City
won’t lower fines for alcohol use
[OCT.
11, 2001] Even
though many aren’t paying them, the ordinance committee of the
Lincoln City Council doesn’t plan to recommend lowering the fines
for minors caught consuming alcohol.
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The
present ordinance calls for a minimum fine of $400 plus court costs,
about $135, for a first offense, with a maximum fine of $750
possible. City Attorney Bill Bates said he thought the total $535
minimum fine was so far out of reach of most young people that they
continue to put off paying it, reappearing in court time after time
to tell the judge they don’t have the money.
Bates
suggested a minimum fine of $200 plus costs, which would be somewhat
less than $135, with a $300 fine for a second offense and a $400 to
$750 fine for further offenses. He said he thought the city would be
able to collect these fines more effectively than the present ones.
"The
tendency is if they can’t pay it all, they won’t pay any,"
he said. "If they look at something achievable, they will make
more effort to pay it." Lowering the fines would also lessen
the congestion of the court system, he noted.
Fines
for the same offense in the rest of Logan County are only $200, the
amount set by state law, he told the council.
"It’s
a little tough when you’ve got the $200 fine every place but the
city," he said.
The
city has no recourse against those who don’t pay, because once the
fine is imposed it is in the hands of the judiciary. After a number
of returns to court, a judge may order an offender to pay the fine
in installments. The offender can’t be sent to jail for not
paying, Bates said, only for violating a court order. If the judge
orders the offender to pay and he or she does not, then that person
may be sent to jail.
Alderman
Steve Fuhrer said he was opposed to lowering the fine because it is
"sending the wrong message."
Alderman
David Armbrust, however, said he thought it might be easier for a
young person to pay the $200 fine than to keep going to court to put
it off..
Bates
said the city ordinance has a pr ovision for a public service
alternative to the fine but has no public service officer. Any such
work would have to be supervised, and that would be an additional
cost to the city.
Although
the committee will not recommend changing the ordinance to lower the
fine, they plan to give Bates some leeway. The fines are imposed
upon conviction, and Bates may ask that an offender be given court
supervision for 60 to 90 days, which is not a conviction, and he can
then impose a lower fine. He can also impose a higher fine if he
believes it is warranted.
The
policy will be reviewed in six months to see if lower fines result
in more payments.
[to top of second column in
this article]
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![](../images/ads/ALMH/whuad.jpg)
Proposal on drug fines
The
"stay tough" policy for underage drinking became "get
even tougher" in a proposed new ordinance for possession of
drug paraphernalia.
That
ordinance originally called for fines of $200 plus court costs for a
first offense, $300 for a second and a minimum of $400 to $750 for
further offenses, the same level of fines proposed for underage
drinking. On learning that the city’s ordinance was less
restrictive than the state law, Michael Montcalm suggested that the
city ordinance follow state law, which requires a fine of $750 plus
costs for any possession of drug paraphernalia.
Several
other council members agreed. "What message are we sending if
our drug fines are lower than our alcohol fines?" Glenn Shelton
asked.
The
new ordinance on drug paraphernalia, with a fine of $750 for the
first offense, will be on the agenda at the next voting session of
the council, on Oct. 15.
Rezoning at 2018 N. Kickapoo
Also
on the agenda Oct. 15 will be a recommendation from the Lincoln
Planning Commission to rezone property at 2018 N. Kickapoo from R-2
to C-2. The rezoning, requested by the Mental Health Center of
Illinois, will allow Logan-Mason Mental Health to operate an adult
day treatment center at the facility from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. five days
a week.
The
adult treatment program has been in the community for the past 25
years, according to Logan-Mason Director Marcia Stoll. "The
people who use the facility already live in our community, shop in
our community, and some even work in our community," she said.
Bates
reported that the commission recommended approval of the change 7-0
and that no home or property owners in the neighborhood objected to
the change.
Covers of videos
On the
subject of a possible obscenity ordinance that would restrict
suggestive pictures on covers of videos, Bates said if the council’s
goal was to take boxes containing R-rated movies off the wall, that
would be called censorship and would be a touchy subject.
Alderman Pat Madigan
reported that the city’s two video stores had done a "pretty
good job" of self-policing, and the more suggestive video
covers were now partly concealed.
[Joan
Crabb]
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You
can do something
LDC
support letters urged
[OCT.
