The Decatur Daily Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 16

THR DECATUR REVIEW Decatur, Illinois, Saturday, December 26, 1970 Delegate at Conference Good Experience' While most of the conference was planned, there were some events that weren't included in the planning. Among those were the caucuses held by minority, groups, such as Indians, Spanish speaking people, women's lib, and blacks, who attended the conference. "People in the caucuses had problems that ttiey wanted to solve," she said. "Their concern was whether, once a recommendation was implemented, it would their children." The night the caucuses were held, Dec. 16, Rev.

Ralph D. Abemathy, head of the Southern Christian Leadership Con-. ference, talked to the conference delegates. Miss Blue said that ose she found most were the changes that occurred as the conferences progressed the Stall Photo by Hero Slodounlk The Redwood Restaurant was heavily damaged by fire early Saturday morning. mT am Arson Suspected Restaurant Destroyed By Mary Ann O'Connell "All kinds of things going on at once.

A good learning experience," was how Deborah G. Blue of 943 S. Webster St. described the 1970 White Conference on Children. Miss Blue was one of 18 Illinois youth delegates who attended the Dec.

13 through 18 conference in Washington, D.C. What the conference accomplished won't be seen until some time has passed, for its accomplishments depend on whether and how the recommendations of the delegates are implemented, she said. "I can't answer positively that the conference was a success," she said. "If the things the people recommended go into effect the way the people want them, then it will be a success." Because all her time was spent in a forum on creativity in learning, most of the recommendations she was familiar with concerned education. Among the recommendations were that education be made a separate department from health and welfare and that there be more flexibility in the educational system so that children.

can express themselves. Miss Blue's forum was one of several held in the education division. DEA vs. School Leo Pondelick Will Direct 'My Fair Lady' Leo Pondelick, associate professor of Music at Millikin University, will serve as musical director for Theatre 7's production of "My Fair Lady." He will conduct both the chorus of 60 and the full pit orchestra for the Jan. 29 through 31 production in Kirkland Fine Arts Center at Millikin.

Pondelick is director of the youth orchestra, which is a project of the Decatur Area Arts Council, and conductor of the Millikin-Civic Symphony. He has served as concert-master of the Chicago Civic started at the north end of the building, which is on Scovill Golf Course. Cost figures on the damage done to the building, owned by the Decatur Park District, by the fire were not available today from the park district office. "All I can say is that it was pretty extensively damaged," Harold J. Blankenship, park district administrator, said.

Blankenship reported that the district carried $90,000 fire in surance on the building and its contents. Whether the insurance will be sufficient to cover the damage done by the fire couldn't be determined. agent is here now working on the insurance," he said. Blankenship said that he assumes the park district will try to salvage as much of the building as possible. Blankenship said that when the park district last had the building appraised about 10 years ago, its value was placed at $71,000.

That he said was just for the building and didn't include contents. He said that plans had been made to have it "appraised again. Harristown Captain 'Turnout Good' Grievances Rejected Deborah G. Blue Other divisions were health, individuality, parents and families, communities and en vironments, and laws, rights and responsibilities. Each delegate at the conference was assigned to participate in a forum.

Forums met from 9 a.m. to noon and frcm 1 to 6 p.m. each day of the conference. Miss Blue said that she found it interesting the way the different forums presented their reports at the conference's conclusion. Her forum, she said, gave a demonstration of creativity in learning, while another forum made a movie as its report.

Board conditions shall be stated in the job description." The second grievance dealt with five classrooms at Harris School which have one to three students more than 30. This grievance was filed by Mrs. Beatrice HalL DEA building representative at Harris, on behalf of herself and four other teachers. The DEA based its grievance on a section of the master contract which states: "As rapidly as it is possible to provide teachers and rooms, the size of classes shall be in accordance with the best known practice and in the interest of the greatest possible teacher efficiency. "The board will work toward these objectives: (1) standard class size of 25 students, (2) maximum class size of -30 students, with exceptions made for music, physical education and such other subjects.

This shall not preclude the adoption local to the state to the natwnal leveL She said that while the Macon County committee was concerned with specific problems ia the county, the national con-, ference took a broader cutlcok. Recommendations were made not in terms of helping a specific geographic area but in general terms so that any area could adapt it for itself, she said. Other Illinois youth delegates at the conference from this area were Cindy Nixon of Clinton and Bill Turner of Niantic. of innovative patterns of classroom organizations." The two grievances were submitted to Melvin R. Matthew, school district director of personnel, for consideration.

