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Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Letters to the editor Progress continues to save school in Alsey Dear fellow Alsey Red Devils, Manchester Blackhawk’s and Supporters of our School: We cannot begin to say how much we regret the loss of our dear principal, Bernard Raabe! He touched all of our lives in one capacity or another and we will never forget his love and kindness! We have been busy with fundraisers again this year; approximately $8,848.76 was raised due to the efforts of many! It started with the dinner on Memorial Day ($351), softball tournaments in June and September ($1236), Men’s Basketball Tournament in March ($3115), Alsey Homecoming Basket Raffle ($482), spook house and penny carnival ($2366), quilt raffle ($752), gun raffle (Dalene Fearneyhough was the winner and gave it back) ($1503) and finishing up with the Christmas Bazaar ($425)! Thank you to all that have lent a hand and given to our cause! We are currently planning this year’s events and they are starting with the Men’s Basketball Tournament on March 3, 4 and 5. Dana Garrett is once again heading this up and is hoping to register eight teams for the event. If you have a team, please contact Dana at 217-370-2139. Entry fee will be $175 - $200 depending on other costs. Deadline to register is Feb. 18. Players must be at least 18 years of age. We are
also in need of volunteers: scorekeepers, food stand workers, cookie makers, clock runners, half-court shot coordinator and referees! There will also be the Memorial Dinner in May, softball in June and September, basket raffle in August at the Homecoming and a Penny Carnival/Fall Festival in the fall. With all your generous donations, we have been able to paint the trim on the school building, rearrange the kitchen and replaced some appliances, bathroom repairs, tile drains out, insulation in classrooms, just to name a few! Things needing repairs are a different furnace, ceiling in gym and classroom, tuckpointing, gym floor, etc., etc., if you know what we mean! A special thanks to our repair recommendation crew! We are also taking shirt orders; the more shirts we order the better the cost. We are offering T-shirts $14, long sleeve T-shirts $17, hoodies and zip hoodies $25; bigger sizes have an additional cost. The more orders made, the cheaper the cost to the board. To order call Peggy Clemons, 7423822, or Cindy Ryan, 742-3253. We had a very successful “collecting change campaign” in honor of our two awesome principals, Mr. Lee Barrow and
Mr. Bernard Raabe! To date, we have collected $2307.14! There were 29 students and one teacher of the schools that turned in their change from various years and the Class of 1969 gained bragging rights for our first campaign! It might have something to do with the fact that Jack owns a bar?! We have asked Kevin Moore to come up with a plan for our landscaping! We have also been in contact with Kevin Brown about filling in the well. As mentioned last year, we hope to finish with a plaque honoring our principals! The collecting change campaign will continue this year! If you have a Gatorade bottle, please start throwing your change in it and turn it in to the Farmer’s bank in Winchester or at any of our events, all we need to know is your name, the school where you graduated 8th grade and when. This is what was collected with 30 people; imagine if we all joined in! If you live away, please collect your change and send a check to Alsey School Renovation Fund, PO Box 108, Alsey, IL 62610; don’t forget to include the year you graduated! The winning class will be announced at the Chili Supper in October. KATHY SIMMONS Committee Chairperson Save the Alsey School
Many help make fundraisers a success The BMW Youth Group and the Winchester United Methodist Church wish to express our deep thanks to all who supported the Youth Benefit Trivia IV Match held back on Jan. 29. We want to thank the six teams that showed up to play, and congratulations to the winning team, “The Ducks”, and to our Second Place team, “Julie Peterson Team”. Both teams
donated their cash prizes back to the Youth Mission Trip Fund! Barb Garnett did another super job coordinating the food service. Many came out to eat supper to support the BMW Youth Group. We also want to say Thank You to the following local businesses and individuals who donated items for our silent auction: Tipsord’s Lawn and Garden, Marshall’s
Chevrolet, Winchester Bowl, Pharmacy Plus, Buck & Jo’s Too, jewelry items from Dave’s Music and Anita Newman, Gordan Holmes, HYPE Jr. Youth Fellowship @ WUMC and Rev. Robin Lyons. The Trivia IV Benefit raised $1,252 for the BMW summer mission trip to the LUC Boys Ranch in Lampe, MO. We also want to give a spe-
cial Thank You to the WUMC Trivia Team who once again planned, coordinated and put the match together. Our Trivia Benefit V will be on January 28, 2018! Thank you, everyone, and may God continue to bless our community so that we can continue to be a blessing to others! REV. ROBIN LYONS Winchester UMC
School leadership program elicits excitement By JUSTIN A. COBB Pike Press A school leadership program sponsored by the Tracy Family Foundation in Mount Sterling has local educators very excited. The West Central Illinois School Leadership Initiative is an 18-month training program intended to make school leaders more effective, the first cohort of which recently graduated, according to a Saturday evening press release. Western School District curriculum director Jessica Funk, who will become the district’s superintendent in July, was one of five educators from Pike County who graduated in the first cohort. “We went for two days a month roughly back to back to Mount Sterling,” Funk said by phone Monday afternoon. “First we talked about education overall, as in a global perspective, and then it got more focused, with units on literacy, math, and science.” Other educators from Pike County who participated in the first cohort were Western Elementary and High School prin-