11, 2001] In
light of the recently revealed difficulties at the Lincoln
Developmental Center, many members of the community are concerned
about the impact that would be deeply felt if the facility should be
closed. LDC is at risk of losing its federal certification.
|
Gov.
George Ryan declared on Friday that they have 30 days to move 90
residents to other facilities and make patient care reforms. Gov.
Ryan is quoted as saying, "Any decisions we make about the
future direction of the facility will be made with the best
interests of the residents in mind."
Not
only would the closing of LDC be a devastating economic loss, but
also, having been here a hundred years, this facility has been a
significant part of our history.
If
you would like to respond to this situation, you are urged to write
a simple support letter to the governor and state representatives.
You should state that as a member of this community you believe in
keeping this important facility in operation here.
You
can send your signed letters to:
Honorable
George H. Ryan
Governor
of Illinois
207
State House
Springfield,
IL 62706
Claude
"Bud" Stone
Illinois
State Senator, District 45
618
N. Chicago St.
Lincoln,
IL 62656
Jonathan
C. Wright
Illinois
State Representative
407
Keokuk St.
Lincoln,
IL 62656
[to top of second column in this
article]
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Model
letter
Dear
Governor Ryan,
I
am writing in reference to the recent difficulties at Lincoln
Developmental Center. As a member of the community I would like to
express my great concern for keeping the facility operating in
Lincoln...
I
am not only concerned for the residents, but for the economic impact
and potential loss of a historically valued institution.
I
am in favor of remedying the patient care problems at the LDC
facility, preserving the existing facility and jobs for Lincoln and
Logan County.
Please
make your decisions to make this a win-win situation for everyone
concerned: the patients and the people of Logan County.
Sincerely,
(Signature)
Your
Name
Address
Phone
Number
[LDN]
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Electric
rates going down
[OCT.
11, 2001] At
their Sept. 28 meeting, the board of directors of Corn Belt Energy
Corporation approved new rate schedules for central region members.
Corn Belt’s new rate structure has been calculated following an
extensive cost-of-service study. Each rate class was reviewed and
evaluated as it relates to the cost to provide electric service. The
last adjustment to Corn Belt’s central region rates was on Jan. 1,
1991.
|
Residential
members on Rate 1 with average monthly usage of 784 kilowatt hours
would experience an average annual savings of 19 percent.
Approximately 19,000 Rate 1 members will be affected by this rate
change.
Another
popular residential program is Rate 11. This special rate is
interruptible during peak use periods in the summer. Rate 11 members
will continue to have a 12.5 percent advantage over Rate 1. In fact,
Rate 11 has a 21 percent advantage for the average customer during
the summer billing periods. Rate 11 continues to be the lowest
residential rate, because it allows the cooperative to interrupt
members’ electric service during peak summer periods. Corn Belt
Energy Corporation has 3,300 members on Rate 11.
![](../images/ads/Key%20Printing/key.gif)
Rates
1 and 11 savings will depend on a number of factors, primarily the
usage by the member as dictated by the weather. Farms and businesses
also will see a rate reduction for those on Rates 2, 3, 5 and 6. The
large commercial members, Rates 5 and 6, will have an average 14
percent reduction, depending upon use and power factor.
Only
one commercial rate will not decline. Rate 9 members will have a
slight increase. There are only four customers on this interruptible
rate.
[to top of second column in
this article]
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Corn
Belt President-CEO Jeff Reeves said, "The cooperative is very
fortunate at this time to provide lower rates, due to obtaining
lower-cost wholesale power contracts. The cooperative currently has
an all-requirements contract for fixed power prices for four more
years."
Cooperative
residential members will notice rate reductions for their October
usage that is billed in November, and business accounts will see a
change on their December billing statement.
Northern
region members are scheduled for a rate change Jan. 1, 2003, barring
any unforeseen expenses such as a major storm.
Corn Belt Energy is a
26,000-member cooperative, which has provided electricity for over
60 years. The cooperative also supplies natural gas and propane to
specific service areas.
[News
release]
![](../images/ads/LDN/when%20you%20see%20news%20happen%20copy.jpg)
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Two-step
plan suggested
for sewer rate increase
[OCT.
10, 2001] The
sewer rate increase that Lincoln needs in order to get a loan to
upgrade its wastewater plant could be put in place in two steps,
according to Joseph Miller, general manager of the Environmental
Management Corporation, which operates Lincoln’s sewer facility.
|
Miller
spoke to the City Council Tuesday evening, reminding them again that
unless they move quickly to approve the increase, they will not be
eligible to get funding for the project in January.
