Alton Telegraph (Newspaper) - August 28, 1994, Alton, Illinois INDEX Ann Bulletin Sunday Property Wheels Vol 159 22 Sections No 179 270 Pages Illini to kick off football season at Soldier Field Local shutterbugs snap up KINSA awards More than in coupon savings rfj ALTON ILLINOIS AUGUST Thundershower High 89 Low 68 Weather C12 ACLU calls loitering plan unconstitutional By JASON HILLERY Telegraph staff writer ALTON The American Civil Liberties Union says the citys proposed ordi nance doesnt have constitution al legs to stand on ACLU of Illinois spokeswoman Valerie Phillips said under such an ordinance people could be charged for participating in nor mally legal activities The basic problem with it is that it criminalizes activities that otherwise would be Phillips said Similar ordi nances have been struck down in federal The proposed ordinance which has been robustly by some black leaders as being a potential tool for harass ment would allow officers to The BADMAN A group of people who attended the dedication Saturday of the Workers Memorial background at Gordon Moore Com munity Park read the names of union workers who have died on the Job Workers unveil memorial to workplace victims By MARY BRASE Telegraph staff writer ALTON Union workers vowed to step up the fight for the living Saturday as they unveiled a Workers Memorial statue honoring the dead This is a very special day for working said Rep Jerry Costello the key note speaker at dedication ceremonies in Gordon Moore Community Park This statue will stand as a permanent public memorial to those who lost their lives or were injured on the job It rep resents the losses and sacri fices of he said Several hundred union workers and their families sporting red green or gold Tshirts of some 80 unions in the Greater Madison County Federation of Labor faced an unrelenting sun and cheered the words of labor leaders and politicians with flags Then iron worker Ken Myers lifted the canvas to reveal an 8foot granite statue of a worker with a hard hat and lunch bucket The dedication was part of a Labor Day celebration that began at 10 with a parade through Upper Alton and end ed with a picnic and Softball tournament in the The festivities are held a week ear ly to avoid conflicts with other labor celebrations on Labor Day weekend Myers pushed for union workers to build the memorial and for donors to contribute money and materials to finish the landscaped site near the park entrance off Illinois Route 140 A trio of flagpoles D See MEMORIAL Page A2 The BADMAN An excited 3yearold Crystal Stephens of Wood River hangs onto the hand of her mother Teresa Stephens as she watches candy from a Labor Parade float land nearby arrest people if they are found to meet more than one of several criteria Criteria include previ ous drug convictions or being in a area or home known for drug activity You can be somewhere where there is drug activity youre mere presence doesnt mean youre breaking the Phillips said Corporation Counselor Chris Moore who drafted the ordi nance at the request of Police Chief Jones said he planned to meet with ordinance critics this week I plan to meet with the people to look over the ordinance and frankly I expect there will be significant changes made in the ordinance to reflect the concerns of the Moore said he believes the ordinance as written would sur vive a constitutional challenge It is based on a California law that has withstood state court scrutiny he said Phillips called one of the crite ria standing within six feet of a car registered to a known drug dealer really You can stand within six feet of a drug dealers car and not even know it You can be in the car and have no idea that the drivers a drug James Gray president of the Alton branch of the National Association for the Advance ment of Colored People and Mexico resident Robert Shep pard have also questioned the constitutionality of the proposed ordinance Sheppard said he D See LOITERING Page A2 Talks in school strike stretch on By LINDA N WELLER For The Telegraph EDWARDSVILLE School contract negotiators remained at the bargaining table late into Saturday night trying to hammer out an agreement that would end a strike so classes could start During a break in the talks Assistant Superintendent Lau rie Kocur said Weve had sev eral hours of good She declined to guess how long the talks would continue or the chances for a proposed set Federal mediator Rog er Hendrix was meeting with the teacher union representatives administrators and Edwards ville School Board members When talks began at 3 about 40 parents teachers and children congregated outside administrative offices most expressing support for teachers demands for pay increases and a reduction in class sizes Some people dressed in the orange and black United for Education Tshirts they donned last fall to push for the success ful referendum to build the new high school