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In March, however, the board rescinded its previous action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.
|
![](../images/ads/graue/graue_car_ad.jpg)
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.
![](../images/32300%20pictures/caesarsbank.jpg)
[Former Little
Caesar's making the transformation into Central Illinois
Bancorp]
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."
|
![](../images/ads/medicap/medicap_ad.jpg)
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."
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."
|
![](today_4.jpg)
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.
![](../images/patriotic2.gif)
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.
w Incumbent
x Winner |
|
|
|
State's
Attorney |
|
|
x |
Tim
Huyett |
3,985 |
w |
|
Bill
Workman |
2,750 |
|
|
Circuit
Clerk |
|
w |
x |
Carla
Bender |
unopposed |
|
|
Coroner |
|
|
|
Paul
Hennessy |
3,259 |
|
x |
Charles
Fricke |
3,420 |
|
|
County
Board |
|
|
x |
Jim
Griffin |
3,288 |
|
|
Marcie
Altman-McCartney |
2,185 |
|
x |
Dale
Voyles |
3,519 |
|
|
Patrick
O'Neill |
2,642 |
w |
x |
Paul
Gleason |
3,780 |
w |
x |
Roger
Bock |
3,571 |
w |
x |
Clifford
Sullivan |
3,099 |
w |
x |
Lloyd
Hellman |
3,126 |
w |
x |
David
Hepler |
3,456 |
|
|
Veronica
Board Hasprey |
2,937 |
|
|
Robert
Buse |
2,361 |
|
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.
|
Back
to top
|
Top
Stories | Sports Talk
| Weather
A
Day in the Life | Hearsay & Hairspray | Milestones
| Obituaries | Diaspora
Business
& Ag | Organizations &
Events | Good
Neighbors | Honors & Awards
| Ombudsman | Law
& Courts
The
Arts | Family Life
| Spiritual Life | Health
& Fitness | Teaching
& Learning | Book
Look | Movies &
Videos
the
em space | Where They
Stand | How We Stack Up
| By the Numbers
Letters
to Editor | About LDN
| Corrections | Happy
Ads | Classified
Ads
|
|