With participants gathered on the steps of the courthouse, or inside
if the weather is bad, the names will be read of those who have died
in 2013 within the city of Mount Pulaski and its immediate vicinity.
After each name is read, the old 1870s school bell on the south side
of the courthouse yard will be tolled. The service will last about
20 minutes.
To review the list of names to be read, go to the town's website,
www.mtpulaskiil.com, and click on "Obituaries." All corrections
or additions should be called in to Tom Martin, 792-3267.
The New Year's Eve Remembrance Service was initiated on Dec. 31,
2010, to kick off the yearlong celebration of the 175th anniversary
of the founding of Mount Pulaski.
The historic courthouse was once the Logan County seat
(1848-1855) on the traveling Illinois 8th Judicial Circuit,
where Abraham Lincoln, Judge David Davis, Steven A. Douglas,
William "Billy" Herndon, Samuel H. Treat, Lionel P. Lacey,
Samuel C. Parks, and William H. Young, among many others,
practiced their craft by bringing the court of law to the people
by horseback and horse and buggy. This structure later became a
schoolhouse for grades one to 12 during the years 1857-1877 and
again for one year in 1911-12.
[By PHIL BERTONI]
Nikki
Hamilton named December ALMH Employee of the Month
Nikki Hamilton of
Springfield has been named the December Employee of the Month at Abraham
Lincoln Memorial Hospital. Hamilton works at ALMH as a unit secretary and
nurse tech in acute care. Her great attitude garnered her recognition and
nominations from several co-workers.
"She is one of the best team players
on the floor," said her nominator. "She always has a smile and
always a positive attitude. We were so lucky to get her on our
floor. She deserves this honor."
Another nominator mentioned that Hamilton is always willing to
jump in and help anyone out: "Nikki goes the extra mile for her
co-workers and our patients! She works hard every second she is here
and never complains about any task, small or large. Her positive
attitude is contagious!"
Hamilton began her ALMH career in dietary and has now been at the
hospital for seven years. As a unit secretary, her duties include
updating charts, verifying orders, setting up appointments,
answering phones and call lights, and much more. As a tech, Hamilton
gives direct care to patients, which can include meeting their
general needs, helping to keep their pain under control with
non-medical techniques and sometimes just comforting them.
"I love working at ALMH, where I learn something new every day
because every patient and every day is different," said Hamilton. "I
love how dedicated everyone is to their job and our family
environment. I am looking forward to being able to grow as a person
and as an employee at ALMH."
Hamilton enjoys spending time with
friends and families, watching movies, singing, and taking classes
toward her nursing degree.
ALMH, at 200 Stahlhut Drive in
Lincoln, is a 25-bed, critical-access hospital affiliated with
Memorial Health System. ALMH employs over 310 in a variety of roles.
For more information, visit
www.almh.org.
Salvation Army adopted families share in Christmas
The Salvation Army Keest
Center in Lincoln was the site of the annual Adopt-a-Family Christmas party
on Thursday evening. Adopt-a-Family is a Salvation Army program that pairs
families with sponsors who want to make sure the children have something
under the Christmas tree.
This year almost 20 families took part
in the program, up from nine families last year. This is the second
year that the program has been part of the Lincoln Christmas season.
"Sponsors for the families come from
three local groups," said Tony Shuff, Salvation Army director for
Logan and Mason County. "We get partners from churches, businesses
and families who want to help out."
This year the families enjoyed a
visit with Santa, as well as cookies and hot chocolate.
[By CURT FOX]
'We
Are Lincoln'
Putting words into action — Part 4
Last week Wednesday as the second meeting of the "We Are Lincoln"
group began to wind down, Patrick Doolin said he would like to see a
progress report at the January meeting that showed: "This is what we
talked about, and this is what we did about it."
He noted that he wanted this movement to progress from talk to
action, and in one month he wanted them to be able to check off what
they have done.
Doolin's comments then segued into a discussion about smart
goals. Moderator Michael Gowin said the group needed to set smart
goals that are measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound.
Gowin said the action to take place should be identified, and
then the progress documented to show how it is moving along. The
goals chosen should be reasonable and attainable goals. He said each
goal should have a timeline of sorts that outlines when the goal
should be achieved.
Patrick Doolin also commented that what the group is talking
about is a master project that will never be completed; it will
always be changing and evolving into another step.
Jeanette Harris said one project she would like to get involved
in would be a collaboration of all public service agencies, where
multiple agencies could meet and share resources and information.
Aaron Cantrell said he would volunteer to work with her on that
project.
April Doolin said she would post a comment on the Facebook page
asking people to list their action item from tonight. She asked the
group to be proactive in posting to the page, letting the public
know what is being worked on and encouraging others to join in.
Another member of the group said there needed to be something
that addressed the youth and young adults in the community. She said
there are lots of young people wandering about aimlessly because
there isn't much for them to do in Lincoln.
Patrick Doolin said this had come up at the last meeting, and it
was Craig Lindvahl who said that no matter what town you live in,
the kids of that town are going to say there is nothing there for
them to do.
This moved the group into talking about education and retention.
