DECEMBER 2020 | THE WAYNE COUNTY
Outlook
FMH-SPONSORED COLORING CONTEST UNDERWAY
Securities offered through
Member FINRA/SIPC
Conard Financial Group is not a registered broker/dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services off ered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc.
PRSRT STD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE PAID EDDM RETAIL
Local Postal Customer
510 W. Delaware Fairfield, IL 62837 618-842-7855
ARF $20 COUPON Attention Participating Veterinarians: Please send bill along with completed original coupon for reimbursement by Feb. 10, 2021 to: Animals Requesting Friends, P. O. Box 324, FairďŹ eld, IL 62837.
You may also use PayPal for your donation at www.arfcares.org
Expires January 31, 2021 Requirements: This coupon will be applied to the cost of veterinary care for your pet, *No limit for LOW INCOME Pet Guardians and Feral Cat Caregivers. MALE or FEMALE, from a doctor or intern of veterinary medicine. This *One coupon per dog or cat (does not have to be your own pet). coupon will cover $20.00 off the *Must be WAYNE COUNTY address cost of a SPAY or (redeem at any veterinarian of choice). NEUTER procedure!
Wishing wonderf everyone a season a ul Christmas n good thi d hoping for ngs in 20 2 1!
Wayne County Health Department 405 North Basin Road, FairďŹ eld, IL 618-842-5166 ~ Hours 8-5:30 M-Th.
Antique Angel Tree Deadline Dec. 2nd The Senior Life Solutions Department at Fairfield Memorial Hospital is sponsoring an Antique Christmas Angel Tree for older adults throughout the community who are in need or do not have family nearby. Each ornament on the Antique Christmas Angel Tree has the name of an older adult, along with items they desire or need. Simple things like a warm blanket or socks can warm their hearts, minds, and bodies during this holiday season. This is the Department’s third year to host the program. Anyone who would like to sponsor an “antique angel” can choose an ornament from the Antique Christmas Angel Tree or contact the Senior Life Solutions Department at 618-847-8298. Gifts don’t have to be wrapped, but must be turned in by December 2nd!
Merry Christmas!
OUTLOOK
15968 County Road 1075E McLeansboro, IL 62859 Penny Shreve, publisher 618-842-3004 outlookmagandtv@gmail.com 1
American Red Cross & FMH To Hold Blood Drive December 3rd The American Red Cross and Fairfield Memorial Hospital (FMH) will conduct a blood drive at FMH’s Educational Annex Building (in the Red Cross bus) on December 3rd, from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The location is 203 Northwest 10th Street in Fairfield. Most donations take about an hour, so if you would like to schedule your appointment, go online to: redcrossblood.org/give.html/donation-time, or call Shauna Williams at 618-847-8242. An estimated 38 percent of Americans are eligible to give blood or platelets, but of those, less than ten percent actually donate each year. “The current pandemic has brought much of the world to a halt, isolating people in their homes, taking kids out of school, and closing the doors to many businesses,” said FMH CEO Katherine Bunting-Williams. “Despite this, hospitals across
2
the country have remained open and operational, dedicated to providing lifesaving care to patients. “Because of this, the need for blood donation still exists, and we hope we can do our part by partnering with the Red Cross to have this blood drive and help provide the much needed supplies they need during this time.”
Santa Weeps
I sit down in the makeshift office. I rarely stop here; I usually pass through while on my way to other parts of the house. Tonight I’m exhausted and sink into the chair. I stare blindly, thinking of nothing except my lethargy. I feel heavy and fluid, as if I might sink to the floor and spread like so much oil. I reach into my shirt pocket to remove my pens and throw them on the desk. My index finger grazes a piece of paper. I pull it out and unfold it. I read and fall into anguish. Playing at Santa tonight should be joyful, but a great sadness encompasses me. The little girl reminded me of my own daughters. She’d given me the letter a few hours earlier. It’s printed in pink and purple marker. The printing is the neatest a first grader can muster. It’s simple and direct. She thinks I’m Santa and it’s her Christmas letter. She gave me the letter in silence, and I read it as if it were her Magnum Opus. I read the letter again and stare off into the room. I think about my own daughters. I remember them in the first grade. My blank gaze focuses on displayed tokens on the bookshelf. The tokens remind me, and I understand my darkness. The pieces fall into place like the tumblers of a lock. I remember and I weep. The epiphany is too awful to will it away. I don’t want to see, but I can’t help seeing. On top of the bookcase lurks a presentation for meritorious service. The citation glows with praise for going beyond the call of duty. It glows with praise for exceptional results from my efforts.
