Next Meeting Date -- May 3 (7pm), May 8 (2pm), or May 10 (7pm) at Rachel's, 704 S Anderson.

There were several reports on issues on which people have asked our help or support.
1. The Champaign County Health Care Consumers is making an effort to have Ameren extend their cleanup of an old coal tar dump at Fifth and Hill streets in Champaign. The groundwater has tested for traces of benzene which pollutes the air in neighboring homes. A Champaign ordinance allows the company to follow an unusual practice, and with the permission of the IEPA the danger has not been adequately assessed. Stuart has attended the meetings about this.
2. A resident of Downs, Illinois, reports that a sewage oder comes from the storm drains near his house and the village water has an oily smell as well as severe iron content. The village is served only by septic systems and a project to put in a sewage system is proceeding too slowly. Stacy has asked some Prairie Rivers Network staff members to check on this.
3. The Resource Conservationist of Coles County would like funding for their Partnership for Healthy Forest Program. Although the Sierra Club members sometimes do volunteer service work for such programs, the National, Chapter, and Group organizations rarely, if ever, make grants for this sort of thing.
4. A group of students in the College of Business offers free consulting services to non-profit organizations. They would like to know if we need such a service. Don will follow up on this.

Alice submitted a treasurer's report. Our balance is a little more than $5,000, which is adequate for our needs. Income from the sale of calendars keeps us from running a big deficit. Alice has also compiled and sent the required tax documents to the Chapter.

Several of us will participate in the Environmental Organizations Lobby Day in Springfield on March 30. We will also set up visits at local offices with legislators.

Stacy has been giving a presentation on CAFOs at several places around the State. She will give it at the Champaign Library on March 28 -- a more detailed announcement will soon be distributed.

Stacy has written and formatted a brochure on household hazardous waste which will soon have a final form for distribution.

We would like to have several outings for the membership this year. These will probably include a tour of the wind turbine farm East of Bloomington followed by a visit to Moraine View State Park; also a service day of work on removing invasives in Urbana's Armory Park will be scheduled.

There were 6 people who elected to go on this hike. It was a gorgeous fall day, with temperatures in the low 70s. The original plan was to hike only 6 miles of the trail and complete the loop by having a car left at the dam, but by consensus we decided to go the whole 7.3 mile loop. It took 2 hrs, 45 minutes.

At the start of the hike. Pictured: Stacy James, Beth Wohlgemuth, Lixiang-Han, Jim Webb, Rachel Vellenga. Not pictured: Dick Bishop

Stacy, Jim, Rachel, Lixiang.

Mingo Lake, from the dam, with a mile to go.

The attendance was small, only 5 besides hosts Dick and Dolores, but the food was good and the conversation stimulating.

"The award-winning true story of third-generation American farmer John Peterson's hero's journey of success, tribulation, failure and rebirth. Peterson is a true American original. His story parallels that of the family farm in 20th Centur America. What makes The Real Dirt on Farmer John so special is the fact that John Peterson is not only a farmer ... he's an artist, too."

Unless stated otherwise, Meetings during Sept. 2007 through May, 2008 were held at 7 PM, 2nd Tuesday of the month, Bondurant Room (2nd floor), Illinois Disciples Foundation, 610 E Springfield, Champaign (NW corner Springfield & Wright)

Local politicians will give their views on environmental issues, and those in office will discuss their environmental legislative accomplishments. The Prairie Group has been hosting this Forum for the last three elections, and this year promises to be another exciting debate. The environment has become a hot issue, and the Forum will be an opportunity for the pols/candidates to give their views and/or report their progress.

Each candidate will start with a brief statement. Then, our MC, Kirstin Replogle, will ask the panelists a series of questions, some which will be prepared in advance and some which will be taken from the audience.

The speakers will be:

• Naomi Jakobsson, Illinois State House Representative, 103rd District (incumbent) (D).
• Frank Calabrese, candidate for Illinois State House Representative, 103rd District (R).
• Mike Frerichs, Illinois State Senator, 52nd District (D).
• Phil Bloomer, representing Tim Johnson, U. S. Congressman, Illinois 15th District (R).
• Steve Cox, candidate for U. S. Congress, Illinois 15th District (D).

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact the Forum's organizer, Jim Beauchamp, jwbeauch {at} illinois.edu.