[MARCH 20, 2001]  The Lincoln City Council is still waiting to take final action on an ordinance regulating bed-and-breakfast establishments in the city. Monday evening, for the second time, final adoption of the ordinance was postponed, this time because of the absence of City Attorney Jonathan Wright.

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[Joan Crabb]

[MARCH 20, 2001]  All the boarders at Camp-A-While were up by 7:30 this morning. One of the campers caught on fire. The fire is believed to have started from a burner which was not turned off.

A neighbor or passerby called the Lincoln Rural Fire Department at 7:22 to report a fire at 1777 1250^th Ave. The firefighters controlled and extinguished the flames in a short time and were able to leave the scene just after 8:30.

The owner of the fifth-wheel trailer is a Wyoming man who is in Lincoln doing construction work.

Fire Captain Dean Kukuck believes that most of the contents of the trailer are salvageable, and he estimated the damage equaled $12,000 to $14,000.

[LDN]

[MARCH 20, 2001]  Late Sunday night and early Monday morning, someone stole items from five different Lincoln vehicles.

The first vehicle was parked at a residence on the 1800 block of Pekin. A $175 radar detector was taken from the car.

In one of the Lincoln Christian College parking lots, change was stolen from an automobile.

On the 200 block of Mayfield, several items totaling $75 were stolen from a car parked at the owner’s residence: a book binder, school books, homework, a calculator, a learner's permit and some change.

The next vehicle was parked inside a garage on the 900 block of N. McLean. The owner remembers locking the garage door. A portable CD player, which is worth about $100, was taken from the vehicle.

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The last theft was from a car parked at the owner’s residence. A $50 AM/FM CD player was stolen.

There are no suspects at this time, but due to the timing of the crimes it is believed that they may be connected. If you have any information about these thefts, please contact the Lincoln Police Department at 732-2151, or Crime Stoppers at 732-3000.

[Jean Ann Carnley]

[MARCH 19, 2001]  Professionals from the health care industry and community agencies set up booths Friday and Saturday at the Lincoln Park District for the 16th annual Community Health Fair. This year’s fair focused on innovations in safety, health and fitness.

The event was divided into two days. It was set up on Friday to engage children brought in on school field trips. Through presentations and numerous visual and participatory activities the children were presented healthy living lifestyle examples.

Saturday’s fair targeted the community at large. A steady crowd on Saturday funneled through the numerous and varied booths offering literature, demonstrations, performances and informative displays on all aspects of healthy living. Marsha Dowling from the Logan County Health Department said, "We were real pleased with it. It was very successful."

The health fair offered information on every aspect of healthy living. More than 60 organizations had displays or offered health screenings. The screenings included balance assessment, blood pressure, blood sugar/diabetes, body fat measurement, bone density, child developmental, cholesterol, grip strength, height and weight, hemoglobin testing, pulmonary function and vision screening. All except the hemoglobin test were free of charge. There was a steady line for these.

Guests at the fair had opportunity to learn new and innovative approaches to wellness. There were lots of demonstrations, including massage therapy and water filtration systems. Assisted Living Alternatives had a guide dog and his owner.

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Bruce Stacy, R.Ph., from Medicap was there with a number one herbal pharmaceutical company representative. Cathy Leet from PhytoPharmica was a wealth of information, saying that more health care professionals are now open to recommending the use of herbs. Their company uses stringent methods of processing and testing to produce reliable herbal products. It is because they use such high standards that their product is reliable in quality, quantity and purity and that they are FDA licensed. When you take one of their herbal supplements, "You are getting exactly what it says, not anything else, and at the strength it says on the bottle," Leet says.

These were just a few of the many knowledgeable people on hand this year to share information.

The Community Health Fair is co-sponsored by the Lincoln Park District and the Logan County Health Department.

[Jan Youngquist]

[MARCH 16, 2001]  Turris Coal Mine's petition to build an overland conveyor belt met with no opposition at a working session of the Logan County Board Thursday night.

Board members indicated by a vote of 13-0 that they would approve the plan at their regular meeting, which will be Tuesday, March 20.

Harold Jouett, zoning officer, told members no one showed up for public hearings March 13 in Elkhart.