The
upgrade is necessary, officials say, because the existing plant has
reached capacity, and violations would mean the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency could refuse to approve any new
sewer hookups, thus stopping growth in the city.
To
emphasize how much the upgrade is needed, Grant Eaton, sewer plant
manager, said the plant had its first ammonia violation last week.
"If
we had a new plant, I would have been able to handle that extra load
(of ammonia)," he said. "Now we have a violation on the
books, and we are on a tightrope to make sure we don’t violate
again."
However,
he said, the IEPA said the Lincoln plant "responded well"
to the ammonia overload.
The
rate increase is the same as the one presented to the council in
September except that is in two tiers, Miller said. The interim
increase would go into effect in January of 2002, and the
"worst case scenario" final increase would become
effective 18 months later.
This
would allow users a little more time to prepare for the rate
increases, he said, and if the city did get additional funding,
might lower the worst-case projected increases.
The
"worst case scenario" means that the city has no other
sources of funding and must foot the entire $9.8 million bill for
the sewer upgrade. However, Eaton said he is still trying to get a
$400,000 state grant and he is also hoping for funding help through
an Illinois FIRST grant. He urged council members and citizens to
contact state officials to push for an Illinois FIRST grant.
Under
the two-step plan, rates for Lincoln residents would be raised from
$11 monthly to $14 monthly for the first step and then to $16.39
monthly under the worst-case scenario 18 months later.
![](../images/ads/neal_tire/neal_04_01_rotate.gif)
Residential
rates for those living outside the city limits would go from $12 to
$17.52 a month, then up to $22.31.
Rates
for commercial, industrial and institutional users would also rise,
under a complicated formula which lowers the fixed monthly charge
but increases fees for actual use.
For
example, fixed rates for commercial users inside the city limits
would drop from $5.45 to a final or a worst-case $2.22 per month,
but the volume charge would increase from $0.86 per 100 cubic feet
to a final $1.55 per cubic foot. Surcharges would also go up, from
$.13 per pound for BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) to a final $.51
per pound, and the present $.12 per pound TSS (total suspended
solids) to a final $.30 per pound. Commercial users outside the city
limits would pay even higher rates.
![](../images/ads/LDN/We'llspreadtheword.jpg)
[to top of second column in
this article]
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![](../images/ads/logan_cty_health_dpt/smokefreemain.gif)
Charges
for industrial and institutional users such as the Lincoln and Logan
Correctional Centers would also rise according to volume and to BOD
and TSS readings.
According
to a chart presented to the council in September which gave examples
of increases in the various categories, fees for Logan Correctional
Center, an institutional user, would rise from $11,550.37 per month
to a final $26,772.74. Fees for Eaton Corporation/Cutler Hammer, an
industrial user, would rise from $3,060.25 to $6,955.09 monthly, and
fees for McDonald’s, a commercial user, would go from $123.90 to
$216.21 per month.
The
substantial fee increases are necessary, Alderman Bill Melton
pointed out, because the city didn’t raise rates regularly as time
went along.
Eaton
said there was a slight increase in rates four years ago because of
the west-side sewer project, but before that there had been no raise
for about 12 years.
The
rate increase ordinance will be on the agenda at the next regular
council meeting on Oct. 15.
![](../images/ads/Lincoln%20College/LCbfast.gif)
City
won’t pursue purchasing
water company
The
council also decided not to pursue any plan to purchase the Illinois
American Water Company, which is being sold to a German firm.
Bill
Bates, the city attorney, said a 1970 agreement gives the city the
right of first refusal in case the company is sold. However,
Illinois American has informed the city they believe the city waived
that right back in the early ’70s when Commonwealth Edison sold
the company.
Bates
said that to try to pursue the city’s right to buy the company, he
would have to lodge a complaint with the Illinois Commerce
Commission and attend hearings in Springfield, which would be an
extra cost to the city. Alderman Michael Montcalm said that
regardless of the amount it would cost to find out if the city does
have a right to purchase the water franchise, the city doesn’t
have the money to buy it.
The consensus of the
council was not to pursue the matter any further.
[Joan
Crabb]
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Clinton
nuclear power plant
safety measures in place
[OCT.