As I look at it I realize the real message. It’d be more accurate if it praised me for putting my career before my family. It’d be more accurate if it stated the award was for missing school plays and gymnastics meets and scout meetings. Another certificate is a letter of promotion. It’s for forsaking dinners at home and bedtime stories to get promoted ahead of my peers. It came with a larger chevron, a modest raise, and a missed birthday. That’s why I weep. The innocent little girl represents my lost daughters. The innocent little girl reminds me of the tens, and scores, and then hundreds of little things I missed. She reminds me I traded time with my children to build a fleeting career. In a book, this would be the moment that I wake up and find my daughters in their pajamas and snuggled under the Strawberry Shortcake comforter. Every minute I’ve experienced since their fifth Christmas would be erased. I’d make them waffles and listen to silly little stories. I’d see the error of my ways and cherish every moment with the little princesses. But this isn’t a movie. I bear the guilt for what has been missed. I can rationalize that I raised good girls. I can take the credit for them. I’d be wrong. The truth is, they are decent and good in spite of my absence. They succeed in life from their own efforts, not from mine. My memory of the children that are now grown is full of holes, and now I know it’s not from my old and addled mind. My memory is full of holes because the past is full of holes and voids. Perhaps my epitaph should read only “Not Available”. I get up from my chair and feel old and weak. I remove the meritorious service award and replace it with the letter to Santa. It replaces the less important papers. The letter takes its rightful place. It’s a Magnum Opus.
$45 hr. Sessions 1/2 to 2 hrs.
Christmas Gift Certificates Available!
8 a.m.-9 p.m. M-F 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat.
Affordable Massage Therapy
1306 W. Center Dr., Fairfield ~ 618-919-1024 3
4
Jerry Cox of the Jerry L. Cox Foundation Trust is shown with this year’s Clemence Elizabeth Cox Scholarship recipients (from left) Jessica Rinebold, Kacie Berry, and Autumn Buffington, with Julie Bullard, scholarship liaison. The plaque recognizes the three latest winners as well as and previous recipients of the scholarship.
Clemence Cox Scholarship Awarded To Students Frontier Community College (FCC) recently awarded the Clemence Elizabeth Cox Scholarship to three nursing students. The semi-annual scholarship awards $500 to second-level nursing students of FCC. This semester the scholarship has been awarded to Jessica Rinebold of Cisne, Kacie Berry of Olney, and Autumn Buffington of Flora. Each recipient is on track to complete the Associate Degree in Nursing this May. Clemence Elizabeth Cox was well-known in the Fairfield community. She and her husband, James (Jim) Cox, operated the Western Auto Store in Fairfield for many years and were the builders and first operators of the Uptown Motel. At one time, she also ran a retail baby shop. Mrs. Cox was a member of the Fairfield First Christian Church and involved with numerous clubs including Younger Women’s Club, Fairfield Women’s Club, Fairfield Beautification Committee, Fairfield Garden Club, and the Fairfield Memorial Hospital Auxiliary. She was a 1933 graduate of FCHS. This memorial scholarship is funded by the Jerry L. Cox Foundation Trust that was established in 2018 by Jerry Cox of Mill Shoals, the son of James (Jim) and Clemence Cox. Jerry is a retired salesman for Airtex products, a Southern Illinois University graduate, and a Vietnam Veteran.
Grateful for the care that both of his parents received in the hospital and nursing home, and knowing the care nurses give to VA patients, Jerry thought it fitting to award the scholarship to nursing students. Since its establishment in 2009, a total of $24,500 has Continued On Next Page
DECEMBER SPECIAL Buy a full set, get a free bracelet!
TT Nails & Tanz 308 E. Main, Fairfield, IL 618-842-9898 (9-7 M-F, 9-5 Sat.)
5
Cox Scholarships Given Continued From Last Page been given to 49 nursing students. Jerry Cox dedicated this year’s scholarship gifts to family friend, Melisse Marks, in honor of her mother, retired nurse anesthetist Carmita (Mitzi) Marks, and father, the late Dr. Arthur Marks. Melisse Marks and Richard Harriss matched the donation for an additional student scholarship recipient. Anyone wishing to contribute to the Clemence Elizabeth Cox Scholarship Fund, awarded to second level nursing students at Frontier, may contact Lori Noe, FCC’s Coordinator of Financial Aid, at 618-842-3711.
