Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 3

Page A3 Decatur, Illinois, Saturday, May 24, 1988 Illinois' counting Fimdslhi lime siglatt MB. us IHMli lor iniamciis DeLand Wetdon I Httnoil 10- I To Champaign J.Ciaco Oreana Mound Roas JjMriatownJ Decatur U.S. 36 To SprlngflaM coordinator Ann Lewellen said. Participants in 34 Illinois counties are being assigned to fill spaces in the segment of the line that runs through Champaign, Macon and Sangamon counties. People from the Quad Cities, as well as Clinton, Iowa, and Burlington, Iowa, also are expected to help fill the Central Illinois line.

Decatur has been divided into 22 segments. The half-mile area near the Holiday Inn was the first to be filled up. Local organizers were having the most trouble filling the line on West Main Street between Taylor Avenue and Wyckles Road and on Mound Road between Greenswitch Church of God and U.S. 51. During a radio interview Thursday, local organizers issued a challenge to Springfield and Champaign to compete with Decatur for the most-filled line.

The Champaign County office reports that 20,000 of its 27,000 spaces have been filled. Decatur organizers plan to catch up. "I think we're going to be very close," Chapman said. "I am relieved that it's getting here. I'm excited.

I'm like a little kid at Christmastime. It's hard to wait for it now. It's hard to get through the days. They're long. "It's gonna work." 12:45.

Nightfire. Unitarian Fellowship of Decatur 3773 MacArthur Road 12:30 p.m.. Gospel Unlimited. 12:50, Elegance, lady barbershop quartet. 1:15, Riverside.

Holiday Inn Noon, JAMS (Junior Achievement Radio Company). 12:10, Mount Zion Swingsations. 12:30, Ballet Arts School. 12:50, Centennial Swing Choir. 1:10, Decatur Area Dance Company.

1:30, Decatur Community Choir. Clowns for Christ and independent clown Janet Skelley will perform along MacArthur Road starting at Pershing Road and heading north from 12:30 to 1:45. line will be entertained linked with ribbon, like the kind used at DOT construction sites. The route and parking areas are being marked with signs. Local organizers are trying to arrange for trucks bearing Hands Across America signs to patrol the route to collect food, clothing and eyeglass donations from people who can't get to drop-off sites.

The food and clothing drive was recently announced as a way for local participants to make charitable donations that will remain in the area. Chapman said many callers have said they don't have $10 to contribute, but would be glad to give a can of food instead. "This is an opportunity for them to give. You do forget how pride rules people," she said. "The only problem we have is that we don't think our pickup trucks will be big enough." Chapman said sign-ups snowballed after Hands Across America organizers announced monetary donations were not required from line participants.

Local organizers were trying Friday to find someone to donate paper so song lyrics could be printed and distributed to people standing in line. First aid, provided by the local chapter of the American Red Cross, will be available at all entertainment sites. The first aid headquarters will be at Northwest Credit Union at Illinois 48 and Mound Road. Ambulance service is also being arranged by the Hands Across America staff. Portable toilets will be located about every half mile.

Hands Across America staff members and volunteers will be stationed every half mile. Knights of Columbus volunteers also will help monitor the line. "It was given to me rather quickly. I had to tie up the phone one night to get the members. The ones I talked to said, 'Hey, it sounds like Grand Knight Matthew Beck said.

Line captains and their helpers will have garbage bags to collect trash' along the route. The public will be asked to help clean up. The event will go on rain or shine. "We're all going to wear raincoats," Chapman said. In Decatur, it's Mound Road to MacArthur Road Monroe Street to West Main Street out to Wyckles Road to U.S.

36. mighty" committee has worked since March getting a variety of entertainers to participate. "I was a former Sweet Adeline (women's barbershop singer), so I thought about contacting singers," Thornton said. "Other people asked, 'What about or 'What about Thornton said she thought having good entertainment would help bring people out to participate in Hands Across America. "People will want to participate anyway, but when they hear of the wonderful entertainment, they'll By ELAINE SHELLY H.r.fd A Rrvraw Staff Writtr Before Hands Across America takes place, there will be entertainment across Decatur.

