[NOV. 22, 2000]  The Logan County Board voted 8 to 5 Tuesday evening to rezone eight acres in rural Atlanta's Eminence Township from agriculture to B1, paving the way for the construction of an FM radio station transmitting tower.

The 275-foot tower, to be located on "Lazy Row," was met with objections from people living in Eminence Township, citing deaths of songbirds and migrating game birds from the support wires and also the appearance it would make in the rural area.

Roger Bock, one of the five to vote against the rezoning, referred to the "unique environment" that would be displaced by the tower.

Beth Davis, a board member who also voted against it, said that she had contacted people at the University of Illinois and discussed the impact it would have on wildlife.

"This tower will have more of an impact on songbirds," she said.

"The wires will kill many songbirds, and carcasses are generally not found because of predators that find them," Davis added.

This was in reference to comments made by Dick Hurley, who supported the rezoning efforts.

"I visited three towers around Logan County and didn't find any dead birds," Hurley said.

"I found there were only live ones in and around the tower, that flew when I approached. None of them hit the wires," he said.

Davis also told board members and those present from the Atlanta area that most of the problem, according to the University of Illinois, occurs during the night, when songbirds are in flight.

Those voting for the rezoning were Doug Dutz, David Hepler,

Richard Hurley, Dick Logan, Phil Mahler, Clifford Sullivan, Terry Werth and Darrell Deverman.

In addition to Bock and Davis, those opposing the construction were Paul Gleason, Lloyd Hellman and Rod White.

[to top of second column in this article]

In other board action, unanimous approval was given for the FY 2001 budget totaling $9.6 million in revenues, an increase over last year's $9.4 million. Expenditures total $10.5. Estimated beginning balances are $6.8 million.

Rod White, finance chairman, told the board that this was the eighth consecutive balanced budget passed by the board.

A $2.6 million tax levy was also approved.

A motion made by Davis, with a second by Terry Werth, to increase the hotel/motel tax from 3½ percent to 4½ percent was approved.

A motion by Hurley to give half of the increase to Main Street to help fund the "Looking for Lincoln" program, also seconded by Werth, failed.

Opponents to the motion wanted the money to go into the tourism budget which is overseen by the board. More control of the increase by the board was one reason given by opponents to the measure.

The board also passed two resolutions of appreciation, for board Chairman Darrell Deverman and Richard Hurley. Both men decided not to seek re-election.

Hurley has served 28 years on the board and Deverman 10 years.

Appointments were also made naming Terry L. Storer the assistant director of the Emergency Services and Disaster Agency of Logan County and naming Lucille Pech and Gillette Ransom to the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau.

The board also voted unanimously to raise related fees in the recorder's office to fund a geographical information system to map Logan County more accurately. This action follows the Illinois Legislature's approval last June of funding such a service by allowing each county board to raise these fees.

The $3 increase will become effective in January 2001.

[Fuzz Werth]

[NOV. 22, 2000]  Thanksgiving. We pause now to offer thanks. On the eve of that big thankful day of the year, what are your thoughts? Are you too preoccupied thinking of all there is to do for the holiday — all the shopping, fixing meals, taking care of kids, running around on errands, cleaning, company coming over — all the proverbial ups and downs of the holidays.

Whether you are simply wondering what someone else finds to be grateful for on this chilly day here in the heartland, or are on a quest to sort out your own thankfulness, you are sure to glean something from the insights gained by one local man’s experience. He shares from the heart his profound experience. He has boiled it down to the most important of the important.

Dan and Elaine Bird came to Lincoln four years ago for Dan to study at Lincoln Christian Seminary. He graduated in May with a master of arts in counseling ministry. The following is an account of his unique experience that brings him to say, "I’ve just got to be the most grateful person in Logan County."

Wouldn’t we all like to say that? If we could take heed of the lessons he so graciously shares with us here, we could all be living much fuller lives.