6
When your employer’s insurance company says your work injury is not covered or the surgery you need is not authorized, YOU NEED SOMEONE ON YOUR SIDE!
Call for a free evaluation. No fees unless you receive benefits.
HOFFEE LAW FIRM 109 W. Main, Fairfield, IL - 847-5000 20+ Years Experience
Knockin’ ‘Em Down
Goal After Goal Reached By Unbeaten State Champ Ella Sager
If there’s one thing Center Street Grade School eighth grader Ella Sager loves as much as running, it’s setting goals. Make that reaching goals. Place in the top 50 at the Southern Illinois Junior High School Athletic Association (SIJHSAA) State Cross Country Meet as a sixth grader? No problem. Took 46th in a field of 250, and was named team MVP. Place in the top ten at the same meet as a seventh grader? Sure thing. Took seventh. Got MVP again. Go undefeated and win state as an eighth grader? Isn’t that kind of a tall order? Not for Sager. She did both, reeling off a 10-0 record in the COVIDendangered season en route to winning the Class L crown at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds October 23rd. Her perfect season was the first in Lady Colts history; a shoo-in for MVP again, although team trophies hadn’t been given as of Outlook’s deadline. “I just love to run,” said the 13-year-old daughter of Brad and Amy Sager. “When I started running on the team in the sixth grade, I only ran during the cross country season from August through October. When the season ended last year in seventh grade, I decided to start running year-round. “I knew if I wanted to be successful that I would need to train all year.” And that she does, in part thanks to the tutelage of her coach, Kerri Meritt. “Coach Meritt knew what my goals were; she really believed in me and pushed me hard to reach my goals,” Sager said. “I couldn’t have done this without her.” Team training varied between sprint days, recovery days, course days, mile days, and longdistance days (a five-mile run). During the season, Sager practiced five days a week with her teammates, then ran an extra day on weekends on her own. In the off-season, between cross country and track, she typically runs four days per week. In addition, she’s a competitive swimmer, and is in the pool all year long. “Swimming really helps with my conditioning and keeps me in shape,” Sager said. “In the winter, I swim at Centralia (for the CRCY Barracudas) and practice three or four days a week, one-anda-half hours each day. In the summer, I swim for the Fairfield Area Swim Team and swim six days a week. This really makes a difference in my stamina, and just overall as an athlete.” Needless to say, when the season rolled around
Ella Sager, an eighth grader at Center Street Grade School, finished the cross country season undefeated enroute to claiming the SIJHSAA State Championship. this year, she was ready. The question was, would there be any meets to run, with COVID putting a crimp in the picture? “When the season started, we had only a few meets scheduled, and no state meet. But as the season went on, more and more meets were added, as well as a regional and state meet,” she said. “I was really happy when the state meet was added.” Sager’s time at state was actually faster her seventh grade year (11:50) than this year (11:57.6)—but there was a good reason for that. Continued On Next Page 7
Ella Sager Continued From Last Page “When we got there, it was 75 degrees and dry. But while we were doing a walk-through of the course, a storm came. We got rained-on and hailed-on, and before we could get back to the bus, the temperature dropped 20 degrees. The wind was blowing, and the course was a muddy mess,” she explained. “But for a cross country runner, none of that matters. You still have to go out there and run your race. You just have different obstacles now.” In order to have a shot at the title, Sager knew she had to stay on her feet. “The course was so slick, and that meant we couldn’t go full speed,” she said, which was why her first-place time this year was slower than her seventh-place time last year. “There was just no comparison to the weather and course conditions between last year’s meet and this year’s.” The 5-7, 125-pound Sager also excels on the oval, where she was team MVP as a sixth grader, missing the school’s 800 meter run record by two-tenths of a second. She didn’t get a crack at it last spring when the season was called off due to the virus, but she’s hoping to get that shot in 2021. “My next goal is to focus on track, and to break two school records (the 800 and 1600),” she said. “Then my freshman year, my goal is to get to the top 25 at state in cross country. The competition will be tough, but I’m up for the challenge. And of course, I would love to win a state championship in high school.” Meritt has a ton of confidence in what she can do at the next level. “Ella is an impressive runner! She has the motivation and drive that enables her to achieve her goals. She is a strong and powerful athlete who obtains this from her disciplined running and swim8
Ella Sager of Fairfield has set some lofty goals for track season, and for her high school running career. ming schedule,” said Meritt. “She will not have any trouble continuing her success in high school (because) she sets a goal for herself and then she works until she achieves it.” Her cross country coach at FCHS will be Justin Sanders, who is also her track coach at Center Street. “I have many great people in my life, but Coach Sanders has definitely been the biggest influence on me as a runner. I think he is the one who really brought out my love for running in my first track season,” Sager said. “He is my mentor and has really helped me be the runner I am today. He helps me come up with a training plan for the off-season and has allowed me to run with his (high school) team in the summer. “I can go to him anytime for school questions, advice, and most of all running questions,” she added. “He has taught me about dedication to the sport, and how to be a great teammate and leader.” Sager, whose favorite class is Math because it’s the most challenging, hopes to attend college on a cross country or swimming scholarship. In the future, she sees herself working as a Physical Therapist or Athletic Trainer because “I know that I want to go into something athletic or sports-related,” she said. Sager’s grandparents are Donna and Rodney Masterson, Randy and Lisa Vaughan, and Dan and Cindy Sager, all of Fairfield.