cipal Connie Thomas, Pikeland School District superintendent Paula Hawley, and Pittsfield High School and South Elementary School principals Angie Greger and Angie Ruebush, according to the press release. The program, which provides training developed by the National Institute for School Leadership, according to Winchester High School guidance counselor Celeste Lashmett, speaking by phone Tuesday morning, who with Winchester High School and Winchester Grade School principals Denny Vortman and Andy Stumpf will participate in the cohort starting in June. “The Tracy Family Foundation has put a lot of time into researching success in schools, and all the research had come back and said good leadership is integral in successful schools,” Lashmett said. “They took a lot of time to figure out the best program. NISL is a nationwide program, not just people throwing stuff together.” The program brings experts from all over the country to present to school leaders enrolled in the program, according to
Addiction (Continued from A1) Melissa had been able to stay clean for nearly a year before relapsing into heroin addiction, according to Coyne, who said he fears she, too, may eventually have to be added to his list of overdose deaths. Karidis has been an educator for approximately 20 years and seen the impact opiate abuse, addiction, and overdose have had on her school and in her community, she said. One overdose death that took place Nov. 4, 2013, however, is indelibly etched into her heart, as this was when her son Chas, then age 23, died of a heroin overdose, she said. “My 26-year-old will forever be 23,” Karidis said. Chas had grown up a popular, charismatic, and talented boy who loved playing the guitar, walking the family dog, and spending time with friends, but he had a “secret” group of friends who had turned him on to heroin, Karidis said. Before, he hated getting shots and would not even take an Advil for a headache, “and now he’s shooting up heroin!” Karidis said. No one who has become addicted to heroin began using with the intention of becoming an addict, but heroin is highly addictive and more so for a person who has a family history of addiction, according to Karidis. Having a single family member with an addiction problem increases a person’s likelihood of becoming an addict by 70 to 80 percent, but if he or she has a second
Lashmett. “I’m really exited. Plus, there’s an opportunity to earn graduate credit hours,” Lashmett, who is currently pursuing a master’s degree in educational leadership, said. Each session of the program covers a different aspect of school leadership, such as mentoring and best pedagogical practices in mathematics and science, according to Funk. “For science, our speaker there was actually someone who had been accepted into NASA,” Funk said. “He walked us through what an inquiry less would be like. Instead of just reading from a textbook it’s ‘let’s find the information together’ so really modeling some of the lessons to us that we can go back and put into practice in our classrooms.” Funk said she and Thomas have already been able to implement lessons learned from the program to increase the rigor of the curriculum throughout the district. Asked whether she would recommend it to others, “Absolutely, without a doubt!” she said. “It’s intense and demanding but worth every second of it.”
Justin A. Cobb/Scott County Times
Kari Karidis, assistant principal at Collinsville High School, describes how opiate addiction has touched her life. Not only has she dealt with it among students at her school, she lost a son to a heroin overdose three years ago. She and Troy police Detective Chris Coyne hope they will be able to stem the tide of opiate addiction and overdose.
(Continued from A1) style rifle, Winchester Grade School (WGS) secretary Darin Buhlig, who is familiar with firearms through prior military service, said by phone the following morning, though he was not certain of the exact model. WGS principal Andy Stumpf, noting he assented to the raffle when the PAT proposed it to him, said the way the raffle was being conducted was completely legal, with participants required to be at least 18 years of age and possess a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card. Adult Night Out attendees must be 21 or older. “They have my full support,” Stumpf said. “They’ve raised more than $100,000 (for the school) in recent memory. If it’s a problem, you can put it on my shoulders.” “I do think the intent is good,” Brown said. “Guns are popular, and it’s a good way to raise money.” Booster groups at several neighboring school districts, including Jacksonville, Greenfield, and Carrollton, have had gun raffles to raise money for their schools, and the issue was met with no resistance when the PAT discussed it in a well-attended meeting in September, Angie Brown, PAT president and a teacher at WGS, said. “We’re thinking we’re living in a hunting community. It’s a good way to raise money. We’re not trying to be insensitive,” Angie Brown said. “We will not do it again. We can see both sides of it.”
