Push for Ballot Measure Angers Robey - The Washington Post

The debate over a Republican plan to have Howard County votersdecide whether it should be more difficult to raise taxes could get abit nasty.

County Council members Christopher J. Merdon (R-Northeast County)and Allan H. Kittleman (R-West County) are asking the Democratic-controlled council to approve a measure for the November ballot, acharter amendment requiring four of the five council members to agreeto future tax increases.

In an interview with The Washington Post last week, CountyExecutive James N. Robey (D) suggested the two council members werejust tired of being in the minority.

'When extremists decide through hook or crook they are going toeliminate the will of the majority, it's a problem,' Robey said.

If the council rejects the measure, as expected, Merdon andKittleman have vowed to work with the Howard County TaxpayersAssociation and the county Republican Party to gather the 10,000signatures needed to force the issue onto the ballot anyway.

The Republicans say they're pushing the issue because Robey is tooquick to raise taxes.

'When you don't have an argument on an issue, you start name-calling, and if that is the way he wants to debate the issue, thereis nothing I can do about it,' Kittleman said this week of Robey'scomments. He also said the executive is trying to scare voters intoopposing the measure by telling them that services could be cut.

Besides seeing it as bad public policy, Robey believes thereferendum would be an attack on his management skills. He said hehad no choice but to raise the income tax this year because thecounty would not have been able to pay its annual debt payments forbonds or its increased employee health insurance premiums.

Robey also accused Merdon and Kittleman of trying to use thereferendum to bolster their political careers. Both council membersare eyeing the county executive's job in 2006, when Robey can't runagain because of term limits.

'I don't think for a second this is not geared toward the 2006elections,' Robey said.

But Merdon denied that, saying: 'I think the Democrats' raisingtaxes five times in six years is a valid enough issue to run on.'

Both council members, however, can expect a continued drubbingfrom the county executive should the measure make it onto the ballot.'I believe the people of Howard County are too smart to followsomeone who leads by misleading,' Robey said.

When husband and wife Craig and Jeannette Lussi wait for the startof the 21st Columbia Triathlon on Sunday at Centennial Park, they'llbe joined by their 10-year-old son, Hunter, who also will swim, bikeand run in what is not his first, but so far his biggest, triathlon.

'Where else do I get to spend four solid hours with my son, whereI can do [the events] with him?' said Lussi, 42, a Montgomery Countyresident who with his wife is competing in their fifth ColumbiaTriathlon.

Intense athletic competition is a Lussi family tradition. Craig'sgrandfather, Gustav Lussi, was a renowned coach of Olympic figureskating champions in Lake Placid, N.Y. His father, Craig M. Lussi,competed in ski jumping in the 1960 Olympics.

'I skated literally before I could walk,' Lussi said.

During the triathlon, the Lussis' 9-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son are spending the day with their grandmother, Nancy Lussi, whotwo years ago learned to water ski at age 65.

When Bernadene Hallinan-Smith arrived at Howard Community Collegein 1971 to lead a brand-new nursing program, she knew graduates wouldneed a special event to mark their entry into nursing. In 1974, thefirst graduates received a pin with the college's emblem during aceremony organized by the students.

Through 30 years, the pinning ceremony has been an annual rite ofpassage for 1,917 graduates of the college's two-year nursingprogram.

Tomorrow, Hallinan-Smith will attend the latest pinning ceremonyto congratulate 39 new graduates and urge them to improve the healthcare system.

Hallinan-Smith, 79, was director of the program for 10 years untilher retirement in 1981.

Harriet Tubman High School was built as an all-black school in thedays before integration, but the name was never placed upon thebuilding.

That has always felt like a racist snub to the school's proudstudents and faculty.

'It always has been a sore point,' said alumnus Howard Lyles.

Now 40 years after the school closed, Tubman will finally get itsdue.

County school system officials say they will officially unveil newlettering on the building, spelling out the school's name at aceremony at 9 a.m. next Thursday.

'When I first heard the news, I said, 'Hallelujah, thank God!' 'Lyles said.

