Central
Compromise
[FEB.
17, 2000] Last
night the Lincoln District 27 grade school board voted 4-3
to renovate the existing Central Elementary School
building and add an additional wing to the school for a
new cafeteria and gymnasium. In this same vote the board
agreed to construct a new school building on Ralph Gayle
Field.
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Superintendent
Robert Kidd stated this morning that he is thankful a
decision has been made so plans can move forward. "It’s
good we got a decision made so we can start the process to
do what the board has directed," he said.
Kidd
continued, saying this plan "is contingent upon
moving a major sewer line." The board received
assurance from sewage treatment plant superintendent Grant
Eaton that it would cost no more than $500,000 to move the
sewer line away from the new building site.
The
next step is to prepare the proper grant funding to
replace or renovate old schools by the April 1 deadline.
According to Kidd, the best case scenario to get a
referendum on the ballot would be on November 7. However,
it could be as late as April. "If it passes we can
get started," Kidd stated.
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Board
president Bill Bates believes the proposal offered
something for residents on both sides of the issue, those
interested in historical preservation and teachers,
students, administrators, and parents in favor of building
a new building.
The
board did not specify how the renovated Central School and
Lincoln Junior High School buildings would be used nor did
the proposal specify which grades would be housed in the
new building.
[Natalie
Jeckel]
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On
the Right Track
Logan
County Trail Coalition seeks support for new bike/walk
trail
[FEB.
16, 2000] Three
persistent bicycling enthusiasts, Bert Rawlings, Mark
Miller and John Sutton, all of Lincoln, began the movement
for Logan County to have what already exists successfully
at both ends of Illinois and all over the nation--an
interconnected, clean and safe bike/walk trail.
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This
has been no easy task. "It took many county board
meetings just to be taken seriously," explains Bert
Rawlings, the spokesperson at last night's meeting.
"It takes the support of a governing body to apply
for grant money. Logan County is making this possible by
working with us for grant money," says Rawlings. He
continues saying, "We also have the support of
Lincoln City Council and John Sutton has been working with
Mayor Ritter and the city engineer."
Working
together with other communities, they have proposed two
areas of development, a centrally located main trunk and
signed routes to nearby communities accessed by county
roadways. The old interurban rail corridor, which runs
along I-55, constitutes the proposed main trunk for a
bike/walk trail. This trunk meets neighboring counties’
trails, Sangamon County to the south and McLean County to
the north. Their trails are in various stages of
development at this time.
![](../images/021600_trail/jw2.jpg)
The
proposed Logan County portion runs from south of Elkhart
to north of Atlanta. This is subdivided into three
sections: south of Elkhart, Elkhart to Lincoln, and
Lincoln to the north side of Atlanta. CILCO has given a
verbal release for use of the section from Madigan State
Park to Elkhart. This is the section, which will be
developed first.
The
main trunk will be built up with rock chips and asphalt.
Asphalt makes the best surface for biking. The off-road
access will provide safe riding and walking away from high
risk motorized traffic. "No motorized vehicles
(except motor assisted bicycles) are currently allowed on
other state bike trails," a spokesperson for the
Department of Natural Resources says.
Guided
cycling routes diverting off the main trunkline are being
proposed using county roadways and "almost all
township roads" according to Rawlings. Initially
these routes will be posted with signs directing walkers
and bikers into the communities of Middletown, Broadwell,
Elkhart, Mount Pulaski, and Chestnut. The communities will
be start and stop trailheads. Ideas are flowing as to the
benefits the connected communities can reap from such a
bike route. "Hungry, thirsty cyclists hit up local
businesses—the first thing they hit in town," a
Middletown resident reported.
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Jay
Jessen, an engineering consultant, of Green and Bradford
of Springfield, was on hand to explain some of the
proposed costs and the processes necessary toward
procuring grant funds. The one major cost will be for a
bridge crossing Salt Creek just south of Lincoln. The
estimated cost is $200,000 dollars. A grant fund is
available to cover 80 percent of the cost. The Illinois
Department of Natural Resources and the community would
have to go 50/50 on the remaining amount. Therefore,
approximately $20,000 would need to be raised for the
bridge.
