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 The opening days of August should have been the
Logan County Fair, but that didn’t happen. There were no Downstate
Classic Harness Races, no carnival, no midway filled with fair food
and drink, and no 4-H scrambles night for all to enjoy. Even so,
there were remnants of the fair that did happen, only in a modified
version.
Beginning with the popular Logan County Queen Pageant that normally
took place in front of a packed grand stand, the event became a
small invitation only activity held on the Lincoln Stage. Also
different was the way the competition was held. The three
competitions for Little Miss, Junior Miss and Miss Logan County Fair
Queen were separated and held at three different times of day.
Seats were provided for supporters of the individual contestants and
press. Each contestant was permitted to invite a designated number
of guests to attend. And seats were spread out with social
distancing. After each competition, the Logan County Fair Pageant
Committee cleaned each chair and regrouped the seating according the
invitees expected at the next event.
The contests were also recorded and played via social media.
Logan County Fair
Royalty were crowned on Sunday during a limited attendance pageant
held on the Lincoln Stage of the Logan County Fairground. Pictured
are newly crowned 2020 Miss Logan County Fair Queen Faith Doerr,
Junior Miss Grace Carter, and Little Miss Aubrey Rogers.
2020 Miss Logan County
Fair Pageants
Faith Doerr crowned as 2020 Logan County Fair Queen
Miss Logan County Fair Queen - Meet the candidates - slideshow
Miss Logan County Fair Queen - A new Queen wins her crown -
slideshow
Aubrey Rogers and Grace Carter named 2020 Little Miss and Junior
Miss Logan County Fair
Little Miss Logan County - Meet the candidates - slideshow
Little Miss Logan County - a new Little Miss wins the crown -
slideshow
Junior Miss Logan County - Meet the candidates - slideshow
Junior Miss Logan County - A new Junior Miss wins her crown -
slideshow
Logan County 4-H also found a way to carry on the annual exhibits
for its members via the 4-H website.
2020 LOGAN COUNTY
4-H EXHIBITS
Logan County 4-H members maintain age-old traditions with new
innovation and technology
Atlanta Ag 4-H Club
Atlanta Town and Country 4-H Club
Beason Ag 4-H Club and Chester 4-H Club
Cloverdale 4-H Club, Four Corner Clovers and Four Corner Buddies
Cloverbud 4-H Club
Hartem Clovers, Hollanders 4-H , Middletown 4-H’ers and Middletown
Cloverbuds
The Pioneers and Topper 4-H
Wide-A-Wake Club
The annual 4-H scholarships were announced via local media. It was
also announced in August that Stacie Skelton had been named to the
2020 4-H Hall of Fame.
Logan County 4-H Foundation awards scholarships
Stacie Skelton named to 2020 4-H Hall of Fame
The annual Logan County Fair Junior Carcass Show was also able to go
on.
Congratulations to Ryder Conrady (left) and Brett Hayes who are this
year’s champions in the Logan County Fair Junior Carcass Show.
Ryder took top spot in Beef Carcass while Brett snagged the title
for Pork Carcass.
Other Beef Carcass winners were: Griffen Turner, Porter Schwantz,
Jamie Lynn Hill, Conner Adams, Isabella Miller, Addison Young, James
Byrd, Paul Schwantz and Peyton Schwantz.
Other Pork Carcass winners were: Andrea Noltensmeier, Drew Hayes,
Luke Prestegaard, Max Ramlow, Ryder Conrady, Malina Luckhart, Ryan
Fruge, Reagan Titus and Lucy Prestegaard.
Winners shared premium dollars of over $2,000 made possible by local
sponsors.
Photo by David Opperman
At the end of the month another favorite event in Logan County
returned. The Balloons Over Route 66 weekend came back in a modified
version. While there was not a full weekend filled with activities,
the balloons and the Oasis Flea Market that had been revived in 2019
came back in a new format in 2020.
For the balloon events, local pilot and event organizer Seth Goodman
asked that all guests to the flights and glows remain in their
vehicles. Though part of the fun of the event has always been the
ability to interact with the pilots and get close to the balloons
while they are on the ground, it was not to be permitted in 2020. On
Friday and Saturday the crowd was respectful of the request, and a
large number of people turned out to see as much as they could from
the comfort of their vehicles.
What visitors could and did do was chase the balloons after the
lifted off. Hundreds of cars followed the balloons on both Friday
and Saturday evening, getting the full picture of what it is like to
be in a balloon from lift off to landing.