The old school building, adjacent to Atholton High School onFreetown Road, is being used for Head Start classes and storage.

But it is also seen as a cultural shrine by members of the HarrietTubman Foundation, including Lyles, the group's president.

The foundation, which had lobbied long for the name, is hopingthat someday the county will turn over the building so it can betransformed into an African American cultural center.

A dozen of Howard County's outstanding Hispanic high schoolseniors were scheduled to be honored Tuesday evening at Oakland MillsHigh School at the third annual Conexiones Convocation.

Conexiones, a Columbia-based volunteer organization, is dedicatedto promoting scholastic excellence among local Hispanic studentsthrough mentoring, tutoring, field trips and cultural events.

It has a fledgling scholarship fund that provided those beinghonored this year with checks of about $100 each to help themcontinue their educations.

The students being honored are Jessica Pagan of Atholton HighSchool; Daniel Felipe Gonzalez of Centennial High School; M. RyanCorces-Zimmerman of Glenelg High School; Sophia Berruz of HammondHigh School; Janelle Henry and Florencia Cecilia Vasta of Howard HighSchool; Laura Figueroa, Patricia Figueroa and Pablo Morales of LongReach High School; Jeffrey Morales of Mount Hebron High School; ErikaSiles of Oakland Mills High School; and Jason Barrero of River HillHigh School.

Joseph W. Donahoe - Telegraph - Herald (Dubuque)

DARLINGTON, Wis. - Joseph W. Donahoe, 88, of Darlington, diedThursday, March 9, 2006, at Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County,following a brief illness.

Services will be at 11:30 a.m. Monday at Holy Rosary CatholicChurch, 104 E. Harriet St. Darlington, with the Rev. Randy Budnarofficiating. Burial will be at Holy Rosary Catholic Cemetery,Darlington. Friends may call from 3 to 7 p.m. Sunday at Steil CamachoFuneral Home, 206 E. Harriet St., Darlington, where there will be arosary service at 3 p.m.

He was born on June 25, 1917, on the family farm in KendallTownship, son of Michael and Bridget (Deery) Donahoe. He married AnnaMcDonald on April 30, 1946.

He graduated from Pleasant View One Room School House in 1931, andgraduated from Belmont High School in 1935. He worked on the familyfarm with his brother and often on neighbors farms. He was involvedin 4-H projects. In August 1940, Joe attended the Reppert School ofAuctioneering in Decatur, Ind., where he was inducted into the Hallof Fame in 1998.

Following graduation, he returned to the family farm to begin hisauction career, conducting his first farm sale on Oct. 30, 1940.

He was inducted into the Army on March 13, 1941, with Company D738th MP Battalion. He was discharged on Aug. 21, 1945, after hisoriginal tour of duty had been extended to 4 years, 5 months and 8days. During his Army service, Joe earned the American DefenseRibbon; the American Campaign Medal; Good Conduct Medal; SouthernPacific Campaign Ribbon; World War II Victory Medal; PhilippineLiberation Medal with one Bronze Star; US Meritorious Unit AwardEmblem; Philippine Presidential Unit Citation; six overseas stripesand one longevity stripe.

As an auctioneer after the war, one of his first sales was at theSouthern Wisconsin Junior Livestock Show in Madison, in October 1945.He was to continue as an auctioneer at this event for 51 continuousyears, retiring after completing his last sale in September 1995.

In 1947, Joe was elected to the City Council of Darlington. Thatsame year, he joined the National Society of Auctioneers, whichbecame the National Auctioneers Association, (NAA) in 1949. In 1969,Joe was elected Director of the NAA and was inducted into its Hall ofFame in 1983.

In 1948, in conjunction with two partners, he built the BelmontLivestock Market Sale Barn which is still in operation today.

He sold the first livestock sale at the Wisconsin State Fair in1954, and served on the State Department of Agricultural HealthAdvisory Commission in 1960 and 1961.

He joined the Wisconsin Auctioneers Association, (WAA) in 1955,and served as its president in 1959, and 1960, where he was awardedthe first Auctioneer of the Year award in 1962. He was inducted tothe WAA Hall of Fame in 1994.

