The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 2

A2 THE PANTAGRAPH, Monday, April 1 1 996 LOCALSTATE Study to show water source flow Computer model will aid drilling west of Twin Cities itfgffi Cariock pTremont jSSSv DaerS X-JV wa NonmilL f'tr. 1 tV JftZ) i a- li-" mm ti I I vv9vAw I mal through the Long Range Water Plan Steering Committee. While Kohlhase is among those eagerly awaiting the computer model, which he said would help anticipate the impact of well fields on existing wells, he suspects it won't be ready until fall. He's confident the area in western McLean and eastern Tazewell counties can produce at least 30 million gallons of water daily. If so, this would be more than enough to generate the 10 to 15 million gallons a day expected to be needed to supplement current water supplies.

Bloomington, for instance, which gets its water from Evergreen Lake and Lake Bloomington, could experience water supply problems by 2010. Normal, which gets water from wells, may need additional treatment plant capacity by 2010 and additional supply by 2015. While the aquifer is shaped differently than thought, tests indicate water supply is substantial and that water quality is good, without evidence of agricultural or industrial contamination. "I've never seen any data indicating agricultural or industrial chemicals," Farnsworth said, adding that the aquifer is protected by "a tight layer of By BOB HOLLIDAY Pantagraph staff While there's a lot of water beneath the surface west of Bloomington-Normal, where to drill to extract it for long-term regional use is very much up in the air. The answer could come as soon as May when a sophisticated computer flow model being prepared by the state is scheduled for completion.

"The model is in progress now and will be a tool to help determine where to drill," said David Larson of the Illinois State Geological Survey. Although the big question of where to drill remains, a cooperative study by the Geological Survey and the Illinois State Water Survey, hailed by officials as the most comprehensive study ever done of the Sankoty-Mahomet Sand aquifer, helps narrow options. That's because the study reveals that the geology of the 264-square-mile area being studied is more complex than originally thought, with seismic data showing more hills and depressions in the bedrock surface than expected. This finding is significant because it limits areas within the aquifer where a high capacity well field could be drilled, Larson said. "We had the concept of a wide-open basin full of sand and gravel but we found some hills and valleys," he said, adding that the most significant hill was south of Hopedale, interrupting the aquifer over several square miles.

George A. Farnsworth, of the Bloomington engineering firm Farnsworth Wylie which coordinated the study, said this geological surprise will likely add to the cost of developing well fields, a cost figure he declined to speculate on, except to say it would be four times cheaper than a pipeline to the Illinois River. "We will have to space wells farther apart," he said. Robert Kohlhase, a hydrologist with the Farnsworth firm, described the report, also praised by Farnsworth, as "a cutting edge study that will be referenced forever." The report, a summary of about three years of work including drilling, surveying, lab analysis and engineering, is funded primarily by $750,000 from McLean County, the city of Bloomington and Nor 1SJ 7 i i Emden Heyworth II Pantagraph map The area shown by diagonal lines is where the state Geological Survey and state Water Survey are looking to determine future water sources for much of McLean and parts of Tazewell counties. IP" if ym hi 11 MmKi iiUW HiliP'WWPWWf IW mm I Beaver problems causing quite a stir By GREG STANMAR Pantagraph correspondent TONICA Frances Levine knew that beavers had made a comeback in Central Illinois, but she figured they wouldn't bother with the steep climb up to her property along Bailey Creek.

She was wrong, as her flowering crab tree can testify. The tree was damaged beyond recovery and had to removed recently with much of it now part of a beaver dam in the creek. "Beavers are now in every part of Central Illinois that they can be," said George Hubert, who keeps track of the fur-bearing animal for the Illinois Department of Conservation. Most of the complaints are from farmers disgruntled with the dams the animals have built causing flooded farmland near creeks. "The farmers usually don't have trees to worry about," said Hubert "But their fields get flooded.

That's when we hear from them." Others are like Levine, who said the animals have attacked other trees she's planted on her property. And when you have a lot of trees and a lot of creeks, such as in the area of nearby Starved Rock State Park, fighting the beavers' budding subdivisions is a big part of the park's upkeep, said park Superintendent John Blume. Beaver fur brought the first Europeans to Central Illinois, but their trapping nearly was the end of the animal here. Trapping was eventually banned when there were only a few of the animals left Recovery was aided by a 1930s program of bringing in beaver from areas where they were still abundant By the 1950s, the beaver population was healthy enough to allow a resumption of trapping. Some authorities think there are more beaver in Central Illinois now than before the first Europeans got here.

