Outlook - The Road Ahead: PLAY

OUTLOOK 2010

The Road Ahead

PLAY

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SUNDAY, MARCH 21, 2010 DECATUR, ILLINOIS

Leader brings backjazz festival/5

Southern gospel drawscrowd to The Barn/Page 16

Bike trails comingtogether/Page 17

12 OUTLOOK SUNDAY, MARCH 21, 2010 DECATUR, ILLINOIS www.herald-review.com

By ANNIE GETSINGERH&R Staff Writer

PANA — A year ago, EvelynNohren, 89, was combative, stubbornand withdrawn. A victim of thedementia that has slowly robbed herof various cognitive abilities,Nohren no longer knew her ownchildren and would often sleep onthe floor of her nursing home roomto avoid falling out of bed, saiddaughter Mary Glick.

“She was gone,” Glick said. “Shealways knew me, but she didn’tknow her other children.”

Nohren was heavily medicated,suffered from bed sores, and Glicklikened her mother’s condition tothat of a homeless person.

Glick said she knew her momneeded a change, and she explored anew facility in Pana, Gowin Parc, anAlzheimer’s disease and dementiahome with a focus on a familylikeatmosphere to serve individual resi-dents’ needs.

Jason and Theresa Gowin openedtheir second facility last spring inPana after owning and operatinganother location in Mattoon.

In May, after being deemed toodifficult for several other facilities,Nohren became the first resident ofthe Pana location. Within weeks,Glick said, her mother’s entiredemeanor had changed.

“It’s just the atmosphere here is afamily atmosphere,” Glick said. “It’san institution in the other (facilities).”

Over the following months,Nohren’s medications were reduced,and she became a more active par-ticipant in the world around her,Glick said. Now, Nohren knows herchildren and grandchildren, and ona Thursday morning in late Febru-ary, her husband, Tuck Nohren, 95,picked her up for a day on the townto celebrate their 70th weddinganniversary.

Tuck Nohren drives his pickuptruck over from Hickory Estates tovisit his wife every day when weath-er permits, staff members said.

“I can’t say enough good thingsabout this facility,” Glick said,adding that she believes “every-thing” about Gowin Parc has madethe difference.

Jean Weitekamp, executive direc-tor of the Pana facility, said thesmaller staff-to-resident ratio of the16-person facility is an integral part

of its mission.“We’re just one big family, really,”

Weitekamp said. “This is morehome. We have a chance to reallyget to know them and work withthem one-on-one.”

Since welcoming Nohren in May,Gowin Parc has brought in sevenothers, bringing it to half capacity.

The kitchen is a central fixture atthe facility, and lunch and dinnerare dished out family style and alsoserve as social times for the resi-dents. Some actually like to assistwith meal preparation, Weitekampsaid. One woman likes to help dodishes and peel potatoes.

“It makes her feel like she’s con-

tributing to the household,” Weitekamp said.

Gowin Parc is different from tra-ditional long-term care facilities in anumber of ways, she added. Thebuilding has no visiting hours, Weitekamp said, and family mem-bers are welcome at any time. Resi-dents’ daily lives thrive on routine,

but they are not restricted to specif-ic bedtimes or required to get up atany certain hour.

The rooms and corridors arepainted in subdued, happy colors,and each person’s bedroom is deco-rated with a distinct color and styleto aid residents in connecting withtheir spaces. Outside each bedroomis a glass case called a “memorybox” in which family members canplace objects familiar to residents tohelp with this process.

Linda Gill and Kathy Johns, resi-dent specialists at Gowin Parc,spend their days taking care of thepeople who live there and engagingthem in a variety of activities. Staffmembers work 12-hour shifts tomaintain a sense of routine, and onany given day, they read the newspa-per, lead exercises, go on outings,play board games and trivia andinteract with residents in countlessother ways, Weitekamp said. BothGill and Johns have worked in long-term care for more than 20 years.

“I started in a nursing home, andthis is completely different,” Johnssaid.

Weitekamp said she’s grown per-sonally and professionally sincestarting her job at Gowin Parc.

“Every day is different, fun,” shesaid. “I didn’t realize how much Ireally enjoy working with these peo-ple and how they can enhance mylife.”

Weitekamp, who started her nurs-ing career in 1991, brought hergrandmother, Evelyn Mizeur, 90, tolive at the facility in January.

According to Gowin Parc’s Website, its mission hinges on the prom-ises and gifts of love, nurturing andcare families provide for each other.

Glick remembers her mother as aloving, quiet woman who workedhard on the family farm, raisedthree children and had a speciallove for flowers, a person whodeserves to be cherished and lookedafter late in life.

“We always had zinnias andmarigolds in the garden and gladio-las,” Glick said, remembering a spe-cial gift she acquired from hermother. “ … I can remember walk-ing in the woods with her and hershowing me the wildflowers … Ilearned to identify wildflowersbecause of her.”

[email protected]|421-6968

Family as medicationGowin Parc finds big impact on Alzheimer’s

with small facilities, individual care

Herald & Review photos/Lisa Morrison

Mary Nuzback sits in the family room, watching television with some of her friends at Gowin Parc, an Alzheimer’s home that helps patients through common meal times, relaxed visitor policies and a family feel. BOTTOM LEFT: Kathy Johns peels potatoes as she prepares dinner for the facility. The residents eat their meals family style. BOTTOM RIGHT: Evelyn Nohren is surrounded in her room by pictures of her family. TOP: The Pana facility opened in June.

Comic artist nowlooking to shootlocal productions

By KENNETH LOWEH&R Staff Writer

MOUNT ZION — The onlything that might hint at thenature of Eric Hector’s housein Mount Zion is the whitetruck out front.

He opens it up to reveal dol-lies, lights and camera equip-ment. It’s only one part of thevast array of graphic design,prop and set production,lighting, film and other equip-ment he uses as head of Hero-ic Age Studios.

“If all you’ve got is a para-graph, an idea, and funding,we’ll do the whole, or if youjust need people to fill in theblanks,” Hector said.

Hector’s home doubles ashis studio, with a basementoffice devoted to his graphicdesign and concept artwork.There are the trappings youmight find in the home of anyman who grew up with a loveof comic books and flashy sci-fi movies — the top of onebookshelf has a veritable armyof Spider-Men and the shelvesare lined with graphic novels.

The critical difference isthat for Hector, a good portionof it is more than just ahobby. The Justice Leagueaction figures that line oneshelf, for instance, wereentirely colored by his studio.

Hector’s creative life seemsto spill into his home as well.Besides the extensive lightingequipment and the family car,his garage holds a limited-edi-tion Mercury Marauder witha huge skull attached to it, thegaping mouth opening to givethe driver a view out thewindshield. The skull is stillblue, Hector said, because heneeds to finish painting it theproper color, then wire theeyes up with evil-looking redlights so it can serve as afully functional prop in a film.

The aptly-named creator gothis start when he worked forMarvel comics as an intern inthe ’90s. The industry was

weathering a turbulent time.Hector described one party ina grand hotel in New YorkCity, complete with ice sculp-tures of superheroes but allthe joy of a funeral. A third ofMarvel’s staff had just beenlaid off.

Hector eventually lightedout on his own, borrowingmoney from his father andgrandfather and using hiscontacts in the entertainmentindustry to get started color-

ing comic books with cutting-edge techniques.

Hector’s clients these daysinclude the Illinois Secretaryof State’s Office (for which hehelped produce a driver safe-ty video starring Secretary ofState Jesse White), Marveland DC Comics and independ-ent filmmakers in need ofequipment, manpower andtechnical know-how.

Together with his wife,Joan, Hector said he’s hoping

to begin making more inroadswith the surrounding commu-nity.

“We’re starting to offer ourservices to the community aswell,” he said. “We’ve got somuch stuff that we can do,we’re starting to open up tothe whole community. We canbring all the production val-ues of a film to a local televi-sion commercial.”

The times are calling foradvertisers and organizationsto make use of better produc-tion values in their ads, logos,and promotional materials,Hector said.

“Kids have grown up, andthey’re so savvy now,” Hectorsaid. “They don’t necessarilywant to a see local commer-cial that looks like that. Theywant to see what they’re usedto seeing. I’ve lived here mywhole life, and I want to beable to offer the communityall of that stuff.”

Joan Hector said local busi-nesses and churches should-n’t be scared off by the high-end equipment.

“It’s not cost-prohibitive,”she said. “We work with allkinds of budgets.”


Herald & Review photos/Ralf Pansch

Eric Hector and Tim Lynn edit a drunken driving commercial.

Hector, left, and Lynn, partners in Heroic Age Studios, show justsome of the equipment used to produce their award-winning work.

It started as an entertaining hobbyIn my future, I believe

there will be more pain, butmore happiness as well. Mygrandmother will win herfight against cancer. Shewill be healthy once again,apt to partake in all theactivities that used to con-sume her life.

I will go off to college,make new friends and beable to experience new jour-neys in the road ahead.When I graduate from col-lege, I will become ateacher and, hopefully,inspire my students just assome of my high schoolteachers have inspired andsupported me.

When I get married andam settled in my house inthe country, I will instill inmy children the values thatmy parents instilled in me.If time allows and my writ-ing skills are refined, Iwould like to write novels,sharing stories with thepeople of the world. I wantto make a difference insomeone’s life. I want to bea good influence to thosearound me. The best way toachieve this goal is bybecoming a teacher, orbecoming a parent or evensharing a story that standsfor something important.

In my future, I fear thepain of fading memories.The memories of my littlebrother are vanishing, eventwo and half years since hehas been gone. I will neverforget him, but with everyday that passes, the memo-ries of my time with himfade away. I know that as Isee his classmates grow up,I will always ache for whatcould have been. Who wouldhe be today?

