GREENE PRAIRIE PRESS FEBRUARY 19, 2014 – Vol. 145, No. 8 – Carrollton, Illinois 62016
2014 Spring Edition
farms & fields
A look at agriculture in West Central Illinois A special supplement to: Calhoun News-Herald • Greene Prairie Press • Jersey County Journal Pike Press • Scott County Times • The Weekly Messenger
Included in this issue, a special supplement focused on our local ag community.
INSIDE LOCALS
Family Dollar coming to Greenfield; South Park safe for time being By CArmeN eNSiNger Greene Prairie Press There’s putting the cart before the horse, but in this case it may have been putting the cart before the horse was even born. Concerned Greenfield residents packed the Greenfield City Council room Thursday night, Feb. 13, after hearing that the city council was going to take out South Park, located across from the Post Office, and place a municipal building there. Other information circulating was the lot which was supposed to be the location for the new municipal building had been sold to Family Dollar, and the vacant lot on the square would be made into a park. Further misinformation that had been spread included the council having already
HAWKS
made up its mind on these issues without consulting the residents. Part is true – a Family Dollar Store is coming to Greenfield. But there are no plans to replace South Park with a municipal building. This was only an option if the land considered for construction of a new building was sold to make way for a new business in town. Alderman Garry White addressed these concerns with the audience and gave a timeline of events, which led up to the misinformation floating around town. “Quite a while back we were considering buying a bigger building and we were looking at the old First Baptist Church because it had a lot of space for personnel and we could use it as a warming center,” White said. “We asked the citizens what they
thought and you all felt we should use the money and build something new, and here we are still sitting today.” The fire department faced a similar issue with its parking for firemen when they reported to the station for fire calls. On Sept. 13, 2013, the council met with the fire department to discuss the possibility of a new municipal building. “The fire department mentioned the fact that they could not build the type of building they would like by themselves and needed the city to go in with them,” White said. “We needed to decide how much footage we needed to contain both the city offices and the fire department before we met again.” In November, city hall received a call from the Atwater Group, which
is a brokerage and development firm specializing in retail establishments. They wanted to purchase South Park to erect a dollar store location. No further communication was received from the Atwater Group, but in late December a call was received from the Greene County Economic Development Group, which wanted to look at locations available where a dollar store might be located in Greenfield. Several locations were looked at and owners asked if they would sell the property, but they declined. Lots were considered on the square which could be used, but Atwater Group wanted to be located on Rt. 267, if possible. The location across from UCB, which was owned by the fire department and had been considered for
CLING TO LATE LEAD TO WIN REGIONAL
Birthdays, births and more. See page A9
NEWS
News from the pews. See page A3
Sam Elliott/Greene Prairie Press
SPORTS
75¢
From left, rachel Williams, maddie Struble and madison mountain celebrate with a group hug following their 51-49 win over Calhoun in the Hardin regional Thursday night . The Lady Hawks defeated New Athens monday in the White Hall Sectional and will play for the sectional title Thursday night at 7 p .m . For more on the Lady Hawks, see B10 .
the location of a municipal building, was basically the only location available on Rt. 267. On Jan. 28, the city council met with the fire department. “After much discussion, the fire department wanted to be guaranteed a place to build if they gave up their lot for the dollar store,” White said. “The city only owns three places – Lions Park, which we can’t sell because it is designated in deed to remain a park, South Park and the city lake. When hearing Atwater Group had wanted South Park, they chose the location.” White said the reason the fire department wanted this location was to keep the ISO rating down, which in turn keeps insurance premiums down for homeowners. The ISO rating is determined by several factors (See, family dollar, A2)
Students send Valentine cards to cancer survivors
By CArmeN eNSiNger Greene Prairie Press Greenfield and North Greene elementary students are joining in the fight against cancer as part of the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life of Greene County. Students were given the task of creating their own custom Valentine’s cards, complete with inspirational message, which were then passed along to the cancer survivors in Greene County. “Most kids really love helping others,” 2014 Greene County Relay For Life co-chair Sarah Hensley said. “It’s important to foster those skills and help them understand that anyone, big or small, really can make a positive difference in our community.” Greene County Relay For Life has been successfully involving school children in the fight against cancer for several years now, sponsoring mini-relays to help raise funds for the American Cancer Society. Julie George, a second grade teacher at Greenfield and a member of the Relay For Life Committee, explained how the two schools became involved in this altruistic endeavor. “We were at one of our Relay meetings and Lindsay Nation, Income Development Representative with the American Cancer Society, suggested the children make valentines for the cancer survivors,” George said. “Since I’m a teacher here at Greenfield and Pam Painter is a former teacher at North Greene, we both said we would take care of our respective schools.” Teachers in first through sixth grades explained to their classes what the valentines were, and students created them adding special messages such as, “Hope you are feeling better,” “We’re so proud of you,” etc. George said the valentine’s were then sent to the ACS office in Springfield where they were sent out to cancer (See, valentines, A2)