Total
costs for the trail are not yet estimated, but the same
grant is available for all stages of the trail.
Communities are raising the funds for signs. Of the $1,000
dollars for signs county wide, only $300 is still needed
for signs in the Elkhart area. While some fund raising is
necessary, the costs will be nominal compared to the value
it brings to the community.
There
are already many committed to the protection and upkeep of
the routes. The National Mountain Bike Patrol has said
they will patrol the routes regularly providing roadside
first aid and repairs.
The
only concern expressed by anyone has been one of
liability. While a serious consideration, it seems to be a
nominal risk. At present no trail in Illinois has been
held liable yet. The Civil Liabilities Act, however,
provides protection.
Support
by means of talking, going to community and county board
meetings, and the willingness to participate in the
planning developments is encouraged by all who are
interested in seeing this happen. There is much to be done
and something for everyone to do. Someone is needed to
promote the Mount Pulaski to Elkhart segment.
[Jan
Youngquist]
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ALMH
Opens Doors
New
physical therapy quarters in use
[FEB.
1 6, 2000]
More
than twice as much space, along with plenty of windows, is
making treatment more pleasant for both patients and staff
at Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital’s Rehabilitation
Services Department.
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The
new quarters on the first floor of the hospital’s west
wing opened first thing Monday morning, looking fresh and
bright with new flooring, furniture and wallpaper. The
move from the old quarters in the basement of the hospital
was made over the weekend, with many staff members
pitching in.
According
to Dolan Dalpoas, director of rehabilitation services, the
new facility has 6,100 square feet, more than double the
2,600 square feet in the old basement location.
The
gymnasium-like room which houses the cardiac
rehabilitation department provides plenty of room for
patients to ride their stationary bicycles and walk their
treadmills. Five treatment rooms offer physical and
occupational therapy patients a degree of privacy and
comfort not available in the old basement quarters with
its curtained cubicles.
Almost
every room in the new wing has at least one window, in
contrast to the old quarters where, staff members recall,
nobody could see what the weather was like from early
morning until closing time.
![](../images/fitness_021600/equip_room_1.jpg)
[New
physical therapy room at ALMH]
Along
with the cardiac rehabilitation and treatment rooms, the
new site also has a spacious waiting area, a new and
larger staff room, rooms for both the audiologist and
speech/language pathologist, a hydrotherapy room with a
power lift to help patients in and out of tubs, a
pediatric treatment room and a model bathroom and kitchen
to help occupational therapy patients who must relearn
household living skills.
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![](../images/ads/MErealty/me_realty.jpg)
The
kitchen, not yet completed, will be complete with a stove
and refrigerator so patients will be able to actually cook
meals as part of their rehabilitation.
The
new pediatric treatment room, complete with toys, mats and
colorful children’s wallpaper will allow children to
receive therapy at the hospital for the first time.
Previously therapists had no appropriate space and had to
go offsite to treat children. The hydrotherapy room also
offers plenty of privacy for patients. This equipment had
formerly been housed in a corner of the staff room,
Dalpoas said.
"With
the extra space in the cardiac rehabilitation room, new
equipment can be added," said exercise physiologist
Jason Anhalt. Another treadmill and a recumbent bicycle
are now on order.
The
new quarters provide plenty of room for the staff, which
includes five physical therapists and six physical therapy
assistants, one occupational therapist and one assistant,
an audiologist, a speech and language therapist, a
wellness coordinator, four members of the cardiac
rehabilitation department, the director and the office
assistant. The staff serves approximately 50 patients a
day.
"This
would be a state-of-the-art facility no matter where you
went," Dalpoas said. "It is a real achievement
for a town this size to have a rehabilitation facility of
this quality."
The
public can tour the new quarters, along with the new
surgery wing, at an open house to be held Sunday, March
26, from 2 to 4 p.m.
[Joan
Crabb]
![](../images/fitness_021600/guy_equip.jpg)
[Dolan Dalpoas showing new
equipment at ALMH]
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Local
History, Story Times Make Library Special
[FEB.
