[MAY 7, 2002]  It is a tough day in America when the most steadfast public service is challenged to slow or halt. Pipe bombs have interfered with the U.S. mail delivery service across the Midwest. The bombs that began appearing in residential rural mailboxes last week and on Monday this week have caused the U.S. Postal Service some disruption of service.

No one has yet died from any of the 17 bombs placed in boxes in Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado. Four employees and two customers have been injured. Most bombs have been detected intact.

The bombs have been placed directly in the customer mailboxes by the assailants. The devices have not gone through the post offices.

Lincoln rural postal carriers are taking a little added precaution delivering the mail. Postmaster Jeff Poole says, "Our carriers have been instructed to be cautious. They have been told what to look for and if anything looks suspicious to contact the law enforcement."

He said the U.S. Postal Service has requested residents in affected areas (areas that have had pipe bombs) to leave their mailbox doors open. We are not one of those areas. For now we are just to keep our eyes open and be aware.

For more information, see http://www.usps.com/news/facts/lfu_050602b.htm.

[Jan Youngquist]

[MAY 7, 2002]  Two representatives from Ameren, the company that is purchasing CILCO, the utility that serves Lincoln, attended the Lincoln City Council meeting Monday evening to introduce themselves to city officials.

Jimmy L. Davis, vice president of customer services, and Robert J. Mill, manager of the regulatory services department, spoke briefly to the council.

"Our purpose is to put a face to the company name," Davis told the council. "The process [of buying CILCO] will likely take about a year. We will keep you informed through the process."

Ameren Corporation has agreed to purchase CILCORP for $1.4 billion, which will make Ameren the second-largest electric provider in Illinois. CILCORP is the parent company of Peoria-based Central Illinois Light Company.

CILCO serves Logan and Tazewell counties, western Woodford and Marshall counties and several towns in McLean County. CILCO has approximately 200,000 electric and 200,000 gas customers and has been in business in central Illinois since 1915.

Ameren is a $10 billion-asset company based in St. Louis, and provides energy to 1.5 million electric and 300,000 natural gas customers over a 44,500-square-mile area in Illinois and Missouri.

Its Illinois subsidiary, AmerenCIPS, was formed in 1997 by a merger of Union Electric and Central Illinois Public Service, and currently serves 323,000 electric and 169,000 natural gas customers.

According to the Ameren press release, electric rates will remain frozen at current levels until at least 2004 because of a state freeze on electric rates.

In Missouri, according to Ameren’s corporate fact sheet, electric rates are 14 percent below the national average, and the company has reduced rates three times in the past seven years. In Illinois, AmerenCIPS has not had a retail electric rate increase since March of 1992. In August of 1998 the company reduced residential rates by 5 percent, the fact sheet says.

Although Ameren is a large company, Davis told the council, "We think of ourselves as coming from small-town roots. We serve a lot of small towns."

He said he believed the merger will be a "win-win situation for the area. It will be best for shareholders and best for the customers."

Alderman Benny Huskins asked if the merger would affect the local CILCO employees.

"There will be some duplication, but I don’t believe there will be any meaningful adjustments in Lincoln," Davis said.

[to top of second column in this article]

The representatives also said the new company would be prepared to assist in the economic development of the cities in its service area but did not make any specific commitments.

The Ameren press release said the company plans to increase CILCO’s civic, charitable and social service contributions and continue its low-income energy assistance program. It will also continue to support programs helping youth sports teams and installing energy-efficient lighting in public areas. AmerenCILCO headquarters will remain in Peoria.

In other business, the council agreed to approve Final Plat II of the Austman/Johnson subdivision on Route 10. The plat, which will add two lots to the subdivision, has already been approved by the Planning Commission.

They also heard Fern Pinkley, president of the Logan County Chapter of the Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities in Illinois, announce a new program to assist those with disabilities to own their own homes.

