Du Quoin Chief of Police Mike Ward, park board member Tom Hamlin retiring
Extraordinary careers in public service to the City of Du Quoin end as Chief of Police Mike Ward retires on Sept. 9 and Du Quoin Park Board member Tom Hamlin retires effective immediately.
Police and fire commissioner Josh Downs read Ward's letter of retirement. Ward will complete 30 years as a career law enforcement officer within the department in September. He will turn age 54 on Sept. 6.
Ward succeeded the late James Booker and if the department holds true to its history assistant Chief of Police Jamie Ellermeyer would succeed Ward.
Downs made no reference to filling the vacancy during brief comments about Ward's outstanding service to the community. Mayor Rex Duncan echoed the city's heartfelt appreciation saying the pensions for the city's police officers and firefighters are fully funded because they are well-deserved.
Ward said he and his family will continue to reside in Du Quoin and be part of the community.
An equally substantial loss to city service is the retirement of Tom Hamlin from the Du Quoin Park Board.
Hamlin, one of the founding fathers of Five Star Industries and a longtime employee of John A. Logan College, has navigated both the Du Quoin Municipal Swimming Pool and our parks through some treacherous waters over the years.
He has championed the causes of children and families for many years with a disciplined eye toward improving the quality of life in the community.
Hamlin has served on the board since August 2003.
Airport Improvements
Mayor Rex Duncan, as did John Rednour, speaks endlessly about the importance of public service in the community. That was revisited again Monday as Pinckneyville-Du Quoin Airport board member Steve Moss came to the meeting to update the council on work at the airport.
Moss said funding is being put in place through the Illinois Department of Transportation, Division of Aeronautics to rebuild the runway. "Without it, we won't have an airport," said Moss, who volunteered to go on the airport board last spring.
He said the airport restroom has been renovated and leaking fixtures replaced. He said fire extinguishers--some of them marked 1974--will be replaced.
He said a new computer and software are being ordered to improve tracking of airport use. A visitor log book will be placed at the airport.
He said the board hopes to establish a facebook and website presence for the airport.
The airport has never had a logo and he has been working on one, but is asking for suggestions from pilots and others interested.
All but two of the hangars are leased. Rent for the last two is $85 per month.
City administrator Brad Myers complimented the board for its austerity, saying that all of the work is being done with no more than the city's annual $5,000 contribution. Much of the airport's revenue comes from hangar leasing and credit card fuel sales.
Mayor Duncan complimented the board's financial stewardship, which has allowed the airport board to have a cash reserve approximating $70,000. He thanked longtime Du Quoin board member Frank Desio and others for their service.
Life/Safety Inspections
On the "first shift after Sept. 1" Du Quoin Fire Chief Bob Shaw and Capt. David Durkota will begin their work carrying out the state's life/safety fire codes in the City of Du Quoin. A full story was published in the newspaper last week.
Shaw and Durkota told the council the code deals with life/safety issues only and that some building owners will, no doubt, be happier than others.
He said a major focus will be the ability to exit a building in case of a fire, lighting, the customary placement of smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and fire extinguishers and the elimination of blocked exits and identifying other exits. He said while most building owners already comply, some do not. Shaw said he hopes their work assists rather than confronts. Because the codes are state-mandated extreme cases can be turned into the state and cases will be handled by the state's attorney.
The codes are specific. They are not "may or can do", but rather "shall do."
"We will start with the greater threats," said Shaw, who hopes the work is a cooperative effort between the department and property owners.
Shaw broke the seriousness of the subject by talking about the sight of an upstairs downtown apartment dweller barbecueing in his apartment. "He had two legs of the grill inside the window and two legs outside the window."
He said there is no better man to carry out the work than Dakota, who now has a Class III inspection certification.
"All ethical people will try to meet the minimum standards--and most do now," said Shaw. He said the department will have the authority to inspect anything that is not a school or a personal residential dwelling.
In Deep Appreciation
Du Quoin EMS director David Searby and members of the council took a great deal of time to extend the city's appreciation to the more than 100 first responders who assisted at the site of Sunday's South Lake Drive house explosion. (New story on Wednesday.)
City Hall Roof Repairs
In other action, the council authorized the city administrators to take bids for roof repairs and interior wall and flooring repairs at city hall because of roof leaks over the winter.
The roof damage is estimated at $50,000 and interior damage at $12,000.
The council approved a parade permit for Du Quoin State Fair parade staging area and for Beta Sigma Phi-Preceptor Alpha Eta Halloween parade.
The council rescinded condemnations for 334 E. Poplar, 10 S. Illinois, and 226 N. Walnut St. and properties.