IDNR Announces Layoffs At Sparta Shooting Complex

Well. more nails in the Sparta Grand. The IDNR announced it would lay off the employees at the complex starting Jan. 31. It seems they're actively shopping the complex to anyone who can operate it privately and make it profitable. Tick-tock!

 

How much money did the ata say they HAD in the bank?

 

Somebody check out the Kool-Aid drinking site.
See if they got the word. I wonder if their head apologist the green something or other will be on there telling the other lemmings that it is just a rumor and how he can't wait until August.
Dumb as a box of rocks

 

The newspaper headlines in early December were very positive.

Director of shooting complex wants expanded role for facility
LES WINKELER THE SOUTHERN Dec 8, 2016​

SPARTA – In shooting circles, Sparta’s World Shooting and Recreational Complex is recognized as one of the finest facilities in the country.

It’s Monica Brackman’s job to build on that. Barackman, a Belleville native, is the WSRC’s executive director.

There are only a couple facilities in the country, the National Shooting Complex in Texas and the Cardinal Center in Ohio, that can approach the WSRC’s size and diversity. The Sparta facility offers trap, skeet, sporting clays and has berms for pistol and rifle shooting on 1,600 sprawling acres.

The WSRC is home to the Amateur Trapshooting Association’s Grand American, the largest trap shooting event in the world.

But, when Brackman, who has a marketing background, looks at the facility, the word potential comes to mind.

“When you come out here and the site is closed for the day, it’s a totally different park you’re viewing,” she said. “It is a challenge. Everybody wants to see this facility at a higher — they know it has a high potential. Potential. That’s one word I’ve heard countless times in the last two years I’ve been out here. Everybody sees the potential. So, it’s just continuing to tap into individuals to pursue extra events.”

Brackman said her marketing background, including her tenure with the Frontier League’s Gateway Grizzlies, has been helpful.

“I come from minor league baseball,” she said. “I know that sounds kind of funny, but minor league baseball is not just about the baseball. It’s about everything else, the in-between innings promotions. It’s about the food. What do you do when the team is out of town? How do you keep that facility in people’s minds when your backyard is the St. Louis Cardinals.

“For me coming out here, everybody looks at it, ‘OK, the Grand American, the home grounds for the ATA’s Grand American.’ But, what about the 1,001 campsites we have? What about the local schools that want to have a 5K? What about the lakes we have? I want to make sure the community is aware this is much more than a shooting park. It’s 1,600 acres, all open. There are so many activities that could be done out here.”

Brackman is currently putting together programs for the 2017 total eclipse of the sun that will be visible in Southern Illinois. She would like to see concerts, weddings and family reunions as part of the WSRC’s regular calendar.

The facility frequently sells itself. The trick? Getting someone to Sparta to visit the site.

“So many people I’ve met with that haven’t been out here and are definitely not shooters,” she said, “I invite them out here to see the facility. That totally changes their mind. They come out here and say, ‘We could do this. You’ve got this. You’ve got the grounds for this.’ Before they come out here their idea is a little more pigeon-holed, but when they get out here they have 10 other ideas they leave with.”

Admittedly, the events of the last year didn’t help in that quest. The WSRC got its share of negative publicity due to the State of Illinois’ budget crisis. The Scholastic Clay Target Program’s collegiate shoot moved to Ohio. The ATA was publicly shopping The Grand American around.

The ATA reached an agreement with Illinois to keep the Grand American in Sparta for the foreseeable future.

More news like that is what Brackman would like to see under the Christmas tree.

“I have a number of events I’d like to see come out here,” she said. “Giving the shooters confidence that the facility is flourishing and that we will continue to grow and we are focused on growing and giving them that good feeling to come back here, to come back during league. I want that for the shooters.

“And, also for others to realize this is your state park. What else do you want out here? Are you looking for something more? Do you want to have a concert? Do you want to have a 5K? What are you looking for to make this your own?”

les.winkeler@thesouthern.com
618-351-5088


What happened within the following month?

​

AFSCME members to vote on strike authorization in Illinois​

JOHN O'CONNOR THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Jan 13, 2017 Updated Jan 16, 2017​

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois' largest public-employee union told its members Friday that they soon will vote on whether to authorize a strike if contract talks with Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration remain stalled.

The vote would not guarantee a strike, but indicate whether members of the state council of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees want to give their bargaining committee power to walk off the job after Rauner dismissed a contract-compromise plan this week.