Matthew's replies were not acceptable to the DEA and a meeting with the Board of Education was requested. Following that meeting Dec. 15, the board had seven days to issue its replies to the DEA. The board's word is final. S-YEAR-OLD BOY HURT CROSSING STREET Horace Robbins, 5, of 579 S.

Greenwood Ave. is in satisfactory condition today in St. Mary's Hospital following a traffic accident Friday night. Robbins was struck by an automobile driven by Irvin Davis, 28, of 1051 W. Sunset Ave.

about 8:20 p.m. Friday in the 800 Block W. Decatur St. He was injured while crossing the street. 14th Candidate Files Petition In Council Race As of noon today only one other city council candidate, David Morgan, had filed a petition with the city clerk's office.

Today is the last day that candidates can file for the city council and mayor's positions. With die filing of Morgan of 44 N. Country Club the list of official candidates is up to 14 for the City Council. Mrs. Phyllis Grotjan, city clerk, said that she planned to contact the other two men who had taken out petitions to see if they planned to file.

She said that she would contact them sometime during the afternoon. If none of the city council candidates withdraw, a Feb. 23, primary election will be required. Deadline for withdrawing from the race is Jan. 2.

$5 Food Stamps Won't Be Sold Till February After the offices of the. Decatur Currency Exchange, Iec, exhaust their present sup- plies of food stamp coupons, tbev win begin issuing the new S5 food coupon. Representatives of the exchange's three offices said that they expect to use the new ccuposs sometime in February or March. Issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the S5 food stamp wSl be used with the present S2 and 50 cents stamps.

The $5 stamps are maroon with a picture of Abraham Lincoln on them. They wfll be bound in books totaling $30. Books valued at $20, made up of the $2 stamps, will be discontinued, while the agriculture department will continue issuing the $10 books made of 50 cent and $2 coupons. A change in the Illinois Department of Public Aid regulations in November allowed the food stamps to be sold at the currency exchange offices. exchange offices are located at Brettwood Village Shopping Center, The Pines Shopping Center and Fairview Plaza Shopping Center.

Sale of Seals Short of Goal Contributions to the Cornbclt Tuberculosis And Respiratory Disease Association's Christmas seal drive are $11,250 short of the $62,625 contributed last year. Contributions so far total $51,372 from an 11-county area. The total for Macon County is William G. Moyer, executive director of the association, said he hopes more contributions are received after Christmas. The Board of Education has given its reply to two grievances filed with it by the Decatur Education ass ociation (DEA).

One grievance, concerning the posting of promotions, vacancies and transfers, the board felt was not valid. The grievance referred to the removal of Jerry Hoffman as principal at Lake view High School and the subsequent hiring of a replacement. The DEA based the grievance on a section of its master contract with the board which states: "Information regarding positions which are to be available, either through creation or vacancy, shall be publicized to the staff by posting notices on all school bulletin boards with a copy to the Association office. Where specific training, experience or other qualifications are prerequisites for any position that is to be available, such Firemen from four departments fought an early morning fire today that destroyed the Redwood Restaurant, 3905 W. Main St.

Harristown, South Wheatland, Niantic and Decatur fire units battled the blaze that was reported to the Macon County Sheriff's department at 12:44 a.m. today. A Decatur fireman, Clarence Powell, 33, of Oreana was injured when a piece of plaster fell and cut him. Powell was treated in Decatur Memorial Hospital. Cause of the fire that destroyed the restaurant's main dining room and caused extensive damage to the rest of the building is unknown.

Arson is suspected by the Macon County Sheriffs department. Sheriffs deputies are looking for an employe of the restaurant to question him. The man's car was found on Sunnyside Road between old and new U.S. 36 about an hour before the fire was reported. Sheriffs deputies said that footsteps lead from the car to the restaurant They said that they want to question the restaurant employe about a possible burglary.

According to George Dedman, an investigator from the state fire marshal's office, the fire Jaycees Seek Nominations The Decatur Jaycees are now accepting nominations for four service awards to be presented to persons 21 to 35 years old at their annual Bosses Night Jan. 20. The awards will go to persons who have made contributions to the community during the year in the areas of law enforcement, farming, education and general community service. Short resumes of candidates' qualifications should be sent to Guy E. Williams, 406 Citizens Building, 250 N.

Water St. Chamber Offers Seven Sessions About Politics The Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the Decatur Association of Life Underwriters will offer an Action Course in Practical Politics beginning Jan. 6. The course in seven sessions will give information about local political parties, their organiza-. tion, campaigns and problems.

The final session will offer local political speakers. F. Gene Brown of F. G. Brown Insurance Co.

will be discussion leader for the sessions from 7 to 9 p.m. each Wednesday. Cost for the course is $5. More than 700 persons have completed previous courses. Persons may enroll by calling the Chamber of Commerce.

