LDN - Sports / Sports Stories

Mason City's Parade of Trees reaches out

[DEC. 23, 2000] A white Christmas, being more than a dream sung about by Bing Crosby, brought cold and wintry conditions to the area. Extremely cold temperatures and school closings caused plan changes for distributing the decorated Christmas trees from Parade of Trees at Mason City Civic Center.

Original plans were to place eight donated and decorated trees in needy homes by Dec. 17. Illini Central students of Operation Snow Ball and Mason City police in charge of the donation process finally overcame old man winter with the assistance of employees of the city of Mason City. The concentrated effort of these organizations plus tree sponsors Little Cougars, Mason City Area Nursing Home, Mason City Pharmacy, the Dr. Means Family, Johnson Lumber-Sentry Hardware/McEntire Appliances, Mason County Chiropractic Dr. Marion Ring, Mason City Police Operation Snow Ball, and Mason City Brownie Troop made several homes warmer and happier with this outreach during the holiday season.

School District 27 board begins
planning for construction process

[DEC. 22, 2000] Members of the District 27 school board are tackling some of the complex problems involved in building the two new schools that will replace Central Elementary and Lincoln Junior High School, such as exactly how much supervision of the construction process the architect is responsible for and whether to hire a construction manager.

At the regular Wednesday evening board meeting, members raised questions about the wording of the contract with the project’s architect, Dave Leonatti of the Springfield firm of Melrose, Morse Leonatti/Fanning Howey Associated Architects. Board President Bill Bates said he did not think the contract specified that the architect would be providing enough supervision.

"I envisioned that on a construction project of this size, somebody with expertise would be on-site daily. I want somebody besides the contractor to tell me it’s being done right," Bates said.

Leonatti, who attended the meeting but came in after the discussion started, assured the board that his firm would be responsible for being on-site "to be sure the work adheres to the contract," and also that when contractors and subcontractors are paid, the district would be clear of liens.

However, that may not mean being on-site every day during all phases of the construction, he said. "When foundations are being poured, we need to be here daily," he said. At other times it is not necessary to be on-site every day, but members of the firm will be on the phone almost daily to answer questions.

"We’re at Peoria Heights [where the firm is building a school] twice a week," Leonatti added.

"You’re telling me that what I want you to do, you’re going to do. But I don’t think this contracts says that," Bates said.

"I want this board satisfied with this contract," Leonatti replied.

"If we can get this agreement to tell us what you told us verbally tonight, we will be all right," Bates said.

Bates, who is an attorney, suggested that the school board attorney review the contract. "I have maintained for 15 years that it is not my position to give this board legal advice. I personally think the contract should be reviewed by the attorney for this board."

The board agreed to have the contract reviewed by their attorney, Jeff Funk of Monticello, and to revise the language to confirm what Leonatti had told them.

"I have never not been able to work out a contract with anybody," Leonatti told the Lincoln Daily News later. District Superintendent Dr. Robert Kidd also told LDN he was sure a contract that satisfied all parties could be worked out.

The board also debated hiring a construction manager to oversee the building operation.

"With a construction manager, you pay a flat fee. There is no incentive to jack up prices," Kidd said. "If your general contractor gets a subcontractor to do the job a cheaper way, the general contractor reaps the benefits. If the construction manager finds cost savings, the school district reaps the benefits."

Kidd said he had talked to several other school superintendents in the area who had found the construction manager concept worked "exceptionally well" and saved the school district money.

However, board member Joe Brewer, who works for a construction firm, said that he had not had good experiences with projects that hired construction managers.

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"Whether we get a construction manager or a general contractor, if he’s not good, it will not be a good job. It’s very critical who you get," Brewer said.

Leonatti agreed that the qualifications of a construction manager were crucial. "I would recommend to the board you look at a true construction management firm, not a construction firm or an architectural firm which also does construction management. I’d pre-qualify the firm pretty carefully."

Superintendent Kidd said he and board members Brewer and Bruce Carmitchell would meet with several construction management firms and report back to the board.

Leonatti also noted that he would hire local firms to do the work on the school construction project wherever possible. He has contacted the local firm of Mike Foster, land surveying, and said that while Foster can’t satisfy all requirements, he can work with a Springfield firm to complete the one aspect he cannot do, a computer-based drawing .

"We will work with local contractors if possible," Leonatti said. "If we can keep the money local, that will be great."

Leonatti also reported that he has initiated the review by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency that is required by law. The agency will review both sites, Central and Lincoln Junior High, and inform the board if they believe either is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

Superintendent Kidd reported that about 25 teachers and others from the district toured the Peoria Heights school being built by Leonatti’s firm. Another tour is set for Jan. 6, when teachers and board members will visit two Indianapolis schools constructed by Leonatti’s firm: a junior high and an elementary school. Leonatti said he could also arrange tours of Bloomington Junior High School, which is now 10 years old "and shows 10 years’ worth of wear," and of Vachel Lindsay Elementary School in Springfield.

The tours allow teachers and board members to get ideas for the new Lincoln schools. The board has been asking for input from teachers and others involved in the day-to-day running of the schools.

