Journal Gazette from Mattoon, Illinois • Page 1

"To 4 Mattoon stars to play for Lake Land Seniors Adam Harrington, Shane Hood and Jeremy Jordan are set to move from the Green Wave roster to the Lakers' baseball lineup. Investors loolc into Authorities tried Monday to find out why two small planes collided over a row of businesses in Corona, kiljing at least 4 people. Nation, Paga B7 Mattoon 50 Cents 2008 Mattoon Journal Gazette 'We have come a long way; the dream is still alive' 131st Year, No. 2 Tuesday January 22, 2008 Tri fig vere with a dream as King did during his Life. Attending the candlelight march is something Dan Nadler, vice president of student affairs, said he looks forward to each year as a source of motivation and inspiration.

"We have come a long way; the dream is still alive," Nadler said. Nadler said that as he marched through the campus, his candle's flame went out many times, but each time he would reach out to the person next to him to ignite it again. A 1 A LOCAL Thursday to bring info on passports and USPS Charleston's VFW will host a Passport Fair and usps.com Day during which people can apply for passports and get details on offerings from the U.S. Postal Service. Page A3 Eastern hosts march in honor By AMBER WILLIAMS Staff writer CHARLESTON Marching through Eastern Illinois University's campus Monday, university students and faculty demonstrated how they are keeping the Inside Events across the nation honored Martin Luthei King, Jr.

Some in Chicago went to the election booth to honor the slain civil rights leader. DetailsJA6. dream of Martin Luther King, Jr. alive. Despite bitterly cold temperatures Monday night, more than 100 people par- ticipated in a candlelight march across campus ending at the Martin Luther King, Jr.

University Union, where a program was held in his honor. This is the 34th year the university has celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a march on campus, said Chris Jones, president of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, King Ken Tt-evarthanStaK Photographer Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity secretary Sterling McKinley, right, lights candles for march participants as they move out of the Thomas Hall lobby to walk to the Martin Luther King, Jr. University Union for the annual King march and candlelight vigil Monday night in Charleston. RECESSION? Lake Land sets record with enrollment for fall OUTSIDE 3213 Cloudy.

Blustery. See page A4. WEDNESDAY k. -N- Find out what our i cameras capture this BUSIIESS Eatery in downtown Neoga caters to families Family dining is the emphasis now at Town Country Restaurant in Neoga, which opened at the location of a longtime bar and grill downtown. Page B3 WORLD China weighted down by unusual snowfall At least 1 5 deaths are blamed so far on unusually heavy snowfall in central China that also stranded hundreds of thousands of people just before the country's peak Lunar New Year travel season.

PageB7 NATION Presidential hopefuls unlikely to Bowl you over Want to watch the Super Bowl to see super advertisements from political candidates (yeah, right)? Don't hold your breath. Page D3 WORLD Israel to back off blockade for one day A Gaza closure will be eased for food and fuel needs. Page 04 TOP THIS He can't see you, but you can see him LOS ANGELES (AP) Visitors can now see the Los Angeles Zoo's newest attraction, but he can't see them. A blind harbor seal named Alfred, which made its debut Friday, was rescued off the coast of New Jersey nearly a year ago and, after a long search by the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, the L.A. Zoo took him in October.

The seal has spent the time since in quarantine and is adjusting to his new surroundings. He was placed among four female companions at the Sea Life Cliffs habitat near the zoo's entrance. "He is displaying all the behaviors that we would see in a mating ritual," zoo trainer Lauren Whittemore told KCAL-TV. "They are doing everything that they should be doing, so blindness doesn't seem to be affecting that part of nature." Zoo officials say Alfred, who is missing one eye and is blind in the other but otherwise healthy, uses the sensitive nerve endings in his whiskers to find his way around his new home. He weighed a mere 90 pounds when he was found last February, most likely because his blindness kept him from catching fish.

He has since doubled in weight, but remains small harbor seals often reach 300 pounds. By HERB MEEKER Staff Writer MATTOON From September to December, Lake Land College enrollment increased by 2,320 students, an end-of-the-semester bump of 32 percent. "To me, this is what Eastern is about," Nadler said. The program in honor of King included songs from the EIU Unity Gospel Choir and a video presentation of the final two days of King's life. The keynote speaker was Chandra Gill, a professor at Northeastern Illinois University's Center for Inner City Studies, executive producer and host of a Chicago radio station and future executive director of the Loop Lab MARCHA2 Ft Lake Land College Inside Charleston's fire personnel also handled more calls last year.

The hike in head count from the lOth-day of enrollment benchmark resulted in a final count of 9,502 students, the highest ending semester enrollment for the college, said Vice President of Student Services Tina Stovall. The hike in semester enrollment reflects the inclusion of short-term courses in the class schedule. "This is another enrollment record for the college," Stovall said. The total includes 7,548 students enrolled in Lake Land classes plus 1,954 in the many classes managed by Lake REC0RDA2 which sponsored the event. "The purpose of this march is to remember Dr.

Martin Luther King dream," Jones said. As the students proceeded from the Thomas Hall lobby to the union carrying candles, many of the flames were blown out by the wind, Jones said. However, he said, those flames are representative of the dreams of Martin Luther King, and the students cannot be stopped when a flame goes out, but rather must perse Whether an actual recession is on the way or already here U.S. consumers and businesses are being increasingly squeezed by a downturn that threatens to spread the pain being felt everywhere from the gas pump to the unemployment line. The official designation often comes long after the recession itself begins.

-Experts note that the point at which the "R-word" is triggered is mostly an academic debate. "That's not going to make a great deal of difference to people's economic well-being or their pocketbooks," said SURVEYA2 Associated Press Unemployed Tracy Nlkitas looks emotional as she gives up on the phone trying to get a hold of employment officials at the California Employment Development Department In San Jose, Wednesday A survey looks at economy as consumers pull back, businesses feel the pain Crimes down, calls up in '07 for Charleston police By ROB STROUD Staff Writer CHARLESTON Crimes handled by the Charleston Police Department decreased by 27 percent last year from 2006, while the department's calls for service increased by 40 percent. CHICAGO (AP) Economists and politicians can debate all they want about whether the nation is sliding into its first recession in nearly seven years. To Chuck Rizzo, the picture is clear. Rizzo was recently laid off from his customer service job at a homebuilder in Sarasota, Fla.

His grocery bill is higher nowadays, and he can barely afford his mortgage payments. "Everything has gotten tremendously more expensive," said Rizzo, 45, who is married with a 15-year-old daughter. "We don't go out to dinner now. We don't take vacations. We've had to make a lot of adjustments to our lifestyle." Index crimes, which cover theft, resi- DetailsA3 dential burglary, aggravated assault and battery, sexual assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, arson, robbery, and murder, are tracked.

There have been no murders in Charleston since 2001. The total number of index crimes decreased from 483 in 2006 to 352 in 2007, according to figures released by the department. There were 587 index crimes recorded in 2005. "When you look at our index crimes, the major thing is our thefts are way down," interim Police Chief Mark Jenkins said. Thefts decreased from 320 in 2006 to 165 in 2007.

Jenkins said thefts, burglaries and other nonviolent crimes often are linked to a few perpetrators, so these crimes follow cycles as perpetrators are arrested and later released from prison. P0LICEA2 INDEX Advice B2 I Business B3 D6-8 Comics D5 i Community B1 1 Entertainment. B6 I Local i Lottery A4 I Obituaries B7 Opinions AS 0ILIE at www.jg-tc.com or C0UTACT US at 1-800-453-2472.