The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 5

Local News of our communities, our region and state A5 The Pantagraph Tuesday, September 23, 1997, City will listen! to concerns i TowandaEmerson project advances' I i 1 7 1 Beautification winners listed The Bloomington City Council honored six homeowners and a school Monday as recipients of its 1997 Beautification Awards. The awards went to William and Sandra Norris, 605 E. Mulberry John and Nancy Lanier, 1111 E. Grove Allen and Anita Blair, 14 Graystone Court; Mark and Susan Bayles, 3207 Trumpet Lane; David and Patricia Stark, 22 Sunset Road; and Herbert and Pamala Eaton, 512 E.Taylor St. Sheridan School, 1403 W.

Walnut received an award for its "Poetry Place" garden. The awards are presented each year by the city's Citizens Beautification Committee. 1 ('. The PantagraphDANA L. HOBACK Rowe Construction workers Marilyn Phillips and Dewy Loving put rods in the side of U.S.

51 Monday morning. Construction along the route from Interstate 74 to Veterans Parkway has traffic backed up with lane reductions and various delays. By DAVID WICKERT Pantagraph staff Bloomington officials want to hear the concerns of neighbors who will be affected by improvements to the TowandaEmerson intersection, but that willingness to listen will only be taken so far. That was the message the City Council delivered Monday as it voted to spend up to $172,500 for preliminary engineering work on the project, scheduled for construction next year. The project, expected to be controversial, will be the subject of public hearings beginning in mid-January.

But council and staff members vowed to move quickly so construction can be completed as planned. "The key issue is how much time do you want to take answering every question and comment that we heard 10 years ago," when the project was originally proposed and rejected, said City Manager Tom Hamilton. "You could spend months and still never get the dang thing done," Hamilton told the council in assessing the likely reaction of some area residents. Reaction is expected to be strong. In 1986, the council rejected plans to add a traffic signal and turn lanes at the intersection after area residents and property owners objected.

This time, the staff is proceeding cautiously. It asked and received permission from the council to hire Daily Associates Engineers of Champaign to do preliminary design. The company will meet with residents to solicit suggestions on how the project should take shape. While the staff originally planned to meet separately with about half a dozen groups interested in the project, Mayor Judy Markowitz asked that the number of meetings be cut down to save money. "We will not be having five or six meetings," the mayor said.

Hamilton said he and his staff would gladly meet with individuals concerned about the project and said all public comments will be considered. "You take their suggestions, incorporate them when they're useful and if they're not, you don't and U.S. 51 work leads to delays, crashes Reconstruction of U.S. 51 south of Bloom-ington will likely stretch into October, and highway officials are reminding motorists to drive carefully and expect minor delays. number of accidents in the area was not available Monday from Bloomington police.

Rowe Construction started the $1.4 million project, which runs 214 miles from Interstate 74 to Veterans Parkway, in August. Completion is planned for late October, weather permitting. The job consists primarily of patching and resurfacing. "They should always use extreme caution in construction zones, not only for their safety but for the workers' safety, too," said Dan Mestelle, district construction engineer for the state Department of Transportation. There have been several reports of minor accidents as motorists were caught off guard by construction-slowed traffic near the Veterans Parkway intersection.

Information on the move on," he said. Councilman Mike Sprague cast the lone vote against hiring the firm. He said the $172,500 price tag was too steep and said the city's staff could have done the work if it had started sooner. City Engineer George Drye saia he has planned all along to employ, an outside firm to do the design work because the city couldn't spare the manpower. In other business The council: i Agreed to pay Pierce Manufacf turing $885,454 for two new fire trucks.

