Peoria County Sheriff's Office: February 26

On February 26, OLLI members traveled to the Peoria County Sheriff's Office for a private tour of the jail.

After a brief demonstration by deputies and K-9 officer Beny, Peoria County Sheriff Mike McCoy took our group through the administration offices, deputy meeting room, and a special area that houses an interactive training machine.

The Active Interactive Systems (AIS) machine programs a variety of shooting scenarios, then plays them out in real time, requiring officers to approach shooting situations appropriately and determine when/when not to shoot. Officers are then critiqued afterwards as to how they responded to the scenario. Sheriff McCoy demonstrated the program twice -- and hit the shooter with 100% accuracy.

Sheriff McCoy also led the group through the main control room, the intake area, sallyport, evidence/crime lab, and a prisoner pod. OLLI members were stunned to learn that the jail has been full since three weeks after the 1999 addition (which added 144 beds) was opened.

Kudos and thanks to Sheriff McCoy for the informative tour!

For more information about the Peoria County Sheriff's Office, visit:
www.peoriacounty.org/sheriff.

Becoming Edvard Munch: February 24

Our first trip of Spring 2009 marked another OLLI first -- an intergenerational experience with Bradley University undergraduate students!

We left Peoria early in the morning of February 24 to drive to the Art Institute of Chicago, where we had tickets for the special exhibition, "Becoming Edvard Munch: Influence, Anxiety, and Myth."

OLLI members were accompanied by nearly 20 undergraduates and their art professor Heather Brammeier, who gave a very informative narrative of Munch, his life, and his work, during the drive.

Before entering the Munch exhibit, OLLI members had the opportunity to hear a lecture by the curator, Jay A. Clarke. During the lecture, she discussed the myths that traditionally defined Munch: his mental instability and the influence of contemporary art. Clarke, who also provided the commentary in our audio tour, challenged these myths by presenting his works in relation to those of his European comtemporaries.

OLLI thanks Ms. Brammeier and her students for a wonderful day of intergenerational learning -- based upon the comments from the students and members, it's something we'll definitely try again in the future!

For more information about the Art Institute of Chicago, visit www.artic.edu/aic/.