3 AG CENTRAL ILLIHQIS Decatur, Illinois Saturday, January 6, 1990 class mwM to kmderaaiten Tyk fhrouoh a circle on a rug where the jobs for the day such as distributing snacks or feeding the class mascot, Rainbow, a guinea pig, are assigned. "The children learn through play," Helm said. "They will show me things and we build on that. We talk about shapes and colors. Language skills are improved throughout the day as we talk about different things." Children role play in an area stocked with McDonald's restaurant caps and shirts or at a tub of water stocked with plastic bottles.
The activities appear random but there is structure throughout the program, Helm said. For example, self-help skills are emphasized such as buttoning, zipping and tying. Youngsters have two pairs of shoes, inside and outside, and must change into the appropriate pair on entering or leaving the classroom. skills, language, physical coordination and understanding of abstract concepts and are ready to launch their school careers in kindergarten. That is the goal of Project Success, a new program begun Dec.
4 by the Argenta-Oreana School District at its kindergarten center on Forest Parkway south of Oreana. Teacher Jean Helm and aide Jean Pease, herself a certified teacher, shepherd nine 4-year-olds in the morning and 12 in the afternoon, and want more. "We have space for 16 children each session but the word hasn't gotten out yet about this program," Helm said Friday. Helm and other teachers went door-to-door in the Wilder Haven Mobile Home Park on Decatur's northeast side in late November seeking to recruit children for the free preschool program. They found only two.
"That was the day of the Decatur Christmas pa rade and a bad time for our canvass," said Ary Anderson, project coordinator and a teacher at Argenta Primary School. "We'll try again Jan. 12." An open house also is planned from 3 to 4 p.m. Jan. 30 at White School.
The Illinois State Board of Education provided the school district with a $36,132 grant to conduct Project Success. Bus transportation to and from the preschool also is provided. "My job is not to make this kindergarten," Helm said. "Parents get concerned that they're pushing their children with this program." Children are admitted to the program only after a screening that measures their development in the areas of motor, concepts and language skills, Helm said. A child must have a need to improve in one of these areas to qualify.
Each day's activities begin with children seated in Argenta-Oreana offers free preschool for 4-year-olds By RON INGRAM Herald Review Education Writer OREANA What is the recipe for starting children on the road to academic success? It could read like this: Begin with a small group of 4-year-olds. Add two dedicated teachers. Pour into a large room filled with creative play equipment in the basem*nt of White School. Mix thoroughly for 2Vz hours each weekday for six months. Result: Children who have improved their social They sat in office and had guts to divide money 4 jjt 3 i Charles and Vi Brown AGE: Charles, 56; Vi, 47.
OCCUPATION: He's co-owner of Brown Sons Inc. of Taylorville; she's retired as an employee of the company. MARRIED: 1972. RESIDENCE: They live above the building specialty shop, which is part of the Brown Sons complex on Springfield Road in Taylorville. CHILDREN: Four (each has two from previous marriages), all grown.
GRANDCHILDREN: Total of three. RELIGION: Both are members of the First Baptist Church of Taylorville; she is a deaconess there. FOSTER BACKGROUND: Licensed as foster placement parents Aug. 12 by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, took in their first foster child three days later. Have taken in a total of eight foster children since then at various times.
Continued from Page A1 rarely did without being asked. About 8:30 p.m., Vi Brown said, she heard a noise coming out of one of the bedrooms. She went in and found the window open and the boys gone. "I got on the phone and started calling the caseworkers (with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services), and Charlie went downstairs to check the vehicles and the safe," Vi Brown said. "Then he hollers up to me, 'We've been Charles Brown later discovered handwriting on some papers in his store office, including the numbers "2528" (apparently a mistaken count of the money in the safe) being divided by two.
"They had guts enough to sit in my damned office and divide the money," Brown said. The couple has taken in a total of eight temporary-placement foster children since receiving licensing from DCFS in August. Although Charles Brown hasn't yet decided whether he'll agree to take in any more children, his wife's opinion is already clear. "God puts you on this earth to do His work, and I'm going to continue to do His 1 work for as long as I can," she said. "But only for the younger kids no more 1 4 WnVSS 1 4if! :7.
ncident leaves bitterness 'St County now tests babies for drugs By JUDY TATHAM Herald Review Staff Writer Macon County already has been freely using drug screening tests to protect its babies born to drug-using mothers. A new state law, effective Jan. 1, will loosen some restraints for all 102 Illinois comities by allowing the tests to be used as evidence in court proceedings. But Decatur area medical authorities in recent months have been cooperating with prosecutors and state child care workers by reporting drug screens of newborns that show illicit drugs in the newborns' systems. The new law will relieve any apprehensions about reporting such cases, Assistant State's Attorney Kathy McClure says.