It’s easy! Just color one of the following age-appropriate pages (or copy of the page) and mail it to: Outlook, 15968 County Road 1075E, McLeansboro, IL 62859. Entries MUST be received by 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 15th. You may use crayons, colored pencils, or gel pens. This contest is open to all ages; only one entry per person. Teachers, feel free to make copies of pages for your students, and send them all in together. Winners will be chosen by Fairfield Memorial Hospital staff members in various departments. Identities of entrants will be concealed to ensure unbiased voting, and winners will be announced in the January issue of Outlook. Prizes will be delivered to the winners, so be sure your entry includes your name, phone number, and address (teacher may be the contact person for young students, if necessary). “The Gift of Coloring” prizes are shown on the next page, with four ageappropriate coloring pages following. Get busy coloring, and good luck!
9
Gift Of Coloring PRIZES Treats For All Winners, Too!
HS-Adult Prizes (1 Male, 1 Female) ~ 3-pack adult coloring books w/10-pack colored pencils + 60-pack gel pens w/60 reďŹ lls.
6th-8th Gd. ~ 100 pg. Flowers adult coloring book (girl), 100 pg. Animals adult coloring book (boy) + 60-pack gel pens w/60 reďŹ lls.
PreK-1st Gd. Girl ~ 8 coloring books with games, puzzles, mazes, and stickers + 64-count crayons.
2nd-5th Gd. Boy ~ 3 coloring books + 100-pack colored pencils.
PreK-1st Gd. Boy ~ 8 coloring books with games, puzzles, mazes, and stickers + 64-count crayons.
2nd-5th Gd. Girl ~ 3 coloring books + 100-pack colored pencils. 10
PreK-1st
Name ~ Phone ~ Address ~
11
Name ~ Phone ~ Address ~
12
2nd-5th
13
Name ~
Phone ~
Address ~
6th-8th
HS-Adult Name ~ Phone ~ Address ~
14
Dr. Steve Mitchell is pictured in his woodworking shop at his home in rural Fairfield.
