[MARCH 22, 2001]  Thressia Usherwood reported to the local Looking for Lincoln committee on Wednesday, March 21, that there is a state meeting scheduled with the executive director on March 28. The committees will discuss the use of the new website and the need to request additional funding.

Shirley Bartelmay, chairman of the Postville volunteers, reported that Richard Schachtsiek, site manager, has involved the volunteers, and the Postville Courthouse is now open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in addition to Saturday and Sunday. It is expected that the number of visitors to the Postville site will increase when the warm weather arrives. Local residents are encouraged to visit the courthouse and learn more about Lincoln history. The Postville Cluster is also seeking signage for the courthouse and the Lincoln well across from the courthouse.

The Downtown Cluster, chairmaned by Wendy Bell, is organized to promote the downtown as a historic area, giving tourists the opportunity to walk where Lincoln walked and acting as a link between Postville Courthouse and Lincoln College. The group is looking for funding to produce a brochure listing areas to visit and tours that will be offered. Plans are being made to print Lincoln postcards and sell other souvenir items.

[to top of second column in this article]

The Elkhart Historic Society is making plans for a chautauqua in Elkhart on Saturday, May 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Gillette Ransom reported that there will be bluegrass music, and Fritz Kline and other re-enactors will be there on horseback with a cavalry escort. In addition, plans are being made to have a Lincoln look-alike contest. The society will advertise for Elkhart on Saturday, May 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Gillette Ransom reported that there will be bluegrass music, and Fritz Kline and other re-enactors will be there on horseback with a cavalry escort. In addition, plans are being made to have a Lincoln look-alike contest. The society will advertise and seek contestants to participate in the contest.

The next meeting of the Looking for Lincoln committee will be Tuesday, April 24, at 7 p.m. in the Union Planters Conference Room.

[Kathleen McCullough]

[MARCH 22, 2001]  You might think it’s the springlike weather that is driving the completion of Lincoln’s newest tower, but you would be in error in that thinking. Computer Consulting Associates owners Jim Youngquist and Curt Schleich of have awaited the arrival of this day for nearly two years now, and it couldn’t have come any sooner. "I can hardly believe the tower will finally be up," said Youngquist.

Schleich, who manages the CCAonline Internet services for Computer Consulting, realized the need for an improved means to provide better quality high-speed Internet access. Without the use of big-company equipment, area telephone lines cannot support DSL or cable modems that are used by other, larger communities. The only other option left was wireless.

CCA investigated "getting an antenna into the air using downtown buildings or current towers," says Schleich, but those choices proved to be either quality- or cost-prohibitive, or lacked a place for nearby equipment storage. It was soon recognized that a tower was the only option.

CCA found a company that has been building towers since 1949. Seims Welding of Danforth drew up the plans, and a Chicago engineer approved them. Ground core samples were taken to judge for stability capability for the 140-foot tower. In the meantime CCA gained approval from the city to erect the tower as one of several tower sites under the city’s new Telecommunications Tower Ordinance.

[to top of second column in this article]

The CCA tower is open to adding other antennas for other businesses. At this time the tower will sport two antennas. One will be for CCA Wireless, and another for Illinois Signal Paging is scheduled to go up later.

Schleich is excited about bringing this new technology to Lincoln. He could not say just how many users one antenna will support for the new wireless Internet service. As with their online business, he plans to "upgrade as necessary to maintain a high quality of service."

When asked about what this project has cost besides a lot of patience and planning, Schleich responds, "By the time we’re all done it will have cost between $20,000 and $25,000."

For more information about wireless technology you can log on to www.ccaonline.com. Schleich says you can also find cost and sign-up information there. So far there are about 70 sign-ups on the waiting list. The sign-ups will be notified via e-mail when service has been initialized. Then "sign-ups will be contacted in turn for site evaluation and equipment setup," he says.

[Jan Youngquist]

[MARCH 22, 2001]  Closing out the 16th annual Community Health Fair co-sponsored by Lincoln Park District and Logan County Health Department, Marcia Greenslate of the Lincoln Park District noted they had a lot of exhibitors. "I thought it was a super crowd," she said.

Winners of door prizes and sponsors of the prizes are listed below.

[to top of second column in this list]

[MARCH 21, 2001]  Turris Coal Mine in Elkhart received approval from the Logan County Board Tuesday night on a petition to rezone a portion of their property from agriculture to M3 to allow construction of an overland conveyor belt.

The next step for Turris is to obtain the necessary permits from state agencies to begin the construction process. According to Roger Dennison, representing Turris, it will take approximately nine months for the permits, and it will be approximately four years before the conveyor belt is in operation.

Following the 12-0 vote, with one absence, Dennison expressed his appreciation.

