A classic-car auction and a new partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Illinois will highlight the eighth annual International Route 66 Mother Road Festival and Car Show in downtown Springfield Sept. 25-27.

Both the car auction and charity partnership are new to the festival this year.
Arizona-based International Classic Auctions will conduct the auction, set to begin at 1 p.m. Sept. 26. ICA will bring 150 to 170 cars to be auctioned, with prices ranging from about $10,000 to $300,000.

“That should bring a whole new aspect and a whole new group of people maybe to come down and check out the festival,” said Kim Rosendahl, president of the board of directors of Illinois Route 66 Events Inc., the not-for-profit governing organization for the festival.

As for partnering with the Boys & Girls Clubs, Rosendahl said the festival has long wanted to benefit a charity. After listening to presentations from various organizations, festival organizers decided about a year ago to partner with Boys & Girls Clubs.

The festival will kick off a campaign called “Lincolns for Boys and Girls Clubs,” which will continue for a couple of months after the festival ends. The campaign is designed to attract $5 donations for Boys & Girls Clubs. The festival already has donated $1,000.

The festival also plans to donate part of its proceeds to Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Illinois, Rosendahl said.

“It has always been our intentions since starting this that when we were at a place where we could give back to the community, that’s what we were going to do,” Rosendahl said at a press conference previewing the festival Tuesday. “It is in the plans and in the budget, if we have profits, to give a good portion of those profits to the Boys & Girls Club.”

Rosendahl noted that the festival’s partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Illinois comes at a time when the program is struggling financially, largely due to cuts in state grant money. The club’s central location at 300 S. 15th St. closed temporarily last month.

About 1,000 cars register in the festival’s competitions each year. The festival brings in about $2 million annually to Springfield businesses, Rosendahl said.

“It’s a great, fun weekend, and this is the type of weekend that helps us to fill our hotels,” Mayor Tim Davlin said at the press conference. “People come here especially in their vehicles. They’re filling up their gas tanks. They’re buying things. So it certainly has been a big economic boom.”
The festival costs about $200,000 a year to put on, Rosendahl said. A $50,000 grant from the Illinois Bureau of Tourism is helping finance the event manager, Family Events Inc., and the remaining funding comes from proceeds from the previous year and sponsorships, Rosendahl said.

Other highlights of this year’s festival include:

* 6 p.m. Sept. 25: City Nights Cruise, beginning at the Capital City Shopping Center, 3095 S. Dirksen Parkway

* 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sept. 26: Poker Race

* Noon-2 p.m. Sept. 27: Participant awards ceremony at the Hot Rod Stage, corner of Sixth and Monroe streets

Blake Toppmeyer can be reached at 788-1548.

Want to register?

To register a car in the Route 66 festival, call 317-236-6515 or go online to Route66Fest.com. Pre-registration lasts until Sept. 18 and costs $35. Registration at the event costs $50. The festival is free to spectators.

By BLAKE TOPPMEYER
THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER

With little fanfare, state employees started parking Monday on a downtown Springfield lot near First and Washington streets.

“It is sort of the period at the end of the sentence,” said Leigh Morris, spokesman for Ameren.

Until recently, the area was covered by a giant tent that contained odors while workers hired by Ameren removed tons of soil contaminated by a long-closed coal gasification plant that once fueled lights used by Abraham Lincoln and other city denizens.

The gasification plant was opened in 1855 and closed in 1925. It left behind a considerable amount of dirt contaminated with coal tar, a byproduct of the gasification process.

There were no glitches with the project, which that started last fall. About 6,000 cubic yards of soil was removed and trucked to a landfill near Detroit, Morris said.

“Everything was pretty much right on time,” Morris said. “It moved along pretty much right as we expected.”

Posted by the

THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER

A Patch of Prarie Restored along I-55 in Honor or Lincoln

Looking out over a patch of prairie bordered by Interstate 55, an overpass and an on-ramp, Dean Campbell still can see how Illinois once looked.

“I’m trying to picture Abraham Lincoln riding through this stuff on horseback,” he said, standing amid the wild bergamot, gray-headed coneflower, blazing star, compass plants and big bluestem grass. “He’d be about eye-level with some of these plants.”

