Saturday, June 22

An important message to everyone
in the Logan County community

[JUNE 22, 2002]  At the Healthy Communities Partnership’s semiannual report to the community June 20, Dick and Marsha Logan donated $2,287 to the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Task Force of HCP in memory of their son.

The money came from donations given in memory of 16-year-old Daniel Joseph Logan, a junior at Lincoln Community High School, who died March 30 this year in a single-vehicle accident. Dick Logan, a longtime Lincoln businessman, is presently chairman of the Logan County Board.

Dayle Eldredge, director of HPC, pledged to use the money for specific programs to reduce substance abuse among young people.

Message from Dayle Eldredge

Thank you, Dick and Marsha. I know everyone here appreciates your generosity and joins with me in again expressing our sympathy in the loss of Daniel. We pledge to you both that the funds will be used for a specific program that will aid in seeing that no more young people perish due to driving while under the influence of any substance.

The Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Task Force has had since its inception the goal of reducing the use of these products by youth. Our programs have been aimed at youth. Education in the schools targets risky behaviors and works with youth to educate them about the dangers in illegal substance use. Activities from bowling parties to after-proms, from mock DUIs to speakers, continue to reinforce the message to youth that use of these products is not only dangerous, but illegal. And that it is possible to have a good time without their use.

Recent events have impressed upon the task force the need to expand our efforts to those that make alcohol, tobacco and other drugs available to youth — the adult community. In that light the Healthy Communities Partnership Alcohol, Tobacco and Drug Task Force today calls on all law enforcement and members of the judicial process to work with the task force to enforce all ordinances and laws, whether state, county or community, regarding making any illegal substance or any alcohol product available to minors. Where new or stiffer laws are needed, we pledge to work with you to see their adoption and their enforcement.

Anyone who provides alcohol to a minor is breaking the law and should be punished, regardless where the alcohol is made available and under what circumstances. Likewise, anyone who sells or distributes illegal drugs to anyone is breaking the law and should face the consequences. We will work to educate the business community on laws, ordinances and enforcement. We will work with the schools, local law enforcement and families to identify symptoms of illegal substance use by youth. And most of all — we will work to shine the spotlight on those who put our youth at risk!

 

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We call law enforcement to a new level of vigilance and action in conducting compliance checks of retail establishments. We call upon neighborhoods to contact law enforcement when they become aware of activities that would suggest illegal alcohol or drug use is present. We encourage our judicial system to toughen penalties to the maximum extent possible and to enforce those penalties on anyone who makes these products available — by any means — to our young people. Quiet censure hasn’t worked; perhaps loss or reduction of the ability to drive, public condemnation, and stiffer fines and incarceration will make a difference.

To the youth present today — most of you do not use alcohol, tobacco or drugs, but you know somebody that does. Resistance to peer pressure, learning to think and act responsibly isn’t easy, but it is possible. The old saying "Just Say NO!" is as true today as it was 20 years ago. When you say no you protect yourselves, and you may be protecting the lives of your friends.

The Healthy Communities Partnership and its task forces are here for the youth of Logan County, and we intend to remain here for them. We will support your positive actions, but we will not tolerate abuse of the law by you or by adults — even your parents.

We challenge all of you present today and especially our legislators, city, village and county officials, law enforcement and the courts to declare war against this menace to youth — the sale or distribution (whether passive or active) to minors of any alcohol in any form and the distribution by whatever means of illegal drugs.

Our youth are too precious to waste in needless crashes and death. The need is present and the time is now. The Healthy Communities Partnership calls on each one of you to join the battle, to win the prize — healthy young people! Join us in this effort, support us with your contributions of time or money, and work with us for all of Logan County’s youth.

[LDN]

Celebrating American Theatre

Lincoln Community Theatre

presents

Hello Dolly

June 14th - June 22
Johnston Center
for the Performing Arts

for ticket information, call 732-2640
or
click here: http://www.geocities.com/
lincolncommunitytheatre

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No Appointments Necessary


Water damage assessment
under way at LCHS

[JUNE 22, 2002]  Leaks have been plugged up, and no more rain damage has occurred at Lincoln Community High School since the June 11-12 rainstorms, according to Superintendent Fred Plese.

At that time, when the Lincoln area had more than an inch of rain, water caused considerable damage to four areas of the building. The school and its architect, Tom Wilson of Design, Inc., in Peoria, are still putting together the numbers, and the exact amount of damage has not yet been determined, Plese said.

Ironically, the water damage occurred while a construction firm, Craftmasters, Inc., of Decatur, was in the process of repairing the 50-year-old roof, which has been leaking off and on for the past three or four years.

The original high school building, put up in the 1950s, had a flat roof, Plese explained. That roof, which was repaired in 1986, had been covered with Styrofoam insulation contoured so water would run into drains and protected with a rubber membrane.

