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GREENE PRAIRIE PRESS

75¢

-$18$5< – Vol. 151, No. 5 – &DUUROOWRQ ,OOLQRLV

INSIDE NEWS

Volunteering at the Carrollton Lady Hawks Tournament. See page A2

2019 Year in Review Part II. See page A6

SPORTS

Lady Hawks fall in overtime 59-51. See page A3

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WEEKEND WEATHER FRIDAY, JAN. 31

44 30 High

Low

SATURDAY, FEB. 1

44 32 High

Low

SUNDAY, FEB. 2

59 38 High

Low

Greene Prairie Press

&KXUFK $ 2ELWXDULHV $ 2XU 7RZQ $ 1HZV $ $ 6FKRRO $ 5HDO (VWDWH $ OBITUARIES IN THIS ISSUE: BEHNEN, MAPLE, ROUNDCOUNT

Š 2020

GREENE PRAIRIE PRESS

Roodhouse to file suit over natural gas increase By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press Roodhouse and two other municipalities are going in together to file a lawsuit against Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Company (PEPLC) which is planning to increase its transportation costs to its customers between 100 and 500 percent beginning in March. Roodhouse City Council gave Mayor Tommy Martin the authority to spend up to $12,000 to hire a Federal Energy and Regulator Commission (FERC) attorney to file the suit in court at the Jan. 22 meeting. “With this suit, we are asking the court to stop this much of a raise,� Martin said. “They have not had an

increase since 1993, so everyone is of needs of the state’s municipal gas utilithe understanding that they need some ties that own and operate their own natsort of a transportation increase, but ural gas systems. IPEA offers natural not from 100 to 500 percent.� gas supply and the associated services The PEPLC required to keep is a natural gas these systems at pipeline which “With this suit, we are their competitive brings natural asking the court to stop peak. Through gas from the panbetter managehandle region this much of a raise.� ment of pipeline of Oklahoma assets, hedgeast through the ing programs, Tommy Martin Midwest to supand reduction Roodhouse Mayor ply Indiana and of administraOhio. tive costs, IPEA Roodhouse purchases their natural achieves significant savings for its gas through the Illinois Public Energy participants. Agency (IPEA) in Springfield. The IPEA has formed a strategic marIPEA was created in 2005 to serve the keting alliance with Constellation.

Constellation has extensive gas procurement, transportation and management capabilities and is a vital part of IPEA’s service to its participants. “We are locked in with Constellation for four years at just under $3 per dekatherm,� Martin said. “That is hedged in at 75 percent, so if it goes up, we are locked in, but if it goes down, we are also locked in. So if the price goes down to $1.50 per dekatherm, we are locked in at the just under $3 price, but historically that hardly ever happens.� Martin was asked why he thought Panhandle chose to raise the rates for transportation instead of on the purchase of the gas itself. (See, ROODHOUSE, A2)

Carrollton is pursuing School Maintenance Grant By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press Like most school districts across the state, Carrollton School District is seeking to obtain a 50/50 matching School Maintenance Project Grant from the State for up to $50,000. Carrollton Superintendent Mark Halwachs informed the board at the Monday night school board meeting of what the district is planning to do with this grant if it is chosen as one of the grant recipients during the first round of funding. “In talking with our architect, Dave Leonati, we have been discussing abatement of the remaining asbestos in the 60’s building at the elementary including all the floor tiling and some of the ceiling tile,� Halwachs said. “They are not 100 percent sure the ceiling tile has asbestos in them. They did a test and it came back inconclusive, so they are doing more tests to make sure.� Halwachs said that if there is enough money left over after the grade school project, they would look at abating the hallway and classroom tile at the high school. “It’s one of those things where you get the state to pay for half of your project,� Halwachs said. “With that being said, right now we have $72,872 in penny sales tax money. We also have

