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Still Waters,
the
em space, Where They Stand,
By
the Numbers,
How We Stack Up,
What's
Up With That?
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Economic
pie
By Mike
Fak
[SEPT.
1, 2001] I
want to give you folks a number. The number is 15,418. Go ahead and
write that down someplace. Now for the sake of analogy, let’s call
that number the economic pie. Don’t hang up on me; I’m not
giving out a recipe. I’m trying to ask a question that you folks
should answer, not I. Now some of you are sharp enough to realize
that the number is the population figure given to the city of
Lincoln for the 1990 census. That number is, for want of a better
explanation, all the potential consumers this city has to offer.
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Yes,
we can add some for travelers or visitors during one of our
promotions, but we can subtract when all of us seem to head out of
town on vacations or to find the alleged "super" bargains
in Springfield or Bloomington. We could subtract for toddlers or
seniors who don’t get out and about anymore. Just for the sake of
clarity, let’s stay with the number 15,418.
Our
city seems to be in the midst of an argument over whether we are for
economic development or are stifling it with our rules and
regulations and, most importantly, our attitude toward new business.
My
question to all of you is: Does an auto parts store when we have a
half dozen, or a Casey’s when we have eight such stores already,
really constitute economic growth at all? Is adding a business
of a type that has already met a saturation point in this town
really what we should call economic growth? Yeah, I’m for free
enterprise and creating a new tax base and creating new jobs. But if
everything that comes to Lincoln adds just enough to offset what we
eventually lose in a similar business leaving, are we really
growing?
Remember
the number 15,418. No matter what business comes to Lincoln, that is
all the economic pie there is for all the retail businesses to
absorb.
Now
new business blood can stimulate prices. There is no doubt of this.
Sometimes those new prices are short-lived, as we see another friend
of the community give up on trying to keep just enough of those
15,418 customers to stay in business. Again I have to ask, "Is
that growing?" Or are we simply changing the names of the
players involved in getting business from the 15,418?
[to top of second column in
this commentary]
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Economic
growth, to me, isn’t seeing more of the same type of retailers we
already have in Lincoln coming to town. Economic growth, to me, is
seeing the number 15,418 change to a higher number. More people mean
a larger pie to take an economic slice from. More people mean some
major retailers might look differently on us. Having a 100-year
stagnated population number doesn’t excite most major retailers
into believing growth is around the corner.
We
as a community need to determine what economic growth really is. In
my mind it is little factories and widget companies that not only
take up our unemployed workforce but also cause others to come to recognize
the opportunities those companies present in the city of Lincoln.
Changing the number 15,418 will allow new like businesses to come to
Lincoln and prosper, without meaning some of them have to close.
I
cringe when I hear the words that Lincoln is a bedroom community.
Those are the words spoken by every little town across America that
has given up on the prospect that it can attract new non-retail
business. Yes, the job is tough. We can’t just look in a catalogue
and order this kind of factory and that kind of manufacturing plant.
It can be done, however, if we put our minds and our hearts together
and decide it can be done.
Let
me know what you think. Your ideas might be just what all the rest
of us have been waiting to hear.
[Mike Fak]
Reply to
Fak
(not for publication):
mikefak@msn.com
Response
to Fak's commentary:
ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com
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Zoned or
not
By Mike
Fak
[AUG.
25, 2001] The
city council broke tradition Monday evening with an 8-2 vote
overriding the planning commission’s rejection of a variance. The
council, often rubber-stamping the decisions of the commission, this
time went with what they feel is best for Lincoln. Well, what they
feel is best for a large portion of Lincoln. The decision to approve
the Casey’s location perhaps was summed up best by Steve Fuhrer
when he said the council either is for new business or is not. The
vote seems to say that the council this time kept their campaign
promises of helping new business locate in Lincoln.
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To
many the issue is not as cut and dried as the council made it seem.
The zone change requested by Casey’s met with three primary
objections from citizens. One group, concerned with the effect of a
modern convenience store across from Postville, didn’t want the
structure in that neighborhood. A second group of homeowners did not
want to see their neighborhood subjected to further residential
deterioration by another commercial venture. Others felt that the
decision by Casey’s to be on Jefferson Street was a thinly veiled
attempt to take over the established business of the Citgo
Convenience Mart and the Bruns service station.
To
those who are upset with the decision based on historic aspects or
neighborhood concerns, I am sorry but I have no words to console you
with. To those who feel the Casey’s will hurt established
businesses, I say, "Only if you let it."
Often
during the night, the statement "free enterprise" came up
in the debate. Free enterprise is a two-way street. In America we
should allow businesses to start and grow and prosper or fail
according to their own efforts. Free enterprise also means that we
have a choice to use any business we want for whatever reasons we so
desire. Just because a Casey’s moves to the area doesn’t mean we
need to send farewell flowers to either the convenience store or the
Bruns service station.
We
at Lincoln Daily News and Channel 15 visit with
hundreds of merchants in the area. They are our friends and our
neighbors, but we always make a concerted effort to patronize those
who help keep us online and on the air. This subtle but primary
decision by us is because we appreciate those who allow us to give
you folks the news and programs you want. Sure we move our
monies throughout the community, but we always make sure that our
sponsors get a significant share of our business. Grandpa said,
"Always remember who buttered your bread." It seems
that Jim and Jan at Lincoln Daily News, and Jim and
Tim at Channel 15 and everyone else associated with these
businesses must have had the same grandpa.
[to top of second column in
this commentary]
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The
question of Casey’s as a major chain offering cheaper prices on
some items, more so than perhaps any business throughout the city,
is valid. In a day and age when costs for everything escalate every
day, it is important to stretch a dollar as far as possible. It is
just as important to remember which businesses are important to a
consumer and those that are important to the way of life in this
community.
