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Naw's th* tim* to 

 whip your folk dance 

 team Into shape for 

 the Sports Festival in 

 August. Whiteside 

 Rural Youth show 

 how it's dene. 



By ■. ■■• 



ELLSWORTH D. LYON 



Skilled Driver activity has been evident 

 over most of the state. A majority of the 

 counties has been sponsoring activities sug- 

 gested in "Your Safety" — safety talks (the 

 directors of the department of safety and 

 young people's activities, representatives of 

 the state highway police, and local officers 

 have spoken to Rural Youth groups), use 

 of the bulletin entitled "Behind the Wheel, " 

 safety mixers, and safety demonstrations. 

 Some counties have used all of these, while 

 others have just started on the program. 



To date 22 Rural Youth counties have 

 registered with the departments of safety 

 and young people's activities to take the 

 Skilled Drivers' course. They are: Clark, 

 Clay, Cook, Edwards, Fayette, Gallatin, 

 Iroquois, Kane, Kendall, Knox, LaSalle, 

 Massac, McLean, Monroe, Montgomery, 

 Richland, Schuyler, Shelby, Vermilion, 

 "Whiteside, Williamson, and Woodford. 



Beginning in July these counties and any 

 others that desire to participate will begin 

 study in the short course for Skilled 

 Drivers' and will cover four units. While 

 these four units are planned for July, Au- 

 gust, September, and the first half of Octo- 

 ber, they will be sent out as groups desire 

 them. "The course of study will follow the 

 same general subject matter as lessons 

 which have appeared in "Your Safety." 

 They are designed to prepare the partici- 

 pants for both oral and written examina- 

 tions, and for driving demonstrations. 



Advancement in skilled driver activity 

 will be by three steps. First will come the 

 county written examination, or contest, early 

 in October. The winners in the county will 

 take the second step by going to the dis- 

 trict later in October or early November 

 for actual driving tests, with the state 

 police and the departments of safety and 

 young people's activities cooperating. The 

 third step will be the state driving contest 

 at the annual meeting of the Illinois Agri- 

 cultural Association. There the state win- 

 ner will be picked through an actual driv. 

 ing test sponsored by the same agencies as 

 for the district contest. 



Recognition in the form of awards will 

 be given the various winners, as well as 

 all who successfully complete the course. 



We should be glad to know of your ac- 

 tivities in the Skilled Drivers' program and 

 publish your successes in the lAA Record 

 so that other groups may benefit from your 

 experiences. Here are some of the com- 

 ments received during these earlier stages 

 of the program: "I am a 100 per cent 

 backer in ... . the Skilled Drivers' Club " 

 — Woodford. "Any information on the 

 Skilled Drivers' Club will be appreciated. 

 The Knox county group voted to take this 

 course." "The Rural "Youth in Fayette are 

 planning to organize a Skilled Drivers' 



Club." "We are anxious to begin work in 

 this activity" — Montgomery. "Please send 

 us 15 copies of "Behind the Wheel," and 

 other material you may have of value to 

 our Skilled Drivers' Club" — Edwards. 



Every county, including those listed 

 above, is entitled to the privilege of taking 

 the Skilled Drivers' course. Let us know 

 if you desire to register your group and 

 receive the lessons. The study and prac- 

 tice of safety on the highway will help 

 Rural Youthers to become safe drivers. A 

 safe driver will save lives and money. 



Dr. Van Houweling, director of the de- 

 partment of veterinary medical relations 



Dr. C. D. Van Houweling, lAA director of 

 veterinary medical relations, speaks to 

 Marshall-Putnam Rural Youth on the rela- 

 tion of animal diseases to hunton health. 



lAA, has been speaking before Rural Youth 

 groups, and says that he is encouraged by 

 the interest on the part of youth in the 

 control of animal diseases and the relation- 

 ship of animal health to human welfare. 

 He will be glad to meet groups which 

 might call upon him during the summer 

 and fall. If you have an open date, let him 

 know as summer speaking engagements will 

 be easiest for him to fill. Other depart- 

 ment heads, of course, will be glad to as- 

 sist in the Rural Youth program. 



W. W. Whitlock, director of department 

 of safety and public health spoke at Clark's 

 spring banquet on the theme, "The Respon- 

 sibility of Rural Youth in Social Activities," 

 applying the responsibility of the individual 

 to the group and of the group to the in- 

 dividual. Whitlock appeared before the 

 McLean Rural Youth, May 12, and spoke on 

 "Fire Protection in the Home." 



The Whiteside Rural Youth carried a full 

 page article entitled "Spring and Tractors" 

 in the May issue. It is good to know that 

 Rural Youthers of Whiteside are thinking 

 in terms of safety. 



District Soil Conservationist, Siliman, 

 showed slides and gave a talk to Will Rural 

 Youth at the May meeting on the all im- 

 portant topic of "Soil Conservation." The 

 Rock Island group heard Ray Hessprich, 

 soil conservationist on this theme at its 

 spring hop. ,- ■; -. 



RIVER ELEVATORS 

 TO RISE SOON AT 

 LACON, HENNEPIN 



LARGE river elevators to be built 

 for the fast growing Prairie Grain 

 Company will be started this sum- 

 mer at Lacon and Hennepin on 

 cites along the Illinois river north 

 of Peoria. 



The Eikenberry Construction Company 

 of Bloomington signed an agreement in 

 mid-June with Prairie Grain Company 

 to build the elevators. Each elevator 

 will have a capacity of 125,000 bushels 

 and will cost at least $125,000 to build 

 and equip. 



It is not expected that either elevator 

 will be completed before next summer, 

 in the opinion of George Iftner, mana- 

 ger of the state-wide Illinois Grain 

 Terminals Company with which Prairie 

 Grain Company is directly affiliated. 



Iftner said that when completed these 

 river houses will be used to assemble 

 grain grown locally. The elevators will 

 then feed this grain into terminal mar- 

 kets, moving it largely by barge on in- 

 land waterways to take advantage of 

 cheaper water transportation. 



The elevators will be of a design 

 common, in the grain belt, consisting of 

 four concrete tanks 24 feet in diameter 

 with six intersticed bins. They will 

 stand 100 feet high, capped by a 28-foot 

 cupola. 



Prairie Grain is one of the three river 

 operating grain companies being built 

 by the Farm Bureau in Illinois along the 

 state's principal waterways. The other 

 two are the Western Illinois Grain Com- 

 pany and the Havana River Grain Com- 

 pany with headquarter offices at Dallas 

 City and Havana, respectively. 



The Havana River Grain Comjaany 

 has all but completed its new river 

 house at Havana and will be ready to 

 move the wheat crop as it is harvested, 

 probably in late July. A large corn crib 

 and sheller also being built and installed 

 at Havana should be ready for the corn 

 crop this fall. 



Iftner said the wheat crop around 

 Havana, although about two weeks late, 

 is the one bright spot so far in the Illi- 

 nois crop outlook. A bumper har\'est is 

 expected. 



A wet cold spring that climaxed into 

 damaging river floods during mid-June 

 has also had the effect of cutting oat 

 acreages and the potential oat harvest far 

 below livestock requirements. 



JULY-AUGUST, 1947 



