#HIGH POWERED TELESCOPE FOR FREE#

“It’s especially good for the kids,” she added. Rotary Club president Diane Denekas said the Shore Acres Clubhouse, located on the Illinois River, is a perfect spot to view eagles. Contest winners will be announced at the breakfast. The Optimist Club in partnership with the Chillicothe Public Library is also holding its annual “Eagles” and “Life on the Illinois River” photo and art contest in conjunction with the eagle celebration. The telescope swings 180 degrees for complete panoramic viewing, and a camera or phone can be held up to the lens to take a close-up photo of birds or other wildlife, she added. “It has two scopes, one higher and one lower, so an adult and a child or a person in a wheelchair could be using it at the same time.”

#HIGH POWERED TELESCOPE FOR FREE#

“It’s designed for free use by the public,” Adams said. The telescope is being installed on the bluff on the north side of the Shore Acres Clubhouse and will be available for use during the Eagle Watch Celebration breakfast.

“Anyone that gave a personal donation over $200 could get the name of a loved one that has passed on the plaque,” Adams said. (Photo courtesy of the Chillicothe Optimist ClubĪ plaque to be installed near the telescope recognizes the organizations and recognizes in memoriam four people whose families donated more than $200 each: Jay Close, Stephan Groome and Jack and Alice McCabe. The telescope and plaque are being donated by the Chillicothe Optimist Club. 8, along with a high-powered, double-viewer telescope perfect for spotting eagles on the Illinois River near the Shore Acres Clubhouse in Chillicothe. This plaque will be dedicated Saturday, Feb. She also received donations from the Chillicothe Lions Club, Rotary Club, VFW Post 499, CEFCU, the Chillicothe Foundation and Owens Design group, as well as from individuals who donated through a GoFundMe account. Three Sisters Music Festival gave us $1,000 by mid-November, and that put us over the top,” Adams said. “I started trying to raise the money in April and my target date was mid-November to order the telescope. I thought wouldn’t it be great to have a high-powered telescope so you’d be able to see eagles and all the wildlife along the river,” she recalled.Īfter researching companies that make telescopes, Adams brought the idea to the Optimist Club’s board, which gave her the go-ahead to start fundraising for the $6,500 needed to purchase a telescope with an all-color-corrective optic double viewer from the Glass Eye in Signal Hill, Calif.

“It was kind of an overcast day and you could see eagles across the river, but you couldn’t really make them out. Optimist Club member Sherry Adams said the idea for the telescope came to her during last year’s eagle celebration. A dedication ceremony for the telescope will take place at 11 a.m. The Chillicothe Optimist Club spearheaded a fundraiser to purchase the new telescope, which will be installed and maintained by the Chillicothe Park District.

8, at the Shore Acres Clubhouse at 100 Park Blvd.Īlong with the food, the celebration will feature a children’s storyteller, a presentation with live birds of prey from Wildlife Prairie Park and educational materials, spotting scopes and binoculars provided by the Audubon Society for wildlife viewing. The Chillicothe Rotary Club is hosting the all-you-can eat pancake and sausage breakfast with help from the Chillicothe Lions Club from 7:30-10:30 a.m. (Photo courtesy of the Chillicothe Rotary Club)Ī new high-powered, double-scope telescope at Chillicothe’s Shore Acres Park will give visitors to this year’s annual Eagle Watch Celebration a close-up view of the majestic birds and other wildlife that may be in the area. The event includes an all-you-can-eat pancake and sausage breakfast and a chance to see eagles on the Illinois River. Wildlife Prairie Park staff will be on hand to show birds of prey again at this year’s Chillicothe Eagle Watch Celebration on Saturday, Feb.

High powered telescope