Journal Gazette from Mattoon, Illinois • Page 1

Sullivan grants IRBs A3 B1 It's playoff time Good The voters EJJ Saturday windy. Showers or a thunderstorm ending early and becoming mainly sunny. High in the mid or upper 60s. South to southwest winds 20 to 30 mph and gusty. Saturday night mostly cloudy, windy and colder.

Low in the upper 30s. Sunday mostly cloudy and colder with a 30 percent chance of showers. High in the lower 503. mm UKi, idl li 0, 1906 warn Copyright 1986 Mid-Illinois Newspapers, Inc. 'n.

4: If' Cooperation key to area's future growth in v. i i i. -'I ji am pp-p swir4 i irN'i Photo by Joel Dexter Students in Martha Moldroski's third grade class at Washington School returned to the world of the 3 r's Friday. Attendance just below average' C4 Dan Marvin ty, where more jobs are located," he said. But the number people employed in the county has remained virtually unchanged since 1972, he said.

"Between 1960 and 1972, the number of people employed in Coles County in non-farming occupations increased' from 14,000 to about 19,500," he said. "You can drive out along Illinois 16 east of Mattoon or 111. 133 north of Charleston. You can see the factories that located here that resulted in much of that increase." Since 1972, the number of people employed in the county has increased from 19,500 to just over 21,000. "We've added just 1,500 new jobs in the last 15 years, and none of the increase has been in manufacturing.

We had 5,800 working in factories in 1972 and 5,800 in 1986," he said. The slight increase of .5 percent a year in non-farm employment came in the areas of government, teaching and the service industries. "That's coupled with a substantial decline in agricultural employment," he said. Because more people are employed in the low-paying service sector of the local economy, meaning that residents have less money to spend on consumer goods and services. "The lack of discretionary income has had a hard ef- Continued on Page A3) I'M News people A2 LocalState- A3, A8 Opinions A4 Markets Records Sports Scoreboard B2 NBA roundup Pro football lllini land Liberty B4 Prep grid playoffs BS College football B6 Showcase Weddings C2 DearAbby C3 Sandy Rives Entertainment C7 Comics C8 Nation World C9 Classified C9-11 WZ'S-Kyw s3t lit I) ''Mrs fl i VJ NfcjM 112th Year, No.

247, rf "The children have been beautiful," said fifth grade teacher Bev Miller, "They're anxious to be back. I've never seen the kids quite so attentive on a Friday." Hanneken said the one-day school week came off smoother than anticipated. "Mondays. (the first of the week) and Fridays (the last of the week) are always the roughest," she conceded. "Since we went back today (Friday), we had both rolled into one.

"Typically, the principal is much like a drill sergeant at the first of the year, putting the kids through, basic training. There is a certain behavior expected of everyone. It's kids are so excited to be back, behavior hasn't been a problem. That may be the saving grace of the whole role of patronage in state government. "I believe state government could benefit from a more professional approach to resource management," he said.

"It (patronage) Is part of the way things are in state government, but I hope efforts are made to improve the way it is carried out." Thompson has yet to select a successor for Witte," but the parent front-runner is Mark Freeh, the governor's deputy campaign manager and former Thompson patronage chief Also being mentioned for the job are department staffers Temple Robert Winchester, a former state representative; and Pete Rem-mert, a top Central Management Services Department official who also is the Woodford County Republican chairman. In the wake of his re-election to a fourth term and to head off potential sluggishness in the 10-year-old administration, Thompson has said he would appoint a special "transition team" to examhie state government operations and review cabinet members. Thompson's chief of staff, Jim Reilly, will be a key figure in either appointing or heading the transition group. "They want to look at state government operations in a new perspective," said Thompson spokesman Jim Bray. "The goal r.

a i i msjm Mima till ij ff1 I'll 30 Cents I J. 1 i matter." First grade teacher Jill Bell-agreed. "As far as behavior, they remember what's expected of them," she said. "The first graders need the makeup days, because they are learning new skills. With some review, those skills should be retaught fairly quickly." Miller said Friday was used as a day of review, since tests were scheduled for Oct.

2 the day teachers began a work stoppage. "We were near the end of the first grading period and so we were ready for tests," she explained. "Those tests, have been moved back to Monday, allowing the children a chance to review over the weekend." 03, The only modification necessary for the teachers will be "consolidating the 10 days which won't be made up," Miller added. "Rather than adhering to previous lesson plans, we will have to make changes so the students will learn will be to have state government look at itself and not to do things the way they've always been done in the past simply because that's the way they've been done in past." The terms of Thompson's cabinet members expire with the end of the governor's third term in January. A variety of administration sources said several key department directors are likely to leave the cabinet at that time.

According to those sources, -the cabinet members who appear most likely to be on their way out are as follows: the Central Management Services Department since October 1985. The sources said Tristano has a solid political backer in downstate Republican leader and Thompson fund-raiser William Cellini, but they added that he does not get along well with the governor's staff. "He never has clicked with the staff and they'd like to see him go," one source said. Brad Evilsizer, director of the Mines and Minerals Department since 1977. Evilsizer of Christopher, has come under increasing attack from the United Mines Workers union, whose officials view him as too strong a supporter of the coal companies.