He was elected Commander of the local Veterans of Foreign WarsPost 5268, after having served as Quartermaster of the originalestablishment of the post. He also served as Commander of the BatesO'Brien Howe Wiegel American Legion Post 214 in 1946; he was thefirst World War II veteran to be commander. He received the VFWDistinguished Service Citation; Post Commander Citation as All StateCommander; and the VFW National Distinguished Award in 1986. He alsowas honored as a 50-year member of the local VFW Post and of theAmerican Legion Post in 1995.

He was appointed as the Site Selection Committee Chairman for thenew Darlington High School in 1963.

His career has been a rewarding one, and Joe thanks everyone thatcontributed to his success.

He was a member of Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Darlington.

Surviving are his beloved wife, Anna, at home; his children, Mary(Dean) Rugotska, of Madison, Pat (LuAnn) Donahoe and Ann (Bob) Long,both of Darlington, Monica (Dan Lynch) Donahoe, of Saukville, Steve(Kathy) Donahoe, of Livonia, Mich., Kay (Pat Fitzsimons) Donahoe, ofMonroe, and Jeff Donahoe, of Vietnam; 12 grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; two sons, Bob Donahoe, in1952, and Dick Donahoe, in 1975; a sister, Cecilia Donahoe; and abrother, Vincent Donahoe.

Roundabout route to the rehabilitation of cannabis; Increasing numbers of people are frustrated with being criminalised for using drug.(News) - Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales)

Byline: RICHARD EVANS

RARELY has a small, green herb been the focus of so much attention - cannabis divides opinion like few other plants.

The Victorians, for all their perceived prudery, took the view that cannabis was 'no more worthy of banning than candy floss'.

Indeed, Queen Victoria regularly used cannabis preparations to help ease her period pains.

The plant was first introduced into Western medicine in the 1840s by English doctors working in India, who used cannabis for pain relief.

It was found to be particularly effective in palliating the pains of childbirth.

By 1890, a report by the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission (IHDC) had concluded, 'Ganja is neither appreciably harmful nor in any manner addictive.'

Cannabis, marijuana, hemp and all other derivatives of the plant were thus entirely free of legal prescription in Britain until 1928, although in the 19th Century it was not cannabis but the far more potent opium that became the illicit drug of choice.

But an incident as close to home as Cardiff began to change perceptions of the weed.

In 1922 three sisters were found half dressed and unconscious in the company of Chinese musician, Yee Sing - better known as Johnny Hop - in a sealed room full of opium smoke above a Tiger Bay laundry.

By the time the story made the papers, the opium had been changed to 'an Oriental love potion made from hashish, used to subdue white ladies.'

In the police inquiry that followed, the words 'opium' and 'cannabis' were used interchangeably.

Despite the evident confusion over which substance had been involved, the British public began to fear cannabis.

Non-medical use of cannabis was first banned in the UK in 1928, after South African and Egyptian delegates at a Geneva Convention conference on narcotics persuaded the other countries that consumption of the weed caused insanity.

The idea was popularised by the United States in the 1930s and 1940s, largely through the work of the zealous head of the Narcotics Bureau, Harry Anslinger.

His public information film Reefer Madness was especially influential, though even President Franklin D Roosevelt confessed he found its storyline of a group of healthy teens going on a rampage of violence after sharing a single joint 'absurd' and 'unrealistic nonsense.'

But in both the US and the UK, the prohibition continues to this day, though in recent years indications of a more relaxed attitude to cannabis have proliferated.

In total, over 8.5 million people in Britain have tried it at least once, and roughly three million use it on an occasional basis.

The rehabilitation of cannabis has taken a roundabout route.

The ban had the effect of sending cannabis underground, and the Beat generation of the 1950s, the hippies of the 1960s, and black jazz musicians throughout, claimed the weed as their counter-cultural emblem.

Ironically, Anslinger and his ilk can be argued to have to precipitated this process.