Whatever happens in theroad ahead, for we cannever know what truly liesahead, I will always remem-ber to believe in myself andlove as much as I can. Eachday will bring new opportu-nities and obstacles. I willstand strong.

Taylor WilliamsonWindsor

CITY: LincolnCOUNTY: LoganPOPULATION: 15,418MAYOR: Keith SnyderINDUSTRY: Eaton Electrical

Group, International CoalGroup, Precision ProductsInc., Saint-Gobain Contain-ers, Weyerhaeuser, MII Inc.

COLLEGES: Lincoln College,Lincoln Christian Collegeand Seminary.

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS:Postville Courthouse StateHistoric Site, Route 66attractions, RailsplitterState Park.

ANNUAL EVENTS: LoganCounty Fair, Lincoln Artand Balloon Festival, Rail-splitter Festival.

MAJOR HIGHWAYS: Inter-states 55 and 155, Illinois 10and 121.

HISTORY: When plans weremade in the 1850s to connectSpringfield and Blooming-ton by rail, a water stop andpassenger depot were need-ed midway between them.

Three businessmen creat-ed a speculative venturecalled the Town Site Co. todevelop a site near the townof Postville. They were Vir-gil Hickcox, a director ofthe railroad; John D.Gillett, a cattleman andlandowner in Cornland; andRobert B. Latham, sheriffof Logan County.

For legal assistance, thepartnership turned to aprominent railroad attorneyin Springfield, AbrahamLincoln.

On Aug 24, 1853, it wasannounced that the newtown would be named afterthe future president. Morethan 90 lots were quicklysold for $40 to $150. Threedays later, Abraham Lincolnchristened the town by usingwatermelon juice from anearby wagonload of melons.

A statue of a watermelonstands near the railroaddepot to commemoratewhere Abraham Lincolnchristened the town.

ON THE WEB: www.lincolnillinois.com

The Road

Ahead

The Road

Ahead

PARKS • PARK SINGERS • SCOVILL ZOO • WEDDINGS • MEETINGS • GOLF COURSES • POOLS • DECATUR INDOOR SPORTS CENTER

The mission of the Decatur Park District is to foster healthy lifestyles through recreational

opportunities, provide quality programs and facilities, and preserve and protect our natural

resources, benefiting and enhancing the quality of life for all in our community.

2009 HighlightsPlanning Process for Decatur’s Lakefront

The enhancement of the Nelson Park lakefront area has long been identified as a community priority. Following

constructive meetings by a number of organizations and individuals, the Park District resumed its planning

process in 2009, with a focus on making the lakefront area a new economic engine for the community. A

committee of Park District, City, Chamber, County, labor, and neighborhood (CONO) representatives

requested proposals, visited several outstanding planning firms, and selected internationally-recognized AECOM

to create a long-range vision and plan. The Community Leaders Breakfast (February 2010) spurred enthusiasm,

interest and community dialogue. A new website and Facebook page now provide updates about the exciting

process that will enhance Decatur's quality of life and serve as a catalyst for community growth. Visit

www.decaturslakefront.com.

Air Choice One Airlines Lands at Decatur Airport

Air Choice One, Decatur’s newest airline, began daily round-trip flights to Lambert St. Louis Airport on

December 15 via their comfortable 9-passenger Cessna Caravan aircraft. Daily service to Chicago O’Hare was

added on January 14, 2010. All in the community are encouraged to support Air Choice One to ensure the

airline’s success. For flight schedules, fares, and information, visit www.fly-decatur.com.

Changing of the Guard: Park Board of Commissioners

April 2009 marked the retirement of Dr. William Van Alstine from the Park Board of Commissioners after an

accomplished, 18-year tenure. Dr. Van Alstine served on the Board from 1989 – 1995 and 1997 – 2009 and was

President from 1993 – 1995. He was influential in many important developments, including streamlining the

corporate structure and adding a chief financial officer, District recognition as an Illinois Distinguished Agency

and NRPA Gold Medal Finalist, and construction and renovation of countless parks, projects, and facilities. With

Dr. Van Alstine’s retirement, the Board welcomed Bob Brilley II as its newest Commissioner for a six-year term.

Online Registration and Tee Times

To enhance customer service, simplify the scheduling of tee times, and enable visitors to sign up for Park

District activities and classes from the comfort of their own homes or offices…online registration is now

available at www.decatur-parks.org!

Standard & Poor’s Bond Rating

The Decatur Park District improved its financial rating two years in a row. In 2009, the Standard & Poor’s

Financial Management Assessment rated the District an A+. In 2010, the District earned an AA-. Both ratings

are significant accomplishments and unusually high for a park district. Ratings are based on financial stability,

with higher scores resulting in lower bond interest rates and reduced expenses.

Arts & Recreation Center Renovation

Since 2007 when the Poage family generously donated the former Tallman Pontiac/Cadillac dealership on

Oakland Ave., the facility has been transformed into a functional, mixed-use building housing the Park District’s

Arts and Fleet departments. In 2009, parking lot resurfacing and landscaping greatly enhanced the building’s

outdoor appearance, while indoors, new additions included a costume shop, prop storage area, and dance

studio with raised dance floor, wall-to-wall mirrors, and ballet barres. Throughout the year, dance and theatre

classes, Chorale practices, and rehearsals for Perform!, B.O.S.S., and Park Singers energize the renovated facility.

Scovill Park Enhancements

Thanks to a grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the District was able to complete several

significant enhancements to Scovill Park, including a new pavilion, bioswales at the park’s entrance, and

interpretive signage. The bioswales will improve water quality by reducing run-off along the hillside. Signage now

displays maps and various highlights within the park, including Scovill Zoo and the Wikoff Oriental Garden.

MLS Chicago Fire Mid-Fielder Mike Banner Visits MidState Soccer Camp

Major League Soccer mid-fielder Mike Banner of the Chicago Fire signed autographs, led drills, and helped

coach the MidState Soccer Camp on July 27 – 30 at the DISC. Banner is scheduled to return for the 2010

Summer Camp on August 2 – 5.

Redbird Rookies League

Decatur’s Redbird Rookies League celebrated its first anniversary in 2009, with a visit from Fredbird, the

popular Cardinals mascot. The league was formed in 2008 thanks to a successful partnership between the Park

District, DMH and Dr. Wendell Becton. Participants learn the values of teamwork, integrity, self-esteem and

leadership in the “classroom” of a baseball setting. Last summer, 300 Decatur area boys and girls learned to play

baseball the Redbird Rookies way.

Decatur Commodores Baseball Joins Park District Family

In 2009, the Decatur Commodores Baseball League came under the Park District umbrella. The goal is to

provide superior coaching and instruction for boys who want to reach the highest levels of play. Teams

participate in showcase tournaments to give players exposure to college coaches and recruiters. Thanks to the

efforts of Behnke & Company, fundraising for the renovation of the Commodores’ home field at Sunnyside

Park has begun. For more information, visit www.decaturcommodores.com.

Park Watch Program Fights Vandalism

Did you know the Park District spends an average of $30,000 each year to repair damage caused by vandals?

Thanks to a new Park Watch program, those who vandalize Decatur Park District property and facilities are

being punished for their crimes. Park Watch offers rewards of up to $1,000 for tips leading to the arrest of

vandals. All tips are helpful, and callers may remain anonymous. Call Park Watch at 422-5911.

Community PartnersThe Decatur Park District benefits from a number of valued community partners who have joined in our effort to

enhance the health, fitness, and quality of life for all in the greater Decatur area.

• Our partners make possible

the following activities and

programs: PERFORM!, Team

Soy Decatur Junior Open and

MidState Soccer teams (Team Soy

Capital); education (ADM), golf

programs (DMH), athletic programs

and Staley Striders (Tate & Lyle), Decatur

Park Singers and First Tee Golf (Ameren).

WSOY, STORMCENTER 17, and the Herald &

Review are media partners. In 2009, the District warmly

welcomed Wal-Mart as sponsor of Boo at the Zoo.

• The Park District maintains an important relationship with Millikin University in operation of the DISC. The

partnership also allows the community to benefit from the expertise of talented, shared professionals like

MU exercise science instructor Allison Krich (DISC), MU instructor of music theory/director of opera music

and the Women’s Choir, Michael Englehardt (Greater Decatur Chorale and Decatur Park Singers), and Ann

Borders, MU Adjunct Professor of Theatre and Voice (Young Park Singers). Head coach Lori Kerans and the

MU Women’s Basketball Team present the annual Little Hoopsters program at the DISC.

Award Highlights• Decatur Park District golf courses received the National Golf Foundation’s 2009 Customer Loyalty

Award. This prestigious award is based on surveys through the NGF Voice of the Golfer and is presented to

public golf facilities that have received high customer approval ratings and a ranking as “most improved.” The

Decatur Park District was awarded first place in the nation in the municipalities category.

• Following the Park District Risk Management Agency’s (PDRMA) 2009 loss control review of administration,

aquatics, golf, maintenance, police, recreation, DISC, zoo and SRA departments, the Decatur Park District

received its highest rating to date, earning PDRMA accreditation and a level A membership status.

This score represents the District’s continued commitment to the prevention of unforeseen injury and the

ongoing safety of employees and patrons.

2009 Herald & Review Readers’ Choice Awards

#1 Best Central IL Golf Course - Hickory Point

#2 Best Central IL Golf Course - Red Tail Run

#3 Best Central IL Golf Course - Scovill

#1 Best Golf Pro - Kurt Rogers

#3 Best Golf Pro - Jay Dexter

#3 Best Place for a Wedding Reception - Hickory Point

#3 Best Fitness Center – DISC

• At the annual Illinois Association of Park Districts (IAPD) Conference, the Decatur Park District received the

2009 Youth License Plate Award – Best Promotional Practices for its support of the annual IAPD

Kite Fly and Park District Youth License Plate. Also at the conference, the Park District received the 2009

Agency Showcase: Best in Show Awards for its Decatur Airport television commercial and activity guide

series.

