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The program started a little after 10
a.m., with John Sutton, a member of the guild, acting as master of
ceremonies.
Dr. James Sennett, a professor at
Lincoln Christian College, gave the invocation. The VFW Post 1756,
along with Girl Scout Troop 53, performed an opening flag ceremony.
Michael Snyder played taps on the bugle.
After the flag ceremony, students from
Zion Lutheran School, dressed in red, white and blue, gave a
stirring presentation of the Gettysburg Address. Goosebumps
dominated the room at the conclusion.
[Party-goers could watch the Looking for Lincoln
video before or after the celebration.]
[Photos by Gina Sennett]
Nancy Saul invited all the children in
the room to sit on small carpets on the floor. She told them stories
about some of Abraham Lincoln's friends and how they helped his
cause of emancipation of slaves.
Finally came the presentation of awards
for the Abraham Lincoln art and poetry contest, also sponsored by
the guild. The contest was open to all first- through 12th-grade
students in Logan County. There were six levels in each of the two
categories, and the first-place winner in each received 1800s
clothing -- an apron and day cap for the girls, a shirt for the
boys. Poetry and art were judged on appropriateness of subject,
clarity of message, neatness and technical accuracy.
The poetry entries were judged by the
Memories class from The Oasis. Fay Stubblefield represented the
class at the birthday party.
Poetry
winners
Grades 1-2: Honorable mention went to
Mrs. Chamberlain's first-grade students at Washington-Monroe School
for their book "If I Were President…" compiled with the help of Mrs.
Wiser. The book consisted of photos of the children, which they
altered so that they looked like Abraham Lincoln (with a stovepipe
hat and black coat), and short statements which the children wrote
saying what they would do if they were president. Instead of
clothing, the class received a copy of the book "Ellen's Story" by
Susan Kirby, which is set in the 1830s and takes place in the New
Salem area.
Grades 3-4: There were so many entries
in this level that the Memories class decided to award two
second-place winners in addition to the first-place winner. First
place went to Tina Morrow, fourth grade, from Washington-Monroe
School. She received a day cap and apron. Second place was shared by
Melyssa Cooper and Brittany Bone, both in third grade and both from
Lincoln. They each received a second-place ribbon.
[to top of second column in
this article] |
Grades 5-6: Camillia Bone in fifth
grade won first place.
Grade 7: It was originally advertised
that entries from seventh- and eighth-graders would be judged
together, but due to a lack of high school entries, they were
separated. The seventh-grade winner was Rebecca Crider.
Grade 8: Elizabeth Carter won first
place.
The art entries were judged by Sue
Bidwell, a member of the arts and crafts guild.
Art
winners
Grades 1-2: Karley Lance from
Chester-East Lincoln
Grades 3-4: Todd Coppinger from Miss
Barcolow's fourth-grade class at Northwest
Grades 5-6: Zack Huffer, sixth grade,
from Carroll Catholic
Grades 7-8: Rebecca Crider, seventh
grade, home-schooled in Lincoln. Because she already received a day
cap and apron from the poetry contest, she was given the book
"Hattie's Story" by Susan Kirby as an additional prize.
After the winners were announced, Dr.
Sennett gave the benediction and everyone was invited to have birthday cake and ice cream and to
watch the Looking for Lincoln video.
[Children listen as Nancy Saul (right) tells about
some of Abraham Lincoln's friends.]
"The Lincoln's Logan County Arts and
Crafts Guild would like to thank all the young people who submitted
entries and all the adults who took time to help the young people
work on entries for the poetry and picture contest," Bidwell said.
"We are so very pleased with the community participation this year
that we look forward to an even more exciting event next year.
"We hope the winning students will
continue to study the life of Abraham Lincoln and become active in
the guild's various activities throughout the year to learn more
about life in the 1800s and put their prizes to good use. The prizes
were picked to stir interest in the guild and to challenge the
students!"
If any of
the winners listed above have not picked up their prizes, call Sew
Many Friends at (217) 732-4527.
[Dr. James Sennett gave the invocation and
benediction.]
[Photo by Jan Youngquist]
[Press
release/Gina
Sennett] |
|
"This will be a difficult year for
paying refunds," said acting Director Scott A. Miller. "We are
telling taxpayers upfront that there will be delays, while they can
do something about it."
The Department of Revenue anticipates
that, like last year, it will again have to slow payment of refunds
to individuals.
The department projects that the
balance in the Refund Fund (the only fund from which income tax
refunds can be paid) will force a slowing of refund payments in May.
Given the six-week timeline to process paper returns, taxpayers who
file on paper in March can expect significant delays.
Electronic returns are processed in a
week, and those filed by April 15 should be paid before the slowdown
begins.
The Department of Revenue, by law, sets
aside a percentage of income tax collections into the Refund Fund.
Declining tax receipts and increasing refund demands have left too
little money flowing into the fund.
There will be a new demand on the fund
this spring when the $150 million borrowed to pay off individual
income tax refunds last July must be repaid, just as refunds from
paper tax returns are being processed.
Illinois offers taxpayers four
electronic filing methods:
1.
e-File -- Filing with a tax professional, available to 5.4
million taxpayers.
2.
I-File -- Free Internet filing through the Department of
Revenue's website, available to 4.6 million taxpayers,
3.
TeleFile -- Free filing by touch-tone telephone for taxpayers
with simple returns, available to 2.7 million taxpayers.
4.
PC File -- Online filing with a package like Turbo Tax or Tax
Cut, available to 5.4 million taxpayers.
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this article] |
The I-File and TeleFile programs all
require an Illinois Personal Identification Number. An IL-PIN was
assigned to all taxpayers who filed in the last two years and was
printed on the label of their tax booklets. The number can be
obtained at
www.lLtax.com or by calling (800) 732-8866.
Taxpayers can check on their
eligibility for electronic filing by asking their tax professional,
reading information in their tax booklets or visiting
www.lLtax.com.
Electronic filing also offers
significant benefits beyond avoiding refund delays.
Electronic filers receive a
confirmation number to prove they filed, use secure encrypted
transmissions instead of the mail, benefit from edits that prevent
errors and assure that attachments are not lost.
The Department of Revenue encourages
taxpayers who usually mail a paper return but want to assure timely
payment of their refunds this year to use the free Illinois Internet
filing program to transmit tax return information.
Taxpayers can complete their Illinois
tax return on paper, choose the I-File fill-in form option and
simply copy the information from their paper tax return onto the
form on the department's website.
Taxpayers will need a completed form,
copies of their W-2s and an IL-PIN to complete their filing, which
can be done in 15 minutes or less.
The
department has used its tax booklets and other mailings and
publications to advise taxpayers to use electronic fling to avoid
refund delays.
[Illinois
Department of Revenue news release]
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