[JAN. 24, 2002]  Corn Belt Energy is in its new facility, with unopened boxes in offices and cornfields to view all around. The headquarters operation of the cooperative, which provides electricity, propane and natural gas to members within an 18-county service territory, moved to the Downs Crossing subdivision in the village of Downs as of Jan. 21. This is the fourth move the cooperative has made in its 63-year history. 

The new 43,000-square-foot facility is located on approximately 12 acres at the intersection of Route 150 and Towanda Barnes Road. Approximately 65 employees staff the new headquarters building.

Corn Belt Energy Corporation agreed to sell its Morrissey Drive land and buildings in Bloomington to the Snyder Corporation for expansion of their Radisson Conference Center and Brickyard Apartments.

Phone and fax numbers and the mailing address remain the same.

Corn Belt Energy Corporation CEO Jeffrey D. Reeves said, "We are very excited to move into our new facility. This location will enable our crews to be more efficient and productive."'

Special opening ceremonies and events will be on April 6, when the cooperative has the 64th annual meeting of its membership.

Corn Belt’s history

On Sept. 12, 1938, the McLean County Farm Bureau board of directors approved a Rural Electrification Administration project to bring electricity to the farmers of the area. Following numerous meetings to formulate the cooperative structure, acquire right of way, hire staff and secure a $1,164,000 REA loan to build 1,146 miles of distribution line, employees of the new Corn Belt Electric Cooperative placed the first pole on April 10, 1939, and strung the first wire on May 4.

By August of that year, the first 100 miles of line were energized northwest of Kappa, and 200 farms were electrified in McLean and Woodford counties.

As the cooperative grew, it became a key part of the Bloomington business community. The office was first at 508 N. Main St., then shifted to the old Farm Bureau Building at 1019 W. Monroe. In 1943, the co-op offices moved to 315 E. Front St. The 100-foot-tall wooden pole used to support the radio antennae is present to this day.

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In 1954 Corn Belt Electric moved to 1502 Morrissey Drive, where office, administration and support facilities were located until the recent move. The building of the new facility was precipitated by the Radisson Hotel purchase of the Morrissey Drive property for expansion purposes. The new headquarters at Downs Crossing is approximately 5 miles southeast of Bloomington.

Since 1938, Corn Belt has grown to provide energy products to more than 26,000 members throughout 18 central Illinois counties, using nearly 5,000 miles of line and 87 employees.

A major event in the cooperative’s history occurred Jan. 1, 1999, when Corn Belt Electric Cooperative (serving 10 counties) merged with Illinois Valley Electric Cooperative of Princeton (serving eight counties). The merger created a new organization known as Corn Belt Energy Corporation

During its 63-year history, Corn Belt’s membership base has changed dramatically from primarily farmers to an ever-increasing number of urban, suburban and commercial accounts. The cooperative retains its rural farm heritage but serves many of the new residential subdivisions and commercial zones in Bloomington-Normal as well as in other communities.

Corn Belt Energy has been a member of the McLean County Chamber of Commerce for over 60 years and is also a member of the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

Corn Belt Energy has been a member of Touchstone Energy®, a national branding effort, since its inception in 1998. More than 600 of the nation’s 1,000 electric cooperatives belong to Touchstone Energy®.

The cooperative is governed by 15 directors who are residential members of Corn Belt Energy.

Dave Hawkinson, a former executive director of the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce, is director of marketing and public affairs.

Today’s history

Compiled by Dave Francis

Thursday, Jan. 24

The 24th day of the year

"Religion is the idol of the mob; it adores everything it does not understand." — Frederick the Great.

"I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." — Winston Churchill

1712 — Frederick II, (the Great), king of Prussia (1740-86)

1732 — Pierre de Baumarchais, France, playwright ("The Barber of Seville")

1888 — Ernst Heinrich Heinkel, German inventor (first rocket-powered aircraft)

1891 — Max Ernst, German-French surrealist painter and sculptor

1891 — Walter Model, German field marshal

1915 — Ernest Borgnine, Hamden, Conn., actor ("Ice Station Zebra," "McHale’s Navy," "Marty")

1918 — Oral Roberts, televangelist; needs $8,000,000 (Oral Roberts College)

1941 — Neil Diamond, Brooklyn, N.Y., singer and actor ("The Jazz Singer")

1943 — Sharon Tate, Dallas, Texas, actress ("Valley of the Dolls")

1949 — John Belushi, Chicago, comedian and actor ("Saturday Night Live," "Blues Brothers")

1968 — Mary Lou Retton, Fairmont, W.Va., gymnast (Olympics; gold, two silver, two bronze in 1984)

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?? — Caligula [G.C. Germanicus], Roman emperor (37-41), assassinated at 28

1076 — Synod of Worms: German King Henry IV fires Pope Gregory VII

1568 — In Netherlands, Duke of Alva declares William of Orange an outlaw

1679 — King Charles II disbands English Parliament

1722 — Czar Peter the Great begins civil system

1848 — James Marshall finds gold in Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, Calif.

