[APRIL 23, 2001]  This morning at 9, District 27 school officials, Mayor Joan Ritter, Jefferson students and other community members celebrated the local volunteer help that created a unique children's garden at Jefferson School in Lincoln.

[click here to see photos]

Jefferson Principal Eldon Broster began the ceremony by describing the development of the project and how different volunteers and donators became involved. He thanked Donnie Osborne and the city crews for their constructive suggestions, sidewalks and trees. Broster also thanked Mrs. Dopp and the LCHS National Honor Society for coming to help the elementary students plant the trees.

The principal then asked Mayor Ritter to step forward. He presented her with a plaque of appreciation for all of her hard work on behalf of Jefferson School. With Mayor Ritter’s encouragement, Barnes and Noble presented $8,000 worth of books to Jefferson School. She also suggested the log cabin design for the school’s garden shed.

Broster’s next presentation was to the cabin builder. Lincoln business owner Pete Fredericks, of Pete’s Hardware, led an industrious crew of volunteers in creating an "Old Time Log Cabin" as one of the focal points for a future garden area dedicated to children and learning. Fredricks and his crew—Peter Nehaus, George Henrichsmeyer and David Ballard—labored many hours to create the structure to house equipment and supplies for the wide variety of future plantings.

Fredericks thanked Principal Eldon Broster for the plaque and gave a short speech. Fredericks announced that he got an education building the log cabin. He also emphasized that as a Christian, he believes this project was completed so smoothly because of prayer. All the ideas and labor and donated items just came together so readily.

Following Principal Broster’s presentation, Superintendent Robert Kidd bestowed upon Fredericks the Doctorate of Log Cabinery.

Mrs. Hawkinson, the teacher who originated the idea of a school garden, a few of her students, Pete Fredericks and Mayor Ritter ended the celebration with a traditional Lincoln ribbon-cutting. Then Jefferson’s students gathered with the National Honor Society students to plant trees in the back of the lot.

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To date, almost all of the materials required have been donated, and it is the hope that volunteerism and donations will continue to grow, along with the flowers vegetables, trees, prairie grasses and other plantings.

Local support and donations have come from Bob Neal of Edward D. Jones, Dr. Larry Crisafulli of Century Dental, Bob and Joan Graue, Dave and Diane Campbell of NAPA, State Bank of Lincoln, Key Printing, John Guzzardo, Illico, Lincoln Elks, Logan County Farm Bureau, Keystone Risk Management, J.M. Abbott and Associates, Dr. Lee Gurga of Apple Dental Center, Burwell’s, Lincoln and Logan County elected officials, Al’s Main Event, Jane Wright of State Farm, Logan County Soil and Water District, Jefferson PTO, CEFCU, Manley Monuments, Alexander Lumber, Mitchell-Newhouse Lumber, Steve Goodman, Eric Morris, Big R, Contractors Ready Mix, Marshall Millers Trenching Service, and Pete’s Hardware.

Master gardeners from the University of Illinois have adopted the Jefferson School children's garden as a class project and will dedicate hours of volunteer labor to help with the development of the garden.

School officials and teachers plan to incorporate the garden into many aspects of their students’ curriculum. Mrs. Hawkinson described the project as "a working garden where children and adults will turn the soil and carefully watch the beauty of nature unfold….While many plants will grow in our garden, it is the minds of our children at Jefferson and other schools in Lincoln that we really want to help nurture and develop."

The garden is located directly behind the school and is designed to provide special access to the gardens, such as raised flowerbeds, for students with special needs, so they can participate in the garden experience.

Jefferson School is located one block east of the historic Postville Courthouse, and the creators hope that visitors to the courthouse will also take time to enjoy the Jefferson children's prairie garden.

[LDN]

[APRIL 21, 2001]  Plans for Elementary School District 27’s new Central School are almost complete, and Superintendent Robert Kidd hopes construction on the new building can start in August or September.

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The kitchen, also on the first floor, will be used to provide meals to Central students and to all other elementary schools in the district, Kidd said. Adams and Jefferson schools have no kitchens, and those at Northwest and Washington-Monroe are old and inadequate. The new middle school will have its own kitchen.

[APRIL 21, 2001]  Approximately 20 Lincoln Christian College students really raised the roof on their spring vacation last week. They literally raised a roof at the newest Logan County Habitat for Humanity house, located near the end of Vine Street in Mount Pulaski. The crew worked from April 5 through April 12.