In that plan, the union offered to forgo any general wage increases for a four-year period, although newer employees would still be entitled to annual "step" increases as they gain experience in their first eight years. Among other concessions, AFSCME offered to pay more for health insurance, but a Rauner spokeswoman called the offer "superficial."

AFSCME Executive Director Roberta Lynch termed the concessions "real sacrifice" in a memo to employees.

"Rather than recognizing that sacrifice and taking up the opportunity to chart a new course, the governor is refusing to make any compromise," Lynch said.

Voting will be Jan. 30 to Feb. 19. Rauner's office also condemned the call for a vote.

Dennis Murashko, general counsel for the governor, painted the administration's demands as "commonsense changes" such as requiring a 40-hour work week and "zero tolerance" for intoxication at work. Those are provisions the administration has implemented in recent weeks because a state labor board ruled last fall that negotiations were at "impasse," allowing the governor to implement his plan and the union to accept it or strike.

"AFSMCE has rushed to authorize a strike, putting Illinois residents at risk," Murashko said. "It is disappointing that AFSCME refuses to respect the state labor board's bipartisan ruling and work with us to implement a contract that is fair to taxpayers and state employees alike."

The Illinois AFSCME council has never taken a strike authorization vote, let alone walked the picket line, in its 45-year history of collective bargaining with the state. The union has generally enjoyed good relations with both Republican and Democratic governors.

But the state, operating for more than 18 months with no budget because of a stalemate on spending priorities between Rauner and Democrats who control the Legislature, rarely has had such a dire budget situation, leading Rauner to argue that government cost-cutting should also apply to its unions.

On Twitter:@apoconnor

World Shooting and Recreational Complex employees affected by AFSCME layoffs​

LES WINKELER THE SOUTHERN Jan 13, 2017 Updated Jan 18, 2017​

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 received a letter from Illinois Department of Central Management Services, dated Jan. 11, stating that union workers will receive layoff notices in the near future.

The letter, addressed to Roberta Lynch, AFSCME’s executive director, states, "Due to the recent court decision, we are now implementing the Sept. 2015 layoff. The proposed effective date of the layoff is at the close of business on Jan. 31, 2017."

The layoffs will affect the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Department of Transportation, Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

Sources close to the World Shooting and Recreational Complex have stated the layoff will affect AFSCME employees at the site.

"While these positions at the World Shooting Recreational Complex (WRSC) are being eliminated, employees are transitioning to other positions in the agency," said Ed Cross, Director of Communications for IDNR. "The shooting complex will continue to operate under a new management plan and these changes will ensure it runs more efficiently, saves taxpayer dollars, and remains open as a world class facility to shooters from across the world."

The WSRC was closed after the 2015 Grand American. The closure resulted in the loss of the Scholastic Clay Target Program’s college competition. The Amateur Trapshooting Association explored the possibility of moving The Grand American, the largest trapshooting competition in the world, but reached an agreement with IDNR.

les.winkeler@thesouthern.com
618-351-5088

Ah, Mr. Winkeler seems to have stepped off the bandwagon to observe the situation from a slightly different point of view.

Winkeler: State shoots itself in foot again​

LES WINKELER THE SOUTHERN Jan 19, 2017​

Les Winkeler
Les Winkeler is sports editor and outdoors writer for The Southern Illinoisan.


It seems the State of Illinois never misses an opportunity to shoot itself in the foot — especially in regards to the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta.

Gov. Bruce Rauner ordered the closing of the facility in late 2015. That move proved costly. The Scholastic Clay Target Program’s collegiate competition, featuring thousands of shooters, was forced to find a new home.

And, uncertainty created by the closure caused the Amateur Trapshooting Association to look for another venue. Eventually, the ATA and Illinois Department of Natural Resources reached an agreement, keeping the multi-million dollar event in Southern Illinois.

The latest misadventure came last week when word leaked out that the IDNR staff operating the site was being laid off. We learned of the pending layoffs Thursday and reached out to IDNR for comment, or, at the very least, confirmation.

The agency remained tight-lipped, again planting the seed of uncertainty about the facility’s future.

By Friday afternoon, a letter from the state’s Central ManagementSystem sent to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Workers became public. The letter announced the lay-offs that will be effective Jan. 31. It was only after the letter became public that the agency acknowledged the layoffs.

In the meantime, residents of Southern Illinois and shooters throughout the country were left wondering about the fate of the complex.

It appears there are no plans to shutter the facility. Rather, the state is looking to hire a contractor, or contractors, to run the day-to-day shooting operations. The theory being independent contractors could operate the WSRC on a more efficient and less costly basis.