Balloons over Route 66 weekend brings the smiles back to Lincoln
Friday night lift off at the Bateman residence- slideshow
Friday night launch at the Tanner property - slideshow
Balloons in flight on Friday night - slideshow
Balloons dot the horizon Friday evening - slideshow
What goes up must come down - slideshow
Friday night flights are golden - Album
Saturday evening inflation at the Doolin residence - slideshow
The work it takes to get them in the air - slideshow
Guests enjoy watching Eighth Street inflation - slideshow
On Saturday
night, a perfect glow event brought an end to a perfect weekend in
Lincoln. The second annual Balloons Over 66 is now in the history
books. Now that it is behind us it is time to review all that
happened and the beautiful memories. The weekend will be noted as a
bright spot in a weird year. Thanks to all who made it possible!
Photo by Karen Hargis
Balloons head south on Saturday evening - slideshow
Reader shares her photos from Balloons Over 66 - Album
Mayfair Park a perfect place for a Saturday night glow - slideshow
Night glow at Bateman's an ideal end to an ideal weekend -slideshow
At the Oasis Senior Center in Lincoln the flea and vendor market was
held around the walking track behind the center. Vendors lined the
track and shoppers were instructed to make the trip around the track
one-way only. Masks were encouraged, and shoppers were asked to
observe social distancing.
Saturday - Oasis vendors enjoy the day - slideshow
Shoppers have many choices at Oasis Vendor Fair – slideshow
The Oasis also offered its annual food event via a drive through
option. In addition, there were other food opportunities that popped
up around town as well as sidewalk sales with downtown merchants and
a few garage sales scatted around town.
Plenty to do all around town on Saturday - slideshow
Early in 2020, Lincoln Daily News had begun a new Community Champion
recognition project. Due to the coronavirus the project had to be
suspended.
In August the project was revived. Though that revival was
short-lived, it was with great pleasure that LDN staff visited Bill
Gossett and Judy Busby at WLCN radio in Atlanta and presented the
pair with the August Community Champion traveling trophy.
On Wednesday
morning, Lincoln Daily News made a surprise visit to Judy Busby and
Bill Gossett at the WLCN radio station right before they went on air
with their talk show "Viewpoint." The purpose of the visit was to
recognize the two as the August LDN Community Champions. Each
received a lovely planter donated by Debbie's Downtown Floral, and
the traveling trophy will be on display at the radio station for the
next week.
Congratulations to both. In their lifetimes, they have positively
impacted many people, not only through their show but also in their
daily lives.
Photo by Nila Smith
Judy Busby and Bill Gossett named LDN’s Community Champions for
August
Habitat for Humanity of Logan County made the news in August as they
broke ground on the 25th Logan County home.
Habitat for Humanity of Logan County breaks ground on home no. 25
Habitat for Humanity of Logan County breaks ground on home No. 25 -
slideshow
Video recording of event by Jill Voyles
In other good news
Eight graders at New Holland Middletown School finally had their
graduation.
Congratulations to the New Holland Middletown Class of 2020, who
finally got to have their graduation!
Back row from the left: Sponsors Christina Thompson and Abigayle
Hill. Students Bryan Leonard, Alex Doty, Kayden Skelton, Darren
Stevens, Nate Davis, Jayce Coers and NH-M Superintendent Brandi
Bruley.
Front row: Students Emma Rodgers, Jenna Dorgan, Caitlyn Summers,
Kyndell Ginger, Lyssa Walker, Callie Wahlsmith, Rylee Davison, Emy
White and Liyah Carter.
Photo by Annie Coers
On August 7th, National Purple Heart Day was recognized locally with
the help of Logan County Sheriff Mark Landers and Joe Schaler of the
local Purple Heart community.
Today, Friday,
August 7th, is National Purple Heart Day. Logan County Sheriff and
veteran Mark Landers, and local veteran and Purple Heart Community
advocate Joe Schaler, observe the day by standing for a photo with
the Military Order of the Purple Heart Flag that flies daily on the
lawn of the Logan County Courthouse in Lincoln.
Logan County and all of its communities are Purple Heart
Communities. In addition, the state of Illinois is a Purple Heart
State.
The Purple Heart was established by General George Washington in
1782 and is awarded to those wounded or killed in combat. It is the
oldest military medal. In 1932, the Order of the Purple Heart was
chartered by Congress.
