Fire Destroys Elgin Lumber Company in Elgin, Texas

Is there a parallel universe?

From KXAN-TV, TX Dec 7, 2005, 10:19 PM CST

The same wind that helped usher in this Arctic cold front also helped fan the flames of a fire in Central Texas. The difficult weather conditions kept firefighters in Elgin busy for hours. The fire broke out shortly before 2 p.m. and quickly engulfed the old wooden structure that used to house the Elgin Lumber Company.

Read the article here.

Or this article with a photo from the Elgin Courier (Elgin, Texas)

This is too strange. I thought the fact that both Elgin, IL and Elgin, TX are Main Street communities and both have newspapers with Courier in their name. Now large fires within days of each other at vacant lumber yards.

New Features on Downtown Elgin Blog

Several new features and changes have occurred during the past week.

• RSS subscription buttons moved to the top of the side panel
• In The News section added for links to newspaper articles
• Calendar section added with downtown events from upcoming.org and links to the City of Elgin and Elgin Area Chamber calendars
• Photos from Flickr section shows the three most recent pictures
• A Google map from Communitywalk.com with downtown points of interest. A limited number of locations have been entered, more to come.
• A Google map from ATMLocator with ATM locations in the downtown

The Flickr photos and Google maps appear at the very bottom of the page if you are using Internet Explorer (IE) but work correctly in Firefox. We're working on this issue.

Elgin Junior Woman’s Club plans ornament exchange

The Elgin Junior Woman’s Club will hold its general meeting Tuesday, December 6th at the Downtown Neighborhood Association, 2 Douglas Ave, Elgin.
Social time at 7 p.m. , meeting at 7:30 p.m.
Bring a wrapped Christmas ornament if you would like to participate in an ornament exchange.

Daily Herald article.

Public Hearing for the Adoption of the 2006 City of Elgin Budget

The 2006 Budget is currently under review by City Council. The Public Hearing for the Adoption of the 2006 Budget is scheduled for Wednesday, December 21, 2005 at the Regular City Council Meeting beginning at 7:00 p.m. Public comments will be heard at the December 7, 2005 Truth and Taxation Public Hearing scheduled for 7:00 p.m. as well. Due to the size of the Budget, it has been saved as seven separate sections.

Proposed 2006 Budget – Entire Document (10,282 KB)
Proposed 2006 Budget – Section 1 (1,341 KB)
Proposed 2006 Budget – Section 2 (2,244 KB)
Proposed 2006 Budget – Section 3 (2,376 KB)
Proposed 2006 Budget – Section 4 (5,630 KB)
Proposed 2006 Budget – Section 5 (1,076 KB)
Proposed 2006 Budget – Section 6 (1,823 KB)
Proposed 2006 Budget – Section 7 (2,317 KB)
If you have questions or would like to contribute your budget comments email: budget@cityofelgin.org, or call 847-931-5930.

Traffic Enforcement Forum

As part of a continuing series of community forums, the Elgin Human Relations Commission will sponsor a traffic enforcement forum Thursday, Dec. 6, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. in the West Conference Room, at The Centre, 100 Symphony Way, Elgin.

“Traffic enforcement and police interaction with citizens during traffic stops is often looked upon as confrontational and negative,” said Dorothy Brandon, the City’s EEO specialist. “This forum is designed to educate people on Elgin traffic enforcement practices.”

Elgin police Chief Lisa Womack will provide an overview of traffic law enforcement within the City of Elgin while also providing a data report. Participants will be able to ask questions.

Nominations for the 2005 Elgin Image Awards

The Image Advisory Commission is currently accepting nominations for the 2005 Elgin Image Awards. Nomination forms are currently available at City Hall, The Gail Borden Library, and The Centre of Elgin. The deadline for submittal is Friday January 6, 2006.

The annual competition honoring beautification and image-enhancement efforts by local individuals, businesses, and organizations has always attracted a lot of interest from across the community. Past winners in the thirteen year old competition have included organizations such as the Elgin Symphony Orchestra and Talisman Theatre, special events such as the Gifford Park Association’s annual Housewalk, the Chamber’s Enhancing Elgin campaign, many outstanding individual volunteer efforts and numerous civic organizations and local businesses. The principal criterion for the Image Awards is simple – nominees have had to make a substantial positive impact on the improvement of Elgin’s image. There are five categories for the annual awards including Individual/professional, Individual/volunteer, Projects (such as special events, fundraising projects and neighborhood improvements), and Organizations or Businesses. In addition to the Image Awards, the Commission also presents a Citizenship award. This award is designed to recognize individuals whose outstanding activities and efforts exemplify the meaning of citizenship.

Winners are selected by members of the Image Advisory Commission, and will be honored at the annual Image Awards event scheduled for March 9th, 2006 at The Centre of Elgin. For more information or questions regarding the Image Awards please contact Meredith Hannah, Marketing Officer at 847-931-5593.

Fire Rages at Elgin Salvage Yard

Sunday night at 5 pm I saw a huge column of smoke rising from the southwest. This was from the corner of Congdon and Dundee. Minutes later the flames were clearly visible from the Northwest Tollway where it crosses the Fox River. At 8:30 pm some smoke and flames were still visible from Route 31.

Daily Herald article and photo.

UPDATE:
The fire was at the former Seigle lumberyard not Elgin Salvage as previously reported.
Courier News article and photos.
Daily Herald article from December 6th.