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November
Election news
Voters in the Nov. 5 election found
many changes. Logan County has been divided into two representative
districts and two senatorial districts during the redistricting. The
87th and 88th representative districts now form the 44th Legislative
District, and the 99th and 100th representative districts create the
50th Legislative District. Most of the northern and southeastern
portions of Logan County are in the 87th Representative District and
44th Legislative District. The southwest portion of the county and
most of Lincoln are in the 100th Representative District and 50th
Legislative District. Logan County also has six new county board
districts. Voters recently opted to choose county board members from
districts instead of at-large, as they did formerly.
In the November general election, Logan
County voters said “no” to two proposed tax hikes and made a change
in the sheriff's office. The referendum for the city of Lincoln's
sales tax increase went down by a 2-1 majority, while the
Chester-East Lincoln education fund tax increase failed by a narrow
margin. Incumbent Sheriff Anthony “Tony” Soloman, one of the
county's few Democratic officeholders, was defeated by Republican
challenger Steven G. Nichols. In the new county board District 3,
the only district with a race, Republican incumbent Gloria Luster of
Mount Pulaski and Republican newcomer John Stewart, also of Mount
Pulaski, defeated Democrat Harold Dingman of Latham. The other
county board seats were decided in the March Republican primary.
Winning the House seat in the 87th
District without opposition was Republican Bill Mitchell of
Forsythe; the House seat in the 88th District went to Republican
Rich Brauer of Petersburg. Republican Bill Brady of Bloomington took
the 44th District Senate seat, and Republican Larry K Bomke of
Springfield won the 50th District seat.
Lincoln city news
On Nov. 1, a groundbreaking ceremony
marked the beginning of construction of the city's $9.8 million
sewer plant upgrade. City officials and officials from Environmental
Management Company, which operates the plant, attended. The work
will take about 18 months to complete.
Martha “Marty” Neitzel was appointed to
fill the city council seat left vacant by the recent death of
Alderman Joseph Stone. Neitzel was seated on Nov. 4. Her husband,
Arthur, is a former city council member.
The city council voted to try again to
pass the 0.5 percent sales tax that citizens turned down in the
November election. Alderman Steve Fuhrer said he did not believe the
council had worked hard enough to get out the message about the tax
and why it is needed. He pointed out that a person who spends $10
will pay only 5 cents more, and a person who spends $100 will pay
only 50 cents more. Verl Prather, finance chairman, said Lincoln
residents need to understand that without some new revenue there
will be no more street repair work.
The city also agreed to hire an
attorney to fight the 13.24 percent increase in water rates
requested by the Illinois-American Water Company. The rate increase
must be approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission and will not go
into effect until the summer of 2003. City Attorney Bill Bates
suggested they hire an attorney who has dealt with the ICC
previously. The increase will cost the average residential customer
about 12 cents a day, or $3.75 per month.
School
and college news
Parents and staff members from
Washington-Monroe Elementary School were among teams from 15 schools
from across the state chosen to present their effective school
improvement strategies at the statewide "School-Family Partnerships
Make a Difference" conference in Naperville. The Washington-Monroe
team included Principal Rebecca Cecil, teachers Leslie Singleton and
Debbie Turner, and parents Crystal Alley, Dawn Frye and Candy Boulb.
The presenters showed their workshop participants how to organize
Family Reading Nights, Family Resource Libraries and out-of-school
opportunities for families to complement school instruction.
Washington-Monroe is also the winner of the Golden Spike Award for
raising test scores three years in a row.
Lenny Janet, former Central School
principal, was sworn in as the newest member of the District 27
school board in November, filling the vacancy left by the
resignation of Leta Herrington last month. Janet said he would run
for another four-year term in the April 1 election. The two other
board members whose terms expire, Shelly Allen and Joe Brewer, both
are considering running again.
Lincoln Christian College and Seminary
has achieved a record enrollment of 1,011 students for the fall
semester. This is the first time in the school's history that
enrollment has exceeded 1,000 students. Sandra Kellerstrass, a
nontraditional student in the LincUp program, was the 1,000th
student to register for classes at LCCS.