The Order motto is, "All gave some, some gave all."
Photo provided by Joe Schaler
Zailey Merreighn, a young student at Northwest School did a good
deed for her school and the children who will play there for years
to come.
On Wednesday
afternoon, Northwest School Principal Chris Allen invited student
Zailey Merreighn to be the first one to officially check out a new
swing installed over the summer on the school playground. The
invitation was given as a thank you for Zailey's efforts to raise
money to help cover the cost of the new swings and their
installation.
Later, Zailey enjoyed a few minutes on the new swings as her
grandparents Jack and Roberta Merreighn watched.
Photos By Nila Smith
Zailey Merreighn gets the first round on new playground equipment at
Northwest School
[to top of second column] |
 LDN featured a piece about the sculptures that
were showing up at Kickapoo Creek Park courtesy of local wood carver
Darrel Wibben.
Local
woodcarver Darrell Wibben has been at it again, turning wasted wood
into art at Kickapoo Creek Park. A few weeks ago, LDN ran a shot of
an owl all decked out for summer. That owl was the work of Wibben.
Soon after, we heard that Wibben was at the park working on a new
project.
The wolf Wibben is working on in the photo will be his ninth
addition to the park.
Photo by Karen Hargis
Local sculptor adds interest to the journey at Kickapoo Creek Park
Though the Youth Wresting programs had ended early in
2020 due to the coronavirus, Jack Benninger was the recipient of the
third annual Walt Landers Wrestling Scholarship.
On Wednesday
evening Jake Benninger was recognized as the recipient of the third
annual Walt Landers Wrestling Scholarship by the Lincoln Area
Wrestling Boosters Association. Head Coach of the Lincoln Youth
Wrestling Program Walt Landers presented the $1,000 scholarship.
Jake is a 2020 graduate of Lincoln Community High School. He plans
to attend Eureka College in the fall to major in Special Education
and will play football for his college next spring. Jake is the son
of Jerry and Tricia Benninger of Lincoln.
Photos By Nila Smith
Benninger awarded Walt Landers Wrestling Scholarship
A rare bee was discovered at Lincoln College’s Creekside.
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Amateur
naturalist Pam Moriearty recently snagged this shot of an American
Bumblebee at Lincoln College's Dr. G. Dennis Campbell Creekside
Outdoor Center for Environmental Education. The once abundant
species is now listed as "vulnerable" and is the first to be seen at
Creekside. The bee was verified via the University of Illinois "Beespotter.org."
Over 400 Midwest bee sightings have been reported in 2020, but only
12 have been verified as the American Bumblebee.
Photo by Pamela Moriearty
Rare American Bee Species Discovered at Lincoln College Creekside
Center
Bombus pensylvanicus Identified in Prairie Plot
And there were “Happy Feet” (but not on penguins) around the county.
There are Happy Feet around Logan County
At least one local business man found a unique way to meet with
employees for paycheck distribution, under the shade trees of Latham
Park.
How's this for
a great place to set up a temporary office? After putting in their
hours under the warm (and sometimes hot) summer sun, Wibben
Detasseling employees were asked to visit the shady Latham Park in
Lincoln to pick up their pay. Owner Cale Wibben and staff are also
very aware of the need to 'mask up" and stay clean. Boxes of masks
were on the table and a plentiful supply of hand sanitizer was also
available for all.
Thanks Cale, for taking care of your crews, many of whom are the
young people of this community.
Photo by Karen Hargis
LDN’s roaming reporter, Curtis Fox was at it again. Visiting
Kickapoo Creek Park, Fox caught a shot of these fawn.
It is the time
of year in Kickapoo Creek Park when wildlife babies are plentiful,
including these two precious fawns. The baby animals have very
little fear and seemed to be posing sweetly for the camera.
Photo by Curtis Fox
Fox and LDN reader Doug Brooks then got into shooting bugs, not with
guns or slingshots, but with their cameras, bringing all of us some
really amazing photos.
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Earlier this
week, Curtis Fox grabbed a shot of this beautiful butterfly in the
first picture. Then on Friday, Doug Brooks sent a picture of one
very similar.
These butterflies are female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. The gender
is apparent by their coloring as only the females feature the blue
on their hind wings or the tail area. Females do come in a variety
of shades including a nearly black butterfly with "ghost" tiger
stripes on the forewing.