1901 — First games played in baseball’s American League

1922 — Eskimo Pie patented by Christian K. Nelson of Iowa (not an Eskimo)

1924 — Russian city of St. Petersburg renamed Leningrad

1935 — First canned beer, "Krueger Cream Ale," is sold by Kruger Brewing Co.

1965 — Winston Churchill, prime minister of Britain (C) (1940-45, ’51-’55), dies at 90

1975 — Larry Fine, actor ("Three Stooges"), dies at 72

1988 — Charles Glenn King, biochemist (discovered vitamin C), dies at 91

1989 — Ted Bundy, serial killer of up to 100 women, executed in Florida at 42

1993 — Thurgood Marshall, first black Supreme Court justice (1967-91), dies at 84

[JAN. 23, 2002]  With one no vote, the Lincoln City Council voted Tuesday to continue its financial support of $1,250 per month for Main Street Lincoln, even though the organization is currently without a director.

The only opposition came from Alderman Joe Stone, who said he believed the funds budgeted for Main Street were exclusively for administrative salaries. Wendy Bell, former director of Main Street Lincoln and its only employee, resigned as of Jan. 1 to take a position with the state of Illinois Main Street program.

Jan Schumacher, president of the organization’s board, came before the council last week to ask that it continue some financial help until the organization is able to hire another full-time director. She said the organization needs to hire a part-time office worker until a new director is in place and also still has rent and other expenses to pay. She also said Main Street hopes to have the new director sometime in March.

Schumacher was advised to bring a list of expenses to the council, and at Tuesday’s board meeting she distributed a document showing expenses of $65 a week for a clerical worker, $750 for newspaper advertisements for a new director, $250 monthly rent, and copying and postage expenses of $100 a month.

Alderman Steve Fuhrer spoke in favor of continuing the financial support. "I have a problem thinking of this as just an administrative salary for Wendy," he said. "I thought we were giving money to Main Street for the Main Street program. I think we need to keep helping them out. They’ve done a lot for this community."

Alderman Glenn Shelton also spoke up in support. "I don’t want to see $1,250 a month create a division between Main Street and the city. We’ve already budgeted the money. They have done a great job." The city has $15,000 in the budget this year for Main Street Lincoln, to be paid in monthly installments.

Alderman Michael Montcalm moved that the council make the $1,250 February payment and the vote was taken. Voting in favor were Montcalm, Shelton, David Armbrust, Fuhrer, Benny Huskins, Verl Prather and Bill Melton. Pat Madigan was absent, and George Mitchell was serving as mayor pro tem in Beth Davis’ absence.

Another motion, this one to buy a new squad car for the Police Department, also passed with one no vote. Police Chief Rich Montcalm asked last week that the council purchase a second new vehicle this year, to replace one that was totaled in an accident, even though there is not enough money budgeted for a new vehicle.

Cost of the new squad car will be about $23,000, and $7,000 of that will have to come from the appropriations item in the budget.

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Verl Prather, head of the police committee, moved to go ahead with the purchase, but Fuhrer objected.

"In the crunch we have this year, we should try to keep within the budget," he said. He suggested that the Police Department "count the car we already bought to replace the wrecked vehicle" as this year’s new squad car and save the $15,973 in the budget for next year’s new squad car.

Prather reminded him that at one time the Police Department replaced two cars per year, but in the past few years has replaced only one car because of a tighter budget.

"If we don’t replace them, we get shoddy vehicles," he said.

Fuhrer’s was the only no vote on this issue.

Still another single no vote came on adoption of a policy for drug and alcohol abuse testing for employees driving street department vehicles. The issue in dispute is a "zero tolerance" policy that calls for an employee to be fired if he or she tests positive for drug or alcohol abuse. Bill Melton, head of the street department, had lobbied for a less restrictive policy under which a first-time offender could keep the job by enrolling in a rehabilitation program.

Melton said he would vote yes because he knew the department was late in putting such a policy in place. Though Melton voted yes, Prather cast a no vote.

In other business, the council agreed to table a discussion of the city’s participation in the Route 66 Association’s activities on June 15 and 16 until Mayor Davis returns.

The council also agreed to sign a letter to be sent to Gov. George Ryan, asking that the governor consider helping the city fund its $10 million sewer plant upgrade with an Illinois FIRST grant. According to the letter, the cost of the upgrade will bring users a 49.3 percent increase, which will be put into place in two steps. The first increase went into effect Jan. 1 of this year, and the second will be put in place when the work on the plant is completed.