The first, an aerial platform truck, will be housed in the city's new fire station on Hamilton Road The second is a pumper that will replace an existing vehicle. In a related matter, the council agreed to pay $47,450 to Global Fire Equipment and $5,163 to A.E.C. Fire Safety Security Inc. for a variety of tools and equipment for the fire department. Agreed to pay $134,891 to Conr necting Point Computer Systems for new computers to replace obsor lete equipment and $4,876 to WRQ Inc.

for software. Final whistle blows for Union Station Abandoned train depot slated for demolition By DAVID WICKERT Pantagraph staff An 84-year-old Bloomington landmark will see its last days soon when the Southern Pacific Transportation Co. tears down the aban doned Union Station. The company has applied for permits to remove asbestos and demolish the station and a bridge at the Front Street property, which served as the Twin Cities' passenger rail depot until the Amtrak station in Normal opened in 1990. Jim Hepperly, the city's director of planning and code enforcement, said demolition should begin in the next few weeks.

He said the city has been concerned for some time Some people, however, apparently aren't ready to let the building go. Union Station has caught the eye of many potential buyers over the years, and Hepperly said he has received calls recently from people wondering if they can save the building. Hepperly doubts it, however. "It's obvious, when you put pencil to paper it's a pretty hard one to justify," he said. about the hazard posed by the building.

"It's a vacant building," he said. "Vacant buildings tend to deteriorate over time." Portions of the building were vacant even before Amtrak moved to Normal, and rain had damaged the building before it was abandoned. Hepperly said he didn't know why the railroad finally had decided to do away with the building. Regional superintendent races taking shape Tazewell chief steps down, gives nod to assistant Jontry would expand on projects in second term By JOHN BERRY Pantagraph staff Gene Jontry, the regional superintendent of schools for McLean, De-Witt and Livingston counties, announced his candidacy for another term Monday. Jontry, 61, is seeking a second four years after spending the past three expanding the role of his office.

Those tasks included He said keeping up with demands of changing technology and making it accessible to even smaller districts also will be a challenge. He hopes to develop networking experts who can share their knowledge throughout the region. He also hopes to see some type of program extended to parents, especially in the less wealthy districts. "In some cases, parents can be brought into the labs at night for classes and be taught the technology their children are learning," Wojtas said. Growth and management of resources also are concerns for Wojtas, who said areas like Deer Creek, Mackinaw, Rankin (south of Pekin) and Morton are growing rapidly, requiring more attention and resources.

He lamented the disparity between educational dollars spent on children living in some wealthier suburbs and those students in poorer regions, like Creve Coeur. By CORBY PATAY Pantagraph correspondent PEKIN After 21 years as the assistant regional school superintendent, Thomas J. Wojtas said Monday he will run for the top spot to supervise the 21,000 students in Tazewell County. At the Tazewell County Democratic Party's annual steak fry Sunday, current regional school Superintendent Thomas J. Innis announced he would not seek re-election and threw his support behind Wojtas.

Wojtas, 54, said the biggest challenge over the next five years will be to utilize cooperative efforts to use dwindling resources more efficiently. "For instance, instead of using grant writers in every district for the same type of grants, we may develop a representative to write the grants for the entire area," Wojtas said. If elected to a second term, he said he wants to build on the programs he has started since taking office in 1995. "I have a good feeling about what we have been doing for education through this office," said Jontry. The Republican, who lived most of his life in Chenoa, will be on the March 17 primary ballot.

No other candidates have filed to run against Jontry. Jontry's office also has played a role in the attempt to merge the Twin City public school districts in 1996 and the current boundary disputes between Unit 5 and District 87. Before assuming his current position, Jontry was the superintendent of schools for the Chenoa, Octavia and Ridgeview districts. Candidates have until Dec. 8 to file nominating petitions with the state board of elections in Springfield.

ml Gene Jontry organizing alternative schools in Bloomington and Clinton, planning regional teacher training days and organizing a regional summer school, which could start in 1998. NEWSMAKERS County, state try to settle dogs' fate By KEVIN SIMPSON Pantagraph staff The lifespan of 10 pitbulls has been extended indefinitely amid confusion between the state Department of Agriculture and McLean County authorities over who controls the dogs' fate. Christopher Cail of Bloomington has staked unofficial claim to the dogs but has yet to file an official hearing request with the Department of Agriculture, spokesman Pat Hogan said Monday. Monday was supposed to be the filing deadline. The McLean County Animal Control Center has custody of the animals, but the state Department of Agriculture has an impoundment order against the dogs.