The females with the bright yellow and black tiger stripe are the
most notable. These butterflies have the ability to become quite
large with a mature wingspan of up to five inches.
And here's an interesting fact to think about. The males prefer
females with bright yellow, but it is the dark females that live
longer. Hmmm.
Thanks to both Curtis and Doug for the lovely photos.
Photos by Curtis Fox and Doug Brooks
Mother Nature also blessed us with one of her magical performances
in August.
Monday evening
a fierce wind blew through Logan County causing some tree and other
damage as it passed. Along with, but toward the end of the wind,
came a brief rain. Following that, two LDN readers were stepping
outside and caught a glimpse of this magnificent bow.
The top photo taken by Lindsey Maxheimer was the view from a parking
lot on Woodlawn Road in Lincoln. The second photo, provided by
Matthew Williams, was taken from a slightly higher vantage point at
the Comfort Inn in Lincoln. Thanks so much to both readers for
providing these amazing shots!
Photos provided by Lindsey Maxheimer and Matthew Williams
In other news
The Lincoln City Council was taking measures to address equality and
diversity within the city and an alderman tendered his resignation.
The council also took measures to allow chickens for egg production
in town and to address delinquent sewer bills and the halt of the
moratorium on shut off notices.
Due to moving
out of Ward Two, Alderman Colby Leith has tendered his resignation
from the Lincoln City Council. Leith accepted the appointment to the
seat under former Mayor Seth Goodman in February of this year.
The Tuesday, August 25th meeting was Leith’s last meeting. He was
presented with a plaque by Acting Mayor Tracy Welch in appreciation
for his service to the city.
August is a five Monday month and Monday, September 7th is the
official Labor Day holiday. The next session of the council will be
held on Tuesday, September 8th.
Lincoln City Council:
Aldermen lay groundwork for new Diversity and Inclusion Commission
Chickens for egg production now permitted in the city of Lincoln
Water shut off procedures for delinquent sewer bills to resume
September 1st in Lincoln
The Lincoln Rural Fire Protection District received a grant from
Ameren Illinois, and local first responders were called to action at
the abandoned Ardagh Glass plant.
Lincoln Rural Fire Protection District receives $2,000 Grant from
Ameren Illinois
Funds will help improve community and first responder
safety
A fire
Wednesday afternoon at the Ardagh Glass Plant, aka Lincoln bottle
factory, was controlled quickly by local firefighters. Lincoln,
Lincoln Rural, Mount Pulaski and Atlanta Fire Departments were on
the scene along with the Logan County Paramedics and Logan EMA.
Mutual Aid fire equipment was also brought from Springfield to help
clear the smoke from the building.
According to Lincoln Fire Chief Bob Dunovsky the fire started due to
work being done inside the building by a construction/demolition
crew. The crew attempted to extinguish the fire, but it quickly got
out of hand, so they called for help.
The fire was contained to a specific area and extinguished in less
than 90 minutes.
Ardagh closed in April of 2019 and has stood idle since.
Read a full report in today's edition of Lincoln Daily News.
Photos by Jan Youngquist and Karen Hargis
First responders make quick work of putting out a fire at the Ardagh
Glass Plant
Drone shots of the Ardagh fire - Album
In coronavirus news, the numbers in Logan County took a huge turn in
August. At the beginning of the month there were 84 year to date
cases confirmed and by the end of the month that number had climbed
to 254. The Logan County Department of Public Health also reported
the first covid related death for the county and Lincoln College
reported that the virus was at the school. From the state’s
Department of Public Health, it was announced that Logan County was
not at “warning level.”
Saturday, August 8, 2020
Logan County Department of Public Health reports first COVID-19
death in the county
Lincoln College Reports Confirmed Case of COVID-19
Message from President David Gerlach
Logan County among 20 Illinois counties at Warning Level for
Coronavirus Disease
Due to a lack of business and an intentional de-escalation of
tourism in Illinois, the Palms Grill in Atlanta announced that it
was unable to withstand the financial hit and would be closing.
Another popular activity in Logan County was also cancelled for
2020.
Palms Grill in Atlanta closes due to tourism falloff
Christmas on Vinegar Hill canceled for 2020
Board looking forward to a great event in 2021
The month of August was a good month in Logan County. Though covid
was still a present and dangerous threat to all, the community did
what it could to move forward and enjoy life as it was.
That same spirit of thriving in unusual circumstances would continue
in September when many more good things happened in our community.
[Nila Smith] |
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