OPINION: CVS may be start of good things to come: Page A4 NEWS: JPRD hiring seasonal staff: Page A5
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JERSEY COUNTY JOURNAL Initial sketches of CVS revealed
JERSEYVILLE, IL 62052
VOL. 13, NO. 10 - 75¢
MARCH 11, 2015
INSIDE NEWS
4-H Chili Fest warms the crowd. See page B3
SCHOOL
West Elementary teachers, staff ‘sock it to cancer.’ See page C3
By ROBERT LYONS Jersey County Journal Work is underway to replace a city block worth of buildings with one national retailer. Developers started demolishing the five structures on the block located at the northwest corner of the intersection of State and Carpenter streets at the end of February. If all goes to plan, a new CVS store will be open for business in September, according to the company’s director of public relations, Michael DeAngelis. In addition to its pharmacy operation, DeAngelis said the nearly 12,000-square-foot building will include general merchandise, food, personal care items and a photo processing department. Jerseyville’s director of building/planning and zoning, Jeff Soer, estimates CVS is spending upward of $5 million to develop the site, which he said is a major investment in
the community. “Putting that right in your downtown area, that’s awesome,” he said. “You’re going to have other retailers follow. They let these big outfits do the demographics, and if you can support a Super Walmart, a Walgreens and now a CVS, they see something in this area.” The CVS project also falls in line with the city’s goal – evidenced by the creation of a tax increment finance district – to revitalize the downtown area. CVS, however, is not receiving TIF benefits. “You’re going to have more people being brought to the downtown area to shop with this retail establishment picking this site,” Soer said. He said the days of “Mom and Pop” stores lining State Street are probably not making a return. Instead, he said stores cornering a niche market are more likely. He envisions a main street defined by a mix
BALD
ROCKS FOR
of stores, professional offices and other business fronts, such as Paragon Pipe Covers, which
“Putting that right in your downtown area, that’s awesome.”
Jeff Soer Jerseyville director of building/ planning and zoning is renovating the former Bray Drug Store. “That has spurred some other business owners on to start working on the facades of their buildings,” Soer said. CVS, Soer said, is making an effort to blend in to the downtown area, mostly through its landscaping. He said there will be dedicated green space, as well as two different types of maple trees lining the grass area next to the sidewalks,
breaking away from a completely concrete and asphalt appearance. Last month, DeAngelis first confirmed CVS’s intent to open a store in the city. At that time, however, a timetable for completion was not made available. The process of putting a store in Jerseyville began in November 2013, with the property owners signing letters of intent to sell to a developer representing a then unidentified national retailer. The site will be developed by Jerseyville Retail Associates – which is actually based out of Akron, Ohio – and then leased to CVS. The new store displaced two fueling stations on State Street – FS’s Fast Stop and Shell. While the owners of Shell do not intend to relocate in Jerseyville at this time, FS has already constructed and opened a new facility on the corner of June Street and County Road.
County reacts to Rauner proposals
ST. BALDRICK’S
FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS
Perry triplets celebrate birthdays. See page B1
SPORTS
Panthers participate in combine. See page C8
ONLINE Visit us on the web at
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TOP STORIES ONLINE Week of March 4-10
1- Spring musical aims to please 2- Witt leads Panthers to first round victory 3- Area educators attend Vision 20/20 initiative 4- Election tensions build at city council 5- JCHS students make educational games for West
INDEX Court. . . . . . . . . . . . . D3 News . . . . . . . A2,A3,A5,B3 Obituaries . . . . . . . . B4 Editorial . . . . . . . . . . A4 Our Town . . . . . . . . . B2 Public Notice . . . . D1,3 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . C8 OBITUARIES: CAPPENATI, HOLMES, JOHNSON, MINKS, OATES.
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Bob Crossen/Jersey County Journal
Sammie Hansen, right, buzzes the back of Annie Walker’s head for charity during the St. Baldrick’s fundraiser event at Holy Ghost School in Jerseyville Friday afternoon. According to information on St. Baldrick’s website, the community raised nearly $24,500, blowing past the goal of $22,000 set for the event, which honored Mark Wittman and Isaac Wargo.
Area educators attend Vision 20/20 initiative By CARMEN ENSINGER Jersey County Journal The Vision 20/20 summit held in Springfield recently has educators all across the state excited for the future of the public education system. In November 2012, the Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA) partnered with the Illinois Principals Association (IPA),
“Often time the right stakeholders simply aren’t sitting at the table discussing the issues.”
