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EDITORIAL: Change does not require a new year: Page A4 NEWS: Salvation Army fundraising campaign exceeds goal: Page B3
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JERSEY COUNTY
JERSEYVILLE, IL 62052
INSIDE NEWS Casting announced for Jersey Boys. See pages A2 Reliving fun in the snow. See pages A5
FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS
JANUARY 15, 2020
WEEKEND WEATHER FRIDAY, JAN. 17
33 31 High
Low
SATURDAY, JAN. 18
41 High
7
Low
SUNDAY, JAN. 19
16 High
4
Low
ONLINE Visit us on the web at
jerseycountyjournal.com
TOP STORIES ONLINE Jan. 8 - Jan. 15 1. Jersey Panthers claim 4th consecutive tournament victory 2. Jerseyville abates bond on water plant 3. Threat of spring flooding ever-present 4. Finishing out the decade
INDEX Opinion . . . . . . . . . . .A3 News . . . . . . . . A2, A5, B3 Our Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 School. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Court. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B5 Public Notice. . . . . . . . .A7 OBITUARIES: FLATT, HARTSOOK, HUFF, WILSON
JERSEY COUNTY
JOURNAL
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VOL. 18, NO. 3 - 75¢
Jerseyville to use TIF funds for old Moose Lodge By JARAD JARMON Jersey County Journal Jerseyville City Council OK’d the use of tax increment financing (TIF) district funds to purchase a vacant lot located at the 120 East Pearl where the Jerseyville Moose Lodge building resides. City council alderman voted on the purchase Tuesday, Jan. 14 at their regular meeting. The city will be purchasing the lot for $189,000 following the demolition of the building. They will be buying it as a lot — gravel-ready, Jerseyville Mayor Bill Russell said. The plan is to use the lot as more off-
“All of the local business that are about to open, that are already open have been begging for more off-street parking and this is an opportunity to grab that,”
Bill Russell Jerseyville Mayor street parking for Jerseyville’s main grab that,” Russell said. strip, based on of discussions with The cost would not include, howlocal business around the property. ever, the expense to pave the parking “All of the local business that are lot. Russell said there is a possibility to about to open, that are already open receive Illinois Department of Transhave been begging for more off-street portation (IDOT) assistance on this parking and this is an opportunity to project, though.
Miss Jersey County heads to state pageant Josie, Jase are 5 See pages A8
JOURNAL
By JARAD JARMON Jersey County Journal The state pageant for the title of Miss Illinois County Fair Queen is days away, but for Sara Lamer, it started the second she got off stage after being crowned as Miss Jersey County at the 150th Jersey County Fair. “I have been preparing for the state pageant really ever since I won the title of Miss Jersey County Fair Queen, brainstorming speech ideas and getting my wardrobe together, as well as adding an agriculture class in my schedule during the fall semester,” Lamer said. Lamer will be representing the county in the state pageant Jan. 18 and 19 at Crowne Plaza in Springfield — a notion Lamer was excited about. “I am honored and thrilled to be representing Jersey County,” she said. Lamer has been preparing for months — the most stressful piece of which consisted of fine-tuning her speech. “Preparing my speech has probably been the most stressful part simply because it’s so hard to fit everything I want to say into one minute,” Lamer said. “But, with the help of some amazing people, I was able to write my speech and get it down to 57 seconds while still presenting a meaningful and impactful message.” Her speech will include some of the same ideas she expressed in the Jersey competition this year, but is different from that of the one she gave in the summer. “I tried to broaden it for a bigger audience with a plan of action to all of Illinois instead of simply keeping it local,” she said. Miss Jersey County’s speech will center on the importance of community, individualism and diversity. It is actually those tenets that Lamer hopes are best conveyed about her and her perspective when she gets on the stage this weekend. “I really hope to convey to the judges and audience at the state pageant that it is
Submitted photo
Miss Jersey County Sara Lamer was crowned at the 150th year of the Jersey County Fair, and will soon represent the county at the state competition.
(See, TIF, A2)
Brussels, Kampsville ferries to be closed 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 IDOT’s traveler information map on GettingAroundIllinois.com.
