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TODAY’S FARM, SPECIAL SECTION INSIDE
SAUK SOPHOMORE DOUBLE-DIPS COLLEGE SPORTS, B1
TTELEGRAPH
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
SERVING DIXON AND THE SURROUNDING AREA SINCE 1851
DIXON | CORRECTIONAL CENTER
VETERANS DAY | SALUTE TO THOSE WHO SERVED
DOUBLE DUTY
More mental health care? State project would create jobs in Dixon BY CHRISTI WARREN cwarren@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5521
Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@saukvalley.com
Fred Mienke of Dixon displays photos of himself taken during his two stints in the military. Mienke, now 87, was 18 when he was drafted into the Navy during the tail end of World War II, and 23 when he again was called up to serve, this time in the Army during the Korean War.
Dixon veteran serves it up – twice BY DOUGLAS J. SMITH For Sauk Valley Media
Ceremonies today
DIXON – In the military world, Fred Mienke is a rare bird: He was drafted, and served, in two branches, in two wars. The 87-year-old Dixon man served in both the Navy during World War II, and the Army during the Korean War. It’s an occurrence made possible only once in the history of the United States: If a young man, 18 years of age, was drafted in 1945, as was Fred, that same young man could have been eligible for the draft at the start of the Korean War in 1950 – as was Fred.
Find out when and where on A8 He was born Jan. 6, 1927, to Fred and Minett Mienke in Earlville. The family moved to Dixon in 1931, and Fred graduated from Dixon High May 1945. That August, he received his first draft notification and went to Chicago for induction. Fred was leaning up against a window, standing in line with hundreds of other draftees, when the window suddenly opened. “Want to be in the Navy?” a recruiter asked him.
He and two guys behind him said yes. “That’s my quota for today,” the recruiter said. As do all Navy recruits, Fred attended boot camp at Navy Station Great Lakes; he was, in fact, in boot camp on V Day, the day the war ended in Europe. He then was stationed at the Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia, assigned to the brand-new aircraft carrier USS Layte. In fact, he was on board for her maiden voyage, and for her first “full fire” exercise, when every weapon on the ship was test-fired at the same time. DUTY CONTINUED ON A2
‘Thank you for fighting the bad guys’ Vets’ meals on Applebee’s, served alongside kids’ heartwarming cards BY JERMAINE PIGEE jpigee@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5525
STERLING – “Thank you for fighting the bad guys. We are proud of you for fighting for our country.” That message was written in one of the many Veterans Day cards sent by students to Applebee’s, 3920 E. Lincolnway. General Manager Jason Zelle said the restaurant has received hundreds of handmade cards from K-5 students in Sterling and Rock Falls. As has become tradition, Applebee’s will offer a free meal today for all veterans and active duty military. The restaurant will open an hour earlier than usual, at 9 a.m., and serve up eats until 10 p.m. “We have always given out free meals for people who have served for our country, but I wanted to take it a step further,” Zelle said. “We asked local elementary schools if they would have students write letters, and now I have hundreds of them.” THANK YOU CONTINUED ON A8
$1.00
TODAY’S EDITION: 20 PAGES 2 SECTIONS VOL. 163 ISSUE 136
INDEX
DIXON – Dixon Correctional Center might expand its alreadylarge mental health treatment facility as part of a $29 million state project. As part of a federal lawsuit filed in Peoria, the Illinois Department of Corrections was ordered to document its efforts to improve its mental health care facilities. In its report, IDOC recognizes the desperate need to increase mental health treatment options for inmates and lays out a plan to provide them. That plan would allocate $29 million to upgrade Dixon, Pontiac, and Logan correctional centers, creating 900 more beds for inmates who require inpatient mental health care – that is, round-the-clock supervised care, as opposed to outpatient treatment, given to those still being held as part of a prison’s general population. Dixon, already the largest IDOC provider of mental health care, would get 675 more beds. Pontiac 121 more; Logan, a women’s prison, an additional 135. The report also says the closed Joliet youth facility would be turned into an inpatient mental health facility with 304 beds. Systemwide, 847 inmates are receiving inpatient care – 789 men and 58 women, the report says. MENTAL CONTINUED ON A4
‘‘ ’’ The hiring process is already underway, and some hires have been made Tom Shaer, IDOC spokesperson
ROCK FALLS HIGH
Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
Cards of thanks from area elementary students fill the walls of Applebee’s in Sterling. The restaurant is serving up free food for veterans and active duty military today.
ABBY ................... A7 BUSINESS ........... A9 COMICS ...............B5
CROSSWORD....B10 LIFESTYLE ........... A7 LOTTERY ............. A2
OBITUARIES ........ A4 OPINION .............. A6 POLICE ................ A2
Quite the visit Ten visitors from Middle Eastern nations compare cultures with students. PAGE A3
Today’s weather High 41. Low 21. More on A3.
Flying solo?
Inspection program support wanes, A3.
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