Fulton Newsletter LETTER FROM MAYOR RUSEELL. January 2015 Winter edition INSIDE THIS ISSUE SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST

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1 January 2015 Winter edition Fulton Newsletter LETTER FROM MAYOR RUSEELL The City of Fulton offers this thank you for your generous contribution to enhance our Community Center. Here are a few of the thankful who routinely use the Center: Fulton-Thomson Area Food Pantry Gateway Chapter of the Red Cross Whiteside County Health Department Whiteside County Transit Program Fulton Senior Meal Program American Legion Post 402 Fund raising and civic events Fall Fest, Christmas Walk, Dutch Day and E-Day Organizers Displaced families who can find shelter from heat, cold and storm emergencies in this Center that is outfitted with emergency power, kitchen and provisions New tenants Fulton Area Chamber of Commerce & Fulton Tourism Center offices They all thank you for your support. Respectfully on their behalf, Mayor Larry Russell INSIDE THIS ISSUE Message from FPD...2 Your pipes and the cold...3 Events calendar...4 Fulton Tourism...4 Fulton Attractions...4 SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST The De Immigrant Windmill and Windmill Cultural Center had 14, 590 visitors in 2014 The Robert Fulton Community Center Serves lunch on Wednesday & Friday for $4. Everyone is welcome

2 BE A RESPONSIBLE CITIZEN We are proud of our community and we need your assistance in keeping it safe and free of vandalism. The program See Something, Say Something simply asks citizens to notify the police when they see something unusual, suspicious or if damage is occurring. Call the police immediately. Please continue to assist us in keeping Fulton a safe place to live, work and visit. Call (815) or Emergency 911 The See Something, Say Something simply asks citizens to notify the police when they see something unusual, suspicious or if damage is occurring. James Rhoades, Chief of Police REGISTER FOR IMPORTANT UPDATES NIXLE is a community notification system that allows your police department to send you alerts via an or a text. The police can then notify the public of a water main break, gas leak, bridge closures or other emergency information that could affect public safety. Go to and look for the NIXLE icon to sign up! WATCH FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN Now that school is back in session and the winter weather has finally arrived, we ask the motoring public to be aware of school zones and watch for increased pedestrian traffic before and after school. Leave earlier for your destination, slow down and drive defensively. Expect children to do the unexpected. Let s make this New Year a safer one! 2

3 Average cost for running a faucet is $8-$10 PROTECT YOUR PIPES FROM THE COLD! Cold weather is once again upon us. Last year below average temperatures caused problems with water lines that never had freezing issues before. The snow cover helps, but often the lines that freeze are under plowed roadways and do not have the snow for protection. Water lines in Illinois are buried five feet deep. Over my tenure I have rarely seen frost reach this depth, unfortunately last year was the exception. Water pipes on exterior walls of your home are also at risk and you may want to leave a small stream running during extreme cold temperatures. Attached you will find an estimate of how much water a residence might use if a faucet is left dripping or running over a period of time. Frozen pipes can cause thousands of dollars in damage. If you have any questions please contact Public Works Department at (815)

4 FULTON ATTRACTION EVENTS Jan 20 Teddy Bear Jan 21 Windmill Cultural Center (WCC) Jan 25 Creation Station by Rollingwater RFCC Jan 27 Teddy Bear Jan 28 Changes in the IL WCC Jan 29 Cabin Fever Ladies RFCC Feb 3 Teddy Bear Feb 4 Amelia WCC Feb 10 Teddy Bear Feb 11 Karneval: German Mardi WCC Feb 17 Teddy Bear Feb 17 Geology Goes to WCC Feb 18 Sandhill Feb 24 Teddy Bear Feb 25 Ukulele WCC Mar 4 CSI with Linda WCC Mar 11 Newspapering in the WCC Mar 17 Spencer Tracy & Freeport WCC Mar 18 Unsinkable Molly WCC Details at BE A TOURIST IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD Did you know that our De Immigrant Windmill had more than 14,000 visitors last year from 48 states and 26 countries. That is just in 2014! When was the last time that you took your family to see the Fulton attractions that people travel from all over the world to see? We take for granted the Gems that we have here in Fulton, the De Immigrant Windmill, Windmill Cultural Center, Heritage Canyon and Martin House Museum. You can find more information about each of these attractions and their schedule of activities and exhibits at Left: Pictures of inside of the Windmill MARTIN HOUSE If walls could talk...that is the thought that many visitors have had when they tour the Martin House Museum. The home built in the Civil War Era is located at th Ave. The house has beautiful features like stained glass windows, custom Walnut woodwork and staircase and an amazing collection of photographic history of Fulton. The museum features a genealogy research room. Have you ever wondered about how your family fits into the history of Fulton or what impact your ancestors had in shaping our community? Visit the Martin House to see what you can find! For Museum Hours and Events visit and find them under Fulton Attractions. ROBERT FULTON COMMUNITY CENTER The City of Fulton is investing in the future of the community by developing the Robert Fulton Community Center. The RFCC is a place for friends and family to gather, offers opportunity to learn new skills, provide a meal and activities and learning for our students. New Executive Director, Melissa Wiebenga, is working to create programming that covers all ages and offers something for everyone. In December the RFCC hosted a Santa s workshop event and saw 50 children from the area create gifts for family members. In January it s the adults turn to create! We will be hosting our first Creation Station event on the 25th that teaches people how to create a snowman painting. The 4th Sunday of each month we will have a new project to inspire you! On the 29th we will be hosting a Cabin Fever Ladies Night that will offer people a chance to get out of their house for social time as well as a little shopping. 4 To get the most up-to-date information on what is going on at the RFCC follow us on Facebook!

