The national blood inventory is at historically low levels, and a national appeal is being made for regular donors and new donors to give blood to ease this acute shortage.

There will be two blood drives in October at the Lincoln Sports Complex. Hours on Wednesday, Oct. 4, will be from 12 until 5 p.m. On Wednesday, Oct. 18, hours will be from 12 until 6 p.m.

During September the following people reached milestones in their donations: Betty J. Lahr, 14 gallons; Donald E. Johnson, nine; Doug Fink and Larry J. Lessen, five gallons each; Lyndol D. Kingsley, four; and Sandra S. Wendt, three gallons.

To make an appointment to give blood, call 800-728-3543, Ext.1441

Walk-ins are always welcome. Help is needed to ease this medical crisis.

American Red Cross calls for immediate blood donations nationwide

The American Red Cross, steward of one-half of the nation's blood supply, is suffering a severe blood shortage — one of the worst in its history. Hospitals in some of the hardest hit areas around the nation have been forced to postpone scheduled surgeries because of an inadequate blood supply. The nation's blood supply is critically low, and all eligible donors are strongly encouraged to call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE to schedule an appointment to donate blood.

"We couldn’t practice modern medicine without blood," said Dr. Bernadine Healy, president and CEO of the American Red Cross. "Right now, blood is the weak link in the chain of healthcare," she added. "Patients should never have to worry whether there will be enough blood. It is the gift of life, and there is no substitute. We desperately need the help of all eligible repeat and first-time donors."

Volunteer blood donations help patients being treated for accidents, routine surgeries and serious diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma and other cancers, heart disease, sickle cell anemia and hemophilia. Despite the fact that giving blood is easy, safe and takes less than one hour, only five percent of eligible Americans donate blood. To donate blood, one must be healthy, at least 17 years old and weigh 110 pounds or more.

Despite an overall increase in blood donations this year, an increase in population, improved medical procedures and more complex surgeries that were not possible years ago have contributed to the current blood shortage.

The current situation is critical:

• In August 1999, hospitals supplied with blood from the American Red Cross required about 14,732 units of blood each day.  In August 2000, because of increased hospital demand, the Red Cross distributed more than 16,800 units of blood to hospitals nationwide each day – a 14 percent increase.  As of Friday, Sept. 15, the American Red Cross had approximately 36,000 units of blood in its national inventory.  The critical minimum blood inventory is 50,000 units; an optimal blood supply is 80,000 units; and as recently as this past April, 110,000 units were in the inventory.

•  Optimal inventory for the national American Red Cross blood system is a three-day supply of blood.  For the entire summer, the Red Cross has operated on little more than a two-day supply – a difference of nearly 25,000 donors a day – and remains at these low levels into September.

•  Thirty-two of the American Red Cross’s 36 Blood Services regions have been appealing to their local communities through the local media.

The American Red Cross has been working diligently to encourage more people to donate blood and has succeeded in increasing collections by nearly three percent over the past year. Some national efforts include utilizing telemarketing and direct mail to encourage existing blood donors to donate more often; pilot testing an Internet-based system to enable blood donors to schedule appointments; scheduling more blood drives; expanding hours at existing blood drives; utilizing mass-media advertising and planning a new urban donation center to make it easy for donors to schedule appointments during the business day. The American Red Cross is especially encouraging blood donors who have never donated or have only donated a few times to schedule an appointment to give the gift of life.

"We are truly grateful to all donors who have helped throughout the summer," Healy said. "We know during non-summer months, older high school students and college students account for approximately 15 percent of American Red Cross blood collections. As students and professors begin their normal fall routine, we ask that they recommit to donating blood and sponsoring regular blood drives throughout the year."

For more than 50 years, the American Red Cross has been the primary supplier of lifesaving blood and blood products in the United States. The Red Cross collects blood voluntarily donated by approximately 4.5 million donors, annually providing more than six million units of blood for patients nationwide.

Writers' Club meets Oct. 3

The Lincoln Writers' Club will meet on Tuesday, Oct. 3, at 6 p.m. in the Pegram Room of the Lincoln Public Library, 725 Pekin St. All persons interested in writing are invited to attend. This is a very informal group of those interested in writing. For further information, call Roberta Johnson at 217-732-2723.

Sponsors needed for Festival of Trees

The Festival of Trees Committee is seeking businesses, organizations and individuals to sponsor Christmas trees, wreaths and swags. The lavishly decorated items will be displayed at the festival in the Logan County Courthouse from Fri., Nov. 24, to Sun., Dec. 3. Sponsors’ names will be publicized at the festival, where 3,500 attendees are anticipated this year.

