A Newsletter for the Forsyth Community December 26, 2019

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Jeff Jurgens hired by Bloomington

Out with the old and in with the new as Ameren Illinois replaces old equipment with new as seen by the new pole installed near the entrance to Stevens Creek Estates just off Weaver Road. The old tower struc-ture, on the ground, was dismantled and hauled away.

Jeff Jurgens, right, speaks to trustees dur-ing his last Village Board meeting before starting a new job. Jurgens has the atten-tion of Trustees Kerry Denison, left, and Jeff London

Ameren Illinois has been in the midst of a major equipment re-placement project that can be seen locally and in other communities across the Central Illinois region. The new composite poles that have been going up in the Village over the last few months can withstand high winds more effectively and thus deliver more efficient power to residents.

Per Ameren Illinois, it’s part of the company’s “storm-hardening” ef-forts and part of a “multi-year initia-tive to modernize its energy delivery

Ameren upgrades equipment to fight high winds, storms

Village and DACVB enter new agreement

At the December 16 meeting, Vil-lage Administrator David Strohl recom-mended approval of a new, three-year agreement between the Village and the Decatur Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. The proposal to formalize an agreement between the two parties came from Teri Hammel, the DACVB’s executive director, Strohl said.

“It’s always a good idea to formal-ize these agreements,” Strohl said in recommending approval.

Trustee David Wendt said he agreed with Strohl, adding that the Village and the DACVB have a good relationship.

On December 2, during the Board meeting, Mayor Marilyn Johnson, trustees and staff said farewell and thank you to Village Attorney Jeff Jurgens, who has ac-cepted a new position in Blooming-ton. Jurgens began his work for the Village in 2012.

Village Administrator David Strohl took the opportunity to pub-licly thank Jurgens for his service to the Village over these last several years. Strohl’s remarks prompted applause from trustees and the mayor for Jurgens.

Village attorney moving on

Merry Christmas!Mayor Marilyn Johnson, seated between Santa and Mrs. Claus, enjoys the festivities during the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 1. Back row: Trustees David Wendt (from left), Jim Peck, Jeff London and Bob Gruenewald.

Library News

LEGO Drop-In Looking for something fun and free to do over break? Stop by Forsyth Public Library on Monday, Decem-ber 30 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. to meet local LEGO building sensa-tion, Bob Carney, who is known worldwide for his LEGO castles and many other creations. Carney will be available for questions and to help inspire LEGO builders young and old. Don’t miss this awesome opportunity to view several of Carney’s buildings while creating your own with the library’s collec-tion of LEGO bricks. No registration is required for this fun, informative event.

Book Discussion GroupsFood for Thought Book Club’s title for Thursday, January 9 is Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression by Mildred Arm-strong Kalish. Join us at 6 p.m. to discuss this memoir of the author’s Iowa childhood. Bookkeepers Book Group meets Friday, January 17 at 10 a.m. to discuss The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See, an evocative tale of two best friends whose bonds are both strengthened and tested over decades by forces beyond their control. Both groups are open to all adult readers, and no registration is necessary.

Story TimeWe are taking a short break from story times for the holidays and will resume on January 17 with Let it Snow. Each session features stories, activities, crafts and songs centered around a theme. Story times are for ages 2-5, with siblings welcome. No registration is required.

Baby TALKChildren ages birth-3 can play and learn together at Baby TALK on Wednesday, January 8 at 9:30 a.m.

Baby TALK will not meet on Janu-ary 1. Baby TALK is free, with no registration required. Instant Pot and Air Fryer 101Do you have an Instant Pot or Air Fryer sitting in a box from Christmas but don’t know how to use them? Sharon Middleton from the Macon County Association for Home and Community Education will explain these versatile appliances on Satur-day, January 11 at 10 a.m. Tasting of delicious food made in the applianc-es and recipes to recreate the dishes at home will be included. Class size is limited, and advance registration is necessary.

Tech KitsIf you are looking for something to keep you busy over winter break,

Sophia and Olivia pose in front of the Forsyth Public Library Christmas tree to show off the ornaments they have made.

Community WatchCommunity Watch will meet Monday, January 6 at 1 p.m. in the Community Room at For-syth Public Library. Community Watch is open to everyone and sponsored by the Macon County Sheriff’s Office, with support from Forsyth Public Library.

come check out our tech kits or Launchpads. Explore, learn and have fun.

Holiday HoursForsyth Public Library will close at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, December 31 and will be closed on Wednesday, Janu-ary 1. Happy New Year!

Carrie Munjoy volunteers in the concession stand at Forsyth Park during her children’s ball games.

This volunteer is part of a group of resi-dents that helps decorate the light poles in the Greenbrier subdivision every year for the Christmas season.

Jeremy Shaw, left, and Eric Robb donate their time to teach kids about football during flag football practice at Forsyth Park.

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system” that began in 2012. In that time Ameren has taken on hundreds of projects that add new technol-ogy and strengthen poles, wires and equipment. Ameren says its reliabil-ity “has improved by an average of 17 percent and the time of an outage has been reduced by 19 percent,” as a result of these efforts.

Ameren Illinois serves more than 2,000,000 customers throughout Central and Southern Illinois in over 1,200 communities. For more infor-mation, visit AmerenIllinois.com.

Americans are a generous bunch, and the most recent study of volun-teering from the Bureau of Labor Statistics bears that out. Per the study, about 25 percent of Americans volun-teer their time for causes they deem worthy. No matter the season, around here volunteering is a year-round pursuit.

“We’ve always had great volun-teers here in Forsyth,” Mayor Marilyn Johnson likes to say about her fellow residents.

Carrie Munjoy does her part by volunteering in the concession stand at Forsyth Park. That’s her way of supporting the sports activities of her three children who attend Maroa-Forsyth schools.

Jeremy Shaw, who serves the Village as a trustee, also volunteers as a flag football coach. He and Eric Robb — both men played football back in the day — donate their time to “help develop kids,” as Shaw says, by teaching the game’s fundamentals to third- and fourth-graders.

This is the perfect time of year to say thank you to all the volunteers who help throughout the year to make the Village of Forsyth such a great place to call home. Thank you!

Known for his low-key, level-headed approach and for his breadth of knowledge about municipal law, Jurgens will begin his new job as in-house counsel for the City of Bloomington at the first of the year.

In the interim, the Village will be served by another attorney from Jurgens’ current law firm.

Volunteers: Unsung Heroes

“We’d have a formal agreement of our expectations other than a hand-shake,” Wendt said of the proposed agreement, noting how important that would be in the event that Hammel left the organization.

Strohl said the three-year agree-ment describes the services pro-vided and activities performed by the DACVB as part of its obligation. The Village, as part of the agreement, would pay the DACVB $75,000 per year.

In a memo to trustees, Strohl wrote that the Village had not increased its contribution to the DACVB since Fis-cal Year 2014 when it was raised from $60,000 to $65,000.

Trustee Jim Peck made the motion, which was seconded by Trustee Jeremy Shaw. All votes were Yea, and the mo-tion carried.

Village of Forsyth Mayor and Board of TrusteesMayor Marilyn J. Johnson 195 E. Ruehl St. .............................433-3655Kerry Denison 873 Cara Chris .............................. .330-0795 Bob Gruenewald 718 W. Forsyth Pkwy. .....................520-5489Jeff London 255 S. Elwood St. ..........................855-4242Jim Peck 335 Forsyth Parkway .....................433-5700Jeremy Shaw 1274 Raptor Lane ................ (309) 830-0509David Wendt797 Christopher Drive ....................877-2935

Village Hall ....................................877-9445301 S. Rt. 51, Forsyth, IL 62535Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed 12:30-1:30 p.m. for lunchwww.forsythvillage.usEmail: Info@forsythvillage.usTwitter: @ForsythILInstagram: ForsythIL

Forsyth Public Library .................877-8174 www.forsythlibrary.com

Public Works ................................877-1653

for 23 years

Forsyth Fast FactsItems of interest from village staff and recent board meetings

Local Postal PatronForsyth, IL 62535

Presorted StandardU.S. Postage

PAID Forsyth, IllinoisPermit No. 2

Community and Economic De-velopment Coordinator Nik Duffle’s December 16 report to trustees noted that he recently graduated from the Decatur Leadership Institute ear-lier this month. Duffle said it was a great experience that taught him a lot about the region and the “orga-nizations that help shape it.” Duffle wrote that he would recommend the program to anyone wanting “to learn more about the workings of Macon County.” Duffle also reported that he attend-ed a recent ribbon-cutting celebra-tion of the grand opening of Hickory Point Christian Village’s new club-house. Two homes were combined to create a space for recreation to be used for general entertainment and where residents can exercise and hold events. While most residents rested in

warm beds, Public Works Director Darin Fowler and his crews were hard at work in the pre-dawn hours of December 16 getting streets cleared after a snow event that was forecast to drop 3-6 inches of snow in the county. In addition, Fowler’s report to trustees for the December 16 meeting noted that his staff has been busy maintaining Village prop-erty, which includes quite a bit of work at the ball diamonds in Forsyth Park They’ve taken down spon-sor signs and batting cage nets and stored them for the winter. The next regular meeting of the Forsyth Board of Trustees is sched-uled for Monday, January 6, 2020, at 6:30 p.m. in Village Hall at 301 S. Route 51 in Forsyth. Board meetings are held the first and third Mondays of the month and are open to the public.