The students framed up the house, raised the roof, shingled it, installed all the windows and framed the interior rooms. While some workers strived to finish putting siding on the outside, others were putting wallboard up inside during their last hours of service on Thursday. Where the hint of a house to be built had stood only one week earlier, now the neighborhood landscape was changed by the certainty of a bungalow of specific style, shape and color.

The students and other Habitat workers have been well received by the Mount Pulaski community. The following Mount Pulaski churches and organizations supplied lunch for the full-time workers:

•  Catholic Church

•  American Legion Auxiliary

•  ABWA

•  Zion Lutheran Church

•  Christian Church

•  Methodist Church

•  Rotary

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At the end of the last day the students were presented with T-shirts bearing the Habitat logo. Some of the students pledged to return for the continued regular work hours on the site, saying they really enjoyed doing the work.

George Dahmm, coordinator for the site, says that regular work hours are ready to begin. "From now on we will be working on Saturdays and Mondays. Starting time is about 8:30 a.m., ending late afternoon. We always say, ‘Come when you can and leave when you must.’"

[Jan Youngquist]

[APRIL 20, 2001]  Aaron Ware found his brother, Alan Ware of Atlanta, with a gunshot wound on Wednesday afternoon in Alan’s home. The fatal wound was to the temple. Aaron called Atlanta Police Chief Jim Pinney at 3:06 p.m., and he called Logan County’s Sheriff Tony Soloman. The Illinois State Police have also been called into the investigation.

Logan County’s Coroner Chuck Fricke pronounced Ware dead at 3:26 p.m. He was 40 years old.

The death is under investigation as suspicious. Autopsy results could help in the investigation. This is all the information that has been officially released. According to Logan County State’s Attorney Tim Huyett, further details might compromise the case.

[LDN]

[APRIL 18, 2001]  The Logan County Board voted 9-4 to rescind their Jan. 16 vote to remain at large for purposes of electing board members. The board then voted, also by a 9-4 margin, to adopt the district form of election process.

Before the second vote, for going to districts, a motion was made by Doug Dutz to postpone the vote until a plan prepared by a committee appointed by the board chairman could be developed and presented for board approval. That motion failed.

Opposing the rescission motion and districts proposal were Terry Werth, Dave Hepler, Jim Griffin and Dutz.

According to state law, every 10 years each county must review its election process and vote for any changes that would better serve the public interest.

Dick Logan, board chairman, will now appoint a committee to review the legal guidelines that must be followed when district representative plans are developed. This committee will have until July 1 to present their proposal to the board.

If a plan does not meet with the approval of the board members, then the question is placed with the Illinois attorney general, who establishes a committee including the county's state's attorney, the county clerk and the heads of both major political parties.

Rod White, a longtime proponent of the district form, told members this committee will also have to look at the size of the current board as well as the number of representatives from each district.

"One thing I will oppose," White said, "is any increase in the size of the board."

Paul Gleason told the board that they should also look at the pay that board members receive and reduce it in order to save taxpayers’ money.

Roger Bock, who also has actively supported the district process, along with Lloyd Hellman, asked the board to keep the democratic process in mind when it came time to vote.

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"This country was developed on the democratic process, and we should listen to the voters," Bock said.

The April 3 nonbinding referendum passed by a 3-1 margin and was successful in all 44 precincts.

The Tuesday night meeting was moved to the third floor courtroom to accommodate a crowd of approximately 60 people who attended the meeting.

In other business, the board also found themselves in the position of manager and operator of the Logan County Airport.

Heritage-In-Flight's current contract as airport manager will expire before its board of directors meeting to approve a request by the county board to extend the contract for a month until new bid requests can be published.

Two bids for manager had been received by the airport committee, one from local businessman Lloyd Mason and the other from HIF.

After a lengthy discussion between Bock, who is chairman of the airport committee, other board members, State’s Attorney Tim Huyett and Mason's attorney, Rick Hobler, the board voted to rebid the position of airport manager.

After the vote, Mason withdrew his bid for the position of airport operator. These duties then fell back on the board, which now must decide how to comply with the Illinois Department of Aeronautics’ requirements, including a five-day, 40-hour-a-week service, access to phones and restrooms, and airplane fueling services.

[Fuzz Werth]

[APRIL 17, 2001]  The double-wide trailer sits on Lazy Row in Atlanta. The tall, painfully thin transmission tower that is sending songs throughout central Illinois stands in quiet vigilance next to the structure. A chain-link fence surrounds the graveled property waiting to be covered in asphalt when the weather is good enough. Inside the building, workers toil to assemble modular furniture as plumbing, electrical and carpeting tasks wait to be completed.

