Southern Illinoisan from Carbondale, Illinois • Page 3

Carbondale-Herrin-Murphysboro-AAarion SOUTHERN ILLINOISAN, MONDAY, AUGUST 28, 1978 Page Three mi to mi omi'iir act belayed classes to begin Wednesday 1 vF' i srrszs- -v rMHH Benton Community Consolidated School District 47 teachers ratified a tentative contract Sunday, and school is scheduled to begin Wednesday, ending an extended summer vacation for 1,300 students' School was to have started last Thursday with the teacher's workshop. The proposed contract was worked Saturday between negotiating teams representing the teachers and the board of Gene Miller, president of the Benton Teachers Local 1956, said today that the teachers met this morning for a workshop and that registration is scheduled, for Tuesday. Miller declined to disclose terms of the contract, saying only that both sides had compromised. "It wasn't what we had in mind but Grant extension sought Du Quoin may try 3rd time on school bonds Photo by JOE JINES Charles Coons surveys his task getting the Du Quoin State Fair track ready for Cars gone, Du Quoin prepares for the horses to The soil must contain just the right amount of moisture, no water is being applied to the track. But Coon's biggest fear is rain.

"Too much moisture can cause a clay track to get very slippery," Coon said. "The track is perfect when you can see the nails in the hoof prints left by a horse traveling at full speed." This is Coon's fourth year as a consultant at the Du Quoin State Fair. Preparation of the track for the first day of harness racing on Wednesday will continue through Wednesday. Coon's task then will be to keep the unknown today," fair officials said. Gibb, an Australian singer, was in the midst of a United States tour when forced to cancel the rest of the circuit on a doctor's order because of a severe case of laryngitis.

convert the horses' hooves. The cars left the track surface packed. The soil must loosened and sand added to serve as a cushion for the horses, Coons said. He estimates that 300 to 500 tons of sand will be used. The sand also helps guard against puddles on the track.

Another thing that must be changed is the bank of the curves. "The banks will need to be flatter than those for auto racing, since the horses will not be traveling as fast. The banks should help the horses through the turns," Coons said. on, but star is ported today that the fair committee was conferring with several groups for a Tuesday night replacement. "All we can say is there will be a show at 8 p.m.

Tuesday. The talent lineup may not be complete until later we felt the board had finally broke loose from their stand," Miller said. The board must ratify the contract before it will be finalized, Miller said. He said he thinks they will wait to finalize it at a regular school board meeting. The next board meeting is scheduled for Sept.

12. The teachers had asked for a base pay increase from $10,500 to $11,000. Local 1956 is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers. School officials could not be reached. school, saying a new school would cause congestion.

For the second referendum, the board took options on a site just west of the city on Illinois 152. The CDB increased its grant to meet the additional expenses of buying the property. The cost of the $1.15 million bond issue to taxpayers would be an average of 29 cents per $100 equalized assessed valuation for each of 15 years, Whitecotton said. The cost would be 33 cents per $100 the first year and would decrease as the principal is paid, Whitecotton said. The district wants to build the middle school so it can close two westside elementary schools, Lincoln and McKinley, which do not meet state safety standards.

The district is now on a one-year extension of a five-year state waiver on a fire escape at one of the schools. The district also would close Paradise Prairie School, several miles outside the city limits, which houses kindergarten classes. Parents of kindergarten-aged children have been concerned about the small children being bused out of town each morning. The two elementary schools are older buildings which need extensive repair if their use is to continue, officials say. Whitecotton said the latest attempt to pass the referendum involved a more vigorous campaign than the relatively "low-key" May bond election.

Volunteers conducted a door-to-door campaign to explain issues, he said. WTiitecotton said that the cost of advertisements for the bond issue were financed by private citizens, not district funds. Earlier this month, the school board hired the Illinois School Consulting Service to help promote passage of the bond referendum. The district agreed to pay the firm $5,000 if the referendum failed, and the firm will provide consulting services to the district for three years should another referendum be held. Photos by ED GREER day night show in 1977, fair officials said.

Tonight's stage attractions are Ronnie Milsap and Billy "Crash" Craddock, with shows scheduled for 6 p. m. and 9 p. m. By Karen Koine Of The Southern Illinoisan Du Quoin Unit School District 300 officials may make a third attempt to persuade voters to approve a $1.15 million bond issue, which could provide money to match a $1.49 million state grant to build a new middle school.