Choirs, bands, dancers and other entertainers have been organized into five outdoor performing areas throughout Decatur and near the hand-holding route. The entertainment will end between 1:45 and 1:50 p.m., giving participants time to find their places in line. Kathy Thornton, chairwoman of the committee that gathered the entertainers, said her "small but Illinois gears op for long southern tip near Cairo. Illinois gaps appear to be between and Macoupin County, and in Iroquois Bradner. Winfrey, a television personality and and Chicago Bears running back Walter paid over $13,000 to purchase a mile.

who is the state Hands Across America purchased a mile on Chicago's and Payton's mile is in Champaign. Sunday's demonstration aims to raise at least $50 million by forming a nearly unbroken human chain from New York to California. The line will stretch from New York City to Long Beach, apparently with some gaps in sparsely populated regions, especially in the West. Organizers have estimated about 400,000 people are needed altogether in Illinois. The line will run 370 miles across the state from Chicago to Alton and across a short stretch CHICAGO (AP) About 250,000 people have signed up to join hands with Gov.

James R. Thompson and others to raise money for the poor, but organizers say almost that many still are needed to complete the human chain across Illinois. "We think we're doing well," Jeanne Bradner, Illinois director of Hands Across America, said Friday. "The principle is that people will turn up at the last minute if the weather is great." Local organizers remain optimistic that Decatur will be linked end-to-end for Hands Across America, although the most current estimates show only half the local line filled. Office Manager Susan Steele, the only paid member of the local Hands Across America staff, said phones began ringing off the hook Monday and haven't stopped.

In fact, local staff took more than 800 calls Friday. Magna BankMillikin National Bank, where local donations are being collected, reports more than 19,000 in the charity fund. An anonymous woman caller pledged $500 Friday. "The more people I talk to the more that say they're going to (stand in line)," local coordinator Cindy Chapman said. By Thursday morning, Decatur had more than 4,500 participants signed up.

By 2 p.m. Thursday another 300 calls had come in. Almost 30 messages were left on the office answering machine overnight Thursday. On Friday, organizers were estimating the Decatur line had about 7,000 participants. That would be half the number needed to complete the city chain.

"I know there are a lot of people out there that are going to jump in the line. They don't want to commit themselves (by signing up)," local want to come out and see these groups," she predicted. The locations, performers and performance times are: French School, 520 W. Wood St. 12:30 p.m., Jim Houran, magician.

12:45. Zundra Cotton, double-dutch rope jumping. 1. The Midwest Karate Academy. 1:25, YMCA gymnastic groups.

Woodmound Plaza, East Mound Road 12:30 p.m., Hamdillah Dancers. 12:40. Meda's Dance Studio. 1:10, U.S. Academy and Martial Arts.

1:30, Decatur Boys' Club breakdanc-ers and rappers. Fairview Park Pavilion 2 Noon, The Voyagers. Sister Mary Jean and other nuns, as well as Father Kevin Sullivan and Father Donald Wolford, will join the graduates in the line. tr ir -tr More than half the employees of McKeever Communications and the Dunn Co. will stand in line Sunday.

Eighteen of the 30 McKeever employees will line up along Monroe Street holding signs and banners. The company donated $10 per person. More than 25 of the 50 Dunn Company employees will be standing on West Main Street near Dennis School. The company made a corporate donation and bought T-shirts for each of the employees. Dunn Co.

employee Karen Roberts just happens to be on the logistics committee of the local Hands Across America staff. "I'm in charge of that section (on West Main). I just said, 'OK, you guys, we've got to fill this section it -tr it When Olympic Village residents discovered Hands Across America would be going right across the front of the apartment complex property, they decided to get involved. The entire staff, their families and about three-fourths of the residents a total of about 75 people have signed up to stand in line. T-shirts have been ordered for staff and resdients.

