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  Speaker 2: your house. He plans to go to special you know,
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  Speaker 2: to area events and people can come in and tattoo
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  Speaker 2: in this bus. And I mean the whole thing is
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  Speaker 2: Ninja Turtle themed all the way through, from the decals
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  Speaker 2: to skateboard wheels that have been repurposed as handles to
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  Speaker 2: open some of the doors. Just super super cool. Jacob
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  Speaker 2: Mcheel is a huge Ninja Turtle fan. If you have
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  Speaker 2: missed the bus by some reason, you'll notice a big
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  Speaker 2: five foot Leonardo Ninja Turtle holding his business sign outside.
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  Speaker 1: Right.
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  Speaker 2: It's it's just a great love song to to the
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  Speaker 2: fun side of tattooing. And what a lot of people know,
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  Speaker 2: so he said, for him, the shop isn't just about
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  Speaker 2: showcasing the Turtles and his bold style, but it's about
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  Speaker 2: creating a space where artists can come and grow and
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  Speaker 2: feel welcome. So he's got a new apprentice, he has
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  Speaker 2: another artist in the shop that that's he's mentored, and
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  Speaker 2: and it's it was just a really cool story. I
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  Speaker 2: always loved meeting these people and seeing what's you know,
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  Speaker 2: kind of brought them together. And not to mention that bus, right,
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  Speaker 2: Like I first found about the story just driving by
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  Speaker 2: and I seen the bus and did a double take,
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  Speaker 2: and I'm like, what's going on? And I was on
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  Speaker 2: my way to an interview, and I'm like, I'm gonna
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  Speaker 2: circle back, and it was gone, and I'm like, well,
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  Speaker 2: you can't hide the Ninja Turtle Bus forever. I'm gonna
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  Speaker 2: find you. And I did. It's like the Wiermobile, Yes, yes,
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  Speaker 2: except if you go and you take a photo outside
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  Speaker 2: the Ninja Turtle Bus and shared on social media, he'll
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  Speaker 2: give you twenty five dollars. There go, So that's the Wienermobile.
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  Speaker 2: They'll give you a discount off. Yeah, yeah, there you go.
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  Speaker 2: All right?
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  Speaker 1: Well again, always always exciting talk you first of all
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  Speaker 1: about new business. Yes, but you know this business tattooing
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  Speaker 1: has you know kind of you know leap forward it
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  Speaker 1: really it's really taken off really yeah, you know, you
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  Speaker 1: know with and people you know don't do it to
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  Speaker 1: cover themselves with color so much as they want something
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  Speaker 1: to remember them by it.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, it's in honoring a loved one, you know,
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  Speaker 2: a way to express to other world. This is this
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  Speaker 2: is who I am, this is what I love. These
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  Speaker 2: are the things that mean something to me, you know.
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  Speaker 2: And and for people who are artists who maybe aren't
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  Speaker 2: thinking of, you know, trying to pursue a mainstream career,
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  Speaker 2: this gives you an avenue to become a business owner.
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  Speaker 2: There you go.
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  Speaker 1: So again another neat story that Brandon has forors this
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  Speaker 1: morning from Shaw Local News. Calm the chaos, Yes, and
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  Speaker 1: oh man, that is something that is always needed on
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  Speaker 1: a fire scene. So four of our local fire departments
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  Speaker 1: have been coming together over the past couple of years
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  Speaker 1: to kind of seamlessly integrate their command structure. So a
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  Speaker 1: lot of our area fire departments have mutual aid agreements
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  Speaker 1: where they agree on like structure fires and other major
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  Speaker 1: calls to come in and help each other out. Right,
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  Speaker 1: So they've been wanting to integrate their command structure so
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  Speaker 1: that anybody whoever arrives first on the scene can take
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  Speaker 1: command and no matter what crews arrive, everybody understands the
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  Speaker 1: same language that's going on. So this is Sterling, Dixon City,
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  Speaker 1: Dixon Rural, and Rock Falls fire departments. Now, they took
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  Speaker 1: part of this Calm the Chaos command training along with
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  Speaker 1: some other fire departments from other areas throughout the state.
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  Speaker 1: But the goal was simple. When firefighters from different towns
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  Speaker 1: show up at the same fire, the first chief on
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  Speaker 1: the scene can take over command and everyone's following the
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  Speaker 1: same playbook. Now, that effort got a big boost over
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  Speaker 1: the past few weeks with that training. So this included
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  Speaker 1: a thirty two hour online course that wrapped up over
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  Speaker 1: the past five days with workshops here in the Salt Valley,
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  Speaker 1: some of which took place at Soft Valley Community College,
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  Speaker 1: others some might have seen the local fire department the
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  Speaker 1: last couple of days at abandoned houses here in Dixon
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  Speaker 1: where they were actually getting hands on drills with house fires,
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  Speaker 1: commercial buildings, and even re enacting mass casualty scenarios. Be
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  Speaker 1: ready for everything. They want to have a seamless language
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  Speaker 1: that they all understand so that we're saving time and
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  Speaker 1: that that equal saving lives.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a good idea. I think it's a good idea.
