HR0596 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0596 LRB094 13836 CSA 48707 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, On August 29, 2005, Raymond Edward Senteney will complete 50 years of service with the City of Mattoon; and

WHEREAS, The City is hosting an open reception for Mr. Senteney on August 29, 2005, at the City Hall; at the Mattoon City Council meeting on August 16, 2005, he was honored by the Mayor and Council with a plaque for his 50 years of service; the Mayor also announced that the Mattoon Police Department Pistol Range will now be known as the Raymond E. Senteney Mattoon Police Pistol Range; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Senteney was born February 4, 1921, in Mattoon; he attended Mattoon schools and graduated from Mattoon High in 1939; he was in the first ROTC class at Mattoon High School and played a French horn in the band; he worked at the Mattoon Journal-Gazette for a short while after high school during 1939 - 1940; he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II as a steam fitter on a ship and was honorably discharged; he worked for the New York Central Railroad as a pipe fitter prior to the railroad closing its repair shops in Mattoon; and

WHEREAS, He was sworn in as a Mattoon Police Patrolman on August 29, 1955; he was promoted to Captain on August 1, 1963, Assistant Chief on June 1, 1969, and Chief of Police on January 15, 1974; he retired from the police department as Chief of Police on August 31, 1985; and

WHEREAS, He was one of the first Mattoon police officers to attend Northwestern University Police Traffic Institute and the University of Illinois Police Training Institute for basic training; he also attended a police executive training program at the FBI Academy at Quantico, Virginia; he was selected as the 1972 "Police Officer of the Year" by the Mattoon VFW and, in 1974, as the "Outstanding Police Officer" by the Mattoon Jaycees; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Senteney was one of four co-founders and officers of the Mattoon Police Department Pistol Club and was the initiator and force behind the building of the Mattoon Police Department Pistol Range at Lake Paradise; he still works on the water system at the range each spring and fall; and

WHEREAS, He became a licensed plumber while serving on the police department and upon retirement from the police department, he became Mattoon Plumbing Inspector on September 1, 1985; he established the first set of records for plumbing inspections conducted in the City; he became a licensed local plumbing inspector when the licensing first became available by the State and received his certification in the first group; he continues to attend in-service training for Illinois plumbers and licensed plumbing inspectors provided by the Illinois Department of Public Health; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Senteney has been active in community affairs and professional organizations; he has been a member of Mattoon First Baptist Church for over 70 years and served as a Deacon and Trustee; he is Past Master of the Mattoon Masonic Lodge 260 and served at one meeting with all lodge officer positions filled by law enforcement officers; he is a past President and Treasurer of Corn Belt Shrine Club; he served as President of Mattoon High Twelve Club; he is a past President of the Mattoon Police Benevolent and Protective Association; he served as President of Central Illinois Chiefs of Police Association; he is a former Director of the Big Four Credit Union in Mattoon and a former Secretary of the Mattoon Police Department Pension Board; and

WHEREAS, He is also a member of the Illinois Plumbing Inspectors Association, the Mattoon American Legion, the Mattoon Moose Lodge, the Danville Scottish Rite, the Springfield Ansar Shrine Temple, a life member of the Illinois Police Association, a life member of Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, and a former member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police; and

WHEREAS, He and his wife of 63 years, Mae, have a son, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Raymond Senteney on his 50 years of exceptional service with the City of Mattoon, and we wish him well in his continued service as Mattoon Plumbing Inspector and in all his future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Raymond Senteney as an expression of our admiration and esteem.