HELP THE SQUIRRELS!!!!

Squirrels start strong in bid to join Seven Wonders     By Mary
McGlasson
Published: Monday, March 12, 2007
      Olney residents may see the town mascot - the white
squirrel - become one of the Seven Wonders of Illinois, courtesy of a
statewide promotion by the Illinois Bureau of Tourism. The bureau
divided the state into seven regions, Chicago, Chicagoland, Northern,
Central, Western, Southern and Southwest, and took nominations for "your
favorite interesting, beautiful or just plain quirky Land of Lincoln
destinations" from each section during February on its website,
www.enjoyillinois.com.
            Enter Olney's albino squirrels. City
Clerk Belinda Henton, also known as "The Squirrel Lady" and who is a
member of the Southeastern Illinois Convention & Tourism Board,
nominated the squirrels for the honor after seeing the promotion on the
state website. "It said, 'Nominate a wonder of Illinois,' and I thought,
'Cool! That's us!'" she said.
            The nominations were narrowed to 12
attractions for each region, and the bureau is collecting votes on the
attractions via the website.
            The white squirrels face stiff
competition to become the Wonder for the Southern region, competing
against Rend Lake, Garden of the Gods, the confluence of the Ohio and
Mississippi rivers, Cave-In-Rock State Park, Bald Knob Cross, the
cypress trees of Cache River State Natural Area, Fort Massac State Park,
Mermet Springs, Shawnee Hills Barn Trail, Shawnee Hills Wine Trail and
the Superman statue and museum in Metropolis.
            Voting will continue until March 31,
and voters can cast one vote per day, so Henton urges supporters to
continue visiting the website.
            During the month, each of the four
weeks will double as rounds of elimination. The first week will feature
all 12 attractions, which will be whittled down to eight in the second
week, and then four in the third week. Finally, only two attractions
will be left to battle it out in the final week of the month.
              Results of the week's voting
will be updated on Monday of the following week, with the attractions
garnering the least votes eliminated and those with the most advancing
to the next week and the next round.
            Henton's early prediction is that
the squirrels will make it through the first rounds of the contest.
"We'll be all right until that last week," she said, adding that the
last weeks of voting would be crucial. The Seven Wonders will be
announced on the bureau's website on April 30.
            Becoming one of the Wonders would be
a boost in visibility throughout the state for the Olney area and would
result in focused promotion and advertisement via the state Bureau of
Tourism.
            This level of promotion is already
part of the competition: When you cast your vote, you also become
eligible to enter to win a getaway to the winning Wonder of your choice,
as well as other prizes.
            For more information or to cast your
vote, visit www.enjoyillinois.com/sevenwonders.
                    GO
SQUIRRELS!!!

Second Star To The Right And Straight On 'Til Morning...

Bil