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INSIDE NEWS
Fieldon’s independence celebration has been postponed
Jerseyville mayor: KCS project is still a go
The July 10 event will start off with food. The Fellowship Fieldon Baptist Church will serve lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. including BBQ pork steak sandwiches, walking tacos, potato chips, soft drinks and water. They are planning on games for the kids also. From 4-7 p.m. the Fieldon United Church of Christ will be serving buffalo fish, pulled pork, hot dogs, baked beans, potato salad, slaw, soft drinks and water. The Sunday School will have games from 4-7 p.m., where children will win a prize every time. A cake walk will start at 4 p.m. and end whenever they are out of cakes. The streets will be blocked off for the celebration and the cakewalk, but there will be plenty of parking, according to a press release. They will also
By JARAD JARMON Jersey County Journal It has been all quiet on the southern front in regard to the Mid-America Gateway project, but the Jerseyville mayor reportedly was assured that the project is still ongoing. The Mid-American International Gateway project was addressed at the Jerseyville Economic Development Council Executive Board meeting last week. There was discussion of where things stand with the railroad and the project. “A lot of people have speculated that our project is not existent and dead in the water,” Jerseyville Mayor Bill Russell said. “What I can tell you is that the railroad has assured us that our project is alive and well.” This project is the result of a collaboration between Stonemont Financial Group, a leading private real estate investment firm headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., and the Jerseyville Economic Development Council. The park will be served by the Kansas City Southern (KCS) rail network, which played a key role in forging the ongoing collaboration. The nearly 1,400-acre rail-served logistics park site will be located east of the existing KCS rail line that passes through rural Jerseyville on its southeast side near Crystal Lake Road. Because of COVID-19 and potential mergers, though, focus has been pulled from the project as of late. KCS is in discussions with Canadian National Railway Company (CN) on a merger that they are trying to get the surface transportation board to approve. According to a news release from Kansas City Southern, CN’s and KCS’s request that the board approve their proposed voting trust agreement between the two is ongoing. The plain vanilla voting trust, which is identical to the CP trust approved for use by the STB, is an integral component of the CN-KCS combination. It prevents premature control of KCS, allows KCS to maintain independence and protects KCS’ financial health during the STB’s review of the ultimate combination of CN and KCS. “It is a business process, and it is a large process,” Russell said. And it is one that has soaked up much of focus for KCS, which is integral to this Mid-American project. Until the merger is solidified, a timeline is unclear. However, Russell did express he hopes to see work getting done on it sooner rather than later. He currently envisions physical work on the project in the first quarter of 2022. To be clear, such goals have not been nailed down. In speaking about the project, Russell reiterated what has been repeated by local and statewide leaders: the importance of such a development site in the Jerseyville area. “We had that discussion, and the manufacturing portions in actual discussions about our site – they are family providing substantive jobs,” Russell said. In a way, work has already started to make way for the development, such as with the Delhi Bypass, but Russell indicated much of this work was in the cards before the development was proposed. The Jerseyville mayor stressed, though, that significant investment by the city will only come after signed documents that confirm development in the county. “We’re not going to do anything until we have signed documents in front of us as far as a master development agreement with the railroad and the developer,” Russell said. “We are not going to make any harsh decisions without everything actually being in writing. I am not going to spend taxpayers’ dollars on a pipe dream.”
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Fieldon Mayor Julia Dixon confirmed that the Fieldon celebration has been postponed. Grafton’s Music in “I have had to cancel it due to the heavy the Park offering downpour [forecasted],” Dixon said. There is a high-percent chance for sounds of summer. See page A2 heavy rain Saturday, June 26, when the event would have taken place. Dixon noted that the ones handling the fireworks would not be able to fire them off on that day. Instead, the festivities will kick off a couple of weeks later on Saturday, July 10. Dixon said the only things missing from this postponed date will be the live music and some vendors.
SCHOOL
WEEKEND WEATHER FRIDAY, JUNE 25
87 72 High
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SATURDAY, JUNE 26
84 67 High
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SUNDAY, JUNE 27
86 65 High
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TOP STORIES ONLINE Week of June 17 - 23 1. Pride demonstration held outside Jerseyville church 2. Jersey Board addresses interest in becoming a part of Missouri 3. Local veterans struggling without more involvement 4. Jersey County Sheriff's Office receives communication grant 5. Better Newspapers, Inc. acquires Jersey County Journal
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VOL. 19, NO. 25 - 75¢
JUNE 23, 2021
ieldon will be celebrating the Fourth of July this year, but it will be a little later than usual.
Local graduates from Southwestern University with honors. See page A5
JOURNAL
have a 50/50 drawing at Fieldon United Church of Christ. The Village of Fieldon is having a parade beginning at the Baptist church on the corner of 104 Public Road in Fieldon at 3 p.m. The flag raising ceremony with the American Legion will follow at the pavilion. There will be vendors also. The Fieldon Fire Department will sponsor bingo, with fireworks beginning at dark. Fieldon has been celebrating the country’s independence for over 50 years. They have had people who come from all over the U.S., namely from the five surrounding counties as well as people from St. Louis, Mo. and the surrounding area. People are asked to bring their lawn chairs. Social distancing and facial masks are required if not fully vaccinated per COVID-19 guidelines.