Du Quoin voters on Saturday defeated the bond issue by an unofficial margin of 105 votes. The vote was Last May, the bond issue was defeated District Superintendent Jacob White-cotton said today that he is asking the state Capital Development Board for another 30-day extension on the grant. If the extension is granted, the district board of education would have 30 days to decide whether to apply for a 90-day extension to hold another referendum. The decision on granting the extensions must be made by the Capital Development Board, which has offered the state grant for the new school. However, Whitecotton said he thinks the district has a good chance to receive the extension because the vote was so close.

"We were happy to see the increase in yes' votes, because we had a tremendous amount of citizens working on it," Whitecotton WTiitecotton said he believes the affirmative vote would have been bigger if the election had not conflicted with the Du Quoin State Fair. However, the district was limited in when it could hold the election because of time requirements set by the Capital Development Board. After the defeat in May, the district applied for and received first the 30-day, then the 90-day extension. The district located and took options on a new site for the school because one of the, primary objections to the bond issue in the first defeat was the proposed location. The first time the bond issue was offered, -the school was to be built in a parking lot adjacent to the high school.

Neighbors opposed construction of the 7 exhibit by the Lake Shelbyville Conservation Corps. Rogers shared Sunday night billing with singer Dottie West. Their two shows drew a total of 8.940 per sons, slightly less than the Sun- i the horses hoov track in shape through the last race on Monday. He calls the Du Quoin track one of the best in the country. "That's why the horses get good times here.

The track is going to be in real good shape again this year, so I think there will be some real fast times." The Du Quoin track is one of the few remaining clay tracks in the country. Most tracks are covered with a mixture of stone chips and stone dust, and no dirt is showing. Those coverings are used because they make the track an all-weather surface, Coons said. "The best tracks, though, are the clay tracks. It's a pleasure to work at Du Quoin because fair president Bill Hayes is willing to spend whatever is necessary to have a' great track," Coon said.

4 Coon said he's spent most of his time on the road, traveling from track to track to serve as During the past several months, he has traveled to Italy, Germany, Sweden and Russia to work as a consultant. He has worked as a consultant for the past 15 years. Not part of the act A snake is not part of the country music singer's act, but Kenny Rogers, left, took time Sunday night to meet "Walter," a hog nose snake who was brought backstage at the Du Quoin State Fair by Leanne Cruitt from an urn track By DeMaris Berry Of The Southern Illinoisan Auto racing at the Du Quoin State Fair had been completed only a few hours Sunday when consultant Charles Coon began his job converting the track surface to conditions suitable for harness racing. Coon, 50, of Pontiac, is one of about six track consultants in the United States. Two of the six are his sons, Gregory, 26, and Dan, 22.

Calcium that was added to the track for Saturday's and Sunday's auto races must be eliminated because it can harm Tuesday at the fair Show will go The Du Quoin State Fair will have a Tuesday night show but who will going fill in for Andy Gibb remained uncertain today. Fair officials reported over the weekend that Gibb was forced to cancel a scheduled Tuesday night appearance due to illness. Fair President W. R. "Bill" Haves re Arson suspected in hospital dormitory fire Anna (AP) Arson is suspected in a fire that heavily damaged a dormitory room at the Anna Mental Health and Developmental Center Sunday.

"We have a feeling it was set," Administrator R.C. Steck said today. The fire occurred in a closet area of a four-bed room in a building housing 40 residents. A state fire investigator today was probing the debris to determine the cause. Prison foes to get ballot Centralia (AP) Opponents of a new medium-security prison near Centralia will, have a chance to get support from Clinton County residents at the polls Nov.

7, the county clerk says. County Clerk Trix Erlinger said Sunday that he has certified referendum petitions contaning 5,661 signatures. The Centralia Prison Opposition Group, collected nearly 1,000 more signatures than needed. The referndum, which will have no force of law, asks voters in the county if they want a state prison built in Clinton County. Ground preparation work has been done at the prison site just south of Kas-kaskia College.

But the office of Gov. James R. Thompson has given priority to a similar project in Hillsboro because the legislature did not authorize enough bonding capability for financing both projects. The prison opposition group has a lawsuit pending in U.S. District Court at Springfield to stop construction.

i I 'IS vr U.v-. 1 yV.viV,'.;x'' I.