Mcleansboro Now April 2014 by Mt Vernon Register-News

McLeansboro April 2014

A Place to Call Home

The Life of a Songwriter

A Hobby on the Edge

Offering Caring and Support

contents McLeansboro

Publisher Bob Dennis bob.dennis@register-news.com Editor Tesa Glass tesa.glass@register-news.com Associate Editor Rick Hayes rick.hayes@register-news.com Advertising Manager Sheonna Hill sheonna.hill@register-news.com Circulation Director Jimmy Bass Advertising Account Executives Nicole Pipher Sheonna Hill Brenda Tarlton Editorial Staff Writers Paul Lorenz Mailing Address P.O. Box 489 • Mt. Vernon, Illinois 62864

Street Address

Features

A Place to Call Home

A Hobby on The Edge

Foxes, Lady Foxes Recognized

12 The Life of

A Songwriter

14 Offering Caring

and Support

911 Broadway • Mt. Vernon, Illinois 62864

Phone Numbers 618-242-0113 Fax 618-242-8286 Web Site www.mcleansborotimesleader.com

from the cover Meghan Barrow is pictured

Photo provided

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March 2014

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March 2014

McLeansboro

place to

call

home Story by Paul Lorenz

Get home from work, hang up your coat, maybe start preparing dinner or loading the dishwasher or doing some laundry. Fairly typical, right? (Well, maybe not so typical; my coat seems to find its way to the back of a chair instead of the coat closet more often than not.) For more than a dozen folks with developmental disabilities, though, it is typical — thanks to TRADE Industries’ CILA program. Under CILA — Community Integrated Living Arrangement — up to eight unrelated people age 18 and older with developmental disabilities live together under the supervision of a community developmental services agency, according to the Illinois Department of Human Services definition. TRADE is that agency in Hamilton County. As of mid-January, 14 individuals were living in TRADE’s four CILA homes in the McLeansboro area, Mark Auten, the agency’s vice president, and soon-to-be president, said. “It’s a family,” Auten said of the homes’ living arrangement. “We strive for a family atmosphere.” Toward that goal, each home has four bedrooms; like typical families, CILA residents share a living room, kitchen, laundry facilities and two bathrooms, but since it’s “normal to not have a roommate,” each person has his own bedroom, Auten said. Residents decorate their bedroom “the way they want,” he said. Jack, Wade, Mike and “L.B.” share one of TRADE’s CILA homes. 4

On this particular afternoon, they arrive home and retreat to bedrooms or start various chores under the supervision of longtime TRADE employee Peggy French. Each has his own bedroom with the basics, of course — bed, chest of drawers — but also belongings that add personal touches, from Western-style crafts to an “Elvis Presley Boulevard” sign. Wade, the home’s oldest resident at 60, is a big fan of actor John Wayne, as evidenced by the pintsized statue of Wayne in his room. Videos of John Wayne movies line the shelves of an entertainment cabinet, and Wade points out other Wayne and Western memorabilia. Living together as they do, CILA residents become family — and having your own bedroom is normal in another respect, Auten said. “It’s like any other family,” he said. “If you want to get away from someone, you have your own bedroom to go to.” CILA residents have a staff person with them at all times, Auten said. Staffers provide transportation and help with daily living skills, such as doing laundry or getting them to doctor appointments, but also teach them to do things on their own, he said. “We also try to involve them as much as we can in the community,” he said. French — who admits to sometimes being called “Sergeant” by other staff members — works to keep “her guys” on task. At various points over the McLeansboro

course of less than an hour, she has Wade load dirty dishes in the dishwasher and later gets him to practice basic handwriting skills; she asks Jack to bring his dirty laundry and helps him load it in the washing machine; and directs them all in taking turns on an exercise bike in the common living area. She reminds them — several times — to put lunchboxes away. “I call these guys ‘my guys,’” French said. “It’s a family, and I worry about them.” And she knows what they can do, she said. “If they can do it, they do it,” she said of the various household chores. TRADE’s first CILA home opened in 1998 in Dahlgren. Four people lived there, but the house originally had only two bedrooms, Auten said. “We enclosed a garage to make a bedroom, then used the office for the fourth bedroom,” he said. March 2014

Its original CILA residents had few accessibility needs, but TRADE now has to meet higher state accessibility standards as a CILA provider, Auten said. Since opening its first CILA home, TRADE has built three new homes and remodeled a donated home in the McLeansboro area, Auten said. “After Dahlgren, we knew what we needed and built the homes to our needs,” he said. Each CILA house has been “tweaked a little” to meet residents’ needs, such as making hallways wider or installing whirlpool baths to help blood flow for medically challenged individuals, Auten said. TRADE is continuing to expand its CILA program, an indicator of its success, Auten said. “It’s a beneficial program for TRADE and is meeting the needs of these individuals,” he said.