Inside the trailer, Jim Ash sits at a desk surrounded by enough electronic equipment to set at ease the mind of a Hollywood director preparing to film a movie about NASA.

An observer can tell that Ash, always civil, is preoccupied with a hundred different tasks still to be done. Always with his sense of humor and his calm, collected way, he states that things are going good. At least the ones that he has a handle on today.

While we visit, WMNW, at 96.3 on the FM dial, is transmitting an old 1980s ballad—the singer lost to this writer. Sitting surrounded by equipment, Ash writes in a notebook of things to do today, as a welcomed but not needed visitor asks him endless questions.

The station, an affiliate of the American Broadcasting Company, garners a satellite feed from another source and retransmits it into central Illinois businesses, homes and cars as we chat.

Ash explains that the signal went on the air late Friday and is already beaming to listeners throughout McLean, Logan and Sangamon counties. An untrained eye asks him if the equipment is familiar to him from his two decades in the radio business at WPRC in Lincoln and WUIS in Springfield. "Actually this system is a great deal more complex and sophisticated than any I have dealt with before," Ash says.

K and M Communications, located in Skokie, owns the new station preparing to make sound waves in the heart of Illinois. "I expect them [the owners] to visit sometime this week and see how the building is progressing," Ash states with chagrin. "Hopefully we will have everything done in a few days and can concentrate on refining our format and developing a core of listeners."

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I asked if local advertisers had yet become part of the new station. Looking at a screen of hieroglyphics, Ash said, "In two minutes a commercial for Precision Products will run." After waiting for the moment, it sounded good to hear the familiar voice of Jim Ash talking about a local company having a giant yard sale next weekend.

Ash has hired two employees, Tamara Turner and Jeff Benjamin, to be jacks-of-all-trades for the station. He was quick to point out that early advertisers on the fledgling station would receive excellent introductory prices on ads. Ash, always involved in the community, asked that it be known that WMNW is always available to broadcast public service announcements for the good of the community.

As this writer prepared to leave, I became aware of the tracks left on the floor from shoes muddied entering the trailer. Ash, as always, just smiled and went back to his notebook.

Note: Individuals interested in making comments, having questions answered or inquiring about advertising can contact WMNW at (217) 648-5510.

[Mike Fak]

[APRIL 16, 2001]  The Logan County Board will meet Tuesday at 7 p.m. to vote to rescind their vote to stay at large. This vote follows the April 3 referendum, in which voters indicated by a 3-1 margin that they wanted representatives elected by districts.

At their working session Thursday night, board member Dale Voyles made a motion to rescind the vote, which was seconded by Beth Davis. In addition to Voyles and Davis, Lloyd Hellman, Roger Bock, Rod White and Paul Gleason also voted to rescind the vote.

Cliff Sullivan stated he would have to vote "no" since a plan was not in place and he wouldn't know what he was voting for.

Other board members indicating they would vote "no" were T.W. Werth, Dave Hepler and Jim Griffin.

White, who assisted in spearheading a petition drive to place the nonbinding referendum on the ballot, told the board that if they rescinded their earlier vote and voted in favor of districts, Dick Logan, board chairman, would then appoint a committee to develop a plan for district elections.

"If that committee is unable to come to a decision by July 1st," White said, "then the question would then be passed to the Illinois attorney general for resolution."

White said that if a plan cannot be developed by that office, then the process would revert to the present at-large system.

All counties in Illinois currently elect their representatives from districts with the exception of six, of which Logan is the largest.

According to White, some of the issues the committee will address are whether to have multi-representative or single-representative districts, the size of the board and also whether to elect the board chairman.

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Gleason told the board that if the vote passes and a committee is established, two things are needed for a plan to be successful.

"One," Gleason said, "is to appoint people who can use their heads, and secondly they should have no vested interest in the outcome of the district plan."

Other matters before the board Thursday night were current contracts to be let for the operation of the airport.

Bock, chairman of the airport committee, presented the board with three contracts to be voted on.

Local businessman Lloyd Mason, who had submitted a bid for the position of fixed base operator, was in attendance with his attorney, Rick Hobler.

Hobler disagreed with some of the processes the airport committee used and indicated any changes should go back to the committee for discussion prior to the entire board voting.

Tim Huyett, state's attorney, who also attended the meeting, said that in his opinion the airport committee did not legally have to re-discuss any of the issues before the vote on those issues.

[Fuzz Werth]

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