2020 Year in Review

November: Logan County figures out how to cope as covid goes on the rampage

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[January 18, 2021]   After a mellow September and an active and fun October, November brought the return of stress. The state amplified coronavirus restrictions in an effort to curb the wildfire.

In Logan County, the pandemic was barely felt in the first few months after March. By the Fourth of July, local numbers of positive tests were still quite low. The numbers began a slow climb in August and continued on the gradual ascent through September and October. In the month of October there had been four additional covid related deaths bringing the county's year-to-date total to five. The year to date positive test results at the end of October was 637.

Then, the table began to turn in November. In thirty days the county saw five additional covid related deaths and a whopping 838 additional positive tests making for a year to date total of 1,475.

The problem was not unique to Logan County. State wide numbers were soaring and the true holiday season was just around the corner. The governor and the state department of public health was concerned for what would happen when we saw families getting together for holiday celebrations and early in the month began promising additional restrictions would be placed on businesses as a means of reducing incidents of the disease.

Bars and restaurants were the first to feel the blows of the restrictions in their businesses. At the end of October, the Illinois Department of Public Health and Governor JB Pritzker announced that Tier One Mitigation for coronavirus would go into effect on the first day of November.



Statistically speaking the IDPH released information about contact tracing for the disease that clearly showed that bars and restaurants were not the main culprit for the spread of the disease. However, the tier one mitigation meant those establishments were to close their doors to indoor service. To survive they would have to figure out how to serve guests outside or return to pick-up and delivery orders only.


In today's edition of Lincoln Daily News is an announcement about contact tracing data by the Illinois Department of Public Health. The public can now view graphical information about where cases are spreading within a given region.

The graphic to the right is specifically for Region 3 that includes Logan County. Note that the largest percentage is coming from community events. According to the interactive chart online community events make up 20.8 percent of the outbreak origins. Bars make up 4.17 percent, retail and restaurants are not on the list.

Statewide, bars are at 5 percent, restaurants just above 4 percent, and retail is sitting at 2.5 percent of the total outbreak locations.

Photo copied from IDPH website


Early in the month, Lincoln city government and Logan County governing bodies met with a group of bar and restaurant owners to discuss what was happening.




Tuesday evening, approximately 15 to 20 owners of Lincoln area bars and restaurants gathered at Sorrento's Pizzeria to meet with Lincoln Mayor Tracy Welch, Alderman Kevin Bateman and Logan County Board Chairman Emily Davenport.

The topic was what to do about the current Tier 1 Mitigation Plan set forth by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. Several business owners said that they did not shut down their indoor serving areas on Monday, and the majority say they will not shut down in the future. Most feel they are following the guidelines of the Phase Four recovery plan for corona virus and say they will continue to follow those guidelines, but cannot afford to close their doors.
 


Welch, Bateman, and Davenport were supportive of the businesses and said the city of Lincoln and the local police department would not be monitoring the situation. However, the Logan County Department of Public Health is required to follow the rules of the Illinois Department of Public Health. At the same time, Welch said that at a meeting with LCDPH administrator Don Cavi, the administrator is sympathetic to the issues Tier 1 Mitigation brings to local small businesses. Welch recommended that the owners reach out, as a unified group, to the health department and try to develop a workable compromise that will help restaurants and bars keep their doors open.

It was noted that there are numerous communities within the state that are not going to adhere to the Tier 1 Mitigation. This includes large cities such as Springfield and Chicago and smaller communities such as Galena.

Photos by Nila Smith



Welch, Bateman and Davenport meet with Lincoln restaurant and bar owners facing Tier 1 mitigation

For many, it was no surprise to learn that closing bars and restaurants did not do the trick in the war against covid. Just a week before Thanksgiving it was announced that Region Three which included Logan County would move into tier three mitigation.

Coronavirus Tier Three Mitigation to start Friday
Retail businesses to remain open with restrictions
Citizens to stay at home and work from home if possible
Schools may remain open
Avoid social gatherings and stay home for the holidays


Tier Three Mitigation Guidelines - Pdf


While businesses worried about the impact this would have on their holiday shopping, they also tried to stay optimistic. Plans moved forward for the annual Lincoln Holiday Express and many were looking forward to the second year of Winter Wonderland around the courthouse lawn in Lincoln.

In the meantime, the community moved forward with doing the things that were important and celebrating good people who have done great things for our community.

Among those good people was Bill Gossett. Gossett was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by Lincoln College. Gossett is a very popular person in our community, highly regarded by many. Having a closed ceremony was not what anyone wanted, especially officials at Lincoln College. Therefore, it was time to once again think outside the box and host an event that could include members of the community.

Honk your horn for Rotarian Bill Gossett at Lincoln College on Wednesday!