"This is a heavy burden on our citizens," the letter reads. It also noted that the city has "deep concern about the possible downsizing or closing of Lincoln Developmental Center," which is also a user of the sewage treatment plant.

[Joan Crabb]

[Joan Crabb]

Today’s history

Compiled by Dave Francis

Wednesday, Jan. 23

The 23rd day of the year

"There are two levers for moving men — interest and fear." — Napoleon Bonaparte

"Wars have never hurt anybody except the people who die." — Salvador Dali

1582 — John Barclay, Scottish satirist and Latin poet ("Argenis")

1730 — Joseph Hewes, U.S. merchant (Declaration of Independence signer)

1898 — Randolph Scott, actor ("The Last of the Mohicans," "Western Union")

1898 — Sergei Eisenstein, Russia, director ("Battleship Potemkin") [NS]

1914 — Napoleon L. Bonaparte, French pretender to the throne

1963 — Hakeem Olajuwon, NBA center (Houston Rockets)

?? — Start of Islamic calendar

1556 — Most deadly earthquake kills 830,000 in Shensi Province, China

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1789 — Georgetown, first U.S. Catholic college, founded

1800 — Edward Rutledge, U.S. attorney (signed Declaration of Independence), dies at 50

1812 — 7.8 earthquake shakes New Madrid, Mo.

1813 — George Clymer, U.S. merchant (signed Declaration of Independence), dies at 73

1864 — Michele Puccini, composer, dies at 50

1962 — Bob Feller and Jackie Robinson elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

1962 — British spy Kim Philby defects to U.S.S.R.

1968 — Spy ship USS Pueblo and 83-man crew seized in Sea of Japan by North Korea

1973 — President Nixon announces an accord has been reached to end Vietnam War

1977 — Bernard "Toots" Shor, barkeeper, dies at 73

1989 — Salvador Dali, surrealist painter, dies in Spain at 84

New security machine at Logan County Courthouse

[JAN. 22, 2002]  A Lincoln visitor’s eyes widened as he recalled his weekend air travel experience. Flying from Louisiana to St. Louis he made a flight transfer at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport at Houston, Texas. He was glad that he was merely doing a transfer, as it allowed him and his companion travelers to bypass the newcomer check-in security system. The airline passengers just getting on their first flight had to pass through an impressive, highly intimidating, flashing blue light-emanating contraption. Whether in the bypass line or just checking in line, all travelers then faced the now common sight of Tommy gun-carrying National Guardsmen dressed in fatigues in the waiting terminal.

The whole sight was a little overwhelming to the traveler, but it is a new day in America. We must adopt new practices. We are now probably where we should have been years ago — more security conscious like most of the rest of the world.

Today, Logan County completed another phase of beefing up its security. An X-ray machine has been installed and is operational at the Logan County Courthouse. Sheriff Tony Soloman said the plans to get one of these began long before Sept. 11. He first got approval to order a machine through the county board and law enforcement committee. In June 2001 they sent out for bids on one. They were able to order one in October, but because there was such a rush on them at that time it was slow to become available. The company they ordered from is based in Chicago and serves mostly federal government; their orders came first.

The machine has been purchased at no expense to Logan County taxpayers. Years ago Judge Gerald Dehner saw the need to start a security system in the courthouse. A certain percentage of criminal fines are put aside in a security fund. The fund has bought the current metal detector and pays for security officer wages. Sheriff Soloman said he thought it was time for a metal detector, and when he checked it out the funds were sufficient. The machines themselves are made in New Jersey. The total cost is $14,600.

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All packages and purses will be run through the machine. This can be done quickly and most conveniently. One of the greatest benefits to this device is that it spares anyone any embarrassment of searching through personal items, and a sense of privacy is maintained.

The particular setup Sheriff Soloman has chosen is a mobile unit. It can be used elsewhere for any number of occasions. It is not too bulky to use in offices or schools. If we have visiting dignitaries, such as when the governor came to LDC, the machine can be set up on location. If a school gets a threat that a student is bringing something to school, it can be taken there. It can also be used at any other public assemblies anywhere else.

[Jan Youngquist]

[JAN. 22, 2002]  SPRINGFIELD — Gov. George Ryan has invited representatives of Illinois small businesses and entrepreneurs to attend the governor’s 2002 Small Business Conference and Awards Banquet, scheduled for Feb. 5-6 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Springfield.

"Small businesses are the foundation of the Illinois economy," Gov. Ryan said. "Our state’s more than 625,000 small businesses provide jobs for more than 2.5 million Illinois workers. As a former small-business owner, I understand the challenges these business people face every day. This conference is designed to provide opportunities and information to help them meet those challenges."

