Janaury 2002
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January 2002 news

January 6

Fieldcrest breezed by Dee-Mack 84-43 at Mackinaw Friday night. Eric Heider led the Knights with 24 points. Ryne Haag had 12 points while Jeff Crone added 10 points. Both Haag and Crone had 45 rebounds.

The Knights are now 10-3 overall and are 4-1 in the Midstate Conference.

The Minonk IGA has been sold to Del Schierer of Toluca. Andy Bowser of Minonk was the previous owner. Mr. Schierer also owns and operates Henry Foods, Inc. of Henry. The name of the store will be Minonk Foods.

Schierer has been in the grocery business for 27 years. He previously had owned the IGA store in Toluca. He said that he intends to build up the meat and produce department and make his prices competitive. Cathie Dyer will manage Minonk Foods. Kathy also has extensive grocery experience having worked at grocery stores in Peoria, including Thompson Foods.

The new ownership takes place January 1.

Eight members of Troop 878 had an exciting day on Saturday, January 5th. They visited the Upper Limits in Bloomington, IL.

Seven scouts took part in the Climbing Merit Badge classes offered at the Upper Limits. Scout Wes Allison, Scout Jim Attig, Scout Broc Hovey, Life Scout Andy Krischel, Tenderfoot Scout Patrick Tarman, Life Scout Steven Wilber, and Scout Matt Whitehead, will all earn a merit badge after meeting first-aid and knok requirements. The Climbing Merit Badge classes teach safety procedures, proper belay technique, knot tying, and equipment usage for climbing, belaying, and rapelling.

Life Scout David Gensler and leaders Don Gensler and Ron Redenius completed Rock Gym 101.Clone Rolex This two hour class teaches new climbers how to toprope, the basic form of rope climbing. The class teaches safety procedures, proper belay technique, knot tying, and equipment usage. After the class, students have the proper knowledge and technique to climb indoors.

All the scouts are looking forward to returning and attacking the walls again. Upper Limits has something for everyone. They have many different rooms and areas for a total of more than 20,000 square feet of climbing surface making them one of the largest climbing gyms in North America. The numerous climbs range from beginner climbs to routes that will challenge the most advanced climbers. We stayed off of those.

Boy Scouting is available to boys who are 11 through 17 years old, or who have earned the Arrow of Light Award, or have completed the fifth grade. Meetings are Sunday evenings 6:30 p.m., at Immanual Lutheran Church. Contact Ron Redenius @ 432-2320, or Don Gensler @ 309-399-7651. Hope to see you there.

Roanoke-Benson beat Fieldcrest 61-51 Tuesday night at Roanoke behind the 18 points and 10 rebounds of Steven Harms. The Knights scoring leader was Ryne Haag with 17 points while Kyle Lutz had 11.

Fieldcrest is now 11-4.

The Minonk Zoning Board granted 3 variances for construction of the addition to the Fieldcrest South Elementary at 523 Johnson Street. The board had contacted the general contractor, Doug Haley of Peoria Construction, advising him that there had been no zoning permit obtained for the construction project. Haley immediately completed the paperwork stating that the architect should have obtained all the required permits prior to construction starting.

It was determined that a variance was required for 3 different ordinances. The building will only be four feet from the front of the property line exceeding the 30 foot setback normally required. Chairman Ron Redenius stated that he was concerned that no one involved with the Fieldcrest School addition had bothered to obtain the necessary zoning permits. He said that engineers and architects of projects this large should be aware of local zoning requirements. The zoning board granted the variances stating that it would not detract from the neighboring properties or lessen their value. The board voted to send a letter to the parties involved voicing the board's disapproval of their lack of responsibility in this matter.

The zoning board denied a request by Eddie Clevenger to rezone property at 806 West Eighth Street to commercial so that he could build a structure for his soffit and gutter business. He also wanted to add storage bays for public rental similar to TEAM storage.swiss clone watches

Residents in that area objected to having the property rezoned from residential to commercial. Mike Frei, Todd Stalter, Ron Stalter, and Rob McFarlane all stated that a commercial business would detract from the residential area and also be an unsightly entrance into Minonk from Route 251.

Zoning board member Eldon Folkers indicated that he wants Mr. Clevenger's business to locate in Minonk but added that there are available commercial locations in Minonk already.

January 13

A community profile of the City of Minonk has been prepared and released by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs (DCCA). The profile gives statistics on the city's population, business community, municipal services, transportation facilities, health and education facilities and even weather statistics.

Minonk's population increased from 1982 in 1990 to 2168, although it was as high as 2406 in 1980. The average rainfall is 37.47 inches per year and the annual snowfall is 27.90 inches per year.

The profile gives information that would be of interest to potential businesses as well as potential residents.

For a complete list of the statistics, click here.

According to Woodford County Supervisor of Assessments Mac Shoopman, most townships in Woodford County will see a 10% increase in property values for tax assessment purposes.

This seemingly paradoxal situation when property values have declined in many areas this year is due to the fact that the property values are based on a three year average. Two years ago property values were higher, especially for farmland.

Farmland values, however, are different in that their value is determined over a 5 year period instead of the three year period for commercial and residential property. The value of farmland will decrease by 10% this year which is the maximum allowable decline. The value of farmland in the Fieldcrest School District is $18.7 million compared to the total value of $45.5 million for all land in the district.

Current trends indicate that farm land values will drop another 10% next year also.

Flanagan came from behind to beat Fieldcrest 49-47 in a home game Thursday night. Amy Pelz led the scoring for the Lady Knights with 8 points. The Knights are now 8-11 overall and 3-4 in the Midstate Conference.
A special assembly was held at Fieldcrest South in Minonk Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. to reveal the contents of the time capsule found in the corner of the grade school building. A construction worker found the capsule while they were building an addition on to the school.

