LDN

About LDN	Letters to the Editor

About LDN
Lincoln Daily News.com 601 Keokuk St. Lincoln, IL 62656 TEL: (217) 732-7443 FAX: (217) 732-9630 Lincoln Daily News publishes daily news about the Lincoln/Logan County area on the Internet at www.lincolndailynews.com. (We are not a print publication.) All subscriptions are free! Content: The articles published in Lincoln Daily News are the result of research, interviews and news releases submitted. Any opinions expressed are those of the writers. Our staff: In the office Managing editor: Jan Youngquist ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com Technician, writer: Gina Sennett gsldn@lincolndailynews.com Text processing: Mary Krallmann Advertising sales and public relations: Lucky Eichner: ads@lincolndailynews.com Writers [click here] For employment information, contact Lincoln Daily News at their offices.	Our mission: The mission of Lincoln Daily News is to tell the stories of Logan County in a contemporaneous manner, with lively writing and a predilection for simple truth fairly told. Lincoln Daily News seeks a relationship with the good people of Logan County that is honest, neighborly and never patronizing. Lincoln Daily News presents news within a full context that contributes to understanding. Lincoln Daily News is more interested in the marketplace of ideas than the competition of personalities. Without shrinking from the bold delivery of unvarnished fact, Lincoln Daily News operates from the premise that God's creatures deserve the presumption of right motive. Lincoln Daily News eschews malice and cynicism; it approaches every person with dignity and every subject with equanimity. In short, Lincoln Daily News informs, stimulates and entertains. Corrections: Please contact us by phone, fax, mail or e-mail with any information about mistakes, typos or erroneous information. If the error is in an item which is still in the paper, we will correct it online immediately. Our services: Lincoln Daily News provides daily news, sports, features and commentary on Lincoln, Logan County and the surrounding area. To promote local businesses, we offer display advertisements at very reasonable rates, and links to business websites. Call (217) 732-7443 or e-mail ads@lincolndailynews.com. "Happy ads" are a special feature to enable our readers to celebrate birthdays, graduations, anniversaries and other good news. Call us for details.

Letters to the Editor
The Lincoln Daily News publishes letters to the editor as they are received. The letters are not edited in content and do not necessarily reflect the views of Lincoln Daily News. Lincoln Daily News requests that writers responding to controversial issues address the issue and refrain from personal attacks. Thank you! . Please send your letters by e-mail to ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com or by U.S. postal mail to: Letters to the Editor Lincoln Daily News 601 Keokuk St. Lincoln, IL 62656 Letters must include the writer’s name, telephone number, mailing address and/or e-mail address (we will not publish address or phone number information). Lincoln Daily News reserves the right to edit letters to reduce their size or to correct obvious errors. Lincoln Daily News reserves the right to reject any letter for any reason. *Lincoln Daily News* will publish as many acceptable letters as space allows.

Taxes, taxes, taxes
To the editor: This letter is in response to the letter to the editor from Les Plotner. Our city streets have been bad for at least the past 10 years. During this time, the city enjoyed record levels of revenue. Why didn't the city maintain the roads when they had sufficient money? In the past six months the Lincoln city government has given itself a $1 million raise. They borrowed $620,000 from the State Bank of Lincoln, for the purpose of improving our streets and infrastructure, we were told. They also transferred the $350,000 city fire hydrant fee the city of Lincoln had been paying over to the city residents to pay in the way of higher water bills. Why isn't this extra $1,000,000 enough money to operate on? We should not be in a race with other communities in the state to see who can have the highest city sales tax. Do you really think the city sales tax increase, coupled with the new Logan County proposed tax increase, would attract new industry, or new businesses? Do you think higher taxes would attract new residents? By the way, city residents, brace yourselves, because I can feel another tax increase coming sooner rather than later regarding the shortage of money on hand to complete the proposed construction of the two new city schools. [to top of second column in this letter]	From the 1990 census to the 2000 census Lincoln lost over 2,000 city residents. During 2002, the city of Lincoln lost another 1,000 jobs and residents from LDC (780 employees) and APAC (250 employees) closing down and moving out of town. Yet Lincoln city government has failed to reduce city manpower throughout their many departments. Instead they have chosen to try to raise your taxes. This demonstrates a very poor business practice on the part of Mayor Beth Davis and the present aldermen. Why have the mayor and city aldermen refused to cut the city labor force and other related expenses? Their idea of cutting was to shift excess money around in city accounts to balance last year’s budget. Why are they trying to ram the city sales tax increase down our throats a second time, especially after it was defeated by a 2-to-1 margin just this past November? City officials need to take a page out of the new governor’s book on balancing the state budget. He has refused to raise the state sales tax or the state income tax; instead he has chosen to cut costs at every level of government, including laying people off, and he is also making every effort to make for constructive change. We are once again asking Lincoln voters to vote "no" for the proposed city of Lincoln sales tax increase and the new proposed Logan County tax increase this April. These tax increases would be passed on to your children, grandchildren, etc., if they were to pass. Les Van Bibber Lincoln (posted 1-20-03)

Period-authentic, re-created music used in video
To the editor: We would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank the Main Street Lincoln committee for choosing The Prairie Aires to represent the traditional music of the 1800s in the video "From Surveyor to President, A. Lincoln in Logan County." Our music was also played at the video premiere reception held on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2003. The video background music was played on period instruments, and because we researched the songs, know much of it would have been recognized by Mr. Lincoln.	We are also looking forward to helping celebrate the city of Lincoln's 150th anniversary in 2003. The Prairie Aires’ CDs and cassettes are available to people who enjoy traditional music of the 1800s, by calling MeLane Coulter at (217) 445-2571 or visiting the New Salem Museum Store or The Neverending Story in Havana, Ill. Sincerely, The Prairie Aires Lynette Belcher, MeLane Coulter, Miriam Greene and Janet Schoonover. (posted 1-15-03)

Stolen bike
To the editor: Last Friday, on Jan. 10, 2003, my son was on his way to work and had planned to ride his bike since his truck is not running. But when he got out to the garage he noticed it was gone. We have yet to report this to the police as this is the third time it has been taken. The garage is near an alley behind the house at 1012 Clinton St. This bike is a Roadmaster with one of the brakes not in working order and the seat torn.	If the person who reads this is the person who took my son's bike, I ask that you return it and the police will not be called. We will give you two weeks and we forgive you. By the end of two weeks, if it is not returned, then the police will be called upon. Of all the things that are in our garage to take, why my son's bike? Debbi G. Thompson Lincoln (posted 1-14-03)

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