Andi Hake, director of the Lincoln/Logan Chamber of Commerce, said
the chamber does have a college outreach program and scholarship
programs. She said she didn't know how many other organizations in
town have scholarship programs for the local colleges.
Robert Bagby talked about the Lincoln High School Foundation and
said it has given out $72,000 in local scholarships. He said the
high school partners with Lincoln College to give kids an
opportunity to earn college credits while in high school. The high
school also offers a vocational program and is working on a
partnership with Heartland College to get vocational students
enrolled there to finish their associate degree. He said LCHS also
has its own alternative school and will soon graduate the 100th
student from the alternative school.
Also on hand was next year's president of the Lincoln Jaycees.
Tom Hackett said that while the Jaycees have been in Lincoln for 60
years, they are currently one of the lesser known organizations in
town. However, he said one of his goals this coming year is to
correct that and bring more attention to the organization.
He told the group that Jaycees is a youth-oriented program for
young business people. He wants to increase involvement of those
young professionals, and he wants to do more in the community to
help local youth. He encouraged those in the room to offer comments
and suggestions and to get involved with the Jaycees.
At the end of the night, Gowin had a list of projects that will
be the first priorities of the We Are Lincoln group. He asked if the
group could get together in a month and talk about the list and what
has been accomplished. After a few moments of discussion, the group
came up with a tentative date of Jan. 9 for the next meeting. The
date and time will be confirmed on the Facebook page.
The Facebook page for We Are Lincoln can be found by pasting the
following URL into your browser:
https://www.facebook.com/wearelincolnillinois.
[By NILA SMITH]
Past related articles
'We Are Lincoln'
'We
Are Lincoln'
Putting words into action — Part 3
When the "We Are Lincoln" group met last week, a large portion of the
meeting was a continuation from their first meeting, in November. At that
session, lists were compiled by those in attendance, naming projects that
needed to be started or completed in Lincoln. The goal was to identify what
is needed in order to make Lincoln a better place, and also how to draw
attention to the good things that are already going on in the city.
Later in the evening, moderator Michael Gowin moved the discussion
to identifying new issues that were not already on the pages on the
wall.
Jeanette Harris said there was not enough information regarding
services for those in bad situations. Harris spoke about those who
are in poverty and also have other issues in their lives, such as
difficulty finding work because they have a criminal background.
Harris reminded the group that in society, most of those who live
in poverty are victims of generational poverty, where children are
following in the footsteps of their parents and grandparents. She
said there needed to be more done in the community to help break
these generational cycles.
Patrick Doolin also updated the group on what is going on with
the downtown revitalization programs. He told them that the steering
committee had presented two recommendations to the city council for
actions to be taken in 2014 that would start showing physical
evidence of the revitalization.
He said that in addition to what has been recommended, there are
other projects that other groups are trying to get going. He
mentioned as a for-instance, an empty lot near the Lincoln Public
Library that will be developed into additional downtown parking.
David Doolin said there are several things going on in the
community that are not just a "snapshot in time"; they are ongoing,
continual efforts. He named specifically the Together for Lincoln
program that annually does work to improve the lives of those less
fortunate or unable to maintain their homes due to health or age.
He said the We Are Lincoln group could be an aggregate for new
ideas for existing movements, and that they could team together and
help each other in making improvements in Lincoln.
Aaron Cantrell, who is involved with Together for Lincoln, said
there is a new men's group forming at Jefferson Street Church as a
spinoff of Together for Lincoln. He said the group is going to be
starting soon with a new outreach that will offer assistance to
widows and single-parent families.
Gowin then moved the topics along, asking members of the group to
talk about why they were there.
Andi Hake of the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce spoke
up first, saying that she had missed the first We Are Lincoln
meeting because she had to attend another meeting, but that she had
been very excited to hear how many people had come to the initial
session.
She said the work this group wants to do is something that in
the big picture will make her job easier. As the executive
director of the chamber of commerce, her role is to promote the
community, bring new business into town and help the city grow.
She said groups working together and making Lincoln a better
place through projects such as the dog park make Lincoln more
attractive to those looking to come here.
Another member of the audience said Lincoln was her husband's
hometown. As a couple they had left Lincoln, but they returned 10
years ago to raise their family here. She said she wanted her kids
to be proud of their hometown and to want to stay right here.
David Lanterman said he was part of the group because he wants to
help improve Lincoln.
Harris spoke again. She explained that she is a single mom with
kids, and she's working to receive her education at Lincoln
Christian University. She said typically those who are poor and
struggling don't often participate in meetings like this one.
However, she said she had built up her courage and come to the
meeting because she wanted to be a voice for those who are afraid to
participate, and she wants the betterment of Lincoln to include the
betterment of those people.
Blinn Bates said he felt that many of those who were in the room
were there for the betterment of the city, and they had come from a
desire to be a part of it. He commented that on a very cold night,
his home was safe and warm, but he felt a need to be a part of this
movement that would move the city forward in the future.
As the one-hour mark passed at the meeting, the question was
asked, "Can we make a list of things we want to do?"
___
In the final segment of this series, the group discusses how to
promote the We Are Lincoln group and the community as a whole.
[By NILA SMITH]
Past related articles
'We Are Lincoln'
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