LDN - Today's Top Stories

Bogus bomb brings big response by state and local law enforcement

[MARCH 27, 2000] At 9:43 p.m. Saturday, March 25, the Lincoln Police Department was contacted to respond to the 300 block of South College Street in Lincoln. When officers arrived, a resident told them that the object had been found on the front porch of the residence and moved to the street. The object was suspicious in that it appeared to possibly be a homemade bomb. Supervisors were called to the scene, and, for the public’s safety, people within approximately 1½ blocks were evacuated. The Secretary of State’s bomb squad was dispatched and arrived at approximately 11:25 p.m. They examined the object and determined that it needed to be neutralized for further inspection. The bomb squad officers neutralized the object and determined that it had no explosives in it and it was a fake. Residents were allowed back into their homes at approximately 1:50 a.m., and evidence was collected. This situation is currently under investigation by the Lincoln Police Department. The Lincoln Police Department was assisted by the Logan County Sheriff’s Department, the city of Lincoln Street Department and the Secretary of State bomb squad.

[LDN]

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.

[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."

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."

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]

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