[JAN. 18, 2002]  It was with great pleasure that Oasis director Dominic Dalpoas unveiled the newly developed "Reflections" mural at the annual meeting of the Senior Citizens of Logan County, Inc. The mural, mounted on the south wall of the activity and dining area at the Oasis Senior Center, was dedicated last evening, Thursday, Jan. 17.

The new mural is a means to recognize individuals and organizations that have contributed financially to the senior citizens organization. Contributors are honored with a nameplate on the mural so that the Oasis membership and others can reflect on the contributions, which make a difference in the lives of the seniors of today and those who will follow.

[Photo by Bob Frank]

The colored plaques mounted on the mural display the name of the individual or organization and the year the contribution was received. A coding key mounted next to the mural indicates the five levels of contributors honored: $500-$999.99, black; $1,000-$4,999.99, green; $5,000-$9,999.99, blue; $10,000-$24,999.99, red; $25,000 and above, brass.

The mural represents financial contributions since Jan. 1, 2000.

The meeting also reviewed the accomplishments of the center in 2001, set goals for the 2002 calendar year and selected this year’s board of directors and officers.

[to top of second column in this article]

Board members re-elected for a second three-year term were Harold Boyer, Betty Burger, Alice Davis, Darlene Freeman, John Hart, Bob Shanle and LaVeta Zurkammer.

Nominees Rich Bumba and Marcia Howen were selected to replace Weldon B. Frantz and Phyllis Koehler on the board. Koehler was not eligible for re-election, as she had completed her second term at the end of December.

Officers elected were David LaForge, president; LaVeta Zurkhammer, vice president; Alice Davis, secretary; and Barbara Raycraft, treasurer.

[Photo by Bob Frank]

Plaques were given to the exiting board members, Weldon Frantz and Phyllis Koehler, and to Dean Baker for his service as president from 1998 to 2001.

Entertainment and refreshments followed the business meeting.

[News release]

[JAN. 18, 2002]  State Rep. Gwenn Klingler, R-Springfield, spent Thursday morning at Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital, getting to know the health care issues in what she hopes will be part of her new district after the next general election. She also let board members, employees and other community leaders know where she stands on a number of issues that concern Logan County residents.

Klingler, who represents the 100^th District, will run against Rich Brauer in the March primary. The recent redistricting has changed the map so that about 60 percent of Klingler’s current district in southern Sangamon County will be in the new 100^th District, along with the southwest quarter of Logan County, including Lincoln. The new 100^th District includes two-thirds of Logan County voters — about 19,000 people

Although no Democratic candidate has yet announced, if she wins the primary she expects to have opposition in the general election in November.

Addressing a subject of immediate interest to many in Logan County, Klingler said she favors keeping Lincoln Developmental Center open and is talking with other elected officials about support for the 100-year-old institution. She has also written to Gov. George Ryan to let him know where she stands on the issue. "The governor knows my feelings," she said.

"I think it is important to have options for people with disabilities. It is important to keep institutionalized care. Group homes may work for some, but I don’t think one solution fits everybody."

She also addressed the recent budget cuts that affect health care institutions statewide, in particular the $125 million cut in Medicaid payments. Hospitals now receive only 75 percent reimbursement for the cost of treatment for Medicaid patients and will lose even more funds because state Medicaid payments are matched dollar-for-dollar by the federal government.

"If we are going to make cuts, they should be throughout the entire spectrum of government, not just human services," she said. "I felt the cuts were aimed at human services and social services for people in need, and especially for health care."

The governor’s decision to restore $24 million to hospitals and substitute a 2 percent reduction in reimbursement to health care providers isn’t a solution, she said. "It doesn’t help the system to cut doctors 2 percent and give the money back to the hospitals."

Woody Hester, CEO at ALMH, said the governor’s first cuts in Medicaid reimbursement took $172,000 out of the $600,000 operating margin at the hospital. The $24 million will restore only $12,000, so that ALMH’s final cut will be $160,000. He said the hospital "might have to discontinue some programs," although there has not yet been time to determine exactly what those might be.

The solution, Klingler said, is that "budget cuts have to be spread everywhere. We in the legislature have to look at all areas." The present cuts affect only areas over which the governor has control and do not affect expenses of the judiciary or the legislature. She said the legislature has a duty to make some of the cuts and not leave it all up to the governor, and she expects the next session at the Statehouse to be "pretty contentious."

[Klingler put on scrubs to visit ALMH’s surgical center. Here surgical nurse manager Debi Morrow shows her the video machine in the endoscopy department.
All photos by Joan Crabb.]

[Klingler talks to Woody Hester, CEO at ALMH,
after a tour of the new maternity wing.]

[Dayle Eldredge, head of Healthy Communities Partnership, gives Klingler a tour of the rural health van.]

[to top of second column in this article]

Regarding the possibility of massive layoffs announced this week by the governor’s office, Klingler said she hoped that might just be a "scare tactic." Instead of layoffs, she is pushing an early retirement bill to encourage those near retirement — anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000 employees — to leave. "This removes from the payroll those with the highest incomes, while job cuts remove mostly those with the lowest incomes," she said.

She also said this is not the time for the legislature to consider new programs, because there are already too many unfunded mandates in place. "We can’t have ‘feel-good programs’ and not fund them," she said.

Klingler was first elected to the House in 1994, and this year is seeking her fifth term. She has a special interest in health care and has been on the health care committee for eight years. Her husband and two children are physicians.

Another issue of interest to Klingler is education, and she said she worked hard to get the former Sangamon State University to become the University of Illinois at Springfield and to establish a four-year program there.

She said she would also like to see the school construction grant program continued. This program provides funds to school districts that need new buildings and is presently one of the funding sources for the construction of District 27’s new Central and junior high schools.

Klingler is an attorney and has worked for the attorney general’s office and as a state’s attorney appellate prosecutor. She also served on a Springfield school board and on the Springfield City Council.

