Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 1

7 'A. -J Lij II i Mmht Oscar predictions Sweet 16 The Illinifeel ready for their date with Kansas tonightBl 1 f-J rKJ Match wits and picks with our March 23, 2001 Decatur, Illinois rL- fetfw of film award forecaster sDl i HAY I Greetings from. 1 a Me 1 i1 Greetings from San Antonio! Wrote this poem on the barf bag, Southbound to San Antone. Search for new senior facility intensifies as demolition nears Following the lllini to Texas, Playing Kansas in the Dome. Got me a list of restaurants, "Great Mexican food," she said.

So I'm gonna eat a chalupa desperately searching for a new home. Gail Poundstone, executive director of the senior center, said finding a building to meet the needs of her clients will cost more than the $240,000 appraised value of the current facility at 355 N. Water St. And it doesn't appear staying in the current location is an option, although Poundstone claims Assistant City Manager for Economic and Urban Development A.J. Krieger originally told her she wouldn't be forced to move.

"He told me there is no eminent domain," she said. "He told me that on multiple occasions. Now he's saying he never said that." Krieger said he never indicated to Poundstone that remaining in the spacious, centrally located building was an option. "There is absolutely no reason we would have told her she could stay," Krieger said. He said if it came to the point of exercising eminent domain which allows the city take control of the CENTERA6 By ARVIN DONLEY Business Editor DECATUR With the city of Decatur's Olde Towne Redevelopment Project moving closer to the demolition phase, Decatur-Macon County Senior Center officials are xxxooo iL Mark THE RIGHT TO KNOW Open Meeting ACLU sues of I over warning Faculty, students told not to talk to recruits about llliniwek issue City, staff attend workshop on the public 's business By PAUL BRINKMANN Staff Writer i i EXPERT: Shawn Denney, senior counsel to Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan, told those attending the workshop that all matters of government should be open to the public, with a few exceptions.

to be mindful and diligent about it," council member Phyllis Sands said. "It's been very informative," council member Pat Laegeler said. "Obviously our intent is to do the right thing." City officials and staff of the Herald Review attended the workshop to settle a lawsuit filed DECATUR A workshop about the Illinois Open Meetings Act proved to be a helpful experience Thursday for many Decatur officials. "I think now that council members realize they're individually responsible for this, they're going by the newspaper over an August city council meeting. In that meeting, the council met behind closed doors to discuss a contract for leaf pickup service to homeowners.

Shawn Denney, senior counsel to Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan, led the workshop. He is the state's leading expert on the Open Meetings Act. He told the council all matters of government should be considered open to the public with a few narrow exceptions. Council members interviewed after the workshop said they learned much but felt confident the city has followed the law in most cases. However, Sands and fellow council members Betsy Stockard and Car La Brinkoet-ter said they've all been falsely told by city staff that the law forbids discussion of a closed meeting after it's over.

"I learned there is nothing that can be done if I talk," Stockard said. "At the same time, I wouldn't want to jeopardize any stand we've taken as a council." She said she is confident city attorney John Couter watches over closed meetings carefully to make sure discussion stays focused on specific issues that are allowed behind closed doors. Examples of permissible closed-door discussion cited by Denney include: Hiring, firing, disciplining or evaluating the performance of a specific employee but not general personnel matters such as layoffs needed to cut salary expenses. MEETINGSA6 1 i' i -V. URBANA (AP) The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Thursday against the University of Illinois, asking a judge to prevent administrators from taking any action against faculty or students who talk to athletic recruits about the ongoing controversy surrounding the school's American Indian mascot, Chief llliniwek.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of seven faculty members and students, alleges Chancellor Michael Aiken placed an unconstitutional limitation on their free speech rights when he sent a campuswide e-mail March 2 warning faculty, students and staff they could be violating NCAA and Big Ten Conference rules by contacting recruits. "Faculty and students under our constitution are not required to pre-clear their comments and statements about important issues through the university before talking to prospective students," Harvey Grossman, legal director of the ACLU, told reporters outside the courthouse after he filed the lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Harold Baker was assigned the case Thursday but immediately withdrew because he is a of I alumnus and an adjunct professor of law. A new judge was to be assigned today.

Aiken's message responded to threats by a group of professors to begin contacting prospective student-athletes to tell them about the controversy surrounding the mascot, which critics have spent a decade decrying as racist and degrading. Some of the most vocal critics, including graduate student Cyd Crue and professors Stephen Kaufman and Brenda Farnell, are among the seven plaintiffs. "We do have the right to speak about the hostile environment on campus and educate prospective students and let them make their own decisions," Crue said. "This e-mail from the chancellor is a threat." The lawsuit asks a federal judge for a temporary restraining order preventing ILL1NIWEKA5 Herald Review photosDennis AAagee listen to a detailed explanation of the Illinois Open PUBLIC MEETING: Decatur city attorney John Couter, front, and others Meetings Act on Thursday. Area farmers aler not worried about foot-and-mouth (but i ii i r--- 3 By SUSAN RE1DY Staff Writer 15.

The virus can be transmitted by vehicles or people that have traveled through an infected area. It also can live in the respiratory tract of a person for five days. In England, the disease has spread rapidly since the end of February, with about 306,600 animals slaughtered so far and another 154,400 that will be killed. As of Thursday, there were 479 confirmed cases of foot-and-mouth disease in Great Britain. The first cases were confirmed in the Netherlands on Wednesday, and the Republic of Ireland confirmed its first cases Thursday.

Livestock farmers in Macon County said they're not wor- DECATUR Although Illinois has been free of foot-and-mouth disease for 87 years, history alone won't protect the state from the contagious livestock disease that's devastating Europe. In a preventative measure, travelers to Europe are taking precautions upon their return to the United States, and veterinarians and livestock auction houses are watching closely. In Illinois, officials are assembling a plan for containing the disease if it is detected here "Everyone is on alert right now, not only statewide but nationally, looking for any suspect animals that might have foot-and-mouth disease," Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food www.maff.gov.uk British Tourist Authority www.britishtouristauthority.org said Richard Hull, state veterinarian. The disease is not harmful to humans, but humans can spread it to cloven-hoofed animals, including cattle, sheep and pigs. It spreads through direct or indirect contact with an infected animal.

Animals develop sores on their mouths or feet, and while foot-and-mouth is rarely fatal, the disease seriously degrades the livestock. Herald ReviewKelly J. Huff FOOT-AND-MOUTH: Warrensburg farmer David Brown carries a few bales of hay out to his herd of 50 cattle Thursday. Area farmers are confident that precautions are in place to prevent the highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease from hitting America's shores. The last confirmed case of the dis- FARMERSA6 ease in Illinois was recorded in 1914.

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