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Friday, Feb. 14 |
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Significant winter storm
to affect central and southeastern Illinois tonight through Saturday
night
(Weather
update issued 3:15 p.m. Friday)
[FEB. 14, 2003]
A major winter storm over
eastern Kansas will track into the Ozarks by daybreak Saturday and
across Tennessee Saturday and Saturday night. Increasing northeast
winds will usher in colder air across central Illinois tonight and
into southeastern Illinois by late Saturday. This will change the
rain to freezing rain and sleet, then to snow during this evening
along and north of Interstate 74 and after midnight between I-74 and
I-72. The changeover will not take place until during the day
Saturday between I-72 and I-70 and south of I-70 late Saturday.
Between 5 and 10 inches of snow could accumulate north of I-70,
while a quarter inch or more of ice is possible south of I-70.
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For Cass, Champaign, Christian, DeWitt,
Logan, Macon, Menard, Morgan, Piatt, Sangamon, Scott and Vermilion
counties, including the cities of Beardstown, Champaign, Clinton,
Danville, Decatur, Jacksonville, Lincoln, Monticello, Rantoul,
Springfield, Taylorville, Virginia and Winchester:
Winter storm warning late tonight
through Saturday evening
Rain will change to freezing rain,
sleet and then snow after midnight tonight. Between 6 and 10 inches
of snow could accumulate Saturday and Saturday evening. In addition,
northeast winds increasing between 15 and 30 mph will cause blowing
and drifting snow after daybreak Saturday.
Remember, a winter storm warning means
severe winter weather conditions are imminent or highly likely.
Travel is not recommended.
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For Fulton, Knox, Marshall, Mason,
McLean, Peoria, Schuyler, Stark, Tazewell and Woodford counties,
including the cities of Bloomington, Canton, Eureka, Galesburg,
Havana, Lacon, Lewistown, Mason City, Pekin, Peoria and Rushville:
Winter storm warning tonight and
Saturday
Rain will change to freezing rain,
sleet and then snow during this evening. Between 6 and 10 inches of
snow could accumulate tonight and Saturday. In addition, northeast
winds increasing between 15 and 30 mph will cause blowing and
drifting snow after midnight and continue Saturday.
Remember, a winter storm warning means
severe winter weather conditions are imminent or highly likely.
Travel is not recommended.
[to top of second
column in this article] |
For Clark, Coles, Cumberland, Douglas,
Edgar, Moultrie and Shelby counties, including the cities of
Charleston, Marshall, Mattoon, Paris, Shelbyville, Sullivan, Toledo
and Tuscola:
Winter weather advisory Saturday and
Saturday evening
Rain will change to freezing rain,
sleet and then snow after daybreak Saturday. Between 3 and 5 inches
of snow will accumulate Saturday and Saturday evening. In addition,
northeast winds increasing between 15 and 30 mph will cause blowing
and drifting snow by Saturday afternoon.
A winter weather advisory is issued for
a variety of winter weather conditions, such as snow, blowing snow,
sleet, freezing rain and extreme wind chills. While the weather will
be significant, the word “advisory” implies that severe winter
weather is not anticipated, with mainly an inconvenience to travel
resulting.
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For Clay, Crawford, Effingham, Jasper,
Lawrence and Richland counties, including the cities of Effingham,
Flora, Lawrenceville, Newton, Olney and Robinson:
Winter storm watch for Saturday
afternoon and Saturday night
Rain will change to freezing rain and
sleet Saturday afternoon and evening south of I-70, then possibly to
snow later Saturday night into Sunday. Around a quarter inch or more
of ice is possible by daybreak Sunday. In addition, northeast winds
increasing to 15 to 25 mph could cause blowing and drifting snow
Sunday.
A winter storm watch is issued when
severe winter weather is possible but not imminent. There is a
potential for significant ice accumulations. Future driving and
walking conditions may become hazardous, so it is important to
monitor the latest forecasts.
[3:15 p.m. Friday news
release] |
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Mayfield asks for county board support; Voyles picks Sahs for board
seat
[FEB. 14, 2003]
Transition was in the air
Thursday night as Logan County Board members learned their
chairman's pick to fill the vacant seat in District 1 and heard the
new county economic development director describe his approach to
his job.