March 2014

“The big challenge right now is meeting the staffing levels we need to continue to expand,” he added. CILA is probably the “least restrictive” living structure for these particular individuals, most of whom don’t have support from actual family members, Auten said. All but four of the 14 have a court-appointed state

McLeansboro

guardian or are “on their own,” he said. TRADE gets client referrals from places such as state-operated facilities and nursing homes; it also makes “true emergency placements” where the person “just has nothing available,” Auten said.

hobby

Some people collect stamps, others baseball cards, but Bob Prince, a resident of Mcleansboro, has one sharp collection. Prince began his extensive knife collection back in the 1970s. The interest in knives has always been there. This is why he first started his collection.

the

Story by Robbie Edwards

“I have been fascinated by them since I was a kid. I’ve always carried a pocket knife,” Prince said. Prince’s collection is mostly made of knives manufactured by W.R Case and Sons Cutlery Company. The knives range from fixed blades, trapper and XX Series. Case first began in 1889. The

McLeansboro

company has a unique tang stamp dating system used since the early days. This adds to the appeal and collectibility because the knives can be easily identified and dated. Prince said back when he first started collecting there were many others in the area that had the same hobby. There are not as many collectors around this area as there used to be in the 70’s, he added. Prince not only collected but sold knives as well. “I haven’t priced a knife in a long time,” Prince said. There are few reasons people start a knife collection. Most people just enjoy it as a hobby, others turn it into an investment or business. There are four groups collectors specialize in: patterns, hand materials, brand names and specialties. Prince specializes in brand March 2014

Photos by Robbie Edwards

name knives. Many collectors look for Case, Remington, Winchester Flight’n IXL and Queen. Prince’s collection consists of mostly Case that date back to the early 1940’s. The Circle C Whittler is Prince’s favorite in his collection. “Case makes a million different ones,” Prince said. The most sought after knives are

March 2014

the ones in mint condition. Prince has two different displays: one called a cutlery. That specific one has scissors, butcher knives, meat cleavers and knives with sheaths. The display that contains his favorite and oldest case has many knives that have never been used. Prince has inspected all them to check for rust. To properly clean and preserve

McLeansboro

a knife you must clean and grease it, Prince explained. Prince, a retired owner of Prince Insurance, has his knives on display at his home office. Prince hasn’t kept up with collecting much anymore and has only added a few newer ones here and there, but is open to show what he still has in his home office.

Foxes,

Lady Foxes

Season-ending honors were bestowed upon members of the Hamilton County Foxes and Lady Foxes during an awards ceremony March 10. The boys awards ceremony was held inside Jerry Sloan Gymnasium. Freshmen, junior varsity and varsity teams were recognized, as well as the cheerleaders. Cheerleading sponsor Cindy Billington presented three special awards — to Uellah Swango as the most spirited, Madison Beitler as the most dedicated and Danica Zieren was presented with the MVP award. 8

Varsity cheerleaders introduced include: Cherokee Benbrook, Darian Gage, Olivia Lasswell, Gus Rawls, Alissa Rodgers, Vanessa Thomas, Alyssa VanZant, Laney Hutchcraft, Shayla Moore, Jayci Reyling, Justin Trotter, Kristen Watkins, Beitler, Swango and Zieren. Freshman coach Jeremy Varner recognized his team, although only four team members were in attendance. The freshman team went 4-10 this year. Team members include: River Braden, Terry Dedrick, Dalton Miller, Noah Rapp, James Stewart, Ryan McLeansboro

