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92_HR0788
LRB9216524BHbh
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are proud to recognize milestone events in
4 the lives of the citizens of Illinois; and
5 WHEREAS, It has come to our attention that WKAN
6 (Kankakee) radio news reporter Jan Parcell recently retired
7 after serving nearly 25 years with the station; and
8 WHEREAS, Mr. Parcell began his radio education in a
9 distant corner of the U.S. in the late 1950s; he was an Air
10 Force radio intercept operator on a remote Aleutian island
11 where he transcribed Morse code transmissions picked up from
12 Soviet communications; in his spare time, Mr. Parcell manned
13 a 10 watt radio station that served a couple of islands used
14 by the military; there he would play top 40 music supplied by
15 Armed Services Radio; and
16 WHEREAS, After his tour of duty, Mr. Parcell went to
17 broadcasting school but did not graduate from college; he
18 plans to complete his degree, now that he is retired, from
19 Governors State University, based in large part on his life
20 experience; and
21 WHEREAS, During his time as a radio news reporter, Mr.
22 Parcell met with then Vice President George Bush; he
23 interviewed Illinois governors, dating back to Governor
24 Thompson, and a myriad of local and regional politicians and
25 public officials; and
26 WHEREAS, Mr. Parcell's official shift was from 9 a.m. to
27 5:30 p.m., when he primarily covered criminal matters at the
28 courthouse; though his shift was designated, he was on call
29 24-hours a day; and
30 WHEREAS, Mr. Parcell worked non-stop at WKAN since 1983,
31 with earlier experience with the station from 1966-1970 and
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1 from 1975 to 1977; in addition to WKAN, he worked for WRIN in
2 Rensselaer, Indiana and at the former WBYG in Bourbonnais;
3 and
4 WHEREAS, Because radio is an instantaneous form of
5 communication, radio stations and their news staffers are
6 regarded as a community's response to emergency situations;
7 it has become a priority to keep radio lines open, as area
8 residents rely on them for up to date information on weather,
9 disasters, school closings, politics, and much more;
10 therefore, be it
11 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
12 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
13 we congratulate WKAN news reporter Jan Parcell for his many
14 years of dedicated service to his community and wish him all
15 the best in his future endeavors; and be it further
16 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
17 presented to Jan Parcell as an expression of our esteem.
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