Central School on endangered list

[MARCH 23, 2000]  The Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois has announced that Lincoln’s Central School is on the list of the Ten Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois for the year 2000. The announcement was made yesterday in Springfield at the state capitol, but was repeated this morning at a press conference at Union and Broadway, across from the school building.

David Bohlman, executive director of the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois, told the crowd of about 40 that the school deserved to be preserved both because of its architecture--typical early 20th century--and its cultural significance to the people of Lincoln.

“It is an incredible nexus at the juncture between historic homes (on Union Street) and the historic business district,” he said. “If the school is structurally sound and can accommodate the program, there is no reason to tear it down.”

He said the school appeared to be structurally sound and pointed out that it had been tuck-pointed only a few years ago. “This seems to be a real easy one (decision) if the school district would look at what it has,” he said.

He also noted that among the alumni of Central School are well-known authors Langston Hughes and William Maxwell.

The nomination to put the building on the list of endangered sites was submitted by the Save Our Schools Committee early this year to meet a January 15 deadline. Bohlman said the Preservation Council had more than 50 nominations from which to choose. The choice is made by a panel of judges who are active in historic preservation throughout the state of Illinois.

The Save Our Schools Committee, which has about 40 active members, decided to apply for the endangered site status late last fall when they realized the building was in danger of being demolished, according to member Dale Bassi.

The committee will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, March 28, at 7 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church, 402 Pekin St., to discuss strategies for saving not only Central School but also the historic Lincoln Junior High School building.

Bassi pointed out that in February of this year the board of education for school district 27 voted 4-3 for a compromise proposal that would have saved Central School. In March, however, the board rescinded its previous action and voted 5-2 to demolish not only Central but also Lincoln Junior High School and instead build two new schools at a cost of approximately $14 million.

Bassi said he believed that the school district would “come out ahead economically” if it decided to renovate both schools instead of demolishing them and building new ones.

The school district is applying for a state grant that would provide up to 73 percent of the funding for the two new schools. Applications for funding for this year must be in by April 1. Bassi and other committee members did not know whether a grant given for new construction could be used for renovation instead, but thought the district might have to reapply for another grant next year if a decision is made to renovate either of the schools.

The Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois, a statewide private preservation advocacy group, has sponsored the Ten Most Endangered Historic Places project for seven years, Bohlman said. He noted that 65 of the 70 structures on the list are still standing, although the final fate of some are still in dispute. The preservation group could offer the school district the help of a consultant on economic and structural analysis, he said, but it does not provide help funding preservation projects.

The other sites on the list of endangered places for the year 2000 are the Spring Valley City Hall, Spring Valley, Bureau County; the DuPage Theatre and the DuPage Shoppes, Lombard, DuPage County; Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple, Oak Park, Cook County; Sarah Atwater Denman Row Houses, Quincy, Adams County; Platt Luggage/Ginn and Co., Chicago, Cook County; Waltmire Bridge, Tremont, Tazewell County; Culver House, Decatur, Macon County; Congregational Church building, Pittsfield, Pike County; and Upland Kaskaskia Trace Corridor, New Design Township, Monroe County.

On display at the press conference was a poster showing the 10 sites and an architect’s drawing of Central School, dated 1915. The drawing, which belongs to Marilyn Buelter, came from the downtown building now housing Lincoln Furniture, which was once the site of the architects’ office, Bassi said.

[Joan Crabb]

From pizza, pizza to money, money

New bank scheduled to open in Lincoln

[MARCH 23, 2000]  If banks are an indicator of a city’s growth, then Lincoln’s future continues to look promising. Central Illinois Bancorp, (CIB) Inc., is scheduled to open the doors of its 20th branch in Lincoln on May 1, at the former Little Caesar’s restaurant location on the corner of Keokuk and Kankakee. Branches will be opened in all of the major cities in Illinois.

Wally Reese, a local resident and former employee of Union Planters Bank in Lincoln, is slated to take the leadership role at Lincoln’s CIB branch. Although the city has issued a building permit to CIB for renovations and construction which is underway, Reese and CIB’s president declined to comment, stating that it was premature.

According to CIB’s information, the bank began 13 years ago, in September of 1987, when a group of investors purchased the Sidney Community Bank in Sidney. The Bancorp currently has 35 facilities throughout Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana with $1.4 billion in assets and 500 employees. CIB is a full-service bank that specializes in commercial lending. Their mission statement asserts that the bank's goal is to continue its efforts to be the leader in scope and quality of commercial banking services and to promote the economic progress of their defined market areas.

