[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 56 (Thursday, April 22, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E738]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HONORING ALL THE PEOPLE WHO OFFERED ASSISTANCE DURING THE AMTRAK TRAIN 
                         TRAGEDY IN BOURBONNAIS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JERRY WELLER

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 22, 1999

  Mr. WELLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Kankakee County 
Sheriff Tim Bukowski; Bourbonnais Mayor, Grover Brooks; Bourbonnais 
Police Chief, Joseph Beard, Bourbonnais Fire Chief, Mike Harshbarger; 
employees of Riverside Medical Center; employees of Provena St. Mary's 
Hospital; paid and volunteer firefighters and emergency personnel; 
employees of Birmingham Steel; employees of Farm & Fleet; all policemen 
and firemen in Kankakee County; as well as all those who reside in the 
Kankakee River Valley for their acts of heroism during the recent 
Amtrak train tragedy in Bourbonnais.
  The Village of Bourbonnais is known as the ``Village of Friendship''. 
The Village as well as the entire Kankakee River Valley has proven 
worthy of the title. Both local and national news accounts were filled 
with stories of heroism and acts of kindness. The world was watching 
and Bourbonnais arose to the occasion. People of all ages rose to the 
occasion. Half a million pennies collected by Kankakee County school 
children during the past year even helped save lives. The pennies were 
recently used to purchase a night vision camera which was used to help 
see in the night through the fumes and smoke from the wreckage.
  I have been told of small acts of kindness throughout the Kankakee 
River Valley. Anyone who took part in the rescue effort would not be 
allowed to pay for their own meals in any area restaurant. Food, 
clothing, and toy donations poured into the local hospitals for over 8 
hours. Offers of assistance came from all surrounding communities and 
counties. Even local teenagers donated blood to the Red Cross.
  The Village of Bourbonnais was incorporated in 1875, nearly two 
centuries after French explorer Cavalier de La Salle established 
contact with the Potawatomi Indians who lived there. According to 
Village history, the town takes its name for an early pioneer, Francois 
Bourbonnais, Sr., a French-Canadian Fur trapper who set up a trading 
post in 1830. Today, Bourbonnais is a growing community and was named 
by Reader's Digest as one of the best communities in the United States 
in which to raise a family.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge this body to identify and recognize other towns 
and villages in their own districts whose actions have so greatly 
proven to be a community which works together during both good and bad 
times.

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