Doctor Steve Mitchell Unwinds After Hours With Woodworking Steve Mitchell remembers well the moment he decided to become a woodworker. It wasn’t like he’d been interested in the craft as a boy; and as a young man, he was focused on building his career as a family medicine specialist. But when he moved back home to Fairfield 25 years ago, the ‘ole building bug bit him. “A big oak tree fell in the back woods. I was going to cut it up for firewood, but my dad (the late Charlie Mitchell) said I should cut it into planks and make something out of it. I just stared at him as if he was crazy, because I had nothing to do with that,” said Mitchell, 60. “We cut it up, and when I first saw the grain pattern, I was hooked. “I made some really bad things at first, but continued to improve my skills slowly.” He continues to practice medicine with the Christopher Rural Health Planning Corporation (CRHPC) at its Fairfield and Albion clinics, but is able to unwind with woodworking. One of the first things that he became
known for making was wooden bowls. To do that, he had to become skilled at woodturning, the craft of using a wood lathe with hand-held tools to cut a shape that is symmetrical around the axis of rotation. “I am not sure how I got into woodturning, but I was really excited about it, as I felt that it was something that could be done in a day. I must’ve turned a thousand bowls,” he said. “I think I’m pretty good at it now.” But Mitchell quickly began to stretch his boundaries. Admiring the work of local cabinet-makers, he decided to try his hand at making things for his home—specifically, for his wife Connie, to whom he has been wed for 35 years. The short list of his creations includes chairs, book shelves, tables, canisters, a blanket chest, dresser, and bed. He has also built a massive collection of tools and equipment for his trade, situated neatly in a large shed on ground at his rural Fairfield home. “I almost exclusively cut and use my own wood. We Continued On Next Page 15
Woodworking Continued From Last Page have an abundance of red oak and white oak, as well as some cherry and walnut, along with ash, hickory, and elm. Some other unusual woods are hackberry, catalpa, and persimmon,” said Mitchell. “I use a combination of hand tools as well as power tools. There are many purists out there who believe only in working with your hands, but I think it’s senseless not to use a good power machine to save some time if you can. “I also have my own portable sawmill,” he said, “and my own woods, which helps immensely.” Mitchell enjoys every step of woodworking, even the action of turning a simple bowl, which he analyzes with physician-like detail. “When a tree is cut down and you get the wood, you have to start turning it right away while the wood is still green. The biggest problem then is keeping it from cracking as it dries. You have to keep it in a cool, dark place. You don’t turn it all the way—about one-inch of thickness—and finally when it’s dry, you turn it to its final thickness,” he explained. “Then it’s placed on a shelf for about six months to dry; once it’s dry, it has to be sanded to a very fine surface before putting on the finishing oil. “This is quite labor-intensive and time-consuming. If you look on the market, a typical bowl of good quality will usually cost between $200 and $250, which believe it or not is not an unreasonable price,” Mitchell added. “You should never go into woodworking if you plan on making a lot of money, and you must also be willing to wait six months to a year for your finished product.” Mitchell rarely works with soft woods such as pine (although he recently finished a grill stand made of cyprus), because they ding easily and can’t take much abuse. He sticks with hard woods, and has Continued On Next Page 16
Steve Mitchell made this dresser out of red oak (spalted hackberry). The spalted portion is the dark part of the white wood.
One of Steve Mitchell’s most prized projects is this rosewood huntboard. Part of the wood came from one of the beams used for bridges in the Pacific Theater during WWII. A serviceman brought it home from the war, and it ended up in the hands of one of Mitchell’s patients--a grandchild of that serviceman. The patient gave the beam to Mitchell, and although part of it was deteriorated, Mitchell was able to make panels for this cabinet from the remaining portions of that beam.
Dr. Steve Mitchell and his wife, Connie, relax in a rocker (left) and Morris chair that he built. He also constructed the book shelves in back, which are stackable and easy to move around. All of those items were made of red or white oak. He built the center table out of persimmon wood.
Dr. Mitchell Works With Variety Of Woods Continued From Last Page really enjoyed working with some surprise finds including poplar with a fiddleback pattern, from which he made his dining room table; burl wood (the knobby-looking growths on the base and trunk of the tree); rosewood, and spalted hackberry, “a real surprise, because hackberry is a white wood, and it was laced with lots of spalt, which is where the fungus comes in and affects the wood.” The bottom line is, Mitchell just adores woodworking. “I love finding the grain pattern in a piece of wood and finding surprises inside of a log. I love the challenge
of making precise cuts and perfect curves. I love trees, and don’t like seeing anything go to waste,” he said. “I absolutely love the entire process. “I will probably be doing this until they take me out feet-first.” The Mitchells have two children: Jessica, 24, teaches English as a second language in South Korea, and Michael, 23, works with a computer firm in Evansville. Steve’s siblings are Sharla Shreve of Barnhill, Mary Crowell of Florida, Liz Molt of Geff, and Jeff Mitchell of Johnsonville. 17
Woodworking Images Steve Mitchell is shown working at the lathe (above). At the right is the first bowl he made. Other items he built include (upper right, clockwise): cannisters; a bed made completely from the same cherry tree (time-consuming because the mortises, or spindles, were drilled four inches into the top and bottom pieces of wood), and a walnut table--with one of the walnuts still in the top piece (lower left picture).
