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GREENE PRAIRIE PRESS

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)(%58$5< – Vol. 148, No. 7 – &DUUROOWRQ ,OOLQRLV

INSIDE NEWS

Super Saturday event at North Greene High School. See page A8

LOCALS

Long ~ White engagement. See page B2

SPORTS

Spartans defeat Cougars. See page B1

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WEEKEND WEATHER FRIDAY, FEB. 17

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Body found in vehicle awaiting positive ID By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie press Authorities believe they have found a missing elderly Greene County woman in a rural area of Jersey County in her burnt vehicle. Betty Short, 85, of rural Carrollton, was reported missing to the Greene County Sheriff’s Department on Feb. 8. According to a bulletin released by Greene County Sheriff Rob McMillen, the last confirmed physical sighting of Short was on Tuesday evening, Feb. 7 at approximately 9:15 p.m. when she pulled into a residence on Panhandle Road in rural Jersey County and advised the resident there that she was lost and trying to locate a subject. Short was last seen driving a 2008 White Chevy Impala and both the Greene and Jersey sheriff’s departments along with many friends and

family had scoured the countryside for Short. The search ended Friday morning. Greene County Sheriff Rob McMillen issued the following statement in a press release Friday afternoon, Feb. 10. “The Jersey County Sheriff’s Department and the Jersey County Coroner’s Office are investigating and conducting the death investigation of the person discovered in the vehicle, but I believe the person found in the car was Betty A. Short,� McMillen said. McMillen referred all questions to the Jersey County Sheriff’s Department and the Jersey County Coroner’s Office. Jersey County Sheriff John Wimmersberg said the burned out remains of Short’s car, a 2008 Chevy Impala, were found Friday morning on Phil’s Creek Road in rural Jersey

By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press The Greene-Calhoun CEO (Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities) Program will be holding a fundraising event on Feb. 25 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at the KC Hall in Carrollton to help students raise funds to start their own businesses as part of the program. This program consists of eight students from Carrollton, North Greene, Greenfield and Calhoun high schools who meet three times a week and hear from different local business leaders about how to be a successful business owner. “The overall goal of this program is to spark an interest in these students in economic development,� program director Andrew Reinnert said. “Give them an opportunity to see the success stories of local businessmen and women so,

hopefully, they will want to come back and start their own business in their communities.� By providing the tools, leadership and entrepreneurial training, the program shows students how to establish and grow a business and how local connections can help in the process. Morgan Layton is a junior at Calhoun High School and said she took the class because she saw it as a challenge. “I love trying new things and since this class was new, I thought I might like to give it a try because you never know what you might like unless you give it a try,� she said. “Before I took this class, I had no idea how a business came about.� The program started in August of last year and the students are now at their end goal of starting their very own business. One of the (See, CEO PROGRAM, A2)

Submitted photo

Liz Killion, of Killion Communications in Roodhouse, talks with the Greene-Calhoun CEO students last week about her business. Each week the students in the class meet with a different business owner and hear how she started her business and what the key to success is. Along with Killion in the foreground, left to right: Karmen Brown, Morgan Layton and Wade Prough.

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Carrollton seeking grant for new water tower

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SUNDAY, FEB. 19

By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press Carrollton City Council members, at the Feb. 9 regular city council meeting, gave the city’s engineering firm, Benton and Associates, authorization to prepare an engineering report in order to submit an application from the USDA for construction of a new water tower. At the last workshop meeting, Bill Sleeman of Benton and Associates informed the council that more than likely the USDA would make available funding, and the city would be in a better position to receive this funding if they had a project ready to go when the money was released. “If you have a preliminary engineering report to show them with your application, it is going to strengthen your chances,� Sleeman said. “This is going to show them that you are ready to move forward if you do get the grant.� Sleeman said while there are several other projects that might be considered (See, GRANT, A3)

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investigation. “If I had to speculate, I would think maybe the heat from the engine or the friction from the tires spinning might have caught the field grass on fire which would have then caught the vehicle on fire,� the sheriff said. “To be honest, at this point in time, we don’t know exactly how the vehicle caught fire. I’ve asked for the assistance of the Illinois State Police Crime Scene Unit and the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office in the investigation and the reports on their findings are still pending.� Short was reported spotted Wednesday morning around 8:45 a.m. driving eastbound on Rt. 16 in Jerseyville and again Thursday morning sitting on the side of the road two miles north of Jerseyville on Rt. 67. “Myself, several deputies and Chief (See, WOMAN, A2)

Student CEO program to host fundraising event

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County between Medora and Kane. “Phil’s Creek Road is pretty much just grass and dirt, and it’s a dead end road,� Wimmersberg said. “The vehicle was approximately 300 yards from the dead end of Phil’s Creek Road. There was a single occupant in the driver’s seat of the car, but the identity of the occupant hasn’t been confirmed at this time.� Jersey County Coroner Larry Alexander confirmed that an official determination of the identity is still pending. “There was an autopsy done but we are still waiting on test results, plus confirmation through DNA testing that it was Short,� Alexander said. According to Wimmersberg, the car was found nose down in the ditch surrounded by tall field grass in what would be considered a field run off ditch. The cause of the fire is still under

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Greene Prairie Press

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OBITUARIES

IN THIS ISSUE:

BUSHNELL, HOWARD, SHORT, WHEELER Š 2017

GREENE PRAIRIE PRESS All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

:DWHU WRZHU GDWHV EDFN WR By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press When Carrollton’s city engineer, Bill Sleeman, proposed the city look into getting a grant for a new water tower he said he couldn’t be sure just how old the current water tower is because there are no records of it being built, but it dates back to at least 1936 according to an aerial photo taken during this period. Carrollton City Clerk Ryan Scott decided to do a little digging in the city’s records and discovered the actual bid quote from the company who built the tower in 1924. “Mr. Sleeman had asked me to find as much information on the water tower as I could because it would help with our grant application, so I decided to go look in the records that are stored in our vault,� Scott said. “That’s when I (See, TOWER, A3)

Mystery surrounding skeletal remains solved Carmen Ensinger/Greene Prairie Press

Can I make both? Rylee Gammon, 9, of White Hall, asks if she can make both animals at the craft booth at Cupid’s Corner on Main. Cupid’s Corner was held in the Country Companies building in White Hall and consisted of several local vendors selling merchandise. The event was organized to encourage residents to shop local for holiday gift giving.

By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press Demolition of a building in White Hall came to a grinding halt Tuesday, Feb. 7, after skeletal remains were found in the basement of the building located on North Main. The remains were later determined to be from a human skeleton model used in a physician’s office many years ago.

- NOW FIRST to offer Full Service Rehab 6 days a week - every week - First Skilled Nursing Therapy Dept. in Jersey County to offer licensed outpatient rehab services - First and only Skilled Rehab to employ our own rehab staff - First to achieve a perfect licensure survey - First and only skilled Rehab Center to achieve 5-star rating by Medicare Call Audrey Bear Admissions Coordinator - First to offer Vital-StimÂŽ Swallowing Therapy for a Personal Consultation

White Hall Police Chief Luke Coultas said his department was notified at last Tuesday at approximately 9:44 a.m. of the situation. “The remains were discovered during the beginning stages of demolition of the building,� Coultas said. “The members of the construction company found what appeared to be human skeletal remains partially buried in the basement of the (See, SKELETAL, A2)


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