Issuu

GREENE PRAIRIE PRESS MARCH 26, 2014 – Vol. 145, No. 13 – Carrollton, Illinois 62016

INSIDE LOCALS

Anniversaries, births and more. See page B2

NEWS

Greenfield high school principal seeking to make GHS a better place for all By CarmeN eNSiNger Greene Prairie Press Better test scores is the goal of every administrator, but there are more lofty goals principals seek: to make their schools better on a more personal level. It is with this in mind that Greenfield High School Principal Beth Bettis informed the Greenfield School Board of her plans to present a program called “Rachel’s Challenge” in the fall. Rachel’s Challenge was started by the family and friends of Rachel Scott, the first student killed in the Columbine High School shooting in 1999. “Rachel had a personal goal to

share – kindness and compassion each day in the hopes of starting a chain reaction throughout her family, school and community,” Bettis said. “This is the message of Rachel’s Challenge.” Bettis said the idea came last year after Christmas break when she met with every class and discussed, among other things, what they could do to make GHS better. “One suggestion from some of the students was to bring in a speaker or have an assembly on bullying,” Bettis said. “We did this a few years ago with some neighboring schools when the Chalk Guy came. I got on the Illinois Principal’s Association Listserv to see what

EXPLORING

programs and speakers other principals had used that were well received, and Rachel’s Challenge came up time and again as a fantastic program.” Bettis began doing research on her own on the program and contacted the challenge administrators to see about the cost, dates and other logistics. The cost of the program is $3,600 and while an anonymous donation of $1,000 has been received toward the program, there is a lot of fundraising needing to be done before the scheduled Oct. 8 program. “We are planning some fundraisers here at the school with the students, and I also hope to have

the students from our Fellowship of Christian Athletes group be the liaison with local churches and youth groups to solicit donations,” Bettis said. “I am also writing for some grants and plan to visit with local community groups to garner support.” Bettis met a week ago with community stakeholders and said the idea was very well received. “I was assured the support would be there and I am counting on that,” she said. “I am very excited about the program and the possibilities it presents for my students.” The program is scheduled for fall because the group that runs the program likes to come early in

By CarmeN eNSiNger Greene Prairie Press

NEWS

Robert Lyons/Greene Prairie Press

SPORTS

Carrollton High School junior madelyn Cummins, right, talks with Wilma roberts of the Lewis and Clark Community College Occupational Therapy prorgram Wednesday, march 19 at Jersey Community High School . Carrollton was one of four high schools at the 2014 Career exploration fair at JCHS, where students had the opportunity to learn about many local occupation and education opportunities for after high school .

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Obituaries in this issue: Chapman, hubbard, smith, speeks

The former Greene County Probation Officer charged with theft and official misconduct will have her day in court on June 21. At a preliminary hearing on March 20, Candy Osborne, of Roodhouse, pleaded not guilty to felony charges alleging theft and official misconduct while in the position of probation officer in Greene County Circuit Court. Charges were filed by Special Prosecutor Charles Zalar with the State’s Attorney’s Special Prosecutor’s office on Dec. 3, 2013, alleging between Sept. 1, 2004 and Dec. 31, 2011, Osborne received reimbursement from county funds for mileage she did not travel in excess of $10,000 but less than $100,000. The official misconduct charge alleges while in her official capacity as probation officer she performed acts in excess of her lawful authority by overstating the number of miles she had driven in the month of December 2011 in her claim for mileage reimbursement,

thereby receiving more money than she was entitled to receive. Osborne appeared in court with her attorney, Craig Grummel, in front of Judge Jeffery Tobin of Jacksonville and waived her right to a preliminary hearing, pleaded not guilty to both charges and requested a trial by jury. Judge Tobin set the case for pretrial on June 19 at 2 p.m. with the trial set to begin on June 21 at 9 a.m. Osborne submitted her resignation from her position with the county effective June 1, 2012, four months after her husband, Terry Osborne, was arrested on two counts of possession of a controlled substance in January 2012 and again in March 2012 when he was charged with Witness Tampering after allegedly threatening a witness with bodily harm. Terry Osborne struck a deal with the state on Sept. 6, 2012, pleading guilty to one charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance while the other two charges were dismissed. He received 24 months probation and a $500 fine.

'Willy Wonka, Jr.' coming Roodhouse accepts mowing bid to North Greene High By CarmeN eNSiNger Greene Prairie Press

Area seniors shine in all-star games. See page B8

the school year so the school and students can sustain the message throughout the entire school year. They will do a program for the kindergarten through fifth grades and a second program for the sixth through twelfth grades. They will also be available to assist students as they take this message and come up with ways to implement it. That same evening they will hold a community event for parents and community members to share the message, as well. “I hope this program is one that the entire community will benefit from, and anyone who may want to donate toward the cost may do so at GHS,” Bettis said.