• The following individuals received 2009 Illinois Park and Recreation Association (IPRA) Community

Service Awards for their outstanding contributions to the advancement of parks, recreation and leisure in

the community and the State of Illinois:

• Big Creek Advisory Committee & chairman Rod Bussell

• MidState Soccer Club Advisory Committee member and coach John Kravanek

• MidState Soccer Club Advisory Committee member and coach Mike Shumaker

• Staley Striders Running Club director and coach Mike Landacre

Did You Know?In 2009, over 200,000 individuals visited the DISC, which features a fitness center, indoor walking/running track,

basketball/volleyball courts, indoor soccer field, rock climbing wall, dance and aerobics studios, batting/throwing

cages, and indoor golf center.

Over 1,000 volunteers donated more than 9,000 hours in service to Scovill Zoo, Fairview and Nelson Parks,

Dreamland Lake, recreation programs, arts programs, Special Recreation events, and golf tournaments.

In partnership with the State Board of Education, the Park District provides 68,500 free meals and snacks to

over 500 youth in 18 summer recreation programs and at 15 partner agency sites.

Looking ForwardFor the past 86 years, the Park District has worked to fulfill our community’s needs for physical well-being,

productive leisure activities, and outdoor parks and recreation spaces. 2010 will bring exciting new

opportunities as we involve the community in the Nelson Park Lakefront project, complete the master planning

process for Decatur Airport, continue the transformation of Big Creek Riding Center, expand the Stevens

Creek Bike Trail, and address the important issues of youth obesity and senior wellness.

D E C A T U R P A R K D I S T R I C T

422-5911

www.decatur-parks.org

Taylorville becomes placefor New Orleans cuisine

By COURTNEY WESTLAKEFor the Herald & Review

TAYLORVILLE — The best way todescribe the generous helpings of tastyLouisiana-style cuisine served up atGambino’s Louisiana Restaurant inTaylorville?

“It’s a party in your mouth,” laughedowner Gaetano Gambino.

Contrary to popular belief in CentralIllinois, cajun creole dishes are zesty,flavorful, invigorating … and not nec-essarily hot.

“A lot of people are scared to eatcajun because they automatically thinkit’s going to be hot,” Gambino said.“Louisiana food is not hot. Louisianafood has a flavor that has taste; the dif-ferent spices are not necessarily heatspices but spices for taste. People havebeen ruined thinking that all Louisianafood is hot.”

It is Gambino’s hope to prove other-wise to the Midwest.

Gambino arrived in Illinois in 2005from New Orleans to help a restaurantchain open in Central Illinois. WhenHurricane Katrina hit his hometownthat August, he felt he had no choicebut to stay in the area. His restaurantfirst opened as a cafe in Rochester inJuly 2006, and he later added the richand flavorful cajun dishes that now setGambino’s Louisiana Restaurant apartfrom other restaurants in the area.

“My food is unique here; I figured Iwould try to make my food work uphere,” he said, and added with a laugh,“plus that first summer and winterwere really nice here, so I didn’t thinkIllinois weather was too bad!”

Gambino’s move to Taylorville tookplace in March 2009. The restaurantspace increased to 3,000 square feet,which is about triple the size of his last

space, he said.Everything on the menu of Gambi-

no’s was either created by Gambinohimself or came from a family recipe.For instance, Gambino’s sister taughthim how to make gumbo when he wasa kid, and today, the chicken andsausage gumbo on his menu is hismother’s recipe.

“It’s always a variation of somethingI learned along the way,” he said.“Nowhere in the world will you find itcooked exactly like that.”

Grilled Shrimp Slidell is just oneGambino specialty, served coveredwith creamy crab and crawfish sauceand named after the Louisiana townwhere Gambino lived as a child andworked with his parents at their restau-rant, Gambino’s Seafood. Other spe-cialties on his menu include the catfishplatter, Jambalaya, crawfish etoufeeand alligator plate. Try one or all of

these dishes topped off with a beignet,a traditional New Orleans deep-friedpastry that is dusted with sugar andserved warm.

Gambino regularly makes trips tothe New Orleans area to get hisseafood fresh.

“Creole New Orleans-style … that’swhat I do,” he said. “It’s a better blendof spices, not as much heat. I give peo-ple the flavor they can’t get anywhereelse. I want people to be happy withwhat they eat and say ‘wow’ when theycome here.”

Jim Weddigen of Springfield firstcame to Gambino’s during its firstmonth of business in Rochesterbecause he likes to support local busi-nesses, he said.

Now, Weddigen makes regular tripsto Taylorville to eat at Gambino’s andvisit with Gambino, who has become agood friend. And whenever Weddigen’s

parents visit from Detroit, they alsoinsist on dining at Gambino’s.

“G is the epitome of a local business-man trying to make a go of it,” Weddi-gen said. “The reason I keep comingback is G; he takes good care of people.He’s innovative and tries new things.”

Adding to the traditional NewOrleans experience is the ambianceand decor of Gambino’s restaurant.Murals of New Orleans streets line thewalls along with paintings of jesters,New Orleans carnival masks and otherMardi Gras-esque decor. A centrally-located bar, which breaks up front andback dining rooms, serves up hurri-cane cocktails that transport patronsstraight to Bourbon Street. And Gambi-no himself makes rounds to the tablesto socialize with his customers as partof a laidback, welcoming atmosphere.

Diners have begun to drive all theway from St. Louis or the Chicago areato eat at the Taylorville restaurant,Gambino said.

Gambino trains his cooks for at leastsix months to create his distinctivedishes and assures that his staff knowshow to take care of his customers. Agood dining and social experience isjust as important to him as good food.

“I figure if you get good service anddecent food, I have a winning combina-tion,” he said.

As you leave Gambino’s, you’ll notonly have a full belly (and a to-gobox), but you’ll also likely be wavinggood-bye to Gambino himself andother new friends, finding it hard tostop smiling.

“I have the gratification of makingpeople happy,” he said. “I like this par-ticular type of food because it givespeople a new experience. Food is notonly an edible thing but a social thingwhere I’m from. In Louisiana, it’s notjust the food: It’s the people, and I tryto bring some of that up here.”

[email protected]

Blues society has big plans as itspreads its passion

By ASHLEY RUEFFH&R Staff Writer

DECATUR — The DecaturBlues Society is recruiting.

If you love the blues, thenPresident Don Wright wantsyour number.

The society is one of 165worldwide affiliated with theBlues Foundation in Mem-phis. Their mission is to keepblues music alive throughperformance and education,and Wright is making sureDecatur is executing its partof the mission.

After witnessing the drovesof people at the summer con-cert series Blues in CentralPark, Wright realized there areenough blues lovers in Decaturto sustain a local society.

Jay Hartman, the manbehind Decatur’s Blues inCentral Park, serves as thesociety’s vice president. Heknows from experience howmuch Decatur residents lovethe blues.

He gets stopped in the gro-cery store and the mall bypeople who want to know whohe’ll be bringing in to per-form next.

“I’d always had peoplegoing ‘We need a blues socie-ty in Decatur,’ ” Butler said.“I was glad to see Don takethe reigns with it.”

Wright started theDecatur’s society in August.About six months later, hehad 35 members, five corpo-rate sponsors and big plansfor the future.

The society already holdsjam sessions once a month at adifferent location around town.The jams have been scheduledfor Tuesday evenings, but that’sgoing to change to Sundayafternoons in hopes of attract-ing more musicians.

“A lot of blues fans are oldpeople like me,” said the 52-year-old Wright. “And wedon’t want to start at 9 or 10

o’clock at night.”But the jams also attract

younger musicians who wantto jam with their blues elders.

“Those blues jams, some-times, we just throw guys upthere that don’t even knoweach other, give them a keyand see what they come up

with,” Wright said.Decatur is full of talented

musicians, but Wright hasfound the trouble lies in gettingthem out of their living roomsand into a public setting.

“We’re finding more andmore people coming out ofthe woodwork that haven’t

played for a long time,” hesaid.

A genuine fan of the music,Wright lights up with a coolintensity when he describesthe musicians that haveplayed at the society’s jamsessions so far.

“He just totally smoked on

guitar,” he said, describing afirst-time jam session musi-cian. “He grabbed every-body’s attention. Its guys likethat that bring the jamstogether. The unexpected peo-ple that come up.”

Wright treats the societyand the prospect of its growthwith the same intensity. Heand the society’s board mem-bers have spent countlesshours writing the bylaws andlining up the paperwork sothe group qualifies as a non-profit organization.

Part of its mission is to cre-ate a local educational out-reach program that will takeblues music into the schools.That sort of communityinvolvement is still off in thedistance and will depend onhow many people join thesociety.

“We’re new at this,” Wrightsaid. “We’ve only been arounda little while, so we’re feelingour way around to see whatwe can get away with.”

The society just hosted itsfirst structured event when itorganized a CD release partyTuesday at Madden Arts Cen-ter for Champaign’s KilbornAlley Blues Band.

“They wanted to includeDecatur because they havesuch a large fan base here,”Wright said.

Now, the biggest projectahead of them is a blues festi-val this summer. As part ofthe national Blues Founda-tion, Decatur’s society is eli-gible to send one band andone solo or duet act to theInternational Blues Challengein Memphis each year.

To determine who the societywill send, Wright said he hopesto organize a summer competi-tion that would feature all areablues musicians interested incompeting in Memphis.

