OPINION: Obamacare will hurt more than help, at least early on: Page A4 NEWS: Library high on list to receive upgrade grant: Page A2
CURRENT RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER
PRSRT STD ECRWSS U.S. POSTAGE
PAID Jerseyville, IL PERMIT NO. 204
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
P.O. Box 407 Jerseyville, IL 62052
JERSEY COUNTY
Jerseyville, IL 62052
INSIDE NEWS
Trunk or Treat Oct. 31. See page A7
FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS
October 23, 2013
JOURNAL Vol. 11, No. 43 - 75¢
School board split on basketball program may not make it onto the team because there are not enough spots. “You’re bringing in a select group now. This wasn’t making it fair to everybody,” Pohlman said. Pohlman said the program was cut with the intention of improving the city’s recreation department basketball leagues so more kids could participate and enjoy the sport while also saving the district around $30,000. The program was cut before consolidation of the schools when the district had multiple teams from multiple schools. District Administrator Ken Schell said teams in the nonrec leagues are hand-picked similar to the ones for fifth and sixth grade basketball which
By BOB CROSSEN Jersey County Journal The Jersey Community Unit School District 100 board was at odds regarding the approval of volunteer coaches for fifth and sixth grade basketball teams, which were cut as a district program in 2010. The volunteer coaches for the program were ultimately approved in a 4-to-3 vote in which Ed Test, Amanda Vaughn, Sherry Droste and Stan Kary voted Yes, while Ruth Eschbach, Julie Pohlman and Bill Yamnitz voted No. Pohlman, school board vice president, said she voted against approval of volunteer coaches because she feels the program is unfair to all students as it requires tryouts, meaning some
are no longer run under the es trying to develop a program. Jersey 100 umbrella, though all So, they want to catch the kids students and coaches involved at an early age to develop their are students or program, and employees of “I'm glad that I can’t blame the district. them for that.” Schell said somebody is A l a n some teams in doing something Churchman, the recreation district curricleagues have with the fifth and ulum director, all the talented said tryouts sixth grade proplayers while were held Oct. others do not, gram again so we 13 and a total which leads of 23 students to lop-sided can have some came to tryout. scores that are competition.” With a roster often not fun of 20 players, for the playthree who tried Amanda Vaughn ers or parents out for the School board member involved. team did not “ W h a t make it, and we’re trying to do is get our all of them were sixth graders. head coaches more involved,” Churchman said he spoke with Schell said. “It’s the head coach- those who didn’t make the team,
as well as a parent. And to combat issues with the parks and recreation department leagues, Churchman said kids who play on the fifth and sixth grade team may not compete in the leagues offered by the city. Though basketball is no longer a district sport for fifth and sixth grade, the teams do use district facilities for practice and games, and superintendent Lori Hopkins said the district’s approval of the volunteer coaches allows them to use the facilities. Yamnitz took issue with the program due to liability concerns. Because all those involved in the program already fall under the district’s insurance policy and because it is an offshoot of the high school
Longtime hospital CEO prepares for retirement Tefertiller nuptials. See page B4
SCHOOL
Loving the library at Grafton Elementary. See page C2
SPORTS
Jersey girls win home tournament title. See page C8
ONLINE Visit us on the web at
jerseycountyjournal.com
TOP STORIES ONLINE Week of Oct. 9 - 15
1) Opposition of ordinance out in force 2)Teachers develop response plans to protect students 3) District split on basketball program 4) Kane man drives truck through Legion 5) The Sam Antics: Latest win a historic one for JCHS football team
INDEX Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D4 News . . . A2, A3, B2, C2, C6 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . A5 Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Our Town . . . . . . . . . . . B3 Public Notice . . . . . D1, D4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C8 Obituaries: Clark, Hicks, Marshall, Wood
jerseycountyjournal .com
© 2013 Jersey County Journal
By ROBERT LYONS Jersey County Journal Larry Bear’s legacy at Jersey Community Hospital could very well be one of a leader who kept the institution at the forefront of technology and ahead of the crowd in its offerings. But, in his 26 years at the helm of the hospital, it was friendships and sense of community Bear appreciated most of all. Bear plans to continue cherishing those same elements as he enters into the next phase of his life: retirement. Instead of being the chief executive officer of the county’s largest employer, however, Bear will just be enjoying the best the area has to offer. “This is where I’m staying. I fell in love with this place early on,” Bear said. “This is home.” Bear is responsible for some of the very components which have helped define the community's development in recent decades, according to JCH Director of Community Relations Jen Bell. “Larry was very instrumental in getting the Wellness Center going, and I think that has been a positive facility in the community, and surrounding communities,” Bell said. “I think he did a good job of positioning the hospital and finding the needs of the community.” The Wellness Center is one of Bear’s proudest accomplishments. He said the project was unique for a hospital to take on and has since been copied in other communities, including nearby Hillsboro. “It gives us an opportunity to set an example for our children, and grown-ups as
basketball program, any injuries would be insured by the district. The board member said he also did not favor the elitism inherent in the fifth and sixth grade basketball program, either. Yamnitz said it was built to groom the teens for future programs, reinforcing a culture in which those who know the coaches make the team and new players do not. “I don’t believe in picking kids out when they’re 8, 9, 10 years old. They’re going to be the starters in the high school in six or seven years because they got the opportunity and somebody didn’t see that,” Yamnitz said, noting one of his sons wasn’t part of the system despite having the skill to start for the high school team. “He (See, SPLIT, A2)
Kane man drives truck into Legion By CARMEN ENSINGER Jersey County Journal
Robert Lyons/Jersey County Journal
Mary Prosser, left, shares a laugh with retiring hospital Chief Executive Officer Larry Bear during a retirement party Wednesday afternoon. Bear is retiring from Jersey Community Hospital after 26 years of service.