important to actively work for inclusion in our communities, because when we all work together to create a strong, diverse community, we will see a transformation empowering our neighbors, and ourselves,” she said. “It will increase innovation, adaptability, and the quality of life for all. However, it’s okay to be different and unique in your community, because communities need every person’s unique talent’s in order to grow.” Lamer has had a unique perspective of community, individualism and diversity all of her life being a Salvadoran American herself. “I hope the judges and the audience sees and takes away the diversity I bring to the county fair system,” she said. “It’s not about where you are from, it’s about the community you grew up around and how they have shaped you as a person, and that’s exactly what Jersey County has done for me. (See, PAGEANT, A2)
Year in Review-Part 1
From floods to new businesses, Jersey had big 2019 Here is a look at the year’s biggest stories: JANUARY Roberts couple sentenced for starving sixyear-old Liam Michael and Georgena Roberts were sentenced to prison Wednesday morning, more than a year after 6-year-old Liam Roberts was pronounced dead at Jersey Community Hospital due to extreme malnourishment. Both Michael and Georgena Roberts pled guilty to the murder with the possibility of 20 to 60 years in prison. Georgena was sentenced to 20 years in the Department of Corrections and Michael to 25 years in the Department of Corrections by Judge Eric Pistorious. Two counts of endangering the life and health of a child were dropped by the prosecutors when the couple pled guilty. Grafton Council rejected proposed Marina Agreement An ongoing issue for months prior, agreement had still not been met at the time regarding the Grafton Marina by the Grafton City Council. After a 2-2 tie vote on a motion made by Donna Smith to not accept the agreement, Mayor Rick Eberlin cast the deciding vote to reject the proposed agreement. According to concerns addressed before the vote during public comment, there were people that also did not want the agreement to be passed, noting that it was not built according to plan. Some stated that the original plan did not call for outside storage or a restaurant, not to mention the derelict vehicles, pieces of broken dock and inoperable boats that litter the marina. Spire STL Pipeline was ready to roll in area Greene, Scott and Jersey county residents would soon see construction begin on a new 65 mile natural gas pipeline that will run through all of Greene and Jersey counties and a small portion of Scott County as well
“We have had some conversations with IDOT maybe helping us with some of the parking with what they have been doing with handicap and losing some of the downtown,” Russell said. “We don’t know yet what that may be.” IDOT has been working on making the busy State Street corridor in Jerseyville Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-accessible. With this project, there has been a loss of parking spaces because of the restructuring of the street for ADA-accessibility. The project is one of several across the state geared toward updating side-
as portion of St. Charles and St. Louis counties in Missouri. The pipeline is an open access natural gas pipeline whose construction is being overseen by the Michels Corporation, an international utility and infrastructure contractor based in Brownsville, Wisc. with more than 5,000 employees and 16 divisions. Michels is the largest construction company in Wisconsin and among the largest in the United States. Panthers claimed tournament title The Jersey Lady Panthers captured their second tournament title of the season by defeating Routt 54-50 in overtime on Saturday to take home the Lady Hawk Classic Tournament title. FEBRUARY Some landowners faced off against gas pipeline As Spire Inc. got ready to start work on the new underground natural gas pipeline traveled through the entire length of Greene and Jersey counties and a portion of Scott County, local landowners were frustrated that Spire is coming in and taking a portion of their land without mutually acceptable compensation. The 65-mile pipeline, which joins up with the Rockies Express Pipeline in Scott County, was being built to transport natural gas to the St. Louis area. Spire is required to get an easement to go through a landowner’s property to build the pipeline. Jersey County officer rescued teen in freezing temperatures Jersey County Officer Justin Decker received a call about a missing 14-year-old boy with autism. Due to his quick response time and help from a Highway Department driver, tragedy and serious injury was avoided. It started when a call came in stating that the young man had been missing for (See, REVIEW, A2)
Submitted photo
Cory Poole cuts up a piece of meat for some of the first customers at the newly opened Jersey Hometown.
BBQ restaurant opens up in Jerseyville By JARAD JARMON Jersey County Journal A space last known for housing hammers, nails and all other manner of tools is now home to barbecue, smoked meats and some hometown cooking with the introduction of Jersey Hometown — the latest addition to the slate of eateries in the city. With a penchant for new projects and rehabbing, owners Debbie and Terry Wedding opened up the new barbecue restaurant shortly following the start of the new year. The two took over the property a year ago, and since started rehabbing the building transforming what once was the Norton’s Hardware Store to what stands today, a rustic barn house-style space filled with the aromas of smoked brisket and other meats. “We have always liked to rehab and restore, so we just really loved the old Norton hardware building,” Debbie said. “We looked at it for years, because it was going out of business for years… We just kept looking at it thinking how cool of a building it was.” Debbie said they saw so much potential with the building and what could be done with it. And after buying the property, they went to work. The place needed major work done prompting the
need for a full year, Debbie said. However, the work they were doing — it was not to start a barbecue restaurant. “It kind of started out where we were going to just do a gift shop in that area and sell some of his stuff,” Debbie said. “But, we knew we needed to have food to go along with it.” The plan was to lease out the kitchen space and run a gift shop on the other side of the space, a business the two were more familiar with. But with a lack of interest in leasing the kitchen, the two decided to introduce something different to Jerseyville themselves with Jersey Hometown and lease out what is to be a shop to OLDE. The southern end of the building will be used by OLDE, which sells antiques, home decor, furniture, upcycled and repurposed goods, unique gifts and vintage clothing and accessories. The shop currently has a location in Carlinville and will open up a second location in the space. When running through what the restaurant side could be, it was decided: barbecue. “We just saw a need for barbecue,” Hannah Marshall, manager and daughter, said. The two did not have any experience with barbecue outside of what they did with their grill at home. This is when they (See, BBQ, A2)