Roger Dennison, representing Turris, told Planning and Zoning Committee members on March 7 that it would take approximately nine months for the mine to obtain the necessary permits from the state, and the conveyor would be up and running in four years at the earliest.

Dennison was also available Thursday night to answer any questions the board had about the project.

T.W. Werth, liaison to the Chamber of Commerce, told members that the chamber voted to stay neutral on the upcoming April 3 referendum seeking voters' opinions on whether the board, in the future, should be elected by the current at-large system or change to election by districts based upon population.

In other business, Mark Smith, economic development director, told the board he felt the property at the Logan County Airport was underutilized.

"We need to look at the property and determine its suitability for development into an industrial park," Smith said.

The airport, located on the northwest side of Lincoln, has been talked about in the last year as a possible site for a golf course. Nothing has materialized for further development of this idea.

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Paul Gleason, chairman of the Work Force Investment Committee, told the board that the Job Training Office on Lincoln Avenue would be moving, since the property has been sold.

Gleason said that current plans are to move the office to the Farm Bureau Building, but details still needed to be worked out.

"Ideally, we would like to eventually see the office at the Logan County Health Department so that we would have a one-stop location for individuals," Gleason said.

Recent restructuring of the Work Force Investment Program now allows people to apply for unemployment compensation at the Lincoln office rather than driving to Springfield to file their application.

The board also asked the Finance Committee to look into the structuring of the funds obtained by their November vote to increase the motel/hotel tax by 1 percent. The money is divided by the Tourism Council and Main Street to help fund the Looking For Lincoln project. The funds are to be given to the Tourism Council, and Main Street would then submit an itemized bill for reimbursement.

Some confusion exists about when the billing by Main Street should begin, since the tax revenue has not yet been received.

[Fuzz Werth]

[MARCH 16, 2001]  Four out of five car seats are used wrong. Could yours be one of them? In the U.S. during 1996, 1,813 fatalities were reported for children 14 and under in motor vehicle crashes. Of these deaths, 37 percent were children 4 and under. You are invited to get your child's car seat checked on March 17 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Logan County Health Department will have car safety seat inspections at the Lincoln Community High School in conjunction with the Community Health Fair. Call 735-2317 today to schedule your appointment. Jimmy John's Sub Shop is sponsoring this attraction.

[click here for more information about the health fair]

[MARCH 16, 2001]  A series of thefts in the early morning hours of Thursday, March 15, is under investigation. There are no suspects yet, but police believe that one person or group is responsible for all of the crimes.

The first vehicle, a pickup truck, parked at the owner’s residence in the 500 block of Tremont, was entered through the rear sliding door. It is estimated that $400 worth of property was stolen: a radio, duffle bag, four clothing items, prescription sunglasses, two flashlights and a disposable camera.

The second vehicle had an AM/FM CD player stolen. To gain entry, the suspects forced entry to the side door of the ’93 Jeep, which was parked in front of the owner’s residence in the 300 block of Tremont. The radio is worth about $100.

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Two cars were broken into in a residential parking lot on the 100 block of S. Logan St. One vehicle, a truck, had a CD player removed; the suspects removed the dash cover to take the $200 unit.

The other vehicle, a van, had a radar detector removed. The detector is worth about $100.

If you have any information about these crimes, please contact the Lincoln Police Department at 732-2151 or Crime Stoppers at 732-3000.

[MARCH 16, 2001]  The Lincoln Public Library District announces that it has reached an agreement with Landmark Audiobooks of Boulder, Colo., to expand the library’s collection of books on tape.

The library will lease 248 audiobooks per year over a five-year period and make them available for checkout. Library Director Richard Sumrall anticipates that the program will initially begin with 124 new audiobooks delivered to the library every six months. After each six-month period the old audiobooks will be returned to Landmark and 124 new titles will be selected and offered.

For more information on this service, visit the library at 725 Pekin St. or call (217) 732-8878.

[Lincoln Public Library District news release]

[MARCH 14, 2001]  Tuesday night’s Lincoln City Council meeting was opened with a request from the Police Department. Police Chief Richard Ludolph addressed the council about applying for a grant that is being offered. The COPS (Community Oriented Police Service) More 2001 Grant has $81 million available for technology and computer development. Individual departments are eligible to apply for $250,000 grants, with 25 percent matching funds to be provided by the department. Police departments that have never received these funds are the only ones eligible this round.