10, 2001] Rep.
Jonathan Wright, R-Hartsburg, and Sen. Claude Stone, R-Morton, met
today with officials from Exelon Generation and AmerGen regarding
the Clinton nuclear power plant. Rep. Wright and Sen. Stone were
assured that the nuclear power facility is taking appropriate
security measures in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
|
"Obviously,
the facility will not and should not disclose all the specific
details regarding security measures at the facility," Wright
said. "But Senator Stone and I were given adequate information
to indicate that measures are in place to safeguard the
facility."
All
nuclear power plants are heavily regulated as to all aspects of the
facility — including safety. Even before Sept. 11, these types of
facilities have had significant security measures in place. The
Clinton plant is simply adding to those measures.
[News release]
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Understanding
Muslims
Authority
on Islam speaks at local forum
[OCT.
9, 2001] Monday
evening, Oct. 8, in the chapel on campus, Lincoln Christian College
and Seminary hosted a forum on Islam. The forum presentation by Dr.
Robert Douglas was entitled "Islam, Muslims, and America: A
Christian Missionary’s Perspective." Douglas is the professor
of intercultural studies at Lincoln Christian Seminary and an
internationally recognized authority on Islam.
|
Dr.
Keith Ray, president of the college and seminary, welcomed the
audience and gave a brief introduction of the speaker and topic.
Speaking for the school, he said, "It is our hope that through
this conversation that Dr. Douglas will be able to inform you about
the basic tenants of [the Islamic] religion, some aspects of that
world view and bring you to a greater understanding about what is
happening in our world." It was his wish that the forum would
do three things in the audience’s lives: "To help you think
more clearly about the world in which we live … [To help] all of
us to engage a greater zeal for the truth of God … That you would
sense in your own lives a greater calling in the affairs of God’s
mission on this earth."
The
outline of the evening was simple. After the introduction, Douglas
gave a short speech introducing the audience to the religion of
Islam and the varying beliefs among Muslims. Then there was about an
hour of question and answer, followed by a closing prayer by the
LCCS president.
Douglas
began his speech by breaking through some misconceptions and
prejudices held by many Americans. He said that in many people’s
minds, all Arabs are Muslims and all Muslims are Arabs. This,
however, is incorrect. He said that one-fifth of the world’s
people are Muslims, and that this one-fifth is comprised of over 700
different ethnic and language groups. In fact, only one-fifth of all
Muslims are Arabic.
But
even beyond that, he said, many people think that not only do people
believe that Muslim=Arab, but they believe that
Muslim=Arab=Terrorist. He cited the television show "West
Wing" in comparing this equation to Christian=White=Ku Klux
Klan, a shockingly effective analogy.
From
there, he explained how there are great differences, not only in the
ethnic background of Muslims, but in the beliefs and practices. The
spectrum ranges from orthodox or fundamental to progressive, and
even within each label there are wide differences. His main point,
which was driven home by the end of his speech, was that we, as
people and as a nation, cannot allow ourselves to fall into bigotry
or prejudice. Not every Muslim believes that Islam condones acts
such as the ones committed on Sept. 11.
[to top of second column in
this article]
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![](../images/ads/Glenn%20Brunk/glennbrunkweb.gif)
After
this, the floor was opened for questions. Eleven questions were
posed by various people, from LDN’s own photographer Bob Frank to
Pastor Mark Carnahan of Zion Lutheran Church. Some of these
questions and answers are below.
Is
there anything in the Qur’an that would support the terrorists’
actions?
Douglas
answered, "From the terrorists’ perspective, yes." He
then went on to explain the term Jihad, which essentially means
"struggle." There are two forms, "Greater Jihad"
and "Lesser Jihad." Greater Jihad is both the striving
within yourself to be what God wants you to be and the struggle in
action and speech to spread Islam. Lesser Jihad is striving in terms
of warfare.
Is
there an order in the Qur’an to kill all Christians?
Again,
Douglas answered that some would say yes. He cited some verses in
the Qur’an that say not to befriend a Jew or Christian, or say
that Muslims must "fight against polytheists and destroy
them." According to the Muslim view of polytheism, which is
that you associate any "partner" with God, Christians are
polytheistic, because of the belief of Jesus as God’s son.
Is
there a reward, such as immediately going to paradise, for dying in
the Jihad the way the terrorists did?
