Greene Prairie Press NOVEMBER 20, 2013 – Vol. 144, No. 47 – Carrollton, Illinois 62016
INSIDE LOCALS
Birthdays, anniversaries and more. See page A3
NEWS
Greenfield, state to collect water bills By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press Greenfield City Council approved entering into an intergovernmental agreement with the Illinois Comptroller’s office to aid in collecting delinquent water bills at its Nov. 14 meeting. The program offers any municipality in the state of Illinois that enters into the agreement the opportunity to collect on past due water bills from any state refund check the person might be entitled to. “What we are looking at is water bills that people have had and they moved out of town without paying them,” City Clerk Sherry White said. “We send the information into the state and if they issue them any check, the amount they owe us is taken out first and then they issue us a check.” Council members approved a change to the employee codebook regarding the probationary period for part-time employees who are hired as full-time employees.
Instead of having a six-month probationary period, the probationary period will be at the discretion of the supervisor and the council. “In other words, if we have a part-time employee and we hire them full time, it will be up to the council and their immediate supervisor as to how long, if any, probationary period there is,” White said. Mike Cavanaugh of West Central Development in Carlinville addressed the council about the grant writing his firm is involved in. Cavanaugh said if the city decided they had a project that would fall under the scope of a 75/25 competitive grant, which can be up to $450,000, it should not wait too long. “It takes three to four months from start to finish, and that is if you have an engineer on board,” he said. “Your problems are not going to go away, and sooner or later you will have to pay to get them taken care of. You might as well try for this grant money since it is your
Future
tax money being used to fund the projects.” Former alderwoman Sharon White addressed the council with concerns about the new bath-
“What we are looking at is water bills that people have had and they moved out of town without paying them.”
Sherry White City Clerk
house the council approved at last month’s meeting. “I’m concerned about the cost and what the improvements will be,” she said. “Sometimes I think it’s need versus want. I don’t remember anyone actually coming to a council meeting and saying the one there now is insufficient.”
In 2010, the council held a public meeting to discuss redoing the concession stand at the ballparks and for a new bathhouse on the north side of Rives Lake where the city operates a campground during the summer. There were more than 500 signatures on a petition stating they wanted a new bathhouse. The city’s engineers drew up plans for the bathhouse which would have covered 72 campsites at a cost of $190,000. More recently, those plans were revamped to accommodate only 42 campsites because there is already a bathhouse on the south side. Estimates for the new bathhouse came in at $78,000, less than half of the prior amount. Sharon White was concerned about the city not building it to code for the 72 campsites, but City Clerk Sherry White said the council had visited Pere Marquette State Park where they have 80 campsites and their bathhouse has less than what Greenfield is planning. Council members approved a sidewalk repair plan to redo some
By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press
NEWS
News from the pews. See page A5
SPORTS
Carmen Ensinger/Greene Prairie Press
Two-year-old Easton Griswold of Carrollton plays with a pretty wicked looking ATV while at a junior high basketball game at St. John's. Kids love to roll the vehicles along the wooden bleachers.
County girls tip off basketball season. See page B10
County approves bridge projects
ONLINE
By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press
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Obituaries in this Pope, Rhoades
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© 2013 Greene Prairie Press
of the city’s sidewalks. “It’s been a long time since they have done anything with the sidewalks,” Sherry White said. “We have an extra MFT (motor fuel tax) check we received which we are going to earmark for those repairs. In fact, they have already started doing some repairs.” The city will be looking for bids on a backhoe and for a project at the spillway located near the subdivision by the lake. White said the repairs were such that Greenfield did not have the equipment to do the repairs themselves. In other action, the council approved: n Renewing Jayhawke software support for one year at a cost of $700. Jayhawke is the computer program which does the city water bills. n Renewing support for the city’s computer system used in generating its water bills at a cost of $700, and adopted its yearly insurance package at a cost of $34,000 from Gazda Insurance of Carlinville.
Chamber hosting Christmas event in North Greene
off-roader
CNB Bank and Trust recognized. See page A6
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Greene County Board approved four county aid bridge projects in Rockbridge and Kane townships at the Nov. 13 meeting at the request of County Engineer Dave Marth. The first two projects are in Rockbridge Township and involve replacing a small bridge located in the southwest corner of Greenfield at a total cost of $17,730.70 with the county’s portion coming to $8,865.35. The project would be completed using day labor. The second project in Rockbridge Township involves installation of a large pipe south of Greenfield at a total cost of $3,637.38 with the county’s portion coming in at $1,818.69. The county replaced a pipe culvert opposite of Woody off Rt. 67 at a cost of $7,120.51. Marth said the pipe was too deep for the township to do, so the county stepped in and did it. During the spring flooding Branch Creek washed out a cut through road between the quarry and the creek, and the county repaired this at a cost of $3,384.19. Both of these projects qualified for county bridge assistance and the townships petitioned for assistance. The county had to table the annual motor fuel tax appropriation until next month because it was not put on the agenda. Marth said the county would be asking for the same amount they have asked for during the last three years which was $450,000. This is money the county uses to take care of the roads including snowplowing, salting, etc. Board members approved a resolution in the amount of $5,000 which allows someone from the appellate prosecutor’s office to try cases in which there is a conflict of interest with the county state’s attorney. County Board Chairman Joe Nord appointed Clayton Arnett to fill a three-year term on the Hartwell Drainage District and recommended the board accept the resignation of Tim Ferguson as a trustee with the Greene County Rural Water District.
North Greene Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the second annual Old Fashioned Christmas in White Hall will be held this Friday, Nov. 22 from 6-8 p.m. Businesses throughout White Hall will stay open late offering special sales and deals along with free hot chocolate and cookies. Shoppers will also have the chance to win $500 in Chamber Cash. “This is our way of trying to get shoppers into our local businesses here in White Hall to do their holiday shopping,” North Greene Chamber of Commerce member Lisa Inman said. “We want people to realize that even though we are small businesses, we can still carry merchandise for the holidays.” In addition to getting great deals, customers also have the opportunity to walk away with some Chamber Cash. “We will be giving away one grand prize of $100, two prizes of $50 and 15 prizes of $20,” Inman said. “This Chamber Cash can be used in any of our participating stores. Just give the store the Chamber Cash and they turn it into us and we pay them for your merchandise.” People’s Bank and Trust will have a horse-drawn wagon available for buggy rides from 6-8 p.m. and children will be entertained by Santa and a free children’s movie which will be shown in the drive-thru of Pharmacy Plus. “We are in the process of trying to get an enclosed tent in case it is really cold so the kids can be in out of the weather,” Inman said. “We thought this would keep the kids busy while their parents did their shopping.” The event also coincides with the Chamber’s house decorating competition. This competition is for any home in the North Greene area including White Hall, Roodhouse, Patterson, Hillview, Barrow, Walkerville, Belltown, and any other area included in the North Greene School District. Homes must be decorated by Nov. 30 to be included in the competition. The Chamber will announce the winner on Dec. 20 and the lucky winner will receive $200 in Chamber Cash to be used in participating stores. Inman said last year was pretty good but hopes this year is even better. “It’s just a one night thing where you can get that extra sale you might not have gotten otherwise,” Inman said. “Of course, the stores will be open during the day, but the sales and specials will be between 6-8 p.m.”
Alternative Center
for
Education
Carmen Ensinger/Greene Prairie Press
The staff and students of the newly opened Alternative Center for Education in White Hall held an open house on Nov. 13 to let the public know what the facility offers and the opportunity to meets its staff and students. The Center is located in the former White Hall Elementary building.
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