Still Waters,  the em space,  Where They Stand,  By the Numbers,

How We Stack Up,  What’s Up With That?

Water company, Illinois American,
tells city to butt out

By Mike Fak

[OCT. 4, 2001]  A few years back I wrote an article suggesting the city of Lincoln exercise the right of eminent domain and purchase the water company. Critics scoffed that I didn’t know what I was talking about and that there was no such opportunity for the city to regain control of this local utility.

Just about three months later the city of Peoria began proceedings to do just that, and I didn’t hear from anyone who thought I was crazy from that day on.

Now, a few years later, Lincolnites find themselves again in the midst of a sale of the water company to another mega-corporation. This time the potential purchaser has its base in Germany.

I am not an isolationist, but somehow mailing our checks to German businessmen just doesn’t seem right to me. In a country that continues to dissolve national ownership of skyscrapers and major corporations into holdings of foreign entities, can we not say no at least to local utilities being owned by foreign interests?

Personally, I like the idea of being able to catch the owner of a utility on the street corner and give that person either the praise or criticism I believe the company’s business practices deserve. Personally, I like the idea of the owner of a water company sitting next to me at a community function and seeing that person become involved in the community. Again, personally I like the idea of seeing the utility owner stand in front of the community and explain why a new higher rate for water is justified.

 

None of this will happen once a German corporation takes over our utility. We will be lucky if ever the day comes where anyone in the corporation’s hierarchy even visits this town.

Recall what happened a decade ago when Lehn and Fink was bought out by a British corporation. In a moment the factory was closed, jobs lost and buildings turned over to pigeons, based on decisions made by a board of directors 4,000 miles away. I am quite certain the new owners won’t just shut down and leave, but I have to ask what incentive is there for them to provide better service, improve infrastructure and maintain equitable rates for usage to a small town of strangers on the other side of the world. I don’t see any; maybe you do.

 

[to top of second column in this commentary]

Bill Bates, the city attorney, is an intelligent, meticulous man. His statement that the franchise agreement bears a right of first refusal clause allowing the city to step in on the purchase price is good enough for me. The question then needs to be asked if we as a city should take back our own utility. Yes, I know the skeptic in you asks how the city could afford, let alone run, a water company with all the other financial drains, such as a massive sewer project, already being argued before the council. I will answer those valid questions with a few of my own.

Regardless of the asking price, does not the fact that a foreign investor finds the possible return on investment lucrative enough to purchase something half a world away tell you that the business deal is a good investment? Why should we let a foreign corporation make that profit instead of the city of Lincoln? Why should we see a further erosion of state and federal corporate taxes as money goes to the governments of other countries instead of the United States?

I do have one other question. Where does our present water company owner, Illinois American, come off with the nerve to tell us to butt out of their affairs? The rights of the people of this city to become concerned and involved, if we wish, in the continued selling and escalation of the price of our utility is our right. Look it up if you want. The information is in the city, state and federal codes between the topics on democracy and self-rule.

[Mike Fak]

Reply to Fak (not for publication):

mikefak@msn.com

Response to Fak’s commentary:

ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com 

Old Glory

Submitted by retired Petty Officer Jim Cava, United States Navy

THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER

 

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You are the symbol of:

The land of the free and the home of the brave

The Greatest Nation in the World

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

 

You are the symbol of:

The fundamental and undeniable principles for which America stands:

HONOR - To be Good LIBERTY - To be Free

EQUALITY - To be One JUSTICE - To be Fair HUMANITY - To be Kind

 

You are the symbol of:

Our Declaration of Independence

To which we hold these truths to be self-evident

That all people are created equal

That all people are made one and the same

With a Heart and a Soul! - A Body and a Mind!

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That among these rights are:

LIFE - The right for us to Live

LIBERTY - The right for us to be Free

And the pursuit of HAPPINESS - The right for us to be Happy

 

You are the symbol of:

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The basic instrument of our government

And the supreme law of our land

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You are the symbol of:

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THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER

[Retired Petty Officer Jim Cava,
United States Navy]

Love and pride in our nation
found together

By Mike Fak

[SEPT. 17, 2001]  When a person becomes 53 years old, it is common to believe you have seen it all and felt it all. I was like that. I was like that until 9-14-01. You may think I have just written the wrong date on this article, but I haven’t. Last Friday afternoon, my wife, Sharon, and I were two of the more than 1,000 — heck, it may have been 1,500 — Lincoln and Logan County residents who met on the Broadway Street side of the county courthouse to honor the fallen Americans in New York and Washington, D.C.

I have been to other memorial services on those grounds before, but I have never met nor felt the tide of emotion I witnessed and became a part of on this afternoon. It started when over 200 veterans, policemen, firemen and emergency services technicians marched from City Hall to the steps of the courthouse. Slowly an applause for all these men and women began and then grew until everyone joined in a continuous response of appreciation to our own local heroes, who far too often are forgotten or ignored.

 

As they walked by, you could see them all stand a little straighter, walk a little brisker. Many of them had tears welling in their eyes, but it wasn’t a cause for shame, since most of those applauding had tears in their eyes as well. Perhaps these special people were emotional because they were thinking of their fallen comrades. Maybe they were just like all of us, and the events of the past few days again had jumped up and grabbed them. Maybe, just maybe, they were emotional because they understood that what they have done, what they do and will do, was being honored by so many of their friends and neighbors.

 

 

[to top of second column in this commentary]

The afternoon was a continuation of a national healing process — a process that has been duplicated in thousands of cities with millions of Americans in the last few days.