"We want to make sure that people who are disabled and want their own homes can get homes," she said. Those who are interested in the program may call Robin Benson, project manager of the Homeownership Coalition for People with Disabilities at 217-523-2587, Ext. 211 or e-mail her at rbenson48@yahoo.com.

At a public hearing before the meeting, Mark Gates spoke to oppose vacating an undeveloped extension of Ophir Street on the west side of North Kickapoo as requested by Richard and Jean Moody.

Moody, who recently purchased the property, is building self-storage units and wants the street to be vacated so he does not have to meet a 35-foot setback requirement and can construct a 30-foot-wide building instead of a 24-foot-wide unit.

Gates said he opposes vacating the 60-foot-wide street for two reasons. He wants to put in a sewer line to property he owns in the area, and he will be running large trucks in and out of a cement plant that operates in the area.

The council tabled the matter until the May 14 committee-of-the-whole meeting.

[Joan Crabb]

[MAY 6, 2002]  ^"This community has pulled together to care for its own with passion and grace," said chief executive officer Woody Hester as he rededicated Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital at the start of its second hundred years.

A crowd of about 75 gathered outside near the hospital’s Eighth Street entrance at 1 p.m. Sunday, May 5, for the rededication ceremony. Emil Stahlhut, hospital administrator from 1953 to 1983, recalled his years at ALMH: "We may have lacked money at the right time to do what we had to do, but we did not lack the spirit and the zip." It was that spirit, he said, which brought the hospital to its centennial.

[Emil Stahlhut, hospital administrator 1953-1983]

Stahlhut was administrator when the local institution was transformed from Evangelical Deaconess Hospital into Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital. Begun in 1902 under the auspices of St. John’s Evangelical Church, the old hospital celebrated its 50th anniversary in June 1952. By that time, however, it was clear that the facilities had become inadequate, and the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital project had begun as an ecumenical movement. In May 1952 ground was broken for the new hospital building, and ALMH was dedicated April 2, 1954. The first patients were transferred a few days later.

[Woody Hester, ALMH president and CEO]

Hester, ALMH president and CEO, referred to Stahlhut’s "gesture of genius" when he threw away the hospital keys at the 1954 dedication ceremony, symbolizing that the hospital would never lock its doors to those in need.

During the rededication Hester recognized four nurses who were trained at the Deaconess Hospital: Margaret Montgomery, Iva Blaum and Margaret Deverman, all of Lincoln, and Marian Buse of New Holland. Deverman, who graduated in 1935, was operating supervisor at the old hospital and helped train the other three, all 1942 graduates. Blaum was director of nursing from 1958 to 1985. Montgomery and Buse are twins.

Extolling past and present "community courage and resourcefulness," Hester expressed his thanks for the support ALMH has received over the years. "May God give us the strength and wisdom to be good stewards of our gifts," he added.

The final speaker was Joe Heidbreder of Lincoln, representing the community’s next generation. He ended the ceremony by proclaiming, "And now let the second hundred years begin." Roger Michalsen, church council president at St. John United Church of Christ, formerly St. John’s Evangelical Church, gave the invocation.

[to top of second column in this article]

Tours showcased the present hospital. Historical displays lined the walls of Conference Room A, tracing the growth of the hospital as a building and an institution.

The first hospital in Lincoln was the Catholic St. Clara’s Hospital, opened in 1884. It served the needs of the community until the typhoid epidemic of 1898 overwhelmed its capacity. At that time the Rev. F.W. Schnathorst of St. John’s Evangelical Church appealed to the Deaconess Hospital in St. Louis, which sent two deaconesses to Lincoln to care for the sick. The work of deaconesses was not new to the church, since Adelheid Schmidt, the wife of the previous pastor, the Rev. Hermann Schmidt, had been a deaconess before her marriage. Evangelical deaconesses took a vow to care for the sick, the poor and the elderly, but they were free to leave the order and to marry.

