EDITORIAL: Projections cement that work should have continued on levee: Page A4 NEWS: Casting announced for ‘SUMMER: The Donna Summer Musical’: Page A8
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JERSEY COUNTY
JERSEYVILLE, IL 62052
JANUARY 8, 2020
NEWS
More criticism raised of water sale
Jersey starts new year, new decade off right. See pages A2 Workshop on growing hemp scheduled in area. See pages A3 Historical Society to host annual meeting. See pages A3
Wilsons celebrate 60 years. See pages A8
WEEKEND WEATHER FRIDAY, JAN. 10
61 36 High
Low
SATURDAY, JAN. 11
39 22 High
Low
SUNDAY, JAN. 12
38 30 High
Low
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TOP STORIES ONLINE Jan. 1 - Jan. 8 1. JCHS Cheer qualifies for state competition 2. Second WJBM Radio food drive sees more local involvement 3. Olive Branch Cafe serves home-cooked meal for Christmas 4. More than 250 new laws take effect New Year's Day
INDEX Opinion . . . . . . . . . . .A4 News . . . . . . . . . .A2-3, A8 Our Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Court. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A7 Public Notice. . . . . . . . .A7 OBITUARIES: BAUGH, BUMGARDNER, ECCLES, MACK, TONSOR, WILSON, WIMACK, WOELFEL
JERSEY COUNTY
JOURNAL
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VOL. 18, NO. 2 - 75¢
Jerseyville abates bond on water plant
INSIDE
FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS
JOURNAL
Submitted photo
Members of the Jersey Panthers girls’ basketball team stand for a photo following another championship win. Front row, from left to right: team manager Alexis Cullen, Clare Breden, Ryleigh Jones, Sally Hudson, Bella Metzler, Chloe White and assistant Coach Kathy Lott. Back row, from left to right: head coach Kevin Strebel, Abby Manns, Grace Sharich, Grace Myers, Boston Talley, Lauren Brown and assistant coach Scott Tonsor.
Jersey Panthers claim 4th consecutive tournament victory By JARAD JARMON Jersey County Journal It had already been a fairly exciting night for the Panthers. In their championship matchup Dec. 30, 2019 against the Alton Marquette Explorers, the girls’ basketball team proved victorious, with a final score of 59-46, Jerseyville. But that Monday night win — the last one of the decade — held more weight than a typical season win or even tournament win. The Jersey Community High School Panthers made history, or at least recent history, with their fourth consecutive tournament win — a feat Head Coach Kevin Strebel said was a blast to be witness too. He noted it is not entirely a surprise looking at the work they put in to earn these victories. “This is a group of players that have worked really hard over the years,” Strebel said. The streak was started last year in the Jersey tournament. At the 2018 Jersey Holiday Tournament, they defeated Triad. They followed that up with championship wins in the 2019 Carrollton Tournament against Jacksonville Routt, the 2019 Alton Tipoff Classic Tournament against
Breese Central and most recently threw up more points in their matchup with Alton Marquette. In an average season, the team enters three different area tournaments in Alton, Jerseyville and Carrollton. Historically in these tournaments, the Jersey team had not found much success. In all but the last tournament, Jersey was not the favorite, Strebel said.
“They are going out and taking care of business.”
Kevin Strebel Head Coach In the 11 years of the Jersey tournament, the team had not won it until 2018. It had been more than 20 years since they had won the Carrollton Tournament. And for the Alton Tournament, the Panthers had been there 15 years without winning the championship cup. Since 2018, the team has changed the narrative in these tournaments. “Seeing them take that turn
is a lot of fun,” Strebel said. He said an element of their success has partly come from the broad and consistent talent on the team. Unlike some teams, they are putting in 10 players that are regularly “making strong contributions,” Strebel said. It was more about seeing scoring from a lot of the team instead of some of the team. This comes from leadership stressing sharing the ball on the court. “Everyone can give us the spark,” the head coach said. Members of the Jersey Panthers girls’ basketball team are head coach Strebel, assistant coach Kathy Lott and Scott Tonsor, team manager Alexis Cullen, Clare Breden, Ryleigh Jones, Sally Hudson, Bella Metzler, Chloe White, Abby Manns, Grace Sharich, Grace Myers, Boston Talley and Lauren Brown. Three players in particular, though, have been proving just how formidable they are this season. Chloe White, Abby Manns and Clare Breden, who were all named to the all-tournament team, came in and have been leading on the court. Breden, in particular, was named as the MVP of the tournament.
