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Under New Ownership
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LEBANON
VOLUME 103 NUMBER 29
That’s one-way to do it
Beginning March 1, Randle Street will have a west-to-east one-way designation between Alton and Monroe streets.
Tackling tough questions
So, why is this called The Yellow Box? Uh, because it’s yellow. What goes in the yellow box? Stuff like this.
Lions draw blood
The recent Lebanon Lions Club blood drive netted 21 units besting its goal of 18. All donors received a coupon for a free Dairy Queen ice cream cone. The event was held at the St. Paul United Church of Christ. The next blood drive for the Lions is April 22.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2014
Making a 30-year-old tax grab
By David Porter The Lebanon Public Library says the city owes it some $27,000 — an amount that presumably has been growing annually for more than 30 years. That was the message Monday night from John Long, city attorney. He explained to the City Council that the amount stems from the library’s loss of personal property taxes in the late 1970s and the city’s failure to share personal property replace-
ment taxes. He said he could not vouch for the amount or the 22 percent of PPRT the library says it should receive moving forward. The revenue claim by the library is the latest in a growing riff between the two taxing bodies that came to a head in recent weeks when City Hall reportedly refused library patrons access to its restrooms. The Council discussed the symbiotic relationship it has
with the library, which is housed next door in the same building. The city includes the library’s levy on its tax bill and has been paying for workers’ compensation insurance for library employees, for which the library reportedly reimburses the city. Alderwoman Cheri Wright said the library hires and fires its own employees and sets their hours and fringe benefits with no oversight from the city. The library will soon begin paying its
No trivial matter
Lebanon Kids Inc. is hosting a trivia night at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, at St. Joseph’s Church in Lebanon.
Way to go, girls
Congratulations to the junior high Lady Greyhounds for their regional tournament win Jan. 18. Flip the paper over for pictures.
Please check your address
With the changeover to an electronic format, all of the Advertiser’s mailing list was typed into a computer this week. As one might imagine, mistakes are bound to happen with a project of this magnitude. If you’re a subscriber, please check to make sure your name and address are correct. If they’re not, please send an email with any corrections to publisher@lebanonadvertiser.com or mail a note to P.O. Box 126 in Lebanon.
Paper price increases
Beginning next week, the single-copy price of the Lebanon Advertiser will be going up to 75 cents per issue. In-county subscription prices will go to $35/year. However, for the next two weeks, readers may subscribe or renew their subscriptions for one year at the old rate of $23 in-county and $25 out-of-county. The new outof-county rate will be $40. Subscriptions may be mailed to the Lebanon Advertiser, P.O. Box 126, Lebanon, IL 622544498. They also may be dropped off at the old Advertiser office at 309 W. St. Louis Street in Lebanon. Publisher David Porter said, “Since the sale of the newspaper, many changes already have been made and some of these changes are costly. Hopefully, readers will see the value in these changes and will opt to subscribe. All previous subscriptions will be honored.” The advertising display rate has not changed, but the paper is now a six-column format instead of the previous five columns, so the column width is slightly smaller.
50¢
PRESSMAN CHARLIE BALTIMORE (L) reviews the negative used in production of last week’s Advertiser with Harrison and Harriet Church. It was the last edition for the Churches, whose family has owned the newspaper for three quarters of a century. Photo by David Porter.
Church family owned Advertiser for 75 years By David Porter No tears were shed as Harrison and Harriet Church dropped off their final edition of the Lebanon Advertiser to the printer in Centralia. To the contrary, Harriet, famed locally for her cakes and pies, was all smiles as she passed out cupcakes and other goodies to the printing staff. “I’ve lived a wholly charmed life,” Harrison told a well-wisher last week. “It’s time [to retire].” While the pressmen went to work,
the Churches motored down the street to a local café per their routine. Harrison ordered the beef Manhattan as usual and followed it up with a slice of Coca-Cola cake. Harriet’s penchant for trying different entrées stood in contrast to Harrison’s don’t-need-a-menu stance. It was at lunch when the couple let their emotions show, but not over their decision to sell the newspaper and retire. What choked them up was remembering some of the people
they’ve met through the newspaper and the times they shared with them – people like Cedric Dickens, the great grandson of Charles Dickens, and Lynne Jackson, a descendant of Dred Scott. There are a great many memories as the Church family had owned the newspaper for 75 years. Harriet was associated with the Advertiser for the 25 years that the couple has been married. Harrison has owned the newspaSee CHURCH on page 6
own workers’ compensation insurance, she said. Long said there is a court case where a city was deemed to be a co-employer for purposes of collective bargaining. He said he’s concerned whether a city could be determined to share liability with the library. Kelly Wilhelm, library director, said last week in an email to the Advertiser that the library “is a city library with the mayor and See TAX GRAB on page 8
Group seeks help Bicentennial —
The Lebanon Bicentennial Organization is looking for volunteers to help plan a party that has been 200 years in the making. The “City of the Cedars” known as Lebanon was founded in 1814 although it was not incorporated until 1857. Records show that property now part of Lebanon had been claimed as early as 1804, and the area’s American Indian roots date back hundreds more years. But 1814 is recorded as the first instance of a house being built here. And that’s reason enough to celebrate. The bicentennial event is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 30, downtown. Confirmed activities include entertainment from the Scott Air Force Base Concert Band, a parade and food vendors. A number of surprises are in the discussion phase. Miranda Wright-Kauffman, chairperson for the event, said more people are needed on the committee to ensure a successful event. The group meets at 7 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month in the basement of the Visitor’s Center.