The result will be more neglect allegations brought against drug-using mothers in juvenile court. So far, the State's Attorney's Office has not brought any criminal charges against the mothers but that remains an option, McClure said. Last year, 2,200 Illinois babies suffered from drug addiction because of their mothers' use of illicit drugs. The vast majority were in Cook County, however, there were 12 cases brought to court in Macon County. Because hospital confinements may be only a day or so after birth, many of the effects of maternal drug use do not show up before babies go home- The new law means that babies that show no obvious signs of stress can still come under court protection because the illicit drugs will show up in blood or urine screening.
All newborns are not automatically tested, however. Those that will be tested include mothers who acknowledge their past drug abuse or authorities have reason to suspect the newborns are drug affected. Defense attorneys have said because of news stories about the potential harm for their babies, many mothers are beginning to acknowledge their past experiences in using drugs. Macon County residents also can expect to see more parents taken to juvenile court in future weeks as a result of drugs being readily available in their homes. Pending in juvenile court now are two neglect cases involving drug raids in the Longview housing project and the 1500 Block N.
Edward St. Children living in both residences were placed in foster homes after the raids. 1 I "2 i Vf (s KM linn SrnVi Charles Brown is "bitter" toward two foster children who allegedly stole $2,600 from him while staying at his home but that isn't where his bitterness ends. Brown on Friday also expressed anger at the Department of Children and Family Services for failing to disclose the boys' full criminal records. According the Christian County court documents, the 16-year-old, who is from Pana, was delinquent in connection with charges of theft, retail theft and burglary.
The charges involve three separate incidents since 1938. The background of the 14-year-old, who is from Taylorville, is unclear from court documents, but he reportedly has a disorderly conduct record. "They (DCFS) said they didn't know their previous records," said Brown, who was under the impression that the boys were on probation for relatively petty crimes. "I was completely unaware of it. The police officers all know about them, but old Charlie Brown didn't know.
"I trusted DCFS to give us children who needed a warm home children, not criminals." Photo by Doug Gaumon Christmas decorations, including this star, were taken down Friday from Central Park in Decatur. Landmark Mall worker Larry Kellogg removes a star from atop a waiting area. DCFS Spokesman Tom Teague said Friday the agency attempts to give foster parents a complete account of the children's criminal backgrounds, but admitted the system doesn't always work. "We try to tell the families as much as we can about the children, but in some situations, we may not know all of the background," Teague said. "Some of that information might not even be available to us." Vi Brown said she doesn't blame the agency for failing to disclose the boys' full criminal records.
"I know how busy they are." Both boys were supposed to go to the Spectrum Wilderness Program a juvenile delinquent "intervention" project which includes camping activities later this month. Local officials say the boys were to be placed in the program as an alternative to a sentence with the Illinois Department of Corrections. However, if convicted of the Brown theft, they will have little chance of avoiding a Department of Corrections juvenile center, sources said. KEVIN McDERMOTT Electric wire hurts firefighter Nurse assistant training to begin The fire, visible for seven miles, was discovered about 3:20 a.m. Friday, Wild-man said.
Firefighters from Monticello, Cerro Gordo and White Heath departments assisted the Bement crews for nearly two hours in extinguishing the flames and keeping the fire from spreading to another building three feet from the barn. Bement crews returned repeatedly Friday to extinguish straw that rekindled. No one was at the farm when the fire occurred and the cause was undetermined. An investigation will be conducted, Wildman said. No damage estimates were available, but the fire ruined numerous antiques and costumes, masks, props and some 1,600 bales of straw used in Halloween "haunted barn" events, Wildman said.
By JIM ALLEN Herald Review Staff Writer BEMENT A firefighter was seriously injured early Friday while battling a barn fire at the Tim Tracy farm about two miles north of Bement. A hospital spokeswoman at Covenant Medical Center in Urbana said late Friday that Bement Fire Protection District firefighter Kyle Rogers was listed in stable condition in the critical care unit. Rogers, one of the first firefighters on the scene, came in contact with an unseen, fallen power line that was "energized and lying on the ground," said Bement Fire Chief Russell Wildman. Emergency medical crews treated Rogers at the scene before taking him to Kirby Hospital in Monticello. Rogers later was transferred to Urbana.
Illinois Department of Public Health for employment in area nursing homes. Orientation for the classes will take place on Jan. 17, 18 and 19, and will consist of enrollment, testing and interviews for entry into the program. People interested in the class must attend the orientation sessions and should contact the Adult Education Center, 235-0361 for information. MATTOON The Mattoon Area Adult Education Center has announced its second semester free basic nurse assistant training class will begin Monday, Jan.