After about five years of battling prostate cancer we’d exhausted most of the traditional methods, and one year ago tomorrow, the day before Thanksgiving, I got the bad news that the cancer had spread from small spots on the bones to all over the bones from head to toe. From my skull to down near my ankles and all points in between, and something it doesn’t normally do, it even went to the liver. I was pretty shaken up. It was a rough Thanksgiving and a rough Christmas. At that point, since we had exhausted everything that is considered effective, my future was looking pretty bleak. Most people, including medical personnel, were pretty sure that it was going to be my last holiday last year, and anyone that knew my prognosis believed that that was going to be it! And I fell in line with them. I believed that they were correct.

I wrote a will, I planned a funeral. I called all the people I wanted to be pallbearers, the whole nine yards, so I could get that behind me and so that my wife wouldn’t have to deal with it. Anything else I felt like I needed bring to closure, I did! Any conversations I need to have, that kind of thing, (I did).

But, it’s a year later and the next Thanksgiving is just one day away, and I’m here! 2000 was such a roller coaster I’m out of breath. We did some nontraditional therapy and chemotherapy, which is usually not very effective against prostate cancer. It has been moving the cancer back. At least at this moment that’s what’s been happening.

So, I’m looking forward to this Thanksgiving. This Thursday is going to be my best Thanksgiving. I’m going to my son’s house and I am incredibly grateful. I am so, so, looking forward to Christmas!

Q: What do you find to be thankful for this year?

A: Oh my — being here, this is a big thing for me! I am not taking it for granted, because I was so convinced I would not be alive for this coming Thanksgiving and Christmas. I had a lot of reasons to believe that.

I know it sounds trite to say I am grateful to be alive, but I guess you really have to experience having it taken away from you to really appreciate it. I guess it would be like someone having their sight restored or their hearing restored. I’m incredibly grateful just to be here this year.

I guess, probably what really adds color to it all, is how close I have gotten to so many people this last couple of years while I was dealing with cancer. This last year, particularly when people thought I was going to die, how deeply they would share with me. How much they would care for me. I am so grateful for the relationships that came out of my illness.

Q: You have had five different death sentences. Many people know the charged feelings we get after we have a close brush with death. Your experiences have not been mere brushes, but definite pronouncements made with certainty. Miraculously you are still here. Could you say a little more about what happens when you face and survive this repeatedly?

A: It wakes up your senses! It really, really does! What has happened with me, and I think this is choice because I have talked to other people who have faced these things, every one faces it a little differently, but what happened to me was it put everything in priority. The things that I used to think were important, the goals I set and raised, I found out that many of them were really secondary. What is happening (now) is that I’m enjoying life so much because I am finding the things that are really important. I focus and function on those and probably that gets centered around people, not accomplishing my goals in life, and not bringing in income.

[to top of second column in this article]

My wife and I were pretty middle class before we moved to Lincoln. This illness has taken away much of our financial security, but it hasn’t robbed us of anything that’s important. Our love for each other has grown, and I’ve found out how much I can depend on Elaine. I had no idea how much I needed her. It spreads from there to how much I need other people and how much I want to be a part of other people’s lives.

When I thought I was going to die, and miraculous is the word, for whatever reason God decided I needed to be here a little longer than what the doctors originally thought, I have (been forced) to look it over. I don’t say this every day, but I know I live it. All right, I’m alive now when I shouldn’t be, what am I supposed to do with that? Who am I suppose to talk to? What purpose am I here to fulfill? God has given me more time and there is a reason for that! I usually find myself involved in someone else’s life when I follow that line of thinking.

Q: How do you stay focused on being thankful?

A: I guess I was struggling with this question until it hit me why! It was bothering me because I don’t always stay focused on being thankful. I’m taking chemotherapy every week, and I’m having a nasty reaction to it as far as being weak all week long. It’s not as bad as it could be, but it keeps me from being productive as I want to be. I can only work part time and that sort of drives me crazy because there’s so many things that I want to do that I can’t do. And it’s very easy to sink into despondency. It’s very easy to begin feeling sorry for myself.

