[NOV. 8, 2000]  By a comfortable margin, voters in Lincoln Elementary School District 27 approved building two new schools to replace Central School and Lincoln Junior High School. The final tally in Tuesday’s election was 3,677 for the proposition and 2,042 against. Passage of the referendum, which called for issuing $4.1 in bonds and demolishing the two existing schools, was required for the district to receive an $8,318,181 state grant to complete the $12 million building project.

The battle over the issue of new schools versus restoration of the existing ones has been evident in recent weeks, with signs supporting both positions sprouting up in yards all over the district and a barrage of articles and letters to the editors in local news media.

A citizens’ group called Save Our Schools (SOS) has opposed demolition of the two buildings from the beginning, maintaining that the schools should be preserved because they have historic value and are part of the fabric of the community. The group supporting new school buildings, which includes many teachers in the district, pointed out the inadequacies of the present buildings and the problems of restoring the schools, in particular what to do with students during the renovation.

Even after the school board voted to demolish the schools, the SOS group continued to seek ways to save them, maintaining that the district must have a review by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency before the referendum.

District 27 Superintendent Robert Kidd, one of the many people who came to the Logan County Courthouse to watch the returns come in, said he was "very pleased" with the outcome. "A lot of people put in a lot of their own time and money to assure quality buildings for the children in Lincoln’s future."

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Now that the referendum has passed, the project will go into the actual design phase, according to Superintendent Kidd. Architect Dave Leonatti of Springfield will confer with teachers before coming up with a floor plan for the new schools. Several field trips are being planned to let teachers visit schools in the Illinois and Indiana area that were designed by Leonatti’s firm and by another well-known school construction firm. "Teachers can see what actually exists in brand-new schools. We want to make sure the plan we have is the best it can be," Kidd said.

Before any demolition takes place, the district will build a replacement for Central School on the Seventh Street side of the present site. Construction will probably begin in the summer of 2001, with a timetable of 18 months to two years.

When that phase is finished, Central School students will be moved into the new building, while Lincoln Junior High students will be moved to Central. The present Junior High School will come down and a new one will be built on the same site. The last phase of the construction will be demolishing Central. The whole project will take about four years, according to Superintendent Kidd.

When the new buildings are completed, all students in the district in grades six through eight will go to the junior high school, and all elementary schools will be kindergarten through fifth grades.

[Joan Crabb]

[NOV. 8, 2000]  Two new members will take their seats on the Logan County Board in December to replace two who stepped down this year, but neither will be a Democrat. Jim Griffin and Dale A. Voyles, both of Lincoln and both listed as Republicans, along with five incumbents also listed as Republicans, edged out Democratic contender Daniel W. White of Beason.

White and incumbent Clifford "Sonny" Sullivan of Lincoln were in a close race during much of the evening, with White sometimes pulling ahead. But the final tally put Sullivan back on the board with 8,007 votes to White’s 7,943, a margin of only 64 votes.

Leading vote-getter was Lloyd Hellman of rural Emden, polling 8,856. Roger W. Bock of rural Williamsville came in second with 8,793, closely followed by newcomer Voyles with 8,765. Paul E. Gleason of Lincoln drew 8,552 votes; David Hepler of Lincoln garnered 8,477; and newcomer Griffin won 8,045 votes.

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The two board members who will step down next month are Darrell Deverman of Atlanta, who is the present board chairman, and Richard A. Hurley of Lincoln. The board will hold its reorganization meeting on Dec. 4. Traditionally, new members are sworn at that meeting. Also, the board will elect a new chairman and vice-chairman and assign new committee appointments.

The present board will have two more meetings: its work session on Nov. 16 and its official meeting Nov. 21, when it must vote final approval of the 2001 budget.

[Joan Crabb]

[NOV. 8, 2000]  In spite of the news of a presidential election "too close to call" breaking minute by minute on national television, an estimated 600 to 700 Logan County folks found the time to come to the courthouse to see what was happening in two local races. They thronged the rotunda watching runners post results on a huge blackboard, visiting with friends, and watching their children and grandchildren get acquainted with the local election process.

Many students from area schools were in evidence, most with pencil and paper getting autographs of local politicians, even those not on the ballot in this election. Mayor Joan Ritter, Sheriff Anthony Soloman, and other officials were signing their names along with the Logan County Board members who were running for office.

[District 27 Superintendent Robert Kidd speaks with Jim Ash on Media One when a sure "yes" vote in favor of proposed referendum was in.]

Among them were fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth graders from Zion Lutheran School earning extra credit, along with many students in Joe Hackett’s fifth grade class at Central School.

"I told them we would cut down on assignments Tuesday and Wednesday if they would come up here and get the feel of the political process," Hackett said. "I wanted them to get the autographs of our local politicians as a way to get involved in the process."

Sheriff Soloman, who gave young visitors to his office plastic "badges" -- whistles and refrigerator magnets -- said, "It’s good for kids to get out and see how the process works."

Other young people were involved in the process, too, serving as "runners" for County Clerk Sally Litterly as votes from the 44 precincts came in. Autumn Feldman, now a student at Western Illinois State University, who has worked summers for Litterly, was one of three carrying ballots from the first-floor room where votes were being counted to the county clerk’s office on the second floor as well as posting results on the blackboard. Also helping out were Megan Sullivan, a student at Lincoln Community High School, and Kelsey O’Donahue, an eighth grader at Carroll Catholic School.