some money in the Health/Life/ Safety Fund, but I would rather not touch that.� The grant is due in to the State on Feb. 14, so Halwachs said they would have to have a special meeting to approve submission of the grant. Halwachs also said that the month of December saw the highest amount of sales tax come into the district since he has been at Carrollton. The district received a check in the amount of $16,676 for December. “This penny sales tax is really doing the district a lot of good and really helping us out with some of these projects,� Halwachs said. The new boiler has been installed at the high school and was up and running Monday. “On Wednesday a rep from the company will be at the high school and will sync up the old boiler to the new boiler,� Halwachs said. “The new boiler will run all the time, and the old boiler will kick in to help warm the water in the loop system.� Halwachs informed the board that Jerseyville Superintendent Brad Tuttle has contacted the district and the Jersey district is interested in offering some early bird classes to Carrollton students. “We are still in the initial (See, MAINTENANCE, A2)

Carmen Ensinger/Greene Prairie Press

Future heartbreaker With that adorable look, little Ben Hardwick is going to be a lady killer when he grows up. He certainly had the ladies of the Carrollton Lady Hawk basketball team wrapped around his finger during half time of Saturdays game during the Lady Hawk Tournament. The Lady Hawk players got their exercise trying to keep up with him on the court.

NG seeking grant to replace HVAC units By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press North Greene School District is hoping to receive a State Maintenance Grant to be used towards replacement of three HVAC units on the roof of the Jr./Sr. High. North Greene Superintendent Mark Scott said the board, at the January meeting approved the application for the grant which would provide up to $50,000 to the district for the replacement of

the rooftop units. “It is a 50/50 matching grant so they will provide up to $50,000 and we will have to match that amount,� he said. “Replacing those three units is around $101,000 so the district will be responsible for $51,000.� There is approximately $44 million available for the FY 2020 Round 1 School Maintenance Project Grant. The grant is exclusively for the (See, HVAC, A2)

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Carmen Ensinger/Calhoun News-Herald

Brand new Kampsville Ferry Operator Daron Virgin unlatches the ferry on one of the Kampsville Ferry ramps Monday. Work on the ramps at the Kampsville Ferry entrances was delayed a week because of the cold weather last Wednesday, according to Illinois Department of Transportation officials. Work on the ramps was slated to take place Wednesday, Jan. 29. Supervising Field Engineer John Adcock with IDOT said the work includes installing new ramps at each ferry entrance. He said the old ramps might be used as backups. Adcock explained it was simply time to replace the ramps — routine maintenance.

Packed Purse Project continues to grow By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press

W

hen Karen Voigts started the Packed Purse Project back in 2018, she had no idea just how valuable the need herself and her friends would be fulfilling for the less fortunate. The Packed Purse Project puts together purses with all of the essential items needed for the homeless or those leaving abusive relationships with nothing more than the clothes on their back. The purses contain soap, deodorant, a washcloth, combs, toothpaste, etc. The first call of duty was to gather purses. Voigts put the call out on Facebook and received hundreds of purses plus lots of donations of items to go into the purses. “We started in September of 2018 and packed and distributed 76 purses the first time out,� Voigts said. “We are now in our third year, and we have hit some milestones lately. We packed and distributed 208 purses in 2019 and donated quite a few boxes of extras to the local food pantry and the Winchester Outreach Center.� They also donated purses and goods to the Hardin Food Bank during the flood and later in the year added a distribution center. “Decatur Heritage Health runs an outreach program called the Oasis Program, and we sent them 30 purses and a container of goods for men’s needs,� Voigts said. “We started out 2020 by beginning to pack for men as well. The items are put into canvas draw-string backpacks and our most used distribution locations want just as many for men as they do for women.� Their first packing party of 2020 was on Jan. 15. Voigts, along with Kathy Newingham, Phyllis Proefrock, Julie Wallis and Nancy Young packed a record number (for one packing session) of 55 purses and backpacks. “Those are being distributed to our three locations in Jacksonville – the Crisis Center, New Directions Heating and Cooling Center and Spirit of Faith Soup (See, PURSE, A2)

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