GREENE PRAIRIE PRESS
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INSIDE NEWS Carrollton council nixes 3rd squad car purchase. See page A2 Jon’s Slots opens in Carrollton. See page A5
LOCALS
Douglas’ celebrate 70 years. See page A8
SPORTS
Greenfield Northwestern come out ahead. See page A7
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Spire matter ‘a nightmare’ for residents surface and gets very soft on rainy days. Since they have failed to put any CA6 rock down, it is very dangerous to travel on.� At a special meeting on Sept. By CARMEN ENSINGER 9 with the attorneys handling the case for the county, the issue was Greene Prairie Press Residents living in Roodhouse addressed. Following receipt of a Township on Northwest 100 letter stating the road was hazardAvenue will just have to wait to ous to travel on by the road comget their road back to normal after missioner, Spire would be issued Spire’s laid of a gas pipeline in a 10-day notice to fix the road, or the township could fix the road the area. Several residents attended and then sue Spire to recover the the 11 Greene County Board’s cost of the repair. However, County Sept. 11 meeting to Highway Engineer give board mem- “If there is David Marth said bers a better idea of to fix the five-mile what their road has such a thing stretch of road would become. as a road cost $250,000 to Spire began laying the pipeline being a night- $300,000 – something he explained the back in February township can’t afford mare – then and instead of putting the road back we have a road to do. According to the to the oil and chip condition it was in that is a night- road agreement with the county, Spire does prior to them com- mare.� not have to put the ing through, they put road back to the origia layer of two-inch oil and chip conrock down. Judy Forrester nal dition until they are “If there is such a Roodhouse resident done with the entire thing as a road being project in the county. a nightmare – then we have a road “If they use the road again, they that is a nightmare,� resident Judy Forrester said. “We could hardly are just going to tear it up again,� go down the road, and it has torn Board Member Chris Elliott said. our tires up and caused others to “The way we understand it, they have flats. There is a hill there, are going to be finished up in the and it is so dangerous. If they county in three weeks and at that don’t get it fixed before the first point we have the expectation for winter snow, someone is going to them to either repair the roads or provide the funds for townships to end up in a ditch.� Roodhouse Township Road repair the road.� Greene County State’s Attorney Commissioner Mark Hallock Caleb Briscoe said there is nothexplained the temporary repair ing to indicate that Spire doesn’t that has been done to the road. “After Spire came through, not intend to fix the roads before instead of putting the road back to they leave. “They signed a contract saying oil and chip, they put down twothey would put the roads back in inch rock on that stretch to build it back up, and in parts, they didn’t as good or better condition than put enough down,� Hallock said. they were before they came here,� “The road is currently an uneven (See, NIGHTMARE, A2)
End to raod issue is uncertain
Carmen Ensinger/Greene Prairie Press
Winner winner chicken dinner CNB Bank in Carrollton hosted a Community Appreciation Dinner Sept. 11 with a friend chicken meal catered by the Brass Door. Cookies were supplied by Subway, and Paradise Shaved Ice provided snow cones. There were also prizes to be won in a drawing. From left to right: Joanne Garland and Tom Schnelt.
Carrollton High School debuts new renovations By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press For the first time since it was built in 1956, the Carrollton High School is air conditioned, including the gym. The new air conditioning system is part of the $2.7 million renovation made over the summer that also includes a new secure entrance. “The air conditioning system is a major improvement, but perhaps the most important renovation is the new secure entrance,� Superintended Mark Halwachs said. “We now have a double-buzzer system in place, offering an extra level of security.� What was formerly a storage area in the front of the building has been converted
into a waiting room. A visitor must be buzzed in by someone in the office and then enter into another room that allows those in the office to see who it is before buzzing them through a second door. The hallway leading into the building was also replaced with bright white and green tile with all of the asbestos-laden tile removed. Right before going into the gym, a hawk emblem is emblazoned on the floor as well. Inside the gym, two large air conditioning “socks� loom over the bleachers providing a nice cool environment for PE classes as well as sporting events. Every room in the building has its own (See, RENOVATIONS, A2)
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Carrollton moving forward on modified TIF district plan By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press
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arrollton City Council, by a 4-2 vote, voted to proceed with setting up a TIF (Tax Increment Financing) district, despite outcries from a packed council room. Aldermen Shane Carter, Tim Reif, Dewain Freand and Alderwoman Maria Cox voted to place a modified TIF plan and Feasibility Study on file for 10 days and approve sending the TIF plan and Feasibility Study to all affected taxing districts. Aldermen Larry Gillingham and Kevin Scoggins were the two dissenting votes. Keith Moran, president of Moran Economic Development, presented a modified plan to the council reducing the size of the TIF district by 24 percent. “When you establish a TIF district, you can’t just draw a circle on a map – you have to make sure the area qualifies under the guidelines established,� Moran said. “You want to ask yourself what you want to accomplish with this TIF and a lot of these conversations have really just begun in terms of being specific. There is a lot more conversation bound to happen.� A TIF district does not put an additional tax on residents. Instead, it redistributes tax dollars into a special fund controlled by the city earmarked for redevelopment. For example, if a resident owns a vacant lot and pays $500 in taxes on that lot, that becomes the base value. Should the resident build a $200,000 home on that property and the tax amount goes
Submitted photo
This map shows the modified proposed TIF district as prepared by Moran Economic Development. Originally, the TIF extended all the way down Rt. 67 to the edge of town. The modified plan is 24 percent less encompassing 192 parcels within the TIF ending just past IGA and is depicted by the yellow. The former boundary is shown by the blue outline.
up to $2,500 a year, the other taxing bodies, such as the fire district, school and other taxing bodies, only get the original $500 distributed amongst them, according to the tax rate. The
additional $2,000 is placed in a special fund controlled by the city. The TIF district will be in (See, TIF DISTRICT, A2)
Carrollton native announces candidacy for Circuit Judge By CARMEN ENSINGER Greene Prairie Press A second Carrollton native has announced his candidacy for Greene County Circuit Judge after current Judge Jim Day announced he would not seek a sixth term on the bench. Zachary Schmidt, a graduate of St. John’s Grade School and Carrollton High School announced he will be seeking the seat in the November 2020 election. “James Garfield said, ‘There are men and women who make the world better just by being the kind of people they are. They have the gift of kindness and courage or loyalty or integrity. It really matters very little whether they are behind the wheel of a truck or running a business or bringing up a family. They teach truth by living it,’� Schmidt said. “These words by James Garfield express how I feel about the citizens of Greene County.� Schmidt grew up on the family farm in Carrollton. After graduating from Carrollton High School, he attended the University of Illinois, UrbanaChampaign, where he received a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business policy and law. He then went to Valparaiso University Law School in Indiana, eventu-
ZACHARY SCHMIDT ally working as a tutor for first-year law students. He graduated from Valparaiso a semester early and was admitted to the Illinois Bar in May of 2014. Following admittance to the Bar, he went to work as an Assistant States Attorney (ASA) in Logan County and then in Peoria County. “As an ASA, I had the opportunity to prosecute complex cases including attempted murder, aggravated batteries including multiple cases involving stabbings, domestic violence cases, drug cases and many other civil and criminal cases on behalf of the two counties where I worked,� Schmidt said. Schmidt is currently working as Assistant Director of State Legislation for the Illinois Farm Bureau advocating for legislation beneficial to farmers and rural communities. “I am proud that during the 101st General Assembly, I was able to (See, CANDIDACY, A2)