She has been visiting communities in what will be the new 100^th District to get to know their concerns. "I’ve been to four village board meetings in eight days," she said.

At ALHM, she donned green scrubs and visited the new surgical facility. She also toured the new maternity ward and other areas of the hospital, then went outside and climbed aboard the rural health van. The van makes weekly visits to Logan County communities to provide on-site health care.

"It’s delightful to see a state representative who takes her responsibilities so seriously that she wants to learn as much as she’s learning here," Hester said during the tour.

Hester introduced her as a state representative with a good track record in the General Assembly on health care issues. "I do have a lot of respect for a representative who has earned the respect of her peers and who influences the votes of others in the House without selling her soul," he added.

He said in the past Lincoln was very fortunate in having both a state representative, John Turner, and a state senator, Robert Madigan. "We could see them in the barber shop."

"There’s a lot of anger about the redistricting," Klingler replied. "If I’m re-elected, I’ll be up here a lot. I didn’t draw the map, but I’ll try to do my best."

Today’s history

Compiled by Dave Francis

Friday, Jan. 18

The 18th day of the year

"Whatever makes men good Christians makes them good citizens." — Daniel Webster

"Walk wide o’ the Widow at Windsor,

For ’alf o’ Creation she owns:

We ’ave bought ’er the same with the sword an’ the flame,

An’ we’ve salted it down with our bones." — Rudyard Kipling

1779 — Peter Roget, of thesaurus fame and inventor of slide rule and pocket chessboard

1782 — Daniel Webster, Salisbury, N.H., orator, politician, lawyer

1854 — Thomas A. Watson, needed by Bell, inventor’s assistant (telephone)
1856 — Daniel Nathan Hale Williams, surgeon (first open heart operation)

1882 — Alan Alexander Milne, English author ("Winnie the Pooh")

1892 — Oliver Hardy, Harlem, Ga., comedy team member (Laurel and Hardy)
1904 — Cary Grant, England, actor ("Arsenic and Old Lace," "North by Northwest")

1933 — Ray Dolby, sound expert and inventor (Dolby noise limiting system)

1478 — Grand Duke Ivan II of Moscow occupies Novgorod

1486 — King Henry VII of England marries Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV

1535 — Francisco Pizarro founds Lima, Peru

1644 — First UFO sighting in America, by perplexed pilgrims in Boston

1671 — Pirate Henry Morgan defeats Spanish defenders, captures Panama

1730 — Peter II, czar of Russia (1727-30), dies at 14

1778 — Capt. James Cook stumbles over Sandwich Islands (Hawaiian Islands)

1854 — Filibuster William Walker proclaims Republic of Sonora in northwest Mexico

1862 — John Tyler, 10th U.S. president (1841-45), dies in Richmond, Va., at 71

1911 — First shipboard landing of a plane (Tanforan Park on USS Pennsylvania)

1919 — World War I Peace Congress opens in Versailles, France

1936 — Rudyard Kipling, author ("Gunga Din," Nobel 1907), dies at 70

1943 — Jews in Warsaw Ghetto begin resistance of Nazis

1943 — Pre-sliced bread sale banned to reduce bakery demand for metal parts

1943 — Soviets announce they broke long Nazi siege of Leningrad

1973 — John Cleese’s final episode on "Monty Python’s Flying Circus," on BBC

1996 — Minnesota Fats [Rudolf Wanderone Jr.], billiard hustler, dies at 82

[JAN. 17, 2002]  The first phase of construction of the new Central School is complete, and the project remains on schedule. Work performed in the first phase included dismantling and moving the playground equipment, demolition of the tennis courts, and removal of the old fence and installation of a construction fence.

Construction of the storm sewer is under way, and the sewer for the new school has been connected to the sewer of the existing building. Large earth-moving equipment has been leveling and grading the land, and the new building has been staked out and marked by surveyors.

The new building will fill most of the area behind the existing building and will come within feet of existing structures on the property.

Already there have been many changes and considerable activity, all in keeping with the district’s construction schedule.

Phase II of construction begins

Phase II of construction began Monday, Jan. 7, with the arrival of pier drilling machines on the site. The machines are drilling cement piers into the ground to make the base for the beams that will become the foundation of the new building. The cement piers will be drilled deeply to rest on firm earth because the new building is being erected on the site of the original 1867 Central School. That building was demolished and buried after construction of the present Central School was complete. The type of foundation chosen will provide a very stable support for the new building.

We’re in the money!

The Capital Development Board has issued District 27 the first of many checks to fund the construction of two new schools. The district has met all the criteria established by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency to qualify for funding. Most recently, the district completed a project to develop an architecture curriculum to assist teachers in instructing students about various new and old architectural styles. A compact disc containing the curriculum and photographs of many architectural styles was delivered to the IHPA in mid-December.

[to top of second column in this article]

New building — new spaces — new versatility

The new Central School building will have an exciting new multi-functional space called a cafetorium. This room will be the eating area for students — the cafeteria — and will also serve as a fully functional auditorium, complete with stage — thus, the name cafetorium.

Students will eat lunch at round tables instead of the long institutional-type tables long associated with school lunches. The tables can be moved to a nearby storage area and chairs arranged in rows when the cafetorium is needed for performances and assemblies.

The floor of the cafetorium will be graduated in the "stadium seating" style for optimal viewing of the stage when in use for performances. A set of steps running across the front of the stage will serve as risers for choral performances.

The stage is strategically located between the cafetorium and the gymnasium. To accommodate larger audiences, the stage can also be opened and used on the gymnasium side — still fully functional, of course.

The Central faculty is very excited about the many ways that this innovative and versatile area can be used.

[District 27 Lincoln Elementary Schools]

[JAN. 17, 2002]  Jan Schumacher, vice-president of Main Street Lincoln, said that organization is looking for a new director after the resignation of Wendy Bell. Bell left to work with the state of Illinois Main Street program.