Rebecca Hardine, Fieldcrest South Principal, held up the copper box that contained the items for all the kids to see. She said this was the first time capsule she had ever seen. The box contained mostly papers from 1937 when the current grade school was built and from 1901 when the previous grade school was built. The construction workers were amazed that none of the papers were singed from the soldering of the seams of the coppper box.

Among the items from 1901 was a menu from the Dasher Hotel, which still stands at the corner of Sixth and Walnut and a 1901 newspaper. The newspaper advertised coffee at 25 cents a pound and clothes pins at a penny apiece.

1937 items included a newspaper that reported that corn was 38 cents a bushel which may make farmers feel a little better about the current price of corn. Also included was a letter which had the names of some of the students. The names included Albin Johnson, Carl Young, Alice Meils, Bob Meierhofer, Harriet Oncken, and James Cunningham.

Also included was a menu from The Chocolate Shop. It included the names of some of the employees including Harry Green and Lorene Loftus. Other items included were calling cards for local businesses.

Fieldcrest Superintendent Michael Stagliano addressed the children and suggested that they start a project to gather items to be included in a time capsule for the new addition to the grade school.

Laurel Matter is planning on painting a picture of the present grade school building for the new time capsule.

The time capsule items are to be reviewed Friday in the Superintendent' office and disposition of the items will be determined at that time. The items will be stored until a suitable place for their display can be determined.

Click here to see pictures of the time capsule contents.

Fieldcrest beat Tri-Point 64-52 Friday night in a game at Minonk. Eric Heider led the Knights with 30 points including 6 3-pointers while Ryne Haag contributed 21 points.

January 20

 Fieldcrest scored 22 points in the last quarter to come from behind to beat Lexington 66-58 in a road game Tuesday night. The Knights were led by Ryne Haag with 23 points and Eric Heider with 21 points. Drew Glowacki and Kyle Lutz each had 10 points.

The Knights are 14-4 overall and 5-2 in the Midstate Conference.

Fieldcrest slipped by Heyworth 51-49 Thursday night at Minonk on a last second basket by Jessica Imm. Fieldcrest was led by Michelle Nix with 10 points while Ashley Kolb added 9 points.

The Knights are now 10-12 overall and 5-4 in the Midstate Conference.

The Lady Knights beat Chenoa 55-50 in a home game Wednesday night. Kari Kiefer led the Knights in scoring with 14 points. Michelle Nix and Amy Arndt both had 10 points followed by Daina Wells with 8 points.
State Representative Dan Rutherford was in Minonk on January 12 talking with local residents at Kathy's Kitchen. Rutherford is running for the Illinois State Senate in the 53rd Legislative district which encompasses Minonk. Rutherford enjoyed his opportunity to visit with area residents and emphasized the importance small towns play in his district.

"I have been fortunate to represent Central Illinois in the Illinois House for the last 9 years. I understand the needs of small town Illinois and I want to continue to be an advocate for them in the Senate. Without grants and low-interest loans for infrastructure improvements small towns like Minonk just cannot survive. I am committed to making sure Central Illinois gets the funds to keep these towns alive."

January 27

Fieldcrest beat Flanagan 54-46 in a home game Friday night behind the 21 points of Drew Glowacki. Ryne Haag had 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Knights.

The Knights are now 15-4 overall and tied for second in the Midstate Conference with tremont at 7-1.

Fieldcrest easily defeated Heyworth 63-53 Tuesday night in the Midstate Conference Tournament. The Knights had a balanced scoring attack led by Drew Glowacki's 15 points. Ryne Haag had 14 points and 15 rebounds while Eric Heider had 13 points and Shaun Manning had 11 points.

Fieldcrest will play top-seeded Ridgeview in a semifinal game at Colfax Thursday night.

MR. AND MRS. JAMES GREENE, MR AND MRS. DALE BLUE AND MR. AND MRS. RODNEY RUESTMAN WOULD LIKE TO ANNOUNCE THE WEDDING CEREMONY OF THEIR CHILDREN JAIME RENEE GREENE AND COREY ALLEN RUESTMAN ON FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 2002 AT 5:00 PM AT THE RIVERIA HOTEL LAS VEGAS NEVADA. TWENTY-TWO FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS ATTENDED.
Fieldcrest Superintendent Michael Stagliano has indicated that the school district is considering leasing the district's 25 buses instead of buying them. This would enable the school to have newer buses since buses could be traded every 2 or 3 years.

To help stretch the school's $500,000 transportation budget, fuel tanks were installed at Toluca and Wenona last year in order to decrease fuel costs.

At the monthly school board meeting a complaint was registered by Christine Ruestman about the school's open campus policy during semester exams. Ruestman said that it allows students to leave school and cruise the town. She recommended a school sponsored pizza party or a similiar activity.

The school board approved the retirements of Middle West English teacher Joan Hemenway and Elementary East and West physical education teacher F. Gregory Moran.

Grand Knight Mark McNamara welcomed Harold Casper into the Minonk Knights of Columbus Council 985 at the regular meeting night which was held on Jan. 17th 2002. Harold was welcomed by all members of the council.

The Knights of Columbus donated $1,317.75 from its Tootsie Roll fund raiser to the Fieldcrest special education fund at the school board meeting this month.

The Lady Knights beat Tremont 65-42 behind Amy Pelz's 15 points Monday night at Tremont.

The Knights are now 11-12 overall and 6-4 in the Midstate Conference.

Ridgeview advanced to the title game of the Midstate Conference tournament by beating Fieldcrest 83-60 Friday night at Colfax. The Knights, who committed numerous turnovers, were led by Ryne Haag with 26 points and Drew Glowacki with 18 points.

Fieldcrest faces Tremont Saturday night for the third-place game.



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