[Media One production crew: Celeste Rogers, Beth Hoffert, and Bill White wait patiently as election results dwindle down around 11 p.m.]

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[Students from Zion Lutheran School were among those at the courthouse last night watching election returns. Here Allicent Pech, Charles Johnson, teacher Steve Schumacher, Nikki Richards and Amy Schumacher take a break from watching the board.]

Soloman estimated the crowd, at its peak, was six to seven hundred, but noted that it began melting away after the vote tallies showed the results of the District 27 referendum. "When they found out how lopsided the vote was, they started going home." The vote to pass a $4.1 million bond issue to build two new schools passed 3,677 to 2,042, and totals posted during the evening showed the "yes" votes in each precinct comfortably leading the "no" votes. School district officials and teachers were among those who watched anxiously as the referendum votes were tallied.

"I’m glad to see such a big turnout for an election with was mostly uncontested," Soloman said. For many of the races, including state senator, state representative, circuit clerk, state’s attorney and coroner, there were no Democratic candidates on the ballot.

[Mike Fak and Jim Ash provide live coverage of the Logan County election over Media One.]

The one contested race, for seven seats on the Logan County Board, listed eight candidates. The first seven on the ballot, all Republicans, won over the lone Democrat, whose name was at the bottom. Several County Board members stayed until the last ballots had been counted at about 11:30 p.m. By that time, the number of people watching the tally had dwindled to 20 or so, and yawning deputies were patiently waiting to see them out and lock the doors.

[Joan Crabb]

Lincoln Elementary School District No. 27, Logan County, Illinois, has received a grant entitlement in the amount of $8,318,181 from the Illinois State Board of Education pursuant to the school construction law for the school construction project to be financed in part with proceeds of the bonds.

[NOV. 7, 2000]  The Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Task Force of the Healthy Communities Partnership is sponsoring a "Town Hall Meeting" on Wednesday, Nov. 15, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Lincoln Community High School auditorium. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss alcohol and drugs, teen pregnancy, domestic violence, agricultural issues, and other community issues or concerns.

Merri Dee of WGN-TV will moderate the town meeting, and in between the individual discussions she will give additional information on the topic just discussed. There will be informational handouts available for those attending who want more information and contact numbers.

This meeting is free to the public. Some teachers are offering extra credit to students who attend the meeting and bring a parent too. Please attend to discuss your thoughts and concerns regarding our community and county.

[LDN]

[click here for listing]

Notice of Open Burn Code released
by Fire Department

Open Burning code for the City of Lincoln

BOCA National Fire Prevention Code 1996 Chapter 4 City Code Book Fire Regulations Chapter 3

BOCA

F-403.4.3 OPEN BURNING PROHIBITED: The code official shall prohibit open burning that will be offensive or objectionable due to smoke or odor emissions when atmospheric conditions or local circumstances make such fires hazardous. The code official shall order the extinguishments, by the land owner or the fire department, of any open burning that creates or adds to a hazardous or objectionable situation.

F-403.5 LOCATION OF OPEN BURNING: Shall not be less than 50 feet from any structure.

F-403.7 ATTENDANCE: Any open burning shall be constantly attended until the fire is extinguished. A water supply such as buckets of water or a connected and charged garden hose shall be available for immediate utilization.

CITY CODE BOOK Chapter 3 Fire regulations

5-3-2 FIRE ON PAVEMENTS: Fires are not allowed on blacktop streets, alleys or concrete sidewalks ($25 fine)

5-3-4 BURNING IN THE CITY: E-1 recreational fires shall contact the Lincoln Fire Department and notify them of the date and time of the wiener roast. No garbage shall be burned and burning must be consistent with other laws.

E-2: From October 2 through May 31 between 7:00 A.M . and 5: 00 P.M. residents are allowed to burn landscape waste only. (Leaves, trees, tree trimmings, branches, stumps, brush, weeds, grass, grass and yard trimmings only)

Fines for violations of the following codes are a minimum of $15 issued by fire crews handling complaints and illegal fires.

Persons complaining about fires must sign a complaint with the Fire Department before extinguishments of legal fires is carried out. No fines will be issued to persons burning with in the boundaries of the code. The persons burning will be advised of the signed complaint and asked to extinguish the fire or the Fire Department will extinguish the fire.

[OCT. 11, 2000]  Beginning Monday, Oct. 16, the Lincoln City Landfill will be open extended hours to allow residents to dispose of leaves and yard waste, according to Donnie Osborne, street superintendent. The landfill will open at 8 a.m. and remain open until 4 p.m. seven days a week, probably until mid-December, he said. Residents may bring in leaves any way they like — in bags, boxes or pickup trucks — but they must take the leaves out of the containers and take the containers back home with them.

[OCT. 10, 2000]  The office of the city clerk in Lincoln will be open for filing petitions for nomination for the Feb. 27, 2001, consolidated primary election, with petitions accepted from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the following dates: Dec. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 18.

Petitions will be accepted for the following city offices:

• Mayor
• City treasurer
• City clerk
• Alderman Ward 1
• Alderman Ward 2
• Alderman Ward 3
• Alderman Ward 4

• Alderman Ward 5

[Juanita Josserand, city clerk]

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