Many cities in the Midwest have both Catholic and non-Catholic hospitals dating to the typhoid epidemic of the late 19th century, according to Hester. Other communities besides Lincoln had had one hospital before that time but found it insufficient to handle the load. In larger cities the two hospitals continue; in Lincoln one was found to be sufficient, and St. Clara’s closed in 1962. The nursing home St. Clara’s Manor opened in August 1971 in a new building on the same block.

On April 23, 1899, the deaconess hospital society was formed, and the first board was elected on May 14 of that year. Matthew Reinhardt, president of the St. John’s congregation, led the fund drive. From the beginning people from outside the congregation were encouraged to participate, with Capt. David Harts being an early example.

St. John’s Evangelical Home and Hospital was built at the northwest corner of Seventh and Walnut streets. The cornerstone was laid Nov. 4, 1900, and the building was dedicated Jan. 19, 1902. It cost over $37,000, which was $15,000 more than originally estimated, according to the St. John centennial history.

The old hospital had a dirt-floor basement and an unfinished third floor. The word "Home" in its title referred to the fact that the deaconesses also lived there. At first money was so scarce that two women from the church, Mrs. Adam Denger and Mrs. Gustave Briegel, drove a one-horse cart to homes of church members to collect food. The hospital also had its own vegetable garden.

In September 1902 the Rev. Gustav Niebuhr replaced Schnathorst as St. John’s pastor and hospital administrator. Until 1924 the two positions were combined. Stahlhut is the most recent administrator to belong to St. John Church.

According to the church history, the earliest physicians’ group consisted of Dr. Edward Rembe, Dr. H.B. Brown, Dr. F.M. Ewing, surgeon Dr. Cosby and Dr. Katherine Miller, who was particularly interested in this hospital because it accepted maternity patients.

In 1926 the hospital dropped St. John’s from its name and began naming trustees from outside the congregation.

[Nurses trained at Evangelical Deaconess Hospital: (front, from left) Margaret Montgomery and Marian Buse, (back, from left) Iva Blaum and Margaret Deverman]

After World War II, when expansion was needed, government funds were available for new construction but not additions. In November 1947 the vote was taken to build a new hospital, and ground was broken 50 years ago, in May 1952.

The hospital has been added to three times and extensively remodeled.

Since September1994 Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital has been affiliated with Memorial Health System, which includes Memorial Medical Center in Springfield and St. Vincent Memorial Hospital in Taylorville.

[Lynn Shearer Spellman]

[MAY 4, 2002]  On Tuesday, May 7, thousands of AFSCME Council 31 members from throughout Illinois will gather in Springfield for a lobby day. AFSCME members will be delivering a strong and unified message to legislators from throughout the state to not cut valuable state services and to seek alternative measures to solve the budget crisis.

Events begin with a 10 a.m. press conference in the Capitol Press Room. A noon march will lead an estimated 3,000-5,000 participants from the Prairie Capital Convention Center to the Capitol.

To read the complete press release, go to: http://www.afscme31.org/press/pressDetail.asp?objectID=388.

[AFSCME Council 31]

[MAY 3, 2002]  Attorneys representing the Illinois Department of Human Services have decided not to seek a bench trial in front of Logan County Associate Judge Don Behle but instead will appeal Judge Behle’s ruling in front of the 4th Appellate Court in Springfield, according to Dan Senters, spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees

Senters said he had just received word from Steve Yokich, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, that the attorney general’s office, representing the defendants, had changed its plan to go to trial in Lincoln beginning May 29.

Senters said the time frame would be about the same. When the defendants receive the written ruling from Judge Behle, who upheld the injunction prohibiting moving any more residents from the Lincoln Developmental Center at a hearing Wednesday, they will file an appeal with the Appellate Court. Yokich said they have seven days to file the appeal, he then has another seven days to respond, and the Appellate Court will schedule a hearing within another seven-day period.

