50¢ JUNE 23, 2021
PITTSFIELD, IL
NEWS GriggsvillePerry planning to field its own baseball team. See page A2
Class of 1954 announces winners of Staff Recognition Award. See page A7
SPORTS
Kunzeman excels at Spoon River. See page A3
COURT PCSD traffic stop results in drug arrest. See page A8
WEEKEND WEATHER FRIDAY, JUNE 25
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INSIDE Classified . . . . . . . A8 Community . . . . . A5 News . . . . . A2-3, A5, . . . . . . . . . . . . A7, A9 Court . . . . . . . . . . A8 Marketplace . . . . . A6 Obituaries . . . . . . A3 Opinion . . . . . . . . A4 Public Notice . . . . A7 School . . . . . . .A3, A5 Society . . . . . . . . . A5 Sports . . . . . . . . . . A3 Obituaries in this issue: Crockett, Norton, Surratt.
Pike Press
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VOL. 179, NO. 25
Restaurants impacted by high meat prices By DAVID CAMPHOUSE Pike Press Rising meat prices are prompting some Pike County restaurants to raise their prices, while others are trying to deal with shrinking margins. Hilltop Custom Meat owner Todd Smith reports that meat prices have been rising steadily since the beginning of the year. “Since January, wholesale meat prices have doubled,” Hilltop Custom Meat owner Todd Smith said. The rising meat prices, Smith said, have only gotten worse since a May 30 cyberattack on JBS, the world’s largest meat processor, which shut down meat packing plants in the United States and Australia. “I’m assuming it’s because of the hack,” Smith said. “Since the hack, prices have gone up $0.50 to $0.60 a week.” Smith said the price hikes that are so damaging to restaurants may not have been noticed by some consumers. “It doesn’t seem like a big deal if you’re just going to the grocery store and spending an extra dollar or two,” Smith said. “It’s a big deal when you’re buying hundreds of pounds at a time.” Smith said that he has had no choice but to, at least in part, pass the price increases on to customers. “We raised prices by $0.25 on a lot of things,” Smith said.
David Camphouse/Pike Press
Paul Ruble of Pittsfield’s Courtyard Café & Bakery works with a beef roast Tuesday, June 22. According to Ruble and Todd Smith of Hilltop Custom Meat, prices of some types of meat have more than doubled since the beginning of the year. More recently, meat prices rose sharply in response to the ransomware attack on JBS meat packing plants. As a result, some restaurants have raised prices, and some have simply made less profit.
The restaurant’s customer base, Smith said, has remained loyal despite the higher prices. “I was blown away by the level of support from the community,” Smith
said. “We haven’t really lost any followers.” Pittsfield’s Courtyard Café & Bakery is also adapting to the higher meat prices.
“Ground beef has gone up a dollar in the last month,” Courtyard Café & Bakery owner Paul Ruble said. “Meat prices have doubled since the beginning of the year. Prices usually fluctuate but not that much.” According to Ruble, the restaurant is attempting to deal with the rising prices without raising the cost to customers. “We’re not going to fluctuate our prices,” Ruble said. “We don’t feel like we can go up and down. Next month, beef might go down. If prices on something go up, we will usually try and use that ingredient less. Of course, you can’t do that with something like ground beef.” Ruble allowed that a major market interruption could cause the restaurant to revisit its pricing. “Now, maybe if it goes up astronomically we would have to look at prices,” Ruble said. According to Ruble, the bigger cause of inflated prices paid by consumers is the rising wages that restaurants and retail businesses are required to pay employees. “I think everything will keep going up with minimum wage,” Ruble said. According to Smith, the rising prices present very hard choices for restaurateurs. “If prices can stay where they’re at, we can make it work,” Smith said. “If they keep doing what they’ve been doing, we’ll shut the door.”
Horses back in the Pleasant Hill needs Mounted Angels ring diving boards
By BETH ZUMWALT Pike Press After COVID forced the cancelation of the Mounted Angels last year, the organization is back at the Pike County Fairgrounds giving horseback rides to special needs children. “It’s great for the riders,” Marlee Schultz, one of the coordinators of the event, said. “We work on core strength, hand-eye coordination, communication, eye contact, a lot of things. It’s great for the parents too, because everyone there has a common denominator.” The event, held each Thursday at the Pleasant Hill Fairgrounds, is for children aged 2 and up until they age out or feel they are too old for the activity. This is the 32nd year for the program in Pike County, which depends on generosity to pay the costs of insurance and equipment purchases. “We don’t have a lot of expenses,” Schultz said. “We get some
Submitted photo
By BETH ZUMWALT Pike Press A crack has been discovered in the Pleasant Hill Pool’s remaining diving board, and the pool is still without replacement money. The Pleasant Hill Pool has historically always had two diving boards. Approximately five years ago, a crack was discovered in one of the boards, and with no money for a replacement, the pool has been operating with one. That is, until this new crack was discovered. “We are trying to raise money to buy one — two would be great— but, one is our goal,” Poole Manager Tina Jones said. “Each board is about $5,600.” Collection jars have been set up around Pleasant Hill and Jones said donations are being dropped off at the pool. Anyone wanting to donate may mail their donation to 104 Parkview, Pleasant Hill, 62301.
First-year rider Scarlett Kirgan was all smiles during her ride last week at Mounted Angels. The group meets each Thursday at the Pleasant Hill Fairgrounds.
money from funeral memorials and other non-profits.” The program is operating a bit differently this year. Four riders are scheduled for one week with four more scheduled the fol-
File photo
Carter Jones takes a leap off the diving board at the Pleasant Hill Pool.
lowing week at different time slots. “Because of COVID, we just thought that would be better and there would be 14 days of downtime in between sessions,” Schultz said.
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COUCH
David Camphouse/Pike Press
MAKES IT TO STATE TRACK MEET
300m hurdler Max Couch, center, was the lone Saukee boy to make it to the state track meet in Charleston after he placed first at the sectional meet. Couch was joined on his ceremonial state-qualifier firetruck ride on Wednesday, June 16, by teammate Levi Chaplin, left, and Coach Adam Singler, right. Couch did not place at the state meet.
LOCAL
David Camphouse/Pike Press
SKATERS OBSERVE ‘GO DAY’ IN PITTSFIELD
SKATE
Joe Capps goes airborne at Pittsfield’s King Park Skate Park on Monday, June 21, while Kevin Merrifield looks on. Capps and Merrifield indicated that part of their motivation to go skateboarding on Monday, was the day’s distinction as “Go Skate Day.” Go Skate Day was created by the International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC) in 2004, to promote events in major cities around the world to help make skateboarding more accessible. In 2005, the holiday was officially recognized in California by U.S. Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez.