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Serving Bureau County Since 1847
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Tourism dollars adding up Bureau County expected to also show increase By Donna Barker dbarker@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — If tourism statistics can be used as the measuring stick, the recession in Illinois appears to be easing up a bit. Gov. Pat Quinn has announced Illinois had record-breaking tourism numbers statewide for the 2012 year. Illinois saw 99 million domestic visitors in 2012, which is a 6.1 percent increase over the record 93.3 million U.S. residents that traveled to Illinois in 2011. That tourism surge has accounted for more that $31 billion for the state’s economy, Quinn said. “Another year of recordbreaking numbers proves that travel is back, and the tourism industry in Illinois is thriving,” Quinn said. “Our world-class cultural attractions and destinations continue to attract more and more visitors to Illinois each year, which in turn directly drives the state’s economic growth.” The Illinois River Road National Scenic Byway, which runs through portions of Bureau County, has also seen an increase in tourism, according to Anaise Berry, executive director. Looking at the national recession and the past several years, Berry said travel expenditures (money spent by travelers on things like public transportation, food service, auto transportation, lodging retail and entertainment/recreation) for the 10-county Illinois River Road region had been steadily increasing the three years prior to the recession in 2009. “Travel expenditures have once again continued to increase year over year and equal or have surpassed travel expenditures prior to the recession,” the executive director said.
See Tourism Page 4 Year 167 No. 85 One Section - 20 Pages
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A summer of scams Officials talk about most recent scamming attempts By Donna Barker dbarker@bcrnews.com
PRINCETON — Scammers don’t take summer vacations. In recent weeks, Central Illinois residents have received medical alert services scams, FBI scams, and “relative in jail” scams ... to name a few.
In a recent press release, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan alerted Illinois residents to be wary of unsolicited calls, specifically those advertising free medical alert services. Her office has received “a number of calls” in recent weeks from concerned Illinois residents, reporting solicitations for “Medi Alert” or other medical alert
services, which many seniors use to call for help in case of emergencies. One Princeton woman recently received two Medi Alert scam calls in one week. The first time the caller stated the woman’s family had already paid for the service, but additional information was needed. The Princeton woman knew her family had not done anything like that and hung
See Scams Page 4
BCR photo/Lyle Ganther
Ladd Daze fun Isabel Hough and her brother, Parker, of St. Louis decide what to put on their bags prior to participating in children’s game at War Memorial Park during Ladd Daze on Saturday. The children were visiting their grandparents, who live in Ladd.
The renovation Arlington’s St. Patrick’s undergoing renovations By Goldie Currie gcurrie@bcrnews.com
ARLINGTON – For the past year, St. Patrick Catholic Parish in Arlington has been undergoing major renovations in an attempt to compliment it’s original Gothic-style design from when the building was built around 1921. Parishioner Lynne Bonnell explained in the 1970s, the church was “modernized,” and it’s original back altar, altar rail and statues were removed, thereby destroying its original beauty.
The Rev. Patrick Fixsen became the church’s administrator in 2011 and has made it a goal to get the church back to its original state. Bob Schmidt, who is a lifelong resident of Arlington and trustee of the church, said it’s important for the community because the original state has a lot of meaning to people who grew up with the church and have personal memories of what it was like long ago. “It’s just the nostalgia, and people grew up here,” he said.
He explained many parishioners grew frustrated throughout the years when priests would come to the church and make their own changes without getting input from the community. He said many felt the priests were overstepping their boundaries. “They weren’t here for a long time, when the people had to stay and live with the changes,” he explained. To date, another back altar has been installed; the front altar and pulpit have been replaced; the cross above the altar is new; and a statue of the holy family
See St. Patrick’s Page 4
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