Orchestra, played on scholar ship with the. Tanglewood (Berkshire) Orchestra and appeared in guest conducting engagements throughout Illinois. Pondelick was music director and conductor of the South Side Symphony of Chicago for three years. He was also a member of the Fine Arts Opera Co. Pondelick has taught at York Community High School in Elmhurst, Chicago Conservatory of Music and Triton Junior College.

He joined the Millikin faculty in 1969. Reduced advanced sale prices for the Theatre 7 production are $3.25 for adults and $2.25 for students. Tickets are available at the Kirkland box office. HORSE-CAR COLLISION DAMAGES AUTOMOBILE A collision between a horse and car late Thursday night resulted in about $500 damage to the car and no serious injury to the horse. Driver of the car, Ralph Arn II, 18, of 1 Enlow Dr.

told Macon County Sheriff's deputies that the horse jumped into the path of his car. The accident occurred at 11:13 p.m. Thursday on Rock Springs Road about two miles west of Illinois 48. Photos by Herb Slodounlk Thing she tried ice skating for the first time today at the Fairview Park ice rink. restaurant was the first major fire the Harristown district has had since its internal problems became public.

Recently, a number of men have resigned from the Har ristown fire department. Manley said that several of the men who had resigned reported in this morning to help fight the fire. He said that firemen were on the scene within five minutes after the sirens were sound ed; Men who had resigned from the fire department were called by phone about the fire. "I think our men did a fine job in putting out this fire, Manley said. Firemen were at tne scene from about 1 a.m.

to shortly after 8 a.m. today. Tne Harristown district was helped by the Decatur, Niantic and South Wheatland fire departments. An Up-and-Down Sheila Yarbrough of Peoria, a holiday visitor to Decatur, had some ups and downs when I -1 A water shortage and freezing water were problems that plagued firemen fighting the the our early morning blaze at Redwood Restaurant today. "Water shortage was main difficulty.

We had to haul in all the water that we usedr" Keith Manley, day captain of the Harristown Fire Department, said. "As far as I'm concerned, it was a good turnout of men," he said about the 24 members of the fire department who went out to fight the fire. The fire at the Redwood Farr Heads Bricklayers John R. Farr, 2048 Ramsey has been re-elected president of Local 13 Bricklayers' Union. The slate of officers named to two-year terms are: John R.

Farr, president Walter Kwasny, vice president John H. Hilliard, business agent Francis M. Cope, correspond ing and financial secretary Earl Buttolph, recording secretary William- E. Tuttle, treasurer. Blaine Ashmore was elected to a three-year term as trustee.

Stray Scraps Now That You A six-year-old girl took her playmate along when she went to visit her aunt recently. "Is this your little friend?" the aunt asked. the niece replied. Just a Hint! The little girl told her mother she knew what her mother was going to get for Christmas "Just give me a hint," her mother asked. "Well," she replied craftily, "you plug it into the wall, and it opens cans." There were also numerous reports of buried treasure in the mounds, including a rich store of French money buried in the 1870's.

If any of it was found, the discoverers left quietly. At any rate, the old place is up for sale, with Ed Co. of Decatur handling the transaction. Damery thinks it will be at least two years before he and his family of four have to move, however, and he's hopeful of being allowed to remain as tenant farmer. He's farmed the land for nine years, and Glenn Wilcox farmed for 38 years before him: If the place changes hands, a part of Macon County history passes with it.

110 Years in Willett Family Up for Sale Iff -At' A Mound By Bill Prater Blue Mound The mound from which Blue Mound gets its name is being sold by James Willett, who now lives in Buzzard's Bay, Mass. The mound, covering approximately 40 acres, is up for sale along with an additional 260 acres of farmland just west of Blue Mound. Those 300 acres were purchased by Willett's grandfather, a civil war surgeon, in 1860. The house he built, on the south side of the mound, is over 100 years old. The mound is one of two.

The other lies approximately mile to the Both, are kales remains of a receding glacier and rich in sand and gravel. Gravel extraction began on the Willett mound in 1933. There is still a little gravel being taken out, according to Neil Damery, who is farming the property and living in the old Willett house. The mound is almost 75 feet lower than it was in 1933, but youngsters still find it a perfect site for sledding. "There were 94 people on the hill at one time last winter," Damery said.

The mound is solidly embedded in local history. It was reported in the old "Blue Mound Leader" Aug. 15, 1902, that the Kickapoo Indians had made frequent "excursions to the mounds, upon which they held some sacred ceremonies and mysterious orgies.".