Douglas
said that the reason the terrorists did what they did was because
they were people "who believed that they were doing the will of
God." The specific will of God was that they were attacking the
nation that they saw to be corrupting the world and keeping society
from being how God wants it.
Where
did the Qur’an come from and what is the Muslim view of the Bible?
The
Qur’an was compiled of the speeches given to Mohammed by God. It
is the unquestionable truth to the Muslims. The Bible is true only
"to the extent that the Bible and the Qur’an match."
Do
Muslims know that they are saved the way Christians do when they’re
born again?
"No."
Douglas quoted a Muslim acquaintance as saying, "You cannot
know until the time. We cannot know how God will judge." God
could always change his mind.
[Gina
Sennett]
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|
America
strikes back
[OCT.
8, 2001] As
promised, the United States led an attack on Afghanistan. The attack
began Sunday. American and British military forces made 30 hits on
air defenses, military airfields and terrorist training camps,
destroying aircraft and radar systems. The strike was made targeting
only terrorists.
|
More
than 40 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East have
pledged their cooperation and support the U.S. initiative.
Online
news links
Other
countries
Afghanistan
http://www.afghandaily.com/
http://www.afghannews.net/
http://www.afghan-web.com/aop/
China
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/
http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/
Germany
http://www.faz.com/
India
http://www.dailypioneer.com/
http://www.hindustantimes.com/
http://www.timesofindia.com/
Israel
http://www.jpost.com/
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/
England
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/
Pakistan
http://www.dawn.com/
http://frontierpost.com.pk/
Russia
http://english.pravda.ru/
http://www.sptimesrussia.com/
Saudi Arabia
http://www.arabnews.com/
[to top of second column in
this section]
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United
States
Illinois
http://www.suntimes.com/index/
http://www.chicagotribune.com/
http://www.pantagraph.com/
http://www.qconline.com/
http://www.pjstar.com/
http://www.sj-r.com/
http://www.herald-review.com/
http://www.southernillinoisan.com/
New
York
http://www.nypost.com/
http://www.nytimes.com/
Stars
and Stripes
(serving the U.S.
military community)
http://www.estripes.com/
Washington,
D.C.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
http://www.washtimes.com/
More
newspaper links
http://www.thepaperboy.com/
|
|
Recalling
the ashes of New York
A
Lincoln family views the terror
[OCT.
8, 2001] Pastor
Mark Carnahan is the minister of Zion Lutheran Church in Lincoln.
Preston Carnahan, his son, has been the subject of previous
LDN news articles and is now attending the United States
Merchant Marine Academy, located in Long Island, N.Y. Pastor
Carnahan and his wife, Maggy, visited Preston for the annual Parents
Weekend at the academy. They arrived on Thursday, Sept. 6, five days
before the attack.
|
"We
looked the part of the tourists," said Carnahan, smiling at his
wife sitting next to him in a sizable church office offset to his
own. The room itself was lit somewhat low, giving it a sullen
atmosphere at almost 8 o’clock at night, which would not only set
the tone for the conversation, but also match it, in regard to the
difficult subject matter.
"On
Saturday, Sept. 8, we took the subway into the basement of the Trade
Center," he said, also noting the many men and women they rode
alongside of that day and on Monday who undoubtedly worked there —
none of them the wiser as to what was on its way.
"You
just took it for granted," Maggy began, in describing the twin
towers before the tragic fall. "Just these beautiful, fantastic
buildings that dwarfed the city. They were just so imposing, and yet
you just took for granted that they were even there."
The
Carnahans had visited New York on previous occasions and describe
the misconception most have toward the city as humorous. "I
love New York," Maggy continued. "The people there are so
friendly, I always look forward to going." Surprisingly her
attitude remains so optimistic, considering the events of this past
trip.
Ready
to return home after a successful visit, Carnahan recalls Tuesday
morning, Sept. 11, in LaGuardia Airport:
"I
was waiting in line to check my luggage before boarding (on American
Airlines), when an employee came out and said there weren’t going
to be any more flights that day," Carnahan began. "I
looked at the airline employee, looked outside, then back at him and
said, ‘Looks like a nice day to fly to me.’"
Eventually
everyone in the airport was told to vacate the premises. "They
told us we had to go," he continued. "I looked around and
said, ‘Go where?’ And then he just told us, "Go!"
Once
outside, the Carnahans and all the other airport evacuees began to
grasp the severity of the situation, as they gathered to watch a
massive fire in the sky.