Pam McDonough, director of the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, said the 2002 conference supports small-business growth and entrepreneurship in Illinois through information, resources and training targeted specifically toward small businesses. Featured topics include: "eBusiness Strategies," "Accessing Business Financing for Business Expansion and Start-Up," "Tips on Thriving in Today’s Economy," "Low Cost Marketing Strategies" and "Small Business Security."

The conference also will feature a resource area including exhibits from a number of state agencies and associations. Exhibitors’ representatives will be available throughout the conference to discuss the services they offer to small-business owners and entrepreneurs in Illinois.

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"A strong Illinois small-business community means jobs for Illinois workers and a more diversified Illinois economy," McDonough said. "This conference combines practical training with networking opportunities that can help our small businesses and entrepreneurs achieve success."

Highlighting the conference will be the awards banquet on Feb. 5, celebrating the success of Illinois small businesses and entrepreneurs. Awards to be presented include the Small Business Person of the Year, Small Business Women’s Advocate of the Year, Small Business Minority Advocate, Entrepreneur Success Award, and Young Entrepreneur Award.

The fee to attend the conference is $50 per person, which includes the banquet and awards program. To register, download the registration form by clicking here. Registration forms may also be requested by calling (217) 698-7066 [TTY (800) 524-5856] or DCCA’s Small Business Office at (217) 524-5856 [TTY (217) 785-6055]. Completed registrations may be faxed to (217) 793-0041 if accompanied by a credit card number, or may be mailed with a check or money order made payable to Governor’s 2002 Small Business Conference to: Governor’s 2002 Small Business Conference, 1224 Centre West, Suite 200B, Springfield, IL 62704.

[News release]

Today’s history

Compiled by Dave Francis

Tuesday, Jan. 22

The 22nd day of the year

"No pleasure is comparable to the standing upon the vantage-ground of truth." — Francis Bacon

"I once told Nixon that the Presidency is like being a jackass caught in a hail storm. You’ve got to just stand there and take it." — Lyndon B. Johnson

1440 — Ivan III, the Great, Russian czar (1462-1505)

1561 — Francis Bacon, England, statesman and essayist ("Novum Organum")

1788 — Lord [George Gordon Noel] Byron, England, romantic poet (Don Juan)

1800 — Nat Turner, slave that revolted

1937 — Joseph Wambaugh, East Pittsburgh, Pa., police writer ("The Onion Field")

Events

1528 — England and France declare war on Emperor Charles V

1552 — Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, beheaded for treason

[to top of second column in this section]

1905 — Bloody Sunday: Russian demonstrators fired on by tsarist troops

1939 — Uranium atom first split, Columbia University

1944 — During World War II, Allied forces begin landing at Anzio, Italy

1946 — U.S. president sets up CIA, Central Intelligence Agency

1951 — Fidel Castro ejected from a Winter League game after beaning batter

1969 — Judy Garland, singer and actress ("The Wizard of Oz"), dies at 48 of an overdose

1973 — George Foreman TKOs Joe Frazier in two for heavyweight boxing title

1973 — Roe vs. Wade: U.S. Supreme Court legalizes some abortions

1973 — Lyndon B. Johnson, president (1963-69), dies at his Texas ranch at 64

1980 — Dissidents Andrei Sacharov and Jelena Bonner banished to Gorki

1995 — Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, mother of President John F. Kennedy, dies at 104

Today’s history

Compiled by Dave Francis

Monday, Jan. 21

The 21st day of the year

"It is true that liberty is precious — so precious that it must be rationed." — I. Lenin

"Myths which are believed in tend to become true." — George Orwell

1824 — Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson, lieutenant general, 2nd Corps (ANV, Confederacy)

1855 — John M. Browning, United States, weapons manufacturer

1905 — Christian Dior, Normandy, France, fashion designer

1924 — Telly Savalas, Garden City, N.J., actor ("Kojak")

1933 — William Wrigley III, chewing gum mogul (Wrigleys)

1939 — Wolfman Jack [Bob Smith], Brooklyn, N.Y., DJ ("Midnight Special")

1940 — Jack Nicklaus, Columbus, Ohio, golfer (Player of Year 1967, ’72, ’73, ’75, ’76)

1941 — Placido Domingo, Madrid, Spain, opera tenor (Pinkerton in "Mme. Butterfly")

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1189 — Philip II, Henry II and Richard Lionhearted initiate third Crusade

1604 — Tsar Ivan IV defeats False Dmitri, who claims to be the true tsar

1789 — First American novel, W.H. Brown’s "Power of Sympathy," is published

1813 — Pineapple introduced to Hawaii (or 01-111)

1903 — "Wizard of Oz," premieres in New York City

1903 — Harry Houdini escapes police station Halvemaansteeg in Amsterdam

1924 — Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov Lenin, Russian leader, dies of a stroke at 53

1950 — New York jury finds former State Department official Alger Hiss guilty of perjury

1950 — George Orwell, author ("Animal Farm," "1984"), dies in London at 46

1959 — Cecil B[lount] de Mille, producer ("The Ten Commandments"), dies at 77

1991 — Howard "Red" Grange, football’s galloping ghost, dies at 87

1997 — Colonel Tom Parker, manager (Elvis Presley), dies at 87

Still impacting the world for Christ

[JAN. 19, 2002]  This year marks the 50th anniversary of Lincoln Christian Seminary. The seminary will celebrate its jubilee year with an impressive list of featured alumni who will speak during chapel in Restoration Hall throughout the spring semester.

