6-20-2008

 

SPECIAL BOND COUNTY BOARD MEETING

 

The Bond County Board held a special meeting Thursday morning at the Court House.  The only item on the agenda was consideration on a rezoning issue to allow Todd Goodin to build a recycling center in Pleasant Mound Township.  The property needed to be rezoned from A 1 to I 3.  Some residents were on hand to voice concerns about any possible run off into local well water.  Goodin said that the new building would have a dedicated septic system and there would be no direct run off into surrounding ground.  The board gave its approval 4-0.  Goodin told WGEL that he plans on starting construction in the next few weeks. 

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FCI COMMUNITY BOARD

 

The Greenville Federal Correctional Institution hosted their quarterly community board meeting Thursday and took the local board on a tour of their UNICOR plant where inmates manufacturer uniforms for the Army. All UNICOR facilities and their staff, in 79 federal prisons nationwide, must, by law, produce products for sale to other government agencies at competitive pricing, quality and delivery schedules with private companies, and they must cover all their expenses including staff and inmate salaries from proceeds from their enterprises. Inmates are paid from $.23 cents to $1.15 per hour, depending on their job skills and any inmate owing fines or restitution must give up 50 percent of his or hers earnings to go toward those fines or restitution's. Inmates who work at UNICOR facilities learn valuable job skills and have a 24 percent less chance of returning to prison after they are released. 

 

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GOVERNOR ADDS TWO MORE COUNTIES TO DISASTER AREA DECLARATION

 

Governor Blagojevich added two more counties to the state's declaration of disaster areas on Tuesday.  Madison and Knox counties were added to the list due to severe flooding.  According to the Governor's office, Madison County was included in the declaration in anticipation of even heavier flooding along the Mississippi River.  To date, 19 counties have been declared disaster areas by the Governor, and over 1000 Illinois National Guard troops have been activated to assist with sandbagging and other flood preparation efforts. 

EPPICARD USERS TARGETED FOR E-SCAMS

 

If you use an EPPICard, beware of E-scams designed to acquire personal information.  An EPPICard is similar to a debit card, issued by a state agency for the purpose of receiving child-support payments.  Reports have been received of E-mail or text messages indicating problems with accounts or requesting completion of a survey.  Responders are directed to a fraudulent web site where personal information is compromised.  If you have an EPPICard, be cautious of unsolicited E-mails.  Do not open E-mails from unknown senders because they often contain viruses or other malicious software.  If you have received an E-mail similar to this, contact authorities at www.ic3.gov.

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