The problem is keeping the animals under control. There are no natural predators left, said Hubert The coyote, another once-rare prairie animal that is now making a great comeback, would probably love some beaver in its diet if it could catch one. "They'd have to be a lot better swimmers than they are," said Hubert "Ponds are the beavers' protection. The coyote has to settle for mice." People have better luck catching beavers, but usually they don't bother. The price of a beaver pelt isn't worth the trouble, said Hubert About 5,300 pelts were processed last year in Illinois, with another 1,700 animals killed by man for other reasons, such as road kills.

The figure is low compared to their increasing availability because the price a trapper can get has remained low. A dozen beaver pelts will bring $50 to $80, compared to $150 a dozen for other animals such as raccoon. Beaver pelts also are work-intensive, requiring about an hour to prepare each pelt Eventually, nature may give a hand in controlling the beaver population. If it gets too high, tularemia, or rabbit fever, could make a comeback When cotton tails were becoming a nuisance, rabbit fever kicked in and brought down their population. Beaver also are susceptible to tularemia.

In the meantime, man will have to coexist with the nocturnal builder. "I've lived here 40 years and never had a problem," said Mrs. Levine. "Now I look at the trees before I go to bed and they're all right Then when I get up the bark's stripped." With her prize shade tree gone, she now hopes to keep her lilac bushes, which the beaver also have taken a fancy to. They think when Blume's crew plants saplings at Starved Rock that he is serving them dinner.

For that reason, new trees are surrounded with wire mesh, which slows the beaver damage. By knocking down their dams, beaver may move somewhere else. There's a lot of possibilities in Central Illinois, with its terrain dominat- The PantagraphGREG STANMAR A beaver dam held back a pool of water on Bailey Creek near Toni-ca. Beavers were scarce in Central Illinois until trapping was banned to allow the populations to recover. Today, even though trapping has resumed, beavers are becoming pests in some areas.

ed by numerous creeks. A consoling thought, said Hubert, is that the problem probably isn't going to get worse. Beaver live in small colonies of a couple adults and their youngsters. Because they don't like their neighbors too close and wetlands are required beaver probably have reached the saturation point. Lunar eclipse just around the corner Planetarium, astronomers club set for summer observing sessions Sat' tal eclipse at 5:26 p.m.

With moonrise in Central Illinois at about 6:20 p.m. and sunset at 6:23 p.m., the moon may not be immediately visible and the total eclipse will be noted only by the moon's absence from the sky. However, as the moon's elevation increases and the sky darkens, the moon should appear low in the eastern sky. The lower right quadrant of the moon should appear brighter Since it will not be immersed as deeply in the earth's shadow as the upper left quadrant The moon may be a discernable reddish-brown to dull black in the upper left quadrant and a brighter orange-gray in the lower right quadrant The difference in color is due to red, orange and yellow sunlight being refracted into different parts of earth's dark shadow by its By Pantagraph staff The Comet Hyakutake wasn't Central Illinois' only sky show this spring. A total eclipse of the moon will be visible Wednesday evening, weather permitting, and a public observation station will be set up to catch the phenomenon.

Viewing will be from 6:30 to about 8 p.m. at Ewing Park III, adjacent to Jersey Avenue in Bloomington. If sky conditions permit, telescopes also will be used to view Comet Hyakutake in the northwestern, early-evening sky. The observing station will be hosted by the Twin City Amateur Astronomers in cooperation with Illinois State University's Planetarium and the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department Central Illinois viewers will miss the early stages of the eclipse, which begins at 4:21 p.m. and becomes a to By 6:35 p.m., the moon will begin to move out of the earth's shadow.

For the next 66 minutes, the earth's shadow will appear to rise upward over the lunar disk, much like a rising window shade revealing the light of day. The moon will be half-uncovered by 7:27 p.m. The eclipse will end at 7:59 p.m., and the bright star Spica may be visible some eight degrees below the moon. Spica rises at about 7:06 p.m. Observation sites should have an unobstructed eastern horizon.

Although the eclipse can be viewed with the unaided eye, telescopes and binoculars will enhance the viewing experience. Several telescopes will be set up at the viewing for the public's convenience. To keep up-to-date on this and other celestial events, call Skyline at (309) 438-5007 to hear a tape-recorded message about celestial events in the sky and on the earth. Activity 1 Obtain a star map and worksheet at an IUSPTCAA telescope observing session. Use the work sheet to gain a better understanding of star maps.

Find bright stars and planets with the aid of your star map. The Illinois State University Planetarium, in cooperation with the Twin City Amateur Astronomers, will host five public telescope observ- ing sessions over the summer months. Each session will be held on the fourth Friday of each month May through September at Ewing Park II, which is located off Ethell Parkway in Bloomington. Programs begin at 9 p.m. and continue until 10:30 p.m.