Brockett, Oakley Dial, Jordan Pike, Jared Rexing, Remington Carrell, Clayton Martin, Austin Potter and Ronald Rexing. Junior varsity coach Cody Swartz, in his third season, introduced members of his team which included freshmen, sophomores and juniors. The Foxes were 3-12 on the year; 2-8 in the conference. “I’m proud of this group and look forward to next year,” Swartz said. Hamilton County’s varsity squad attained a 6-22 record, losing in a first round regional contest to Flora, 74-51. The Foxes were 0-5 in the Benton Invitational and 1-2 in the Eldorado Holiday Tournament. The Foxes were led by Jake Scattone’s 303 points, followed by senior Balee Gay’s 301 points. Scattone averaged 10.8 points per game; Gay 10.4 points per game. Scattone, in receiving the team’s free throw award, was 41March 2014

recognized Story by Rick Hayes

of-51 from the charity stripe. Gay, who led the team with 263 rebounds, was a Black Diamond Conference selection and was named the team’s most valuable player. Senior Nathan Anselment was named the recipient of the Jerry Sloan Award. The remaining seniors on the team are: Logan Billington and Travis Stevens. “Our record, being what it was, our kids gave a maximum effort in practice and in games,” said Foxes’ head coach Keith Welch. “No matter what the score was, they were diving on the floor and left everything out there. That’s all you can ask for as a coach so they did a great job.” With four seniors graduating, Welch has a strong nucleus of underclassmen to build his program in the future. “Our junior class is very strong. They are a tight-knit group of kids. They got a lot of varsity experience this year and hopefully next year they can get us turned around,” he said. Remaining squad members recognized, in addition to Scattone, March 2014

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are: Tucker Braden, Tyler Kelly, Daniel Rapp, Lucas Stover, Chad Barnard, Sawyer Lueke, Brandon Craddock, Eli Lueke, Landon Vaughan, Holden Dodson and Zach Page. The Lady Foxes held their sports awards ceremony in the commons area of the high school for the fourth straight year. The junior varsity Lady Foxes, under the leadership of Coach Vuel York, finished 7-8. Freshman Adrienne Winemiller led the squad with 97 points and classmate Emily Blades contributed 90 points. Clint Winemiller’s varsity squad finished 25-7 and were champions of the Black Diamond Conference with a 9-1 mark. The Lady Foxes won their own invitational and finished second in the Benton Christmas tournament and the Carterville Invitational. After beating Harrisburg 4339 in overtime during the regular season, the Lady Bulldogs ended Hamilton County’s season 58-48 in the regional championship game. Senior Alicia York, daughter of the JV coach, led the squad with 529 points. Junior Dana Rubenacker led the team with 245 rebounds; York added 228. York and Rubenacker were named coMVP’s; while Rubenacker and Lucendia Adams were named co-defensive players of the year. Adams and Breya Cooper received captain awards. Cooper was an honorable mention on the Black Diamond Conference team; York was named to the first team and MVP; and Rubenacker was a second team selection. York, Rubenacker, Adams and Jordan Scrivner make up the graduating senior class. “Our four seniors will be missed. They meant a lot to us and brought basketball to what it needs to be in Hamilton County,” Winemiller said. Scrivner missed a large part of the season due to an injury, but played the last five or six games, according to Winemiller. In addition to Rubenacker, the junior class includes: Cooper, Kara Biggerstaff and Briana Forrester. Sophomores are: Leslie Drone and Kaytlin Ebert; and freshmen are: Blades, Winemiller, Kaitlyn Flannigan, Megan Mitchell, Jayci Reyling and Sydney Williams. March 2014

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The

life of a

songwriter

Story by Robbie Edwards

Meghan Barrow has been singing for as long as she can remember but got her start as a musician at a young age. “I’ve been singing since, I can’t remember,” Barrow said. “As corny as it sounds it is true.” Barrow picked up her first guitar after a little teenage mischief. Serving some time being grounded, she found her father’s guitar to pass the time and to rid herself from boredom, she began to play. She taught herself the basics

but soon took a few lessons as she became more intrigued with the idea of writing songs. The first song she was taught how to play was “Country Roads” by James Taylor, an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Barrow’s father was the one that taught her the song, one he considered easy to start with. “I remember my dad showing me that song pretty early because it was easy and we both love James Taylor,” Barrow reminisced.