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County board chair Dale Voyles said he
interviewed seven candidates for the seat of District 1
representative Lloyd Hellman, who died in January. Voyles' choice,
subject to board confirmation on Tuesday night, is William Sahs, who
farms west of Lawndale at the edge of the district. Sahs has agreed
to accept the position.
Bill Sahs has a long list of community
service: He is a founding member, former chairman and current board
member of the local Habitat for Humanity. He is also a member of the
board of directors for Growmark, a regional cooperative in
Bloomington. Sahs served on the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital
board from 1991 to 1996 and the Memorial Health System board from
1995 to 1996. During that time he chaired the ALMH board for two
years and was its treasurer another two. For 18 years he was on the
board of East Lincoln Farmers Grain and chaired it for 10. He also
served on the board of Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce from
1996 to 2001. He has belonged to the Rotary Club of Lincoln for
about 15 years.
Jeff Mayfield, new economic development
director for Logan County, sought the board's help in fulfilling his
duties. He said his philosophy is to be out meeting people and
"shaking those bushes." In encouraging new and expanded business, he
declared, "I plan to leave no stone unturned."
Mayfield said he started two weeks
before his official employment date of Feb. 1 and has contacted a
number of landowners, owners of vacant facilities and potential
investors. He has also talked with economic development personnel in
other communities the size of Lincoln and Logan County and has
examined websites and incentive plans. "I am in a steep learning
curve," he summarized, noting that a great deal of information has
been poured into his head that he will need to process.
In response to a request from County
Engineer Tom Hickman, Mayfield has also drafted a letter to U.S.
Rep. Ray LaHood to solicit federal funding for Fifth Street Road
improvements. Bobbi Abbott, executive director of Lincoln/Logan
County Chamber of Commerce, co-signed the letter.
Expanding businesses already operating
in the county is one of Mayfield's expressed goals. Board member
Mitch Brown asked what the economic development director will bring
to the table to encourage owners to grow their businesses. Mayfield
replied that he is collecting information on funding sources and
their requirements to share with local firms.
He asked for written statements of
board members' expectations of the Economic Development Council,
what they are willing to contribute and what has been done to
implement the economic development plan approved 2˝ years ago. He
questioned whether the plan can be rolled over into a comprehensive
plan for the county. He also asked what steps are being taken to
create new revenue streams. To the point, the county has placed
creation of an economic development tax on the April 1 ballot.
Voyles described Mayfield as a
high-energy person and asked board members to support him.
Responding to criticism that EDC meetings are not open to the public
even though the council spends public monies, Voyles said this is a
side issue that will not be allowed to interfere with economic
development activities. "We [the EDC, county, city and chamber of
commerce] will all come together to do what's important," he
asserted.
[to top of second column in
this article]
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Gleason
and Schilling named to national committee
In a report to the board, tourism chair
Paul Gleason said he and Lincoln College President Ron Schilling
have been appointed to the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Advisory
Committee, a group of 70 people charged with planning the national
celebration of Lincoln's 200th birthday in 2009. Gleason is just
back from Washington, D.C., where he made a presentation to the
committee regarding creating a Lincoln handbook for students. The
refined proposal will be presented to Congress in 2004. Other plans
for the celebration include a new postage stamp and a modified
Lincoln penny.
Locally, the tourism committee is
preparing a coloring book depicting Lincoln's activities in Logan
County. Gleason and Lincoln College Museum director Ron Keller are
writing the captions. Plans are to complete the 8˝-by-11-inch
coloring book this spring for distribution to children visiting
county historic sites.
Gleason also announced that the LC
Museum has just acquired part of a steel girder from the World Trade
Center in New York City. The piece is approximately 30 inches long
and weighs almost 300 pounds. It is already on display in the
museum.
New
personnel and policies at Animal Control
In other business, animal control chair
Pat O'Neill announced three new employees at the center: Vickie
Loafman, warden; Maurice Tierney, assistant warden; and Tammy
Langley, part-time help.
The county board took straw votes on
four issues changing procedures for the animal control facility.
