 While there were very few items on the voting agenda, a petition
from the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce regarding street
closures for the 2011 Lincoln Art & Balloon Festival did reveal a
new feature that will be added to next year's weekend of activities.
Andi Hake, the director of the chamber, had appeared before the
council in November, saying that next year the chamber would like
additional street closures during the weekend event in August.
On Monday evening, with the request on the agenda, chamber event
coordinator Heidi Browne offered a brief explanation of the request.
The chamber will bring a Kansas City-sanctioned barbecue cook-off
to Lincoln.
Browne said this will be a national event, with the type of
competition going on that one can see on Food Network television.
Details of the competition are not ready to be released to the
public.
The motion on the agenda read:
Petition by the
Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce to use City property and
streets during the 2011 Lincoln Art and Balloon Festival subject to
adjustment.
The exact details of what streets and city property will be
needed are not nailed down. However, Browne said the chamber and the
streets and alley department have always worked well together, and
she and Tracy Jackson will work together on this project as well.
She said streets would be closed only as needed and when needed.
Mayor Keith Snyder told Browne the city appreciates all that the
chamber does to promote the city through the art and balloon fest
and surmised that with the cook-off, "maybe we'll jam another 20,000
people in here that weekend."
A national competition also means sanction-trained judges. Browne
said there would be a judges' schooling sometime in the future in
conjunction with the cook-off. She asked if anyone was interested in
becoming a judge and got an immediate response from Snyder and city
attorney Bill Bates.
Dec. 11 to be Yellow Ribbon Day
Included in the consent agenda for the evening was a resolution
declaring Dec. 11 Yellow Ribbon Day in Lincoln.
This proclamation is in conjunction with an event at Lincoln
College on Saturday.
The Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program has been initiated by the
Secretary of Defense and is a service that provides information,
services, referrals and proactive outreach programs to soldiers of
the Army Reserve and their families.
The program runs from preparing soldiers and their families for
deployment, through helping and supporting families during
deployment, and finally offering support and assistance to soldiers
as they once again become visible members of their families and
communities when returning from deployment.
[to top of second column] |
The event Saturday will include approximately 50 returning
veterans and their families from Logan County and neighboring
communities.
(See related article.)
The following is a copy of the resolution:
RESOLUTION NO.
2010-231
WHEREAS, the
Illinois National Guard is hosting a Yellow Ribbon Event on
Saturday, December 11, 2010, on the campus of Lincoln College; and
WHEREAS, the
purpose of this Yellow Ribbon Event is to reorient and reintegrate
members of the Illinois National Guard from McLean, Logan, and
Sangamon counties returning from active duty service overseas in the
Air Force and the Army; and
WHEREAS, the Yellow
Ribbon Event on December 11 will serve approximately 50 returning
veterans; and
WHEREAS, many
community organizations including the VFW, the American Legion, the
National Honor Society of Lincoln Community High School, and others
are diligently working to make this event memorable for the
participants, their families, and this community; and
WHEREAS, the City
of Lincoln, Illinois is proud to support the Illinois National
Guard's Yellow Ribbon Event to be held in Lincoln on December 11,
2010.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE
IT RESOLVED by the Mayor and the City Council of the City of Lincoln
that we do hereby proclaim December 11, 2010 as Yellow Ribbon Day in
Lincoln, Illinois; and be it further
RESOLVED, that we
welcome the returning Guard members and salute them and their
families for their selfless and proud service to the people of the
United States; and be it further
RESOLVED, that we
hereby call upon all citizens, businesses, and organizations of
Lincoln to appropriately and warmly welcome these service men and
women and their families to our community and to show their
gratitude for the blessings they have secured for us all.
ADOPTED this 6th
day of December, 2010.
[By NILA SMITH]
 |