Lincoln College student groups once
again helped elderly Lincoln residents by donating time to rake
their leaves. This annual tradition is supported by members of the
Lincoln College Student Senate and the Lincoln College Admissions
Ambassadors.
County
board news
The Logan County Board honored retiring
board members for their years of service: Rod White, 20 years; Doug
Dutz, 12 years; Clifford Sullivan, six years; Roger Bock, three
years; Jim Griffin, two years; and Tom Cash, one year. Dick Logan
received a gavel for his two-year service as board chair.
The board formally forgave a 1988 loan
to the Logan County Cemetery District for $100,000. The loan
consisted of tax money collected by the county to maintain county
cemeteries. When the cemetery district was formed in 1988 to take
over that function, the county gave it all maintenance equipment and
the loan as start-up money. The loan was later written off the
county books as uncollectible. However, it was not formally
forgiven. The cemetery district maintains 44 of the 60 cemeteries in
the county.
The board passed its fiscal 2003 budget
and set levies totaling $2,628,705. The 2003 budget contains a
general fund property tax increase of 1.6 percent and a deficit of
about $190,000 in the general fund. Levies for the ambulance service
and liability insurance funds were cut in order to shore up the
general fund.
Other
November news
Veterans from Logan County were honored
at a musical tribute Sunday evening and at the traditional
courthouse lawn ceremony Monday, Nov. 11. Nearly 150 veterans from
all branches of service filled the Lincoln Park District ballroom
Sunday evening for a dance and musical tribute honoring them. All
Logan County veterans were sent invitations to the first-time
special event hosted by the youth group of St. John United Church of
Christ.
Looking for Lincoln members are
planning for the premiere showing of the video "From Surveyor to
President; A. Lincoln in Logan County" on Jan. 11 at Lincoln
College. The screening is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Johnston Center
for the Performing Arts on the LC campus.
Record crowds thronged Lincoln downtown
for a Sunday “Tea at the Lincoln T,” an event organized by downtown
merchants. Refreshments, entertainment and friendly merchants made
it day local people remember as an old-fashioned good time.
Sports
news
Lincoln Community High School's Lady Railer volleyball team faced off with the Taylorville Tornadoes. A
3-0 Taylorville run began Game 1. But that was it. The entire rest
of the match was dominated by Lincoln, as they went on to defeat
Taylorville 15-5, 15-4 and repeat as regional champions.
Lincoln (30-8) moved on to play
Champaign Central in the sectional semifinal match at Rantoul. The
Lady Railers showed the heart of champions as they once again
refused to let their season end. But not before they gave their
coaches and fans quite a scare. When it was over the box score
looked like this: 13-15, 15-11, 15-7; Railers win.
A fired-up and focused Lincoln
volleyball team took the floor at Rantoul High School with one
mission in mind: to be the team that moved on to the super-sectional
match. And that's exactly what they did. The Railers lived up to
their No. 1 seed, defeated Champaign Centennial, repeated as
sectional champions and moved on to be the only team played Normal
Community in the super-sectional contest Saturday. The final tally:
15-6, 13-15, 15-11. The Lady Railers finally lost to Normal
Community High School, 15-7, 15-1, but they never quit.
Mount
Pulaski's Lady Hilltoppers defeated Colchester (30-10) in the Class
A volleyball quarterfinals and defeated Lena (31-6) in the
semifinals in order to play against Wheaton-St. Francis (32-8) for
the state championship. The Mount Pulaski team took second place at
Redbird Arena in Normal.
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December
County board gets five new members
Five new Logan County Board members and
the county's new sheriff took office early in December. The new
sheriff is Republican Steve Nichols. New members are Mitch Brown of
rural Lincoln, Bob Farmer of rural Lincoln, Pat O'Neill of Lincoln,
Chuck Ruben of rural Hartsburg and John Stewart of Mount Pulaski.
Circuit Judge Dave Coogan and Associate
Circuit Judge Don Behle conducted the swearing-in ceremony before a
crowd of about 100 people in the third-floor courtroom of the Logan
County Courthouse. Also sworn in were returning Logan County
Treasurer Mary Bruns, County Clerk and Recorder Sally Litterly, and
six county board members. Those returning to the board are Paul
Gleason, Lloyd Hellman, Dave Hepler, Dick Logan, Gloria Luster, Dale
Voyles and Terry Werth. Hellman could not attend the ceremony
because of illness. The term of the newly elected regional
superintendent of schools, Jean Anderson, begins July 1, 2003.