Schumacher said Main Street Lincoln has already received several resumes and hopes to have a new director by March or at the latest, April. She said the new director would be required to live in Lincoln.

She asked if the city would help pay for a part-time office worker until a new director is hired, as well as help with other expenses. Bates said the city will want to see some actual figures for these expenses at the next meeting, Jan. 22. The city has paid $15,000 toward the salary of the Main Street Lincoln director.

Alderman Pat Madigan reported that an inspection of the floor of the firehouse where two trucks are parked shows "some design deficiencies but nothing to the point where we have to worry about tracks falling through the floor." There is a basement under Bays 1 and 2 in the firehouse.

[to top of second column in this article]

Madigan said engineers recommended regular inspections to check on the floor for any unusual stress. Fire Chief Bucky Washam said the department’s new truck, which weighs 43,000 pounds — 5,000 pounds more than the old trucks — will not be parked in Bays 1 or 2, even though a big hose nozzle cannot be installed on the top of the truck when it is parked in Bays 3 or 4, because the door are not high enough. He said the hose will have to be stored in a compartment in the truck.

The police committee recommended the purchase of a new squad car, which will cost about $23,000. There is only $15,973 in the budget for a new vehicle, Alderman Verl Prather said, but the extra $7,000 could come from the appropriations item in the budget. The committee recommended keeping an old squad car instead of trading it in for about $3,000. This car can be used as a backup and also can be driven home by various officers and parked in neighborhoods as a deterrent to crime. The item was put on the agenda for the next meeting.

[Joan Crabb]

[JAN. 17, 2002]  Citizens of Lincoln may have seen a fancy new truck streaking through town in the past few weeks. The Fire Department has recently obtained a brand new firetruck, which, according to Chief Bucky Washam, has many more "bells and whistles" than the older ones.

This truck can hold up to 500 gallons of water and can pump 1,500 gallons per minute. It also has deep compartments that hold emergency rescue equipment and medical supplies.

All of this extra storage causes the truck to be much heavier than the standard trucks in Lincoln. This has caused a problem at the department because they cannot house it in Bay 1, which would allow the loading of more equipment than any other. There are questions as to Bay 1’s floor strength. Because of this, the truck must currently make its home in Bay 4.

[Gina Sennett]

Today’s history

Compiled by Dave Francis

Thursday, Jan. 17

The 17th day of the year

"We must — indeed all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately." Benjamin Franklin

"This American system of ours ... call it Americanism, call it capitalism, call it what you like, gives to each and every one of us a great opportunity if we only seize it with both hands and make the most of it." — Al Capone

1706 — Benjamin Franklin, Boston, kite flyer, statesman, wit, inventor

1732 — Stanislaw II August Poniatowski, last king of Poland (1764-95)
1820 — Anne Bronte, English novelist and poet ("The Tenant of Wildfell Hall")

1880 — Mack Sennett, movie creator ("Keystone Kops")

1899 — Al Capone, Italy, gangster (Chicago bootlegging)

1925 — Rock Hudson, Winnetka, Ill., actor ("McMillan and Wife")

1931 — James Earl Jones, Miss., actor ("Darth Vader," "Exorcist II," "Soul Man")

1931 — L. Douglas Wilder, governor, D-Va.

1933 — Aga Khan, religious leader (Muslims)

1942 — Muhammad Ali [Cassius Clay], heavyweight champ boxer

1962 — Jim Carrey, Ontario, Canada, actor ("In Living Color," "Dumb and Dumber," "The Mask")

1229 — Albert, bishop of Riga and founder of Sword Knights, dies at about 68

1562 — Edict of St. Germain recognizes Huguenots in France

1773 — Capt. James Cook becomes first to cross Antarctic Circle

1775 — Nine old women burnt as witches for causing bad harvests, Kalisk, Poland

1821 — Mexico permits Austin and 300 U.S. families to settle in Texas

1893 — Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th U.S. president (1877-81), dies in Fremont, Ohio, at 70

1977 — Gary Gilmore executed in Utah; first U.S. execution since 1967

1991 — Operation Desert Storm begins; United States leads allies vs. Iraq

1995 — Los Angeles Rams announce that they are moving to St. Louis

[JAN. 16, 2002]  Illinois drivers who cheat and use handicapped-parking spaces illegally will now have a harder time avoiding getting caught, the Lincoln City Council learned at its committee of the whole meeting Tuesday evening.

William A. Bogdan, disability liaison with the department of senior and community services of the Illinois secretary of state’s office, explained the new legislation that went into effect on Jan. 1 of this year. Key to cutting down abuse of the program are new parking placards that will be harder for unauthorized drivers to use and easier for police to spot.

Bogdan showed a brief video of a recent "sting" operation in Chicago, set up to find out how prevalent cheating was. The seven stings caught 150 people, most of whom kept handicapped parking spaces tied up all day, he said. Four of those caught were using placards they had made themselves. Bogdan also said placards have been for sale on e-Bay for anywhere from $2 to $30.

To stop this abuse, permanent placards are redesigned with a punch card expiration date corresponding to the holder’s birth month, and the holder will also be identified by gender. This will make it easier for police to check whether the driver is actually the authorized cardholder, Bogdan said. Officers can see if the birth month on the placard corresponds with the birth month on the driver’s license.

Also police can now seize a placard being used illegally as well as write a $100 ticket. This will make it more difficult for "a teen using grandma’s placard," Bogdan added. If the placard is seized, the authorized cardholder will have to go to court to get it back.

Temporary placards will also be identified by gender and show the card’s expiration date. There is also a new category, organization placards, that will be issued to groups that transport those with disabilities. A hologram image of the wheelchair symbol appears on these placards, making it more difficult to copy.

Bogdan addressed the question of proper display of the placard, an issue that has caused some controversy in Lincoln. Last year there were a series of complaints that tickets were issued to vehicles that had handicapped placards. Owners of some of the vehicles said they did have placards displayed, but the volunteers doing the ticketing said the placards were not visible. The city has authorized several handicapped volunteers to issue tickets.