Hearts
pounding and fears rising with the smoke, Maggy recalls that leaden
moment when she realized and said, "Wait a minute... One of the
towers is gone."
Pastor
Carnahan explained how another employee then came outside shouting,
"You need to go! Everybody! The FBI is evacuating the area,
everybody needs to go!"
Perhaps
more shocked than confused, Carnahan asked yet again, "Go
where?" There they were met with an answer of the inevitable...
"Just go!"
With
that, Pastor Carnahan, his wife and all other would-be travelers of
the air became wanderers on foot. With literally nowhere to go but
the interstate and no sight to focus on but a "giant in
flames," they began walking. "We were like refugees,"
said Carnahan. "For awhile, that’s what we were."
Maggy
noted how amazingly calm everybody seemed to be. As they walked, a
small rental van pulled alongside, which they were the first to
board. They described the van ride as quiet, nobody really saying
anything, just watching. Watching as a city before them was falling
apart and as the lone tower left standing was beginning to fall.
The
van pulled over. Quiet. No words. Jaws and hearts alike instantly
dropped. Carnahan and his wife looked out over the city toward the
giant cloud pounding out of the crumbling shrine.
"Thirty
seconds to a minute passed after it fell before anyone made a
sound," said Carnahan quietly.
Then
the driver, a native New Yorker, stood by the door and asked aloud
the very thing that each and every one who witnessed it was
thinking: "Did I just see what I thought I saw?"
[to top of second column in this
article]
|
Delayed
a few days in the city
"I
paddled until I was paddled out," Carnahan said reflectively,
recalling his need to clear his mind later that night. Out in the
water, kayaking with God, he tried not to think about the terror. He
tried not to think about what he was forced to see that day, or
what, within the course of retaliation, he may be forced to see in
the coming months. He tried not to think about the cots he and his
wife had slept on just a few nights before, for an event as innocent
as Parents Weekend, that were now being shipped across the harbor,
being used to hold dead bodies as part of a makeshift morgue, if
need be.
Sitting
back home
Safe
here in the office, recalling those moments and the days that
followed, Carnahan tried not to think and he tried not to cry.
He
battled a new set of tears while relaying the trip home, where they
encountered an all-but-abandoned truck stop in Pennsylvania.
Abandoned because of the owner’s skin color… brown. Sadly he
recalled how they witnessed the truck stop owner being harassed.
Rubbing
the sleeping head of his young son on his wife’s lap steadied his
emotions as he continued, explaining his family’s rocky mental
state. "I just zone out. It’s like slow motion. I’ll be
driving, and it’s like I’m in another zone, like I’m not a
part of normal things," says Carnahan.
"I
don’t think I’ve ever had nightmares before," added Maggy,
adjusting her son, "but I’m having them now."
Arriving
safely back in Lincoln — by car, not plane — the Carnahans say
they are struck with a deep sense of guilt for leaving that world
behind, for returning to normalcy while others maintain the horror.
Though
while still there they stood in line to give blood and stood aside
the city to pray, back here they fight to scatter the ashes of
terror — the pictures their minds have brought back with them.
Fighting, however, with undoubtedly the best weapon Carnahan knows
to arm himself with: a resounding faith. "God is in
control," the pastor said firmly. "God is good, and He is
in control. I just trust God. He is the only answer for my
fears."
It’s
a faith that will serve the Carnahan family well as they continue to
seek out a life as they knew it, a life that may not return, given
Carnahans’ stolid summary about this ordeal and each vivid memory
therein: "It’s not a matter of reliving it... because we’re
still living in it."
The
Carnahans have a daughter and son-in-law stationed in Hawaii. As of
now they are uncertain where they will be assigned or what that
assignment will be. They are parents to a young toddler girl. ...
Her power of attorney papers are currently en route to Lincoln.
[Colin
Bird]
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Fire
Prevention Week: Oct. 7-13
[OCT.
6, 2001] In
2000, there were 9,911 residential fires, and over 100 people died
as a result. Fire Prevention Week is Oct. 7-13, and your state
senator wants you to know how to protect your family, yourself and
your property from being part of this statistic. "Knowledge is
key when preventing fires and the fatalities that can result from
them," says Sen. Claude Stone, R-Morton.
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The
following is a list of steps that will help to keep everyone out of
harm’s way:
•
Install and maintain smoke detectors.
