"CONNECT HIGHLAND"
The City of Highland has taken the first step in considering the formation of Highland’s own
telecommunications utility to provide more economical, more reliable, and better service for TV,
phone, and internet needs. There are many questions to be answered, many things to consider.
Why is Highland considering this?
The use of fiber optics is not readily available
to Highland now, and, as of early 2008,
agencies currently serving the area have no
plans to provide fiber optics to Highland.
Many residents are dissatisfied with current
services and available options
How will we pay for it?
No tax dollars will be used for this project.
Services will be paid for by users. Users
will have the choice to use the Highland
utility for telephone, television, and internet
— all three, maybe just one, or none. Users
may choose to stay with the providers they
now use for cable TV, telephone or internet
connection. Users might have a combination
of current services and new Highland
services. Each household can decide what
is best for them.
How much will it cost users?
If the research being done by the committee
shows that Highland cannot offer better,
more reliable service at a lower cost than is
currently available, the City will not establish
the utility. In other words, the Highland
owned/operated services have to be better
and cheaper for users or the City will not
connect Highland with fiber optic cables.
If the utility is established, it is estimated that
within less than 10 years, the new Highland
telecommunications utility will make a
profit, thereby offering residents lower costs
for these and other city services.
How will the City decide?
Highland’s Connect Highland committee
includes over 40 knowledgeable members
who will make a recommendation to the
City Council. This committee, along with
2 experienced consultants, is researching
whether or not to recommend the City
establish a fiber optic telecommunications
service by asking specific questions:
• Under what conditions would it make sense?
• What are the associated risks and rewards for Highland?
• What is the plan for long-term up-keep and maintenance?
• What kind of redundancy (backup) will be needed to ensure no downtime?
• Will this improve the quality of life for users and create new business opportunities?
Isn’t this a big project?
Connect Highland is one of those
monumental decisions that will affect the
life of Highland residents for generations to
come. Connect Highland is a big project, a
big step, but one that has the potential to give
you, your children, and your grandchildren a
quality of life that is consistent with the proud
history of Highland.
"Ordinance NO. 1167"
(Summarized) To Save Energy :)
An ordinance Authorizing the operation of Golf Carts and Utility-Terrain
Vehicles on streets under the jurisdiction of the city of Breese, IL has been
ordained by the city council on May 6, 2008. The city of Breese has considered the
volume, speed and character of the traffic on the streets and determined that,
qualified golf carts and utility-terrain vehicles may safely operate on the
streets within the city's jurisdiction.
Definition of "Golf Cart"?
A "Golf Cart", as defined in the ordinance, means a vehicle specifically
designed and intended for the purposes of transporting one or more persons and
their golf clubs or maintenance equipment while engaged in the playing of golf,
supervising the play of golf or maintaining the condition of the grounds on a
public or private golf course.
Definition of "Utility-Terrain Vehicle"?
"Utility-Terrain Vehicle" shall mean a self-propelled, electronically powered
four-wheeled motor vehicle or a self-propelled gasoline powered four wheeled
motor vehicle with an engine displacement under 1,200 c.c.'s which is capable of
attaining in one mile a speed of more than 20 miles per hour but not more than
25 miles per hour and which conforms to the federal regulations under Title 49
C.F.R. Part 571.500.
Requirements.
Proof of Insurance
Certified with the City via inspection of the P.D.
Must
Comply with the published "Rules concerning Alternate Transportation For The
City of Breese" as updated
Must display a city decal
Must have a current,
valid, Illinois drivers license
Must be 21 Years of Age
Must not operate
in Excess of Posted Speed Limits
May only be operated between sunrise and
sunset
May not be operated "Under The Influence"
Must have a permit
attained from the City Clerks office for a small fee of $35.00
"Golf Carts" Must Be Equipped as Follows
Horn
Brakes and Brake Lights
Turn Signals
A Steering Wheel Apparatus
Tires
A Rearview Mirror
Approved "Slow Moving Vehicle" emblem on the rear
Headlight
Tail Lamp
"Utility-Terrain Vehicle" Must Be Equipped as Follows
Brakes and Brake Lights
Turn Signals
A Steering Wheel Apparatus
Tires
A Rearview Mirror
Approved "Slow Moving Vehicle" emblem on the rear
Headlight
Tail Lamp
"Wet or Dry?"