The Reefer Madness period of the establishment's attitude to cannabis brought the plant to the attention of far more people than would ever have been aware of it otherwise.

Although its production and import for recreational use were slowly beginning to pick up, most were simply ignorant of it, there being no such thing as a working class cannabis culture until very recently.

The wider social and political revolutions that dawned in the 1960s made that generation less tolerant of state intervention into what they saw as their own business - 'Don't police my consciousness' became a popular slogan.

From being unaware of cannabis, to being told not to smoke it, to defiantly doing just that - it's a classic cycle, repeated throughout history by different civilisations at different times with different prohibitions.

And this was the method by which a plant seen until the 1920s as a mild but benign relaxant was turned into a potent symbol of anti-establishment rebellion.

And on the subject of madness, recent health studies have concluded that while excessive consumption of cannabis may potentially exacerbate the symptoms of those who already suffer from mental illness, there is no evidence that it can actually bring about mental illness.

But decades have past since pot's countercultural days, and the public perception of cannabis has moved on yet again.

Now a joint is seen as the perfect accompaniment to a glass of wine and some relaxed conversation at a million middle class dinner parties across Blairite Britain.

The revival of cannabis among students in the 1980s and '90s - although without the ideological baggage of their 1960s counterparts - has had a profound effect on today's society.

As those students grew up, graduated, got jobs, began careers, started families, and became the new Britons of 2002, they saw no particular reason to stop smoking.

The idea of cannabis as a 'gateway' to harder drugs simply doesn't tally with the experience of millions of young professionals who enjoy challenging careers, fulfilling relationships, and all-round good, solid, middle-of-the-road lives while enjoying the odd joint on the weekend.

And increasing numbers of these people - many not so young anymore - are increasingly frustrated with being criminalised for it.

Softly, softly

POLICE in Lambeth, south London have been piloting a 'softly softly' scheme, where those caught in possession of small, personal-use quantities of cannabis are not arrested, only cautioned.

A sign of the times - after six months, 83 per cent of Lambeth residents have said they support the scheme.

In October the Home Secretary announced plans to downgrade cannabis to a Class C drug - the same class as mild tranquillisers and some anti-depressants.

The move is expected to be made this month, and among other things it will mean the police will lose the power to arrest anyone for cannabis possession.

All prosecutions will instead be carried out by court summons - as is the case with parking on a double yellow line.

It could well be that within another generation, out attitude to cannabis will be in line with our Victorian ancestors.

CAPTION(S):

DON'T VOTE IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND.(Viewpoint) - Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)

Byline: JILL STEWART Capitol Punishment

DON'T know? Don't vote! In most elections, once voters choose the ``top of ticket'' races for president and major candidates, roughly 20 percent fail to vote for state measures and lesser political races. These people are often called lazy.

I stand in praise of drop-off voters. They are Ballot Box Grown-ups. They wouldn't dream of accidentally voting for a cause that, if they knew more, they would in fact hotly oppose. The real turkeys are the earnest types who complete their ballots, not knowing what they just voted for.

This befuddled bunch, out in force on Nov. 2, will exercise its right to participate in ... God knows what. They are urged on by noxious do-gooders who call such activity ``democracy.'' No, it's not. It's dumb-ocracy.

California's 16 ballot measures, freighted with murky language and unintended consequences, only encourage the Clueless Guessers. How about this: After you've voted for stuff you truly know something about, resist being ``part of the process.''

Take Proposition 66. It would significantly roll back ``three strikes, you're out.'' It's a well-intended, popular measure that, upon closer examination, makes me exceedingly queasy. To crib a line from a well-known politician, I was going to vote for it before I decided to vote against it.

Today, 42,000 people are locked away under ``three strikes.'' You can be forgiven if you believe many committed petty theft. The media have turned the guy stealing socks into an emblem of the law's inhumanity. You can Google all day long and find very few articles about the crime-infested neighborhoods that ``three strikes'' has scoured of many thousands of career criminals.