18
Applications Being Accepted For Frontier Nursing Program There is always a need for nurses, and if you are interested in becoming one, you still have time to apply for the Frontier Community College Nursing Program. To make an appointment to attend the next ADN (Associate’s Degree in Nursing) Application Meeting, set for 2-3 p.m. Thursday, December 10th, call Julie Bullard at 618-842-3711 (ext. 4520). The meeting will be held in the college’s Learning Resource Center (LRC) Room 105. To apply, a prospective student must complete the nursing application, present a copy of their high school transcript or GED score as well as a copy of college transcripts with evaluations (other than IECC classes). They also must display their driver’s license (with current address), NCLEX form, a Latex Allergy Form, and their TEAS test scores. If you haven’t taken the TEAS test, you can do so on Friday, December 11th, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in Mason Hall Room 25 on the campus of Frontier College. Stipulations for the TEAS test are as follows: ~ To be eligible to apply for the program, the student must have an Adjusted Individual Test Score at the Proficient Level (58.7) or higher. Students whose Adjusted Individual Test Score is at the Developmental or Basic Level will not be considered for admission. ~ The TEAS® exam may be taken up to two times per ranking period (Feb. 19th, 2020-Feb. 15th, 2021; ranking
deadline for fall 2021 is Feb. 15th, 2021). ~ Prior test scores may be used for ranking for admission consideration if the test was taken within 24 months of the ranking deadline. If the prior exam was more than 24 months before the ranking deadline, a new test shall be required. ~ Scores from other colleges/universities will be accepted if the test was taken within 36 months of the ranking deadline. ~ The cost of any testing will be paid by the student. Nursing offers a variety of career opportunities with great benefits and job security. The deadline to apply for the next nursing program at Frontier is February 16th, 2021.
Advertise In
OUTLOOK 842-3004
Tucker-Hallam Insurance Services We high-risk drivers and can handle your SR22 needs!
618-895-2512 203 S. Main, Wayne City
Kiss Bad Hair Days Goodbye! KAROLEE VAUGHAN, Wig Specialist 105 SE 6th, Fairfield ~ 618-516-7211 or 618-231-3021 karolee@kissbadhairdaysgoodbye@gmail.com Facebook: Kiss Bad Hair Days Goodbye
19
Fairfield Memorial Hospital Explains Sloping Of Roof After fielding questions about sloping of the roof on their new addition, Fairfield Memorial Hospital officials have announced that the slope is typical for the design of a building of its size with a flat roof. The roof is designed this way to allow rain water and melting snow to properly drain, to avoid ponding of water on the roof. There are two ways to achieve the required roof slope. The most cost-efficient method is to slope the steel roof structure one-quarter inch per foot toward the roof drains and use standard insulation on the roof. This is the method utilized in the FMH addition. The other method would have a completely flat roof structure with custom fabricated (and expensive) tapered insulation to achieve the same required slope. Once the exterior skin of the building is constructed, it will rise above the roof and will be completely flat at the top so that the slight slope of the roof is not visible from any view other than actually being on the roof.
FMH Support Groups Cancelled For Now Due to Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health having announced Region 5 (which includes Wayne and Edwards counties) is at Tier 2 mitigation, Fairfield Memorial Hospital (FMH) has cancelled all support groups for the time being. This includes the Multiple Sclerosis Support Group, Cancer Support Group, Better Breathers Club, Diabetes Support Group, Coffee Club, and the Dementia Caregivers Support Group. “The safety of our staff and patients is our sole responsibility, and we want to ensure and implement all safety protocols when dealing with COVID-19,” said FMH CEO Katherine Bunting-Williams. “We hope to offer our support groups in the near future, but until the numbers are changed, we have to cancel all support groups for the time being. “We hope and pray for the safety of our community during these difficult times.”