"I want to thank the board for their hard work and cooperation," he said.

"A lot of hours and public involvement have gone into this project which will help us expand our operations," he added.

In other action, the board appointed Gail Apel-Sasse, Roseann Coers and Ron Keller to the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau and Mike Patridge, Jim Pinney and Jim Altig to the Logan County E-911 board.

Pinney and Patridge were reappointments and Altig was appointed to the seat held by Dan Fulscher, who quit that post to take over the board's position of director.

[to top of second column in this article]

A report submitted to the board by Finance Committee Chairman Rod White indicated that the overall condition of the general fund is good, with receipts from fines in the circuit clerk's office up $200,000 and interest income in the treasurer's office up by $100,000.

Expense highlights showed that the cost for juveniles was three times higher than last year. In 1999 the cost was $60,000, with projected expenses of $110,000 for the year 2000. The actual 2000 expenses came in at $188,000.

According to White, these expenses are incurred to house youths who have violated the law and also for advocacy rights.

[Fuzz Werth]

[MARCH 20, 2001]  The Lincoln City Council is still waiting to take final action on an ordinance regulating bed-and-breakfast establishments in the city. Monday evening, for the second time, final adoption of the ordinance was postponed, this time because of the absence of City Attorney Jonathan Wright.

[to top of second column in this article]

[Joan Crabb]

[MARCH 20, 2001]  All the boarders at Camp-A-While were up by 7:30 this morning. One of the campers caught on fire. The fire is believed to have started from a burner which was not turned off.

A neighbor or passerby called the Lincoln Rural Fire Department at 7:22 to report a fire at 1777 1250^th Ave. The firefighters controlled and extinguished the flames in a short time and were able to leave the scene just after 8:30.

The owner of the fifth-wheel trailer is a Wyoming man who is in Lincoln doing construction work.

Fire Captain Dean Kukuck believes that most of the contents of the trailer are salvageable, and he estimated the damage equaled $12,000 to $14,000.

[LDN]

[MARCH 20, 2001]  Late Sunday night and early Monday morning, someone stole items from five different Lincoln vehicles.

The first vehicle was parked at a residence on the 1800 block of Pekin. A $175 radar detector was taken from the car.

In one of the Lincoln Christian College parking lots, change was stolen from an automobile.

On the 200 block of Mayfield, several items totaling $75 were stolen from a car parked at the owner’s residence: a book binder, school books, homework, a calculator, a learner's permit and some change.

The next vehicle was parked inside a garage on the 900 block of N. McLean. The owner remembers locking the garage door. A portable CD player, which is worth about $100, was taken from the vehicle.

[to top of second column in this article]

The last theft was from a car parked at the owner’s residence. A $50 AM/FM CD player was stolen.

There are no suspects at this time, but due to the timing of the crimes it is believed that they may be connected. If you have any information about these thefts, please contact the Lincoln Police Department at 732-2151, or Crime Stoppers at 732-3000.

[Jean Ann Carnley]

[MARCH 19, 2001]  Professionals from the health care industry and community agencies set up booths Friday and Saturday at the Lincoln Park District for the 16th annual Community Health Fair. This year’s fair focused on innovations in safety, health and fitness.

The event was divided into two days. It was set up on Friday to engage children brought in on school field trips. Through presentations and numerous visual and participatory activities the children were presented healthy living lifestyle examples.

Saturday’s fair targeted the community at large. A steady crowd on Saturday funneled through the numerous and varied booths offering literature, demonstrations, performances and informative displays on all aspects of healthy living. Marsha Dowling from the Logan County Health Department said, "We were real pleased with it. It was very successful."

The health fair offered information on every aspect of healthy living. More than 60 organizations had displays or offered health screenings. The screenings included balance assessment, blood pressure, blood sugar/diabetes, body fat measurement, bone density, child developmental, cholesterol, grip strength, height and weight, hemoglobin testing, pulmonary function and vision screening. All except the hemoglobin test were free of charge. There was a steady line for these.

Guests at the fair had opportunity to learn new and innovative approaches to wellness. There were lots of demonstrations, including massage therapy and water filtration systems. Assisted Living Alternatives had a guide dog and his owner.

[to top of second column in this article]

Bruce Stacy, R.Ph., from Medicap was there with a number one herbal pharmaceutical company representative. Cathy Leet from PhytoPharmica was a wealth of information, saying that more health care professionals are now open to recommending the use of herbs. Their company uses stringent methods of processing and testing to produce reliable herbal products. It is because they use such high standards that their product is reliable in quality, quantity and purity and that they are FDA licensed. When you take one of their herbal supplements, "You are getting exactly what it says, not anything else, and at the strength it says on the bottle," Leet says.