At an organizational meeting the new
board members received committee assignments and their term of
office. Because of the county going to district rather than at-large
representation, board members drew numbers for two- and four-year
terms. For each district, one name got a four-year and the other got
a two-year term. This will protect each district from starting with
all-new representation at each election. Drawing two-year terms were
Mitch Brown, Lloyd Hellman, David Hepler, Dick Logan, Gloria Luster
and Patrick O'Neill. Drawing four-year terms were Robert Farmer,
Paul Gleason, Charles Ruben, John Stewart, Dale Voyles and Terry
Werth. Voyles is the new county board chairman.
The board's animal control committee,
with new chairman Pat O'Neill, held its first meeting and heard a
list of complaints citizens said they would like to see the
corrected.
The newly reorganized board heard plans
to ask for federal funding to improve Fifth Street Road, the No. 1
priority on the county's five-year road plan. County engineer Tom
Hickman said the project won't be carried out until funds are in
place. He is drafting a letter to Sen. Peter Fitzgerald asking for
federal funding. Voyles and Lincoln Mayor Beth Davis will also sign
the letter.
In other business at Thursday night's
board-of-the-whole meeting, Sheriff Steve Nichols said an audit in
progress found doors and locking mechanisms on two cellblocks in
need of replacement. The sheriff is also taking applications to
replace correctional officers who have resigned or been terminated.
The board also voted to direct its
finance committee to write a resolution and set the rate for a tax
referendum to support economic development. If passed at the January
board meeting, the resolution will go before voters in April. The
money would be earmarked for economic development of the whole
county, not for land for a commerce park or any other specific
project. If passed, the new economic development tax would replace
current county and city funding for the Economic Development
Council. Finance committee member Dick Logan said one argument in
favor of the tax is that it would give the EDC a steady, predictable
income and "stop the begging" each year at budget-writing time. He
and board member Terry Werth explained that one problem in filling
the director of economic development position is the low salary and
inability to commit to more than one year's pay. They said at least
$55,000 a year for three years is needed to attract a strong
candidate.
Lincoln city news
Lincoln aldermen continued discussing
ways to persuade voters to pass the 0.5 percent sales tax increase
that was turned down in November. City Treasurer Les Plotner gave
his financial report for the first six months of the current fiscal
year, showing how the city's income from various sources has dropped
this year compared with previous years. The most startling news was
the difference between the funds the city expected to earn from its
investments and the amount it is actually earning: $18,203, only
21.4 percent of the estimated $84,950.
The council also announced plans to
resurface the streets around the courthouse square using accumulated
Federal Aid-Urban funds. Streets that meet federal designation as
collector streets are Broadway from Hamilton to Union, Pulaski from
Hamilton to Logan, and Kickapoo from Broadway to Clinton. To get the
$528,000 from the FAU funds, the city must pay 20 percent of the
cost of the total project, about $132,000.
Bill Melton, a 21-year veteran of the
city council and the sole Democrat, has announced that he will not
run for his Ward 4 seat next year because he is moving out of his
home to rural Lincoln. Running for the Ward 4 seat is Orville “Buzz”
Busby, who previously served as alderman in Ward 4. In Ward 1,
incumbent Pat Madigan will face Anthony “T.J.” Swarts in the
February Primary. In Ward 2, incumbent Steve Fuhrer will face former
alderman Stephan A. Mesner. The winner of the primary will face Leo
Logan, who has filed as a Democrat, in the April 1 general election.
In Ward 3, incumbent George Mitchell will faces Jonette “Jonie”
Tibbs in the primary, and in Ward 5, newly appointed Martha “Marty”
Neitzel will face a challenge from Derrick Crane.
School
news
Partitions are up in the new Central
School classroom wing, and it is becoming possible to imagine parts
of the completed building. Rick Spahn, project manager for S.M.
