Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 11

Heraldeview The name of Michael L. I "JMi-Hiilrl ii i. i US Sunday, August 13, 2000 ii Three-county chase ends in arrest of St. Elmo man aggravated fleeing, driving picked up the pursuit. The suspect sideswiped a Fayette County squad car at U.S.

40 and Avena Road and then stopped. As the deputies left their vehicles, Stockton rammed one of the patrol cars with his pickup and attempted to speed off. The deputies fired shots and deflated both driver's side tires of the pickup as it headed east on U.S. 40. A short time later, one of ed and struck the officer, then drove away.

The secretary of state officer pursued Stockton, before turning the chase over to a state patrolman as the suspect headed north on Illinois 128. Stockton eluded the state patrolman near Cowden but was spotted later by city police in Shelbyville. The chase continued into Fayette County, where Fayette County deputies STATE FAIR 5 jfei vfKjfHSRSBMtt staff report EFFINGHAM A St. Elmo man was in jail Satur day after striking an Illinois Secretary of State investiga tor with his pickup and then ensasine a lensthv hiehl- speed chase with area law enforcement. Jr Michael L.

Stockton, 25, of St. Elmo is being held at the Fayette County Jail on charges of aggravated battery, reckless conduct, am numnni a rt a f. 4 under the influence, aggravated reckless driving and other offenses, according to a press release issued by District 12 State Police in Effingham. According to the report, Stockton was stopped in Effingham for a traffic offense by the secretary of state officer at 11:23 p.m. Friday.

When the investigator exited his vehicle, the driver accelerat ILLINOIS III i-'wi--- .11 a a a a 5 mm battle for top dog -1 at the capital in a Herald ReviewCarlos T. Miranda LEAPING LUCY: Briane Kneynsberg of New Lenox commands Lucy, her sheltie dog, to jump during the obedience open class competition at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield Saturday. Lucy placed second in the competition. SAME FREEMAN GOP, Dems set up shop downtown The Macon County Republican and Democratic central committees are kicking off their local campaign efforts for the Nov. 7 general election by opening campaign headquarters in downtown Decatur.

Both parties got their offices established prior to the Decatur Celebration, the GOP at the Barnes-Citizens Building in space formerly occupied by a bank and the Democrats at 317 N. Water St. in the same vacant storefront they used in 1996 and 1998. "We have the north end of the ground floor of the old Citizens National Bank space," said Jerrold Stocks, county GOP chairman. The space has three levels, he noted.

State Rep. Bill Mitchell, R-Forsyth, is on the lower level, state Sen. N. Duane Noland, R-Blue Mound, is on the upper level, and the central committee is using the middle tier, Stocks said, quipping, "I feel like I'm between heaven and hell." A GRAND OPENING on Aug. 1 featured a 6-by-24-foot banner proclaiming the presidential candidacy of Texas Gov.

George W. Bush hanging on the building's exterior. A telephone has yet to be installed. Stocks exhorted about 100 GOP faithful, "This campaign season is filled with optimism and with our fullest effort we will realize a sweeping victory from the race for the White House to the county board. We are the party of integrity, competence and ideas.

This IS our year." County Democratic Chairman Maurice Doyle said h- while his party's office won't be staffed until after Labor Day, some Democratic candidates' campaign committees are moving in already. Space will be shared by the party with the campaigns of U.S. Rep. David Phelps, D-Eldorado; Illinois Senate candidate Steve John of Decatur; and Illinois House candidate Jeff Hawkins of Decatur. A telephone number is not yet available for the Democratic headquarters, Doyle said.

DOT-COM: There are plenty of opportunities for political surfing on the World Wide Web. One of the best is Project Vote Smart's Web site at www.vote-smart.org for nonpartisan information on a wide range of candidates and issues. Many political parties of various stripes have Web sites. Some of them are www. republicans.org, www.

democrats.org, www. green-party, org (Ralph Nader's party), www.buchananre-form.com and www.hagelin. org. The latter two are Reform Party hopefuls Patrick Buchanan and John Hagelin, who comes out of the Natural Law Party. Information on Vice President Al Gore's presidential campaign can be found at www.algore.com, while his Republican opponent, Texas Gov.

George W. Bush, can be found at www.geow-bush.com. A site we stumbled across will either enrage you or tickle your funny bone, depending on your politics. It's www.bushwhackerbri-gadacom and, despite a disclaimer that it neither supports nor opposes any candidate for president, it goes after Bush with a vengeance. Larry Klugman, political science professor at Richland Community College, said he is compiling a list of Web sites his students can use this fall to delve into the political sphere.

Students also will be required to actively participate in a local campaign as part of their course work, he said. Ron Ingram can be reached at or at 421-7973. Huey Freeman can be reached at hfreeman or at 421-6985. the deputies pushed Stockton's vehicle into the ditch with his patrol car. The suspect, who refused to take a blood-alcohol test, was taken into custody uninjured.

The secretary of state officer, whose name was not released by State Police, was treated and released at St. Anthony's Hospital in Effingham. State Police said the incident is under investigation. Firefighters practice ditch rescue techniques By DEBBIE PIERCE Mattoon Bureau Chief FORSYTH Not so long ago in a neighborhood not so far away, a man got trapped between a ditch and the foundation of a house. He was lucky emergency personnel were able to pull him out alive.