[to top of second column in this article]

Bogdan told the council that if the card is not hanging where police can see it, it is not properly displayed.

"It’s the job of the person with a disability to see that the placard is properly displayed," he said. If the card is hanging from the rearview mirror, its view should not be obstructed by baby shoes or other decorations. "It needs to be in clear view," he added.

He said police officers have the discretion whether to write a ticket or not when there is doubt about the proper display of a placard.

Police Chief Rich Montcalm said from eight to 10 tickets are given each month for handicapped parking violations, half of them first offenses. He said the present city policy is for first offenses to be dismissed. Second offenses go before a committee of three, City Attorney Bill Bates, Mayor Beth Davis and Montcalm, and are decided on a case-by-case basis.

Bogdan also said that as of Jan. 1 it is illegal to park in an access isle, the striped space next to a handicapped parking space, even if the driver has a handicapped placard and cannot find another parking space. The access isle must be left clear to allow those in wheelchairs to enter and leave a vehicle.

He said there are now about 700,000 drivers with handicapped license plates or placards in Illinois. He is traveling throughout the state to educate the public on the new parking legislation, House Bill 846. He said a manual will be sent to police departments explaining the new program.

Pete Fredericks, owner of Pete’s Hardware, asked why he has to designate a handicapped parking area for his store, which has only a few parking spots. "Why can’t mine go out on the street?" he said. "A person who owns property should have some input."

Mayor Davis said that people with disabilities "only want a level playing field." City Attorney Bates said Fredericks was questioning a state law, not one the city passed. Later Davis said later the city would try to work with Fredericks on the handicapped parking issue.

[Joan Crabb]

[JAN. 16, 2002]  By the thinnest of margins the Logan County Board voted Tuesday night to rezone three acres near Chester from agricultural to country homes use. In another matter that had previously been disputed, board members were unanimous in extending the employment of Animal Control Warden Sheila Farmer for 11 months.ext

On the zoning matter a narrow 7-6 majority voted to allow Alan Roos to carve three one-acre home sites from his 120-acre farm in Aetna Township. Zoning officer Bud Miller said the petition meets all zoning requirements, and State’s Attorney Tim Huyett said the project does not fall under the subdivision act since it does not involve building a street or sewer. Board member Dale Voyles called the petition "a very clear-cut opportunity for limited growth in the county." Both the Regional Planning Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals had previously approved the project.

County board member Rod White said he voted against the petition because he objects in general to "spot zoning." The zoning ordinance does not require country home plots to have services such as water, electricity or sewer and therefore "may open up the county to situations detrimental to buyer and seller," White warned. He said there are areas in the county where a well will not hit water. A lot buyer might sue after discovering that the ground was not suitable for building a home, thus causing trouble for the seller also. White also objected to rezoning a plot before there is a prospective home-builder.

Board member Gloria Luster said that Roos’ property avoids many of the potential pitfalls in the zoning ordinance. The land is located very close to Chestnut and has city water and natural gas as well as a buried phone line. A power line runs on the other side of the road.

The vote to rezone the three acres passed 7-6, with Roger Bock, Paul Gleason, Lloyd Hellman, Dave Hepler, Dick Logan and White voting against.

A committee to review the zoning ordinance is already being formed by Regional Planning Commissioner Phil Mahler. Its members so far include himself, Miller, County Engineer Tom Hickman, Director of Economic Development Mark Smith, county board members Hepler and Terry Werth, Health Department Director of Environmental Health Kathy Waldo, Lincoln City Safety Inspector Les Last, Atlanta Mayor Bill Martin, farmer Kent Paulus, Jim Drew of the Logan County Farm Bureau and Delmar Veech, a 30-year member of the planning commission. Mahler said he intends to add a township road commissioner and that any county resident interested in joining the committee can call him at 732-8835 or 737-9765.

Mahler said review of the zoning ordinance may take a year. "I want orderly growth and a growth that makes sense," he added. The final decision on any changes will be made by the county board.

The board reappointed Dean Toohey of Mount Pulaski to the Zoning Board of Appeals. Doug Dutz cast the only dissenting vote.

[to top of second column in this article]

Regarding the animal control warden, all members of the board voted to hire Sheila Farmer for the remainder of the fiscal year. Jim Griffin, a member of the Animal Control Committee, said he changed his earlier vote on Farmer’s employment because the committee is addressing problems and complaints. As one example, committee chairman Cliff "Sonny" Sullivan said phone calls are now being forwarded to the warden’s cell phone, so a human being now answers the telephone.

The county board also voted unanimously in favor of funding two bridge projects:

• $40,000 to correct a scour problem on the Kickapoo Creek bridge on the Waynesville blacktop. County Engineer Tom Hickman explained that the strength of the bridge is based on the piling’s being in contact with dirt, and there is a 3- or 4-foot section of exposed piling. Heavy rock will be laid to stop the wash and divert the channel away from the piling. Additional funding for the project will come from the federal government and state motor fuel taxes.

• $18,400 as the county’s share of bridge construction in Sheridan Township. A double box culvert will be replaced with a pre-cast, pre-stressed concrete deck beam bridge. Funding for the project is shared, with the state picking up 80 percent, the county 10 percent and the township 10 percent.

In other business Finance Committee chair Rod White said a 50 percent advance on tax funds is being given to the three agencies that receive money from the senior citizens tax — The Oasis, CIEDC and Rural Health Partnership. Last year the board gave a 100 percent advance, and it plans not to give any next year. The advance, including about $300 in interest which the agencies will not return, is paid from the county general fund.

The board approved resolutions honoring three people who have benefited the county:

• Wendy Bell, for her creative service as program manager of Main Street Lincoln.

• Charles M. Ott, for 30 years of acting as an ambassador to the public through his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln.