Lincoln Christian Seminary was established in 1952 as the dream of founder Earl C Hargrove, who worked hard to make his dream a reality by raising the funds to build an administration and library building in 1960 and a graduate building named Restoration Hall in 1966.  With its own building, and expanding library, Lincoln Christian Seminary entered an era of rapid growth.

Today, Lincoln Christian Seminary has grown to more than 300 students, who are instructed by 11 full-time faculty members and 20 adjunct faculty.  In 2000 LCS graduated its 1000th student.  LCS graduates serve in 38 countries and across the United States, preaching in churches, teaching in Bible colleges and seminaries, and serving the Lord in many different ministry capacities. 

The seminary has a reputation for its high-quality faculty who bring years of experience and expertise into the classroom. Students cite the excellence of the faculty as their top reason for choosing LCS. The curriculum now includes three degree programs — the Master of Divinity, the Master of Arts and the Master of Arts in Counseling Ministry. Lincoln Christian Seminary is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada, and the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

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The seminary is led under the direction of the vice president of academics, Dr. Tom Tanner, and associate deans Dr. Robert Lowery and Dr. Paul Boatman. Prior to Dr. Tanner’s inauguration, Dr. Wayne Shaw served as the seminary’s academic dean for 26 years, and Enos Dowling served for 22 years. Together as deans, Shaw and Dowling spanned 48 years of Lincoln Christian Seminary’s 50 years.  Dr. Keith H. Ray, a graduate of Lincoln Christian College and Seminary, serves as president.

Below is a schedule of guest speakers for the month of January. Each chapel service begins at 9:30 a.m. in the chapel of Restoration Hall. All are welcome to attend.

[News release]

January chapel schedule

[JAN. 19, 2002] 

Jan. 15

Doug Maris;

“Jubilee: A Year for New Beginnings”

Jan. 16

Gary Johnson

“Still Impacting the World — Still Finishing Strong”

Jan. 23

Jim Johnson and Jeff Snell

“Still Impacting the World for Christ:  Through Balanced Ministry/Through Focused Ministry”

Jan. 30

Rick Walston

“A Word from God for Troubled Lives”

[News release]

Today’s history

Compiled by Dave Francis

The 19^th day of the year

Quotes

"We deal with a right of privacy older than the Bill of Rights — older than our political parties, older than our school system." — William O. Douglas

"While the angels, all pallid and wan,

Uprising, unveiling, affirm

That the play is the tragedy ‘Man,’

And its hero the Conqueror Worm."

— Edgar Alan Poe

?? — Mohammed, Islamic prophet (Koran)

1736 — James Watt, Scotland, inventor (steam engine)

1809 — Edgar Allan Poe, Boston, author

1839 — Paul Cezanne, France, impressionist painter (Bathers)

1918 — John H. Johnson, United States, publisher (Negro Digest, Ebony, Jet)

1943 — Janis Joplin, Port Arthur, Texas, bluesy rock singer ("Down on Me")

1419 — French city of Rouen surrenders to Henry V in Hundred Years War

1793 — French King Louis XVI sentenced to death

1825 — Ezra Daggett and nephew Thomas Kensett patent food storage in tin cans

1829 — Johann von Goethe’s "Faust, Part 1," premieres

1833 — Charles Darwin reaches Straits Ponsonby, Fireland

1937 — Millionaire Howard Hughes sets transcontinental air record

1939 — Ernest Hausen of Wisconsin sets chicken-plucking record: 4.4 sec

1954 — Sydney Greenstreet, actor ("The Maltese Falcon"), dies at 74

1955 — Scrabble debuts on board game market

1955 — First presidential news conference filmed for TV (Eisenhower)

1975 — Thomas Heart Benson, U.S. artist, dies at 85

1980 — William O. Douglas, member U.S. Supreme Court (1939-75), dies at 81

[to top of second column in this section]

Sunday, Jan. 20

The 20^th day of the year

"All art is autobiographical; the pearl is the oyster’s autobiography." — Frederico Fellini

"What do we, as a nation, care about books? How much do you think we spend altogether on our libraries, public or private, as compared with what we spend on our horses?" — John Ruskin

1732 — Richard H. Lee, U.S. farmer (signed Declaration of Independence)

1896 — George Burns [Nathan Birnbaum], New York City, actor and comedian ("Oh, God!")