Some motorists honked in support Bev Goodman of Edwardsville said she wore her shirt because it is the high schools colors and she would be noticed A teacher in Collinsville she also may be striking next week but she said her concern Saturday was with getting her three children back in school Teachers are traditionally she said This is just another example of where children in our country are undervalued Teachers here have not had a decent pay raise in quite awhile Always it is teachers who are the last to be Parent Jim Van Hook said he was neutral on the strike although thinking of leaning slightly toward the teachers position He said he was upset that Edwardsville High School had to forfeit its football game Friday night to Highland which also happened to his team when he was in high school None of this is worth keeping our kids out of he said I see some of it as frivolous some are legitimate issues But D See SCHOOL Page A2 Study cites 47 drainage problems By JACK M FARMER Telegraph staff writer GODFREY The villages Capital Projects Task Force faces a holy task in ranking 37 storm water drainage improve ments and may need the wis dom of Solomon to do so The panel has been forwarded a copy of a study outlining vil lage drainage problems that could cost million to fix and has scheduled a public meeting at 8 Monday Sept 12 at Godfrey Town Hall to review the study The report which identifies 47 drainage problems 10 of which are not considered to be the villages responsibility is a tool Mayor Lars Hoffman said It has become if you will our bible I hope it lasts through this administration There are some projects that will not be done in my he said Some residents who have suf years of storm water woes are devout in their beliefs about needed repairs Hoffman said he realizes not all residents will be pleased with the study especially those swamped by the 10 drainage problems that are not consid ered the villages responsibility Were coming back to the people in an honest manner Weve gone through the vision plans weve gone through the law and weve found we dont have a he said Task Force Chairman and Trustee Maurice Moe Juhlin said he expects large crowds to attend upcoming meetings but he hopes residents will be rea sonable while lobbying for proj ect rankings Hopefully we wont get into people bringing in raw sewage and things like that that have happened he said I expect crowds but I dont think O See DRAINAGE Page A2 Wayne Draper walks on a trail through the Tremont sewage lago Tremont Lane In Godfrey The village will sell pieces of the refurbished lagoon for to adjacent landowners Lush back yards may rise from lagoon By JACK M FARMER Telegraph staff writer GODFREY Homeowners around the Tre mont sewage lagoon could see green in more ways than one after it is demolished this fall The Village Board is reviewing a proposal by Mayor Lars Hoffman to offer 36 property owners who encircle the lagoon a portion of the land for apiece Not only would their back yards grow and become more attractive after the lagoon is land scaped but the value of their homes may increase if they take part in the land grab Hoffman said Essentially people will be getting very large back lots that will increase the value of their he said However Assessor Eldon Twirp Williams said it is unlikely the home values would rise at least on the property tax rolls Basically from the plans Ive seen youre adding a piece of ground that would lengthen the properties It wouldnt give them frontage just depth which wouldnt add any value Their taxes would stay the same Im not going to change the value of their Hoffman said If they bought land for by my light their taxes wouldnt be affected at all I think theyre way Village Attorney Jim Sinclair said he is researching how to sell the lagoon Were still looking into it Basically were looking to dispose of it as surplus Residents who live around the lagoon have been plagued by stench snakes and other health hazards The villages Capital Projects Task Force made demolishing the lagoon its No 1 project in early 1993 Homeowners said they are pleased with the D See LAGOON Page A2 Old name attached to new Berm extension By JASON HILLERY writer ALTON Front Street has been pushed back in the river front order of things City officials have decided to dub the Berm Highway exten sion to Downtown as Piasa Street The Piasa will extend from Ninth Street past West Broadway by Lincoln Douglas Square and all the way past the Clark Bridge to East Broadway near Fast Eddies BonAir tavern Piasa Street signs have recent ly gone up at the roads intersec tions with Henry and Ridge streets near the Clark Bridge When the extension is com probably this fall Front Street will be one way westward between Henry and Market streets Although Fronts name is no longer apt Mayor Bob D See BERM Page A2 Note The street indicated in red is now designated as Piasa Street