• Roger Dennison and Turris Coal Co., for their "vital role in bringing large-scale industry to Logan County." Dennison is president of Turris Coal, which has been a major employer in the county for 20 years.

Today’s history

Compiled by Dave Francis

Wednesday, Jan. 16

The 16th day of the year

Quotes

"Our culture is ill-equipped to assert the bourgeois values which would be the salvation of the underclass, because we have lost those values ourselves." — Norman Podhoretz

"History ... is, indeed, little more than the register of the crimes, follies and misfortunes of mankind." — Edward Gibbon

1697 — Richard Savage, poet

1878 — Harry Carey Sr., Bronx, N.Y., actor ("Aces Wild," "Border Cafe," "Air Force")

1890 — Lloyd Bacon, San Jose, Calif., actor (Charlie Chaplin)

1901 — Fulgencio Batista, president and dictator of Cuba (1933-44, 1952-59)

1911 — Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean, Hall of Fall baseball pitcher (St. Louis Cardinals)

1930 — Norman Podhoretz, Brooklyn, N.Y., author and editor (N.Y. Post)

1933 — Susan Sonntag, writer

1935 — A.J. Foyt, Houston, auto race driver (Indy 500 winner in 1961, ’64, ’67, ’77)

Events

1493 — Columbus returns to Spain on his first trip

1547 — Ivan IV the Terrible (17) crowns himself first tsar of Moscow

1794 — Edward Gibbon, historian ("The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"), dies in London at 56

1914 — Writer Maksim Gorki returns to Russia

1919 — Prohibition ratified by three-fourths of states; Nebraska is 36th

1925 — Leon Trotsky dismissed as CEO of Russian Revolution Military Council

1968 — Robert R "Bob" Jones, founder of Bob Jones University, dies at 84

1970 — Curt Flood files a civil lawsuit challenging baseball’s reserve clause

1973 — NBC presents 440th and final showing of "Bonanza"

1979 — Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi of Iran flees Iran for Egypt

1981 — Boxer Leon Spinks is mugged; his assailants even take his gold teeth

[JAN. 15, 2002]  SPRINGFIELD — Rep. Gwenn Klingler, R-District 100, said Monday that she voted no on a bill authorizing Gov. Ryan across-the-board cuts of up to 5 percent because the bill included built-in cuts that were made with an ax rather than a scalpel.

"There’s absolutely no question in anyone’s mind that the budget must be cut," Klingler said. "The budget shortfall ranges anywhere from $100 million to $250 million greater than previous estimates. But the cuts should be made with a scalpel instead of an ax. It is our duty as legislators to go over the budget, line-item by line-item — not leave all the decision-making up to the governor."

Klingler objects to cuts in education and fears that our most vulnerable citizens and our children will bear the brunt of the cuts.

"The residents of nursing homes are an example," Klingler said. "Hearings last summer and fall showed clearly that nursing homes, especially those in rural areas, are literally on the brink of failure because the state isn’t doing what it should to help them. Further budget cuts will certainly push these nursing homes over the edge, and some will have to close. That will move nursing home residents far away from the loved ones in search of a new nursing home."

Klingler said some areas of the state’s budget, such as education, should be off-limits for cuts, but the state’s elementary and secondary schools are also being hit because funds for special education and other mandated special programs are being cut, and the money for them must come from their regular budget.

[to top of second column in this article]

"Anybody who reads the front page of any paper in the state knows that schools everywhere are in financial trouble," Klingler said. "Hardly a day goes by when there isn’t some story about a school sliding into even deeper financial trouble."

Klingler said she strongly felt the state’s promise to give people who work with the developmentally disabled a 2 percent cost of living increase should be honored.

"They are some of the lowest-paid health care workers in the state, and they have one of the most responsible jobs in the state, Klingler said. "Refusing to help them is a slap in the face of all the developmentally disabled."

Klingler said the situation facing schools, nursing homes and health care workers for the disabled was like that of a family which needs a minimum $200 a month every month to pay their heating bill. "If their paychecks are cut by $200 a month, what are they going to do? Turn off the heat? That’s the question facing the state’s schools, the state’s nursing homes and the state’s most helpless. They’re being left out in the cold," Klingler said. "I just had to vote no."

[News release from Rep. Gwenn Klingler]

Today’s history

Compiled by Dave Francis

Tuesday, Jan. 15

15th day of the year

"We’re a sentimental people. We like a few kind words better than millions of dollars given in a humiliating way." — Gamel Abdel Nasser

"Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon…. which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals." — M.L. King Jr.

1507 — Johann Oporinus [Herbster], Swiss book publisher (Koran)

1841 — Lord Frederick Stanley, presenter of hockey’s Stanley Cup

1906 — Aristotle Onassis, Greece, rich shipping magnate

1918 — Gamal Abdel Nasser, president of Egypt (1954-1971)

1920 — John J. "Cardinal" O’Connor, Philadelphia, Roman Catholic Archbishop of New York

1929 — Martin Luther King Jr., Atlanta, civil rights leader (Nobel 1964)

1951 — Charo, Murcia Spain, actress and singer ("Chico and the Man," "Love Boat")

[to top of second column in this section]

1797 — First top hat worn (John Etherington of London)

1831 — First U.S. railroad honeymoon trip, Mr. and Mrs. Pierson, Charleston, S.C.

1861 — Steam elevator patented by Elisha Otis

1870 — Donkey first used as symbol of Democratic Party, in Harper’s Weekly

1895 — Tchaikovsky’s ballet "Swan Lake" premieres, St. Petersburg

1919 — Two million gallons of molasses flood Boston, Mass., drowning 21

1943 — World’s largest office building, Pentagon, completed

1973 — Watergate burglars plead guilty in federal court

1983 — Meyer Lansky, reputed mobster, dies in Miami Beach, Fla., at 80

[JAN. 14, 2002]  At times the high school rocked Saturday morning. No, it wasn’t a basketball game or a pep rally for another sport. The LCHS auditorium was nearly filled with LDC supporters for a two-hour rally that ran the gamut of standing ovations and cheers to quiet moments of empathy for the remarks from a parent of a resident at the beleaguered institution.