Terry Brown, president of State Bank of Lincoln, said, "CIB will create additional competition in the banking market. I don’t think that the Lincoln market is large enough for another bank, but apparently they do." He continued, "Basically they will offer the same products that we do, and they won’t have anything that we don’t have. All the same, we welcome them to Lincoln. We have no concerns about losing customers because we service our customers very well here, so it won’t have much of an impact on our bank."

Sharon Awe, manager of Illini Bank in Lincoln had similar comments, "We know what it’s like to be the new bank on the block. We’ve only been here seven years and it does take some time to get established, but we feel we’re making progress every day." Awe added, "We provide excellent personal customer service. Our customers are happy, so we don’t worry. It remains to be seen if CIB can get a good share of the market."

[Former Little Caesar's making the transformation into Central Illinois Bancorp]

Central Illinois Bancorp will be the fifth full-service bank in Lincoln. It joins the ranks with Illini Bank, Logan County Bank, State Bank of Lincoln, Union Planters Bank and CEFCU, a credit union. CIB has had a branch in Springfield for over a year. It was located in the Centrium building and has recently moved into a newly constructed building across the street on the corner of Carpenter and Fourth streets.

[Kym C. Ammons-Scott]

Ag scholarship announced

Logan County committee has funds for ag students

[MARCH 23, 2000]  Thanks to the generosity of many Logan County businesses, local students pursing degrees in agriculture or agribusiness may get a break on next year’s tuition bill. The new scholarship opportunity was announced at the first Logan County Ag Day Breakfast held March 22, 2000.

 Applicants must be from Logan County and currently studying or planning to studying agri-business or an agricultural science at a community college or four-year institution. High school seniors through Ph.D. candidates can compete for the two $1000 awards. Selection will be based on the student’s commitment to agriculture as a future career, academic performance, involvement in extracurricular activities, financial need and work experience.

Applications are due in the Logan County Farm Bureau office by Monday, May 1, 2000. Students who are away at school can easily access the application online by e-mailing ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com.  Otherwise, they will be available from FFA advisors or at the Farm Bureau office.

Starting a new scholarship program was not one of the original objectives of the Ag Day celebration. "Our goal was to raise enough money from sponsorships to provide a free breakfast," said Marty Ahrends, chairperson of the event. "However, the response from our sponsors was overwhelming, and the most sensible use for the additional money was to support our future agriculture leaders."

Sponsors for the breakfast and the scholarship program include Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce, Lincoln-Logan Mutual Insurance, Logan County Farm Bureau, Graue Chevrolet, Ag Land FS, Inc., Logan County Bank, Union Planters Bank, Country Companies Insurance, East Lincoln Farmers Grain, Farm Credit Services, Illini Bank, Jim Xamis Ford-Lincoln-Mercury, Parker-Grieme Insurance, Schmidt-Marcotte, State Bank of Lincoln and Woody Jones State Farm Insurance.

[LDN]

Election 2000

Huyett, Fricke, county board incumbents get the vote

[MARCH 22, 2000]  In yesterday’s primary election in Logan County, the incumbent lost his bid for another term as state’s attorney, while the five incumbent county board members in the race kept their seats. In addition, a referendum asking for a quarter-of-a-cent tax to support senior citizens’ groups won by a sizable margin.

Challenger Tim Huyett regained the office of state’s attorney in a 3,985 to 2,750 victory over incumbent William Workman. Huyett served part of a term after former state’s attorney John Turner was elected as state representative but was defeated by Workman in the 1996 primary.

In a tight race for coroner, Charles Fricke defeated Paul Hennessy 3,420 to 3,259. Fricke, of Mout Pulaski, is a partner in the Fricke-Calvert-Schrader Funeral Homes and has served as Emergency Services and Disaster Agency director in Mount Pulaski. Hennessy, who works in the Logan County Circuit Clerk’s office, is presently a deputy coroner for incumbent Ed Barry. Barry chose not to run again.

All five incumbents up for reelection in the Logan County Board race retained their seats. Paul Gleason, Clifford "Sonny" Sullivan and David Hepler of Lincoln, Lloyd Hellman of Emden and Roger Bock of Williamsville, along with newcomers Jim Griffin and Dale A. Voyles will serve one two-year term until the entire board comes up for reelection in 2002.

Gleason, a former teacher, has been a board member since 1978. Bock, a farmer, was appointed last year to fill the unexpired term of Bob Welch. Hellman, also a farmer, has served six years on the board. Sullivan, a retired engineer from the Department of Corrections, and Hepler, a Lincoln chiropractor, both won their second terms. Griffin is a local businessman and Voyles has been active in many community organizations.