Just 357 of these 42,000 committed shoplifting or other petty crimes. But our legislators (your legislators) were afraid to give ``soft on crime'' ammo to anyone running against them. So the gutless wonders in Sacramento refused to fix ``three strikes.'' They let 357 people rot.

Attorney General Bill Lockyer, a liberal Democrat, says Proposition 66 takes a chain saw to a law that needed surgical repair.

Say a vicious criminal is doing life for burning down somebody's store, but an even worse disaster was averted when everybody got out safely. Under Proposition 66, the vicious arsonist didn't maim anybody (not for lack of trying). So he's not violent!

Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley led a movement to fix ``three strikes'' by never prosecuting on petty crime. Almost every California D.A. now follows suit. As Cooley notes, Proposition 66 releases vicious felons. ``Get ready for an unprecedented wave of crime in California,'' says Cooley.

It may not even be the most misleading idea on the ballot. The fine print in many incomprehensible measures will bring more misery than solutions.

There's Proposition 72, to shift the health insurance crisis onto the backs of schools and modest businesses. Watch for massive worker firings as businesses try to cover stiff new costs. Expect widespread job losses at restaurants, small factories and warehouses. Schools will raid education funds to pay health insurance for irresponsible employees who dine out - but don't buy health insurance.

My insurance is a killer, costing more than my utilities, phones and Internet bills combined. But I know the people I work for are not my mommy. There's a good reason why only Hawaii has this Socialism Lite plan: It's terrible public policy.

Then there's Proposition 63, the wildly popular tax on millionaires, which extensively expands mental illness treatment. This massive new treatment bureaucracy will be wholly reliant on funding by highly mobile millionaires. It's important to know that big chunks of millionaires disappear from California without warning. When thousands vanished in 2001 and 2002, their departure removed $16 billion, over two years, from California tax revenues - a little-reported but key cause of our tailspin.

When millionaires vanish again, who foots the bill for a permanent new treatment bureaucracy? One guess.

And look at Proposition 65 and Proposition 1A. They are supposed to stop Sacramento legislators from raiding city and county treasuries. Yet not even somebody who reads Sanskrit for pleasure can decipher them. I expect Prop. 1A to win, solely because it's at the top of ballot. Clueless Guessers love to vote for the first ballot item.

Ya can't buck a roo from the rodeo. (rodeo champion Dave Appleton's clothing line) (DNR West) - Daily News Record

'I grew up in a town that makes Dodge City look big, but I wanted to be a cowboy. If you really want to see how good you are as a cowboy, you have to go where the best are. And the best are here in America.'

FORTH WORTH -- You don't have to be raised in the Old West to exude cowboy charisma. Consider Dave Appleton. The World Champion wrangler started his rodeo career about as far from the Western plains as you can get.

'I grew up in a town that makes Dodge City look big,' said the 34-year-old Appleton, who hails from the central highlands of Queensland, Australia. 'But I wanted to be a cowboy. If you really want to see how good you are as a cowboy, you have to go where the best are. And the best are here in America.'

Anxious to test his mettle, Appleton packed his gear and moved to Texas in 1980. He enrolled in college, joined the rodeo team and studied welding. Welding? 'I figured if the Big Plan [of riding rodeo] didn't work out, well, at least I'd have a skill I could fall back on,' he said of his degree choice.

Following graduation in 1982, Appleton hit the rodeo circuit full time, specializing in bareback and saddle bronc. He made it to the National Finals his first year, and in 1986 he took home the top honors for saddle bronc riding. Two years later, he captured the coveted title of World Champion All-Around Cowboy.

While collecting trophy buckles. Appleton also picked up his nickname, The Lone Roo. 'It's a combination of Lone Star State, since I'm now from Texas, and the kangaroo for Australia,' he said.

In 1991, Appleton's rodeo career came to a crashing halt when he twisted his wrist during a dismount at a San Jose event. 'I was getting off after a ride when the horse stumbled,' he said. 'I went over his shoulders, but my hand stayed in the bareback rig. I bent my wrist all around.'