Afterward, the residents will have a private pool party and pot-luck. tr -tr -tr The in-house toastmaster club of Federal Kemper Insurance Co. has held fund-raisers to collect about $150 for Hands Across America. In addition, about 250 of the company's 375 Decatur employees have signed up to stand in line. tr 'tr "tr The country-rock group Atlanta will stand in line at Fairview Avenue and Main Street.

The group will be in Decatur for a Sunday afternoon concert at the Lincoln Theatre. The musicians will be escorted to and from the line in a stretch limou in the extreme The biggest Springfield County, said Oprah film star, Payton each Winfrey, chairwoman, South Side, schools accept 'Hands' challenge By AMY RAGSDALE HwtM Rivltw Staff Writer The finish line is in sight, and the race to stage Hands Across America is at its peak. The coast-to-coast human chain, which weaves through Decatur, will be assembled at 2 p.m. Sunday. The actual event will be orchestrated by a national radio broadcast.

Hands Across America participants are being asked to bring transistor radios to the line. WDZ is the local station officially designated to broadcast the event. Decatur's other radio stations will probably broadcast the songs, local coordinator Cindy Chapman said. In a national radio broadcast, Dick Clark will instruct participants when to form the chain and when to sing "Hands Across America," "We Are the World" and either "God Bless America" or "America the Beautiful." The event will last 10 to 15 minutes. Local participants should assemble in their areas at about 1 p.m.

Cars should be parked in designated areas by that time. The Illinois Department of Transportation has announced that no one will be allowed to stand in intersections anywhere in the state. Local organizers will ask participants at intersections to hold either end of duct tape applied to the road to keep the line unbroken. Sparsely populated areas will be There's still time to sign up for Hands Across America. The Decatur office, located in the Ambassador Motor Inn, will be accepting calls from 9 a.m.

to 9 p.m today. The number is 428-5048. No monetary donation is required to stand in line. However, there is a cost for certificates, T-shirts and pins. Line participants are being asked to bring canned food, clothing and old eyeglasses for a local charity drive.

The items will be collected during the event Sunday. Middle The challenge is on to see which Decatur middle school can get the most representation in the Hands Across America line Sunday. The middle school with the highest percentage of its student body in line will earn a plaque, said Cindy Chapman, local Hands Across America coordinator. Micky Tolle, a Roosevelt Middle School counselor, estimated at least 50 to 100 pupils at the school had signed up to participate. They will stand on the east side of their school on Monroe Street, which is on the Hands Across America route.

Shannon Brownlow, an eighth-grader at Centennial Lab School, has organized that school's participation in the charity event. Principal Mary Polite said Shannon undertook the effort to organize school involvement. About 150 to 200 pupils, parents and staff members from Centennial are expected to join the line at Central Christian Church, 650 W. William St. Centennial's Parent-Teacher Organization made a $200 donation, and pupils are making their own contributions.

At the elementary school level, Durfee School Principal Alana Kirk and staff members from her building will join the line on Mound Road. Kirk lives near the route. In Decatur high schools, student council members have promoted participation, but it will be done on an individual basis. Some administrators had voiced concern about liability problems had participation been organized on a schoolwide basis. ir ir Residents and staff members of Decatur Manor will fill about 20 spaces in the Hands Across America line on West Main Street.

Their assigned spot is just down the block from their nursing home on Dipper Lane. "We'll be taking a couple of people in wheelchairs. It's convenient and really a worthy cause," said Candy Carroll, manor administrator. it ir ir Decatur Skate North, 3710 Greens-witch Road, will try to get a captive audience to raise money for Hands Across America. The business, which has offered 11 1 1 Photo by Dave Petrina High school senior Buffy Reed led line for Hands Across Marshall event Friday.

sine. They will be accompanied by four bodyguards. tr -tt it Molly Hatch, 90, a resident of Americana Healthcare nursing home, will have seven family members joining her in the Decatur line. The nursing home, at 444 W. Harrison has between 40 and 50 residents and family members signed up to participate.