Challengers Marcie Altman-McCartney, Patrick O’Neill and Veronica Board Hasprey of Lincoln and Robert Buse of Beason failed to win board seats.

Referendums that passed in Logan County included one in Hartsburg for approval of no more than .05 cent tax to provide support for the Hartsburg Fire Protection District’s emergency and rescue equipment. This passed with a vote of 109 to 35. The referendum to approve a .025 cent tax levy to support services for senior citizens passed easily with a vote of 4,380 to 2,268. The referendum was put on the ballot at the request of the Oasis Senior Center, but the tax will help fund other senior services as well.

Running unopposed in the county primary for circuit clerk was Carla Bender. In state races, Robert A. Madigan was unopposed for state senator from the 45th district, and John Turner was the only Republican candidate for state representative in the 90th district. Ray LaHood, of Peoria, the representative in Congress for the 18th congressional district, ran unapposed as well.

Contested precinct committeeman races included Gloria Luster’s victory over Kathy Aylesworth Butcher in Mount Pulaski 4, Gary "Beaver" Newman’s victory over Ray Skelton in West Lincoln 5, and Betty Eaton won over Lloyd H. Slack in the West Lincoln 1 race.

On the Republican ballot, George W. Bush garnered 4,416 votes to John McCain’s 1,333. On the Democratic ballot, Al Gore won 564 votes to Bill Bradley’s 78.

In the race for delegate to the national nominating convention in the 18th congressional district, Bush delegates Ray LaHood, Robert A. Madigan, Irv Smith and Janet Donahue easily outpolled McCain delegates Stewart J. Umholtz, Darin M.LaHood, James R. Covington III and Jay K. McCracken approximately four to one.

Four alternate Bush delegates also overcame the two McCain alternates.

On the Democratic ballot the five Gore delegates, Barbara J. Gross, James K. Polk, Shirley A. McCombs, Stanley J. Valentine and Elizabeth L. Jensen, won more than four to one over the five Bradley delegates.

[LDN]

ALMH plans open house for new additions

[MARCH 22, 2000]  Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital (ALMH) will celebrate the completion of the first part of its ALMH 2000 building and renovation project with a community-wide open house on Sunday, March 26, from 2 to 4 p.m.

The first part of the ALMH 2000 project includes a new rehabilitation department and an expanded surgery area. The rehabilitation department, which outgrew its limited basement location, is now conveniently located on the first floor, allowing the department to offer additional treatments and serve more patients.

The second floor surgical suites have been renovated and modernized to meet the demanding healthcare needs of the area. "With more and more specialists coming to Lincoln to perform surgeries, the surgery area needed to be updated to accommodate today’s technologies and equipment," said Woody Hester, ALMH president and CEO.

Plans for the next phases of the ALMH 2000 project are underway, which include updating the obstetrics unit to meet the needs of young families, and renovating the existing basement space into conference and meeting rooms to accommodate the many support groups, lectures and meetings at ALMH.

ALMH 2000 was funded by contributions from friends and supporters of ALMH, with ALMH employees leading the way.

Area health care providers still serving troubled company’s clients

[MARCH 21, 2000]  Although Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital is no longer a contracted provider for one of the insurance programs offered by the financially troubled American Health Care Providers, Inc., employees of local organizations insured under the company’s Point of Service (POS) operation can still get care at the local hospital.

"Benefits may be different now for those insured under the POS," said Woody Hester, president and CEO of ALMH, "but no patients will be turned away because of the insurance company’s problems."

However, because the hospital is no longer in the POS network, the benefit levels may decrease. A health plan may offer a higher level of payment for services given by a provider in the network and a lower level of payment for out-of-network providers. In a letter to members of the POS plan, Hester suggested they call the insurance company to verify levels of coverage and availability of in-network providers.

American Health Care Providers offered another plan, an HMO, and ALMH is, as of now, still a provider for the HMO, Hester said. According to Hester, the American POS plan owes the hospital more than $150,000 and is not responding to requests for payment. The hospital is still receiving payments from the HMO.

Susan Shull, clinic manager at Family Medical Center, said the medical group is also continuing to provide care for all patients who need it, although they, like the hospital, ceased being a contracted provider for American POS as of March 13. She also noted that the level of coverage may be lower for POS members.

Two area organizations who have been insured by American Health Care Providers, Lincoln Elementary School District 27 and Logan County employees, will not have to debate the question of coverage levels long. Both are seeking coverage from new insurers. District 27 has already contracted with Country Companies for health insurance, which will take effect April 1. In the meantime, District 27 employees, who were all originally enrolled in the POS, have been transferred into the HMO and are still receiving medical coverage.