William “Bill” Gossett to be Honored at Lincoln College Convocation
Virtual Presentation of Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters



On Wednesday evening, Bill Gossett was presented with an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by Lincoln College President Dr. David Gerlach. After the presentation, Gossett (center) and his wife Jean, exited the doors at Lincoln Center, where a vehicle procession of well wishers greeted them.

Photo by Nila Smith


Lincoln College awards Bill Gossett with Honorary Doctorate

Caravan honors Dr. Bill Gossett - slideshow


Honoring and remembering our veterans is also an important November activity in Logan County. Typically local VFW’s and other military organizations in every community would have held a large gathering on Veteran’s Day.

In Lincoln, the annual event held at the Cronin Brothers VFW Freedom Hall would have filled the hall to standing room only. This year, the VFW was determined to move forward with a recognition even if the number of guests had to be fewer than 25.

Lincoln VFW remembers our veterans on Veterans Day

St. John’s United Church of Christ also annually held a celebration for veterans, but in 2020 there was no such celebration. In a letter to veterans published in Lincoln Daily News Veteran Celebration Committee Chair Jan Hahn wrote, “Each year we look forward to hosting the celebration so we can say thank you in person; but this year has been an interesting and challenging year. Please know that we appreciate your service to our country.”

LETTER
A heart felt thank you to our Logan County Veterans


Another sacrifice to covid came at the expense of the young athletes in the community, when Apollo Conference superintendents announced that school sports for the conference would be “put on hold.”

Apollo Conference superintendents put winter basketball season “on hold”

In business news it was good and bad, a new business came to the community, a long standing one left and an existing business added something new for guests.

Lincoln CBD celebrates downtown grand opening this week

Lincoln Family Video Store Closing


Paresh Patel, owner of the Quality Inn in Lincoln, shows off the new electric car charging station he has installed for travelers.

With continued advancements in all-electric and electric hybrid vehicles, the need for charging stations is becoming more common. Patel is hoping that having the charging station for overnight guests will add to the convenience he offers and will encourage more travelers to stay the night in Lincoln instead of traveling on to the larger cities.

Photos by Karen Hargis


Local businesses also continued to do good for others.

Edward Jones Advisor Christine Short hosts annual diaper drive for Community Action

State Bank of Lincoln contributes to Workcamp for Lincoln



Nancy Schaub (center) and Kelly Gleason (right) of the R. W. Garrett Agency recently presented $520 to the Friends & Family Relay Team. Team Co-captain Karen Hargis accepted the donation. The money will be forwarded to the American Cancer Society and earmarked for breast cancer support services in Logan County.

R. W. Garrett hosted a Pink Challenge fundraiser for breast cancer awareness in October. The agency put together a fabulous "His and hers gift basket" and sold raffle tickets. Teresa Pourchot of Lake Fork was the owner of the lucky winning ticket.

Photo by Lisa Ramlow

[to top of second column]


Representing the Friends and Family Relay Team, Lisa Ramlow (center) recently accepted the proceeds from a "Pink Challenge" fundraiser held in October in the District 27 Elementary Schools in Lincoln. Superintendent Kent Froebe (fourth from the left) presented the check for $550 the schools raised by hosting blue jean days throughout the month. Staff were permitted to dress casually on specific days in exchange for a donation. Froebe was joined by principals of the schools within the District 27 network.

The donation will be forwarded to the American Cancer Society and earmarked for breast cancer support in Logan County.

Photo by Karen Hargis



This week Vanessa Komnick (far left), owner of Blade's in Lincoln, and two of her staff presented a check for $418 to Lisa Ramlow (second from left), representing the Friends and Family Relay Team.

Blade's took the Pink Challenge in October, pledging to donate 10% of the receipts from products sold throughout the month to the American Cancer Society.

The money donated will be passed along to the ACS and earmarked for breast cancer support in Logan County.

Photo by Karen Hargis


Lincoln College also made the news in November. Again with some very good news and then with some that was somewhat discerning.

Lincoln College Bachelor of Law under way
New students join Law Program

Lincoln College Warns of Malicious Email Scam
Scammer Creates Job Postings on Indeed Job Site

Early in the month the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital Community Health Collaborative joined with the Logan County Department of Public Health to host a very successful drive through heath expo in the parking lot at the Oasis Senior Center. Vendors lined the parking lot in organized rows. Motorists were reminded to stay in their vehicles and were given lots of free gifts and information about general wellness. At the end of the drive through motorists had the option to receive their annual flu shot while sitting in their cars.



Drive through health expo well received on Monday night

In other news:

A controlled burn near Interstate 55 got out of control quickly in windy conditions, posing quite the challenge for area firefighters.