•
Sleep with bedroom doors closed. Closed doors provide protection
against heat and smoke.
•
Know your exits. Choose the safest escape route, but if you must go
through smoke to escape, crawl low, where the air is cleaner and
cooler. Regularly practice your escape route with your family.
•
Before opening a closed exit door, feel the door and frame around it
for any signs of heat.
•
If you are trapped, close the doors between you and the fire. Stuff
the cracks around the door to keep smoke out. Wait at a window and
signal for help.
•
Stop, drop and roll. If your clothes catch fire, don’t run!
•
Once you’re out, stay out! Do not go back into your home for any
reason until it’s safe.
[to top of second column in this
article]
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For
more information on fire safety, go to the Illinois Senate
Republicans’ website, www.senategop.state.il.us,
and look under consumer information.
Communities
can also receive state assistance in the area of fire prevention. To
date, Illinois FIRST has funded 790 grants for fire protection
buildings, vehicles and equipment. Sen. Stone and all of the
Republican senators of Illinois continue to work on grants for
communities in their districts to assist fire departments through
the Illinois FIRST program.
[News release]
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Gov.
Ryan announces School-Home Links in reading for 170 Illinois
schools
[OCT.
6, 2001] Gov.
George Ryan announced that kindergarten through third-grade teachers
from 170 schools across the state have just received a new tool to
help their students excel in reading. Created in cooperation with
Gov. Ryan's Advisory Council on Literacy and Illinois Reads,
School-Home Links are activities that teachers ask families to use
with their children at home to reinforce reading concepts taught in
the classroom.
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"With
School-Home Links, we can be sure that what is taught in the
classroom is being reinforced at home," Gov. Ryan said.
"These activities will help children make learning a part of
their lives, both in and outside of the classroom."
Each
School-Home Link helps children practice skills that will better
enable them to meet Illinois state learning standards in language
arts. The links were originally developed by two elementary school
faculties and then refined by the U.S. Department of Education in
cooperation with the Boston Annenberg Challenge.
Teachers
can assign the grade-appropriate School-Home Link as often as three
times a week. Both parents and children are asked to work together
to complete the different reading activities, which will be kept by
the teacher in the student's portfolio.
The
School-Home Links were aligned with the Illinois state standards by Illinois
Family Education Center and the Illinois
State Board of Education. The Lincoln-based Illinois Family
Education center field-tested the links in 32 East St. Louis schools
during the 1999-2000 school year.
"The
School-Home Links provide regular communication between teachers and
parents about what a child is learning, prompt parent-child
interaction at home, and extend learning time to build children’s
reading skills," said IFEC Executive Director Sam Redding.
[to top of second column in this
article]
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The
School-Home Links represent an integral part of Gov. Ryan's
commitment to promoting literacy. He recently created the Summer
Bridges program, which provides an extended learning experience to
children who are at risk of academic failure and encourages them to
improve their reading skills. In 2000, 75 school districts reported
that at least 60 percent of students who participated in the Summer
Bridges program demonstrated an improvement in their reading
ability.
In
1999 Gov. Ryan formed an Advisory Council on Literacy, which
consists of 20 members representing diverse interests. The advisory
council and the state’s literacy office aim to increase the number
of literate adults and help all children read well by the end of
third grade.
Last
year, Gov. Ryan launched the Illinois Reads initiative to coordinate
and improve literacy policies and programs. Illinois Reads maintains
a website (www.illinoisreads.org)
that is a clearinghouse of reading and literacy resources in
Illinois.
[News release]
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|
Part
2
Logan County ready for
action if terrorist event occurs
[OCT.
5, 2001] Even
though the public may not have been aware of it, agencies all over
the United States, including those in Logan County, were preparing
for terrorist attacks well before the destruction of New York’s
World Trade Center, and they are ready to take action if an event
occurs.
|
[Click
here for Part 1]
The
approach to chemical terrorism is somewhat different from the
approach to biological terrorism, Terry Storer explained.
"Typically, chemical terrorism is an acute, fast-acting event,
with people getting sick or injured quickly. Biological terrorism is
of longer duration. We might not know about it until the population
reported symptoms."
Although
many people worry about chemical and biological attacks on the
nation’s water system, Gary Bellafiore, operations supervisor at
the Illinois American Water Company of Lincoln, says such attacks
would not create nearly as much damage as people believe.