While the blues societyneeds musicians to spread themusic around, Wright empha-sizes that those who want tojoin the society don’t have tobe musicians. They just haveto love the music.



Neill Dresen plays the guitar during a Blues Jam open mic. Don Wright sings with the Down Home Blues Band in Doherty’s Pub.

For the Herald & Review/Courtney Westlake

Gaetano Gambino pours the ingredients of a New Orleans Hurricane. Gambino hasbrought the taste of cajun creole to Gambino’s Louisiana Restaurant in Taylorville.

‘You just have to love the music’

Herald & Review photos/Stephen Haas

John ‘Catfish’ Evans plays a solo on the electric guitar with the Down Home Blues Band during a BluesJam open mic, sponsored by the Decatur Blues Society at Doherty’s Pub in Decatur.

The Road

AheadCITY: DecaturCOUNTY: MaconPOPULATION: 80,000MAYOR: Mike McElroyINDUSTRY: Archer Daniels

Midland Co., CaterpillarInc., Tate & Lyle, MuellerInc., Air Caster Corp.

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS: MaconCounty Historical Museum,Hieronymus Mueller Muse-um, Millikin Homestead,Children’s Museum of Illi-nois, Lincoln Square The-atre, Scovill Zoo, GovernorOglesby Mansion.

MAJOR HIGHWAYS: Interstate72, U.S. 51, U.S. 36, Illinois 48,Illinois 121 and Illinois 105.

EARLY HISTORY: Decatur wasfounded in 1829 and is theMacon County seat. The cityis named after War of 1812naval hero Stephen Decatur.

One of the busiest of thefirst settlers was Benjamin R.Austin, born in Virginia in1802, who came to MaconCounty in 1825. He was a sur-veyor and laid out the origi-nal town plat of Decatur. Hewas the first county treasurer,served as justice of the peaceand otherwise was active inthe early years of the county.His brother, William A.Austin, helped him lay outDecatur. William Austin wasa justice of the peace formany years.

Capt. David L. Allen, bornin Loudoun County, Va., in1806, came to Macon Countyin 1828 and was a leader, giv-ing the city Central Park.

Philip D. Williams came in1825 from Virginia. He servedon the county board of com-missioners, was a justice ofthe peace and held otheroffices. He built the secondhouse in Decatur at EastMain and Water streets.Williams kept a place “for theentertainment of beasts.”

Thomas Cowan came withthe Leonard Stevens familyin 1821 or 1822. In 1822, alsocame George W. Friend ofOhio, who settled in Friend’sCreek Township.

Several other settlers camein 1824. Abraham and HubbleSprague came from NewYork. Charles Nelson andNathan Burrill, Kentuckians,arrived that year and locatedin Friend’s Creek Township.

Among the 1825 arrivalswere John Draper, who camefrom Virginia; James Howellof Ohio, who settled in Oakleyand was followed later by hisson, William Howell; DavidFlorey, native of Virginia;William W. McDaniel; WilliamWarnick, the first sheriff, whocame from Tennessee; andJoseph Strickland, who set-tled in Niantic Township.

The year 1826 saw thearrival of a number of new-comers. Edmund McDanielcame from Vandalia thatyear; John McMennamycame from Tennessee;Emanuel Widick came fromTennessee; William Kingarrived that year; ElishaFreeman and Hiram Robin-son came and settled in SouthWheatland Township.

Quite a few additions weremade the following year, in1827. Among them wereJames Edwards, born nearRaleigh, N.C., who was amember of the party thatdrove the Indians out of thecounty; Jones Edwards,native of North Carolina butcame here from Tennessee;Eldridge H. McDaniel;Thomas Nelms, who camefrom Logan County, Ky., andwas killed here by a fallingtree; Dempsey Pope of NorthCarolina, who came fromTennessee; Benjamin Wilsonof Tennessee, who assisted inthe organization of the coun-ty; James Finley, a Kentuck-ian; and Michael Myers cameeither in 1827 or 1828.

In 1828, the population wasincreased by the addition ofWilliam A. Austin of Virginia;William Hanks of Kentucky,who settled in HarristownTownship; Samuel Braden,native of Ireland, who cameto Macon County from Ten-nessee; William D. Baker,who settled in Long CreekTownship; David Davis, bornin North Carolina, but camefrom Tennessee and settled inLong Creek; Robert Smith Sr.,native of North Carolina, whocame from Sangamon Coun-ty; William C. Smith fromSangamon County; AndreSmith, his brother, also fromSangamon County; WilliamWheeler Sr., native of Vir-ginia; James Myers, Kentuck-ian, who settled in LongCreek Township; WilliamDickey, who settled inFriend’s Creek Township;Valentine Claywell, Kentuck-ian, who came to PleasantView Township; and EphraimCox, arrived in 1828 or 1829.

ON THE WEB: www.ci.decatur.il.us

Restaurateur says cajun creole has spice, but it’s not hot

Annual event thrivesunder leadership ofMaggie Parker Brown

By BOB FALLSTROMH&R Community News Editor

DECATUR — Without Mag-gie Parker Brown, the Cen-tral Illinois Jazz Festivalwould vanish.

She’s the rescuer, the sav-ior of the 35-year event thatbrings world class musiciansto Decatur during the firstweekend in February.

The festival appeareddoomed after the 2001 musicfaded. The Holiday Inn man-agement said it was a losingproposition, no longer accept-able.

Maggie was the presidentof the Juvae Jazz Society atthe time. She proposed thefestival be saved. The hotel’schallenge: Raise $50,000.

Rallying the Juvae JazzSociety members, Maggiecame up with the money. ADecatur tradition continued.

Nine years later, the festi-val is bigger, better, much big-ger, much better — thanks toMaggie’s innovative direction.

After a successful 35th festi-val, with at least 1,000 attend-ing Saturday night, she hasscheduled the 2011 festival forFeb. 4 to 6. While festivals allaround the country have fold-ed or cut back, the CentralIllinois Jazz Festival rolls on.

She’s also proposing somenew attractions: the BlackSwan Jazz Band from Port-land, Ore.; BED, which fea-tures Dan Barrett on trom-bone, Eddie Erickson onbanjo/guitar and Rebecca Kil-gore on vocals; and Decatur-

based blues band, The STILL.Look for Vince Giordano’s

Nighthawks, the 11-piecegroup from New York City, toreturn. The Nighthawks werea hit in their first Midwest fes-tival appearance in February.

Booking the Nighthawkscontinued Parker Brown’sstrategy, “Keep it entertainingwith the best musicians attain-able.” People want to be enter-

tained, she learned a long timeago when she and her latehusband, Jim Parker, operatedthe Tack Room in Illiopolis.

Maggie and Jim were mar-ried in 1977. She first attendedthe festival in 1978. “I fell inlove with the music,” she said.Monthly concerts at the TackRoom on Sunday, arranged byJim and Maggie, attractedtraditional jazz legends and

standing-room-only audiences.After Jim Parker died in

1998, Maggie continued TackRoom concerts for about ayear. She then was electedpresident of the Juvae JazzSociety.

When she took over the fes-tival, there were five bandsand one site: Holiday Hall inthe hotel, now known as theDecatur Conference Centerand Hotel.

In contrast, it has been amassive upgrade. The 35thfestival featured 16 bandsand five sites. The music wasdiverse, Dixieland, Chicagoand New York jazz, swing,big band, ragtime, gypsy.

Customer-friendly ParkerBrown has the touch. Sheadded an umbrella parade, a“pianorama,” a swing dance,a dinner show, Decatur andCentral Illinois musicians, ajazz brunch.

“I use tactics I learned byattending festivals and jazzconcerts around the country,”she explains. “I talk to people.I listen to people’s comments,particularly listen to criticism.I learn from my mistakes.

“The Juvae Jazz Societyhas a number of talented peo-ple who are willing to work.Everyone working together isthe way to succeed.”

Parker Brown gave-up theJuvae presidency to concen-

trate on solving the thousandproblems of putting togethera jazz festival. It’s often a 10-hour-a-day job.

Each year she distributes acomment sheet to gauge thecustomers’ likes. One of thecomments this time was thatthe festival is, “New Orleansunder one roof. What couldbe better than this?”

Parker Brown’s goal is toattract students, who seldomare exposed to this kind ofmusic.

“I’m open to new ideas,”she adds.


www.herald-review.com SUNDAY, MARCH 21, 2010 DECATUR, ILLINOIS OUTLOOK 15

There was almost a jazz funeral for festival

Maggie Parker Brown has been instrumental in revitalizing the jazz festival.


A New Orleans-style umbrella parade starts another Central Illinois Jazz Festival. In 2001, the festival had dwindled to a point that itsfuture looked uncertain, but under the leadership of Maggie Parker Brown, it has been resurrected, with 1,000 attending on Saturdaynight of this year’s festival.

The Road

AheadMy vision for the road

ahead would simply be thatadults act like adults whenliving their lives in theirhomes and communities. Ifall adults truly were adults,the model they would leavefor their children would betreat others the way theythemselves want to be treat-ed. They would care for oth-ers, care for the Earth andcare for themselves. Adultswould not let companiesmanufacture food or prod-ucts that cause disease ormake people sick. Adultswould be honored to make aprofit, but not gouge othersand take advantage of situa-tions to make more andmore.

Adults would demand toknow about the people theyare voting for and demand toknow how their taxes arebeing used. They would notallow lobbyists and specialinterest groups to swaypoliticians away from what isgood for all the people all ofthe time. Adults would makesure the schools would be thecenter of the community,open to the public, so peoplecould use the library, com-puter labs, gyms, attendclasses, vote, share fellow-ship with others in the com-munity.