In order to be thankful, it is a matter of focus. Being thankful! I don’t make it (to being thankful) enough. This week has been easy. There was a great sermon at church, people are talking about being grateful for Thanksgiving, and I’ve just got to be the most grateful person in Logan County! There can’t be anyone more grateful for Thanksgiving than I am because I know that I dodged a bullet to be here, maybe more than one. But I want to make that decision, and when I make that decision, then it starts happening.

Q: If you could recommend one thing, what would you say we should all do this season?

A: That is probably the easiest question I have ever been asked. Now, if I had been asked that question five years ago I probably would have come up with something a little more along the lines with my profession. I would have probably tried to come up with something profound in a sermon or a lesson, but I’ll tell you what, this last year has been so experiential. This last year has made so clear to me my very favorite line in any movie or any book, from Charles Dickens in the "Christmas Story," when the ghost cries out, "Mankind was my business!"

I think about last Christmas and the people that came to my door. (They came doing) "The Twelve Days of Christmas." They came by every day doing another one every day for 12 days. It was hilarious, but it’s so vivid in my mind because people cared.

Some days at church I can’t make it up to greet people. I end up sitting in a pew. I can’t get up and go shake hands, but they come to me. And these people bring their hearts to me. They bring their lives to me. These are the things that keep me going.

It’s other people that drives me! My relationship with my boys; they’ve become my best friends. My relationship with my wife, the sweetest relationship on earth!

None of these are perfect, but if I were to recommend one thing, find a way to become involved in other peoples lives. Do whatever it takes!

Dan and Elaine came here after 23 years of ministry in Clark County in southern Illinois. Both grew up in Michigan — Elaine (maiden name Telfer) in Lansing and Dan from Owosso. They have been married 32 years and have three sons. Brian, 29, and his wife, Jody, recently moved to Sarasota, Fla., with their daughters, Haley and Emily;  Aaron, 24, and wife Pandy live in Lincoln; Colin, 23, single, also lives here in Lincoln. Bird serves part-time as Pastoral Care Minister at Jefferson Street Christian Church.

Happy Thanksgiving, Birds and all Logan County!

Street plans, student programs on agenda

[NOV. 21, 2000]  Several topics relating to streets and improvements were addressed at Monday evening's meeting of the Lincoln City Council.

Mark Mathon, city engineer, told council members that the improvements to be made on Union Street will begin this spring.

"The contractor decided to start this spring instead of now, due to the cold weather," Mathon said.

"Improvements to Gavin and State streets are being concluded, with some finishing jobs to be done to yards," he added.

"Plans to resurface Wyatt Avenue, including a small portion of Primm Road, will be submitted to the Illinois Department of Transportation about the middle of February for approval," Mathon stated.

The council also voted to install stop signs on Seventh through 11^th streets where they intersect with North State Street, making North State a through street.

Rich Ludolph, chief of police, and Rich Montcalm, community liaison officer, presented tokens of appreciation to Northwest,

Central and Washington-Monroe schools for their assistance when Officer Montcalm recently presented a "violence prevention" program to the students.

[to top of second column in this article]

Montcalm is currently presenting a program called the "Frilly and Miller Show" to students in area schools. The program is designed to instill in students the importance of choices, respect and responsibility and utilizes teacher participation in the presentation. Approximately 800 to 900 students have seen the program locally.

Both Ludolph and Montcalm also expressed their appreciation to Mayor Joan Ritter for making it possible for the programs to be presented.

Ludolph also reported to the council that four students had been funded to attend a meeting of the Drug Education Alliance on Monday and Tuesday. The meeting consisted of 1,700 students and adults and addressed the Teens Out Teaching Success (TOTS) program.

The council also voted to hire Darren Coffee as fireman to replace Tom Cecil who has retired. Coffee is next on the list of eligible applicants and will begin employment on Dec 1.

In other business, the council voted to accept the high bids on older equipment that was being eliminated and also to accept bids for a new 1-ton truck that would be purchased for the sewage treatment plant.