In other business, the board approved the estimated tax levy of $2,558,885. Kidd noted that the tax rate "will be just about what it was last year. Even with the building bond issue, we won’t see an increase in taxes."

The board also approved the home-school policy discussed last month, which states that home-schooled students who attend District 27 classes for half a day are eligible to participate in after-school activities, including athletics.

The board also approved the resignation of Lisa Baker as special-education aide at Lincoln Junior High School, the hiring of Anne Taylor as LD teacher and John Longmire as BD teacher at LJHS through the end of the 2000-2001 school year, and Paula Lee as special-education aide at LJHS.

[Joan Crabb]

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For ESDA and 9-1-1 helpers

A night of honors and appreciation

[DEC. 22, 2000] On Sunday, Dec. 17, at 6 p.m., approximately 150 emergency volunteers and friends gathered in the Myers Student Center at Lincoln College. They came for the eighth annual ESDA and 9-1-1 awards dinner. The feast was catered by Warren Wendlandt, who runs the catering service at Lincoln College and is an emergency volunteer in his spare time.

According to Dan Fulscher, director of Emergency Service Disaster Agency (ESDA), the dinner had the largest attendance of all their annual dinners. He believes it would have been even larger if the weather had not been so cold. Fulscher said the county board and 9-1-1 "annually honor people who are volunteers or work for different emergency agencies for the betterment of the county." About 260 individuals in Logan County regularly spend free time helping ESDA.

[(L to R) Terry Storer, assistant director; Dianne Ruff, office manager; Dan Fulscher, ESDA director]

Guest speakers for the evening were Mike Chamness and Norma Bathe. Chamness is the director of IEMA. Bathe is the vice chairman of the 9-1-1 board and a member of the Hartsburg fire and rescue organization.

This year ESDA offers a new award, the Larry Schroyer award. According to Fulscher, Larry Schroyer was "the backbone and founder of ESDA." He was involved in emergency rescue when it was referred to as civil defense. The award will be given to individuals who show long-term dedication to emergency service — the same type of commitment to rescue that Schroyer demonstrated. This year’s two Larry Schroyer Award recipients are both fire chiefs. Carl Faith of Latham has served his fire department 38 years, and Glenn Mason of Mount Pulaski has fought fires 33 years. Both men are well-respected and liked in their communities.

The ESDA volunteer awards went to Devon Vannoy and Mike Patridge. Both individuals give generous amounts of time to help ESDA. Ron Sparks and Darrell Deverman received a special merit for helping ESDA and 9-1-1.

The National Weather Service in Lincoln was given a plaque for its five-year partnership with the emergency services in Lincoln. Rich Kempf and Gerald Hubrich were named dispatchers of the year for ESDA. Dispatchers relay information from the field to the national weather forecast. The public sees the dispatchers’ work when the blue weather bars scroll across the bottom of the television screen.

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Many other branches of ESDA had individual workers recognized. Gene Hickey of the snowmobile team received special merit. Also, three of Lincoln REACT’s workers received special merit: Stan Wilhoit, Jay Roberts and Glenn Bonaparte. Many individuals in the search and rescue — whether by horse, bike or ground — received awards, but special thanks went to Pat Keane. Keane is the Search Master of Illinois.

Not only volunteers but also two board members of 9-1-1 received awards for their service. Bob Mayer and Mark Mann were commended for their work to improve 9-1-1 dispatching. Debbie Kimberlin was presented with the county dispatch award. Jack Bishop received the comparable city award.

Several individuals and a few organizations received a different award this year. On July 15, a 54-year-old developmentally handicapped man was missing for 12 to 16 hours. Tim Sickbert, Pat Keane, Macon County ESDA, Piatt County ESDA, St. Mary’s EMS and the Salvation Army all helped look for the missing man. When his bike was found, three people volunteered to remain with the bike until its owner returned. Ernest Petro, Sue Ellen Alsup and Amanda Alley found the missing man. All nine individuals and groups listed here were recognized at the awards dinner for their participation in the search for the man.

Dan Fulscher, director of ESDA for the past eight years, is grateful for all of the help he receives from people in the community and is confident that next year’s awards dinner will be even bigger.

[Jean Ann Carnley]

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Ho Ho Dough

Hottest tickets in town

[DEC. 21, 2000] Like a scene out of an old movie, avid Lincoln shoppers huddled together amidst swirling snow, braving the frigid night air at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Not daunted by the cruel weather, a crowd, seemingly as large as ever, came out in hopes their ticket for the year 2000 Ho Ho Ho Dough holiday giveaway would be the one chosen for one of three different winnings.

The drawings, kept short and sweet, were over in 10 minutes. Amazingly and much to the relief of everyone, only four tickets needed to be drawn to get the three winners. The one ticket number called that went unclaimed and was redrawn was for the $250 Ho Ho Ho Dough Bucks.

Taking home the winnings were Darrel White, $250 Ho Ho Ho Bucks; Charles "Chuck" Pegram, $500 Ho Ho Ho Bucks; and Vernon Kiper, with the top prize: $5,000 cash.

[LDN]