Most of all, adults wouldbe the type of people whomodel what a human beingshould be in this world. Manyadults may have come fromhomes that did not modeladultlike behavior. It is timeto get help and rise above thepast and look toward thefuture so it is brighter,healthier, and makes sense.If the adults do not startbeing adult about the deci-sions being made in thisworld, who will?

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Crowd keeps coming,supporting financiallyfree concerts in Pana

By MEREDITH JACKSONFor the Herald & Review

PANA — After traveling andsinging Southern gospel music forseveral years in the mid-1990s,Joanne Clark had a desire to offerthe same type of entertainment toothers in a unique way. She couldsee it all — quality Southern gospelgroups, a nondenominational set-ting, great fun, good fellowship —and no admission charges.

In 2002, along with partners Judyand Joel Smith and her husband,Robert, then 59-year-old Clark tooka leap of faith and purchased a for-mer cattle auction barn with morethan 17 acres in the middle of thecountry in Tower Hill. As locals hadreferred to the building for years as

The Barn, so itremained,though the venuehas become lessrustic and morepolished withyears of renova-tion and remod-eling.

But Clark’sstory didn’t actu-ally begin withthe purchase ofThe Barn. Forseveral yearsprior, she andJudy Smithorganized gospelsings and per-

formances at other locations, butwithout achieving Clark’s vision.

“But then, someone called me andhad me look at this building inTower Hill,” she said. “It’s out in thecountry, not near any town at all. Igot them to agree to allow me tohave several Southern gospel pro-grams, and that’s how we started.”

For four years, April throughDecember, the Clarks and Smithscontinued offering free Southerngospel concerts on the first Saturdayof the month at The Barn, from 7 to 9p.m. (They felt it was important toget people home in time to rest andattend church on Sunday morning.)Using donations, they paid the own-ers in return for use of the buildingand electricity. Crowds grew, and 315attended a concert in December 2002.

“At that time, we prayed andthought about it and asked peoplewhat we should do, and everyonesaid we should buy it,” she said.

Together, the Smiths and Clarkstook on the construction work. TheSmiths became the site’s caretakers,Judy Smith ran the sound, JoelSmith passed out tickets at the door,

Robert Clark ran the concessionsarea and Joanne Clark took on mostof the administrative duties for run-ning The Barn, spearheading theformation of a not-for-profit organi-zation and booking performers.Right away, the group tore out awall, expanded the building andadded a stage.

Four-hundred theater seats pro-vided comfort for guests, and a newfellowship hall provided space formeals and snacks prior to concerts.Performers who did not have theirown buses were able to use a two-

bedroom apartment on site. Addi-tionally, the Clarks and Smithsadded six bathrooms, a productroom, lighting, a canopy entrywayand furnaces — all without chargingadmission or passing an offeringplate.

“We just have love offering boxesat the door, and we never chargeanything,” Clark said. “And it hasworked out fine.”

Clark is quick to point out thatthey do charge admission for onespecial performance each year,called The Best of The Barn. The

evening includes a KFC meal andthree to five well-loved Southerngospel groups.

Clark feels that while she doesher best to ensure that only the bestquality Southern gospel groups per-form at The Barn, she owes the suc-cess of the venture to God.

“He has led us in the right direc-tion and has given me vision aftervision of what I need to do,” shesaid. “He has always provided fundsfrom unexpected places, and peoplehave given us a sizable amount tohelp our mortgage go down.

“It wouldn’t have thrived withoutthe hand of God.”

One of the first groups ever toperform at the Barn was the WandaMountain Boys, scheduled to per-form again at The Barn on April 3.

“It’s like no other place we’vebeen to,” said Claude Johnson, oneof the group’s founding members.“We love it. We sing all over the Mid-west, and it’s our favorite place tosing. It’s not a church, but it bringsout all types of people who enjoySouthern gospel and bluegrass.”

Providing a fun, non-denomina-tional atmosphere was certainly oneof Clark’s goals. Each eveninginvolves a meal or snack and give-aways that have become real crowd-pleasers.

Johnny and Nova Lee of Bethany,along with their young sons Zacharyand Jonathan, have attended severalconcerts at The Barn. With the addi-tion of a play area and nursing sta-tion, the Lees have found The Barnto be quite family-friendly.

“My family and I enjoy going toThe Barn to see some of the besttraditional Christian music in theU.S.,” Johnny Lee said. “It’s some-what nostalgic to sit in a theaterseat housed in an old barn, with abag of popcorn, as Brian Lester ofThe Lester Family sings ‘What aDay That Will Be.’ ”

Joanne Clark hopes that in yearsto come, crowds at The Barn willcontinue to grow. Attendance hasleveled off in the past year or so, butClark remains optimistic.

“We had high hopes for moreexpansion, but we can’t with atten-dance leveling off,” she said. “Ourhope would be to see our attendanceincrease. A full house is fun to singto and talk to and have fun with.”

She adds that even the smallestdonation from more people wouldmake a difference to their expansionplans. In the meantime, she plans tokeep on booking groups and praying.

[email protected]

Chili chefs makeForsyth cook-off a destination

By STEPHANIE LANEFor the Herald & Review

FORSYTH — The smells ofsimmering homemade chilifilled Hickory Point Mall inJanuary at the annual GreatForsyth Area Chili Cookoff,beckoning patrons toward itsolfactory smorgasbord.

The Forsyth cook-off drewchefs from near and far,vying for chili honors. Thiswas just one of numerousculinary competitions held

world-wide bythe Inter-nationalChiliSociety.The non-profitorganiza-tion’sevents

benefit charities, whichincluded the Salvation Armyand Catholic Charities, whilecontestants tried for cash anda shot at the World’s Champi-onship Chili Cookoff.

In its fifth year, the Forsythcook-off began with the sim-ple hope of boosting spiritsduring the cold wintermonths. The event has sincegrown to almost 50 cooks,along with a local celebritychallenge.

The competition is dividedinto three categories: red chili,green (verde) chili and salsa.

Contestants prepare thechili on site, while mall visi-tors breathe in the mouthwa-tering aroma.

Forsyth Mayor Harold“Hap” Gilbert has helped runthe cook-off since it beganand has seen firsthand thepositive impact the event hashad on contestants and mallpatrons.

“We really look forward to itgrowing. Everyone comes inand has a good time. There’s a

lot of camaraderie among thechili cooks, and it just makesfor a great time,” Gilbert said.

Ken “Island Heat Chili”Kostal of Marblehead, Ohio,was one of the cooks comingto the venue, which is grow-ing in popularity.

“I’ve been doing chili cook-offs for over 20 years butdecided to make the seven-hour drive for the first timethis year to try this one out,”Kostal said.

Aside from the glory of tak-ing top honors, contestantsenjoy meeting fellow chiliconnoisseurs.

Jilli Simmons of Florissant,

Mo., made this year a familyaffair. Her mother, father andchildren attended, and herparents competed alongsidetheir daughter.

“We each have our ownopinions and own ways ofcooking our chili. We’re allfrom the same family, but allof three of our chilis are dif-ferent,” Simmons said of thefamily affair.

The great idea behind chilicook-offs is bringing peopletogether with each of his orher own unique twist on abasic recipe — good chili.

[email protected]

Leap of faith fills The Barn with Southern gospel

The Barn, a former cattle auction, was renovated by the Clarks and Smiths. Before renovation, theater chairs in The Barn looked like this.

Photos for the Herald & Review/Josh Jackson

Joanne Clark, who helps operate The Barn, sits in the renovated theater that hosts popular Southern gospel acts.Clark, along with her husband, Robert Clark, and Judy and Joel Smith, bought and renovated the former auction tohost free concerts.

MORE

INFO

The Barn’s

performances

may be heard

every Tuesday

night, 6 to 8 p.m.,

at www.jesusisthewayradio.com.

For a schedule

of The Barn’s per-

formances, visit

www.thebarn-pana.com.

THE

NET

For more infor-

mation on the Inter-

national Chili Soci-

ety, log on www.chilicookoff.com.


Tom Pardikes of Plymouth, Mich., gets his seasonings prepared atthe Forsyth Area Chili Cookoff.

Simmering competition The Road Ahead

My outlook on life isusually either a cliché or asong, depending on the sit-uation.

One thing I maintain is Iam the glass half-full per-son. In my case, it is usu-ally half full of wine.

I try not to borrow prob-lems. I’ve begun to believeif you are full of gloom anddoom, expect problems.They’ll find you.

I try not to swear andinstead say, “God bless it.”It really takes away thenegativity.

My fabulous GrandmaMarsh used to throw herhands in the air and sing,“Let it be.” Whisper thosewords of wisdom she wouldsay, thinking “let it be”usually when she wasfaced with things that can-not be changed and did notcall for strife.

There are times when weneed to accept God’s plan,let it be. No amount ofcomplaining, prayer willhelp the situation. Accep-tance and trust.

There are times in lifewhen we need to know thatevil triumphs because wedo not speak up. These arethe times when we cannotlet it be. We need to pray.Speak up. Eliminate the“should of,” “could of” and“would of.”

Know when to see the

difference?It is what it is. Words said

often by my great husband.Look at it, see it, know whatit is, only then can you goforward.

I try to live like my bloodtype B-positive. I do see thebad in life. I see the crap.There is a difference. Badcannot always be changed.Crap is manmade. Youshould always rise above it.

I’ve seen all kinds of badin my life and too muchcrap. As I say often “crap byanother name is still crap.”

That’s how I recognize thedifference in life’s problems,how I go about moving pastthem if I should depends on

what it is.One outlook that has

brought me tremendouspeace is the understandingthat I really do not havetime for the pain. It hashelped me to stand up, speakup and walk out. Knowing Inot only have the option tosay no, but it really is greatat times to say it, hasbrought me great peace.