County to borrow money Forensic artist to speak for highway equipment at historical society By CArmeN eNSiNger Greene Prairie Press
Lady Hawks playing for sectional title. See page B1
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Obituaries in this issue: Manning, rOberts, shafer
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The Greene County Board unanimously approved obtaining a $160,000 loan for the purchase of three pieces of equipment needed by the highway department to complete its road and bridge projects. Highway Department Supervisor Dave Marth asked the board to approve getting bids and approving the purchase of an oil distributor, excavator and pile hammer at the Feb. 13 board meeting. The oil distributor is used to disperse oil on the county roads and is very much in need of replacement before summer. “To get an oil distributor, it takes 90 days for them to build it,” Marth said. “They build them to order, so we are wanting to move forward with advertising it for bids because it will take them 90 days from the time the bid is accepted to get it built.” The other major piece of equipment needed is the excavator. “You are looking at a fairly major investment here,” Marth said. “It’s reached its turnover age for us as far as age and hours, so we are really wanting to advertise and turn it over.” As for the pile hammer, the county’s gave out last year and the county was forced to rent one. Their plan is to rent one this fall and then purchase it. The highway department has $250,000 in its equipment budget. “I estimate the cost of these three items with our trade-in difference would come to about $320,000,” Marth said. “If we could borrow half of that for one year at an interest rate of two percent it would keep us within budget. This $160,000 could be paid off next year. All three of these are needed turnover items this year.” Also at Marth’s request, the board approved the hiring of a part-time employee. “We are so short staffed right now and we have a bridge project and an overlay project going on and another bridge project
this fall,” Marth said. “We are really shorthanded when it comes time to do the oiling and chipping. We simply don’t have enough truck drivers. Hopefully, we will only have to use them intermittentantly.” Judge James Day spoke to the board about the need to recommend someone to become the county’s public guardian and/ or public administrator. Deak Guis, who died in October of last year, had fulfilled both duties for many years, and with his death there is no one to take care of them now. A public administrator takes care of the estates of deceased people who have no living relatives and have not left a will appointing an executor. “This person would take care of the estate and see the assets are distributed and the bills paid,” Judge Day said. “He would be paid out of the assets of the estate, so this is no cost to the county.” Day said it would be beneficial if the public administrator were also a lawyer. “If you have an administrator who is also a lawyer, then he or she could handle the estate and take care of the legal matters and would not have to hire a lawyer to help out which would save on the cost. A lot of times a non-lawyer will have to hire an attorney and both charge fees to the estate, so I recommend the person be an attorney if there is one available and willing to do so.” The public guardian takes care of the estates of living people and has certain responsibilities such as making a report each month, watching over the care of the person and if the person has any assets, managing those assets. The guardian can be paid out of the assets that belong to the living person.” “The laws are strict in that if the ward’s estate goes below $25,000 then the state guardian can take over,” Judge Day said. “As I see it, as long as the estate remains above $25,000 the guardian could again be paid out of those - again at no cost to the county - so it is not a bad deal.” (See, county board, A2)
By CArmeN eNSiNger Greene Prairie Press If you’ve ever wondered what your greatgreat-great grandmother would have looked like if she had lived past the age of 40, then forensic artist Linda McGuire just might be able to help you. McGuire, of Carrollton, will be presenting a program dealing in forensic art at the March 16 meeting of the Greene County Historical Society at the Lee-Baker Hodges House on the square at 2 p.m. McGuire, 68, began delving into the realm of forensic art five years ago, taking numerous
classes over the years with some well known artists. Last June she had the opportunity to take a class in Springfield sponsored by the Illinois State Police on the subject of age progression of children. From the time her daughter was young, McGuire has nurtured a desire to help parents find their missing children. “One of my greatest fears when my daughter was growing up was she would disappear and I would never see her again,” McGuire said. “I even went so far as to tell her when she was 13 if she ever did decide to run away to at least call me and tell me she was still alive. This all got (See, forensic artist, A2)
Jam session extraordinaire
Carmen Ensinger/Greene Prairie Press
Twisted Taco in Carrollton was the scene of a musical extravaganza Sunday afternoon with performers from area bands joining together for an afternoon of music . it was the first jam session held at the restaurant which plans on holding the jam sessions every Sunday . everyone is welcome to come play or listen . Left to right: Tracy Camden, ray roentz, randy roentz, Jackie Lakin, Byron Beiermann and Kanny Darr . C
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