Illinois
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Interested in seeing Washington D.C. — call your co-op

The new television drama West Wing, a hit only upstaged by the real life presidential election drama this year, has created new interest in our nation's capital and the presidency.

Students on last years Youth to Washington tour met and talked with many of their elected representatives including U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin.

Washington D.C. has changed since Clinton was sworn in 1993. The White House, despite turning 200 years old, never looked better. Monuments to past presidents have been refurbished. The Washington Monument reopened last year after extensive improvements. The Jefferson and Lincoln memorials have been cleaned. And the latest presidential memorial, honoring Franklin Roosevelt, highlights the history of his four terms in four outdoor rooms.

Even though there are plenty of monuments and museums, and even the first ladies' inaugural gowns are on display, there wasn't a proper museum exhibition on the presidency itself until recently. While the nation was still struggling with who won the election, the Smithsonian Institution solved that omission by opening "The American Presidency" exhibition on Nov. 15.

Each year the electric and telephone cooperatives of Illinois send high school students to Washington D.C. to learn more about their nation's history. Dates for this year's "Youth to Washington" tour are June 15-22, 2001. Interested high school sophomores, juniors and seniors should contact their local electric or telephone cooperative for more details on winning a trip of a lifetime.

6 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING • FEBRUARY 2001

Financing help for rural housing

According to a report by the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs (IIRA) at Western Illinois University, there is still a gap between what people can afford to pay and the cost of their homes. After 50 years Farmers Home Administration (FmHA), is still helping bridge that gap for low-income families.

"Nationwide, 11.1 million households — 3.1 million of them in rural areas — have severe cost burdens, paying over half their incomes for housing," says IIRA assistant professor Cynthia Struthers, the report's author.

Struthers added there are many characteristics that make urban housing different from rural housing, one important one is the lack of access to public water and sewer systems. Illinois electric cooperatives are helping establish rural water systems in many areas, but it is still a critical problem for rural homeowners.

"Forty-one percent of rural households still rely on private water wells rather than public water systems for drinking water. Also, rural home-owners are less likely to make home improvements," she said.

FmHA loans are available for both purchase and home improvements for low-income families. Low-income is defined as those with adjusted incomes less than 80 percent of the median income and very low-income is defined as those with adjusted income below 50 percent of the median income. Other programs available for rural citizens include grants for renters, senior citizens, construction and home improvements.

For more information on such programs or this study, contact the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at 309/298-2237 or via the web at www.HRA.org.

WIU rural health care help

To assist rural health care providers and communities with health care delivery issues, Western Illinois University's community health and health services management department has created the Office of Rural Health Services.

The office will assist the WIU Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs (IIRA) with applied health care delivery projects in rural communities, according to WIU professor and office director Don Johnston.

"I am excited about the services this new office will provide to health care providers in our region," said Department Chair Fred Randolph. "Dr. Johnston has taken on an important task which will further enhance our department and health care in rural communities."

For more information, contact Johnston at the Office of Rural Health Services, Stipes Hall 402L, 309/298-1736, or e-mail DR-lohnston@wiu.edu.

FEBRUARY 2001 • ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING 7

Warm up to portable heaters

There are lots of good reasons for using a portable heater to either supplement or replace your whole-house furnace. Perhaps you spend most of your time in just one or two rooms in winter. Maybe you have a room that isn't linked to your whole-house system. Whatever your reasons, portable heaters can be inexpensive and efficient ways to warm you up this winter when they are used wisely.

First, consider the type of heater you want. A radiant heater warms solid objects, including walls, floors and people, while a convective heater warms the air in the room and may include a fan to move the warm air around. The radiant heater warms you rather than the air around you; the passive convective heater provides fan-forced heat that will warm up a room fast.

Using portable electric heaters gives you room-by-room control of temperature, without heating unused spaces.

Older heaters may be much less efficient and much less safe than newer models. Look for heaters that automatically shut off if the unit is tipped over. Also, look for those heaters that include timers.

Source: Energy Outlet™ www.energyoutlet.com

Water quality help for landowners

The targeted planting of grasses, shrubs and trees improves water quality, reduces soil erosion, enhances landscapes and provides habitat for wildlife. To increase awareness of these conservation practices, the Illinois Council on Best Management Practices (C-BMP) and Trees Forever, both nonprofit conservation organizations, are joining forces.

Members of the council include the Illinois Corn Growers Association, Illinois Farm Bureau, Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association, Illinois Pork Producers Association and Illinois Soybean Association. Other sponsors of the effort include Novartis Crop Protection and Archer Daniels Midland Company.

"The Illinois Buffer Partnership brings public and private sector goals together. The five-year program will showcase positive steps to improve water quality by farmers and other landowners, and ultimately will speed their adoption," said Doug Wilson, president of C-BMP.

Illinois Congressman Ray LaHood (R-Peoria) was instrumental in securing federal funding for the new initiative. "The linchpin of our state efforts in rehabilitating our watersheds has been the focus on voluntary, incentive-based programs," said LaHood. "In combination with other successful programs such as the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program and the recent approval of the Illinois Rivers 2020 program, today's announcement adds yet another tool to the wide range of programs available to assist landowners throughout Illinois."

Buffers increase soil infiltration rates by up to five times that of cultivated crop fields and reduce sediment in surface runoff by 60-70 percent in the first 10 feet and by 70-90 percent In the first 15-18 feet.

Source: C-BMP, (309)747-3136 and Trees Forever, (800)369-1269 www.treesforever.org.

8 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING • FEBRUARY 2001