5 HERITAGE CANYON Heritage Canyon began it s life as a limestone quarry. The property was transformed by the forward vision of Harold & Thelma Wierenga who purchased and cleared the way for the Canyon of today. They shaped the quarry two main goals, preserve Midwestern history, emphasizing detail and authenticity; and disturb nature as little as possible as each building is added. There are currently 10 structures on the property including a church, school, general store, blacksmith and examples of period homes. You can take a self-guided tour from April to December or come during one of the community festivals. During Dutch Days, Bluegrass Festival, Fall Festival, Beggars Night and the Christmas Walk you will find the Early American Crafters dressed in period clothes and educating visitors on the ways of life during the early days of America. For a virtual tour of the Canyon or more information about this amazing site visit find Heritage Canyon under Fulton Attractions Go to for more information on attractions, event dates and other Fulton news! DE IMMIGRANT WINDMILL & CULTURAL CENTER In 2000 the De Immigrant Windmill was dedicated during the Dutch Days festival. It was brought to our community from the Netherlands and reconstructed here by Dutch Craftsman. People from all 50 states and around the world have visited our Windmill. But did you know: The Windmill is fully operational a set of blue basalt stones are used to crush wheat into flour The stones take up THREE floors inside the mill with all the machinery The Windmill regularly produces five different types of flour that are for sale in the Windmill Cultural Center gift shop and the Fulton Meat Market Millers can grind approximately 1 bushel of grain every 10 minutes, wind permitting The Windmill ground flour for the Mississippi River Distilling Company in LeClaire to create a special Windmill Rye Whiskey The Windmill Cultural Center (WCC) was opened in April 2010 to help support the De Immigrant Windmill. Inside the WCC you will find information about how our Windmill works but the great information doesn t stop there. The WCC houses a collection of 22 working windmills models from 10 countries. They vary in size but reach up to 6 feet tall. The WCC works to educate and inform. The volunteers put together wonderful temporary exhibits and programs through out the year. For a complete listing of the programs visit the website at and look under Fulton Attractions. There is a Junior Miller program that teaches the next generation about operating Windmills 5

6 ANDRESEN NATURE CENTER SEEKING VOLUNTEERS Do you have an interest in nature, educating future generations on the importance of taking care of our environment and exploring all that our local habitats have to offer? We need your help! The Andresen Nature Center is working on their mission to educate, inspire, and encourage all to have an appreciation for our natural environment through exploration and demonstration. FULTON MARINA The Fulton marina is located along the Mighty Mississippi in Fulton, Illinois. We are a municipally owned, year round, full service marina and very family friendly. There is a gas dock for your convenience. Potable water and pump out service are also available. Two public ramps are offered for a $3/day launch fee. Yearly passes (unlimited launching) may be purchased at Fulton City Hall for $30. The ramps are well lit and the marina has ample parking for vehicles and trailers. We have boat slips available ranging in size from 25 to 70 feet long. For pricing and other helpful information on leasing a slip, please visit Contact Kyle Kopf at (815) to find out how you can get involved. City of Fulton th Ave. Fulton, IL Phone: (815) info@cityoffulton.us Melissa Wiebenga, Editor PLEASE PLACE STAMP HERE