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Barrow wrote her first original song during her early teens. The song was titled. “Loving You Still.” She said she was hesitant to share her own songs but the tune became a favorite amongst her friends. “My friends actually dug it and always requested I play it,” Barrow said. After Barrow began performing regularly during her college years and with the support of family and friends, she became more open about sharing her original music. “It made me realize it was okay to be open about my songs,” Barrow said. Barrow said her creativity sometimes comes when she is at her lowest points, and is a way to escape. It can also come when she is feeling happy to be alive. Barrow’s music is a mix of acoustic and folk. Barrow and her husband have been together for a decade and she jokes about blaming him for all her love songs. “A constant source of inspiration is my family,” Barrow said. “Now being a March 2014

Submitted photos

mom of a beautiful one year old daughter, I’m constantly inspired by her. Seeing the world through her eyes is a whole new source of creativity.” As a person who loves being outdoors, running outside or going for walks inspires her creativity to come out, she said. Barrow and her husband Justin love to take their daughter Blu to experience music. The couple’s daughter loves to listen to her mom play and now that she is creeping and walking, she has taken an interest in mom’s guitar. “Since she’s been born, Justin and I have drug her around to all sorts of my gigs so she is kinda used to watching me,” Barrow said. “Its really sweet to look out in a crowd and see her and Justin playing and watching while I do what I love. Its a very fulfilling feeling, all my favorite things at once.” The singer/songwriter and guitarist has played at several venues in the Southern Illinois area, playing mostly restaurants, wineries and coffeehouses and at her church. “I’m a big fan of the winery scene because most of the time people are there to genuinely pay attention to the music as they enjoy their wine,” Barrow said. “But no matter where I am playing, you can’t predict an audience.” Five years ago Barrow recorded a CD with a few other musicians in Nashville, Tenn. Barrow said she gained a lot of experience going through the studio process. The CD is no longer available “My style has changed greatly since then, but I was happy with the end product and hope to get to record again someday,” Barrow commented. This past year has been one of life, and not a lot of writing, Barrow said. “I’ve been engulfed in taking care of Blu,” Barrow explained. “But I’m starting to get back into it and hope to have some new material to play soon.” The songwriter has a whole new outlook on things after the past year and can’t wait to see what kind of music it will bring out of her. “My goals for my musical future is to always have a place to play and people to listen.” Barrow said. March 2014

McLeansboro

Offering caringand support

Story by Tesa Glass

You see them moving quietly through the hallways of the hospital. You see their smiling face when you walk into the gift shop, or when you go to a special book sale or scrub sale at Hamilton Memorial Hospital. The Hamilton Memorial

Hospital District Auxiliary has been quietly supporting and caring for the hospital for years. “I started with the auxiliary after some friends talked me into it,” said Auxiliary President Marilyn Smith. “It was something that got

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me out of the house. I live close to the hospital. I walk over there in the summer when it’s pretty outside.” Smith has been the president of the auxiliary since 2011, and has been involved with the group for about a dozen years. “I thoroughly enjoy it,” Smith said of her experience volunteering with the Auxiliary. “I like people, I’m a people person. You get to see a lot of people and work with some wonderful people when you get involved with the Auxiliary.” Smith has also used her peopleskills to encourage other members of the community to get involved. Betty Rowland, Smith’s niece, is a face you see many times while visiting the gift shop at the hospital. “I was talked into it by Marilyn,” Rowland admitted. “She can be March 2014

very persuasive. She kept telling me about the auxiliary and saying that we need more volunteers. I said I would volunteer a day a week or so, and here I am.” Rowland said it was hard to say no when there is a need. “We’ve given a lot to the hospital as far as equipment,” Rowland said. “It’s part of what we try to do in supporting the hospital.” Smith said at this time, there are about 20 “good, active members” of the Auxiliary. “All our fundraisers and the money from the gift shop go right back into the hospital,” Smith said. “We buy a lot of equipment. Different departments come to us and say they need something. We try to make sure to help them get it.” The Auxiliary raised more than $70,000 which went to hospital equipment, Smith said. Raising funds isn’t just about running a gift shop. “We do special book sales, uniform sales, things we can help with,” Smith said. “We got involved with Fall Fest the last couple of years, with food. We also fix food for the golf tournament, things like that.” And, a few “things like that,” go a long way. Working together, the group continues to support the hospital. Smith said volunteers for the Hamilton Memorial Hospital Auxiliary are always needed. “Anyone can get involved,” Smith said, adding the group meets monthly to discuss projects and needs. “If someone wants to volunteer, all they need to do is call me or come to a meeting,” Smith said. “They pay dues, which are reasonable — $2 a year for an active member and $5 a year for inactive members.” The group meets on the first Thursday of each month at 1:30 p.m. at the hospital in the board room. “We welcome anyone who wants to know more,” Smith said. For additional information, contact Smith at 643-2747. March 2014

McLeansboro

March 2014