So in quick summary here is my Plan B.

(1) Close Wenona and move the students to Minonk and Toluca due to continued declining enrollments. A study was done 2 years ago that showed it is feasible to move grades 6 through 8 from the middle school in Wenona to the secondary school in Toluca and to move grade 3 from the secondary school to the primary school in Minonk. The Board's construction manager Rich Krischel from the firm Cordogan Clark stated in an open board meeting that the current enrollment at Wenona is 240, but by the time new buildings could be completed enrollment is estimated to be 190.

(2) According to Farnsworth's estimated cost to repair Wenona of $14,584,920, this money will be saved by the district.

(3) Repair the existing high school and get a second cost estimate from another engineering firm since the cost estimates from the Farnsworth Group are highly inflated and done so to present a worst case scenario.

(4) Require bids from more than one contractor. If necessary continue the bidding process until you get more than one bid and do not move forward without multiple bids.

(5) As I stated previously this is not a win/win situation, but what is best for the district financially as a whole as it will minimize the loss of revenue to the district, reduce repair cost and enable the district to meet the safety mandates of the State.

Also at the December 3, 2018 meeting the majority opinion of the Board was to pursue another referendum to build new. What part of "NO" from the voters did you not understand from the results of the November 2018 election? You board members were elected to represent the voters of the district, not to think for them. They have told you NO new buildings, but a majority of you still did not get it and some of you will continue to sit on this board. I would hope that the three new board members will listen to the voters and exercise due diligence with their fiscal and fiduciary responsibilities to the citizens of Fieldcrest.

I want to thank the outgoing board members for their service and welcome the new board members and wish them well.

James Liner

"The Fieldcrest Board of Education approved a bid of $91,200 for the purchase of doors and windows for the Primary and Secondary school buildings in Minonk and Toluca to comply with the 10 year HLS requirements. The bid did not include how many doors and windows are included which made it difficult to determine the unit cost."

John FIelds

An invitation to the MDR Class of 1959 Reunion has been sent out to classmates for which we have an address. However, there are some classmates for which we have no address. For those classmates who have not received an invitation, click on this link to download the invitation and registration form. Contact information is included in the download forms.

Thank you,
Sequential committee, St Paul's United Church of Christ

The sales are advertised in the following papers: The Woodford County Journal, and the Star; Streator Times Press; Toluca Star Herald; El Paso Journal. Each and every ad has a date/time of the sale and that the sales are posted on this website for everyone to see.

Thanks so much.

Thanks for listening.

Jim & Gene Ketchmark ...

Contact: Jrketch@aol.com .... 707-273-8366