The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 9

THE PANTAGRAPH LOQV Off to Boston lK-al DciiKxralx prepare for iviireul'ion- Coming Thursday WEDNESDAY, July 21, 2004 Julie Gerke, City editor (309) 829-9000, ext. 256 e-mail: newsroompantagraph.com Wood Co. wrter fori site State sum over? the lack of job classifications within the union's contract. The union represents janitors, secretaries and highway maintenance workers, but they are not categorized in that way Over the years, separate county offices have hired workers without standardizing salaries, said Ken Uphoff, chairman of the county's negotiating committee. That practice has led to disparity in the pay rates for employees with similar jobs in different offices.

For example, salaries range from $8 an hour to $12.50 for similar jobs in the courthouse. SEE STRIKE NEXT PAGE County officials said their plan will help even out disparities in the pay for workers who have similar jobs in different offices. Union leaders say the plan evens out the disparities at the expense of the highway workers. The union has been working without a contract since Dec. 1, 2003.

Details of the county's offer went to the employees with their paychecks last week. Included in the note was the possibility that the board could implement the contract on its own, but with only a 38-cent increase in the second year, as opposed to 52 cents. The negotiations are complicated by strike." Steffen estimated the chances of a strike are about 50-50. The county offered a 38-cent hourly pay increase for each employee in the first year and a 52-cent increase next year. The increases would be the same for each worker, regardless of the worker's current pay rate is.

The union wants the raises in the form of percentage increases, not flat rates. It asked for a 3 percent raise in the first year and 4 percent in the second. A 3 percent raise for all workers averaged out would be about 38 cents an hour per worker. ByJ.W.Shults jwshultsmtco.com EUREKA Twenty-seven Woodford County employees could vote to strike on Aug. 2 if a new contract is not reached, the county board learned Tuesday.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees members, including janitors, secretaries and highway maintenance workers, rejected the county's final offer Monday "We're at a deadlock," said Dan Stef-fen, who also resigned as union president Monday "At this point we don't have any other choice but to look at a water Required qualii reports filed-fitted PANTAGRAPH BLOOMINGTON '-4-' no is Attorney General's- pffjcVj has filed a lawsuit rlairhfnk tTfe k- village of lv missed deadlines for SiibVnif-'' ting wastewater quality? Reports. The suit, filed' Monday $iiJ McLean County Circuit Court, asks a judge to order Coofcsyilje to comply with state law arid seeks up to a $50,000 penalty for ennVi vinlntinn Cooksville Mavor Marvin Wyant said all required testing was performed and the some reports were filed Jte declined to comment oh the'ey-son for the late filings. Wyant said he thought the, matter had been resolved by the village agreeing to follow a new process in which test will be directly submitted by the laboratory that performs the a- up a D0'm. 1 i i. II wo ir- mr-IT testing.

SEE WATER NEXT AGE Us A Madigaja I A ASSOCIATED PRESS CHICAGO Dlinois Moprfey1 rionoral icq KfoHicran will FA a lawsuit Wednesday agahist the maker of Kool claim- inn that its hin-hnn advertising The PantagraphSTEPHANIE OBERLANDER From left: Michelle McBurney, Rita Buczyna and Joann Barnes worked on I-beams for joists under the sub-floor of a new Habitat for Humanity home on Fuller Court in Bloomington Friday morning. The group was part of the Women Build program. A woman's touch campaign illegally markets rettes to kids, a spokeswoman for Maaigan saia. The suit seeks several milli6n dollars in damages against a. Louisville, Ky-based Brown Williamson and demands that the company stop its Kool Mixx 2004 campaign in Illinois, said Madigan spokeswoman I it Melissa Merz.

Lisa- -i Madigan sig- 2 naled legal ac- Madig.v tion in May when she joined a group of state attorneys general in a letter accusing the company's marketing campaign of; vio- lating the 1998 Master Settleriient Agreement between four major tobacco companies and 46 sfate3 Women Build I Uses women's labor to build affordable housing I Lets women learn new skills I Has about 120 volunteers Is in its second year in McLean County How to help Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organization that builds or renovates housing for families in need. While homeowners repay interest-free mortgages to cover materials, donations are accepted. For Information: www.habitat.orgwb To donate: Call (309) 827-3931 All-female Habitat crew learning while building new home By Bob Holllday bhollidaypantagraph.com BLOOMINGTON Sandra Yeager adjusted her sunglasses, choked up on her hammer and tapped lightly to start a nail. Some half-dozen strong strokes later, the nail was in place. "I missed my calling, right?" she asked.

Nearby, Rita Buczyna of Bloomington, a teacher on summer vacation, hammered away. Though the nail went in a bit crooked, Buczyna persisted and straightened it. Her next attempt was perfect, but she didn't stop to admire it. She reached for another nail. It's all business at 25 Fuller Court on Bloomington's southwest side, where a Women Build crew is building a three-bedroom house.

Women Build, in its second year in McLean County, is a Habitat for Humanity program that uses female volunteers to build or rehab affordable ,1 11 1 I 1 I by directly or mairecuy'target; i ine minors. New York and Mary .1 11 land already have sued the com: pany over the promotion. i Williamson has shipped JjQ.000 canons oi Dngrmy cuiuiupyauM nf niparettes with sma) hortTatts Women Build volunteer Beth Snow concentrated as she made measurements on a Habitat for Humanity home. housing. sure, cut and hammer," she said.

That's part of what draws Yeager, a pe- Bill Waller provides instruction for the tite insurance company retiree. Learning skills more traditionally associated with new things is another. men. "I enjoy learning things. I can mea- SEE TOUCH NEXT PAGE of hip-hop artists.

-if "We want them to pull all1 the, products out of Illinois apastop their campaign, and we; 'want them to be held accountable. in various ways, including 'Jnorie-, tarily," Merz said. Accreditation group chooses ISU for training utes to student portfolios-H- and The training session involves by allowing the council to per conducted interviews.i f.as though they were perfoijmlhg a real accreditation ioaay, mey win on their findings. creditation examination. Council spokeswoman Jane Liebbrand said ISU was selected as the training site because it fared well during its actual examination.

The council holds two training sessions each year at different locations. "If the institution has done well on its accreditation visit, we're looking for a good example for the trainees to be exposed to," Liebbrand said. Liebbrand said ISU is able to contribute to teacher education By Anne Gleason newsroompantaqraph.com NORMAL When Illinois State University passed its teacher education accreditation examination last fall, the examiners were so impressed that they chose the university as its national training site. Training for the National Council for Accreditation for Teacher Education, taking place this week, brings 54 examiners to ISU from across the nation to undergo a "pretend" ac administrators and faculty from all the university colleges, although the greatest emphasis is on the College of Education. Nourie said people from across the university, including President Al Bowman, various department leaders and faculty members, participated in Tuesday's mock examination.

During the evaluation, examiners looked at exhibits which included everything from committee meeting min "If the institution has done well on its accreditation visit, we're looking for a good example for the trainees to be exposed to." Jane Liebbrand of the accreditation council form the training session at their campus. Barbara Nourie, associate dean for the College of Education, said the university was not cited for any weaknesses during its November evaluation. The council is a non-profit, non-governmental alliance of 35 organizations representing quality education, according to it Web site. It accredits 575 colleges of education. Nourie said the university still put a lot of preparation into the visit.

"There's a sense of pride, so we want to put our best foot for-' ward," Nourie said. "We have done our homework." 1.