But most such cases end tragically, and that's one reason four area fire departments got together Saturday to practice using trench rescue equipment. Lt. Chris Downey of Hickory Point Fire Department has been on two calls in which people were down and trapped; one occurred right on Cale Court in Forsyth, the next subdivision to Phillip Circle where the practice took place. "He'd hit his head going down, but we pulled him out," Downey recalled. Too often, though, a worker gets trapped and co-workers go in for the rescue only to lose their lives.

Downey's father, Fire Chief Dennis Downey, said statistics show 100 to 300 people a year become trapped in trenches across the country. "With all the construction we have going on around our area," he said, "there's always the potential for this type of thing to happen. If you're the one to respond, you have to have the proper training and equipment." So Hickory Point Fire Department last year purchased special arctic white birch plywood sheets and mineral oil speed shores to make rescues safer and faster two primary considerations for such operations. "The birch is strong enough to hold back the dirt, and the shores spread the plywood back," Dennis Downey said. "They'll work in all classes of soil, too." New Hickory Point Firefighter Justin Reed had seen the equipment in storage but was impressed when he saw it in use.

"Putting it all to work RESCUEB3 7 they felt," Mulverhill said. "It'll be interesting to see what the future holds for them. I hope they can form an alumni association like ours, which has been so active for all these years." Arvin Donley can be reached at or at 421-6977. Coaches and their pooches compete By NANCY CHESLEY Springfield Bureau Writer Don Burris of Moweaqua, has owned Toby since May 1999. "We saw him in an ad on TV," she said.

"We went in and adopted him." She planned to train Toby, a mix of border collie and golden retriever, but had no intention of entering dog shows. Her obedience teacher, Cherie Kupich, convinced her to try one. She placed first in the beginner class at the Decatur-Macon County Fair this year, and her score made her eligible for the State Fair. Although she has competed at the state level representing the Greenhouse Explorers 4-H Club in other categories, this was Lauren's first state dog show. To get Toby ready, she took him to Kupich at her business, the Southside Pet Center, where her teacher showed her how to groom the dog.

This included brushing and blow drying her hair to fluff it up, "a lot how you do with your own hair." Lauren placed 15th out of 25 handlers in the Beginner I obedience category, and she scored high enough to move up to Beginner II next year. The biggest reward, she said, is "seeing all your hard work pay off" and "showing what you have learned." Lauren attends a training class once a week taught by Kupich at the Decatur-Macon County Fairground. "I volunteer my time to children," Kupich said. That included the grooming help and coming to the State Fair to root for her students. Lauren said she enjoyed the friends she made through the class.

Among them were Holly McGeehon, 14, and D0GSB3 SPRINGFIELD Hundreds of 4-Hers come to the Illinois State Fair with their pet projects. For about 200 youngsters Saturday, their pets were their projects. Dogs of all sizes sat, turned corners and halted on commands from their young handlers. The few moments in the ring represented hours of practice and coaching. Occasional miscues were the norm.

For instance, Lauren Burris' dog Toby sat a little further from his owner than he was supposed to and hopped up when he was supposed to remain lying down. But he did a lot of movements correctly. "It was my first big show. I'm pleased with him," said Lauren, 15. "We can only go up from here." Lauren, a daughter of Victoria and IIGHTIATION lakeview class reunion awakens memories of school that is no more Some alums say they empathize with students and grads of Stephen Decatur 1 I -1 -r'-r-i i.

Herald ReviewCarlos T. Miranda CLASSMATES: Joyce Dixon, class of 1952, left, and Gloria Burse, class of 1954, share a laugh after running into each other at the Lakeview High School 50th anniversary Green and White Reunite class reunion Saturday evening at the Holiday Inn Select Conference Hotel. graduates Saturday night at the Green and White Reunite 50th anniversary reunion. "I hope other schools that have closed remember their roots, keep the friendships up and have gatherings like these," said Dixon, standing in the lobby of the Decatur Holiday Inn Select Conference Hotel. "This is such a wonderful thing." The third all-year Lakeview party, organized by alumni association president Mary Ann Mulverhill and others, included graduates and faculty members from 1950 to 1982.

Some talked about the undefeated 1965 football team, which was recently inducted into the Decatur Athletic Council Hall of Fame. Others recalled the impact the 1974 railroad explosion had on the By ARVIN DONLEY Staff Writer DECATUR Forty-eight years after graduating from Lakeview High School, Joyce Dixon admits having trouble remembering the school fight song. But she still recalls every word from the cheer that earned her a spot on the cheerleading squad: "What's the matter, can't you take it, can't you Alabama shake it, can't you boogie to the left, can't you boogie to the right, can't you boogie to the center (cartwheel), fight, team, fight. Although the 65-year-old Dixon didn't attempt the cartwheel, she still exuded the school spirit of an 18-year-old, joyfully mingling with more than 1,000 other Lakeview Some say it still hurts to drive by the Lakeview building, now occupied by Archer Daniels Midland and not be able to go inside. They empathize with students and alumni from their old rival, Stephen Decatur High School, which closed its doors several months ago.

"I understand exactly how school. Of course, they all remembered the sacred Spartan that was proudly displayed in the school hallway. "It was chained off with four brass poles with green felt rope around it," 1982 graduate Randy Allen said. "You didn't dare step on that, go near it or lean on the poles. That was a no-no.".