My vision for life is alwaysto live it, accept it, reject it,if we have to, but alwaysenjoy it. Be positive. It iswhat it is, and thank God forall of the blessings wereceive.

Shari M. Grider

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Stevens Creekextension breaksground this spring

By ASHLEY RUEFFH&R Staff Writer

DECATUR — It has been along time coming, but theDecatur Park District is final-ly moving forward with plansto take the city’s southernbike trails north to connectwith Forsyth’s trail system.

A master plan of greenwaysfor Macon County was laidout in 1998 by the DecaturMetro Area Greenway Coali-tion. Since then, communitygroups have slowly been pick-ing away at the plan by creat-ing new paths and connectingthe existing ones.

The particular leg of theplan connecting FairviewPark to Forsyth alongSteven’s Creek will finallybreak ground this spring.

After more than 10 years ofred tape, the park districtfinally cleared the way tobegin construction on the first

phase of the trail that willstart at Fairview Park andreach four miles north toGreendell Park, just past Illi-nois 121.

Executive Director Bill Cle-venger said it took the parkdistrict longer than anticipat-ed to raise money for theproject and to get the landrequirements in order.

“We were really movingalong, and then, all of a sud-den, we encountered all thosedifficulties with taking thetrail north,” he said.

Once the first phase is com-plete, then the park districtwill start looking for fundingfor the second phase that willtake the trail from GreendellPark to near Interstate-72,where it will connect withForsyth’s trail system.

Forsyth Mayor Harold“Hap” Gilbert said the villageis moving its system south soit’ll be ready to meet up withthe Stevens Creek trail whenthe second phase is complete.

“We are working on ourbike trails to make them con-tiguous and to make sureeverything is connected,” he

said.Forsyth has 11.8 miles of

greenway, and Gilbert saidthere likely will be moredevelopment in the comingyear.

“I think that there are a lotof people that would reallylike to be able to get on theirbikes here, and if they’ve gotthe energy and desire, to beable to bike all the way toRock Springs,” he said.

Or maybe even Mount Zion.But that part of the masterplan is still far off in thefuture.

The Macon County High-way Department recentlyreceived a grant to help payfor the engineering plans fora trail that could connect theMount Zion trail system toDecatur’s. The path wouldstretch from the intersectionof Lost Bridge and CountryClub roads down to meet Bal-timore Avenue, and thensouth to the Harryland Road,said county engineer BruceBird.

Mount Zion would extendits trail system to meet thetrail at Harryland Road.

“It would be great if wecould connect with Decatur,”said Judy Roessler, directorof Mount Zion parks andrecreation. “That would,therefore, connect us with theRock Springs trail.”

Roessler said Mount Zionalready has 2.71 miles of trail.This year, her biggest projectis installing Fletcher Park, anew green space going upsouth of the Mount Zion Inter-mediate School.

“We really have no connec-tion to our schools and ournew park that’s going in, sothat’s the next thing that we’lltry to get accomplished,”Roessler said.

Another important portionof the greenway master planalso is being developedthrough a county and DecaturPark District collaboration.

The plan is to create a fullpedestrian loop around thelake. When the countyrevamps the portion of Coun-try Club Road that runs pastthe Illinois Children’s Muse-um and Scovill Zoo, it alsowill add a bike path alongsidethe road. The trail will divertthrough the parkway areapast the attractions, but asidewalk will continue along-side the road.

“That particular piece isimportant because it providesa final connection aroundNelson Park Basin,” Birdsaid.

The earliest constructioncould begin on the project is2011, Bird said, but when it’scomplete, it will finish abouta four-mile loop around thelake.



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A hiker walks along a portion of the bike trail at the Rock Springs Conservation Area in Decatur.

Bike trail connections coming

A portion of the bike trail is seen at Rock Springs.

The Road Ahead

My vision for our communi-ty is one of hope but willrequire courage. As scientificresearch advances, we arelearning that everyday itemswe grew up using may inad-vertently be harmful, noteverything “green” is goodand not everything recycled isthe healthiest item to buy. Inthe hustle and bustle of 21stcentury life, as we want tohelp, sometimes the actionsthat will have true impact getlost like a check sent by mail.

I have a vision for Decaturas a leader in green commu-nity living. New opportunitiesare present for green econom-ic development and improv-ing quality of life issues tofoster healthy citizens and ahealthy environment by com-bining new scientific datawith the precautionary princi-ple. For these goals to beaccomplished as a communi-ty, we must first enhance ourenvironmental health literacy,so, as a community, we canhave discussion about plansfor the future. As cities try tobecome greener and encour-age healthy living, they inad-

vertently may be hurtingtheir residents because oflack of knowledge and plan-ning. Ideas full of commonsense now may be harmfulbecause of chemicals thatwere not previously present.

Several years ago, it wasestimated that more than$54.9 billion a year was beingspent on preventable environ-mentally caused diseasessuch as asthma, childhoodcancer, neurobehavioral dis-orders and lead poisoning.Billions are also being spenton obesity, which, in somecases, now have been linkedto environmentally causedendocrine disruption.

Winston Churchill said thatthe best resources a countrycan have is healthy citizens. Ibelieve the same can be saidfor our local community withour children. I hope to live ina community like that withmy family and participate inthat vision with RIPPLES, alocal Christian environmentalhealth organization.

Susan Renee Ferre

Decatur

CITY: Mount ZionCOUNTY: MaconPOPULATION: 4,845MAYOR: Donald R. Robinson

Jr.INDUSTRY: PPG Industries,

Green Valley Mfg. Inc., Jor-dan Industrial Controls Inc.,Precision Tool & Die.

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS: SpitlerWoods State Natural Area.

MAJOR HIGHWAYS: U.S. 36, Illi-nois 121.

HISTORY: The Wilson PostOffice was the first buildingin what is now the village ofMount Zion. It was built as astopping place on the oldParis-Springfield road (MainStreet and Illinois 121 south),the only road across the Illi-nois prairie from east to westat that time.

It was an inn or tavern, aplace where one could get agood meal and a night’s restand care for one’s horses.People from settlements allaround came to Wilson’s postoffice for their mail or to sendletters back to friends andrelatives back home. It is saidthat Abraham Lincoln hadslept there.

Some years later, as set-tlers increased in number, ageneral store was opened inwhat is now the business partof Mount Zion, known as theSkillman and Mays store. Thepost office was set up in thatlocation.

The house then was used asa residence for many years.

From 1886 to 1910, it was thehome of Mr. and Mrs. JohnScott when they retired fromfarming. In 1910, the housewas moved to another loca-tion in the village. It has beenremodeled several times andis still in use as a home onHenderson Street.

The stagecoach broughtmail through town twice aweek if the roads were pass-able. The route was fromTerre Haute, Ind., to Spring-field. In 1873, the railroadcame through, and shortlythereafter, the mail came bythis method. The village waslaid out in 1860. The name ofthe post office was changed toMount Zion Post Office onNov. 2, 1866. The town tookthe name from the church,which had been organized in1830. It is a biblical nameused for hundreds of church-es, a favorite with Presbyteri-ans.

The first federal post officein Mount Zion was built in1886 on the southwest cornerof Main Street. It was a framebuilding and run by Hutchi-son. This building burned. In1898, a new post office wasbuilt just south of the black-smith shop, directly west ofthe first post office. This wasa frame building run by Min-erva Vermillion, called “AuntNerva,” which she ran for thenext 24 years. Because thepost office had to be arequired number of feet away

from the depot before the gov-ernment would hire someoneto transport the mail betweenthe two, the post office wasmoved to the southeast cornerof Main Street. The presentpost office was dedicatedAug. 18, 1962. The rural routewas changed, and two city-delivery mounted routes werestarted Oct. 27, 1973.

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Technical academybrings a studio, TVshow into classroom


DECATUR — The Decatur AreaTechnical Academy knows all aboutbreaking the traditional norm ofeducation.

Focusing on building real worldjob skills, the Decatur Area Techni-cal Academy lets students gethands-on experience in their educa-tion and career path.

Tasha Ziemer, marketing andrecruitment coordinator for theDecatur Area Technical Academy,knows the importance of careerexploration and technical trainingfor high school students.

“We serve students from 19 highschools, representing Decatur andthe surrounding areas. Students typ-ically receive entry-level skills inour programs, with the option ofcontinuing on to college or a tradeschool to further train to enter askilled or professional career,”Ziemer said.

Students from all over MaconCounty can take dual-credit classes,earning college and high schoolcredit simultaneously, while gainingwork experience through intern-ships.

Classes are held in the mainbuilding at 300 E. Eldorado St.,Richland Community College andMr. John’s School of Cosmetology.Morning class sessions run from8:30 to 11 a.m. and afternoon classsessions from 12:05 to 2:35 p.m.

Gayle Bowman teaches the Broad-cast Productions course at theDecatur Area Technical Academy. Aformer assistant news director/morning news anchor and producerat WAND-TV, Bowman cannot onlyteach about the mass media world,but also has the field experience andstories of behind-the-scenes produc-tions.

Students integrate music produc-tion, still photography, animationand video production. Projectsappear on Comcast Cable Channel22, YouTube and the dps61.org Website.

In her fifth year teaching at theDecatur Area Technical Academy,Bowman incorporates her love ofteaching with the energy of her stu-dents.

“I love kids of all ages, but espe-

cially teenagers, and I enjoy seeingthem create,” Bowman said. “Theydon’t have to think out of the box;they haven’t been in it yet. Theirtake on mass media is the future.”

