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Les Amis du Fort de Chartres asking for help

The Les Amis du Fort de Chartres (Friends of Fort de Chartres in French) are looking for help.

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The group has agreed to sponsor all of the 2017 special events at the fort, including the annual Rendezvous in June and World War II Day and Brewfest in October.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">But the group, which is a not-for-profit organization made up of volunteers, has also undertaken some repairs to the fort - which served as France's headquarters in the Illinois Country after being built in the 1750s - including a project to deconstruct and reconstruct the fort's ghostings.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">The "ghostings" are the wood timber frame structures, built on the original building foundations, that show what the infrastructure of the building originally looked like. But they are nearly 30 years old and are showing the effects of deterioration.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Two Les Amis du Fort de Chartres, Jennifer Duensing and Carol Kuntz, spoke to the county commissioners on Friday seeking guidance on what avenues to explore to pay for the $3,400 cost of the work.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">"Some of them have been deteriorating to the point where, before too long, they'll be unsafe," Duensing said.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Duensing said the $3,400 bid, from Ron Stork of Ron's Construction Services of Sparta, was the lowest as the company is donating the labor to take the structures down.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">"We are asking the leadership of Randolph County for assistance to locate funds to execute the ghosting removal project," said a news release distributed to media at the meeting. "After Ron's work to remove the lumber from the wooden decks and foundation is accomplished, Fort de Chartres volunteers will be scheduled on site to remove the wood from the site grounds."</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Duensing noted that the group has received guidelines and permission from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency to accomplish the project. She added that time is against them as it is preferred to finish the project before the ground becomes soft and too muddy to do the work.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">"We need to get these down in a quick timeframe," she said.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Duensing said the IHPA's architect applied for emergency funds from the state's Capital Development Budget for the deconstruction of the ghostings, but it was denied and handed over to Les Amis du Fort de Chartres to pursue a solution.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">"With time against us as we approach the 2017 upcoming special event season at the fort site, we are asking for the community's help," the news release stated.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">To learn more about Les Amis du Fort de Chartres and how to donate, visit the group's website at www.fortdechartres.us/les-amis-du-fort-de-chartres/.</span>

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To read more about what else happened at the meeting, see the March 3 print edition of the Herald Tribune.