 In the last few days I have found myself crying at the strangest of moments — just driving down Kickapoo, or watching the kids leave the high school, or now while I am trying to type out my emotions into words. Seeing so many others with pride in their hearts and mist in their eyes made me feel better. It made me realize I have never been alone in my love and my pride and my beliefs in not only my nation but my fellow Americans.

 A terrible thing has happened in America. It isn’t something that happened to New Yorkers or Washingtonians. It is something that has happened to all of us. It is something that will be with us, our children and our grandchildren as long as there is a country called America.

Friday afternoon Logan County was not a group of Republicans or Democrats. We didn’t define ourselves with words like Asian, Afro, German or Italian in front of the word American. Instead we were as we always should have been. We were all Americans.

I have never been prouder of being a member of this community than I was Friday afternoon. I have never been prouder of this country and the people who make it what is than I am right now. Many of you tell me you feel the same way. Isn’t it sad that it took this horrendous tragedy for all of us to understand what it is to be a part of this great country.

[Mike Fak]

Reply to Fak (not for publication):

mikefak@msn.com

Response to Fak’s commentary:

ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com 

This is the em space, a staff writer’s section with observations about life experiences in Logan County and elsewhere. Enjoy your visit.

— Mary Krallmann

Time to recycle a few leaves

In a corner of the bedroom are some old leaves. I’ve counted eight and a few fragments. They didn’t blow in. I brought them inside on purpose. Last fall they were a handful of color. I arranged them like a bouquet, with the biggest leaf in back. After admiring the bunch for a while, I didn’t know exactly what to do with it, but I didn’t want to just throw away my selections from the season’s bounty. They spent the winter and the spring and the summer in a stack on the floor, with the plate-sized leaf on the bottom. Out of the way next to an outside wall, they stayed relatively intact during their year indoors.

Recent moves of things around them broke a few leaf sections, and then I noticed how drab they looked overall. One is a faded green, two show signs of red, and one must have been yellow, but in general they’re not too exciting anymore. The two purple leaves decorating a spot in another room have more color remaining, but I’m about ready to part with the brown bunch.

It’s an encouraging development. Accumulating is easy, whether it’s leaves, ordinary household items, daily activities or concerns that clutter our minds. Soon there are too many leftovers taking up space. Some need to go.

It’s easier to recycle eight old leaves than many of the other things I’ve piled up. One of these days I’ll return the old leaves to their natural place out in the big world. First I’ll wait for more new ones to come down so there’s plenty of company for my discards.

I wonder what the new leaves will think of the old ones or if they’ll notice the difference. "What are you doing here?" they might say. "Where did you come from? There’s no tree here of your kind. Besides, you’re out of date. You’re not from our season. You smell like a house. You’re dried up and brittle."

But I think the fresh leaves and the older ones will get along. When the time comes for the impromptu mixer outside, they’ll rustle around, bump into each other and start mingling. It won’t take long. They’ll crunch up, get wet and disintegrate together, like so many others from years past.

Another little stack I’ve put together takes up less space than last year’s leaves. There’s little variation in size or color. They were parts of trees once, and now they’re dry bits of paper with words. It wouldn’t damage them if they were stepped on, but I keep a few on a desktop instead of on the floor. Among the quotations is this: "One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach." That’s also true of leaves on the ground, though I’ve been told of people who scoop them up in larger quantities to bring a sense of the outdoors inside.

I don’t go that far, but I do have a start on the next samples to admire for a while. There’s just a single leaf so far, but the three sections are almost like three leaves in one. I brought it home after it looked up at me from a sidewalk the other day. The middle part appears bruised and mostly brown, but to the right, only the pointed tip is dark. Below that there’s vibrant green bordering a red-orange inner section. To the left, the same colors are more muted, as if they bled into each other.

The season is still young, and for now I’m content with one new leaf — a new old leaf — until I see the next one.

[Mary Krallmann]
 

Where They Stand

Where They Stand is a commentary section that poses a question about a specific issue in the community. Informed individuals present their position with facts, opinions or insights on the issue. The following commentaries have been printed, unedited, in their entirety, as they were received. If you have further comment on the issue, please send an e-mail message, complete with your name, address and telephone number to ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com.
 

By the Numbers

Population estimates in Logan County
30,798 Total population, 1990
15,380 Rural population - 49.9%, 1990
15,418 Urban population - 50.1%, 1990
2,875 Projected births, 1990-1998
2,736 Projected deaths, 1990-1998
3,143 Persons below poverty level - 11.8 %
258 Average marriages per year
135 Average deaths per year

Alexis Asher

Logan County high schools: 1960-2000
1962 Middletown High School consolidated with New Holland
1972 Atlanta High School became part of Olympia School District
1975 Elkhart High School consolidated with Mount Pulaski
1979 Latham High School became Warrensburg-Latham
1988 New Holland-Middletown High School consolidated with Lincoln Community High School
1989 San Jose High School consolidated with Illini Central (Mason City)

Alexis Asher

Lincoln High School history

1859

Lincoln School District

5

School buildings in 1859

1

"Grammar school" in 1859

1

High school teacher, Mr. January, in 1859

1870-71

Central School opened

1898

High school building started

1900

High school dedicated, Jan. 5

$20,000

Cost of new high school

1920

Election authorized community high school District #404

1958

Dedication of new Lincoln Community High School, 1000 Primm Road, in auditorium, on Nov. 9

Alexis Asher

How We Stack Up


This feature of the Lincoln Daily News compares Lincoln and Logan County to similar cities and counties on a variety of issues in a succinct manner, using charts and graphs for illustration.

Racial makeup of selected Illinois counties

 

What’s Up With That?

 

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