The technical academy updatedits name 10 years ago to focus on the

boom in technology. Bowman point-ed out that students don’t reallywatch a lot of television anymore.While one generation shifted fromradio to television, the next genera-tion is cruising the Internet for com-munication, information and enter-

tainment. This shift in technologyhas opened new doors for careers inthe media industry.

Bowman’s Broadcast Productionscourse is right on target for studentsinterested in a career in media. Stu-dents can take the class for twoyears, with the first year being inclassroom training and the secondyear focusing on an internship inwhich students have to create a finalsenior project.

Along with career-specific skills,the Decatur Area Technical Acade-my is also teaching students timemanagement and accountability.

“While the students learn skillsthat relate directly to professionsthat involve photography, video pro-duction and marketing, the softskills they learn are the most impor-tant. The Decatur Area TechnicalAcademy emphasizes work ethics,including attendance, punctualityand professional interaction,” Bow-man said.

Bowman’s classes are also proj-ect-based, meaning students areworking on team building skills byworking together towards a commontask. The students learn to value dif-ferences and work with each other’s

complementary talents.Central A&M student Kirsten

O’Brien has delved into the broad-cast productions program at theacademy.

“I thought the program was agreat way to broaden my horizonand offset my learning. It’s a lot offun to meet people from all the dif-ferent schools and learn about acareer you could go into,” O’Briensaid.

O’Brien completed her first yearin the classroom setting and hasbeen working an internship atWZUS-FM radio in Decatur sincethe beginning of the school year. Shegets to apply her classroom knowl-edge in a real-world environment.Her internship involves bookingguests on the show, running theshow and being on-air.

Bowman’s media students notonly go on to college, but also towork for newspapers, television sta-tions and radio broadcasting: takingwhat they have learned in textbooksand making a potential careerwhile networking in the Central Illi-nois community.

[email protected]

Lights, cameras, hands-on learningMORE INFO

WHAT: Decatur Area Technical

Academy

PHONE: 424-3070

WEB SITE: www.dps61.org/

techacademy

PROGRAMS: agriScience technol-

ogy/pre-veterinary studies; building

trades; computer-assisted drafting

(CAD); broadcast production;

graphic arts; office technology;

medical office coding specialist

(new fall 2010); health occupations;

culinary arts; cosmetology; early

childhood education; family & con-

sumer related occupations; Web

programming; computer technolo-

gy; criminal justice; fire fighting;

welding; auto body; automotive

technology; cooperative work edu-

cation.

PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS: Argenta-

Oreana; Atwood-Hammond; Cen-

tral A&M; Cerro Gordo; Decatur

Christian; Deland-Weldon; Eisen-

hower; Futures; Lovington; Luther-

an School Association; MacArthur;

Maroa-Forsyth; Meridian; Mount

Zion; Okaw Valley; Sangamon Val-

ley; St. Teresa; Tuscola; and War-

rensburg-Latham.


Gayle Bowman, left, instructor of the Decatur Area Technical Academy’s broadcast production courses, assists Warrens-burg-Latham junior Emily Massey while setting up equipment for a newscast.

Splendor Smith, left, a senior at Eisenhower High School, and Yashika Reed, aMacArthur High School senior, prepare for a newscast in Bowman’s class.

Economic downturnleads council to trynew approach tofunding of shows


DECATUR — As theDecatur community hasgrown over the decades, theDecatur Area Arts Councilhas kept up one piece of art-work at a time.

In 2004, after much plan-ning and artistic support,the council moved the hub ofDecatur arts into MaddenArts Center in downtown.

As times have changed, sohave the resources fromwhich the arts council drawsto support gallery exhibits.A new initiative allows indi-viduals, rather than corpo-rations or businesses, tosponsor gallery shows. Localcommunity members canchoose an artist and workwith the group to set up anexhibit.

Beth Nolan, a member ofthe board of directors and afinancial adviser for TheBrechnitz Group, got theball rolling in February,with her husband, JohnLarcher, and fellow boardmember, Virginia “Gigi”Shafter, and her husband,Jim.

They helped debut thefirst sponsored exhibit,

“Worlds Apart: Paintingsand More by Don Gruber.” Aformer art teacher, Gruber’swork was on display for themonth of February featuringa meet-the-artist reception.

“I wanted to lead by exam-ple and start off the spon-sored gallery exhibits,”Nolan said.

As the fundraising chairfor the board of directors,she wanted to find an artist

who not only was talented,but also had a strong tie toDecatur. Since the Februaryexhibit, four more coupleshave jumped on board tosponsor art exhibits.

Gigi Shafter has proudlysupported the council foryears. With the economicdownturn and diminishingfunding and corporate spon-sorships, Shafter said shestepped up as a privatesponsor.

“I’ve always been such abig supporter of the arts. Ienjoy seeing the humor andjust viewing the worldthrough artist’s eyes,”Shafter said.

With different galleryexhibits each month, there’salways something new.

“We make a huge effort toappeal to all segments of thepopulation,” Shafter said.

The arts center is set upso the first floor is thegallery, the second floor isclassrooms, and the thirdfloor contains a communityroom available for publicuse.

Bert Gray, executivedirector and self-proclaimed

head cheerleader for thecouncil, explains the impor-tance of moving downtown.

“Our mission is simple:arts for all,” Gray said. “Theart brings people downtown.It brings energy into down-town and helps play a partin the economic vitality.

“Art is always importantduring difficult times. Whenart sells, artists pay taxes,and it helps keep the econo-my alive.”

Classes are available forchildren and adults, rangingfrom drawing, painting,mosaics, clay work and sev-eral “how-to” classes.

[email protected]

Individuals help keep community arts alive

MORE INFO

WHAT: Decatur Area Arts

Council

WHERE: 125 N. Water St.,

Decatur

PHONE: 423-3189

WEB SITE: www.decaturarts.org

ADMISSION: free

GALLERY HOURS: 9 a.m. to 4

p.m. Monday through Friday; 10

a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday


Beth Nolan, left, and Gigi Shafter survey the packed house in the Anne Lloyd Gallery for the opening ofthe art exhibit they sponsored. It is the first show that has been sponsored by individuals rather thancorporate sponsorship. It is part of a new initiative by the Decatur Area Arts Council.

A jazz combo from Millikin University provides music for the galleryopening. From left is Steve Widenhofer, Jake Widenhofer, AdamCunningham and Sean McDonald.

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Musical mix bringsa crowd to LongCreek Vineyard

By BOB FALLSTROMH&R Community News Editor

DECATUR — How do youattract customers? Offerentertainment.

And Long Creek Vineyardsis doing just that. Beginningin May, and extending all theway through November, the22-acre, family venture, oper-ated by Terri and Jody Fish-

er, will beoffering alittlesome-thing,entertain-ment-wise, foreveryone.

“I tryto createeventsthat aredifferentthan anyin thearea,”said TerriFisher. “Acustomersuggestedthe BluesFest, andit justgrewfromthere.Barbequeand blues

festivals are big events, butDecatur didn’t have anythinglike this, so we thought itwould be something the com-munity would enjoy.

“Besides, who doesn’t likefood and wine?”

The Smokin’ Blues BBQFest — Saturday and Sunday,May 22 and 23 — kicks off along list of monthly events atLong Creek Vineyards in2010.

There will be a people’schoice professional barbecuecompetition on Saturday,along with amateur barbe-cue competition and a peo-ple’s choice professionalwing competition on Sunday.

Live entertainment will befeatured both days, as well.Decatur blues band, TheSTILL, plays Saturday from4 to 7 p.m., while Cham-paign’s Sugar Prophets playSunday from noon to 3 p.m.Festival hours are 11 a.m. to8 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m.to 4 p.m. Sunday.

On June 12, Long Creek

Vineyards will host theIsland Fest from 2 to 7 p.m.The theme is Cheeseburgersin Paradise with Jimmy Buf-fet music and a competitionfor the best island tabledecor.

“Our Island Fest is a festi-val far different from any-thing around here,” TerriFisher said. “Who wouldn’twant to escape to the islandsif only for a day, even if youdo have to use your imagina-tion a little.”

VINEYARD/PAGE 20

Barn Colony Artistsfind learning fromothers improveseveryone’s work

By MEREDITH JACKSONFor the Herald & Review

DECATUR — About sevenyears ago, Jessica StricklinDisbrow received a DecaturPark Service flyer offeringbeginning water color lessonsfrom local artist Joyce Matte-son. She had just retired froma 25-year career as a lawyerin Decatur, and it seemed fatehad issued her a directive torediscover her inner artist.

During her school days,Disbrow had painted andstudied fine arts, but life, as ithas a way of doing, left her

little timeto pursueher inter-est. Butretire-mentofferedher thatchanceagain.

“I wentto (Mat-

teson’s) class and fell in lovewith painting all over again,”she said.

Very soon after she beganpainting, Disbrow joined BarnColony Artists. She beganshowing in their annual springshow in 2003, and several yearslater, she won her first ribbonsin pastels and watercolors.Today, she is Barn Colony’svice president and a strongsupporter of the group thathelps her and local artists ofall ages to grow in their field.

Barn Colony Artists wasfounded in 1939 by HermanJackson, who wrote a letter tothe Herald & Review suggest-ing that local artists form agroup to share their knowledgeand educate the community.

“The idea was to encouragethe development of the arts inthe Decatur area and to …improve the skills of the mem-bers,” Disbrow said.

The group called themselvesBarn Colony Artists after theirmeeting location, thebarn/carriage house on thegrounds of the Millikin homeon Pine Street in Decatur. Thenot-for-profit organization metthere for the next 30 years.

Today, Barn Colony Artistsmeets on the second floor ofthe Madden Arts Center everyMonday night, 7 to 9 p.m.,beginning with the Monday fol-lowing Arts in Central Park inSeptember and ending in lateMay. The artists put togethertheir work for a spring showeach May at the Madden ArtsCenter and are regularly fea-tured at locations includingRock Springs ConservationArea, Decatur Public Libraryand Forsyth Public Library.