By JARAD JARMON Jersey County Journal Jerseyville City Council have voted to approve abatement and not collect property taxes on a bond payment related to the construction of the newer Jerseyville water and sewer plant. Jerseyville Mayor Bill Russell said the city has abated the bond related to this work annually since the bond was issued. A bond was issued in December of 2012 in case the city could not have the funds to make the payments. So far, they have. “That was to make sure that the bond payment was made every year,” Russell said. “If the water and sewer (fund) was not able to make it, it was to be put on the property taxes of the residents of the city of Jerseyville.” As in past years, the city had the funds to make the payment this time around, which may not have been the case in the future, had the city not sold the water and sewer assets, according to proponents of the sale. Notably, Russell has asserted that this annual abatement may have ended if the city council did not move forward with the sale of the city’s water and sewer assets. Ahead of the water sale vote, Russell said property taxes would likely go up, along with water rates, had the council opted to retain operation of the water and wastewater systems. Russell said they have been able to skim through and make the bond payment without the tax so far. “If we keep it (the city’s water systems), the chances of that happening anymore are gone,” Russell had said. He had said it would not have been feasible keeping in mind the work that needs to be done. There was opposition to the water sale vote, but among those for and against, it was widely agreed that the Jerseyville systems were in need of significant upgrades. It was also agreed that the water rates were likely going to go up in either case. But for those against, it would’ve been better to maintain control and, in turn water rates — something that could not be done once it was sold. As previously reported, the city council OK’d the sale of Jerseyville’s water and wastewater systems to Illinois American Water Company at a December meeting. Despite this, historically vocal opponents made sure to come out to this most recent meeting Monday to address their disappointment with the move one more time. John Hefner pushed back on the timeline those on the council made regarding immediacy of the decision. “One councilman said we can no longer wait to make the decision. It needs to happen now,” Hefner said. “This Chicken Little theory simply does not apply here (referring to the “sky is falling”-type argument that was used to make a vote earlier rather than later).” Hefner was a part of the Citizen’s Advisory Committee — a committee formed a couple of years ago with the goal of determining the citizens’ perspective on the water and wastewater (See, WATER PLANT, A2)
Finishing out the decade Jersey County celebrates the end of 2019 Submitted photo
Left: Ethan Bearce, 2, of Jerseyville and his family attended a birthday party and spent time New Year’s Eve ringing in 2020 with friends and family. Submitted photo
Below: Miller Saettele, 3, is swarmed by balloons at the Loading Dock balloon drop in Grafton. Balloons fell over the ice rink in the late evening of New Year’s Eve.
(See, PANTHERS, A2)
Threat of spring flooding ever-present By JARAD JARMON Jersey County Journal It has been less than a year since flood waters fully receded, and already there is concern by state and local emergency agencies that the area could see more flooding, prompting officials to urge preparation ahead of time. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI), Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) and local emergency management agencies throughout Illinois are encouraging people to ‘Resolve to be Ready’ for emergencies in 2020. The National Weather Service suggests that abnormally moist ground conditions and unseasonably high river levels in the upper Midwest could lead to a considerable risk for repeat flooding this spring. With this in mind, state officials are encouraging Illinois residents to consider flood insurance before the next flood occurs. “Anywhere it rains, it can flood. You do not have to live in a river community to experience the devastating effects of flooding,” acting IEMA director Alicia Tate-Nadeau said. “What is important to remember about flood insurance is that this policy takes 30 days to take effect. That is why it is important to purchase and review your plan today in order to protect your family for the future.” Looking back at 2019, the biggest disaster to impact our state was the devastating river flooding that occurred in more than 33 counties, impacting 2.1 million residents. It was a disaster locals are still grappling with. As the threat of more flooding looms, locals still wait to even see finished repairs to the
Nutwood Levee that was breached last year. More recently, the Army Corps of Engineers had wrapped up work for the year on the Nutwood Levee following the completion of a coffer dam to protect the breach site. The Army Corps is conducting repairs to the Nutwood Levee in two parts or contracts. The first contract, which has been completed as of October, saw the filling in of the scour holes, the building of the coffer dam and an assessment of the damage to the levee. The scour holes were enormous pits located under and around the levee where the flood waters dug out soil and sediment. The Corps imported sand from Louisana, Mo. to fill in some of these holes. The recently constructed coffer dam is now the only protection of the site — a protection Gene Breden, Emergency Services Disaster Agency coordinator in the area, said would not be enough even if the flooding was relatively mild in comparison to 2019’s floods. “If we have a major flood, it is going to go right through that levee,” Breden said. The area would not have to have a flood of last year’s magnitude for it to cause significant damage, he said. Sue Casseau, public affairs specialist for the Corps, had said the Corps has made the determination that with the coffer dam now complete, they have the necessary protection to enable them to seek out the necessary materials at a lower cost to complete the second contract’s work — stressing the levee is not something the Corps is walking away from. “We know this is not the permanent fix,” Casseau has said. “We’re talking about (See, FLOODING, A2)
Submitted photo
Ellie, 3, and Danni Behringer, 5, both from Jerseyville, spent the night making homemade pizza, coloring and playing board games ahead of the new year.