Vote Hinckley !!!!!!

[Weruj1]

I know he doesnt post here much but I have just returned from seeing Jaybird210, and on SUPER TUESDAY they have a refernedum onthe ballot for a new station (of which I saw blueprints for). Lets wish the Hinckley Fire District good luck so they can consolidate units/stations.....

[jboczek]

Jay's not alone. Sandoval and Kell FPDs also have referendums on the ballot tomorrow. Good luck to both of them. I'd vote for them if they'd let me.

[Weruj1]

wow ..............someone does care..............good luck also to the two other FD's !

[jaybird210]

We got one "yes" vote for sure.....

[pcfdcap1]

No referendum here. Good luck to you guys. I am meetting with our Coundy Board chair today to discuss our trustee situation though.

[ChiefReason]

Jaybird:
Any idea on how it went?
Exit polls?
Anything?
CR

[Weruj1]

I sopke to him last night during dril.........."unoffical" results ..420 something I believe "YES" and 275 "NO"..........so it appears to have passed .........let the building begin !

for the offical tabulation click below:
http://www.dekalbcounty.org/Election....html#HINCKLEY

[jaybird210]

Final tabulation per DeKalb Co:

YES= 435
NO= 313

While the Kane County portion of our district hasn't been counted yet, there are less than 70 registered voters in that section.


Where'd I put that shovel?

[jboczek]

Congratulations, Jaybird. You think you were busy before, wait until construction begins! See you at the Grand Opening!

[pcfdcap1]

Allright Jay. Congrads

[80FIRE]

Good work Jay
keep us posted on the project.

[kprsn1]

Congrats Jay and Hinkley!!!

We are pretty pleased in Sandoval today too! Our bond for a new pumper passed 281 yes to 113 no in Marion County and 58 yes to 11 no in Clinton County.

Kell's bond also passed 116 yes to 89 no in Marion County (not sure about the Jefferson County totals). Lonnie is surely ecstatic today as well.

Chad

[jboczek]

We know Jay's got lots of money now, so how did Sandoval and Kell do? I haven't been able to find any returns from Marion County yet.

[ChiefReason]

IT SHALL BE A MONUMENT FOR ALL THE AGES. IT WILL EXTEND TOWARDS THE HEAVENS. IT WILL BE HINCKLEY'S TAJ MAHAL!
Congratulations Jay. Just think; real showers!
CR

[jboczek]

Congratulations to Sandoval and Kell FPDs also. I know how much work it is to get any kind of tax increase passed. We barely got it done a couple of years ago. After seeing how many school issues went down this time, it looks like the citizens still appreciate us, even a couple years after 9/11. We must be doing something right.

[jaybird210]

Now that this part is over, I want to post an article that the DeKalb Chronicle posted to its website regarding local referenda.

The Sandwich Fire District tried for the EIGHTH time to pass this referendum for an ambulance district. There were signs posted, painted on 4'x4' sheets of plywood saying "Vote 'NO' on Sandwich Fire Dist." I make no comment, except to say that a little public relations goes a long way. I would like to hear what everybody else thinks of the article and comments....:

Chronicle
---------------------------
Voters pass Hinckley fire referendum, say no to Sandwich, Lee
By Todd Krysiak - Contributing Writer

Three area fire departments were hoping to increase their services or improve their facilities through referendums Tuesday, and while Hinckley is celebrating a win, both Lee and Sandwich are left considering another attempt in November.

Hinckley fire officials are preparing to break ground on a new state-of-the-art fire station approved by a 435-to-313 vote Tuesday. The fire protection district's levy will increase from 2.4 percent to 60.3 percent.

Village President and fire department Captain Joseph Diedrich said he was pleased with the voter turnout as well as with the outcome. The department already has purchased the land for the new building, and is waiting for the land to be annexed by the village.

"The fire department put in a lot of work going door to door, holding a town hall meeting, and just putting out a lot of information," Diedrich said. "There was a whole lot of help for a volunteer fire department."

Diedrich said he was surprised at the high turnout for a primary election.

"Usually, because it is a partisan thing, you'll see fewer voters come out than during a general election, but people came out this time around, and we're happy with the result."

That's more than Sandwich Fire District officials can say. The district had hoped to levy a special tax to hire full-time paramedics to man the station, but the referendum failed 1,532 to 829. Sandwich Fire Chief Richard Kell said he isn't sure where the department will head from here.

"People keep thinking, 'It'll be there tomorrow,' but tomorrow's here and ambulance service, especially at night, may not be," Kell said.

The district serves portions of DeKalb, Kendall and LaSalle counties. The department claimed during its campaign that part-time paramedics were overworked and overlooked.

Kell said that part-time paramedics often have conflicts due to their other jobs.

"If these volunteers choose to leave because of the conditions, there's nothing we can do to replace them," Kell said. "There are no volunteers for full-time work - that's why we wanted to create a regular full-time position."

Kell also said the lack of a full-time ambulance unit places pressure on other departments that have to pick up the slack, which hurts response times for services.

Voters are likely to see a similar referendum in the general elections in November.

"Sooner or later, if the people in this community want proper ambulance service, this is going to have to pass," Kell said.

Ambulance service was the focus of another failed referendum - that of the Lee Fire District. Lee Fire Chief Don Jarman said his department has received ambulance service from the Shabbona Fire Department for more than 30 years. Jarman had hoped to establish a contract with the Shabbona Fire Department to help bring down service costs for ambulance users from Lee.

The referendum for a special tax levy failed 116 to 76, but Jarman vowed to bring back the proposal in November. The Lee Fire Protection District covers portions of Lee and DeKalb counties.

-----------------
Two more thoughts regarding the Chronicle. They try but can't get many people in the southern part of this county to subscribe. Why? Well, editting has a lot to do with it. Two small examples that jump out at me: the plural of "referendum" is "referenda." Now, I only know that cause I've been working on this. But, if I were a newspaper editor, I would expect to know that. Also, using inflammatory language like "The fire protection district's levy will increase from 2.4 percent to 60.3 percent," while accurate, doesn't really do the thing justice. I guess I'll keep to the Aurora paper. They had a super article that came out before the election, and didn't misquote or put words in my mouth. Can't say the same for the Chronicle. Compare these stories at your leisure, and tell me which one you thought had better writing and editting....

Aurora Beacon Pre-election Story

Chroncile Pre-election story

[pcfdcap1]

A few words of thought while I must be in my spare time. I see what Jay means about the editing. The Freeport Journal-Standard goes to press with it's share of mistakes and poor editing. Any article that relates to a tax increase is normally shead in a less than positive light. It's looking like Pearl City FPD will try it's hand in the referendum game this fall or April of 05 to fund a new station. Ours was built in 1950 to house 3 trucks. We have a tanker butted up against a wall, and sometimes almost through that wall, with guys tripping over each other trying to get gear on and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
BTW, Congrads to Sandoval and Kell too.

[Weruj1]

if you ask me it sounds like The Chronicle has poor docrum!

[dmsmith]

Jay, congrats on the referendum. Did you figure in the practice tee in the plans?

[jaybird210]

What the voters choice has wrought....: