GPP 3.18.20

Page 1

GREENE PRAIRIE PRESS

75¢

0$5&+ – Vol. 151, No. 12 – &DUUROOWRQ ,OOLQRLV

Greene County schools adjust for statewide closure INSIDE NEWS Carroll found guilty of first degree murder. See page A3 Midwest Gobblers celebrate 35 years. See page B3 Greene County courthouse set up procedures for COVID-19. See page B6

SPORTS

Carrollton Lady Hawks win sectionals. See page A6

ONLINE JUHHQHSUDLULHSUHVV FRP

WEEKEND WEATHER FRIDAY, MAR. 20

48 27 High

Low

SATURDAY, MAR. 21

40 27 High

Low

SUNDAY, MAR. 22

44 33 High

Low

Greene Prairie Press

&KXUFK $ &RXUW % 2ELWXDULHV $ 2XU 7RZQ $ 1HZV $ % 6SRUWV $ 5HDO (VWDWH % OBITUARIES IN THIS ISSUE: BLUMENBERG, CUNNINGHAM, GIBSON Š 2020

GREENE PRAIRIE PRESS All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press As the announcement came down from Gov. Pritzker on March 13 that all Illinois Schools would be closed, effective March 17 to March 30, districts set about coming up with plans for students to continue their education at home and still receive breakfast and lunch. “All of these choices have cascading effects for citizens and vulnerable populations when it comes to food access, safety, childcare, and social services,� Pritzker said. “We’ve seen what happens in places that didn’t move with

urgency. I ask all of you not to hesitate to do the right thing for your family, your friends and your community. One small step at a time, we will get through this together.� School districts will not suffer the loss in General State Aid as a result of the mandatory closure. Gov. Pritzker has assured school administrators that the state will issue no penalties as a result of this closure. To provide support to school districts across the state, the Illinois State Board of Education will be fully staffed over the coming weekend and during the closure period to work through individualized issues and challenges in each

district. An executive order to provide school districts flexibility during this period is forthcoming. Both Greenfield and North Greene have protocol in place regarding the students’ continued education at home. “The district has plans to offer K to 5th grade learning kits to be sent home with students,� Superintendent Kevin Bowman said. “The district will offer a combination of online and alternative learning opportunities for grades 6 through 12 students.� Bowman said it’s not the best scenario, but it will have to do during this crisis. “This type of education, while not

ideal, is meant to be able to provide a continuity of education in a pandemic crisis,� Bowman said. “Teachers will be available remotely by email, text or online platform from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on school days during this closure. We are in a partnership with families and will make education a priority, no matter what unknowns exist in the near future.� North Greene has a similar protocol in place, but are going one step farther by sending home laptops with students. “We are planning on having instructional materials provided to students (See, CLOSURE, A2)

Carrollton to allow video gaming in convenience stores By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie press The city of Carrollton moved one step closer to allowing video gaming in its convenience stores Thursday night, March 12 with the second reading of the ordinance creating an AC1 retail license for convenience stores.

“I think if we consider all of the parameters, this is not going to interfere with our drinking establishments,� Montanez said. “Plus, the city will realize some revenue from this.�

Joe Montanez Carrollton Mayor In order to obtain a video gaming license, establishments must have the ability to serve alcohol on site, more commonly known as a pour license. Currently, all three convenience stores in the city have licenses to sell packaged liquor which can’t be consumed on site. “We have never had a gaming ordinance for convenience stores,� Carrollton Mayor Joe Montanez said. “We have two convenience stores here interested in putting in video gaming.� According to Montanez, Buck’s Crossing owner Mark Shade approached the city about putting gaming in his establishment. “He has a well designed plan, and, with the approval of the city, plans to put in video gaming machines,� Montanez said. “Our police chief put a lot of work in reviewing other ordinances and helping to create this one.� Some specifics of the ordinance include only allowing consumption of alcohol in the video gaming terminals at the rate of one drink per hour. There will be no alcohol allowed outside of the gaming area, and patrons must make contact with a clerk over the age of 21 who will then take the drink into the video gaming area. Entrance into the gaming area will only be allowed by customers scanning an ID card for access. No one under the age of 21 will be permitted in the gaming area. The fee for the AC1 license will be $550 per year with an addition fee of $450 for a Sunday license. “I think if we consider all of the parameters, this is not going to interfere with our drinking establishments,� Montanez said. “Plus, the city will realize some revenue from this.� All but one alderperson was in favor of the ordinance. “I don’t think it is necessary with all the gaming we already have in the city,� Alderman Kevin Scoggins said. “You don’t want to flood the whole town with them.� Alderman Tim Reif felt they would benefit not only the city economically but other entities as well. “If we have a business owner invested in the town, schools and hospital such as Buck’s Crossing, we need to support that venture and do anything to help that business owner do more and do it better,� he said. “I know Buck’s is helping out the hospital with a fundraiser giving a percentage of their pizza sales to them, so I’m all for it.� The council intends to approve the ordinance at next month’s meeting. Benton and Associates engineer Bill Sleeman informed the council about some upcoming grants that are available including the Rebuild Illinois Program put out by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. “This is a new program this year, and it has three different programs within it,� Sleeman said. “It is similar to the DCEO grant except that it is for anybody – any form of government or municipality. The big thing is you don’t have to require low to moderate income of 51 percent poverty. That opens it up to gobs of communities.� The three programs include a program for infrastructure with $50 million available; regional economic development with $16.5 million and a shovel ready program with $13 million available. Both the new water plant and water tower would qualify for the shovel ready program grant since they are already in the design phase. The city is getting ready to start on the water tower project in the very near future. “The advantage you have is that a lot of communities might not be shovel ready and you are,� Sleeman said. (See, VIDEO GAMING, A2)

Carmen Ensinger/Greene Prairie Press

Voting precautions

Greene County Clerk Debbie Banghart wipes down the voting card with an antiseptic wipe in between use Monday afternoon at the Greene County Courthouse. The touch screen machines cannot be wiped down because it will clog the machines, but the individual cards can be. More than 400 people took advantage of early voting at the courthouse with more than 60 coming in Monday. Because of the COVID-19 virus, the courthouse stayed open till 7 p.m. Monday to allow voters to come in for early voting.

Greene County Highway Department looking to hire By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press Two retirements and the difficulty of finding a replacement for these long-time workers resulted in the County Board allowing Greene County Highway Supervisor David Marth to advertise early for the position at the March 11 meeting. “We had a guy retire in February and another one getting ready to retire in July,� Marth said. “We are going to be short two people, and we have two bridges to get built.� The length of time it took to find a decent replacement for the first retiree is something Marth doesn’t want to repeat. “Last time, it took several months to get someone hired,� he said. “It is taking us longer and longer to get a decent candidate, so I’m asking the board to allow me to advertise now for the position.�

The board unanimously agreed to the request along with a request to replace the department’s 19 year old tandem dump truck. “This truck is overdue for replacement, and I’ve obtained six bids to replace it,� Marth said. “The low bid came from Freightliner out of Quincy for the truck with snowplow and spreader for $160,728, and it is within our budget for equipment purchases for the year.� The board approved a funding agreement to replace guardrails in the county. “The county obtained a $1 million grant to replace guard rails and increase safety within the county,� Marth said. “The project is ready and construction is set for this summer.� The funding agreement is between the county, state and federal government. Total project cost is $1,295,000 with $926,737 coming from the federal government, $214,000 from the (See, HIGHWAY, A2)

Courthouse security begins April 1 By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press

B

eginning April 1, visitors to the Greene County Courthouse will be instituting new security measures to protect the employees and the visitors to the building. Entrance to the building will only be allowed through the north entrance and the east elevator entrance. A deputy sheriff will be posted at a designated checkpoint, and individuals wishing to enter the building must pass through a metal detector, and their possessions will be subject to further searches according to security policies. “This is something that has been discussed for at least the past 10 years,� Greene County Sheriff Rob McMillen said. “Unfortunately, the violence found in today’s society has brought this issue to the forefront.� The new security measures include reprogramming the elevator to restrict movement in the building.

“The elevator will be programmed to only go to the first floor where you must exit and go through the metal detector,� McMillen said. “Once you have passed through the screening, you may return to the elevator and the deputy will punch in a security code to allow the elevator to continue on to the second floor.� Or one can simply take the stairs to the upstairs offices which include the State’s Attorney, Judge’s Office, Probation Department and the Courtroom. “Although this will be something new for Greene County, these types of procedures are pretty common in courthouses – even courthouses located in our immediate area,� McMillen said. While the county might seem like a safe place and the need for such measures unwarranted, McMillen said that is not the case at all. “Greene County is not immune to violence as evidenced by us experiencing four homicides in 2018,� he said. “In 2019 over 125 domestic violence orders were issued and a record number of (See, COURTHOUSE, A2)


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.