Contractors cut away about 60 feet of the rubber membrane and took off the Styrofoam insulation but did not seal up the rubber covering or put on patches to make the roof watertight, he said. When the June 11 heavy rain came, the water could not reach the drains and began seeping under the remaining rubber membrane. It found the holes in the old 1950s roof and went through.

 

Fortunately, the leaks occurred during daytime hours when people were in the building.

"It happened in stages," Plese said. At 11 a.m. June 11, his secretary discovered water by her desk, coming from the ceiling of the library above her.

Plese immediately went up to the library and found water coming around a column supporting the air conditioner. The books in the library were not damaged, he said.

At 4 p.m custodian Danny Aper discovered a leak in one of the classrooms, and another custodian, Verna Johnson, found water coming into the halls at an expansion joint.

The four areas where the leaking was worst, all on the west side of the building, were in the hallway at the expansion joint, between the biology rooms and in two areas in upper-level classrooms.

An ingenious solution saved the building from further damage. Plese and the custodians removed wet ceiling tile and fastened large sheets of plastic, like huge dropcloths, to the grid-work on the ceiling to catch the water. They punched a hole in the plastic so the water would drain into a 50-gallon garbage barrel, then used a sump pump to pump water out of the building, in some cases out of second-story windows.

 

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Crews worked all day and night Tuesday and Wednesday, catching the water and emptying the barrels. Water was still dripping in some places Thursday, Plese said.

Supplies and furniture in the classrooms were not damaged, but some workbooks in the biology storage rooms will have to be replaced. Plese said he is still waiting to see whether floor tile has been damaged. Air conditioners are running to dry out the floors and prevent mold from forming.

Plese said the Decatur firm has dismissed the foreman who was on the job, because the firm believes the LCHS incident could have been avoided.

The roof that was put on the building in 1986 was done by Goodyear and had a 10-year warranty, Plese said. The roofing company was supposed to do an inspection in 1997 and recommend work to be done to extend the warranty. However, Goodyear sold the roofing business to Versico. In 1999 Versico agreed to give the school a list of work that needed to be done to bring the roof to a point where they would offer another three-year warranty. That would have cost the district $250,000 to $300,000.

Instead, Plese said, the district chose to pay about $750,000 for a new roof with a 15-year warranty, which can be extended for another 10 years. He expects the major part of the work to be done before school starts in late August.

It’s really tough to make a 50-year-old building new. Our age is showing a little. Brickwork and foundations still look good, although the building may need some tuck-pointing in the next few years," he said.

"The roof is the number one thing that protects us. Architects have estimated it would cost between $15 and $20 million to replace the high school building and $6 million to replace the contents.

"If a roof costing $12 million is protecting a building and contents worth $26 million, that’s a good investment for the community," Plese said.

[Joan Crabb]

 


Illinois Senate week in review

[JUNE 22, 2002]  SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois General Assembly took decisive action this week to further reduce state government spending. The Senate and House of Representatives returned to Springfield for a special legislative session called by the governor to act on spending cuts he recommended, according to Sen. Claude "Bud" Stone, R-Morton.

With House and Senate approval, nearly $450 million additional spending was trimmed from the state budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Legislators chose to restore only a few budget items from the governor’s cuts, including state aid to schools and a senior citizens telephone hot line for prescription drug assistance.

Senate Republicans demanded the state cut spending to avoid income tax or sales tax increases proposed by some lawmakers to balance the budget. Illinois is suffering from the same post-Sept. 11 fiscal problems as other states throughout the nation. The final balanced budget, approved by lawmakers, cuts spending and increases taxes only on cigarettes and on excess profits of wealthy riverboats.

The governor has begun reviewing substantive legislation and signing bills into law. Among those signed into law this week was a new law authorizing veterans license plates for motorcycles.

License plates honoring Purple Heart recipients are already available for motorcycles. Under SB 1550/PA 92-545, motorcycle plates honoring the following veterans will also be available: Congressional Medal of Honor winners, members and veterans of the United States Armed Forces, members of the Illinois National Guard, members of the United State Armed Forces Reserves, Pearl Harbor veterans, Korean War veterans, Bronze Star recipients, Vietnam veterans, World War II veterans, Army combat veterans and U.S. Marine Corps veterans.

 

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The following laws were also among those approved this week:

Education audits (SB 1534/PA 92-544) — Requires the auditor general, rather than the State Board of Education, to annually audit the finances of the regional superintendents of schools and each education service center.

Local improvements (HB 3771/PA 92-539) — Allows townships with a population of at least 50,000 to vote by resolution to utilize road funds for construction or maintenance of sewage and water treatment facilities.

[News release]

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