CNH 9.18.19

Page 1

CALHOUN NEWS-HERALD

75¢ PER COPY

INSIDE NEWS Johnny Appleseed a new addition to Apple Festival. 6HH SDJH A3

HARDIN, ILLINOIS 62047

Commissioners grant White Tales Lodge permit By KRIS SCHEFFEL Calhoun News-Herald

Brussels Homecoming candidates announced. 6HH SDJH A3 County Health Department to check car seats this weekend. 6HH SDJH B5

SCHOOL Calhoun student earned WIU scholarship. 6HH SDJH A5

SPORTS

A

decision was made by the Calhoun commissioners Monday, Sept. 16, regarding a zoning issue at White Tales Lodge in Michael. Concerns have been raised regarding a conflict between zoning ordinances and the proposal of White Tales to conduct game processing on its premises. The commissioners voted in favor of a special use permit to allow White Tales to process game following weeks of discussions, public comments and inspections of the facility. Concerned resident Snow Herkert in a letter to the commissioners cited the zoning ordinances, which do not allow slaughterhouses and stockyards within residential areas. “The proposal of White Tales Lodge to open a meat processing plant should be rejected as nonconforming,� Herkert said. State’s Attorney Rick Ringhausen disagreed with the classification of the game processing facility as a slaughterhouse noting that no live or domestic animals would be on the premises. (See, PERMIT, A2)

Calhoun Warriors come up short against Tigers. 6HH SDJH A6

ONLINE calhounnewsherald.com

WEEKEND WEATHER FRIDAY, SEPT. 20

85 69 High

Low

SATURDAY, SEPT. 21

79 69 High

Low

SUNDAY, SEPT. 22

78 66 High

Low

CALHOUN NEWSHERALD ‡ ,QGH[ ‡ &RUUHVSRQGHQFH. . . . . A4 1HZV . . . . . A2-3, A5, B3 ................... 2XU 7RZQ. . . . . . . . . . A5 5HDO (VWDWH . . . . . . B1-3 6SRUWV . . . . . . . . . . . . A6 Obituaries in this issue: None

Š2019

CALHOUN NEWS-HERALD All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

VOLUME 146 - ISSUE 38

Riverside buyouts underway across county By KRIS SCHEFFEL Calhoun News-Herald The county and its municipalities are wrapping up the final paperwork for the buyout process for property along the river that is often impacted by flooding. The next steps in the process will be handled by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) which will assess those submissions. The process of buying out private residences is a long one, and removes the capacity for the land to be utilized fully. The county or municipality, which takes ownership of the land, will be unable to tax the land and will take responsibility for its management. For both owners and local governments, it is a last resort. However, for some, the damages caused by floods have ruled out many alternatives. Christina Barrons, building inspector for the county, has been in the process of completing inspections and applications for homes being considered for the buyout program. “If they go through the program, they will lose ownership,“ she said. Utilizing maps of the flood plain, Barrons assesses the damage by determining how high the water was in the home and whether there is structural, electrical or plumbing

degradation. At the moment, the county has two potential buyouts for homes considered primary residences wherein the owner spends the majority of his or her time. Secondary residences, such as hunting cabins or vacation homes, are currently being inspected by Barrons.

³6LQFH œ ZH KDYH ORVW EXLOGLQJV LQ .DPSVYLOOH ´

Ted Schumann Kampsville Mayor There are an estimated 40 secondary properties being assessed at the county level. The municipalities are responsible for residences within their borders. Kampsville Mayor Ted Schumann said that they have a total of nine buildings that will potentially come under the buyout program. The Kampsville Inn, which was recently demolished, had been in the process for two years after years of floods impacted the structural integrity of the building. The timeline for buyouts, such as the Inn, depend on the damage

assessment and on the funding the state is willing to provide. The negotiations between local and state governments can stretch on, as they did in this case, over months. “Since ’73, we have lost 67 buildings in Kampsville,� Schumann said. “Some were stores and some were stations.� The eligibility of Calhoun for the buyout program was put in jeopardy following the floods with officials at the IDNR failing to inform local government officials of deadlines, Gene Breden, Calhoun County emergency manager, said. A key part of being eligible is having an up-to-date Hazard Mitigation Program. The program is in the process of being updated, a factor not taken under consideration by the state. The plan must be updated every five years and just happened to expire during the floods. Within days, the county was able to meet and complete the paperwork to keep Calhoun eligible for the program. “They cut us short,� Breden said. “That came straight out of Springfield.� An estimated $171,000 has been set aside by the IDNR for Kampsville’s buyouts, $1.3 million for Hardin, and $2 million for the (See, BUYOUTS, A2)

Repairs to Nutwood Levee breach have started By KRIS SCHEFFEL Calhoun News-Heraldl Thousands upon thousands of acres of land in the Nutwood Levee District are now free of flood waters, and now the district is taking the next steps toward making repairs to the levee itself. This comes after months of pumping water out from the district back out into the river. There were a total of eight pumps running around the clock at the Nutwood Pumphouse. Four of those were transported to the pumphouse by the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. Brett Gettings, the Nutwood Levee Manager, said the Army Corps of Engineers wrapped up its final assessments this past week. Environmental and archaeological surveys were conducted and the contracts have been sent to the district. The contract for the repairs has been divided into two parts.