The group’s approximately50 members range in age from16 to 80, and their interestscome from across the artisticspectrum. So, the local artistswho lead each meeting use avariety of media as well.

“We have professional cal-iber art instruction in allmedia — drawing, painting,pastels, sculpting, paper tear-ing, oil, photography,” Disbrowsaid. “It’s essential that everymedium is represented atsome point over the course ofa year or two.”

Though each artist particu-larly enjoys the meetingsfocusing on his or her special-ty, Disbrow explained that theyall benefit from learning aboutothers’ areas of expertise.

“Every artist is trying tocapture an idea or an imagethat is meaningful not only tothe artist, but on other peoplewho see the work,” she said.

“We go through the process ofdeveloping our skills. Theskill level is a relatively sim-ple thing to develop, but thepresentation of the idea ismore difficult, so we all learnfrom each other and fromother media how to presentour ideas in the most mean-ingful way. For example,those ideas of light and shad-ow on a sculpture can beadapted to painting as well.”

Another reason the artistsexperience other media is todiscover new ways to create.

“Sometimes you don’t knowwhat you like until you try it,”Disbrow said.

Mary Lou Meyer, publicitycontact for Barn ColonyArtists, has been interested in

art for most of her life, just asDisbrow has been. She enjoysnot only the artistic benefitsof belonging to the group, butalso the social aspects.

“The people in Barn areexceptionally nice people, andthey share what they know,”she said. “You can either bean accomplished artist or justa beginner to join.”

Meyer has been a member ofthe group for years, and at age74, she recently won her firstblue ribbon. But for Meyer, andDisbrow as well, it’s not aboutthe ribbons. It’s about the joyof creating, and honing theskills she needs to create betterpieces all the time.

ARTISTS/PAGE 20


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Jody Fisher stands in front of custom white pine barrels.

Terri Fisher serves during a wine tasting at Long Creek Vineyards.

Bringing out the best

Mary Lou Meyer and Burch prepare materials before one of theartist group’s weekly meetings.

Jason Curce makes several announcements before a meeting, whileBurch sets up materials to teach.


Leta Burch, a member of the Barn Colony Artists, gets ready to teach collage techniques at a recentMonday night meeting in Madden Arts Center.

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Mixed martial artsteachers disagreeon methods, butboth love sport

By JUSTIN CONNH&R Staff Writer

There are two men whosenames are synonymous withmixed martial arts inDecatur: Jeff DeVore andJason Reinhardt.

The two men go aboutteaching and promoting theMMA craft in different ways,and, as a matter of fact, eachman disagrees with theother’s methods.

But what the two men havein common is the foresight tosee where their sport wasgoing, and the resourceful-ness to capitalize on it.

DeVore teaches out of themartial arts academy thatbears his name along U.S. 36in Long Creek and is in his21st year of business. Thoughthere are numerous martialarts instructors in Decatur,DeVore is one of the few withan MMA program.

“What I always thought wasyou might be the best kicker,but you better know how touse your hands if they closethe gap,” DeVore said. “I didmuay thai, boxing andwrestling, and that made methe black sheep of the martialarts community around herewhen I first started. I used tocall it a modern-day blendthat stressed the traditionalvalues of attitude, disciplineand respect. Now they call itMMA.”

But DeVore isn’t sure helikes what the new namestands for, especially definedby MMA’s most popular vehi-cle, Ultimate Fighting Cham-pionship.

“UFC has drawn a lot ofinterest and popularity toMMA, but then you see theway these UFC guys go on TVand act like adolescentschoolchildren,” said DeVore,who began his MMA programsix years ago, coinciding withthe rise of UFC’s popularity.“That’s the perception a lot ofpeople have of our sport, andit’s the biggest thing guys likeme are trying to fight thesedays, that chest-thumping,foul-mouthed image.”

Reinhardt, on the otherhand, embraces UFC. After

15 years of tae kwon do, Rein-hardt joined a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school in 1996 and hadhis first amateur fight in 1998.

Soon, Reinhardt was driv-ing back and forth to theQuad-Cities to train with UFCfighter Matt Hughes fromHillsboro and the famousMiletich Fighting Systems.He fought at UFC 78 (Nov. 17,2007), losing to fighter JoeLauzon in the first round bysubmission.

Reinhardt suffered a neckinjury in 2001, but it wasn’tuntil last year that it cameback to haunt him. Reinhardtgave up his MMA trainingbusiness in Decatur and put

his fight career on hold toovercome an addiction to thepainkiller Vicodin.

“I went to rehab and took ayear off to get my bodyclean,” Reinhardt said. “Painpill addiction is prevalent inour sport; it’s one of thedownfalls. But I’m clean andback to 100 percent now. Ihope I can be help to otherfighters in showing themthat’s not the road to godown.”

Reinhardt is 40, but isn’tdone in MMA — training, pro-moting or competing. Heplans to train full time atHughes’ gym in Granite City.And he plans to re-establish

Reinhardt MMA Academywith his brother Justin, whojust moved back to the areafrom Oregon.

While DeVore and Rein-hardt disagree on the benefitof the UFC’s influence on thesport, both have fought andpromoted MMA fights andtrained MMA fighters inDecatur.

And both agree that thepublic has a general miscon-ception about their sport.DeVore said many equateMMA with “no-holds barred.”

“It’s just like any othercombative sport; there arerules, regulations, refereesand judges,” DeVore said.“It’s not like staging a cock-fight behind an alley. It’s asport. I have kids who are 6years old training in it. Mygrandson is 3, and he canwalk through the instructionsof a triangle choke and anarm bar.”

Reinhardt agreed, sayingMMA is a good fit for anyonewho wants to try it.

“At first, people are scaredof it; there’s a lot of explainingyou have to do,” Reinhardtsaid. “I always say, ‘You don’thave to be a fighter to trainlike one.’ You take the class,get in shape, learn self-defenseand meet a lot of great people.Once you get people in thedoor, they’re sold.”


ARTISTSContinued from page 19

“I can get lost in my art,”Meyer said. “Even thoughI’m retired, I’m busier than Iever was, and that’s my timeto relax and enjoy. I’m notall that great, but I enjoy it.I try to tell people interestedin Barn Colony that youdon’t have to be great, oreven an artist at all. We haveseveral that aren’t but cometo the meetings. They areinterested in art and areinteresting people.”

Disbrow added that forthose who, like her, have

reached a bend in the roadafter retirement, now is theperfect time to pick up apaintbrush, pen, camera orwhat have you, and stop by aBarn Colony meeting.There’s no charge for anyonewho would like to come andobserve one time.

“At some point, we finallyhave the opportunity to say,what would I like to be doingnow?” she said. “Luckily, thereare all sorts of opportunitiesout there, and to take advan-tage of them could be as sim-ple as a flier coming in themail from the park district.”

[email protected]

VINEYARDContinued from Page 19

Jazz in July will take placeevery Sunday from 2 to 5p.m.

A Facebook suggestion,Winestock, returns and willbe July 31 and Aug. 1. Satur-day will feature reunions andperformances by area bandsof the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s,while on Sunday, there willbe an all-day jam session byarea musicians. Saturday’sevent will be from noon to 7p.m., while Sunday’s hoursare noon to 5 p.m.

Homeward Bound PetShelter will host its DogDays of Summer fundraiseron Aug. 28. There will beentertainment, silent auc-tions and pet-related activi-ties.

Returning in 2010 will beSunset Saturdays. Localentertainment will play from3 p.m. to sunset. On Sundaysduring September, there willbe acoustic and sing-alongacts from 2 to 5 p.m.

OctoberFest is set for Oct.2 and 3 and will feature wine,art, bonfires and entertain-ment. Wrapping up the 2010entertainment is the Homefor the Holidays VintageChristmas Walk on Nov. 26-28.

When the Fishers pur-chased their home in 2000, ithad four pre-Prohibitiongrapevines on the ground,which Jody Fisher decidedto process into wine.

The majority of the vine-yards were planted in thespring of 2004, with someadditional being added in2005, bringing the totalacreage planted to five. Thefirst commercial vintage wasbottled in 2007, with the win-ery opening the followingyear.

“On average, the five acresproduces about 20 tons ofgrapes,” said Terri Fisher.“We produced about 1,500gallons (of wine) in 2007 and3,500 gallons in 2008.”

Opening Long Creek Vine-yards meant that Jody Fish-er didn’t have to wait forretirement to pursue hisdream. He had hoped to oneday move to California andown a winery.

After Terri Fisher hadread a story in the BusinessJournal of Mid-Central Illi-nois about the Illinois wineindustry, a seed was planted,and the Fishers set out on anew venture.

“We decided we could do ithere and didn’t have to waituntil retirement.”


Two approaches to the same fight


Jeff DeVore works with Colton Creason during mixed martial arts team exercises at DeVore Martial ArtsAcademy in Decatur.

Quartus Stitt trains with Joel Blair, wearing the white shirt, in thering at DeVore’s academy.

VILLAGE: Cerro GordoCOUNTY: PiattPOPULATION: 1,397VILLAGE PRESIDENT: Lyle

ShoragaINDUSTRY: Dennis Ridgeway

Enterprises Inc.MAJOR HIGHWAYS: Illinois 32,

Illinois 105.HISTORY: Established in

1844 as Griswold, veteransof the Mexican-AmericanWar renamed the townCerro Gordo after the Bat-tle of Cerro Gordo in 1847.Cerro Gordo translatesfrom Spanish meaning “fathill.”

ON THE WEB: www.fathill.com

The Road Ahead

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