15, 2000] L incoln
folks like their library. In the recent Capstone Project
survey, the Lincoln Public Library received a vote of
confidence. The survey asked respondents to indicate which
areas of life in Lincoln they were concerned about and
which areas they found satisfactory. The library was one
of those they liked the best. In fact, 95% of those
surveyed agreed that the Lincoln Public Library is tops.
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Along
with the books, magazines, newspapers, videotapes,
computers, meeting rooms and photocopiers which are common
to most libraries, Lincoln’s library offers some
services that many others its size do not have, according
to Library Director Richard M. Sumrall.
He
points with pride to the local history collection.
"We try to provide anything that will aid researchers
looking for local history or genealogy. There is a
tremendous interest now in both those areas."
The
collection includes census records, cemetery records,
family histories, manuscripts, telephone books and old
newspapers from Lincoln and from the smaller communities
in Logan County, according to research librarian Caroline
Kiest.
The
newspapers, stored on microfilm, date back to 1859 and
include the "Lincoln Herald" and "Lincoln
News-Herald," the "Lincoln Times," the
"Lincoln Journal," the "Star," and
"The Courier," along with former Atlanta,
Middletown and Mount Pulaski newspapers. Even the
"Lincoln Volksblatt," a German-language
newspaper published from 1877 to 1898, is included.
![](../images/library.jpg)
[Lincoln Public Library]
More
historical information is stored on CD-ROMs. These
computer disks list marriage records in most states of the
Union, some going back as far as 1641, as well as land
records, Social Security death indexes, census records,
and collections of genealogy books.
"Using
these CDs, people can come in, type in a surname, and do a
national search," Sumrall explained. "In the
summer, almost every day a couple from somewhere else
comes in looking for their relatives. Many people don’t
know this area was a gateway for settlers who were heading
West. For example, in 1846 the Donner Party started for
California from Springfield, Ill." (The Donner Party
became trapped in the Sierra Nevada Mountains by heavy
snow, and some members resorted to cannibalism to
survive.)
![](../images/library_021500/kids2.jpg)
[Story time at the library]
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"What
makes us special is that we are really committed to public
service," Sumrall continued. "Whenever someone
comes in with a query, no matter how difficult it may
seem, we want to give that person some kind of
information. We never want to utter the words, ‘We can’t
help you answer that question.’"
Service
is also the emphasis in the Annex, the library addition,
which houses the adult fiction and the children’s
department. Pat Schlough, the youth services librarian,
wants it to be "a comfortable, attractive place where
children want to come."
When
the Annex opened in March of 1995, the children’s
library was able to move from the basement of the main
building to its present spacious quarters. It houses more
than 12,000 children’s books, along with four computers,
a craft room and a guinea pig, Wilbur, named for the pig
in the classic children’s book "Charlotte’s
Web."
"Parents
and children like our story times," Schlough said.
"Story time encourages them to be readers. Once
children listen to us read to them, they begin to want to
take the book home and read it themselves. If they enjoy a
certain book they know how to go to the shelf and find
others like it."
During
the school year, story hours for children ages 3-5 are
Monday and Tuesday at 10 a.m. and Monday evening at 6 p.m.
A story program for kindergartners is held on Tuesday at
2:15 p.m. In the spring and fall, 50 to 60 children sign
up for story time. In the summer, with five story hours
scheduled, about a hundred children attend, Schlough said.
Craft time for children in grades one through six is held
from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Thursdays.
In
addition, an after school tutorial program, staffed by
volunteers Monday through Thursday, offers children help
with homework and studying. The children’s library also
has copies of all textbooks used in grades one through
eight in school District 27, so children who forget their
books can come in and catch up on their homework.
Each
week the library is open until 8 p.m. Monday through
Thursday, until 6 p.m. on Fridays, and until 3 p.m. on
Saturday.
![](../images/library_021500/librarians.jpg)
[Pam
Sheley and Richard Sumrall]
[Joan
Crabb]
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