The first will address the scour holes that were dug out by the rushing flood waters. Scour is sediment, in this case sand, located beneath the topsoil. Gettings estimated that the largest of these holes reached about 38 feet in depth. In the ’93 flood, the floodwaters did not reach this layer of sand. As a result, Gettings said, this flood differentiated itself by digging out these enormous scour holes and spreading sand out across the farmland surrounding the levee and its breach site. “It looks like a bomb went off,� he said. The Corps will utilize the 4 to 8 inches of sand on the fields to fill in the scour holes. However, once the holes are filled, the farmers are on their own when it comes to removing the rest of the sand. The second contract will address the levee and the roughly 250-yard breach the flood created. In order to so,

Kris ScheffelCalhoun News-Herald

%UHWW *HWWLQJV JHWV RXW RI KLV YHKLFOH LQ IURQW RI WKH 1XWZRRG /HYHHÂśV EUHDFK

the Corps will have to create a second, larger dam to protect workers from the waters while they make the necessary repairs. “(The dam) gives you a lit-

tle more protection,� Gettings said. The initial dam was built by the levee district and stands at about 2 to 3 feet above the water’s current level.

Locals take part in Calhoun, St. Louis collaboration on Shakespeare By KRIS SCHEFFEL Calhoun News-Herald Calhoun was abuzz this week following the world-premiere of “Love at the River’s Edge,� a retelling of Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,� which took place this past Friday and Saturday in Golden Eagle. The play was the first urban-rural collaboration for the 10th annual Shakespeare in the Streets, a program held in conjunction with the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival. It has been a long time coming with over a year’s worth of work and planning. The play was set in two distinct communities: Normandy and Calhoun. The histories and experiences of these communities inspired the core themes of the play, an original work by St. Louis playwright, Mariah Richardson. A story of love overcoming emotional, cultural and environmental barriers, it was given life by the local residents who took center stage. While fictional, these barriers are a reality for those living on either side of the river— a reality that inspired the

³-XVW VHHLQJ KRZ SHRSOH FDPH RXW WR VXSSRUW WKLV DGYHQWXUH ZDV DPD]LQJ ´

Kathryn Bentley Performance Director urban-rural collaboration in an attempt to generate empathy for those who seem to live in a world apart from their own. “Social division and fragmentation are the most serious challenges facing our generations,� Executive Producer Tom Ridgely stated in a news release. “Nowhere is the divide as wide as it often

Kris Scheffel/Calhoun News-Herald

%UXVVHOV VHYHQWK JUDGHU 2OLYLD %URGEHFN ULJKW VKDUHV DQ H[DVSHUDWHG ORRN ZLWK IHOORZ FDVW PHPEHU &KDULW\ 7URXS OHIW GXULQJ )ULGD\ÂśV SHUIRUPDQFH

feels between our urban and our rural communities. It’s a rift Shakespeare knew intimately— he spent his entire adult life moving between the country and the city.� The commonality of experience between those in Normandy and Calhoun was most prominent in the locals who took part in putting on the production. Calhoun resident and cast member, Ellie (See, PLAY, A2)

“It doesn’t give you a whole lot of protection,� he said. The new dam will provide more substantial protection (See, REPAIRS, A2)

Batchtown Fall Festival to finish out September By JARAD JARMON Calhoun News-Herald The Batchtown Fall Festival is on the horizon. Along with finishing out the month, the festival will be a start to the slate of fall events in the area. The festival will run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29. This year's proceeds will go toward improvements to the parks in the town including installing a batting cage and a basketball hoop, as well as putting a sidewalk along the Batchtown Park, Bonnie Snyders, organizer, said. Funds from previous festivals have gone to pay for installing play sets at the parks. Every year, the festival features an interactive game, and this year organizers have set up for a game of Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-Grader with locals in four preselected teams. The rounds of the competition will start at 1:45 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. with a finale round at 3:45 p.m. Later in the day there will be a firemen competition with firefighters from the Richwood Fire Protection District. Details on the competition have not been finalized yet. Previous competitions centered on speed, testing firefighters on the ability to put on their gear fast and put out a small fire quickly, Synders said. The day will also feature kids games, a bounce house, face painting and a power wheels derby. Craft and food vendors will open up at 11 a.m. Vendors include Thirty One, Tupperware, Lady Bug Picnic Crafts, Tepen Hollow Designs, Chalk Couture, Limelife, Norwex, Scentsy, Lularoe, Kettle Corn, Countryside Designs and Turaura. Synders said there will also be a plethora of food at the event including fritters and chicken and dumplings. Also at the festival, there will be a kid’s parade at noon; Alt Dance Company performance and a turtle/frog races, 12:30 p.m.; Cryptkickers Band, 1-6 p.m.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.