Pending charges Hogan said the Agriculture Department would not make a determination on whether to destroy the pitbulls because of pending criminal charges of using animals for entertainment. Cail and seven other men allegedly were fighting or watching a dog fight in west Bloomington Sept. 10. Hogan said the determination would have to be made by a judge. County officials have a different interpretation of the impoundment order and believe the state has control, said Walt Howe, operations director at the McLean County Health Department.

Howe said in an earlier interview that the animals probably will be euthanized because of past violent behavior. Although Cail has contacted Animal Control officials, he has yet to make contact with anyone at the state level as required by the impoundment order, Hogan said. Cail has not returned calls from The Pantagraph seeking comment. '1-- Kris Hall Education coordinator, Miller Park Zoo Age: 35 Family: Married to Mike Hall, Normal's public works director. Two sons, Ben, 1 1 and David, 3.

Education: Bachelor's degree in zoology and English from DePauw University, Greencastle, Ind. Internship and summer zookeeper at Brookfield Zoo, and education intern at Lincoln Park Zoo. Background: Landed first job as educator at zoo in Wheeling, W.Va. At Miller Park Zoo, she has spent 1 1 years teaching programs at schools and for schools. Heads zoo education program, including Animal Crackers for 3- to S-year-olds, Zoo Kids for 6- and 7-year-olds and Zoo Safari Camp for middle school students.

Has helped with Junior Zookeep-ers for kids in fifth grade and up. Favorite leisure activity: Hiking outdoors somewhere and seeing animals in natural habitat Dream job: "This is it If I was at a bigger zoo, there would be more red tape and administrative stuff to do. There would be less direct contact with kids and animals and the people who support the Most unique aspect of Miller Park Zoo: The community's feeling of owning the zoo, providing intimate, up-close, this-is-my-zoo experiences. "I was once visiting a preschool at one of the churches, and got out a pygmy hedgehog. One of the little girls said, 'I have a hedgehog at my I asked her where her zoo was, and she said Miller Park.

No multimillion dollar marketing campaign can get you that" Awkward moments: "I have been pooped on a number of times. That kind of thing just doesn't really phase me. I get irritated when some parents make a big deal of it From time to time, I've had parents who got all grossed out You know, everyone's pretty highly washable." Favorite zoo animal: Snakes. "People have so many misconceptions about them. They are so fascinating and graceful.

As an educational tool, they are amazing. Kids learn so much by watching and touching a real snake. Five minutes with a real snake can wipe out all their fears and misconceptions. Sometimes it takes 1 0 minutes." Pet peeve: People who buy exotic animals for pets just for the novelty. "I don't think that's appropriate." Must see zoo exhibit: The rain forest especially in winter.

"Let the animals walk and fly around you. That's pretty neat." Hopes and dreams for the zoo: Continue to grow in a reasonable fashion with the aid of the Zoo 2000 campaign to raise $500,000 and combine that with $700,000 from the city and zoological society. The 1 .2 million project includes building the Zoo Lab and completely redoing the children's zoo. Interview by Chris Anderson Newsmakers is a weekly column profiling community leaders. It appears every Tuesday.

KA 1 fc Why she chose zookeeping: "I had visited zoos all over the world, and thought zookeepers looked like janitors. They were often older men sitting on folding chairs who threw meat to the lions. When my dad was stationed at Scott Air Force Base for eight years, I started spending time at the St Louis Zoo. I saw that zookeepers were young and often women. And they were doing interesting things." 'a- The PantagraphCHRIS ANDERSON 1.