[Fuzz Werth]

[NOV. 21, 2000]  Yes, Mason City will be the place to enjoy the Christmas spirit.  Sunday evening Dec. 3, the annual Parade of Lights will again twine its way through the streets of town.  Many entries are expected to be all aglow as they walk, ride and bike along the parade route. 

[to top of second column in this article]

[NOV. 18, 2000]  The Logan County Waste Management Committee met Wednesday evening and discussed various ways that could be explored in order to cut expenses in the current state-mandated recycling program.

Kenny Schwab, director of the programs for the committee, told board members that expenses associated with pickup and processing of those items make it difficult for the program to be anywhere near self-sufficient.

"The problem is facing many municipalities where they are having the same problems in recycling items, specifically with glass containers," he said.

Schwab attended a three-day conference in Cincinnati that addressed national recycling programs and some of the steps that are being taken in other areas of the country.

[to top of second column in this article]

The decision of Lake Area, a Springfield company where recyclable items are taken, to begin assessing $75 for large loads of material and $25 for pickup-size loads, will add about $7,800 to nearly $10,000 per year to the committee's budget.

Grant Eaton, Lincoln's representative on the council, will research other ways pickup might be done, as well as other sources that would be available for processing these items.

The survey is to be done in December, with the board reviewing the findings at its January meeting.

[Fuzz Werth]

Click here for more information on recycling

Notice of Open Burn Code released
by Fire Department

Open Burning code for the City of Lincoln

BOCA National Fire Prevention Code 1996 Chapter 4 City Code Book Fire Regulations Chapter 3

BOCA

F-403.4.3 OPEN BURNING PROHIBITED: The code official shall prohibit open burning that will be offensive or objectionable due to smoke or odor emissions when atmospheric conditions or local circumstances make such fires hazardous. The code official shall order the extinguishments, by the land owner or the fire department, of any open burning that creates or adds to a hazardous or objectionable situation.

F-403.5 LOCATION OF OPEN BURNING: Shall not be less than 50 feet from any structure.

F-403.7 ATTENDANCE: Any open burning shall be constantly attended until the fire is extinguished. A water supply such as buckets of water or a connected and charged garden hose shall be available for immediate utilization.

CITY CODE BOOK Chapter 3 Fire regulations

5-3-2 FIRE ON PAVEMENTS: Fires are not allowed on blacktop streets, alleys or concrete sidewalks ($25 fine)

5-3-4 BURNING IN THE CITY: E-1 recreational fires shall contact the Lincoln Fire Department and notify them of the date and time of the wiener roast. No garbage shall be burned and burning must be consistent with other laws.

E-2: From October 2 through May 31 between 7:00 A.M . and 5: 00 P.M. residents are allowed to burn landscape waste only. (Leaves, trees, tree trimmings, branches, stumps, brush, weeds, grass, grass and yard trimmings only)

Fines for violations of the following codes are a minimum of $15 issued by fire crews handling complaints and illegal fires.

Persons complaining about fires must sign a complaint with the Fire Department before extinguishments of legal fires is carried out. No fines will be issued to persons burning with in the boundaries of the code. The persons burning will be advised of the signed complaint and asked to extinguish the fire or the Fire Department will extinguish the fire.

[OCT. 11, 2000]  Beginning Monday, Oct. 16, the Lincoln City Landfill will be open extended hours to allow residents to dispose of leaves and yard waste, according to Donnie Osborne, street superintendent. The landfill will open at 8 a.m. and remain open until 4 p.m. seven days a week, probably until mid-December, he said. Residents may bring in leaves any way they like — in bags, boxes or pickup trucks — but they must take the leaves out of the containers and take the containers back home with them.

[OCT. 10, 2000]  The office of the city clerk in Lincoln will be open for filing petitions for nomination for the Feb. 27, 2001, consolidated primary election, with petitions accepted from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the following dates: Dec. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 18.

Petitions will be accepted for the following city offices:

• Mayor
• City treasurer
• City clerk
• Alderman Ward 1
• Alderman Ward 2
• Alderman Ward 3
• Alderman Ward 4

• Alderman Ward 5

[Juanita Josserand, city clerk]

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