CITY BEAT: EARLY VOTING STARTS THIS WEEK AT THE MACON COUNTY EARLY VOTING CENTER

 

     EARLY voting starts tomorrow (Thursday, Feb. 20) for the next election where our participation is requested.
     The actual election is April 1st.
     APRIL FOOLS DAY!!!!
     I’m not joking! We are being asked to vote for candidates on April Fools Day! (That should be an extra incentive to vote early this time and avoid voting on April Fools Day!)
     There is a schedule of dates and hours on page 6 of this edition when you can early vote at the Macon County Early Voting Center which is located at 151 West Wood Street in Decatur. Phone number is 217-424-1309.
     Here’s some additional information from the county clerk’s office:
“Voters who have requested a vote by mail ballot must have the ballot postmarked no later than November 5, 2024. Vote by mail ballots can also be placed in the drop box located on the south side of the Macon County Office Building at 141 S Main Street. If a voter is using the drop box they must follow the instructions as though they were going to mail the ballot, without adding postage. Additionally, it is very important that voters sign the certification included with their vote by mail ballot.”
     By the way, as I’ve mentioned in a few previous columns, I was elected to my first term as Decatur’s mayor on April Fools Day of that year. (I mention that fact again to save a few readers from reminding me of the April Fools Day connection to my public office career.)

     • NEW HIRE —It was announced last week that Melissa Hon will be the new City of Decatur Deputy City Manager, starting next Monday, Feb. 24. (See page 7 of print and online editions for details.)

     Hon will replace Jon Kindseth, who served in that positon for 5 1/2 years. Kindseth’s last day was Feb. 7. He was hired by former City Manager Scot Wrighton.
     As the article on page 7 indicates, Hon has an impressive background of experience in city government and has worked with Decatur’s present City Manager Tim Gleason.
     As the news article points out Hon has been with the City of Bloomington since 2016, starting as Assistant to the City Manager prior to Gleason’s tenure there, and continued working in various positions on the executive team.
     “I am excited for Melissa to start. Her vast experience across the entire organization will be a tremendous asset,” said Gleason.      “Currently there are specific needs within the organization that she can make a positive impact on day one. Melissa’s return to a city manager’s office is where she belongs.”
     Welcome and best wishes to Melissa Hon as she writes another chapter in her career of service — this time in Decatur, Illinois.
     Best wishes also to now-former Deputy City Manager Jon Kindseth in his future endeavors and thank you for your years of service to Decatur.

     • COUNCIL RACE will probably come down to the two incumbents, Ed Culp and David Horn, being re-elected to their positions and the rest of the field competing for that third council seat up for election which has no incumbent since Councilman Chuck Kuhle decided not to run for another term.
     Culp and Horn have strong support and incumbents usually have an advantage because of news exposure that automatically comes with being on a board or council.
     There are a lot of factors that can determine the winning campaign of a candidate for city council, but incumbency is normally a definite advantage for a candidate.
     Besides incumbents Culp and Horn, challengers campaigning for a council seat are Micah Ray, James E. Wrigley and Consuelo Cruz.
Former Decatur City Councilman Bill Faber has some comments about the city council race in his column on page 7 of this week’s print edition.

     • NOT THAT OLD! Following publication of some reader comments in last week’s edition, I received this email from John Spencer: “Paul- the February 12 issue of the Tribune has my letter in the ‘Our Readers Write’ section. In my ‘old’ age I included a laughable error in arithmetic. We lived in our Barrington Street house 37 years not 50! Fortunately we are not nearing our 100th birthdays yet. In fact, you and I are less than a year apart.
     “Sincerely, your “old” neighbor John Spencer”.
     Thanks, John, for making both of us younger by your correction. (smile)

     • AVON CLOSED — I think about everybody knows by now that the Avon Theater in downtown Decatur is now closed.
It really came as no surprise to me. Skip Huston, who passed away recently, was the heart of the theater and was always promoting it and devoting his life’s work to it.     The many years of enjoyment the theater brought to so many people would not have happened without Skip’s devotion to keeping it going.

I worked with Skip on stories about the theater that were printed in this newspaper years ago and also met with him and discussed his plans for expanding the theater when I was mayor. I attended several city events and special movies there during my years in the mayor’s office.
     The following information was posted on the theater’s Facebook Page last week: “It’s with heavy hearts that we announce the closing of the Avon Theater, a place that has been a beloved part of our family for over 25 years.
     “Our dear owner, Skip, who poured his heart and soul into this theater, passed away recently, and we’ve been struggling with the debt accumulated in the last few years. Despite the incredible support from our community through GoFundMe, the financial burden was just too great. This was the hardest decision we have had to make and it marks the end of an era.
     “The Avon Theater wasn’t just a business—it was a home for our family. Skip and Sue’s grandchildren grew up here and created countless memories in its halls. It’s where our daughter even got married, and where so many special moments were shared with all of you.
     “Thank you for all the years of support. This is the end of an unforgettable chapter, but the memories we’ve made here will live on forever. We will forever be grateful for the love and community that the Avon Theater has brought to our family.”
     I hate to see the Avon Theater becoming another casualty of downtown Decatur — one of many over the last few decades.
Maybe someone will step up and get the theater open again.
     The north edge of downtown Decatur will not be the same with the Avon Theater’s marquee all dark.

     • EARLY TRIB! Faithful reader Ruth Cortright of Decatur was the first to notice something different in the delivery of last week’s Tribune.
     Ruth sent me an email stating: “The February 12 issue of the Decatur Tribune arrived in today’s mail (Wednesday!). This is a first time that it was delivered on the paper’s publication date!”
     Several calls and comments came from other readers about their Tribune arriving a day earlier than usual.
     A few left messages wondering if something was wrong.
     No, there wasn’t anything wrong.
     When the weather forecast was for heavy snow in some of the areas through which the Tribune is transported, for the safety of personnel, we decided to print and mail a day earlier to keep everybody safe and our subscribers getting their newspaper without weather interruption.
     That’s the first time we printed and mailed early because of a potentially bad winter storm.
     Thanks for noticing that your copy came a day earlier than usual — on the publication date that is printed on the front page.
Although printing a paper newspaper has a lot more problems, and potential problems, than an online edition (which can have its own problems) the majority of our readers prefer the paper edition of the Decatur Tribune — and so does this editor…even with all of the problems and expense associated with publishing and mailing it.
     Thanks to all of you who support the Tribune — both the print and online editions.

     • MEMORIES — There’s an interesting article about the 50th anniversary of the SDHS Class of 1975 that is on page 12 of this week’s print and online editions. It is written by Diane Garrett Maddox, a 1975 SDHS graduate as part of a monthly series leading up to the class reunion.
     I especially enjoyed the comment made by her driver’s training instructor when she turned the wrong way down a one-way street!
     Check it out. By the way, the SDHS Class of 1975 was the last class in the downtown high school.

     • I JOIN Brian Byers on WSOY’s Byers & Co., every Thursday morning at 7:00 for the City Hall Insider.

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