Larry & Jade Hester Fairfield, Illinois 618-842-6900
Mt. Vernon, Illinois 618-242-6969
“With God all things are possible” Matthew 19:26
INSURANCE-APPROVED Auto ~ Farm ~ Heavy Equipment ~ Semi 20
Strong Support System Helped Jayla Flourish Despite Severe Speech Delay They say that life’s challenges will either make you or break you. So in the near future, when Jayla (Pendleton) Scott earns her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education, she plans to help her students meet those challenges by offering the kind of love and support that helped her navigate a big hurdle when she was growing up. Scott was born with a lesion in the left hemisphere of her brain that resulted in a severe speech and language delay. Were it not for the attentive reinforcement of her parents, Carlos and Shannon Pendleton, and the acceptance of everyone at school, she’s not sure what her life would be like today. “If I did not have that support, it would have been easy to fall between the cracks,” said the 2020 Wayne City High School graduate who married Austin Scott, her sweetheart since junior high, in July. “I can see where I could have easily given up…and just settled to make it through; to not go above and beyond.” So one day, when she steps into the classroom to teach her students, Scott vows to remember her experiences. Here’s how her story unfolded: “I was non-verbal until I was fourand-a-half years old. My speech started to emerge then, but I was extremely delayed. My earliest memory is that I could not communicate my basic needs to my parents,” she said. “For example, I could not tell them that I was hungry or what I was hungry for. I remember being frustrated.” Her folks responded by seeking help to obtain a diagnosis and professional treatment. Their daughter worked with a speech-language pathologist and underwent language intervention activities, articulation therapy, oral-motor therapy, and sensory therapy. In addition, Carlos and Shannon enrolled her in the Early Childhood Program at Oak Grove School. The journey was challenging,
Jayla Pendleton and Austin Scott, both of Wayne City, are shown on their wedding day over the summer. They’ve been sweethearts since she was in sixth grade (he’s a year older), “and he has always extended grace toward me,” she said. “Anytime I have doubted myself or my speaking ability, he reminds me that God made me who I am meant to be.” Scott admitted. “Growing up, life had many ups and downs. It was extremely hard in my younger years to have the faith to attempt to communicate with other people because I was aware that I sounded different, and many times I could not be understood,” she said. “But I had a strong support system that encouraged me to always do my best and accept that I was different, but no less valuable than anyone else.” Her experience with her peers was positive, but she had to really dig in. “I don’t remember having any issues with my peers, but I do remember having to work hard to communicate with them,” Scott mentioned. “The advantage of growing up with the same group of kids was that they were patient with me, included me, and encouraged me to communicate with them.” Her capabilities in speech progressed tremendously as she grew up. Scott first learned sign language, then was able to embrace basic sounds, then words, and finally, sentences. Determined to communicate more effectively and become a leader by overcoming obstacles, Scott tried out for the Braves cheer squad as a sixth grader and made it. In seventh grade, she was second in the school’s Modern Woodmen Speech Contest, proudly showing Continued On Next Page 21
Jayla (Pendleton) Scott Continued From Last Page her plaque to her Early Childhood teacher, Kim Dickey. By eighth grade, she had become her school’s Junior Beta Club President, and as she entered high school, she purposed in her heart to get involved in activities in order to continue to progress in speech. She was active in cheerleading, Beta Club, Journalism, Red Ribbon Team, FFA, FCCLA, History Club, and Student Council, and served as both an Educator’s Rising Ambassador and Get-Schooled Ambassador. Scott kept challenging herself, and in doing so, became co-captain of the WCHS cheer team, Vice President of Community Service for the FCCLA Region, Student Council President, Vice President of the Beta Club, and the Lady Indians’ volleyball manager. Oh, and she won the 2019 Miss Bean Queen crown. To this day, Scott credits her experience of growing up in the Wayne City School District with helping her overcome the obstacle that, as a little girl, she thought might limit her. “Going to a small school not only helped me achieve academically, but it also helped me become the person I am today. When an individual goes to a small school
“The advantage of growing up with the same group of kids was that they were patient with me, included me, and encouraged me to communicate with them.” Jayla (Pendleton) Scott like Wayne City, everyone pretty much knows everyone there. Because we had daily interactions, we learned how to accept people for who they are, and accept each other’s differences,” she said. “It was not odd for my classmates to see me practicing my speech in the hallways, practicing my cheers over and over, or to see me sway back and forth while I tried to focus. These things were just a part of me, and still are part of me.” Being embraced for who she is “has taught me to extend grace to everyone I meet,” she added. “I have compassion for everyone, because you may not know what they struggle with.” Scott is schedule to finish the first part of her college education at Frontier in May 2021, then plans to transfer into SIU-C’s off-campus Bachelor’s Degree Program at the Rend Lake Marketplace, where she will complete her teaching degree. She looks forward to instructing elementary children, and helping them in any way she can. “Children go to school for many different reasons: education, love, support, attention, and sometimes to look for somebody who cares and can help them overcome their obstacles. I chose to be a student and a peer 22
Jayla Pendleton and her now-husband, Austin Scott, have been sweethearts since she was in sixth grade and he was in seventh. This picture was taken when they were in junior high. who is cheerful every day, supported everyone, and was a friend to everybody, no matter who they were or what they were known for. My goal is to be the same kind of person as a teacher,” she said. “I think that having the position as a teacher comes with great responsibility,” Scott added. “My experience with having a speech delay has helped me to realize that many kids have different struggles that you can’t see when you look at them. I want to offer my future students the same opportunities that I was given. “I want to surround them with love and support, and show them that it is possible to overcome anything. I want to be the strong support system that my parents, my friends, my school, and my community were to me.”