Now
I will never be so forward as to tell any of you where you should
trade. I will ask you, as I always have, to remember who the
businesses are who buy your chances or take out an ad in a school or
organizations brochure. Remember who donates items for auctions or
free food to community fund-raisers. Remember which businesses
gladly put the jars on their counters to help still another
worthwhile cause.
Dollars
are important to all of us. We must be judicious in how and where we
spend our ever-dwindling finances. In context I have to ask,
"Are a few pennies as relevant?" I recall grandpa also
telling me never to forget who brung me to the dance.
[Mike Fak]
Reply to
Fak
(not for publication):
mikefak@msn.com
Response
to Fak's commentary:
ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com
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This
is the em
space, a staff writer’s section with observations about life experiences in Logan County and
elsewhere. Enjoy your visit.
—
Mary Krallmann
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Five score and six years from
washboard
company launch to balloon crowds
One
hundred six years ago, it was 1895. Grover Cleveland was president; the
Columbus Washboard Co. went into business; and a child was born who would
live until Lincoln’s balloon festival weekend in 2001.
It’s not
common anymore to read obituaries of people born in the 1800s, and it’s
one of the novelties of the new millennium that people with the most
longevity among us have lived in three centuries. When the recent death
notice came, I was surprised to see that the person hadn’t just squeaked
by with that record but spent several years in the 19th
century.
 Neither the
death nor the special activities in town turned out to be a major focus
for me over the weekend. Despite the local festivities, I felt more like a
basket case. Celebrating on Friday night, I even bought whole-wheat
crackers that had a woven look — a purchase made primarily because it
was only 99 cents. Possibly the combination with vanilla yogurt and a
small pizza unbalanced the biochemistry in my brain.
By the next
evening I was fed up with things past, present and future, despite the
once-a-year events all around. I was tired of thinking about festivities;
tired of signs, crowds and traffic.
When I heard
the fireworks that I’d forgotten about popping in the distance, and I
still hadn’t caught up on the basic duties of the day and the week, I
just hoped I’d have enough energy to shower and get through the process
of washing, drying and curling my hair sometime between then and the next
morning.
I took a
little time out to sit on a parking bumper and feel the breeze. That’s
when I decided what to do. The time had come for a "mad
adventure," to imitate the name of a visiting balloon.
I had only
Sunday afternoon to work with, but that was a reasonable opportunity for a
quick jaunt.
At the last
minute I changed my intended destination and went to a smaller town
instead of a larger city. I’d been wanting to buy more of a certain kind
of birthday candleholders and had a place in mind. I hadn’t found it on
a previous trip but took the exact address along for another try. The elusive
candleholders weren’t available, but a novel style of candles that didn’t
need holders looked like a good substitute.
Nearby I saw
packages of "beautiful balloons" in several "super
translucent" colors. Not one to pass that up on the festival weekend,
I picked yellow.
As I
wandered around in other aisles, I came across the reminder of life in
1895. I felt sure the products are used primarily for decorative purposes
today, but it was still a surprise to see the two washboard selections —
the standard family size, No. 2072, and the pail size, No. 2133, which
packs easily into a traveling bag, so it said. Admittedly, I’ve never
remembered to take a washboard along on a trip.
In better
humor by then and mindful of an art fair in progress elsewhere, I even
bought a watermelon souvenir made by someone in Lincoln.
The next
stop was a grocery store with sale-priced pork and beans, just in time for
Labor Day. The store had an unfamiliar but appealingly named product line
from a company dating back to 1904. A tree design marked the cans, cartons
and paper sacks. I chose a box of Our Family corn flakes, in line with my
grandpa’s cereal preference.
I felt right
at home. There was plenty of space to maneuver in the parking lot.
Customers were few. Carts didn’t jostle for position in the aisles, and
there were no lines at the cash register. The quiet stores were balm for
my crowd-weary spirit.
It was 2:22
when I parked at the small-town shopping area and 3:33 when I
turned off
the car key back at home. In that hour and 11 minutes, I found
something I
didn’t know I was hungry for. It wasn’t a wild adventure but mirrored
the peacefulness of riding the air currents.
I set the new watermelon spoon
rest on the kitchen counter and tied big yellow balloons outside
to tumble in the breeze. The afternoon sun shining through them sent a
glow over my work area inside. Every once in a while I heard one pop, but
that was only another 16 cents’ worth of mad money used up.
[Mary
Krallmann]
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Where
They Stand
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Where
They Stand is a commentary section that poses a question about a
specific issue in the community. Informed individuals present their
position with facts, opinions or insights on the issue. The
following commentaries have been printed, unedited, in their
entirety, as they were received. If you have further comment on the
issue, please send an e-mail message, complete with your name,
address and telephone number to ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com.
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By
the Numbers
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Population
estimates in Logan County
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| 30,798 |
Total population,
1990 |
| 15,380 |
Rural population -
49.9%, 1990 |
| 15,418 |
Urban population -
50.1%, 1990 |
| 2,875 |
Projected births,
1990-1998 |
| 2,736 |
Projected deaths,
1990-1998 |
| 3,143 |
Persons below poverty
level - 11.8 % |
| 258 |
Average marriages per
year |
| 135 |
Average deaths per
year |
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Alexis Asher
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| Logan
County high schools: 1960-2000 |
| 1962 |
Middletown
High School consolidated with New Holland |
| 1972 |
Atlanta
High School became part of Olympia School District |
| 1975 |
Elkhart
High School consolidated with Mount Pulaski |
| 1979 |
Latham
High School became Warrensburg-Latham |
| 1988 |
New Holland-Middletown
High School consolidated with Lincoln Community High School |
| 1989 |
San
Jose High School consolidated with Illini Central (Mason City) |
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