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Bill Martin Jr. remembered by Logan County Board
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[May 09, 2014]
LINCOLN - The Tuesday,
April 20th regular meeting of the Logan County Board began as usual
with Sally Litterly-Turner ordering a call to order, "Oh yea, Oh
yea, oh yea; the Logan County Board is now in session pursuant to
adjournment, the honorable Robert Farmer presiding."
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 Chairman of the board, Farmer, asked everyone to
sit. He then read some highlights of lifetime contributions made by
former board member Bill Martin.
Farmer began by saying, "Our fellow board member,
Bill Martin Jr., 67, died at his home in Atlanta on Wed., March
26th, 2014."
In summary, Farmer said that Martin was a 1964 grad
of the Atlanta High School, served our country four years in the
navy on the U.S.S. Chicago up to June 1972.
He went on to say that Martin served our communities
for many years since that time including 11 and one-half years as
the mayor of Atlanta; served on numerous Logan County committees
that included the Logan County Regional Planning Commission,
Development Partnership, Regional Economic Development Council.
Martin was elected to District 1 of Logan County in
2008. He also served on the Christian Child Care board and Life
Pointe Church of God council; was a member of the American Legion,
Post 314, Atlanta; an avid fan of the Cubs and Duck Dynasty.
"Bill will be fondly remembered by the board, and
the citizens of Logan County will miss him," Farmer said.
Dan Fulscher added that Martin had formed the
Atlanta Emergency Disaster Service, an all volunteer group under the
county's Emergency Management Agency. This was the only
municipality in the state of Illinois to do so, Fulscher pointed
out.
Martin was also avid in bringing along the mobile
command unit. "He was very much involved in supporting weather
spotting and training in Atlanta, even before he came on the county
board," Fulscher said.
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Farmer said, Martin was the one who got the big guy
with the hot dog.
Fulscher added, "And a smile on the water tower."
Board member Jan Schumacher said, "I think we all
feel like we appreciate what he said. He didn't go along with
everybody just to go along. But, when he spoke, it was well thought
out."
County Clerk and Recorder Sally Litterly-Turner said
that when the county voted in 2000 to redistrict, it meant going
from at-large to districts. Martin was on the committee to do that
work. "We worked tirelessly to figure out where our districts
should lie, and Bill was a big part of that," she said.
"Anything I ever asked of him and he was ready to
go," Chairman Farmer said. Farmer then asked everyone to stand for
a moment of silence in Martin's memory.
In tradition, Martin's chair was draped in black in
April. In honor of his civil service, there was also a memorial
table set up in the Logan County Courthouse rotunda. His picture
sits in the shadows of the statue of Abraham Lincoln.
[By JAN YOUNGQUIST]
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