GREENE PRAIRIE PRESS
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-$18$5< â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Vol. 151, No. 3 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; &DUUROOWRQ ,OOLQRLV
INSIDE NEWS
Sheffel Boyle CPAs send care packages. See page A5
Casting announced for Jersey Boys. See page A4
SPORTS
Greenfield beats Brussels at Lady Spartan Tournament. See page A6
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Residents opposed to Carrollton courthouse security proposal By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press Carrollton Courthouse is one of the few courthouses in Illinois that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have any form of courthouse security, but that could soon change as it has been proposed to install a metal detector and post a sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s deputy to man the detector during working hours at the courthouse. The idea is one Judge James Day has been working on for quite some time. In fact, a Courthouse Security fund was established several years
ago for just this purpose. When he announced his upcoming retirement last year, Judge Day said one of his goals before he retires in December of this year is to get some kind of court security in place. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Sheriff and I and the board have been discussing court security and I would like to get it in place before I retire,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important, not just for security of the courtroom, but of the courthouse and all the employees who work here.â&#x20AC;?
Last year, the State of Illinois announced that all courthouses must have security, though nothing has been officially passed or approved. Still, it was something Judge Day had already been planning for. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have a Courthouse Security Fund where when a court case is filed there is a part of the fee that goes into this fund,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The purpose of this was in anticipation of trying to do something for court security, and I have let that fund accumulate, and there is a substantial amount of money in that fund
right now.â&#x20AC;? The fund contains enough money to purchase the metal detector, which would cost roughly $4,800 and pay for a portion of the sheriffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s deputy to be on duty at the courthouse for the next several years. â&#x20AC;&#x153;At some point, obviously, it would run out, but we are trying to work it out so that the county would only have to pay a portion of the cost,â&#x20AC;? Judge Day said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Money would be coming in continuously as (See, SECURITY, A2)
Fire damages three buildings in Greenfield
By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press The Greenfield community can thank Mother Nature for basically saving the east side of the Greenfield Square early Sunday morning as fire ripped through the Friends and Family Diner, Randy Fergurson Insurance and Bevâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Baskets and Bows bridal storage area. The Greenfield Fire Department received the call at 4:39 a.m. after the fire was discovered by a Morgan County 911 dispatcher who lives in Carlinville and drives through Greenfield to get to Jacksonville. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It could have been a lot worse than it was, had she not left for work an hour early because of the road conditions,â&#x20AC;? Assistant Fire Chief John Hardwick, Jr. said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;No one lives in that area so who knows how long it would have been before the fire was spotted.â&#x20AC;? Hardwick said when the 911 operator drove by she noticed flames coming out of the diner and called 911 to report the fire. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When we got on the scene, it was fully involved,â&#x20AC;? Hardwick said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There was heavy smoke coming out of the insurance building and flames were coming through the roof on Bevâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s building.â&#x20AC;? Greenfield has a mutual aid agreement with Carrollton so Carrollton was paged out immediately. Carmen Ensinger/Greene Prairie Press Hardwick said he also paged out Friends and Family CafĂŠ in Greenfield is pictured the day after an early morning fire Sunday broke out damaging the White Hall and then Roodhouse for (See, FIRE, A2)
cafĂŠ along with Randy Fergurson Insurance and Bevâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Baskets and Bows wedding storage rentals. The latter two businesses are considered to be total losses due to the fire damaging the back wall and making it structurally unsound.
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Carrollton nixes TIF district proposal
Greene Prairie Press
&KXUFK $ 2ELWXDULHV $ 2XU 7RZQ $ 1HZV $ $ 6FKRRO $ 6SRUWV $ 5HDO (VWDWH % OBITUARIES IN THIS ISSUE: FLATT, HARTSOOK, POLLARD
By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press
A
fter months of discord between the city, school district and many of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s residents, the Carrollton City Council voted to discontinue the approval process of the proposed TIF district.
Š 2020
A TIF district is considered an economic development tool to obtain tax dollars to be used for economic development, infrastructure improvements, et cetera. The proposal was met from the beginning with opposition from the school district, which claimed the 23 year lifespan of the TIF district would hurt the school district financially.
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Parcels and buildings located within the TIF district have their current tax rate frozen at what it is when the TIF is developed. Should any improvement take place on the parcel or building resulting in the property tax increasing on the property would go into the TIF fund, controlled by the city. In other words, if the taxes on a property are currently $1,000 a year now and someone puts a new building on the parcel and the taxes go up to $3,000, then the additional $2,000 would go into the TIF fund. All of the other taxing bodies would continue to receive their portion of the base rate of $1,000. Initially, the school district asked the city to reduce the amount of territory included in the TIF, which, at first (See, TIF, A2)
Greene County Public Health Administrator Ruth Ann Flowers was honored with a retirement party recently. Flowers retired after 30 years serving the citizens of Greene County.
Brussels, Kampsville Ruth Ann Flowers retires from Health Department ferries to be closed By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press After 30 years with the Greene County Health Department, Public Health Administrator Ruth Ann Flowers retired on Jan. 3 ending three decades of service to the citizens of Greene County. Flowers started working at the GCHD on Dec. 20, 1990 as a home health nurse before moving up to become the patient coordinator. In 1999, she was appointed as interim administrator but had a hurdle to climb before she could officially
become the countyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Public Health Administrator. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Before I could become the full time administrator, I had to get my Bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Degree,â&#x20AC;? Flowers said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Once I achieved that, I was appointed to the position in 2002 and have been doing it ever since.â&#x20AC;? Flowers has seen many changes over the years but says the biggest changes is in the Medicare program. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the area of home health care, the changes have just been constant,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It has become more and (See, RETIRES, A2)
The Brussels and Kampsville ferries will be closing in the coming week for repairs. The Brussels Ferry is located one mile west of Grafton and crosses the Illinois River linking Illinois Route 100 to Calhoun County, near Brussels. The Kampsville Ferry carries Illinois Route 108 across the Illinois River to connect with Illinois Route 100 (Great River Road south), near Kampsville. The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) announced that the Brussels Ferry will be closed on Thursday, Jan. 16, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., weather permitting. The department also announced that the Kampsville
Ferry will be closed on Wednesday, Jan. 22, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., weather permitting. Work is necessary to do ferry ramp repairs, and they will only be closed during these hours for one day. No traffic will be allowed to cross the river during this timeframe, therefore, motorists should seek alternate routes. The contractor on this project is St. Louis Bridge Construction Co. of Arnold, Mo. For IDOT District 8 updates, follow them on Twitter at @IDOTDistrict8 or view area construction details on IDOTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s traveler information map on GettingAroundIllinois.com.