Volume 141 No. 32
Friday, October 10, 2014
Single Copy Cost 50¢
Fall means car/deer accidents By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com
Many people welcome the signs of fall — cooler weather, shorter days and farmers back in the field. However one sign of fall that drivers often forget to look for is deer. According to the Illinois State Police, more than 20,000 deer are involved in accidents with drivers each year. Fall is where deer are more of a hazard than in other seasons. With farmers in the field, deer lose their summer cover and will often move over roadsides to either wooded areas or fields that have yet to be picked. With that, the ratio of deer to car accidents always rises in the fall, as deer seek a new resting place. State police also note other common places for deer to gather are in wooded and low lying areas. However with deer season starting, movement of panicked deer out of hunting areas are a danger drivers should be wary of. Tom Micetich, Illinois Department of Natural Resources deer project manager, shared the news the number of collisions is much lower than the peak year of 2004, when the Illinois Department of Transportation recorded 25,847 motor vehicle-deer accidents. In
2013, that number was 15,328. Most rural residents are aware deer accidents happen all year. State Farm Insurance has calculated the chance of hitting a deer in Illinois is 1 in 211. State police have noted, however, that dawn and dusk are the most common times for these types of accidents to happen. Residents also need to remember just because the deer have crossed should not mean they are done with their wandering. They oftentimes will easily walk, run or jump right back into the road they just crossed. An additional hazard is for drivers who habitually use low beam headlights on the road. A deer on average is only visible within 150 feet or so of the headlights. This drastically cuts a driver’s reaction time to avoid an accident. According to the state police, some of the best ways to avoid a deer is to stay in your lane, slow down and brake properly. Slamming on brakes is not advised unless contact has already been made. Experts note while a deer can severely damage an automobile, drivers and their passengers often walk away with minimal injuries. State police encourage drivers to be vigilant on the roadway, never forgetting that deer are out there.
Tonica News photo/Ken Schroeder
New LaSalle County Museum Executive Director Ron Bluemer holds the photo of a young boy who worked in the coal mines during the early 1900s. The photo is part of the Cherry Mine Disaster Museum Exhibit Bluemer was able to get on permanent loan to the museum. “Coal was big in this area, and nothing had as much of an impact in this area as the Cherry Mine,” Bluemer said. He said getting the exhibit to the museum was his first priority in his new position.
Cherry comes to Utica A new home for the Cherry Mine Disaster exhibit By Ken Schroeder news@tonicanews.com
UTICA — Some people look forward to retirement — a chance to finally relax from the daily work routine and take it easy. Granville’s Ron Bluemer is not one of those people. Recently retired as a history teacher at Illinois Valley Community College and formerly a teacher at Putnam County High School, Bluemer
was offered — and eagerly accepted — a position as executive director at the LaSalle County Museum. His first accomplishment was getting the Cherry Mine Disaster museum exhibit out of storage from Chicago and on permanent loan to the museum. “Peg Rondi of rural Mark, one of the first to graduate from my class at Putnam County, saved this from destruction with the understanding if another museum wanted
to take it on, she would see they got a portion of it, at least,” Bluemer said. “I talked to her, and she said this was going to be a more-or-less permanent loan. They’ve been looking for a place to house the collection for years. They want us to have it.” Bluemer published a book about the Cherry Mine Disaster in 2007 — one of 13 books he’s written so far — and so has a passion about sharing the stories of that fateful day in 1909 and the lives of coal miners of that period in general. As part of that, Bluemer has plans for the building recently
purchased by the museum, which will house the exhibit. “I’m going to build a coal mine in the basement,” he said. “It’ll look like a mine shaft with parts of the exhibit down here and some actual coal. I’ve got one of the old gas lamp hats they used. We’ll let people go down with no light other than that. Won’t it be neat to see what it was really like?” The exhibit consists of photos of coal miners both locally and nationwide. The photos are printed on a heavy linen and show
Cherry Page 2
Tonica High School Alumni donates to TGS Foundation By Dixie Schroeder news@tonicanews.com
TONICA — The Tonica High School Alumni recently held its annual banquet at the Oglesby Elks. During the business meeting, the members voted to make a donation of $1,000 to the Tonica Vol. 141 No. 32 One Section - 8 Pages
© The Tonica News
Grade School (TGS) Foundation. The TGS Foundation exists to support the education of Tonica Grade School students. Teachers communicate with Superintendent/ Principal John Suarez to let him know what their classroom needs are. The TGS Foundation then steps in to help when regular school money is
not enough. Treasurer Al Stremlau noted the donations are made after a thorough review of educational needs at the school. “We are going to gather together teachers’ requests. There is also a project that was discussed at the last TGS Foundation meeting — math apps (applications) were one thing we talked
about,” Stremlau said. “The foundation also bought some math applications for the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade iPads. They are also looking at the conditions of the science labs. There is a need for new equipment and new hands-on activities. The new Common Core standards are pushing that. We don’t need
a mandate from the government to tell us what we should do well for kids, you know? We do need to have some serious consideration about the quality of our science labs because they haven’t been updated since the high school deactivated,” Suarez said. Suarez believes the work the foundation does
is strongly beneficial for the students. “The kids are worth it. It’s about an investment in the kids. The foundation is vital. Not even just important, but vital, and the donations of the alumni are so appreciated. If you look at the condition of the school,
Donation Page 2