With grant funding, officers could have portable laptop systems in their cars so that they could get information and make their entries from the field. Making the upgrade would allow for more on-street policing, Chief Ludolph pointed out. Officers would not have to come back in and make their entries.

The upgrade would involve purchasing new hardware and software that would fully integrate all of the offices and systems that track an arrest. The states attorney’s office and county probation office have been approached about participating in the technology upgrade and have agreed to share the cost of matching funds required.

Officer Paul Adams, computer adviser for the police, explained some of the details.

The money would be used to buy new systems and software that would integrate four to five different systems used by the police, sheriff’s department, state’s attorney’s office, city and county clerks’ offices, and the county probation office. The mobile computing system would integrate all the systems.

Right now, when an officer makes an arrest, the citation is brought in, it is entered into the Jail Management System, then it goes to the city clerk’s office for processing, then to the states attorney’s office, then the county probation office. Getting a CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) system will make all departments more efficient. It will also supply on-the-field information.

The department has three deadline opportunities — March 23, April 6 and 20 — with each later date less likely to receive the grant. The department must have a written agreement for matching funds before submitting. It is recognized that sharing the costs with the two other county offices will help reduce the cost.

Officer Adams said they are currently seeking proposals for the equipment, and he hopes that they will be ready to meet the April 6 deadline with the city’s support for the project.

The city police committee will discuss it further at their 6:30 p.m. meeting on April 2.

Alderman Melton spoke briefly about the proposed new sewer treatment plant upgrades. He said the possible residential billing increase of $6.42 per resident may be deceiving. He said it was just a figure provided by the company based on the number of residential users with 6,000 hook-ups. It does not take industry contributions into consideration, as no rate for industry was provided. "If and when we consider a rate increase, we’d like people to ask questions. Hopefully there won’t be a rate increase," he added.

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It is time to start planning for Arbor Day. The city has made a special effort to celebrate Arbor Day the past eight years. Alderman Fuhrer and City Streets Department Director Donnie Osborne are looking for suggestions. People who have suggestions are asked to contact Fuhrer or Osborne. Trees have been planted at nursing homes and schools the past couple of years. The Lincoln Community High School Honor Society is ready to offer their assistance in planting more trees again this year.

The landfill will have extended hours for the start of spring. Donnie Osborne announced that last year’s added hours were so successful the facility will do it again this year. The landfill will be open for landscape waste deposit seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., beginning Sunday, April 1, through Saturday, April 14.

Bids opened

• Two bids for the annual city audit were received and opened. Lawrence Travis & Co. of Virden  offered a fee not to exceed $15,200. Pandofi of Springfield bid a sum not to exceed $17,500.

• Bids were opened for a new rescue-pumper truck for the fire department. American LaFrance of Troy, bid $260,677 net, warranted; Central States of Pekin, $273,031; Pierce of Appleton, Wis., $255,095 with trade; Smeal, AEC of Springfield, $274,979. Captain Mark Miller requested that they have time to look over the vehicles and bids before making a recommendation on which bid to accept.

• A bid was received for work on two streets. R.A. Cullinan & Son of Tremont put in a bid of $94,245. The bid is for Clinton Street between the Illinois Central Railroad and McLean Street, and for Tremont Street between Clinton and Sheridan streets.

There is to be a meeting at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 7, to discuss the annual budget. Mayor Ritter requests that all department heads have their annual budgets submitted by then.

Alderman Glenn Shelton set 6:15 p.m., Monday, March 19, for the next meeting of the bed and breakfast committee.

The request for a one-way alley to become two ways between Broadway and Pulaski had no further discussion.

The council heard a request from a property owner to place monitoring wells on the property at 1101 Woodlawn. The IEPA requires properties with previous underground storage leakage to install monitoring wells. The location for the wells is on the city right of way.

The council adjourned until next week’s Monday session, with new radio operators union contract proposals handed out to be reviewed in a legislative meeting.

[Jan Youngquist]

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