Advertise In
OUTLOOK 842-3004
New Playground Equipment Going Up In Wayne City Park Next Spring Earlier this year, the Joseph B. Scudamore Park in Wayne City lost one of its bigger pieces of playground equipment when a tree fell onto it during a storm. But thanks to the insurance settlement and a $20,000 donation from FNB/Bean Capital Banking Center, the Hidden Oak Play System, manufactured in Greenfield, Indiana, will be installed next spring. The equipment offers three sections with increasing height, all connected by incline tube bridges that allow kids to climb up or down to reach the next section. Each section has two slides, plus a climber that allows it to be accessed easily if the tube bridges are occupied. The highest area, which has a double wave slide as well as a spiral slide, is five feet high and can be reached by climbing the twisted arch ladder. Here’s what the new playground equipment will look like. The total price came to $34,818. As it turned out, the most difficult aspect about making the purchase was determining what color the apparatus would be. Village officials had four options (blue/green, purple/blue/gray, green/terra-cotta, and solid green), but couldn’t agree on which one to choose. “I wasn’t liking what the guys were picking out, to be honest,” laughed Village Clerk Staci Choate. “Then Kris (Shreve, water plant superintendent) came up with the idea to let the kindergarten kids decide. We thought it was a great idea, so we asked the kindergarten teachers here, and they Alberta Lee loved the idea, too. Alberta Lee has retired after 34 years “The teachers coordinated it with Election Day and the kindergarteners voted,” she said. “The kids chose blue and of grooming dogs in Fairfield. green.” Jagger’s Doggie Daycare has purchased Besides contributing the majority of the funding for the all of her equipment and supplies, and project, FNB is purchasing a sign which will read ‘FNB Welwe invite her customers to come see us! comes You To Wayne City Village Park’. A marker acknowledging the site as Scudamore Park will also be present.
Thanks to all of our advertisers! If it weren’t for them, this magazine would not exist. If you like receiving OUTLOOK, be sure to thank and support them!
Call (618) 316-7021 414 Main Street Mt. Vernon 23
24
Brent Beck, Owner
Insurance Approved
auto glass
Chip repair or replacement... ...conveniently at your location!
TOLL FREE: 1-800-628-4289
1112 E. Main, Olney 618-395-4930
25
26
160 ACRES FOR SALE Hosselton Meridith Funeral Home 305 Park Street, Cisne, Illinois
(130 tillable)
$6,000 per acre In 3 segments SW of Keenes (Middleton area)
Carolyn Thomason, 618-895-2034 Donna Peck, 618-895-7104 Dixie Hurley, 618-895-2462 Heirs of Edmison Farms
27
Safe Haven Bible Center is open for church at 9 a.m. on Sundays--including every Sunday in December! EVERYONE IS WELCOME! DECEMBER CLASSES Tuesdays at 6 p.m. Thursdays at 10 a.m. Dec. 1st and 3rd Dec. 8th and 10th Dec. 15th and 17th
NO CLASSES CHRISTMAS WEEK
(Dec. 21st, 28th) Classes resume January 5th
Check out Melissa’s twice-weekly videos on YouTube! The channel is linked to the website:
safehavenbiblecenter.com
SAFE HAVEN 707 East Main Fairfield, IL
28
Pastor/Teacher Melissa Garrison 618-599-9314
Paid for by the Wayne County Health Department in partnership with the Illinois Public Health Association
Christmas MERRY
& Happy New Year
Get your Christmas goodies and haul 'em home!
* Christmas trees * Gift baskets * Treats of all kinds!
B
ULLARD’S Farm Market & Bakery, 906 E. Main, Fairfield Ph. 618-842-4815, Hrs. 8-5 Mon.-Fri., 8-4 Sat., 11-4 Sun.