Board members supported all four proposals:
--To ask veterinarians to issue animal
tags and to raise the price from $6 to $10 for one year, $15 for
three years, with $2 going to the veterinarian.
--To punish a first-time leash offense
with a $20 fine, not just a warning.
--To fine anyone who abuses an animal
$200, raised from the current $50 to reflect the seriousness of the
offense.
--To extend the time before euthanizing
an animal from seven working days to up to 15 working days. O'Neill
explained that the purpose is to allow as many animals as possible
to be adopted and thus lower the number of deaths. He has also
arranged with Taps, a no-kill shelter in Peoria, to take dogs and
cats as long as they are not sick or vicious. If homes are not found
in Logan County, Taps will seek them in Peoria. Through these
measures O'Neill expects to save a significant amount of money as
well as the lives of many dogs and cats.
A binding vote on the four issues will
be taken at Tuesday's voting session. If passed, the new rules will
go into effect March 1 or by March 15 at the latest.
O'Neill reported there has been over
$2,000 in uncollected animal control fines. Brown asked how he
expects to collect larger fines if smaller ones have not been paid.
O'Neill replied that in the future Animal Control will turn over
unpaid fines to the state's attorney for prosecution.
In another
committee report Logan County Regional Planning Commission chair
Dave Hepler said the commission has voted to support both the
Lincoln half-cent sales tax increase and the creation of a county
economic development tax. The two referendums are on the April 1
ballot.
[Lynn
Spellman]
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Significant winter storm
to affect
parts of central Illinois tonight
(Weather
update issued 10:15 a.m. Friday)
[FEB. 14, 2003]
A winter storm system over
western Kansas will track east toward the region tonight and into
Saturday. Most of central Illinois will be above freezing today with
just rain. But temperatures will drop back below freezing tonight as
increasing northeast winds bring colder air south across the state
tonight. Rain will change to freezing rain and snow during this
evening along and north of Interstate 74 and after midnight south of
I-74. The changeover will not take place until late tonight south of
I-70. Ice along with several inches of snow is possible along and
north of I-74 tonight, with snow likely Saturday.
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For Cass, Christian, Clark, Coles,
Cumberland, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Logan, Macon, Menard, Morgan,
Moultrie, Piatt, Sangamon, Scott and Shelby counties, including the
cities of Beardstown, Charleston, Clinton, Decatur, Jacksonville,
Lincoln, Marshall, Mattoon, Monticello, Paris, Shelbyville,
Springfield, Sullivan, Taylorville, Toledo, Tuscola, Virginia and
Winchester:
Ice storm
warning has been canceled today
With temperatures above freezing the
rest of today, the precipitation should fall as rain. However, the
rain will change to freezing rain and snow after midnight south of
I-74 as winds become northeast between 15 and 25 mph. Snow and
freezing rain is still likely during the day Saturday.
For Champaign, Fulton, Knox, Marshall,
Mason, McLean, Peoria, Schuyler, Stark, Tazewell, Vermilion and
Woodford counties, including the cities of Bloomington, Canton,
Champaign, Danville, Eureka, Galesburg, Havana, Lacon, Lewistown,
Mason City, Pekin, Peoria, Rantoul and Rushville:
Winter
storm warning has been canceled today but continues tonight
Rain will occur today and possibly be
mixed with light freezing rain north of I-74. The rain will change
to freezing rain and snow this evening, with several inches of snow
possible by daybreak Saturday. In addition, winds will become
northeast and increase to between 15 and 25 mph tonight. Snow is
still likely during the day Saturday.
Remember, a winter storm warning means
severe winter weather conditions are imminent or highly likely.
[to top of second column in
this article] |
For Clay, Crawford, Effingham, Jasper,
Lawrence and Richland counties, including the cities of Effingham,
Flora, Lawrenceville, Newton, Olney and Robinson:
Freezing
rain advisory allowed to expire late this morning south of I-70
With
temperature above freezing the rest of today, the precipitation
should fall as rain. The rain will change to freezing rain and snow
late tonight into Saturday as winds become northeast between 15 and
25 mph. Freezing rain is likely during the day Saturday.
[10:15 a.m. Friday news
release]
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