1920 — Federico Fellini, Rimini, Italy, director

1612 — Rudolf II von Habsburg, emperor of Germany (1576-1612), dies at 59

1778 — First American military court martial trial begins, Cambridge, Mass.

1783 — Hostilities cease in Revolutionary War

1819 — Carlos IV, King of Spain (1788-1808), dies at 70

1900 — John Ruskin, English writer ("Dearest Mama Talbot"), dies of flu at 81

1945 — FDR sworn in for an unprecedented fourth term as president

1948 — Mahatma Gandhi, India’s pacifist, assassinated

1984 — Johnny Weissmuller, U.S. swimmer (Olympics, five golds, 1924, ’28), dies at 79

1997 — Curt Flood, center fielder (Cards), dies of throat cancer at 59

[JAN. 18, 2002]  It was with great pleasure that Oasis director Dominic Dalpoas unveiled the newly developed "Reflections" mural at the annual meeting of the Senior Citizens of Logan County, Inc. The mural, mounted on the south wall of the activity and dining area at the Oasis Senior Center, was dedicated last evening, Thursday, Jan. 17.

The new mural is a means to recognize individuals and organizations that have contributed financially to the senior citizens organization. Contributors are honored with a nameplate on the mural so that the Oasis membership and others can reflect on the contributions, which make a difference in the lives of the seniors of today and those who will follow.

[Photo by Bob Frank]

The colored plaques mounted on the mural display the name of the individual or organization and the year the contribution was received. A coding key mounted next to the mural indicates the five levels of contributors honored: $500-$999.99, black; $1,000-$4,999.99, green; $5,000-$9,999.99, blue; $10,000-$24,999.99, red; $25,000 and above, brass.

The mural represents financial contributions since Jan. 1, 2000.

The meeting also reviewed the accomplishments of the center in 2001, set goals for the 2002 calendar year and selected this year’s board of directors and officers.

[to top of second column in this article]

Board members re-elected for a second three-year term were Harold Boyer, Betty Burger, Alice Davis, Darlene Freeman, John Hart, Bob Shanle and LaVeta Zurkammer.

Nominees Rich Bumba and Marcia Howen were selected to replace Weldon B. Frantz and Phyllis Koehler on the board. Koehler was not eligible for re-election, as she had completed her second term at the end of December.

Officers elected were David LaForge, president; LaVeta Zurkhammer, vice president; Alice Davis, secretary; and Barbara Raycraft, treasurer.

[Photo by Bob Frank]

Plaques were given to the exiting board members, Weldon Frantz and Phyllis Koehler, and to Dean Baker for his service as president from 1998 to 2001.

Entertainment and refreshments followed the business meeting.

[News release]

[JAN. 18, 2002]  State Rep. Gwenn Klingler, R-Springfield, spent Thursday morning at Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital, getting to know the health care issues in what she hopes will be part of her new district after the next general election. She also let board members, employees and other community leaders know where she stands on a number of issues that concern Logan County residents.

Klingler, who represents the 100^th District, will run against Rich Brauer in the March primary. The recent redistricting has changed the map so that about 60 percent of Klingler’s current district in southern Sangamon County will be in the new 100^th District, along with the southwest quarter of Logan County, including Lincoln. The new 100^th District includes two-thirds of Logan County voters — about 19,000 people

Although no Democratic candidate has yet announced, if she wins the primary she expects to have opposition in the general election in November.

Addressing a subject of immediate interest to many in Logan County, Klingler said she favors keeping Lincoln Developmental Center open and is talking with other elected officials about support for the 100-year-old institution. She has also written to Gov. George Ryan to let him know where she stands on the issue. "The governor knows my feelings," she said.

"I think it is important to have options for people with disabilities. It is important to keep institutionalized care. Group homes may work for some, but I don’t think one solution fits everybody."

She also addressed the recent budget cuts that affect health care institutions statewide, in particular the $125 million cut in Medicaid payments. Hospitals now receive only 75 percent reimbursement for the cost of treatment for Medicaid patients and will lose even more funds because state Medicaid payments are matched dollar-for-dollar by the federal government.

"If we are going to make cuts, they should be throughout the entire spectrum of government, not just human services," she said. "I felt the cuts were aimed at human services and social services for people in need, and especially for health care."

The governor’s decision to restore $24 million to hospitals and substitute a 2 percent reduction in reimbursement to health care providers isn’t a solution, she said. "It doesn’t help the system to cut doctors 2 percent and give the money back to the hospitals."

