HR1573 LRB095 22749 KXB 53172 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to congratulate Joe Ellena on his
4 retirement as Chief of the Standard Fire Department; and
 
5     WHEREAS, The Standard Fire Department was originally
6 started as a village fire department after the founding of the
7 village in 1907; Joe Ellena has been its longest serving chief;
8 and
 
9     WHEREAS, Early in Joe Ellena's tenure as Chief, Mid-America
10 Growers, an industry new to the area, suffered a disastrous
11 fire, and the department was unprepared to handle the crisis;
12 the pumper was a 1948 model, equipment was lacking, and the
13 frustration of being forced to watch an uncontrollable fire had
14 a great impact on Joe; and
 
15     WHEREAS, Joe began the transformation of the department
16 from a social club to the professional organization it is
17 today; a bar was removed from the station and the hall was no
18 longer rented out for private events; an overhead door was
19 installed in the rear of the building to accommodate the
20 addition of a 3,500 gallon water tanker, which was built by the
21 department; air packs were purchased and extensive training was
22 completed; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, Paperwork and record keeping was improved under
2 Joe Ellena's time as Chief; the Department became heavily
3 involved with rescue work and became the sole provider of auto,
4 farm, and rope rescue in Putnam County; and a designated rescue
5 squad was established; and
 
6     WHEREAS, In 1978, Joe resigned as Fire Chief in order to
7 establish and develop a private business; Joe later returned to
8 fill the vacancy after the departure of the previous chief; a
9 new fire station was designed and built, more than tripling the
10 space previously available; a third tanker was added, along
11 with a fire engine carrying a 55-foot aerial device; the rescue
12 squad added a hovercraft for water rescue, and a 6-wheel drive
13 ATV for wildland fires and timber rescues; and the last of
14 Joe's projects was the construction of a training facility
15 available to any department; and
 
16     WHEREAS, Joe Ellena is the loving husband of Shirley; they
17 have four children, Sheryl Sons, John (Ashley) Ellena, Janet
18 (Steve) Cimei, and Robert (Jennifer) Ellena; they are the proud
19 grandparents of Nathan, Aaron, Hannah, Morgan, Joseph,
20 Spencer, Taylor, Brianna, and Gianna; therefore, be it
 
21     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
22 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we

 

 

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1 congratulate Joe Ellena for his dedication to the people of
2 Standard and wish him the best in his future endeavors; and be
3 it further
 
4     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
5 presented to Joe Ellena as a symbol of our respect.