[Click here to see pictures of the rally]

Eighteen speakers took the podium amidst a wave of red "We Support LDC" signs. Throughout the morning, the speakers’ remarks were met with cheers and, on many occasions, standing ovations.

The speakers encompassed union officials, business leaders and a large group of political leaders that rarely can be seen together at any function in Logan County.

State Sen. Larry Bomke was joined on the dais with state Reps. Gwenn Klingler, Dan Brady, Jonathan Wright and Bill Mitchell. Lincoln Mayor Beth Davis as well as Logan County Board Chairman Dick Logan also stated their support for keeping Lincoln’s largest employer open. To make the political representation complete, Democratic candidate for governor Paul Vallas, former superintendent of Chicago Public Schools, threw his support behind LDC by saying that if elected governor he would solve the problems at LDC and keep the institution open.

Council 31 Director Henry Bayer advised the audience that over 9,000 signatures were already on petitions, with more petitions still to be collected.

[to top of second column in this article]

Although the rally was mostly a great deal of rhetoric, some important information was relayed to the crowd. Among those informational moments was Sen. Bomke’s statement that there is a growing support for LDC among members of the Illinois Assembly who do not have a voter base in this area.

AFSCME Council 31 Deputy Director Roberta Lynch also advised the gathering that studies of other institutions in a 50-mile radius of LDC showed numerous and far more egregious citations of abuse and neglect than anything reportedly occurring at the Lincoln Developmental Center. Rep. Jonathan Wright also explained to the crowd that over 96 percent of the reportable observations by state-requested overseers were positive in their conclusions.

A recurring theme in many of the comments was Gov. Ryan’s insensitivity to the wishes of the residents and their guardians to keep LDC open. Another was the unanswered question of whether there is a hidden agenda in the singling out of this institution over others.

Today’s history

Compiled by Dave Francis

Monday, Jan. 14

14th day of the year

Quotes

“Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.” — Albert Schweitzer

“First they came for the Jews. I was silent. I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists. I was silent. I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists. I was silent. I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me. There was no one left to speak for me.” — Martin Niemoller, on resistance to Nazis.

Birthdays

1615 — John Biddle, English minister (Unitarian)

1730 — William Whipple, merchant and judge (Declaration of Independence signer)

1741 — Benedict Arnold, U.S. general turned traitor (Revolutionary War)

1875 — Albert Schweitzer, doctor, humanitarian and organist (Nobel 1954)

1892 — Martin Niemoller, clergyman (German Protestant); imprisoned by Hitler

1919 — Andy Rooney, Albany, N.Y., CBS news correspondent (“60 Minutes”)

1941 — [Dorothy] Faye Dunaway, Bascom, Fla., actress (“Chinatown,” “Bonnie and Clyde”)

Events

1639 — Rodger Ludlow publishes "Fundamental Orders of Connecticut"

1742 — Edmund Halley, genius eclipsed by Newton, dies at 85

1783 — Congress ratifies peace treaty between United States and England

1799 — Eli Whitney receives government contract for 10,000 muskets

1864 — General Sherman begins his march to the South

1878 — U.S. Supreme Court rules race separation on trains unconstitutional

1898 — Lewis Carroll, writer (“Alice in Wonderland”), dies at 65

1914 — Henry Ford introduces assembly line, for T-Fords

1932 — Horse racing legend Eddie Arcaro won his first race

1943 — FDR and Winston Churchill confer in Casablanca concerning World War II

1954 — New York Yankee Joe DiMaggio marries actress Marilyn Monroe

1957 — Humphrey Bogart, actor (“Casablanca,” “Caine Mutiny”), dies at 57

1963 — George C. Wallace sworn in as governor of Alabama

1966 — Sergei Korolev, Russian space station constructor, dies

1984 — Raymond Kroc, founder of McDonalds and owner of San Diego Padres, dies at 81

[JAN. 12, 2002]  Gov. Ryan announced on Friday that, “Either the Lincoln Developmental Center will close, or it will be downsized to a point where LDC could pass a federal inspection.”  Ryan has asked the Illinois Department of Human Services to develop both plans. If reduced, the facility would cut back employees and residents. The plans to close or downsize are being prepared by DHS director Linda Renee Baker and will be on the governor’s desk on Jan. 31.

The announcement brought strong reactions from parties on both sides of the issue.  Advocates for deinstitutionalization, lobbying for community-integrated living arrangements for developmentally disabled residents, are growing impatient with the delays. As executive director of ARC of Illinois, Toby Paulauski said, “I really think the guy has got only one choice.  It’s time to make that decision and move on.”

LDC employees and the family members of residents remain hopeful that the facility that is home to more than 200 disabled residents will remain open   Still stinging from the moves of over 100 residents that have been sent to other facilities, they fear the future disruption, whether it be shuttering or cutbacks.  As Lincoln Parents Association co-president Linda Brown sees it, “At least he didn’t come out and close it.”

Still saying that he wants what is best for the care and safety of the residents, the governor emphasized, “I have not lost sight of that mission or of my responsibility to their welfare.”

[Jan Youngquist]

[JAN. 12, 2002]  A rally in support of Lincoln Developmental Center was held this morning in the auditorium of Lincoln Community High School.  LDC employees are members of  AFSCME Local 425.

[All photos by Bob Frank]

[Click here to see more pictures]

[From left:  Bobbi Abbott, Mayor Beth Davis,
and Senator Larry Bomke]

[The room was a blaze of red]

[AFSCME was not the only union represented.]
 

[Don Todd, president of AFSCME Local 425]

[JAN. 12, 2002]  SPRINGFIELD — According to Senator Claude “Bud” Stone, job No. 1 for the General Assembly in 2002 is crafting a new state budget, one that is balanced, addresses priorities and is also realistic given the current financial climate.