There are no rain dates; sessions will be cancelled if the sky is overcast. Programs begin with a slide show. Star maps are then distributed, and view of constellations and celestial objects follows. The program dates andtopics are: May 24 Venus, moon June 28 nebula M57, moon July 26- cluster M13, moon August 23 Jupiter, moon September 27 galaxy M31, moon Illinois State University PlanetariumTwin City Amateur Astronomers, "Partners in Astronomy Education" For more information about ISU Planetarium programs, phone (309) 438-2496 for a message about the latest public showing. Activity 2 Observe the Perseid Meteor Shower during the early morning hours of August 12.

Observe the total eclipse of the moon on the night of September 26-27. Call Skyline at (309) 438-5007 to learn mor about these and other celestial events. 11c Ik Explore Your World Expand Your Mind is a feature of The Paragraph's Newspaper in Education program. Information and activities provided by the Illinois State University Join the Growing Tradition! r- Edgar's riverboat tax in rough waters bill positioned to carry a tax hike, but passed another measure to let fraternal and veterans' groups have video gambling, which could be amended if an increased riverboat tax gains support But lawmakers remained skittish and gave long odds because Salvi was so successful with an anti-tax message. "It's just that Salvi syndrome," lamented Sen.

Stanley Weaver, R-Ur-bana, whose bill lost in the Senate. Mike Lawrence, Edgar's press secretary, said supporting the riverboat gambling tax hike would be a wise political vote. SPRINGFIELD (AP) Gov. Jim Edgar's proposal to increase river-boat gambling taxes on the most prosperous casino owners may be sinking, but Edgar aides predict it will resurface in end-of-session budget negotiations. "I think it was dead when it was initially introduced," said House Ma-' jority Leader Robert Churchill, R-Lake Villa.

"But I don't see anything coming up on that between now and the end of session." On Friday, House lawmakers quietly sent to the Senate a proposal to perform a comprehensive study of the state's gambling industry and set a deadline for a task force to report back after November's election. If the study were to help stall Edgar's tax hike, it would deal a political blow to a GOP governor who last week saw Republican lawmakers stymie his call to put a proposed constitutional amendment on school funding on November's ballot This came after Edgar's handpicked candidate, Lt Gov. Bob Kustra, lost to anti-tax state Rep. Al Salvi, R-Mundelein, in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

Edgar's plan would raise $67 million more from the billion-dollar-a-year riverboat industry and largely be used to help schools and subsidize health insurance for retired teachers. Many lawmakers think they can find that money elsewhere in the state budget The Senate last week torpedoed a Come as you are --o casual attire appropriate. Benefit from a Message with Meaning! Outstanding music. NO You are our Published dally and Sunday by The Chronicle Seven people injured in accident Publishing Company, Second-class postage paid at Bloomington. IL (USPS 144760) 301 W.

Washington Bloomington, IL 61 702-2907 Home Delivery (309) 827-7323 Claaaffled ds (309) 820-6633 Hosted by Eastview Christian Church OUR MAIN NUMBERS (309) 829-941 1 1-000-747-7323 NEWSROOM EXT. Metro Mark Pickering, editor 252 Regional Newt Pele Falcone, editor 232 Sport Bryan Bloodworm, editor 246 Features Steve Gleason, editor 2SO Business Jane Pickering, editor 251 Night JetlZwadlo. editor 241 Farm Chris Anderson, editor 253 Library Diane Logsdon. librarian 247 IK t7 a wmzx 1 1 -if i Jk 'Jut FORREST The Livingston County Sheriffs Department was still investigating the cause of a multiple-injury accident that occurred Sunday morning. The sheriffs department said only that seven area people were transported to Saint James Hospital in Pontiac for various injuries after a two-car accident in rural Forrest at 9:18 a.m.

Livingston County Sheriff Marv Rutledge said he inquired about the accident Sunday afternoon and learned a couple of the victims may have been transferred to other hospitals "but there were no fatalities." Sunday night Rutledge said he didn't know which officer was writ ing the accident report but thought he was "probably tied up investigating a cause (for the accident) and it might be a while before we have names available." Most hospitals will not release a patient's condition if the name is not provided. A nursing supervisor at Saint James Hospital did confirm that two victims had been transferred to other hospitals, but would not release the condition reports on any of the victims. The sheriff department said they were assisted at the accident scene by Fairbury police, SELCAS rescue squad, Forrest Rescue and Fire Department, Saunemin ambulance and Cullom ambulance. Bloomington 3l ADVERTISING EXT. Advertising Director MaryKeogh 270 Display JohnHotfman 340 Classified Loretta Vance 331 CIRCULATION Bill Hertter, director 358 PRODUCTION Dan O'Brien, director 310 662-9376 Home Delivery2 Week Carrier dally Sunday Motor route daily Sunday Carrier Motor Rout -Sat.

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