On Tuesday, one small fire quickly turned into two large firefighter events along the southbound lane of Interstate 55 just north of Lincoln. The Lincoln Rural Fire Protection District was dispatched for a brush fire that had gotten out of hand on the interstate's west side. Soon after arriving, the fire jumped the interstate and ignited in the median at the I55/155 split. Multiple units from around the county responded to assist with putting out the dual blazes. Dry conditions and swift breezes contributed to the fire.

Photos by Nila Smith


Dry breezy conditions turn controlled burn into a quickly spreading blaze

Lincolnite Mario Canon won a special award.

Lincolnite Mario Canon wins Best Actor award in Chicago film competition

The Zonta Club took a stand against gender based violence.

Zonta Club of Lincoln to take a stand against gender-based violence

The young conservatives officially launched their organization.

Young Conservatives of Logan County has launched

The community also said good-bye to another good friend. Quentin Sparks passed away in November and his good friend Bill Bates wrote a lovely tribute that was published in Lincoln Daily News.

A tribute to Quentin Sparks
by Bill Bates



On the lighter side

As Thanksgiving approached, there were some fun things going on in the community. Lincoln Daily News got wind of a styrofoam statue of Abraham Lincoln that was appearing in front of local businesses around the community. The statue was a bust of Lincoln, but it looked familiar. After some “investigative reporting,” the full story of the statue was revealed and published.


On Tuesday last week, Karen Hargis spied this styrofoam statue sitting outside at ME Realty. She grabbed a shot and the search began to figure out first, why the statue looked a bit familiar, and secondly, what was it doing at Seth Goodman's place of business. Today, as the late Paul Harvey would say, LDN is happy to bring you "the rest of the story."

Photo by Karen Hargis


The saga of the styrofoam statue
#lookingforlincolninil


Winter Wonderland in Lincoln for 2020 was significantly larger than its debut in 2019. With 60 live Christmas trees temporarily planted around the Logan County Courthouse lawn, all decorated to the hilt, the night of the lighting ceremony was perfect. The temperatures were right for a stroll around the square. Guests were asked to comply with covid restrictions for social distancing and wearing of masks and most all did so. It was an excellent kick off to the Christmas season that left all feeling hopeful that the Christmas spirit could be salvaged even in the midst of a pandemic.

Christmas trees sprout around the courthouse

Winter Wonderland - Trees are in place and ready to decorate! - slideshow



These youngsters enjoyed all the sites on Friday evening at the second annual Winter Wonderland Tree Lighting in Lincoln. They were especially taken with this tree featuring Mini Mouse. The tree was decorated in memory of Sophia Marie Fletcher-Lambert. Sophia passed away in 2018 at the age of 17 months. The tree in memory of the sweet little girl is one of many this year decorated to pay tribute to a loved one lost.

The night view of the trees is beautiful and LDN is featuring slideshows of all the trees in today's edition.

The daytime views are also extraordinary and will be featured in future editions of LDN all this week.

Photo by Nila Smith


Second annual Winter Wonderland kicks off the Christmas season in Lincoln

Friday night lighting ceremony sets tone for the season - slideshow

Beautifully decorated trees outline the courthouse lawn - slideshow

Christmas Express takes off on Small Business Saturday in Lincoln

Shoppers hop on board the Christmas Express on Small Business Saturday - slideshow

Downtown businesses have so much to offer this holiday season - slideshow


And, finally, remember the story posted in June about the beautiful vintage airplane that limped into the Logan County Airport? In November, that beautiful plane returned to the skies. Roaming reporter Curtis Fox was there, and caught it all in his lens, then wrote a great “rest of the story” piece for Lincoln Daily News.


Readers may recall a story published by Lincoln Daily News in June about this beautiful vintage airplane. The plane had limped into the Logan County Airport suffering from a mechanical ailment that would leave it grounded for several months while the engine was rebuilt by specialists.

This past Friday, the airplane once again took to the skies.

The owner of the 1937 Stinson Reliant, Mark Reidl, was excited to have his newly purchased baby back in working order, and grateful to the Heritage in Flight Museum who made room in their hanger while it was grounded.

Read more in today's edition of Lincoln Daily News.

Photo by Curtis Fox


Logan County Airport visitor, historic Stinson Reliant heads home

In spite of the concerns for the holiday season, people around the community remained optimistic. There were some tough decisions that had to be made about religious services and other get togethers that typically happen between Thanksgiving and Christmas. But in spite of the toned-down version of Christmas, again our community found ways to be united and to celebrate from a distance. Even Santa Claus became an expert at working around the rules to the delight of children all through the community.

In December good things would continue to happen in Logan County, and the generous giving spirit of our people would show the many efforts to bring the year to an end on a high note.


[Nila Smith]

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