Campbell started work on this I-55 interchange prairie about five years ago — about the same time former first lady Patti Balgojevich instituted a roadside wildflower planting initiative — nursing transplants and hand-carrying thousands of gallons of water. The idea was to bring back a little bit of the landscape of Lincoln’s time to coincide with the bicentennial celebration of the 16th president’s birth this summer.

He got permission from the Illinois Department of Transportation to “beautify” the interchange, and off to work he went, planting 110 different species of flowering plants. Sixty-five of them have survived.

“I’m pretty satisfied with the prairie’s progress and with the prospect of the individual plants starting to spread out on their own,” he said.

Campbell has been restoring “Freedom Prairie” on the northeast corner of the I-55-Toronto Road interchange so that thousands of passing motorists can watch the restoration take shape
Early settlers found central Illinois to be mostly prairie. Timber was restricted to floodplains, stream corridors and occasional oak groves.

Lincoln spent weeks at a time away from home, traveling on horseback or by carriage across this landscape as he rode the Eighth Judicial Circuit between county seats. During Lincoln’s years in Springfield — from 1837 to 1861 — the prairie was rapidly being converted from wilderness to farmland.

When John Deere developed a marketable steel plow in his Grand Detour blacksmith shop in 1837 – the year Lincoln moved from New Salem to Springfield -- the race was on to break the prairie sod and unlock the best soil in the world.

Campbell isn’t the only one celebrating the link between Illinois’ cultural and natural history. The Illinois State Museum is featuring an exhibit called “From Humble Beginnings: Lincoln’s Illinois from 1830-1861.”

The exhibit traces Illinois’ transformation from “a frontier region to a powerful state” thanks to rapid improvements in agriculture, transportation and industry. One of John Deere’s plows is on display. The exhibition runs through January 2010.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum also has a related special exhibit -- "How Vast and How Varied a Field: The Agricultural Vision of Abraham Lincoln." It features the first John Deere tractor and will remain at the museum until Aug. 31, 2010.

Campbell is retired from the Illinois Department of Conservation — forerunner of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources — where he served as superintendent of the conservation education division. He also worked for the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and has been a tour guide at the Capitol for the past 11 years.

Campbell has endured setbacks, such as the invasion of crown vetch, a non-native plant commonly found along roadsides. He’s also in competition with animals that chew off tender new trees and plants.

To battle crown vetch, Campbell has sprayed it with herbicide and mowed some sections of the prairie, leaving islands of prairie flowers and grasses.
Despite the hard work and elbow grease it has taken to bring back the prairie, Campbell is undeterred.

“It took 200 years for us to get rid of the prairies, and in just five years I’ve got it this far back,” he said.

Chris Young can be reached at 788-1528.

SJR

"Extreme Make" over in Beavercreek IL

By Steve Bennish, Staff Writers Updated 8:32 AM Friday, July 31, 2009

BEAVERCREEK — Surprise, wonder, joy and gratitude are the emotions James Terpenning and his family are experiencing as they anticipate a new home courtesy of the ABC TV show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”

Terpenning, a civilian computer specialist at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, learned his family would be on the hit show after getting a knock on the door Thursday morning, July 30, from “Extreme Makeover” host Ty Pennington.

Nominated by a three-star general, Terpenning, 40, said he’s thrilled by the prospect of a home that will make life easier for his seven-member family, including his four small children, wife Shannon, 33, and his brother Peter.

The family lives in a 1,200-square-foot, three-bedroom house with a basement on Carthage Drive.

Terpenning, who has won top medals in the Paralympic Games and acts as a mentor to disabled Iraqi vets, uses a wheelchair following a bout with polio as an infant in Vietnam. James is the son of a G.I. who abandoned him. He was later adopted by an Ohio family.

Peter, 42, also uses a wheelchair, and in the tight confines of their home, it’s no easy task to get around. Peter has cerebral palsy.

Their current home will be bulldozed, and the new one will be revealed to them next week after the family returns from a paid weeklong vacation at Disney World.
The demolition is expected to be on Saturday.

“I’m hoping it will be more wheelchair-accessible and with more open space, not stepping on each other’s toes,” James said.