TIMELYMatters 3 Thursday, Feb. 16, the Scott County Soil and Water Conservation District annual meeting will take place at the Nimrod Funk Building in Winchester, with registration beginning 8:30 a.m. and the business meeting scheduled to start 9 a.m. Guest speaker John Coonrod will present information concerning wills and estate planning. For more information or to register in advance, please call the Scott County SWCD office at 217742-9561, ext. 3. 3 Monday, Feb. 20, 4:307 p.m., Winchester American Legion will have its monthly ham and bean supper. Menu includes ham and beans, cornbread, apple sauce, desserts, coffee, and tea. The supper takes place the third Monday of each month. 3 Saturday, Feb. 25, 10:30 a.m. – noon, in Sibert Hall at Winchester United Methodist Church, the Winchester Chess Club will meet. Players of all ages and skill levels are welcome to attend, including those looking to learn the game for the first time. The club will meet the second and fourth Saturdays of each month. 3 Saturday, Feb. 25, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. and 5-7 p.m., First Baptist Church of Winchester Men’s Fellowship will have its annual pancake and sausage dinner, with carry-out available by calling 217-742-3480. 3 Saturday, Feb. 25, 6 p.m. to midnight, at the Winchester EMS building, the Winchester Parents And Teachers (PAT)
association will have its second annual Adult Night Out, featuring food and fun for those age 21 or older. Friday, March 3, and Saturday, March 4, 7 p.m., and Sunday, March 5, 2 p.m., Winchester High School Drama will present “Cinderella.” 3 Saturday, March 4, at the Nimrod Funk Building, 401 N. Walnut St. in Winchester, Scott County Jr. Fair will have a trivia night fundraiser, with doors opening 5 p.m. and trivia beginning 6 p.m. To register, please call the Scott County Extension office at 217-7429572, Tim Lashmett at 217473-5597, or Jackson Lashmett at 217-370-3434. 3 Wednesday, March 8, serving 5-7 p.m., Bluffs American Legion will have its monthly chicken and fish dinner. Menu includes fried chicken, fish, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, corn, slaw, dessert, and drink. Carryout available. The dinner takes place the second Wednesday of each month. 3 Saturday, May 13, at Lewis Park in Bluffs, Bluffs PTO and Yearbook will have the fourth annual Sprintin’ in the Sticks 5K run/walk, with same-day registration starting 7 a.m. and the race starting 8 a.m. Contact Jodie DeGroot or Maryon Shaw at 217-7543815 or via email at at jdegroot@bluffs-school.com or mshaw@bluffs-school.com for more information, to register, or to sponsor the event.
Bread of Love
Thursday, Feb. 16: Baked ham, sweet potatoes, green beans, peaches, bread, milk Friday, Feb. 17: Sloppy joe on bun, baked beans, cole slaw, pineapple, milk Monday, Feb. 20: Closed for Presidents Day – No
Meal Tuesday, Feb. 21: Brad patty on bun, german potato salad, sauerkraut, tropical fruit, milk Wednesday, Feb. 22: No service due to no general revenue money
Bluffs
(Continued from A1) hired Grant DeWitt as West Central high school track coach, Blankenship said via email the following afternoon. Action to settle litigation regarding the school’s HVAC system was on the agenda, but no action on a settlement was taken that
evening, Blankenship said. The meeting began 7:01 p.m. and, according to Blankenship, lasted one hour and 10 minutes. Board member Shelly Tweedy arrived two minutes into the meeting, and board president Gary Westermeyer and board member Ed Little were absent.
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Raffle family member who is an addict, “you may as well put your name on the dotted line,” Karidis said. Abstinence from drugs is important in the teen and young adult years not just because of the risk of addiction but also because their brains, particularly the frontal lobe, important for impulse control and decision making, are still developing, according to Karidis. Coyne and Karidis advise youth to be a “real BFF” to their friends and to help them get help if they are showing signs of drug abuse or addiction. “Be your brother’s keeper,” Karidis said.
Opinion
Winchester, Illinois
Angie Brown said no one has approached her directly to express concern about the raffle and added the gun would never be in the possession of the PAT, that the winner would have to claim it directly from the licensed dealer after passing the required National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) check.
“I’m behind them 100 percent, but it’s in a little poor taste with the things that have happened with guns in schools.”
Norine Jefferson Secretary, Winchester School Board “We just wanted to make a lot of money for our school,” Angie Brown said. "We never wanted to offend anyone.” “If it’s legal, it’s legal,” board member Steve Weder said. Winchester PAT Adult Night Out will take place Saturday, Feb. 25, starting 6 p.m., at the Winchester Emergency Medical Services (EMS) building. For more information or to purchase a raffle ticket, please contact PAT president Angie Brown at 217742-9551 or abrown@winchesterschools.net.
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2017
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