These were just a few of the many knowledgeable people on hand this year to share information.

The Community Health Fair is co-sponsored by the Lincoln Park District and the Logan County Health Department.

[Jan Youngquist]

[MARCH 16, 2001]  Turris Coal Mine's petition to build an overland conveyor belt met with no opposition at a working session of the Logan County Board Thursday night.

Board members indicated by a vote of 13-0 that they would approve the plan at their regular meeting, which will be Tuesday, March 20.

Harold Jouett, zoning officer, told members no one showed up for public hearings March 13 in Elkhart.

Roger Dennison, representing Turris, told Planning and Zoning Committee members on March 7 that it would take approximately nine months for the mine to obtain the necessary permits from the state, and the conveyor would be up and running in four years at the earliest.

Dennison was also available Thursday night to answer any questions the board had about the project.

T.W. Werth, liaison to the Chamber of Commerce, told members that the chamber voted to stay neutral on the upcoming April 3 referendum seeking voters' opinions on whether the board, in the future, should be elected by the current at-large system or change to election by districts based upon population.

In other business, Mark Smith, economic development director, told the board he felt the property at the Logan County Airport was underutilized.

"We need to look at the property and determine its suitability for development into an industrial park," Smith said.

The airport, located on the northwest side of Lincoln, has been talked about in the last year as a possible site for a golf course. Nothing has materialized for further development of this idea.

[to top of second column in this article]

Paul Gleason, chairman of the Work Force Investment Committee, told the board that the Job Training Office on Lincoln Avenue would be moving, since the property has been sold.

Gleason said that current plans are to move the office to the Farm Bureau Building, but details still needed to be worked out.

"Ideally, we would like to eventually see the office at the Logan County Health Department so that we would have a one-stop location for individuals," Gleason said.

Recent restructuring of the Work Force Investment Program now allows people to apply for unemployment compensation at the Lincoln office rather than driving to Springfield to file their application.

The board also asked the Finance Committee to look into the structuring of the funds obtained by their November vote to increase the motel/hotel tax by 1 percent. The money is divided by the Tourism Council and Main Street to help fund the Looking For Lincoln project. The funds are to be given to the Tourism Council, and Main Street would then submit an itemized bill for reimbursement.

Some confusion exists about when the billing by Main Street should begin, since the tax revenue has not yet been received.

[Fuzz Werth]

[MARCH 16, 2001]  Four out of five car seats are used wrong. Could yours be one of them? In the U.S. during 1996, 1,813 fatalities were reported for children 14 and under in motor vehicle crashes. Of these deaths, 37 percent were children 4 and under. You are invited to get your child's car seat checked on March 17 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Logan County Health Department will have car safety seat inspections at the Lincoln Community High School in conjunction with the Community Health Fair. Call 735-2317 today to schedule your appointment. Jimmy John's Sub Shop is sponsoring this attraction.

[click here for more information about the health fair]

[MARCH 16, 2001]  A series of thefts in the early morning hours of Thursday, March 15, is under investigation. There are no suspects yet, but police believe that one person or group is responsible for all of the crimes.

The first vehicle, a pickup truck, parked at the owner’s residence in the 500 block of Tremont, was entered through the rear sliding door. It is estimated that $400 worth of property was stolen: a radio, duffle bag, four clothing items, prescription sunglasses, two flashlights and a disposable camera.

The second vehicle had an AM/FM CD player stolen. To gain entry, the suspects forced entry to the side door of the ’93 Jeep, which was parked in front of the owner’s residence in the 300 block of Tremont. The radio is worth about $100.

[to top of second column in this article]

Two cars were broken into in a residential parking lot on the 100 block of S. Logan St. One vehicle, a truck, had a CD player removed; the suspects removed the dash cover to take the $200 unit.

The other vehicle, a van, had a radar detector removed. The detector is worth about $100.

If you have any information about these crimes, please contact the Lincoln Police Department at 732-2151 or Crime Stoppers at 732-3000.

[MARCH 16, 2001]  The Lincoln Public Library District announces that it has reached an agreement with Landmark Audiobooks of Boulder, Colo., to expand the library’s collection of books on tape.

The library will lease 248 audiobooks per year over a five-year period and make them available for checkout. Library Director Richard Sumrall anticipates that the program will initially begin with 124 new audiobooks delivered to the library every six months. After each six-month period the old audiobooks will be returned to Landmark and 124 new titles will be selected and offered.

For more information on this service, visit the library at 725 Pekin St. or call (217) 732-8878.

[Lincoln Public Library District news release]

Back to top

News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching & Learning | Home and Family | Obituaries

Community | Perspectives | Law & Courts | Leisure Time | Spiritual Life | Health & Fitness | Letters to the Editor