On Friday and Saturday, March 22–23, there will be a sale of all inventory, office supplies and furniture remaining at the Dr. Mike store location (247 E Main St). Hours of the sale will be Friday from 10:00–6:00 and Saturday from 10:00–2:00. Sales will be cash only, and all item prices are negotiable. Please stop in and pick up any desired computer supplies and some free giveaways.
Michael R. Kroll, 55, local business owner and civil advocate, died at 1:25 a.m. at Galesburg Cottage Hospital after suffering a heart attack.
Mike was born on March 11, 1957 in Chicago, the son of Robert and JoAnne (Riley) Kroll. He married Michelle Hedinger on August 11, 1979 in Ferdinand, IN. Mike is survived by his wife Michelle of Galesburg; his father Robert of Sevierville, TN; two sons, Nathan of Galesburg and Preston of Freeport; one brother, Stephen of Sevierville, TN; and one sister, Laurel Kroll of Strawberry Plains, TN. He was preceded in death by his mother, JoAnne on August 4, 2012.
Mike was a knowledgeable and educated man, having graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University with his Bachelors of Arts and receiving his Masters degree from West Virginia University. Mike was owner and operator of Dr. Mike’s Computer Therapist and the editor/publisher of galesburgplanet.com an online newspaper. He was very active in the community from being a voice often heard at city council meetings to being active in politics and the Knox County Democratic Party. But Mike’s passion was truly the Galesburg Public Library, serving on the board of directors and the effort to build a new library in Galesburg. Mike was also currently serving on the Master Facility Implementation Committee and the GHS Core Committee for CUSD #205.
Per Mike’s wishes he will be cremated and no funeral services will be planned. In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial contributions be directed to the Galesburg Public Library. Cremation arrangements have been entrusted to Watson Thomas Funeral Home, Galesburg. There will be a celebration of life for Mike at the Galesburg Public Library meeting room from 4 to 8 pm on Monday, December 17.
Expressions of sympathy may be made at www.watsonthomas.com
Mike’s passion was to make Galesburg an inviting community to its residents as well as outsiders, and he devoted many hours in this pursuit. To Mike, this meant exposing problems and weaknesses, as well as encouraging new ideas and change. His opinions were based on research and investigation. Although his opinions were not always welcome to everyone, he was outspoken and persistent. You had to admire and respect his courage to his convictions. Galesburg has truly lost an important asset.
The Kroll family has also lost an important asset. We depended on his knowledge and ability to deal with difficult situations. On family and personal matters, we relied on Mike for direction. As always, he was more than willing to share his opinion with us, whether we wanted it or not. Yet there was never any guessing, you always knew where he stood. Mike was our cornerstone, and we are going to miss his stability and guidance.
–Michelle, Nathan, and Preston
A supply of molybdenum 99 isotopes manufactured in South Africa without bomb-usable highly enriched uranium.
The Obama administration is moving forward with plans to modify the Medicare payment system for radiological isotopes used in diagnostic procedures despite concerns that the change would not do enough to end health care providers’ reliance on bomb-grade uranium.
Effective Jan. 1, hospitals and other medical facilities will be entitled to an additional $10 in government reimbursement for every diagnostic procedure they conduct on Medicare patients using isotopes not derived from highly enriched uranium. ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
While the headlines on the fiscal cliff negotiations are about wrangling over the top individual tax rates, multinational corporations are quietly lobbyingfor an agreement to move the U.S. international tax rules to a territorial system.
Members of the so-called Fix the Debt Campaign have called for massive cuts to social programs while seeking additional tax breaks for their own companies. A move to a territorial system could give the 63 publicly-held companies in the Fix the Debt campaign an immediate windfall of up to $134 billion and would massively increase their incentives to move even more profits offshore, where they would then be permanently exempted from U.S. taxes. Terrible-torial. ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Thomas “Fats” Waller died 69 years ago this week on a westbound Santa Fe Chief train traveling from the Midwest to Hollywood, but the great jazz pianist and songwriter lives on.
It’s been 70 years since his “Jitterbug Waltz,” 80 years since he first experimented with solo jazz, and 90 years since he started recording at age 18 – after years of playing at his father’s Baptist church, Harlem’s Lincoln Theater and “rent parties.”
His music continues to inspire in contemporary arts – an ongoing appreciation of Waller’s immense talent and friendly charm. ↓ Read the rest of this entry…