Former probation officer accused of theft set for trial

ALL THE OPTIONS

Mansfield places 1st at national conference. See page a2

News from the pews. See page a6

75¢

Disregarding all inferences to Shakespeare’s famous quote in Hamlet, “The play is the thing” – in North Greene the annual high school play really is the thing, the one thing everyone looks forward to with anticipation year after year. This year North Greene High School presents “Willy Wonka, Jr.” with performances scheduled for Saturday, April 12 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 13 at 2 p.m. at the high school’s old gym. This year’s play is being directed by Cindy Carlson-Rice, Barb Neece, Lesa Jackson, Beth Burrus and Karen Voigts, all of whom have had experience in these productions before. Voigts said they have a rather unique way of deciding which play to produce. “All of our musicals have been chosen based on the group of students available for that year,” she said. “We try to fit the show to the kids as well as fitting the kids to the show by teaching them to express themselves on stage.” More than 30 students tried out for a role in the musical. “The tryout process is the same as we have used for years,” Voigts said. “Students read lines for a variety of parts, sing, and learn a basic dance step. Every student who tries out is in the show and every student in the show has a line. They all sing and they all dance. We tell them up front that this is a musical and this is what you do in a musical.” Practices began the second week in February with the first two weeks dedicated to read throughs and learning the music. The last week in February performers moved to the stage where they have blocked the entire show with input from all of the directors and stage crew as well as the actors themselves. Four students have volunteered to be on the stage crew and their work begins as soon as the practices start. “They begin to work on the sets, props, marking the stage and figuring out how all the magic works together,” Voigts said. There are many others involved behinds the scenes, as well. Josh Lawson and his ag class routinely build sets for the play and Nancy Young will again paint backdrops for them. Brandon Roberts, the father of one of the cast members, is building props, and many things such as furniture and props are borrowed from

or donated by patrons. Several adults and NG alumni help with makeup and hair on dress rehearsal day and the days of the actual production. While it might be much simpler to just rent costumes for the productions, the limited budget on which the production operates doesn’t make this a feasible option anymore. “In the past we have rented a few to a majority of the costumes for some of the productions and either we must make a long road trip with a van to pick them up or we must have them shipped to us, plus the actual rental of the customs plus cleaning and shipping them back,” Voigts said. “This makes renting costumes very expensive, so in recent years we have changed to making/borrowing/creating/reusing our own costumes. The biggest advantage of doing this is that our creations are ours to keep and use again. We have amassed quite a collection of types and sizes of costumes, hats, shoes and props over the years. Each year we alter and modify and add to what we have to create exactly what we need for the current show.” This is the eighth musical produced by this group of directors, the first of which was 10 years ago. “Ten years ago, the current NGHS freshmen were in kindergarten,” Voigts said. “I’m sure many of them have seen many of our productions. We had a lot of freshmen try out this year with no coaxing on our part.” Once a student is in a production – they are hooked. “I think over the years, we, the directors, have learned a lot about producing a great show and making it fun in the process,” Voigts said. “Once a student is in one of our shows, he or she comes back year after year and many seniors have regretted waiting until their senior year to participate in a show.” As for the reason the directors keep coming back year after year – that is easy – the kids. “We continue to direct these musicals because we are hooked on watching the transformation of our students into singers, dancers and performers,” Voigts said. “With each show they continue to amaze us with their talent. All directors are volunteers and the entire stipend for the production is put back into the theatre fund to help pay for the costs of the production.” ”Willy Wonka, Jr.” is described as a very upbeat show with lots of music and dance, bright colors and talented performers

By CarmeN eNSiNger Greene Prairie Press The city of Roodhouse received four bids when it advertised for mowing for the coming season. Those bids ranged from a low of $15,400 by Go Green Lawn Care of Brighton to a high of $53,025 by Green Works in Jacksonville. Ken Wise, of Shiloh Mowing, who has had the contract for the past several years, came in with a bid of $19,800 while Bradford Lawn Care submitted a bid of $25,500.60. After a 20-minute closed session, the council unanimously approved the bid of $15,400 from Go Green Lawn Care of Brighton. Additional areas not specified in the bid packet will be charged a rate of $30 per hour. With Alderman Charlie Huffines abstaining, the council approved a bid of $15,120 from Ballard Bros. Construction for demolition and

WORLD WAR II

removal of the building next to Joe’s Pizza. Roodhouse Mayor Tom Martin said Ballard Bros. was the only bidder on the project. “I approached two other bidders to see if they wanted to submit a bid, but they didn’t want to bid on it,” Martin said. “Because it has a shared wall with Joe’s Pizza, there is going to be a lot of hand work involved. He said he would have to take the wall clear down to the top of Joe’s Pizza by hand.” In an effort to find the source of the city’s continued water loss, the council approved contracting Tim Bliss to do a leak detection on the city water system at a cost of $2,000 for two days of work. Should a third day be necessary, there will be no charge to the city. A motion to purchase two bullet proof vests for the police department was amended to only one as the projected cost was more than expected. (See, roodhouse, A2)

Carmen Ensinger/Greene Prairie Press

VETERANS REUNITE

Fellow World War ii veterans gathered around Don allen, sitting, who celebrated his 100th birthday on march 22 at Seton Hall in White Hall . Joining allen are, left to right: Clem Coats, Jess Hires, John Neece, Neil gillingham and Tom Carmody . allen is a former roodhouse resident and currently resides at White Hall Nursing and rehab Center . C