"We have a difficult task ahead of us," said Stone (R-Morton). "We must find the right balance between the needs of the citizens and fiscal responsibility."

State government is still operating under the fiscal year 2002 budget that was approved during the 2001 spring session. The state’s budget year runs from July 1 of one year through June 30 of the next year. The Illinois economy has continued to slow over the past year and because of that the state is receiving less tax revenue than was anticipated. This prompted budget cuts by the governor during December and calls for budget belt tightening as the new legislative session gets underway.

"The Bureau of the Budget is still predicting positive revenue growth in the current fiscal year," said Stone. "However, the estimate of $500 million is about half what was expected when the current budget was approved last spring. As we begin work on the fiscal year 2003 budget, we must be cautious. It’s difficult to predict, economically, what this year will bring "

[to top of second column in this article]

For many legislators, such as Stone, this year’s budget crisis has a familiar ring to it.

"Although I wasn’t the state senator then, I do remember the financial problems plaguing Illinois in the early nineties," said Stone. "There were difficult decisions made, state spending was curtailed and Illinois came out of that decade fiscally strong.”

Stone believes state government should conduct its business in much the same way as a small business owner or family. When there is a reduction in income, spending is reduced and you make do with less.

"Illinois government must live within its means. That means we pay our bills on time and don’t spend more tax dollars than we take in," said Stone. "I’ve heard talk about fee increases or tax hikes as a way of increasing revenues to pay for programs. I’m opposed to that option. Taxpayers should not be further burdened, especially in times of an economic downtown."

Lawmakers returned to Springfield on Wednesday to begin the 2002 spring session. The session is scheduled to end May 17.

[News release from Illinois Senator Claude Stone]

Today’s history

Compiled by Dave Francis

Saturday, Jan. 12

12th day of the year

Quotes

Reporter: “Mr. Gandhi, what do you think of Western civilization?”

Gandhi: “I think it would be a very good idea.”

“The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.” — Muhammad Ali

Birthdays

---- — HAL 9,000th birthday (from "2001: A Space Odyssey")

1588 — John Winthrop, first governor (Massachusetts Bay Colony)

1588 — Jose Ribera [Lo Spagnoletto], Spanish painter

1665 — Pierre de Fermat, French lawyer and mathematician

1729 — Edmund Burke, British author (Philosophy & Inquiry)

1737 — John Hancock, patriot (first to sign Declaration of Independence)

1856 — John Singer Sargent, U.S., portrait painter (“Wyndham Sisters”)

1876 — Jack London, writer and socialist (“Call of the Wild”)

1893 — Hermann Goering, Nazi Reichsmarshall

1896 — Rex Ingram, Ireland, actor and director (“Elmer Gantry,” “God’s Little Acre”)

1903 — Igor V. Kurtshatov, Russian nuclear physicist (first Russian nuclear bomb)

1906 — Henny Youngman, England, comedian (“Take my wife please...”)

1935 — "Amazing" Kreskin, Montclair, N.J., mentalist and telepath

1944 — Joe Frazier, Beaufort, S.C., heavyweight boxer (gold medal, 1964 Olympics), champion (1968-73)

1951 — Rush Limbaugh, Cape Girardeau, Mo., radio personality

Events

1493 — Last day for all Jews to leave Sicily

1519 — Maximilian I of Hapsburg, German Kaiser, dies

1583 — Holland begins use of Gregorian calendar (yesterday was 1-1-1583)

1684 — French king Louis XVI marries Madame Maintenon

1755 — Tsarina Elisabeth establishes first Russian University

1773 — First U.S. public museum established (Charleston, S.C.)

1816 — France decrees Bonaparte family excluded from the country forever

1829 — Friedrich von Schlegel, German cultural philosopher and poet, dies at 56

1903 — Harry Houdini performs at Rembrandt Theater, Amsterdam

1906 — First time Dow Jones closes above 100 (100.26)

1906 — Football rules committee legalizes forward pass

1921 — Kenesaw Mountain Landis becomes first commissioner of baseball

1946 — NFL champion Cleveland Rams given permission to move to Los Angeles

1948 — Mohandas Mahatma Gandhi begins his final fast

1965 — Porcupine in Washington, D.C., zoo dies at 27; oldest known rodent

1966 — “Batman,” with Adam West and Burt Ward, premieres on ABC-TV

1967 — Louisville, Ky., draft board refuses exemption for boxer Muhammad Ali

1976 — Agatha Christie, mystery writer (“10 Little Indians”), dies at 85

Sunday, Jan. 13

13th day of the year

Quotes

“My mouth is full of decayed teeth and my soul of decayed ambitions.” — James Joyce

“There are those who say to you — We are rushing this issue of civil rights. I say we are 172 years late.” — Hubert Humphrey

Birthdays

1628 — Charles Perrault, France, lawyer and writer (Mother Goose)

1834 — Horatio Alger Jr., Revere, Mass., author (“Lost at Sea,” “Work and Win”)

1885 — Alfred Fuller, CEO (Fuller Brush Man)

19-- — Sam Woolworth

1919 — Robert Stack, Los Angeles, Calif., actor (Eliot Ness in “The Untouchables”; “Airplane!”)

Events

?? — Charles III, the Fat One, King of Franconia and Roman emperor, dies

1330 — Frederick (III), the Handsome, duke of Austria and German anti-king, dies

1559 — Elizabeth I crowned queen of England in Westminster Abbey

1630 — Patent to Plymouth Colony issued

1695 — Jonathan Swift ordained an Anglican priest in Ireland

1733 — James Oglethorpe and 130 English colonists arrive at Charleston, S.C.

1863 — Thomas Crapper pioneers one-piece pedestal flushing toilet

1864 — Stephen Foster, composer (“My Old Kentucky Home”), dies at 37 in New York

1888 — National Geographic Society founded (Washington, D.C.)