Lifting the Ban on the Sale of
Alcohol
ST. LOUIS
POST-DISPATCH
07/31/2008
GREENVILLE —
Buck Buchanan was one of the first people
Wednesday to do what no one at the Bond County Fair has ever done. He bought a cold beer.
"It's pretty good," he said, sipping his $1.50 Bud Light. "We've had beer out
here at the fair for years. It just wasn't legal."
The fair is selling beer for the first time in its 60-year history. Part of the
fairgrounds is now on alcohol-friendly Bond County turf. The rest of the fair is
inside the city limits of Greenville, which has been dry for as long as anyone
can remember.
But that, too, could change. A petition drive is under way to let voters decide
whether to allow alcohol to be sold in the city. About 800 signatures are needed
at City Hall by Aug. 6.
"We wanted the voters to tell us what we should do," Greenville City Manager
David E. Willey said.
Greenville is one of the few towns in the metro area with a ban on the sale of
alcohol. Voters here last addressed the issue in 1973. They upheld the ban.
Not surprisingly, the new addition to the fair has stirred some discussion.
"I had enough nerve to try and do it," said Mike Nevinger, the former commander
of Bond County Memorial VFW Post 1377, which is serving the first of the brews.
"Greenville has always been dry, and things are changing slowly. We're trying to
make sure this is done with good taste and without any kind of problems. We just
want people to enjoy themselves and enjoy the fair."
A lot of people here, though, think a cold one could kill the fun.
Greenville, population 7,000, is home to historic Greenville College, a Free
Methodist school where alcohol is prohibited.
Many residents like it that way. They don't mind the idea of alcohol so much,
they just like Greenville the way it is. But they didn't want to be quoted. They
said the issue is a touchy one, and they don't want to contribute to the
divisiveness.
While grainy black and white pictures of the town's old square show a saloon or
two, the city has been dry since May 21, 1908, according to a story that
appeared at the time in The Greenville Advocate. "It will be a long time between
drinks in Greenville," the story started. The ordinance banning alcohol was
"believed to be the strongest ordinance regarding alcohol passed in the city."
It must have been. It's lasted 100 years.
There are still stories floating around about the days when booze was sold here.
Like the time in the 1890s, when a joint on the southwest side of town called
the Buzzard's Roost sold alcohol. A big fight broke out there one night and shut
the place down.
Others recall a restaurant called the Purity. The fellow who owned it made candy
there and sold beer behind the counter after Prohibition. It closed years ago,
said Bill Davidson, a local historian.
Nevinger doesn't expect any trouble — at least not at the fair. He pushed for
beer sales so the command post could raise money to support more local groups
and soldiers overseas.
But business was slow Wednesday when the beer tent opened at 3 p.m. Steady rain
kept many away. The beer is confined to a beer garden, far from other fair
activities. It sits near where the traveling Vietnam Wall is expected to be on
display.
The beer tent is now possible because the Bond County Fair Association recently
bought 16 acres in the county, adjacent to the 60-acre fairgrounds within the
city limits. The county isn't dry, so the association voted to allow beer sales
in the county section of the fairgrounds. Even that vote was closely divided.
The 12-member board passed the measure 6-5. The president doesn't vote.
"We're going to see how things go," said Craig Woker, president of the fair
association. "This is not a decision that was made lightly. A lot of thought
went into it. And after this much time, there are still people in the town that
don't like it."
Gerald Ammann, vice president of the board, supported the measure for the money
it could make for the VFW.
"I think people should have the right if they want to drink to be able to do
it," he said. "We'll see how it all works."
Meanwhile, the Greenville Growth and Opportunity Committee is running the
petition drive, and coordinator Keith Moran believes supporters will have enough
signatures. If they do, the issue will be on the November ballot.
"I think a significant amount of Greenville residents believe this to be an
economic development issue," he said. "Overall, the city hasn't been able to
recruit enough business into the area, recruit enough jobs into the area. One of
those issues could be the fact that the city doesn't allow the sale of alcoholic
beverages."
Buchanan, one of the fair's inaugural legal beer drinkers, isn't sure alcohol
sales will start a boom for Greenville. He's in favor of legalizing it, but he
knows a lot of people are against change.
Woker said: "Sometimes you don't want to jump into things. You don't want to
alienate people. But sometimes you just have to try it."
"You
Decide"
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