Dr. Lori Hopkins JCUSD No. 100 Superintendent Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB), Illinois Association of School Business Officials (IASBO), Superintendents’ Commission for the Study of Demographics and Diversity (SCSDD) and the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools (IARSS) to develop a long-range plan to improve the public education system in Illinois. The result of this collaboration has become known as the Vision 20/20 initiative, and it marks the first time all the major educational organizations have come together to try and come up with a solution to fix the state’s “broken” education system. The conference in Springfield was attended by representatives of many of the local school districts, including administrators and board members from Greene, Jersey and Calhoun school districts. This was the first of many more meetings to come, which aim to make needed changes to the educational system. Jersey Superintendent Dr. Lori Hopkins said it
was the first time she had seen the gathering of forces from all across the educational structure come together for a common purpose. “We had individuals there, not just superintendents or board members, but also community stakeholders who were also hearing the message,” Hopkins said. “There was a real sense of camaraderie of the people coming together for a good cause.” Calhoun Unit 40 Superintendent Dr. Kate Sievers thinks Vision 20/20 is a great because it looks at each district individually. “I think it is great because it is looking for adequacy and equality for all the schools in the state by looking at what each individual district needs or doesn’t need,” Sievers said. “Jersey and Calhoun districts might be right next to each other and touch as far as our boundaries go, but we have very different needs.” Vision 20/20 focuses in on four priorities within the educational system – highly effective educators, 21st Century learning, shared accountability and equitable and adequate funding. Currently, the state doesn’t have a system designed to attract, develop or retain highly effective educators. The state, according to Sievers, discourages teachers from coming to Illinois and Vision 20/20 calls for reciprocity of teacher to go from state to state. “You might be looking to hire a teacher who is currently teaching in Missouri,” Sievers said. “Most likely, this teacher is going to have to take two or three more classes to get certified in Illinois plus take a test.” However, teachers in Illinois who move to Missouri or Indiana have no trouble. “We are so close to those states, yet teachers coming here have to jump through so many hoops to teach here,” Sievers said. “We are hoping the legislators will work with us to get that corrected so we can have that reciprocity (See, 20/20, A2)
Submitted Illustration
By BOB CROSSEN Jersey County Journal The municipal share of state income taxes could be slashed by half if a proposal from Gov. Bruce Rauner were to be approved. Jersey County Board Chairman Don Little said he attended a County Board Association meeting last weekend with other county officials throughout the state. Information provided indicated Illinois counties could see a cut to their funding as part of a proposal from Rauner to fix the state’s unfunded pension liability. The Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF) is on the chopping block in that proposal, and if cuts go through, several county offices would be impacted. “The government has proposed a reduction by 50 percent in the local government share in that money,” Little said. “From what we received in 2014, we’d receive a cut of $612,057. That’s approximately 14 percent of our revenue stream. That amount of money would, just to give it some perspective, eliminate the
treasurer’s office, the county clerk’s office – not the recorder of deeds portion – the circuit clerk’s office and the coroner’s operation.” He said those four departments make up the bulk of services funded by the amount proposed to be cut. The chairman said he does not know how or if the county could sustain such a slash to its budget, but noted Illinois Sen. Sam McCann (R-Carlinville) and Illinois Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, (R-Jacksonville) are opposed to LGDF cuts. When the fund was first established, Little said counties and municipalities received 10 percent of the income tax, but since that time, the share has been reduced. The increase in revenue from the income tax extension that expired in January did not go to municipal and county government. Instead the share was cut to eight percent. The county board chairman also noted township governments have become targets for elimination. “If you eliminate township government and turn it over to county government, I (See, county, A2)
Bray highway sign dedication March 19 STAFF REPORT Jersey County Journal A Jerseyville man will be memorialized on a Missouri Highway after a dedication ceremony March 19 at 2 p.m.
Patrick J. Bray died after being struck by a 55-gallon drum in the summer of 2013 while working on a barge downstream from the Blanchette Bridge rehabilitation project.
The dedication ceremony will be located at the MoDOT Transportation Management Center, 14301 South Outter 40 Rd, Chesterfield, Mo. Members of the public are welcome to attend.
Submitted photo
WINNING
THE FIGHT
Ceshia and David Ray, along with their dog, Titan, enjoy time together. David Ray was diagnosed with cancer at 23 years old when a tumor was discovered in his brain. After seven years of treatment and dietary changes, the tumor has stopped growing. Despite the hardships of cancer, he would not change the direction of those years because of the perspective it gave him in life. A full story can be found on page A7. M
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