 |
CAT Tracks for November 5, 2009
OBITUARY - FLORA CHAMBLISS |
My condolences to the family...
From The Cairo Citizen
Flora M. Chambliss passes away
Fortified with the sacraments of the church, Flora M. Chambliss of Cairo passed away November 1, 2009, at Landmark Hospital in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
She was born March 4, 1926, in Rich Square, North Carolina, the daughter of the late Lazarus Pope Tann and Ada Reba Tann.
She graduated from Howard University with a Bachelors degree in pharmacy. She worked as a pharmacist in North Carolina before moving to St. Louis, where she took the Missouri Board and scored 100 percent, but was given 99 percent. She worked in the pharmacy at DuPaul Hospital until she met and married Dr. Homer H. Chambliss.
Mrs. Chambliss was a member of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church of Cairo, Illinois. She was active in the life of the church, serving as a member of the Altar Guild. She was a life-long member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, serving as the basileus of the local chapter for many years.
She was always very active in her community, as she served on the CAP Board that was forerunner for Shawnee Development. She was on the founding boards of Pulaski-Alexander Mental Health Association (PAMHA - now Delta Center), as well as Alexander County Senior Citizens.
She later served on the Egyptian Area Agency on Aging. She served as secretary of the Alexander County Neighborhood Advisory Board from 1965 to 1970. She received a Governor’s Citation in March of 1971 for “Distinguished service to the youth of Illinois and exceptional accomplishment in developing better community life.”
During the civil unrest in Cairo in the 1970’s, she wanted to do something to provide all children in Cairo with a safe environment by forming CRC (Community for Recreation in Cairo.)
CRC provided “fun day” in the park every Saturday, after schools arts and crafts, skating parties on cordoned off streets, dances for the teenagers. Mrs. Chambliss was the first to hire the Soul Phonics for the dances. CRC chaperoned the children to out-of-town basketball games and made sure they behaved and were respectful as they represented Cairo in the 1980’s. She served on the Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission.
She recently served on the Citizen Advisory for Cairo Public School District.
She also formed CCRC (Concerned Citizens for the Recovery of Cairo), still with her sights on seeing a better community. CCRC took on clean-up projects for Cairo, also purchasing much needed fire department equipment, as well as many other community service projects. Mrs. Chambliss worked privately for five years trying to bring about some relief to the people of Cairo with the high utility bills, until she was instrumental in forming “CURRE,” (Committee for Utility Rate and Reduction and Enforcement.) This committee was successful in getting the Illinois Attorney General’s office to investigate the local utility company. Mrs. Chambliss worked tirelessly behind the scene on many projects and never sough the accolades received; namely when the Civil Rights Movement brought about integration, she was instrumental in forcing St. Mary’s Hospital to allow African-American mothers to stay on the maternity floor and not be separated from their babies.
In addition to being involved in her community, she raised nine children; Alan (Kelly) Chambliss, of Carbondale, Illinois, Dr. Michael Chambliss, of Fresno, California, Dr. Karen Chambliss, of Selbyville, Delaware, Kathryn Chambliss, of Carbondale, Illinois, Dr. Patricia Chambliss, of Columbia, Maryland, Pamela Chambliss, of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Michele Pierce, of San Francisco, California, Anthony Chambliss, of Cairo, and David (Jennifer) Chambliss, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by two brothers and five sisters, Louis Tann, L.P. Tann, Thelma Taylor, Medessa Moore, Mamie Wright, Maxine Riley, and Dorothy Tann.
She is survived by her nine children; five grandchildren, Danielle Desbordes, Michael David Chambliss, Logan Pierce, Natalie Pierce and Katelyn Chambliss; her sister-in-law, Geraldine Trammell of Chicago; her only living sibling, Genora Bishop of Durham, North Carolina; and a host of nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Cairo, where friends may call from 5-8 p.m., Friday, November 6. The Holy Rosary will be recited at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
The Funeral Mass for Mrs. Chambliss will be conducted at 10 a.m., Saturday, November 7, 2009, at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Cairo with the Rev. Fr. Jerome Fortenberry and the Rev. Fr. John Agbasiera as celebrants. Interment will follow in Green Lawn Memorial Gardens at Villa Ridge.
The Barkett Funeral Home of Cairo is in charge of arrangements.
Neither age nor health would keep Mrs. Chambliss from championing the cause of Cairo.
Involved to the very end...
From the Springfield State Journal-Register...
Letters to the Editor: July 16
THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER
Though this letter pertains to Cairo, we are writing to The State Journal-Register hoping that maybe our state officials will read this.
I hear and read about all of the protests ongoing in Illinois. Most of them are about one, two or three agencies losing their funds and/or jobs, etc.
Now I can tell you about the situation when an entire city is being lost! Cairo, Ill.!
For five years, I have constantly sought help from the governor’s office, attorney general’s office, our legislators, departments of the state government about the major problems here.
The city government has not been able to apply for grants because there has been no audit signed since around 2002 — and that is because of the missing $3 million unaccounted for from a previous administration.
During the years of Mayor James Wilson’s administration, the city leased the Cairo Public Utility Co. to a private group for 30 years! No referendum was held and the public was notified of “the done deal” in the local newspaper.
During that administration, two-thirds of the population of the city, young people who had been active in sustaining the city, moved away. As they were destroying the city, they voted themselves $600 per month for city council members and $1,000 per month for the mayor, along with perks, including two pension plans as well as health benefits. This is more than any other city in the area!
The deal with Cairo Public Utility was that the city would receive $60,000 a month. As the people left, those of us remaining began to be charged whatever was needed to cover the commitment. Eventually, most people were on budget payments. In my case, it is $400 a month for the year! When we were down to about a population of 2,000, we began to see bills for natural gas of $800 to $900 for winter months, and we seldom ever got those paid for before the next winter period. I, and many others, can no longer live under these conditions.
It has been maddening to hear/read that the Illinois legislators have used their time trying to rid themselves of a governor who no longer wanted to “play ball on their terms,” and to “tar and feather” the man who became the replacement for Barack Obama’s Senate seat. Talk about Nero fiddling while Rome burned. We have now experienced the Illinois version of that piece of history!
We, Concerned Citizens for the Recovery of Cairo (CCRC), are finally getting some help from the Illinois Coalition for Community Services (ICCS). This agency and CCRC have been gathering materials and information, including 200–300 copies of actual CPU bills. All material has been sent to the offices of the governor and the attorney general, but nothing has been forthcoming from Springfield. I guess the saying is true that “the state of Illinois stops at Carbondale,” because anything south of that doesn’t matter!
We don’t know what will get some action and relief for Cairo citizens.
Flora Chambliss
Cairo