St. Francis Xavier Church turns 150 years old By CONNOR ASHLOCK Jersey County Journal The St. Francis Xavier Parish will soon be commemorating the 150th anniversary of the consecration of the church, complete with congratulations sent from the Vatican by Pope Francis himself. “On special occasions marking different moments in church life or individual peoples’ lives, you can request via letter to the Apostolic Nuncio— basically the pope’s office— a little document acknowledging a special occasion offering prayers, blessings and well wishes,” Rev. Martin Smith of St. Francis, said. The historic gothic building is a landmark in the Jerseyville community, and has been ever since its completion in 1871. The structure proves to be one of the more exquisite and imposing pieces of architecture that dots the Jerseyville landscape, with its steeple noticeable beyond the limits of the city. As equally impressive as its interior and exterior is the rich history of the congregation.
Connor Ashlock/Jersey County Journal
The interior of St. Francis is illuminated by over a dozen antique stained glass windows that are over 100 years old, including this window that is placed above the great doors of the vestibule in the church.
Originally designated as an Irish church with its roots still deeply embedded in its emerald isle heritage, the church has made its mark in the history of the Roman Catholic Church in Illinois long before
its edifice reached its sesquicentennial mark. The church’s origins are tied with the earliest Roman Catholics to reside in what was originally southern Greene County. Practicing Catholics could
hardly adhere to the tenets of their faith when Masses had to be delivered by priests who traveled on a circuit and gave Masses in private homes and occasionally the courthouse. (See, CHURCH, A2)
Makeup, spa business launches new store in Jerseyville By HALEY DISTERHOFT Jersey County Journal Facials, manicures and massages galore, Jersey locals will be able to treat themselves at Maven Makeup + Skincare Co, which held its grand opening last Saturday. Possibly recognized from their previous work at Sweetlife Spa and Salon, business partners Kendelle Stahlschmidt and Hannah Hutchinson have opened up a new brick and mortar focusing on the spa experience, along with their makeup and skincare line. “We formed Maven in 2013,” Hutchinson said. “We’re big into setting goals. I think one of our first goals was to have our makeup line, and we launched that in 2016. Then our next goal was to start a skincare spa, so here we are.”
Both estheticians, Hutchinson and Stahlschmidt have been working together for 10 years, with 25 years combined experience working in the spa and skincare field, and they will tell anyone, being business owners has been both rewarding and challenging for them. “Well, there’s definitely not a handbook on how to start up a business,” Hutchinson said. “Our motto is always: We’re learning. So if we fail at something or don’t accomplish it the correct way, we say, ‘Well, we’re learning!’” Their flexibility and optimism helped launch the Jersey County makeup business, in the beginning, by providing brides with makeup looks on their wedding day or helping people of all ages relax with skincare and facials. (See, MAKEUP, A2)
Submitted photo
Kendelle Stahlschmidt and Hannah Hutchinson are all smiles for the opening of their new spa, Maven Makeup + Skincare Co.
Parents express mask concerns at school board meeting
JERSEY COUNTY
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By HALEY DISTERHOFT Jersey County Journal As CDC and IDPH guidelines for masks and social distancing relax across the state of Illinois, some Jersey County parents are concerned if mask mandates will be enforced this upcoming school year. During their meeting Thursday, the Jersey Community School Board allowed the group of parents in attendance to address the board.
Among that lot, Jessica Friedel and Tara Mueller took the opportunity to express their opinions about mask mandates. “The mask mandate makes no sense, period, let alone for children,” Friedel said. “There has been a 44 percent increase in ER (emergency room) visits among children for mental health concerns, including suicide.” Friedel cited her own experiences as a nurse and mother of a 13-year-old daughter,
“These masks are killing our kids.”
Jessica Friedel Local parent and how the pandemic has contributed to her anxiety. “You take kids away from structure; you take them away from their friends; you cover their mouths; you put them in isolation. What do
you think is going to happen?” Friedel said. “These masks are killing our kids.” Friedel went on to ask the board to “stand up to Pritzker” before the next parent took her turn to speak. Mueller began addressing the board with a reading of the new CDC guidelines as of May 17, which repealed mask mandates for young children. She then talked about House Bill 2789, a piece of legislation proposed which would allow the state to make deci-
sions regarding COVID regulations in both public and private schools. Lawmakers abandoned the bill as of Memorial Day, because of parent outrage. Mueller posed the question, “The verbiage in this bill has me question where our power really lies, at the local level or the state level?” Mueller recalled a conversation she had with a member of the Jersey County Health Department in March. (See, MASK, A2)