Woody Hester, CEO at ALMH, said the governor’s first cuts in Medicaid reimbursement took $172,000 out of the $600,000 operating margin at the hospital. The $24 million will restore only $12,000, so that ALMH’s final cut will be $160,000. He said the hospital "might have to discontinue some programs," although there has not yet been time to determine exactly what those might be.

The solution, Klingler said, is that "budget cuts have to be spread everywhere. We in the legislature have to look at all areas." The present cuts affect only areas over which the governor has control and do not affect expenses of the judiciary or the legislature. She said the legislature has a duty to make some of the cuts and not leave it all up to the governor, and she expects the next session at the Statehouse to be "pretty contentious."

[Klingler put on scrubs to visit ALMH’s surgical center. Here surgical nurse manager Debi Morrow shows her the video machine in the endoscopy department.
All photos by Joan Crabb.]

[Klingler talks to Woody Hester, CEO at ALMH,
after a tour of the new maternity wing.]

[to top of second column in this article]

Regarding the possibility of massive layoffs announced this week by the governor’s office, Klingler said she hoped that might just be a "scare tactic." Instead of layoffs, she is pushing an early retirement bill to encourage those near retirement — anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000 employees — to leave. "This removes from the payroll those with the highest incomes, while job cuts remove mostly those with the lowest incomes," she said.

She also said this is not the time for the legislature to consider new programs, because there are already too many unfunded mandates in place. "We can’t have ‘feel-good programs’ and not fund them," she said.

Klingler was first elected to the House in 1994, and this year is seeking her fifth term. She has a special interest in health care and has been on the health care committee for eight years. Her husband and two children are physicians.

Another issue of interest to Klingler is education, and she said she worked hard to get the former Sangamon State University to become the University of Illinois at Springfield and to establish a four-year program there.

She said she would also like to see the school construction grant program continued. This program provides funds to school districts that need new buildings and is presently one of the funding sources for the construction of District 27’s new Central and junior high schools.

Klingler is an attorney and has worked for the attorney general’s office and as a state’s attorney appellate prosecutor. She also served on a Springfield school board and on the Springfield City Council.

She has been visiting communities in what will be the new 100^th District to get to know their concerns. "I’ve been to four village board meetings in eight days," she said.

At ALHM, she donned green scrubs and visited the new surgical facility. She also toured the new maternity ward and other areas of the hospital, then went outside and climbed aboard the rural health van. The van makes weekly visits to Logan County communities to provide on-site health care.

"It’s delightful to see a state representative who takes her responsibilities so seriously that she wants to learn as much as she’s learning here," Hester said during the tour.

Hester introduced her as a state representative with a good track record in the General Assembly on health care issues. "I do have a lot of respect for a representative who has earned the respect of her peers and who influences the votes of others in the House without selling her soul," he added.

He said in the past Lincoln was very fortunate in having both a state representative, John Turner, and a state senator, Robert Madigan. "We could see them in the barber shop."

"There’s a lot of anger about the redistricting," Klingler replied. "If I’m re-elected, I’ll be up here a lot. I didn’t draw the map, but I’ll try to do my best."

Today’s history

Compiled by Dave Francis

Friday, Jan. 18

The 18th day of the year

"Whatever makes men good Christians makes them good citizens." — Daniel Webster

"Walk wide o’ the Widow at Windsor,

For ’alf o’ Creation she owns:

We ’ave bought ’er the same with the sword an’ the flame,

An’ we’ve salted it down with our bones." — Rudyard Kipling

1779 — Peter Roget, of thesaurus fame and inventor of slide rule and pocket chessboard

1782 — Daniel Webster, Salisbury, N.H., orator, politician, lawyer

1854 — Thomas A. Watson, needed by Bell, inventor’s assistant (telephone)
1856 — Daniel Nathan Hale Williams, surgeon (first open heart operation)

1882 — Alan Alexander Milne, English author ("Winnie the Pooh")

1892 — Oliver Hardy, Harlem, Ga., comedy team member (Laurel and Hardy)
1904 — Cary Grant, England, actor ("Arsenic and Old Lace," "North by Northwest")

1933 — Ray Dolby, sound expert and inventor (Dolby noise limiting system)

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1478 — Grand Duke Ivan II of Moscow occupies Novgorod

1486 — King Henry VII of England marries Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV

1535 — Francisco Pizarro founds Lima, Peru

1644 — First UFO sighting in America, by perplexed pilgrims in Boston

1671 — Pirate Henry Morgan defeats Spanish defenders, captures Panama

1730 — Peter II, czar of Russia (1727-30), dies at 14

1778 — Capt. James Cook stumbles over Sandwich Islands (Hawaiian Islands)

1854 — Filibuster William Walker proclaims Republic of Sonora in northwest Mexico