The home has donated $250 and a collection of canned goods to the charity. The nursing home entourage will stand at Monroe Street and Harrison Avenue, in front of Monroe Park. "They've been through so many different crises in their lives. The residents felt very strongly that they wanted to be involved in this They are citizens of America," nursing home Administrator Virginia Sauer said. it it it Service representatives, clerks, management personnel and directory assistance operators will be among the Illinois Bell Telephone Co.

employees standing in the Decatur line. About 30 people have signed up already and more are expected. The majority of the Illinois Bell personnel will stand at MacArthur and Mound roads, although others will be scattered throughout town. Individual contributions from the company total about $100. "It's really a Telephone Pioneers (an in-house charity organization) effort," an Illinois Bell spokesman said.

it ir ir Most Decatur-area hotels have not had an increase in reservations during the Hands Across America-Memorial Day weekend. The only hotel contacted that did report an increase in reservations that could be attributed to Hands was Budgetel Inn, Forsyth. Motel auditor Vincent Evans said the hotel was nearly booked and that the Memorial Day weekend was usually a light weekend for motels in this area. The Holiday Inn reported that it is 85 percent to 90 percent booked tonight, but a hotel spokesperson was unsure if the fund-raiser contributed to the number staying at the hotel. its parking lot for line participants, will hold a special skating party Sunday afternoon.

Admission charges will be donated to the charity. ir ir ir Troy and Paul Mendenhall of Mendenhall Motors in Decatur have donated five cases of canned food for every car sold from Wednesday through today. By Friday afternoon, they'd chipped in 15 to 20 cases. "I couldn't just go out there by myself because I'm going to be gone," Paul Mendenhall said. The Hands Across America staff will pick up the food later today.

"I hope I've got 100 cases by then," he said. ir -tr ir The Near West Restoration and Preservation Society will have 15-20 of its members standing on West Main Street, near the Millikin Homestead. "We see that as a process of reinvestment in our neighborhood," group member Debbie Erlanson said. The group, which has been in existence about nine months, is a neighborhood improvement organization composed of more than 100 residents of the area between South Main Street, Eldorado Street, Fair-view Avenue and the Sangamon River. tr tr -tr About 30 members of the Decatur YWCA will stand along Monroe Street holding a YWCA banner.

The group has donated $50 to Hands Across America. "We went through each of our departments and asked people to sign up," YWCA Executive Director Jean Williams said, adding that she will be among the group standing in line. The group is a half-and-half mixture of children and adults from the membership of 2,700. tr ir ir The Leisure Lounge, 3775 N. Woodford will donate 50 cents to Hands Across America for every case of beer sold at its package store over the weekend.

In addition, about 50 of the bar's customers have signed up to stand in newsletter and bulletins. Weekly announcements have been made, signs are up throughout the building, and a banner is draped across the sanctuary doors. More than 100 people from the 900-member congregation have already signed up to stand in line. In addition, the church will have a tailgate party starting at noon until the line forms. tr -tr -tr "Pomp and Circumstance" will be brought to the Hands Across America line by the cap-and-gown-clad graduates of Our Lady of Lourdes School.

About 25 eighth-grade pupils will graduate during noon Mass at the parish school. Following a reception, the graduates will stand in the human chain that runs right in front of the church. "It was their idea," school Principal Sister Mary Jean said. "It's just like the last thing they do before they leave the school. Because it's a historic thing they thought it would be kind of special." In addition, the graduates will hold a banner signed by the more than 200 pupils who attend the school.

the human chain, which will run east to west on Mound Road. The bar will provide restroom facilities, sell hot dogs and provide free ice water to Hands participants. tr it -tr Official Hands Across America buttons will be given to everyone who has Sunday brunch in the Lavender Room of the Holiday Inn. The hotel ordered about 500 official buttons from the charity's national organization. The hotel also ordered 185 Hands Across America T-shirts for employees, their families and friends who plan to stand in line.

Entertainment, food and balloons will be provided in the hotel parking lot. tr -tr -tr Westminster Presbyterian Church has donated $1,000 to "buy" a block in front of the church. "We heard about it, and since the line was going down West Main Street in front of the church, we decided we wanted to be a part of it. It's for a good cause. We always support that," church secretary Margaret Gant said.

Notes about Hands Across America have appeared in the church's.