Plaintiffs in the suit — AFSCME; state Sen. Larry Bomke of Springfield; Norlan and Eleanor Newmister, parents of an LDC resident; and Don Todd, president of AFSCME Local 425 — argued that the state has not followed the proper procedure for moving residents: seeking a permit from the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board and holding public hearings.

[to top of second column in this article]

Defendants, which include Gov. George Ryan, Illinois Department of Human Services Director Linda Renee Baker, state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka and state Comptroller Daniel Hynes, said such a procedure is not necessary.

Gov. Ryan has set the end of the state’s fiscal year as the date to downsize LDC from a high of 375 residents last fall to 100 residents, and from about 700 employees to 210. At present 247 residents remain at the 125-year-old Lincoln facility.

[Joan Crabb]

ALMH celebrates centennial on Sunday

[MAY 3, 2002]  Evangelical Deaconess Hospital and its successor, Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital, will commemorate 100 years with an open house and reception at ALMH on Sunday, May 5. The celebration will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will feature historical information and photos, tours of the hospital, and a rededication ceremony.

Members of St. John Church of Lincoln established St. John Evangelical Deaconess Hospital in 1902. Deaconesses who arrived in Lincoln during the typhoid fever epidemic served as nurses for the hospital. By their ordination vows, the deaconesses were devoted to caring for the poor, the ill and the elderly. The original site of the hospital was on the northwest corner of Seventh and Walnut in Lincoln. In 1954, a new hospital was built next to the Deaconess Hospital and was named Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital.

Today Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital, located at 315 Eighth Street in Lincoln, is a community-based, not-for-profit general hospital. It offers a full range of inpatient and outpatient care on site. ALMH is an affiliate of Memorial Health System, which includes Memorial Medical Center in Springfield and St. Vincent Memorial Hospital in Taylorville.

[Photo provided by ALMH]

The public is invited and welcome to join in the 100th anniversary celebration.

For more information, please call (217) 732-2161, Ext. 316.

[ALMH news release]

Wright: Income tax increase would
hurt, not help Illinois’ economy

[MAY 2, 2002]  SPRINGFIELD — State Rep. Jonathan Wright, R-Hartsburg, has taken a firm stand against proposals to raise the state income tax. Wright and several of his House Republican colleagues held a press conference at the state Capitol recently to voice their opposition to proposals being circulated by Democrats to balance the state budget by increasing taxes on families and businesses.

"No government in the history of civilization has ever taxed its way out economic difficulties In fact, raising taxes in tough economic times is actually counterproductive. It takes money out of our families’ pockets, and it makes it more difficult for businesses to expand and create new jobs. This is the very last thing we should be considering while we’re trying to stimulate our sluggish economy," Wright said.

According to media reports, members of the both House and Senate Democrat Caucuses have proposed income tax increases to balance the budget. The most recent proposal, put forward by House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, would raise state income tax by one-half percent, resulting in a $1.5 billion tax hike for Illinois families each year.

"It’s unfortunate that for some, the answer to every problem is raising taxes," Wright said. "It’s irresponsible to the working families, seniors and other taxpayers we represent to talk about increasing their tax burden before we have even begun to scratch the surface in cutting the waste and unnecessary spending from our budget. At this stage in the budget process, that’s what we need to focus on."

[News release]

LDC injunction stays;
state requests trial date

[MAY 1, 2002]  The injunction that has kept the Department of Human Services from transferring more residents from the Lincoln Developmental Center remains in force, Logan County Associate Judge Don Behle ruled this morning.

[Sen. Larry Bomke talks with LDC parents and employees following court hearing.]

Judge Behle said that even though the Health Facilities Planning Board told the Department of Human Services it did not need a permit and a public hearing to move residents and make substantive changes to the Lincoln facility, the law still says this procedure must be followed.

"You can’t go from 372 to 100 residents without calling it a substantial change in the function of the facility," he told Karen McNaught, attorney for the state. "You’ve got a plan. Submit it to the planning board.

"The state has set up that planning board, and now the state doesn’t want to go through its own process."