"Water
companies have a lot of safeguards," he said at a recent
meeting of the Logan County Local Emergency Planning Committee, an
agency that works hand in hand with ESDA. "Pesticides,
herbicides, metals, bacteria —
we look for these all the time. The
water industry has been fighting this battle for 100 years. We
monitor a host of chemicals on a routine basis.
"If
anything foreign enters the water supply, we will notice a change
immediately. Chemists are monitoring the water on a constant basis,
at least every four hours around the clock, and that monitoring has
been enhanced since the terrorist strike on the World Trade Center.
"It
would be very difficult for an enemy to put enough biological or
chemical agent in a water supply that the present treatment can’t
take care of. We would catch it before there were many fatalities.
To put in a sufficient amount of an agent to kill a large
population, the enemy would have to back a truck up to the system
and pump it in," Bellafiore said.
"The
Environmental Protection Agency has a lot of standards for drinking
water in this country that make it extremely safe from biological or
chemical terrorism," he added. "A lot of government
regulations and monitoring is required. Our water supply is safer
than people think."
Debby
Cook, director of nursing at the Logan County Health Department,
agrees with Bellafiore that biological agents are not as easy to
dispense as some people believe. Also, like ESDA, the Health
Department has done a lot of work to prepare for a biological
terrorism event.
"We
have been looking at this issue for a long time —
two to three years," she said.
Like
the local fire and police departments, the Health Department already
has systems in place that can be used to combat a terrorist event.
"We
deal with biological events every day at the Health Department —
chickenpox, strep throat, other communicable
diseases. Although the agents we are talking about in the event of
an attack are not the common things we deal with, the same systems
will be utilized that are in existence now."
The
Health Department also has quick access to help from state and even
federal agencies, if necessary.
"One
call to the Illinois Department of Public Health will activate the
proper personnel," Cook said. "When we say we need help,
they will give us access to the appropriate agency. They will even
send people to consult with us, if necessary."
She
pointed out that most biological events would be covert and that it
would probably take some time for symptoms to develop.
[to top of second
column in this section]
|
What
Cook and the Health Department would like to see is a more efficient
reporting system in place so the department can get immediate access
to all available information.
She is
starting to work on a system where schools, employers and others
would report spikes of unusual illnesses to a central source.
"Only if someone looks at all the information available can we
figure out what’s going on. Also, it would be helpful to have a
communication site, such as a website, to tell people what the facts
are and what they should do.
"My
true fear is that we are going to have more problems with panic or
false information than with anything else," she said.
Barb
Kline, director of public relations and risk management at Abraham
Lincoln Memorial Hospital, says the hospital, too, has systems in
place to take effect in the event of a biological terrorism
incident.
"We
have a response plan for citizens of Logan County that has two
links," she said. "First we have an emergency response to
ESDA and LEPC. They are linked to state agencies such as Illinois
Emergency Management Agency. Depending on the type of event and the
resources needed, our local agencies have access to outside
resources.
"Second,
on the medical front, we will be in touch with the Illinois
Department of Public Health, which in turn is linked to federal
health agencies such as the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta.
There are systems set up nationwide."
These
health agencies, she said, could within a matter of hours send
medical personnel and medical supplies from stockpiles already in
place in a number of locations to respond to a local crisis.
"These
things have been thought of and discussed. We are not just going to
put a plan together after an attack," Kline said.
Kline
is a member of a subgroup of the Logan County LEPC that has recently
been evaluating how the county’s position in central Illinois, 30
miles from the state capital, might make it vulnerable to attack, as
well as how an event that occurs here might affect other places in
the state.
"In
recent months our specific subgroup of people from the Health
Department, paramedics and those trained to respond to hazardous
materials incidents have been evaluating where we are vulnerable,
what plans are in place and what we need to do to improve our
preparedness.
"We
are learning about bio-terrorism, the resources available to us and
especially how terrorists, people who have no regard for life, can
think," she said. "We want to be sure we are
prepared."
The
attack on the World Trade Center was a shock, but not a surprise, to
the world of emergency management personnel, Fulscher said.
"We
are still horrified that it happened, but we knew it was coming some
day. We have been more aware of the threat than the average man on
the street.
"But now, the average
citizen is just as aware as we in the emergency services are of the
possibility of terrorism. That’s why people say America is forever
changed."
[Joan
Crabb]
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