[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 83 (Thursday, June 20, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1107]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E1107]]



                     TRIBUTE TO MR. MICHAEL CLINCH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JERRY WELLER

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 20, 2002

  Mr. WELLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer congratulations to Mr. 
Michael Clinch on the occasion of his retirement after an exceptional 
career as Superintendent of Ottawa Township High School District #140 
in Ottawa, Illinois.
  For the past thirty-five years, Superintendent Clinch has served the 
citizens and students of Ottawa in an outstanding fashion--beginning 
his career at Ottawa Township High School as a business teacher and 
moving up the chain of responsibility until his appointment in 1989 as 
Superintendent.
  Upon taking office in January, 1995 as the 11th Congressional 
District's Representative in the United States Congress, virtually the 
first community project brought to my attention was the need to 
complete the more than decade old effort to protect Ottawa Township 
High School from the frequent flooding of the Fox and Illinois Rivers 
with the construction of a levee around the School property. Largely 
because of both the unfailing determination of Superintendent Clinch to 
finally complete this vital project as well as the invaluable 
cooperation of Superintendent Clinch with my office, a compromise was 
reached with concerned neighbors of the High School and the multi-
million dollar levee constructed under the auspices of the Corps of 
Engineers. Today, the levee provides for the safety of students and 
staff while protecting the millions of dollars which the taxpayers of 
Ottawa have invested in their High School--while at the same time 
saving the High School an estimated average of $200,000 per year in 
flooding damages.
  Superintendent Michael Clinch's career is marked by meritorious 
examples of this type of strong and visionary leadership ranging from 
the merger with Marseilles High School in 1990 shortly after his 
appointment as Superintendent to the recently confirmed multi-million 
dollar upgrading and expansion of Ottawa Township High School's 
buildings and classrooms.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, I am proud and pleased to be able to offer 
to my colleagues in the United States House of Representatives the 
example of Superintendent Michael Clinch as a modern day education 
leader able to combine an ironclad commitment to educational excellence 
with the rare ability to meet head-on and successfully resolve a wide 
variety of tough challenges.

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