According to the statute, if the DHS wants to make a substantial change in the scope, function or operation of a facility or to relocate more than 10 percent of the beds from one site to another, it must secure a permit and hold a public hearing.

As soon as Judge Behle upheld his earlier ruling, McNaught asked for a trial date to be set. The trial will begin Wednesday, May 29, at 9 a.m. and may continue on Friday, May 31, at 10 a.m. if necessary.

Judge Behle also ruled against McNaught’s request that the state require a bond of multiple millions of dollars from the plaintiffs: the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the union that represents the employees at LDC; Norlan and Eleanor Newmister, parents of an LDC resident; Don Todd, president of AFSCME Local 425; and Sen. Larry Bomke of Springfield.

[to top of second column in this article]

According to Steve Yokich, attorney for the plaintiffs, the state did not specify an exact amount but said the cost to the state might be as much as $32 million if they lost the request to lift the injunction.

The preliminary injunction was issued by Judge Behle on March 27, in time to stop scheduled moves of residents from LDC on April 15. By June 30, the end of the state’s fiscal year, LDC was to be downsized to 100 residents and 210 employees, down from a high of 372 residents and about 700 employees last fall. At present 248 residents are still at the facility.

The plan to downsize LDC was chosen by Gov. George Ryan from several options, after charges of abuse and neglect were leveled against the facility last fall. Layoffs of about 370 employees were also scheduled, to coincide with the moves of residents, mostly to other state-operated facilities. As of Tuesday, only 33 of the 128 employees scheduled to be laid off had left the facility.

Although Judge Behle’s ruling on not allowing residents to be moved without permits has no bearing on the ability of the state to lay off workers, Reginald Marsh, DHS spokesman, said the department will not endanger the health and safety of the residents by laying off needed workers.

Todd said he believed DHS would keep enough workers at LDC to take care of the residents while the case is being decided. "The fact that they stalled the layoffs last week is an indication they recognized that if they go ahead with layoffs, they would be putting residents in jeopardy."

The ruling will not prevent the move of individual residents from the facility if their families make the request, Judge Behle said. Nancy Simpson of Robinson, Ill., who has a brother a LDC, wants to move him to a group home nearer to the family. Simpson said she thought her brother could get better care somewhere else, but the main reason for the request is for the family to have him closer.

AFSCME spokesman Dan Senters said he believed Judge Behle made an excellent decision by standing by his early ruling. "He is a good and honest judge who is just interested in doing the right thing," Senters said.

Yokich said going to trial "will get the case decided."

"Whoever loses can appeal," he added.

[Joan Crabb]

Logan County weather alert

Flood watch Wednesday and Wednesday night

[MAY 1, 2002]  A flood watch is in effect across portions of central Illinois for Wednesday and Wednesday night. Counties that are in the watch include Knox, Stark, Marshall, Fulton, Peoria, Woodford, Schuyler, Mason, Tazewell, McLean, Cass, Menard, Logan, DeWitt, Scott, Morgan, Sangamon, Macon, Piatt, Champaign and Vermilion.

Some cities affected by the watch are Peoria, Bloomington/Normal, Springfield, Decatur, Champaign/Urbana and Danville.

Low pressure is forecast to develop and move northeast toward the Mississippi

River valley Wednesday and into southwest Michigan by midnight Wednesday. Abundant low-level moisture ahead of the storm will interact with the system, resulting in 1 to 2 inches of rainfall across much of the watch area by late Wednesday evening.

This area is extremely susceptible to rapid flooding due to the heavy rainfall that has fallen across the region over the past couple of weeks.

A flood watch means that conditions are favorable for heavy rain that may lead to flooding of low-lying areas and along rivers and streams. If you are in the watch area, remain informed and be ready to take action if flooding is observed or a warning is issued.

Stay tuned to NOAA weather radio or your local media for further details and updates on this flood situation.

[News release]

Military addresses sought

It is a time 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

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