Taylorville organization collecting health surveys

March 28, 2024 47

TAYLORVILLE — The Taylorville-based organization “My Community My Family” (MCMF) is collecting health surveys to identify cancer and disease clusters in the community.

“The purpose of our group conducting a health survey is to identify clusters of not only cancer but also disease clusters in the community,” the organization stated in a news release earlier this week.

Listen to “AUDIO: My Community My Family Public Meeting (March 25, 2024)” on Spreaker.

Taylorville made national news in the Washington Post in a 1997 article about four children being exposed to elements of the former Central Illinois Public Service (CIPS) manufactured gas plant (MGP) near Manners Park. The four children — Zachary Donaldson, Chad Hryhorysak, Erika May, and Brandon Steele – were diagnosed with the rare cancer neuroblastoma, which strikes the adrenal glands and nervous system. While Donaldson, Hryhorysak, and May each received their diagnosis within 12 months of each other between 1987 and 1989, Steele didn’t receive his diagnosis until 1991. Steele would succumb to the cancer.

The site is currently under the ownership of Ameren Corporation and its Illinois subsidiary Ameren Illinois as the result of the state’s three largest utilities CIPS, Central Illinois Light Company, and Illinois Power merged with Missouri-based Union Electric Company in December 1997.

The group is focusing on health surveys with cancer and disease clusters dating no further back than 1999 up to the present date. These findings will be cross-evaluated with the cancer registry.

The surveys, in which the collected information will remain anonymous, can be filled out on behalf of a loved one, on behalf of a deceased loved one, or as a self-report.

“It will be sealed in an envelope and not reviewed until the medical professional’s review,” the news release continues. “We will compare the cancer [and disease] statistics with that the registry has reported in the past.”

MCMF representatives will be present during all survey times to assist anyone needing assistance. In addition, they will also provide information on air reports, a timeline of the Ameren/CIPS MGP site activities, groundwater reports, and additional pertinent information.

A joint public hearing by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was held at the Taylorville campus of Lincoln Land Community College on Tuesday night, March 26 to discuss its five-year review for the site and upcoming actions to expedite the cleanup process.

Listen to “AUDIO: Ameren/CIPS MGS Public Hearing (March 26, 2024)” on Spreaker.

Surveys have been collected so far this week with a handful of sessions to come. MCMF will be available at the Taylorville Township building on Thursday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. The same times apply to health survey sessions on Wednesday, April 3 and Friday, April 5. They will also be on hand Saturday, March 30 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Those unable to fill out a survey in person can contact Brenda Kimble via email at [email protected] to receive an online survey to complete.

The Taylorville Park Board opted to close parts of Manners Park until further notice. The audio from that meeting is below:

Listen to “AUDIO: Taylorville Park Board (March 25, 2024)” on Spreaker.

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Jake Leonard

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Jake Leonard, a broadcast media and journalism veteran, is the editor-in-chief of Heartland Newsfeed. Leonard is also GM and program director of Heartland Newsfeed Radio Network, wrestling editor and contributing writer for Ambush Sports, a contributing writer for My Sports Vote and Midwest Sports Network, and a former contributor to Bleacher Report and Overtime Heroics. He resides at home in Nokomis, Ill. with his dog Buster.