Tuesday, December 07, 2010
 
sponsored by

CITY BRIEFS:
Art & balloon fest expansion and Yellow Ribbon Day

Send a link to a friend

[December 07, 2010]  Monday evening the Lincoln City Council enjoyed a very light voting agenda and a meeting that lasted exactly 10 minutes. Eight members of the council were present for voting, with Aldermen Tom O'Donohue and Buzz Busby being absent for the evening.

While there were very few items on the voting agenda, a petition from the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce regarding street closures for the 2011 Lincoln Art & Balloon Festival did reveal a new feature that will be added to next year's weekend of activities.

Andi Hake, the director of the chamber, had appeared before the council in November, saying that next year the chamber would like additional street closures during the weekend event in August.

On Monday evening, with the request on the agenda, chamber event coordinator Heidi Browne offered a brief explanation of the request.

The chamber will bring a Kansas City-sanctioned barbecue cook-off to Lincoln.

Browne said this will be a national event, with the type of competition going on that one can see on Food Network television.

Details of the competition are not ready to be released to the public.

The motion on the agenda read:

Petition by the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce to use City property and streets during the 2011 Lincoln Art and Balloon Festival subject to adjustment.

The exact details of what streets and city property will be needed are not nailed down. However, Browne said the chamber and the streets and alley department have always worked well together, and she and Tracy Jackson will work together on this project as well. She said streets would be closed only as needed and when needed.

Mayor Keith Snyder told Browne the city appreciates all that the chamber does to promote the city through the art and balloon fest and surmised that with the cook-off, "maybe we'll jam another 20,000 people in here that weekend."

A national competition also means sanction-trained judges. Browne said there would be a judges' schooling sometime in the future in conjunction with the cook-off. She asked if anyone was interested in becoming a judge and got an immediate response from Snyder and city attorney Bill Bates.

Dec. 11 to be Yellow Ribbon Day

Included in the consent agenda for the evening was a resolution declaring Dec. 11 Yellow Ribbon Day in Lincoln.

This proclamation is in conjunction with an event at Lincoln College on Saturday.

The Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program has been initiated by the Secretary of Defense and is a service that provides information, services, referrals and proactive outreach programs to soldiers of the Army Reserve and their families.

The program runs from preparing soldiers and their families for deployment, through helping and supporting families during deployment, and finally offering support and assistance to soldiers as they once again become visible members of their families and communities when returning from deployment.

[to top of second column]

The event Saturday will include approximately 50 returning veterans and their families from Logan County and neighboring communities.

(See related article.)

The following is a copy of the resolution:

RESOLUTION NO. 2010-231

WHEREAS, the Illinois National Guard is hosting a Yellow Ribbon Event on Saturday, December 11, 2010, on the campus of Lincoln College; and

WHEREAS, the purpose of this Yellow Ribbon Event is to reorient and reintegrate members of the Illinois National Guard from McLean, Logan, and Sangamon counties returning from active duty service overseas in the Air Force and the Army; and

WHEREAS, the Yellow Ribbon Event on December 11 will serve approximately 50 returning veterans; and

WHEREAS, many community organizations including the VFW, the American Legion, the National Honor Society of Lincoln Community High School, and others are diligently working to make this event memorable for the participants, their families, and this community; and

WHEREAS, the City of Lincoln, Illinois is proud to support the Illinois National Guard's Yellow Ribbon Event to be held in Lincoln on December 11, 2010.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Mayor and the City Council of the City of Lincoln that we do hereby proclaim December 11, 2010 as Yellow Ribbon Day in Lincoln, Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, that we welcome the returning Guard members and salute them and their families for their selfless and proud service to the people of the United States; and be it further

RESOLVED, that we hereby call upon all citizens, businesses, and organizations of Lincoln to appropriately and warmly welcome these service men and women and their families to our community and to show their gratitude for the blessings they have secured for us all.

ADOPTED this 6th day of December, 2010.

[By NILA SMITH]

< Top Stories index

Back to top


 

News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching and Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries

Community | Perspectives | Law and Courts | Leisure Time | Spiritual Life | Health and Fitness | Teen Scene
Calendar | Letters to the Editor