He drew recent criti I l't 7 it i rr By PAUL BLACK Staff Writer MATTOON School attendance Friday was slightly lower than average, but teachers said students were anxious to be back in class. Friday was the first day of school in a month in Mattooh following a 24-day teachers' strike. "Typically, we have 15 students absent at any one time," said Lincoln-principal Kathy Hanneken. "Our absenteeism was up to 27 today. In our process of contacting parents, 10 could not be reached.

We figure parents may have taken a trip thinking the strike wouldn't be over yet." Hanneken's observations seem to be the trend in district attendance centers. Teachers also gave mixed reactions as to whether students would be able to pick up where they left off or whether it's "back to square one." By JEFF PAINE Staff Writer Eastern Illinois needs cooperative economic development in order to break a 15-year period of "stagnation." While most of the discussion at a "Business Outlook '87" conference Friday focused on the U.S. and Illinois economies, the president of the East Central Illinois Develop- ment Corporation focused on the area surrounding Coles County. "Fundamentally, there has been no growth in the East Central Illinois area over the last 15 years," said Dan Marvin, president of First National Bank of Mattoon and the developriient group. "I think it is important to understand this: there has been almost no growth in population, employment or discretionary income in Coles or the surrounding counties in 15 years," he said.

While 'stagnation and recession has been a part of the economy for the last 15 years, the opportunity for future expansion is bright, Marvin said. "Efforts at economic development have been talked about but not emphasized. It's darned hard work, but we cannot function without it. We have to develop a program of cooperation. Otherwise, we're going to be eaten alive.

"We have to get our act together. I'm optimistic about our future, but we've got to get to work to get things done, he said. Efforts to target what kinds of business and industry should be attracted to the area should be coordinated, he said. "We've got a strong work ethic, outstanding recreation, education and transportation facilities. The ECIDC has applied to create a 'corridor of opportunity' to target businesses that we could and would want to support." Marvin told the 65 people attending the third annual conference that the population of Coles County, the "urban center" for a region that encompasses eight or nine primarly rural surrounding counties, has grown at only half a percent each year since 1970.

"Much of that growth has been at the expense of surrounding counties, with people moving to Coles Coun- Top Short, fat guys: here's your race SKANEATELES, N.Y. (UPI) Pudgy runners who feel left out in the lean world of track stars will get a chance to reap glory plus beer and Twinkles at the 5th Annual Short Fat Guys' Road Race Sunday. All men whose waistlines are at least 4 Vz inches larger than the inseam length of their pants are eligible to run the 3.1-mile race. A beer and Twinkies station will be set up, and shortcuts will be well marked. Women also may enter without any waistline restrictions, and organizer Dick Perry said the number of women entering has increased since the race was founded five years ago.

"It's probably because, women find short, fat guys 90 attractive," he said. rif as much as they're supposed to learn." Hanneken said typically the higher grade levels will have less problems returning to school. "It's at those early grade levels where skills are being developed that are so critical," she added. "Take reading for example. A student who knows how to read could continue using his abilities while at home.

The student learning to read can't improve because he doesn't have the skill." The amount of harm done to the students' learning by the 24-day strike will vary, too. "There are three criteria which will help assess what has been lost age, subject matter and ability of the students," Hanneken said. "The brighter kids will be able to make the adjustment much easier than the slower" learners. Our curriculum is segmented, too. If a teacher had just completed one unit and was just starting a new one, the adjustment will be much less than one nearly finished or in the middle of a block of learning.

changes cism from the union for allowing the operation of diesel engines underground mines and for allowing the use of explosives during underground mine working hours. Ann Kiley, director of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Department since last February. The department came under attack during the gubernatorial campaign for alleged abuse of patients and a lack of funding. The alleged abuse did not occur during Kiley's reign, but that charge arid the funding problems have led to increasing calls for a department director who is a mental health professional. Richard Carlson, director of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Carlson, a former Thompson staffer, has been EPA head since 1981, making him the agency's longest-serving director. He generally is well regarded within the administration and could remain on the job if he chooses to, but the isources said he is likely to seek a new job in private industry. J. Thomas Johnson, director of the Revenue Department. Johnson also generally is well regarded within the administration, but after serving as revenue director for the past six years; the sources said Thompson is likely to want to bring in a fresh face.

Thompson' cabinet set for SPRINGFIELD (UPI) The head of the state Conservation Department announced his resignation Friday amid speculation that several other top Thompson administration officials soon will be heading for the door. Michael Witte, one of the first people to join the new administration when Gov. James R. Thompson came to office 10 years ago, will leave his conservation post about the first of the year to take a management job in Chicago with R.R. Donnelley Sons Co.

He has headed the parks and recreation agency since October 1984, and before that he was director of the state energy anu Resources Department. Witte said after working 10 years In state government he decided that if he was going to enter' private industry, now was the time tpdoit. "While state government and "Coventor Thompson have been extremely good to me, I decided that for me to leave at 35 I'll be 36 in January would be much easier than waiting another four years and being 40," Witte said, Witte generally has been given good marks for maintaining excellent relations between the department and the wide-ranging number of outdoor groups in the nuiic. However, he is given poor marts as a politician and he himself has complained about the.