[FEB. 21, 2006]
Buildings and grounds chairman John Stewart said
that a state grant the county clerk's office received can be used
for the elevator in the courthouse. The $20,000 grant will be used
toward the $90,000 project. Additional funding is still being
sought, Stewart said.
Tourism director Geoff Ladd had good news for Stewart, who has been
planning renovations for the dome of the Logan County Courthouse.
Ladd said he thinks that he has located a potential grant to help
with the dome, based on the fact that the public can tour the
building.
Ladd also introduced tourism's newest appointed board
member, Annette Chapman of Atlanta. Chapman's three-year term of
office will be from Feb. 28, 2006, to Feb. 27, 2009.
Paul Gleason said that county health insurance claims of $516,549
have exceeded the $489,160 in premiums paid out for the first eight
months of the year. It has created a 106 percent loss ratio with
still four months to go.
New billboards inviting people to see our Abraham Lincoln sites
and travel our
National Scenic Byways Historic Route 66 have started going up
on Interstate 55. Ladd said that the local tourism office paid for
the first two billboards, which are located at the north and south
ends of the county, at the Atlanta and Broadwell exits. He hopes to
see billboards all up and down the interstate in the future as the
Route 66 tourism takes off.
The setup for the billboards cost $1,200. Grants will help fund
future billboards.
Gleason said tourism is developing ag bus tours that will bring
people down from the city to get a slice of rural life.
A $250,000 grant for the Logan County emergency communications
system has been attained through U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood. The funds are
a great jump-start on what's anticipated to be a $1 million project
that will add new features and improve the system's performance and
capabilities by replacing antiquated equipment.
The most recent change in communications was the addition of more
secure radio bands. The new equipment will be integrated over the
next few years. It will improve communications by offering service
to officers in the field where they currently encounter dead
communication zones. It will also provide more information in the
communications room from land-based 911 callers, particularly those
who have special needs, such as a handicap. Information will be
pre-entered from these citizens and show up when they call.
County officials, department heads and anyone who might be called
on in an emergency response situation is required to participate in
National Incident Management System training. Class and online
course options are being presented through the Logan County
Emergency Management Agency, starting in April. Dick Logan urged
officials to get attendance out of the way. Noncompliance could keep
grants already awarded but not yet received, like the $250,000, and
future grants from coming to the county.
There will be a used tire collection on April 1 from 8 a.m. to
noon and a hazardous household wastes collection, coinciding with
Earth Day, on April 22. Both events will take place at the Logan
County Fairgrounds, waste management chairman Pat O'Neill said.