That’s a distinct possibility. And, at this point, it’s certainly worth a shot.

WSRC. Why not let us know what is going on? Who knows, the public might actually appreciate a little transparency and forward thinking by their state government.

As far as the layoffs, the IDNR eventually said WSRC employees being laid off will be reassigned within the department. Apparently, the state’s unwieldy reassignment process includes the layoff process. That is an important detail that should have been acknowledged. It would have made the entire process less clumsy and allayed fears of a shutdown.

Hopefully, the WSRC employees will be assigned to some of the woefully understaffed state parks in the region. Dixon Springs State Park, one of the most beautiful parks in the region, currently has no staff — none.

That is unacceptable on several levels.

There was a time, not that long ago, when the Illinois Department of Natural Resources was one of the gems of state government. Now, it has been gutted beyond recognition.

There aren’t nearly enough Conservation Police Officers in the field. Field biologists aren’t being replaced when they retired. And, site superintendents frequently administer four or more sites.

It’s untenable, unsustainable and unacceptable.

And, the ham-handed handling of situations like the layoffs certainly inspire no confidence in state government.

LES WINKELER is the outdoors writer for The Southern Illinoisan. Contact him at les.winkeler@thesouthern.com, or call 618-351-5088 / On Twitter @LesWinkeler.

 

Can YOU GUESS ???

Bring on Master Gipson and gang.

That statement about Under New Management, says it all folks !!!

Wanna bet there have been a LOT of behind the scenes negotiations going on ? ONLY a guess on my part, BUTTTTTTTTTT

Do any Delegates know, or do ALL the EC know what is happening ???

Any communication from the IDNR about this to the EC other than what is in the local news reports ?

I would believe NOT !

 

Now, does anyone now question the move for the kids to Cardinal Center ?

At least they know what to expect from year to year.

 

This whole thing is a joke. Someone name a person that has done their job at the top of the ATA.

I pray someone has this (last 20 years) all on record.

 

Again?

 

In the end or at least this year, the ATA will do what is best for the EC and the friends of the EC. The grand will be held in Sparta regardless of how much it hurts the sport. If there is money left there will be a repeat.

 

When that place in IL. finally closes for good one thing you will NEVER hear is,

The good old days in sparta

 

Yes but, as long as there is enough money ($16K+) to give a gun to a future ATA president the WSRC will remain used by the ATA. The WSRC and ATA will die together or live together. This will never again be about attendance.

 

I'll be in Sparta in August for the Grand, just like always.

 

Even though we all know your post is just a fishing trip, you better talk a lot more people than the pathetic turnout of 1745 into going along with you.

 

Look at the bright side of going to that place in IL.
You might break last years record of shooters that shot the GAH.

You could be shooter number 1746

 

I shot the GAH last year thank you. AND I will do it again this year.

 

Two years huh?

Ah, the good old days in sparta

 

Who said I have only shot there two years? Oh I forgot, you make things up to suit you.

 

You are an idiot.

 

You forgot a lot.

I don't have to make anything up. The story of the move, blago, the ata, the "wsrc", the LOUSY and I mean PATHETIC turnout for the GAH, the inflated attendance numbers, the lies about how much money would just pour into that place, AND, giving a 16K gun to someone because he is "one of the boys" I couldn't make that stuff up.

And, you are the one that said you went last year and, you think, you are going this year. Sure sounds like 2 to me.

Now of course you could be using the ata way of counting. Then 2 means what, 200?

 

Maybe, maybe not. I've never spent a nickel in that place in IL. and I don't drink the Kool-Aid
At least tell me why you do

 

I agree, he IS!

 

That sounds like a lot of years you attended at Sparta

 

Doc, these two are just on here to try and get something started. We didn't hear anything from either of them until I mentioned the green something or other from that old Kool-Aid site and all of a sudden we get these two.

I like it.

I know a bunch of them come on hear every day to see what the ata is doing with their dues money and how they are going to get screwed next so I really can't blame them for being part of this site.

You will not see any kind of defense of their sacred ata from them. The best they can do is the SOP from that old site.

Call someone a name.

OK you two pallbearers for the wsrc, tell us all how great the management of the ata is and how you two and another 1743 had just a grand time at that place in IL

 

Personally, I encourage and support spirited debates on issues and different points of view. This helps in determining facts from fiction. A highly regarded practice by posters, for which this forum is especially recognized.

Arguments are won on the merits presented in support of a person's analysis - - - name-calling is not a position having value, and thankfully is not a common occurrence on this forum.

HistoryBuff