Wilson, said 95 percent of the steel structure is in place, although
roof framing remains to be done. The classroom wing is close to
weather-tight, and interior work is progressing on both floors. The
District 27 school board unanimously passed a 2003-4 tax levy of
$3.17 million, including bonds. This reflects a tax rate of $3.0356
per $100 of assessed valuation and is based on an estimated assessed
valuation of $104.5 million.
Washington-Monroe, Northwest and
Jefferson schools have received a windfall in the form of increased
Title I funds. Rebecca Cecil, principal at Washington-Monroe and
Title I director, said in October 2002 she learned that an
additional $89,739 would be granted to the three schools.
Washington-Monroe, with the most qualifying students, gets the most
dollars. In the past much of this money has been used to buy
educational materials and technology. This year Cecil said the
Washington-Monroe teachers felt they could help students more by
hiring a teacher to work with small groups of children.
The ag issues team and the food science
and technology team of the Hartsburg-Emden FFA chapter were selected
as state winners in recent competition. The five members of the ag
issues team, Matthew Wrage, Nick Alberts, Brittney Kavanaugh, Kyle
Hoerbert and Kory Leesman, presented pros and cons on the topic of
"Upgrading the Locks and Dams on the Illinois and Mississippi
Rivers." As state winners, the team will now represent the Illinois
FFA Association at the 2003 National FFA Convention. This is the
third state-winning team competing in the Ag Issues Career
Development Event for the Hartsburg-Emden FFA chapter.
Lincoln Community High School got a
good report from the North Central Association accreditation
committee in December. Committee chair Colleen Legge was impressed
with the “continual commitment to school improvement that LCHS has
shown” as well as its commitment to students. LCHS juniors made
dramatic increases in reading and writing skills on the Prairie
State Achievement Exam this year.
Other
December events
The Lincoln Public Library District has
received two new grants from the office of Secretary of State and
State Librarian Jesse White. The Dream Again grant entitled "Great
Books, Great Films" will be used to purchase classic movies in the
DVD format and great works of literature in the CD format. The
library will also receive a new DVD player and public performance
movie licensing rights for one year. This will allow the library to
host a series of public programs with the new DVD movie titles.
Lincoln will share this $32,100 grant with the public libraries in
Chatham, Rochester, Clinton, Effingham, Mount Zion and Taylorville.
The Opportunity Knocks grant entitled "Terry Turtle's Teaching
Totes" will be used to purchase tote bags for the youth services
department at the library.
An Air Evac Lifeteam explained their
emergency-based services to members of the Local Emergency Planning
Committee this month. The privately owned service can dramatically
shorten the time needed to transport critically ill or injured
patients. It is most valuable when there is a significant distance
to travel to a hospital.
Christmas shopping got a lot easier for
Nancy Moore of Lincoln. Her name was drawn as the winner of the
Santa Shopping Spree, which means she had $1,000 in shopping spree
bucks to spend at participating Lincoln businesses. Her entry was
from The Mustard Moon
The Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of
Commerce's annual Christmas parade. included 100 contest entries,
three marching bands, color guards, commercial vehicles, horses,
candy, and Santa and Mrs. Claus on a beautiful sleigh. This year's
theme was "Let Your Spirits Soar." Perry Grieme of Parker-Grieme
Insurance, the chamber's Member of the Year for 2002, is this year's
grand marshal. The only complaint was the cold weather, which caused
some band instruments to freeze up. But even the cold could not keep
the city from enjoying the beautiful colors and lights decorating
downtown.
Five inches of snow blanketed Lincoln
and the surrounding areas on Christmas Eve. Businesses reopening
Thursday morning had the chore of clearing walks and pathways to
their doors.
Sports
news
On Dec. 10 LDN has learned that Brian
Cook was chosen Big 10 Player of the Week. Cook led the Illini to
victories over No. 12 North Carolina (82-65) and over Arkansas
(62-58). He averaged over 20 points, 5.5 rebounds and dished off 4.5
assists. According to Illinois coach Bill Self, Brian did the job
against the best competition the Illini has faced. Cook was
previously selected as a weekly Big Ten winner in December of 2000,
during his sophomore season.
[Joan Crabb]
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