1895 — Oscar Wilde’s “Ideal Husband” premieres in London

1920 — New York Times editorial reports rockets can never fly

1929 — Wyatt Earp, U.S. marshal (O.K. Corral), dies at 80

1941 — James Joyce, novelist (“Ulysses”), dies in Zurich, Switzerland, at 58

1942 — Henry Ford patents a method of constructing plastic auto bodies

1957 — Wham-O Company produces the first Frisbee

1968 — Beginning of Tet offensive in Vietnam

1978 — Hubert Humphrey, senator, D-Minn., and vice president, dies at 66 in Waverly, Minn.

Military addresses sought

It is a year like no other. Since Sept. 11 we are a changed nation. Individually, our daily sensitivity toward whom and what we have in our lives has been heightened. We are more conscious and appreciative, first about those we love and see everyday. Next, we have a newfound appreciation for those who risk their lives every day as rescue workers and protectors of life and property in our communities. We also now think more about our military men and women who are committed to serve and protect our country. Many are away engaged in battle, some are in waiting to go, all are ready to lay their lives on the line in defense of our freedom.

Lincoln Daily News is seeking the names and addresses, including e-mail addresses, of friends and relatives who are serving in the armed forces. They need not be from here in Logan County. If you know someone serving, please send the information to ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com. A complete list will be made available and kept updated through the site so we might all hold them in our thoughts, prayers and well wishes.

[Click here for names available now.]

Name of person in military:

Branch of service:

Current location of service:

Postal address:

E-mail address:

Relationship to LDN reader sending information (optional):

[LDN]

It’s on the radio, TV, in all the media. You hear it in the office, on the street and maybe at home — threats of terrorism. America is on high alert. Here in central Illinois, away from any supposed practical target areas, perhaps we feel a little less threatened, but we are still concerned. So how concerned should we be, and how prepared are we for the types of situations that could occur?

Whether the threat is domestic or foreign, violent, biological or chemical, our public health and rescue agencies have been preparing to respond to the situations. Lincoln Daily News has been at meetings where all the agencies gather together as the Logan County Emergency Planning Committee to strategize for just such a time. Our reports have not even provided every detail that every agency has reported; i.e., a number of representatives from differing agencies such as the health and fire departments, CILCO and ESDA went to a bioterrorism and hazmat (hazardous materials) seminar this past August.

Here are some of the articles that LDN has posted pre- and post-Tuesday, Sept. 11. Hopefully you will see in them that WE ARE WELL PREPARED. At least as much as any area can be. Every agency has been planning, training, submitting for grants to buy equipment long before Sept. 11. We can be thankful for all of the dedicated, insightful leaders we have in this community.

[to top of second column in this section]

• LEPC hears plans for annual exercise

• U.S. under terrorist attack
  How is Logan County affected?

• The day after ‘Attack on America’
  Area leaders respond to national tragedy

• ESDA and LEPC conduct successful hazardous materials exercise at water treatment plant 

• Logan County ready for action if terrorist event occurs - Part 1

• Logan County ready for action if terrorist event occurs – Part 2

• Clinton nuclear power plant safety measures in place

• Logan County agencies meet to discuss protocol for suspicious mail

As promised, the United States led an attack on Afghanistan. The attack began Sunday, Oct. 7. American and British military forces made 30 hits on air defenses, military airfields and terrorist training camps, destroying aircraft and radar systems. The strike was made targeting only terrorists.

More than 40 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East have pledged their cooperation and support the U.S. initiative.

Online news links

Other countries

Afghanistan

http://www.afghandaily.com/ 

http://www.myafghan.com/  

http://www.afghan-web.com/aop/ 

China

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/

http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/

Germany

http://www.faz.com/

India

http://www.dailypioneer.com/ 

http://www.hindustantimes.com/ 

http://www.timesofindia.com/ 

Israel

http://www.jpost.com/ 

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/ 

England

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/ 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/ 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/

Pakistan

http://www.dawn.com/

http://frontierpost.com.pk/ 

Russia

http://english.pravda.ru/

http://www.sptimesrussia.com/ 

Saudi Arabia

http://www.arabnews.com/ 

[to top of second column in this section]

United States

Illinois

http://www.suntimes.com/index/ 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/ 

http://www.pantagraph.com/ 

http://www.qconline.com/ 

http://www.pjstar.com/

http://www.sj-r.com/ 

http://www.herald-review.com/

http://www.southernillinoisan.com/ 

New York

http://www.nypost.com/

http://www.nytimes.com/

Stars and Stripes
(serving the U.S. military community)

http://www.estripes.com/ 

Washington, D.C.

Announcements

[JAN. 15, 2002]  Citizens who are not registered to vote and cannot leave their home, hospital, nursing home or other institution because of a permanent physical disability can arrange for voter registration by contacting a deputy registrar or the county clerk’s office.

Voter registration will close on Feb. 19 for the March 19 general primary election.

If you are physically able, you may register to vote by going to the county clerk’s office, Room 20 in the Logan County Courthouse, 601 Broadway in Lincoln. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. You will need to show two forms of identification, one with your current address on it.

For people with physical disabilities and the elderly, election judges will be available at the polling place on election day to assist voters when a friend or relative is unable to help. Handicapped-voter booths will be available for your convenience. Physically impaired or elderly persons may be eligible to vote absentee. Please contact the Logan County clerk’s office for information.

For any information concerning voter registration or voting for the elderly or disabled, please call the Logan County clerk’s office at (217) 732-4148.

[Sally J. Litterly, Logan County clerk]

[JAN. 3, 2002]  Are you registered to vote?

The March 19 primary is rapidly approaching. The close of registration is Feb. 19. If you have moved, or if you have married and changed your name, it is necessary that you change your voter registration with our office in order to cast your vote in the election.

If you have questions about your voting eligibility, please contact our office at (217) 732-4148.

[Sally J. Litterly, Logan County clerk]

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