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  Speaker 2: I think it's a win win.
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  Speaker 1: And again with the training and all, uh, this puts
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  Speaker 1: you know, all of the firefighters and the first responders
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  Speaker 1: in line, yeah, to you know, to be at the ready.
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  Speaker 1: You know, there could be an instance, you know, especially
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  Speaker 1: in rural areas. You know, it was what I'm thinking
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  Speaker 1: about absolutely where you know, positioning fire departments may you
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  Speaker 1: know make it there, you know before you know, maybe
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  Speaker 1: the primary right it does. And and again I understand
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  Speaker 1: this completely, I really do. And and it hopefully takes
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  Speaker 1: care of a maybe something that we haven't experienced, but
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  Speaker 1: you know, just taking care of it and not making
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  Speaker 1: sure it doesn't absolutely. So that's I think it's great
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  Speaker 1: that the training is taking place between the fire departments
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  Speaker 1: here in our local northern Illinois area.
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  Speaker 2: We wanted to talk Bears.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I know for Bears fans sometimes it's like do
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  Speaker 3: we want to talk about the Bears? But the Chicago
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  Speaker 3: Bears have a new fan a fan club in a
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  Speaker 3: place for fans to get to get get together at
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  Speaker 3: ex Golf Salt Valley. So some folks might remember I
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  Speaker 3: did a story on that a few weeks ago. If
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: you don't, please go on line and check it out.
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  Speaker 3: But X Golf Salk Valley holds these high tech golf
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  Speaker 3: simulators where you can play indoors on simulated famous golf
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  Speaker 3: courses from around the world. Right, so, Chicago, the Chicago
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  Speaker 3: Bears Salt Valley, Chicago Bears Army or excuse me, Bears
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  Speaker 3: Army Sauk Valley.
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  Speaker 2: There we go. That brings people together to watch the games.
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  Speaker 2: They collect physical patches, uh for for attending games, and
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  Speaker 2: they move up the ranks in the in the Bears Army. Okay,
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  Speaker 2: so everything from you know, you could you could be
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  Speaker 2: a sergeant to a lieutenant. And while you know, just
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  Speaker 2: the names and the patches might sound cool, well, they
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  Speaker 2: also run raffles and and prizes, and so one of
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  Speaker 2: those is if you've attended enough games and moved along
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  Speaker 2: far enough, you can win a ticket to a big
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  Speaker 2: party bus that's going to go to the season finale
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  Speaker 2: of the with the Bears Detroit game. Okay, yeah right,
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  Speaker 2: yeah cool.
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  Speaker 1: So so that's in the works then, you know, putting
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  Speaker 1: that trip together and giving people the opportunity to maybe
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  Speaker 1: make it in. Yeah, yeah, they they they've already started
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  Speaker 1: watching their first games. I've seen that attendance grow so well.
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  Speaker 1: Again emphasis on the Chicague. Obviously, we're Chicago Bears affiliate
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  Speaker 1: right here at wix and Bears games every week, and
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  Speaker 1: so kind of hitching onto the wagon.
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  Speaker 2: So to speak.
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  Speaker 1: Ause Brandon covers the story for us here at wikes
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: in and a quick mentioned Brandon before we have to let
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  Speaker 1: you go, Thank you vets.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you veterans. Yeah, our special edition with with stories
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  Speaker 2: filled with veterans. So we're still looking for, you know,
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  Speaker 2: for more stories. Accepting that. One story I'm pretty particularly
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  Speaker 2: hoping to get done is I'd like to do a
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  Speaker 2: story on the spouses of veterans. Right, so this addition
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: is going to be filled with stories about veterans, and
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  Speaker 2: that's great, but I think that's an often you know,
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  Speaker 2: kind of an unsung side of that. So I would
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  Speaker 2: encourage the spouses of military veterans please reach out to
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  Speaker 2: me at b Clark at shawmedia dot com. If you
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  Speaker 2: if you've had my card, you've got my number as well.
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  Speaker 2: But reach out to me. I'd like to talk to you,
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  Speaker 2: and I'd like to share the story about you know,
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  Speaker 2: the truck, the struggles, the support that that's there, and
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  Speaker 2: you know, I'd like to tell the story of these spouses.
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  Speaker 2: I think that's an important side.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, because there is just as important to the story
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  Speaker 1: of veterans serving our nation as well, you know, the
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  Speaker 1: spouses of those that are involved in military here in
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  Speaker 1: our northern Illinois area. Brandon's doing the story for us,
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  Speaker 1: and watch for that Thank you Vets insert that will
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: be coming our way in November. Yes, courtesy of Shaw
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: Local that takes care of our chat today. Thank you
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  Speaker 1: for joining us. We'll see you in a week.
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  Speaker 2: Always a pleasure.
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  Speaker 1: Brandon Clark from Shaw Local News our guest today here
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: at Wixent Sports fors Next.
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