The Logan County Board’s Insurance Committee has hired an insurance consultant, Clemens and Associate Life Agency Ltd. of Bloomington, to help find new health insurance for county employees. The insurance committee is still in the process of bidding for a new provider but may be making a decision at an April 11 meeting. The county employees who were enrolled in the POS have also been transferred to the HMO, a county spokesperson said.

Halting service as a contracted provider for American’s POS was "the only prudent course for ALMH to pursue," Hester said. "I want everyone in the community to know we regret this has happened. We had to take this action as a last resort, and we will continue to provide services to any patients participating in American Health Care Plans.

"We have not turned anyone away since 1898," he added. On that date, Deaconess Hospital opened, bringing the first organized health care to the community. Deaconess later became Abraham Lincoln Hospital.

In February, the Illinois Department of Insurance petitioned the Circuit Court of Cook County asking that American Health Care Providers be declared insolvent and liquidated. Since that time the company has been in receivership, with the Department of Insurance in control of its assets.

The next hearing on the case is Friday, March 24. However, no decision may be made by that date, and even if the company is declared bankrupt, it may appeal, a spokesman for the Department of Insurance said.

[Joan Crabb]

One old, one new

Businesses moving to Woodlawn Road

[MARCH 20, 2000]  Two new buildings are going up on Woodlawn Road, one to house a new Walgreens and the other to combine three existing Lincoln businesses, Gossett’s Drive-In Cleaners, Broadway Cleaners and the 5th Street Wash House.

Work at the Walgreens site, on the corner of Woodlawn Road and College Street, is still in the demolition stage, according to Les Last, Lincoln building and safety officer, while a little farther west the foundations have already been laid for the dry cleaning-laundromat facility. "The foundation is in and they’re starting to put up steel," he said.

The dry cleaning and laundromat business is owned by Marvin and Joyce Board, and the new establishment at 623 Woodlawn will continue to be a family operation.

[The Board brothers work on site at the new location for the family's laundromat/dry cleaners facility.]

"Last year we decided we needed to expand," said Vicki Board Hasprey, operator-manager of Broadway Cleaners. "We’ve done upgrades and expansion on the Broadway building and the Wash House, but there’s just not enough room. We found a lot and we are putting all three businesses under one roof."

The new 7,000 square foot building will house the laundromat, the dry cleaning plant and four tanning beds and will have a drive-through drop-off and pick-up lane. Hasprey said the family will keep all current employees, both full and part time, and will probably add several more. She said plans are to keep the laundromat open 24 hours a day for the convenience of second and third shift workers.

Scott, Victor and Doug Board are acting as general contractors for the new building. Scott Board said he hopes to have the new facility open in September or October. He said the family has not yet chosen a name for the new business and is considering having a contest to let customers help make the choice.

"We haven’t got a schedule yet, but with the newer, bigger facility we will be able to cover a lot more hours than we do now," he said. At this time plans call for closing Gossett’s at 311 Broadway Street and the 5th Street Wash House at 500 Fifth Street, Board said. He said the family is considering keeping Broadway Cleaners, 1028 Broadway, open for the convenience of regular customers in that area.

The Board family has been operating Broadway Cleaners since 1995 and the 5th Street Wash House since 1991. The Gossett’s cleaning business was purchased in July of 1999.

The Walgreens building site on Woodlawn Road and College Street has been the home of automobile dealerships for many years, most recently Five Star Motors. Its replacement will be a 15,120 square foot building with room for 73 parking spaces. The building will house a pharmacy, retail sales and a one-hour photo developing area, according to the building permit.

Walgreens will be the seventh pharmacy in the Lincoln area, located almost across the street from CVS Pharmacy in the Kroger shopping center and a half block from the pharmacy at the Family Medical Center. A Medicap pharmacy is located nearby at 709 Woodlawn Road. Others in the area include the pharmacy at Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital, Graue Pharmacy at 602 Keokuk Street, and a pharmacy at the Lincoln Wal-Mart store.

[Last week demolition crews destroyed the 
former 5-Star Motors.  This property will be the 
home for Lincoln's new Walgreens, which
 is scheduled to open over the summer.]

A spokesperson for Joe Hurwitz of the Blackstone Group in Springfield, listed on the building permit as owner or lessee, said the Walgreens facility would probably be open in July or early August. Contractor for the Walgreens facility is Ken Williams of Buzard-Williams, also of Springfield.

[Joan Crabb]

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