The tumble took Appleton off the circuit. 'Today, I sort of view that mishap as a blessing in disguise,' he said. 'I was havig a bad year in rodeo anyway--I couldn't get the horses to buck. I'd also just started this shirt line with Karman. After my accident, I was able to dedicate all my time to promoting the line.'

The line's logo is depicted by a cowboy riding a kangaroo. The emblem hops across hangtags, labels and the breast pocket of Appleton's shirt collection. Sold in over 3,000 stores nationwide, the button-front shirts range in prices from $40 to $52. The collection also includes Lone Roo T-shirts for $18 and caps for $12.

While recuperating, Appleton also expanded his retail base. Three years ago, he inked a deal with Karman to lend his mane to a line of women's wear. Tagged The Lone Roo Collection, this separates line features ideas culled by the rodeo star and his wife, Keelie. Prices range from $100 for a patchwork vest or velvet-and-denim skirt, to $120 for a shaped, velvet blouse.

The couple offer suggestions and direction to the Karman designers who crafr the lines. 'We can't call ourselvesx designers, but we have fun,' said Appleton. 'My wife laughs because I never used to care about shopping or fashion. Now I don't mind going to the stores. You never know where you'll find an idea. I never thought I'd say shopping is exciting, but it is.'

DON'T VOTE IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND - Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)

DON'T know? Don't vote! In most elections, once voters choose the'top of ticket' races for president and major candidates, roughly 20percent fail to vote for state measures and lesser political races.These people are often called lazy.

I stand in praise of drop-off voters. They are Ballot Box Grown-ups. They wouldn't dream of accidentally voting for a cause that, ifthey knew more, they would in fact hotly oppose. The real turkeysare the earnest types who complete their ballots, not knowing whatthey just voted for.

This befuddled bunch, out in force on Nov. 2, will exercise itsright to participate in ... God knows what. They are urged on bynoxious do-gooders who call such activity 'democracy.' No, it's not.It's dumb-ocracy.

California's 16 ballot measures, freighted with murky languageand unintended consequences, only encourage the Clueless Guessers.How about this: After you've voted for stuff you truly knowsomething about, resist being 'part of the process.'

Take Proposition 66. It would significantly roll back 'threestrikes, you're out.' It's a well-intended, popular measure that,upon closer examination, makes me exceedingly queasy. To crib a linefrom a well-known politician, I was going to vote for it before Idecided to vote against it.

Today, 42,000 people are locked away under 'three strikes.' Youcan be forgiven if you believe many committed petty theft. The mediahave turned the guy stealing socks into an emblem of the law'sinhumanity. You can Google all day long and find very few articlesabout the crime-infested neighborhoods that 'three strikes' hasscoured of many thousands of career criminals.

Just 357 of these 42,000 committed shoplifting or other pettycrimes. But our legislators (your legislators) were afraid to give'soft on crime' ammo to anyone running against them. So the gutlesswonders in Sacramento refused to fix 'three strikes.' They let 357people rot.

Attorney General Bill Lockyer, a liberal Democrat, saysProposition 66 takes a chain saw to a law that needed surgicalrepair.

Say a vicious criminal is doing life for burning down somebody'sstore, but an even worse disaster was averted when everybody got outsafely. Under Proposition 66, the vicious arsonist didn't maimanybody (not for lack of trying). So he's not violent!

Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley led a movementto fix 'three strikes' by never prosecuting on petty crime. Almostevery California D.A. now follows suit. As Cooley notes, Proposition66 releases vicious felons. 'Get ready for an unprecedented wave ofcrime in California,' says Cooley.

It may not even be the most misleading idea on the ballot. Thefine print in many incomprehensible measures will bring more miserythan solutions.

There's Proposition 72, to shift the health insurance crisis ontothe backs of schools and modest businesses. Watch for massive workerfirings as businesses try to cover stiff new costs. Expectwidespread job losses at restaurants, small factories andwarehouses. Schools will raid education funds to pay healthinsurance for irresponsible employees who dine out - but don't buyhealth insurance.