The production crew flooded the Terpennings’ quiet Beavercreek neighborhood on Thursday with security details, television trucks, producers and countless volunteers.

In addition to Pennington, fans, neighbors, city officials and community members caught a glimpse of country singer Kellie Pickler and the “Extreme Makeover” crew as they shot scenes for the episode that’s set to air this fall.

Local home builder Coventry Fine Homes will construct the house, along with roughly 1,500 volunteers, in about 106 hours.

Hannah Bealer and Amanda Liles contributed to this story.

Springfield Ranks High As Smart City

SPRINGFIELD RANKS HIGH AS SMART CITY

July 15, 2009

for more information:Ernie Slottag 789-2235

As part of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s (NRDC) Smarter Cities Project, Springfield, Illinois has been ranked fourth overall in an evaluation of medium-sized cities because of high marks for being an efficient, responsible and sustainable city. The evaluation included environmental initiatives, transportation infrastructure, zoning, building codes and waste management programs as well as improving access to open space, green jobs, affordable efficient housing and more. Previously known as the Green Guide, this project was undertaken to create a portrait of the progress that U.S. cities are making to move toward environmental stewardship and sustainability.

To determine which cities exhibit leadership roles as Smarter Cities, information was solicited from 655 cities of different population sizes from all around the country. The responses were combined with existing research from independent sources and then ranked across nine different sustainability criteria. The Natural Resources Defense Council has launched a new website http://www.smartercities.nrdc.org/cities/springfield-il, that present the results of that research along with profiles of the top-ranking cities including Springfield, Illinois.
“We already know that Springfield is a leader in sustainability, but it is gratifying to know that others agree that we are on the right track,” Mayor Tim Davlin said. “From designing and building a new clean coal power plant to maintaining a high quality water supply, Springfield came in ahead of dozens of other mid size American cities.”

“Our efforts to develop and maintain green space within the city is a strong point that did not go unnoticed in the research. Included was our top ten listing for transportation. Once high speed rail becomes a reality, that ranking should dramatically improve because we will be saving fossil fuels by getting more automobiles off our highways.”

Smarter Cities ranked Springfield number one in air quality, number 3 in environmental standards and participation, number 4 in water quality, and number 5 in green space. Springfield was also rated in the top ten for recycling and transportation.

Smarter Cities is a project of the Natural Resources Defense Council, a non-profit, multimedia web initiative whose mission is to foster friendly competition as well as provide a forum for exploring the progress American cities are making in environmental stewardship and sustainable growth. Smarter Cities is a destination site for all who have a stake in their cities to learn about best practices and initiatives, share ideas and innovative solutions.

Annual research and analysis of factors of environmental sustainability and livability in cities is the cornerstone of the Smarter Cities Project. The 2008 Smarter Cities Study marks the fourth round of an independent investigation of cities first initiated by Green Guide, now part of National Geographic. The original Smarter Cities study was undertaken in 2005, using an interview format and online data collection. In 2006, a graduate student from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies was brought on to help create a comprehensive online survey to assess factors of environmental sustainability and livability in all cities with more than 100,000 people in the United States. No study was undertaken in 2007, the year Green Guide merged with National Geographic.

In 2008 the scope was greatly expanded to include all cities in the United States with populations larger than 50,000 to allow a more comprehensive and detailed analysis. Cities were grouped into three size categories to enable comparison between those with similar environmental challenges and constraints on social and financial resources. By expanding the scope and refining the analysis, one of the nation's most comprehensive and robust database of U.S. urban progress toward sustainability was assembled.

The Scoring/Criteria page provides a description of the sustainability and livability criteria used to compare and rank cities. The information contained in this publication is intended for general use, to assist public knowledge and discussion and to help improve the sustainability of urban environments. It includes general statements based on scientific research.

- reposted from the City of Springfields home page http://www.springfield.il.us/

Widening planned for Wabash, Dirksen bottlenecks

By TIM LANDIS
THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER


Two of Springfield’s busiest road bottlenecks — one on the west side, the other on the northeast — are in for additional lanes, safety improvements and resurfacing in a five-year state transportation plan.