22. Classes will meet on most regular school days from 9:15 a.m. until noon at the Adult Education Center in Mattoon: Completion of the program will certify graduates with the Flu bug We Never Close! Suspects sought in two robberies Flu keeps doctors busy, floors patients Whether its a simple prescription, refill or a sophisticated I.Y therapy, well provide it for vou Were here every minute of every day Because DMH Express wants vou to have the STATUS: Sporadic flu outbreaks across the state, including Decatur. Illinois Department of Public Health doesn't rank it as either "major outbreak" or "epidemic." SYMPTOMS: Headache, fever, chest pain, coughs, severe body weakness, dizziness, sometimes fainting. HEALING: Prescription mantadine, if taken in first 24 to 48 hours, can speed recovery.
Flu runs course in three to seven days. Drink plenty of water and juices and rest in bed. Over-the-counter pain relievers and cough medicines can ease symptoms. TRANSMITTED: Airborne particles from coughing or hand-to-hand contact with victims. WARNINGS: Flu isn't life-threatening but in elderly and chronically ill patients can lead to pneumonia, which can be fatal in severe cases.
Aspirin-containing products, including cough syrups with aspirin, shouldn't be given to anyone 16 or younger to prevent the remote chance of developing Reye's syndrome. security of 24-hour serv ice around the clock. And if you're a DMH PrimeTimeSM member, you get a special discount. with the confidence of a hospital based facility We 11 even deliver prescrip tions to your doorstep (just Two separate strong-armed robberies took place on Decatur's near west side late Thursday. The first was at a convenience store at Oakland Avenue and Eldorado Street and the second occurred two hours later in the Blue Mill Restaurant parking lot.
James M. Keyes, the owner of the restaurant at Wood Street and Oakland Avenue, was scraping ice from his car when two men confronted him about 11:45 p.m. He was struck in the face and his wallet, watch and wedding ring was taken, according to Detective Sgt. Roy Glick. Two hours earlier a man sitting in a car at the Super Gas station, 1069 W.
Eldorado was the victim of a robbery when two men came to his car and jerked open a door. The pair demanded his wallet and one of them struck Glenn A Dewey, 26, in the face. The driver of the car then approached, apparently unaware of what had transpired. That man, Kevin Schoening, 25, of Urbana, was robbed of his wallet, Glick said. Glick said although the incidents were similar it is not known if the robberies are related.
By BURTON COLE Herald Review Staff Writer Doctors are busy with the flu. "There is something going around, that's for sure," said Dr. John Jessen, St. Mary's Hospital emergency room physician. "It really throws you for a loop." He estimates the emergency room has averaged a dozen cases a day since the holidays.
"This is different than somebody that comes in with a cold," he said. "A person is really sick with this stuff. Some of the basic symptoms are the same but these people are really weak, washed out and achy. "They usually have headache, fever sometimes over 104 but usually 101, 102 severe body aches, weakness, chest pains and coughs," Jessen said. "We're just about in the middle of season," he said; "So there's going to be a lot more people with it." Dr.
Andy Brenner, director of the Decatur Memorial Hospital emergency room, said, "We've been seeing a lot of it since the new year began. "Yesterday we probably had about nine cases on the ER side and about 35 on our MedExpress side," he said. "It's a little bit quieter today. "It could turn into an epidemic if two weeks from now we're still seeing it," he said. The Illinois Department of Public Health is isolating the virus causing this rash.
"We have identified an A-strain but we haven't identified the subgroup yet," said Mary Huck, health department public information officer. "For all practical purposes, it won't matter much to the person who gets it. You feel just as bad with one as the other." The variety matters for vaccinations. The vaccines are prepared in advanced based on the best estimates medical science can offer on the varieties that will be around the coming flu season. "Usually it's incredibly on target," Huck said.
"But there might be a strain appearing this year that this vaccine doesn't protect against." That won't be known for another couple weeks while the health department continues tests on flu culture samples. "It's none of the common strains we know of," said Jessen. "The ones they are testing for they haven't found." call between 9 a.m. and 3 30 p.m.) The DMH Express Pharmacy NOW Open At the DMH Emergency Care Center EXPRESS fj I I fl PHARMACY Flu is particularly hard on patients with already weakened immune systems, such as the elderly and chronically ill. At least one nursing home, the Americana Healthcare Center, 444 W.
Harrison is discouraging visitors after the flu swept through the premises this week. A service of riecauir Memorial Hospital 23X) North Edward Street Decatur. II. 62S26 FAX at 8144 Ext 6281 VH-A. Membef ot Voluntary Hosortals of America Inc.