1862 — John Tyler, 10th U.S. president (1841-45), dies in Richmond, Va., at 71

1911 — First shipboard landing of a plane (Tanforan Park on USS Pennsylvania)

1919 — World War I Peace Congress opens in Versailles, France

1936 — Rudyard Kipling, author ("Gunga Din," Nobel 1907), dies at 70

1943 — Jews in Warsaw Ghetto begin resistance of Nazis

1943 — Pre-sliced bread sale banned to reduce bakery demand for metal parts

1943 — Soviets announce they broke long Nazi siege of Leningrad

1973 — John Cleese’s final episode on "Monty Python’s Flying Circus," on BBC

1996 — Minnesota Fats [Rudolf Wanderone Jr.], billiard hustler, dies at 82

Military addresses sought

It is a year like no other. Since Sept. 11 we are a changed nation. Individually, our daily sensitivity toward whom and what we have in our lives has been heightened. We are more conscious and appreciative, first about those we love and see everyday. Next, we have a newfound appreciation for those who risk their lives every day as rescue workers and protectors of life and property in our communities. We also now think more about our military men and women who are committed to serve and protect our country. Many are away engaged in battle, some are in waiting to go, all are ready to lay their lives on the line in defense of our freedom.

Lincoln Daily News is seeking the names and addresses, including e-mail addresses, of friends and relatives who are serving in the armed forces. They need not be from here in Logan County. If you know someone serving, please send the information to ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com. A complete list will be made available and kept updated through the site so we might all hold them in our thoughts, prayers and well wishes.

[Click here for names available now.]

Name of person in military:

Branch of service:

Current location of service:

Postal address:

E-mail address:

Relationship to LDN reader sending information (optional):

[LDN]

It’s on the radio, TV, in all the media. You hear it in the office, on the street and maybe at home — threats of terrorism. America is on high alert. Here in central Illinois, away from any supposed practical target areas, perhaps we feel a little less threatened, but we are still concerned. So how concerned should we be, and how prepared are we for the types of situations that could occur?

Whether the threat is domestic or foreign, violent, biological or chemical, our public health and rescue agencies have been preparing to respond to the situations. Lincoln Daily News has been at meetings where all the agencies gather together as the Logan County Emergency Planning Committee to strategize for just such a time. Our reports have not even provided every detail that every agency has reported; i.e., a number of representatives from differing agencies such as the health and fire departments, CILCO and ESDA went to a bioterrorism and hazmat (hazardous materials) seminar this past August.

Here are some of the articles that LDN has posted pre- and post-Tuesday, Sept. 11. Hopefully you will see in them that WE ARE WELL PREPARED. At least as much as any area can be. Every agency has been planning, training, submitting for grants to buy equipment long before Sept. 11. We can be thankful for all of the dedicated, insightful leaders we have in this community.

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• LEPC hears plans for annual exercise

• U.S. under terrorist attack
  How is Logan County affected?

• The day after ‘Attack on America’
  Area leaders respond to national tragedy

• ESDA and LEPC conduct successful hazardous materials exercise at water treatment plant 

• Logan County ready for action if terrorist event occurs - Part 1

• Logan County ready for action if terrorist event occurs – Part 2

• Clinton nuclear power plant safety measures in place

• Logan County agencies meet to discuss protocol for suspicious mail

As promised, the United States led an attack on Afghanistan. The attack began Sunday, Oct. 7. 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.myafghan.com/  

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/ 

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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.

Announcements

[JAN. 15, 2002]  Citizens who are not registered to vote and cannot leave their home, hospital, nursing home or other institution because of a permanent physical disability can arrange for voter registration by contacting a deputy registrar or the county clerk’s office.

Voter registration will close on Feb. 19 for the March 19 general primary election.

If you are physically able, you may register to vote by going to the county clerk’s office, Room 20 in the Logan County Courthouse, 601 Broadway in Lincoln. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. You will need to show two forms of identification, one with your current address on it.

For people with physical disabilities and the elderly, election judges will be available at the polling place on election day to assist voters when a friend or relative is unable to help. Handicapped-voter booths will be available for your convenience. Physically impaired or elderly persons may be eligible to vote absentee. Please contact the Logan County clerk’s office for information.

For any information concerning voter registration or voting for the elderly or disabled, please call the Logan County clerk’s office at (217) 732-4148.

[Sally J. Litterly, Logan County clerk]

[JAN. 3, 2002]  Are you registered to vote?

The March 19 primary is rapidly approaching. The close of registration is Feb. 19. If you have moved, or if you have married and changed your name, it is necessary that you change your voter registration with our office in order to cast your vote in the election.

If you have questions about your voting eligibility, please contact our office at (217) 732-4148.

[Sally J. Litterly, Logan County clerk]

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