My insurance is a killer, costing more than my utilities, phonesand Internet bills combined. But I know the people I work for arenot my mommy. There's a good reason why only Hawaii has thisSocialism Lite plan: It's terrible public policy.

Then there's Proposition 63, the wildly popular tax onmillionaires, which extensively expands mental illness treatment.This massive new treatment bureaucracy will be wholly reliant onfunding by highly mobile millionaires. It's important to know thatbig chunks of millionaires disappear from California withoutwarning. When thousands vanished in 2001 and 2002, their departureremoved $16 billion, over two years, from California tax revenues -a little-reported but key cause of our tailspin.

When millionaires vanish again, who foots the bill for apermanent new treatment bureaucracy? One guess.

And look at Proposition 65 and Proposition 1A. They are supposedto stop Sacramento legislators from raiding city and countytreasuries. Yet not even somebody who reads Sanskrit for pleasurecan decipher them. I expect Prop. 1A to win, solely because it's atthe top of ballot. Clueless Guessers love to vote for the firstballot item.

A compact kept Community group celebrates 20 years of making a difference - The Pantagraph Bloomington, IL

BLOOMINGTON - Julie Payne of Bloomington took a close look at theMcLean County Community Compact logo at its 20th anniversary partyFriday and smiled.

Payne, a longtime participant in the organization, helped come upwith the four swirls forming the logo. They still representbusiness, education, government and social services working togetherto help youths succeed.

'Emblems and symbols become meaningful,' said Payne, vicepresident of development and public relations for The Baby Fold,which serves children and families with programs including adoption,foster care, residential treatment and family support.

She was among 180 people at the DoubleTree Hotel and ConferenceCenter on Friday celebrating the Compact's achievements and itsplans for the future.

Table displays of photos showed students, volunteers andcommunity leaders in programs the Compact established, including jobshadowing, peaceful schools, career expos and principal for a day.

The Compact (Collaborating on Meaningful Partnerships and Careersfor Tomorrow) sprung up from a group of local residents led by BarbStuart to look at the problems of young adults who lacked direction,said Compact co-President Bob Keller, one of the first members.

It continues to meet the needs of the community, most recentlyestablishing new multicultural and youth leadership groups, saidKeller, the retired director of the McLean County Health Department.

Payne also was among the group representing Advocate BroMennMedical Center, where she worked previously. The center is one offour organizations that took part in the first sixth-grade business/education partnership. The partnership continues, with BroMennletting students see various careers firsthand.

Such groups have developed 'hundreds of partnerships,' said SueBandy, the Compact's executive director and unit educator incommunity and economic development with the University of IllinoisExtension.

Bandy awarded the Long Continuing Leadership in Education Awardto Gene Jontry, a former local and regional school superintendent.

'Barbara Stuart (the Compact's founder) got my right ear for manyprojects over the years,' he joked.

State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, an adviser to the Compact,presented the state House of Representatives' recognition of thegroup's efforts.

'This is exactly what our young people need,' said keynotespeaker U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson, a Democrat from Crete.

'You brought hope to those who knew little,' she said of thegroup that grew from a few volunteers to more than 250 members.

'We're in this together,' said Halvorson.

Robert Dean, the Compact's co-president, is superintendent ofIllinois State University laboratory schools in Normal.

'The kids with a network and scaffold to support them do well inschool, and after school,' said Dean. The more the community propsup all students, the more it receives in return, he said.

'This organization has a bright future,' said Dean, praising itfor fostering future leaders.

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Compact milestones

1989 -McLean County Community Compact founded.

1991-1992 - Sixth-Grade Business/Education Partnerships andPrincipal For A Day programs established.

1993 - Compact incorporated.

1994 - Partnership with University of Illinois Extension.

1995 - Compact receives official registration in Illinois.

1998 -Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) andPartners in Prevention established.

2000- Fifth-Grade Family Computer Project established to makecomputers accessible for more students.

2001 - Referendum voters OK property tax to support Compact.

2006 - Peaceful School efforts established, including puttingSecond Step violence prevention programs into more schools.

2008 - Youth LEADS program established to foster future leaders.