Latest news with #Gaytan
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Victor's Taco Shop to open second location in Springfield
Apr. 8—Victor's Taco Shop is opening a second location in Springfield at 10 a.m. Friday, April 11. Those who visit the restaurant during its first month of opening, will be entered into a raffle for a $500 check. The winner will be announced May 11. The fast-food, Mexican restaurant is located at 1200 N. Bechtle Ave. in the former space of Rapid Fired Pizza. The pizza shop closed in February 2024 after it had been seeking to hire a new owner operator. Jonathan Gaytan, co-owner of Victor's Taco Shop, said they wanted to open a restaurant on the other side of town that was closer to Wittenberg University and the highway. Victor's other restaurant location in Springfield is located at 1929 E. Main St. The 2,000 square foot building will feature a dine-in area with seating for around 60 people. There will not be a drive-thru, but customers will be able to place an order next month and get it brought out to them — similar to what Olive Garden does. Victor's is known for offering the same quality food as a traditional sit-down Mexican restaurant, Gaytan said. Customer favorites include Carne Asada Fries, Breakfast Burritos, Birria Tacos, Super Nachos and Taco Bowls. Victor's is now serving margaritas and domestic canned and bottle beers at its location in Washington Twp. Gaytan said he plans to apply for a liquor license for the new Springfield location and eventually offer these types of beverages at their other existing locations. Gaytan is in the midst of building a food truck to sit at their Lima store, which burnt down in February. They do have plans to rebuild, but that's expected to be done by the end of this year. The food truck will then be used for festivals or large catering orders The Springfield Victor's will be open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. This is Victor's 16th location. In the future, Victor's hopes to expand to Cincinnati and open a location in Vandalia and another in Columbus. For more information, visit or the restaurant's Facebook page.
Chicago Tribune
01-04-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Aurora Lions Club taking critical ‘baby steps' in early vision screening
I can smile about it now. But back in the day when I was trying to keep glasses on an 18-month-old, there were times I was in tears. Like the already-hectic Christmas Eve spent tearing the house apart in search of tiny red wire rims, which later turned up inside a Fisher-Price 'Little People' garage. Or the Sunday afternoon at Brookfield Zoo when his eyewear was flung into one of the primate cages. Or that Thanksgiving road trip to my hometown when I sent his father into a burning vehicle to retrieve the toddler's glasses after the engine caught on fire. I can remember at least one tearful phone call to his pediatric ophthalmologist declaring 'I give up … I can't keep these darn glasses on his face.' I also recall his answer. 'Be patient. It will come. It is important that he wear them.' The doctor's last sentence pretty much sums up why people like Gabby Gaytan, parent educator at Family Focus, and Susan Koepke, past president of the Aurora Lions Club, are so passionate about the service organization's push to grow the preschool numbers of its Children's Vision Program. Awareness is definitely on the rise, both women insist, with Koepke describing the past few months in particular as 'exciting' in terms of community partnerships. Those not only include Aurora City Council members, several schools, Family Focus and the Aurora Public Library, where screenings for children are held monthly, but more recently Aurora University, which has supplied graduate interns to help with the website, flyers, letters and other outreach efforts; Midwestern University's Doctor of Optometry Program; and Companeros en Salud (Partners in Health). The goal is to increase the number of screenings in the 0-3 age group, which remains low in large part, Gaytan suggested, because it's tough to keep eyewear on children so small. 'The main challenge,' she said, 'is getting past the notion they are too young to wear glasses.' Plus, parents often don't understand the importance of early screening, or believe there is a vision problem with children so young, Gaytan continued. Adding to the issue, there are fewer doctors who do screenings on children younger than 4 because not only is that age group not covered by Medicaid, the little ones are harder to work with. All the more reason the Aurora Lions Club, which has historically been known for its focus on vision health for kids, continues to aggressively promote its 0-3 screening and follow-up program, especially targeting the community's immigrant Hispanic population. Over the past year that push includes creating the nonprofit Aurora Lions Club Foundation, which allows the group to accept sponsorships and donations, having access to the newest screening camera model and raising awareness about a Congressional bill targeting early detection of vision impairments for children. Studies indicate this screening is so critical because 80% of what we learn is through the eyes, and sight is the most imperfect sense at birth. Simply put, both women insist, if children are not able to see well, they will not learn and develop as they should. According to Gaytan, 'we are working to find more doctors to take those (younger than 4)' and are hoping that this campaign will not only see an uptick in screenings but awareness in general about the importance of testing for all ages of children. 'The hope is that families spread the word,' she said. In addition to community health screenings, the Aurora Lions Club, which will showcase this local program at the district convention this month, continues to focus on the elementary schools. But as Koepke pointed out, at a parent presentation in January only one mother showed up, and she did not speak English. Still, Koepke described it as a 'fabulous experience' because 'I learned as much' from this event as did the mother, whose child ended up needing glasses. In addition to now using split-screens, with English on one side, Spanish on the other, Koepke noted that using translators is critical. 'One child at a time,' said Koepke, who remains convinced that screenings and follow-up play vital roles in helping children succeed in school and in life. 'It is still baby steps,' she added, 'but we are making progress.'
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Future of Abilene's rec facilities up for vote on Tuesday
This Tuesday, Feb. 4, Abilene residents will have the opportunity to vote in a special election seeking a 0.35% sales tax in the city that would fund recreational facilities and other recreation improvements. This is the second time the proposal has been put out for public vote. During the primary election in August 2024, voters defeated the question with 675 no votes, over the 608 yes votes. Members of the Sports Complex Task Force felt that many Abilene residents were confused about the tax and the amount it would levy. Thus, the task force wanted the opportunity to explain the need and the benefits, and hopefully, motivate more people to turn out to vote. The need and potential benefits The proposed new facilities and fields would fix drainage issues and fund new fields for baseball, softball and other sports, making them safer for Abilene youth and bringing them up to modern standards. Also, the improved fields would be used to attract out of town teams to attend tournaments here, creating an economic benefit for local restaurants, hotels and other businesses. The remaining tax revenue would be used for other park improvements such as playground equipment or water splash pads, not only for the children playing on them, but adults as well. Tuesday's election This election will only have one polling place — at Holm West's Green Ford Building at 2104 N. Buckeye Avenue. The building will open for voting starting at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. For early voting, in-person advance voting ends Monday, Feb. 3. Jennifer Gaytan, county clerk, said 76 early voters have cast votes and her office has received 62 requests for mail ballots. Gaytan also said the office has prepared enough ballots for 40% of Abilene's registered voters to cast their votes. Purpose of tax A group of local leaders who make up the Sports Complex Task Force proposed this tax and are working with Mammoth Sports Construction on plans and designs for new multi-purpose fields and/or new ballfields. The two groups will create a finished design if the tax is passed. The tax is conservatively estimated to generate $3.7 million. The question The ballot question for the recreation facilities sales tax will read, 'Shall a special purpose retailers' sales tax in the amount of three and one half tenths of one percent (0.35%) (e.g., $0.35 on a $100.00 purchase) be levied in the City of Abilene, Kansas to take effect July 1, 2025 or as soon thereafter as such tax may be levied by the Kansas Department of Revenue, with revenue from such tax used for the purpose of funding recreation facility improvements, to include multi-purpose fields, with the means and methods to accomplish said purpose to be determined in the sole discretion of the Governing Body of the City; and provided that such retailers' sales tax shall expire on the date ten years after it is first levied, all pursuant to K.S.A. 12-187 et seq., as amended?'