well, of how to stay out of hospitals. We’d rather be proactive,” he said. “The remarkable people who have run the Wellness Center for the past 14 years have done a super job giving all of us the opportunity to choose good lifestyles.” Bear is going out on a high note with the completion of a new emergency room facility and implementation of the ER+ last year, both of which have allowed the hospital to get patients in and out of the urgent care sector of the facility at much faster rate. Bear said a national average for
an ER visit is five hours, and JCH it is just two. “It’s all about hometown care. When you walk into that emergency room you know the people taking care of you, and they know you,” he said. “Our population continues to grow, and hopefully that facility will serve all of us for another several decades.” Though he led the hospital through its most major expansions, Bear credits the doctors, nurses, board members and the community as a whole for the progress. He said he has enjoyed tremendous support throughout his
career in Jerseyville. “There wasn’t a lot of magical creativity involved,” he said. “In some respects you just try not to get in the way of something that can grow by itself.” Hospital board president Mary Kirbach said Bear deserves more credit than he gives himself. Kirbach said Bear has always been focused on advancing the mission of the hospital, which is to provide the best care to the community. “Larry has been a driving force for this hospital the last 26 years,” Kirbach said. “His
leadership, I think, has been exemplary. He's great with the staff, he's great with the public.” It is the encouragement and support of people like Kirbach that Bear has valued most during his time as CEO. “This is a unique community in that it takes care of its own,” he said. “The loyalty, the friendships are deeper and stronger than the five or six other places in downstate Illinois that I grew up in.” Prior coming to Jerseyville, Bear worked at hospitals in Jacksonville and White Hall. (See, RETIREMENT, A2)
Effects of Obamacare already being felt at the local level By ROBERT LYONS Jersey County Journal The date requiring every resident to carry health insurance is nearing. But, many associated with health insurance locally are not overly optimistic the initial affect will be positive. The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, mandates citizens have a health insurance plan in place by the end of March 2014. The concept is that if everyone has insurance, the quality and affordability will increase. As part of the legislation, insurance companies will be forced to accept customers who have preexisting conditions and provide preventative care coverage. However, local employers, healthcare providers and insurance agents aren’t confident the plan will meet its goal, at least not early on. “It’s an ambitious project,” Dr. Ron Johnson, who practices at locations in Pike and Scott counties with Quincy Medical Group, said. “To cover everybody with insurance like we did for car insurance is not a bad idea, because it evens out the payment. But to require everybody to have preventive care, as well, front loads the cost tremendously. The payoff will be
incredible on the other end, though.” Being able to detect and treat diseases and other health risks early on will be a tremendous boon to the healthcare providers, according to Johnson. He said by keeping the populace healthy, thus at work and paying for insurance, the systems begins to sustain itself. “The first few years are going to be painful,” he said. Johnson said he believes it will take three to four years before the benefits of Obamacare will begin to even out the negatives. The downside may be hard to overcome, according to Jessica Dean, an insurance agent with the Jerseyville- and Carrollton-based company Whitworth, Horn and Goetten. Dean said many individuals have been inquiring about health insurance since Oct. 1, a date widely advertised as the opening day of the insurance exchange. She said everything she’s encountered regarding the reform – the website healthcare.gov, the coverages and premiums – has been discouraging. “Unfortunately, [for current clients] their options are less coverage for more money, as of right now. I haven’t seen anything any better for them, unless they (See, OBAMACARE, A2)
A Kane man remains in Greene County Jail after ramming his pickup truck into the side of a bar in Kane early Friday morning. Daniel Rowling, 51, was arrested on a preliminary charge of criminal damage to property, burglary and resisting and obstructing a police officer after he allegedly drove his vehicle into the side of the Kane American Legion early Friday morning. According to Greene County Sheriff Rob McMillen his department received a call around 3 a.m. Friday morning that someone had driven a vehicle into the building. “He was still in the building whenever the Jersey County officers and Carrollton officers got there,” McMillen said. “Our deputy was on his way but they were closer and got there in time to catch him in the building.” The front end of the truck was inside the bar after it had been driven through the side wall near the entry of the bar. McMillen said Rowling had cigarettes and liquor stacked up on the bar and he thought he had also been drinking some of the liquor that was in the bar. He could not say for certain if Rowling was intoxicated at the time of the incident because Rowling has mental health issues. “We think he was intoxicated but we are not sure if that was the total cause of his irrational behavior,” McMillen said. Rowling resisted arrest and fought with officers and was eventually subdued with a Taser and pepper spray. McMillen said Rowling did not require medical attention and was taken to Greene County Jail. Bond was set at $25,000.
Robert Lyons/Jersey County Journal
She's
crafty
Jenna Pearse browses the jewerly and knick knacks of a vendor Saturday at the JCHS Craft Fair. Merchants overflowed from the cafeteria into the lobby area with their goods during the two-day event, which ranged from handmade crafts to food items. C
M
K
Y