About $23 million has been set aside to complete the widening of Wabash Avenue from Interstate 72 to Veterans Parkway and about $10 million for similar work on Dirksen Parkway from Clear Lake Avenue to Ridge Avenue.

For those who must navigate the roads to and from homes and businesses, the work can’t start soon enough.

“It’s always a traffic issue in the mornings and evenings,” said Roger Kanerva, who lives just off Wabash Avenue.

“We presumed this had to happen eventually. We’re hoping it wouldn’t be delayed terribly,” said Kanerva, president of the Southwest Springfield Neighborhood Association.

The projects are in the 2010-2015 state transportation construction plan, and both were included in a $31 billion capital bill just signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn.

Both also represent the final piece of improvements for east-west and north-south traffic corridors that have been off and on local and state highway planning boards for decades.

“They have been getting into the transportation plan as they can get the funding for them,” said Linda Wheeland, senior planner with the Springfield- Sangamon County Regional Planning Commission.

Long-term plans are to widen Wabash Avenue as far as the village of Curran, she added.

The push to expand Dirksen Parkway north of Clear Lake Avenue picked up following the 2001 opening of a Wal-Mart supercenter on the north end. The section between Clear Lake and Ridge avenues is the final stretch targeted for four lanes, plus a turn lane.

State transportation officials also opened bids in April to upgrade lighting on a two-mile stretch of Dirksen between Bissell Road and Ridge Avenue. Law enforcement figures show more than two dozen pedestrians and bicyclists were struck by vehicles along the section of road from 2003 to 2008. Four fatalities resulted.

“It’s a crazy thing for a town to have a bottleneck like that,” said Gibbs Glisson, owner of Gibbs Glisson Motors at 240 N. Dirksen Parkway.

Glisson has been in the automotive business on Dirksen for more than 25 years, including seven at the existing location. The dealership is on a short five-lane stretch just south of the two-lane bottleneck.

“I hear ’em revving their engines out there,” Glisson said of drivers caught in a northbound merge lane as Dirksen shifts from four to two lanes.

There were still more farmhouses and fields than businesses west of Pleasant Nursery Inc. when the business moved to 4234 Wabash Ave. in the early 1990s, said Denise Buscher, whose parents, Frank and Agnes Moscardelli, founded the business.

Now, the nursery and surrounding Pleasant Park business development is on the last section of Wabash yet to be converted to four lanes and a turn lane.

“There are times of the day when you have a hard time getting out on Wabash,” said Buscher.
“We’re kind of in the bottleneck in the middle, so we would much appreciate this happening. We can’t wait for it to happen.”

City public works director Mike Norris said details of both projects are being worked out with state transportation officials, though Illinois Department of Transportation summaries indicate work could begin next year.

While the state will design the projects, the city intends to make suggestions, especially for the Wabash Avenue project, he said.

“There are some things that we’re going to ask them to do that might not be in there. We’d like to see sidewalks along some sections of Wabash,” said Norris, who added that the improvements also should ease long-term flooding problems near I-72.



Highlights
Improvements to Wabash Avenue and North Dirksen Parkway will create new multi-lane corridors in two of the city’s fastest-growing commercial
districts. Here are highlights of each of the projects:

Wabash Avenue

.75 miles; estimated cost $23 million. Will complete an east-west corridor from Interstate 72 to the Interstate 55 business loop at Sixth Street.

Design work has begun for five-lane section from Interstate 72 to Koke Mill Road; drainage improvements and additional sidewalks; signals added at Meadowbrook Road; realignment of some intersections.

Dirksen Parkway

1.03 miles from Clear Lake Avenue to Ridge Avenue; will complete a multi-lane corridor from Peoria Road to Stevenson Drive.

Design work has begun for widening, drainage improvements and additional sidewalks.

Average daily vehicle counts

Wabash Avenue (east-west)
I-72 interchange: 11,300
Archer Elevator Road: 12,200
Meadow Brook Road: 14,300
West White Oaks Drive: 18,000
Veterans Parkway: 23,900
North Dirksen (north-south)
Clear Lake Avenue: 21,600
Ridge Avenue 18,200
Sangamon Avenue: 25,100
Source: Illinois Department of Transportation

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