Sponsorship fee is $200 for a 7½-foot tree, $100 for a 4½-foot tree, $50 for a wreath and $50 for a swag. Sponsors may decorate their own trees or have others decorate them.

Most of the trees, wreaths and swags will be auctioned off at the ’Tis the Season Gala on Friday, Dec. 1. Some will be available for purchase through a silent auction at the Festival of Trees site. The proceeds will be equally divided between Abraham Lincoln Healthcare Foundation for improving the quality of health care in Logan County and Main Street Lincoln for revitalizing downtown Lincoln.

Those interested in sponsoring or decorating items for the Festival of Trees may contact Main Street Lincoln, 732-2929, or the Healthcare Foundation at 732-2161, Ext. 316.

The Lincoln Rural Fire Protection District is holding their semiannual car wash fund-raiser on Saturday, Sept. 30. The car wash will begin at 8 a.m. at the Super Wash on Woodlawn Road. The cost is only $2, and one of those dollars goes directly to the LRFPD. The funds raised during this car wash and the other car wash this year greatly help Lincoln Rural Fire, because they receive only limited tax dollars. If it rains on the 30th, a rain date is set for Oct. 7.

The Lincoln Public Library District announces that the Prime Time Learning Center will begin on Sept. 25 for grades three through eight. Tutoring center sessions are scheduled by appointment on Monday through Thursday from 3:30 to 6 p.m. This is a free service provided by the library and is available to all area students in grades three through eight. For more information on tutoring sessions or volunteering as a tutor contact the library’s Youth Services Department at 732-5732.

A Community First Aid and Safety Class which covers all CPR plus first aid will be on Sept. 27 and 28 at the Logan County Red Cross office, 125 S. Kickapoo St. in Lincoln. Hours will be 6 to 10 p.m. the first evening and 5 to 10 p.m. on the second evening. Preregistration is required. You may call 732-2134 for further information. Office hours are noon until 4 p.m. weekdays.

New Holland welcomes anniversary parade entries 

New Holland’s 125th anniversary celebration will be the last weekend in September. There are still openings for the parade. Entries may be bicycles, vans, floats, children and so on. If you have any questions, or would like to enter the parade, please call Susie Aper at 445-2418.

As New Holland prepares for its 125th anniversary, 1875 - 2000, New Holland pictorial history books are now available. Only 100 books remain to be sold. The book will not be reprinted. If you are interested in a book, you can reserve one by sending $25 (plus $3.50 for shipping if you want it mailed) to Lila Conklen, 100th Avenue, New Holland, IL 62671.

The Jessie C. Eury Library on the campus of Lincoln Christian College and Seminary is pleased to announce the debut of "Hymnals of the Stone-Campbell Movement: Enos E. Dowling Hymnal Collection" on their website at www.lccs.edu/library/hymnals. This online collection of more than 9,000 hymns from selected rare 19^th-century hymnals features works by Alexander Campbell, J. T. Johnson, Walter Scott, and Illinois residents such as Barton W. Stone, Silas W. Leonard and the Fillmore Brothers. The Office of the Illinois Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White funded this project with a $34,000 digitalization grant.

Online viewers may browse through the pages of 19 selected hymnals, view a scanned image of the actual page from the hymnal, and access more than 300 tune-related audio files. The title, first line, lyrics or composer of each hymn can be searched. Information such as the hymn's meter and tune is also available. The website also offers a background sketch of the Stone-Campbell Movement in Illinois, a timeline of the Stone-Campbell Movement hymnals and information about pivotal hymnals, writers, publishers and compilers.

Enos Dowling, former academic dean at LCS, gathered some 2,000 hymnals throughout his lifetime, including nearly 200 affiliated with the Restoration Movement that arose from the 19^th century Stone-Campbell religious heritage on the American frontier. His collection is one of the largest-known compilations of hymnals representing this religious movement and serves to illustrate changing religious musical styles. Nancy J. Olson, project director and library director for the Jessie C. Eury Library, considers this website a "technical tribute" to Dowling and his desire to preserve the heritage of religious music.

The project has received similar praise from across the country for its part in the preservation of historical music and the history of the Stone-Campbell Movement. Prior to their Internet availability, access to the rare hymnals was limited to patrons of the Jessie C. Eury Library, which owns the collection. Bonnie Travers, University of Arizona special collections librarian, says the site provides a way for Stone-Campbell Movement history to be accessible "worldwide through the Internet." "I was very impressed," she adds. Marsha Harper, Abilene Christian University library director, agrees: "I haven’t seen anything to equal it."