Journal Gazette from Mattoon, Illinois • Page 1

11 Beyond toe freshman 15' Two new studies find that the common weight gain of 1 5 pounds for college freshman is more like 5 to 7, but the "Sophomore 2 or 3" may follow. Ell) catches up The Panthers sweeten Homecoming with a 20-10 come-from-behind win cver.Murray Stata Sports, Page CI More fun than fright Charleston's Festival of Frights draws a crowd of families ready to paint, eat pie, dress up and more. Local, Page A3 Nation, Page B6 Mattoon Gazette II 129th fear, No. 237 50 Cents 02006 Mattoon Journal Gazette EIU HOMECOMING 2006 UTSIDE 4528 Mostly cloudy. Monday October 23, 2006 See page A4.

ONLINE BUHcmcnajg extras Audio photos from the pep rally Slideshows from the parade and the game Your photos in a gallery Podcast with Jerry Van Dyke a Striking teachers allege unfair labor practice By NATHANIEL WEST Staff Writer NEOGA The conflict between the school board and striking teachers worsened late last week when the Neoga Teachers' Association accused the board of unfair labor practices. In a charge filed with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board in Springfield, the NTA alleged the board has failed to bargain in good faith by declining to meet with the teachers' negotiators, according to a press release from the association late Friday evening. "This is very unfortunate, especially for the students," NTA President Brenda Jones said in the press release. "We're not going to be able to solve the differences if we don't meet." Teachers have been on strike since Thursday, and their collective bargaining team has not met with their counterparts from the school board for more than a week. At the last session with a federal mediator, the board proposed a contract that included pay and benefit increases, but no change to the existing salary schedule.

"The school board essentially ended negotiations prematurely on Oct. 14 when they re-issued their Sept. 23 proposal as their last, best and final offer, and then said they would not entertain any new proposals offered by us," said Dale Will, the NTA chief TEACHERSA2 Ken TVevarthanStaff Photographer Actor Jerry Van Dyke, Eastern Illinois University 2006 Homecoming parade grand marshal, greets fans young and old In the crowds lining the parade route Saturday morning in Charleston. Band directors praise parade LOCAL Just what does God have to do with what people wear? A lot, say those attending a Sunday fashion show at St. John's Lutheran Church in Mattoon.

Page A3 By KATE HENDERSON Staff Writer "4 Q'D 1 7 LOCAL May I have this dance? Mattoon elementary school students and their families step back into the '50s. Page AS 7 CHARLESTON Cumberland High School and Stew-ardson-Strasburg High School marching bands helped make Eastern Illinois University's Homecoming parade a little less quiet this year. The two bands were the only ones, aside from the EIU marching band, that appeared in the parade After it was all over, both band directors agreed the parade was a lot of fun. Jessica Closson, Stew-Stras's band director, said it had been several years since her band attended the parade, and this year she heard through the grapevine that PARADE A2 (1 1 1 i Ken TrevarthanStaff Photographer Members of the Cumberland High School marching band step to the music as they leave the courthouse square in the EIU Homecoming parade along Sixth Street In Charleston. IW 1 LIFESTYLES Abby: Parents nst resi in tfe grandpa Sometimes a grandparent who is too touchy-feely with grandchildren needs to learn more about boundaries or have his time with the children cut back, Dear Abby says.

PageB2 TOP THIS lb her, honesty is worth more than $12,450 NEW YORK (AP) The temptation was there: an envelope stuffed with $12,450 in cash, stashed under a hospital patient's pillow. But the housekeeper at St. Luke's Hospital didn't hesitate before doing the right thing. For Marie Toussaint, it was a no-brainer. The money didn't belong to me, and I wasn't supposed to take it," the 50-year-old Haiti native said.

That's the normal thing to do." Toussaint found the envelope, filled with $100 bills and "a few fifties," after the patient checked out on Oct. 4. She handed it over to the nurse in charge. A relative of the unidentified patient, an elderly woman, later collected the money. Toussaint will be honored for her honesty next month at a hospital Thanksgiving party.

"Some people are crazy about money," she said in a telephone interview. "But my conscience would kill me If I took it, because I believe in God." Commission gives nod to county's comprehensive plan ByDWEFOMT Staff Writer CHARLESTON Coles County's proposed comprehensive plan appears to be ready for a County Board vote next month. The county Regional Planning and Development Commission voted to recommend the plan to the board at its meeting Thursday, commission executive director Doug McDermand said. The recommendation was needed to forward the plan to the board for consideration. "It's to the county board," McDermand said.

"There's no reason they couldn't vote on it next month." Seven of the commission's 10 members attended Thursday's meeting, and the vote on recommending the plan to the board was unanimous, he added. The vote on the plan should be on the agenda for the board's Nov. 14 meeting, which is four days after a deadline for public comments on it. McDermand said no one's submitted any comments on the plan so far. Last month, board Chairwoman Jan Eads put off a vote on the plan, which had been set for that month's meeting.

She said she wanted to give people a chance to look at the plan and make comments on it for the board to consider before voting. About the same time, McDermand found that state law required that a different group make the recommendation on the plan to the board than first thought, leading to Thursday's commission vote. A similar but slightly different group, the county PIANA2 Ken TrevarthanStaff Photographer Charleston Middle School media specialist Karen S. Murphy keeps an eye on students' computer monitors as they access the Internet on Thursday afternoon In the CMS media center computer lab In Charleston. Respect kids' privacy while checking e-mail, expert says WEDNESDAY INDEX Advice B2 Classifieds D2 Community B5 Local A6 Lottery A4 Mini Page B4 Obituaries B3 Opinions sity's School of Family and Consumer Science, said she looks at everything done with technology the same way as it should be in a face-to-face situation.

"Respect for your adolescent's freedom and privacy is important," Meadows said. "Parents aren't with their kids every minute, but hopefully what you E-MAIUA2 tylMVEFOMr Staff Writer CHARLESTON It's "kind of alarming" that there's no program that can screen all e-mail content, but parents can guard their children against inappropriate messages without it, one expert says. i Mikki Meadows, who works with technology issues as a professor in Eastern Illinois Univer bFocus Take a look at more scenes from ElU's Homecoming. ff.