DECATUR - Effie Beckett, 87, enjoys bowling twice a week at Spare Time Lanes and buying groceries at the South Shores or Brettwood Village Kroger.

But she's had to get relatives to drive her to Decatur since failing eyesight forced her to give up her car three years ago. That's because she wants to stay in the house her late husband, John, built 47 years ago when they moved to Blue Mound and where they raised their children.

"There are times when my daughter and daughter-in-law are both busy, and I want to go anyway," Beckett said. "I don't like it, but there's nothing I can do but make the best of it."

That could change, however, with two providers of rural transportation service coming to a public forum in Decatur next week to discuss the possibilities for such service in Macon County.

One represents Piattran, serving Piatt County, and the other represents Show Bus, serving DeWitt, Ford, Iroquois, Kankakee, Livingston and McLean counties.

"We're trying to get an idea of what the rural transportation needs are," said Lore Baker Gause, the forum organizer and director of Homeward Bound. "We'd also like to get a group of people to work on development of a transportation system to meet those needs."

Gause said groups expected to be represented at the forum include a senior citizens coalition from the Macon County Health Department and Soyland Access to Independent Living.

Mark Smith, study director for Decatur Urbanized Area Transportation Study, said he, too, plans to attend.

He said a rural transportation plan recently has been approved for the region that includes Macon County, and a draft plan for the Decatur urban area is now on public display.

It can be reviewed at public libraries in Decatur, Forsyth, Mount Zion and Warrensburg, village halls in Forsyth and Mount Zion, room 501 of the Macon County Office Building and in the Economic and Urban Development Office in the Decatur Civic Center. It also can be seen at www.ci.decatur.il.us/

"The ultimate intent of the planning process is to help our transportation systems be as consistent, cost-effective and service friendly to the most people in the greatest area possible," Smith said.

Theresa Churchill can be reached at tchurchill@herald-review.com or 421-7978.