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JOURNAL VOL. 18, NO. 23 - 75¢
JUNE 3, 2020
Black Lives Matter protest to take place in Jerseyville By CONNOR ASHLOCK Jersey County Journal A Black Lives Matter protest will take place by the CVS pharmacy in Jerseyville on Sunday, June 14 at 4 p.m. The date was initially set for June 9, but had to be moved due to forecasted inclement weather. The significance of the new date, Flag Day, was not lost on organizer Laylhany Davis who posted, “It’s Flag Day! Let’s use this opportunity to unite each other and respect our American freedoms.” The Jerseyville protest follows a wave of protests across the country following the death of George Floyd. Floyd, a black man, who died shortly after an incident in Minneapolis, Minn., where a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, was kneeling on his neck for several minutes. This inspired locals like Jaymisen Bushong to speak out as well and help organize one locally. “I’ve felt strongly about this topic, and now that I have the means to set
up my own protest, I’ve chosen to do confirmed they will be at the scene so,” Jaymisen Bushong, said. of the protest following messages Bushong, another the organizer of on Facebook referring to shooting the protest, said the protest is to or running over the protestors. Also remain peaceful, and that she hopes too, the protestors will be able to use the community approaches it with an the courthouse as parking grounds, open mind. though they were advised it may be “I’m encouragbetter to have a shuttle from ing people to come Walmart, but the sheriff’s as they are and to “People around office won’t provide the bus. remain peaceful. We here need to be “The assistance that we’re will be peaceful, but providing is advice on parkwe will be heard,” aware of these ing and protection for both the community and protestBushong said. issues.” ers,” Jersey County SherIn a statement iff Mike Ringhausen said. issued by Chief Brad Blackorby of the Jaymisen Bushong “After talking to Laylhany, Jerseyville Police we don’t anticipate any Protest organizer Department, it was problems, but should outside clarified that the entities come in with bad protest is in full accordance with the intentions, we will be on hand to make sure things remain peaceful. I support law, so long as peace is maintained. “This is a constitutionally recog- citizens’ right to free speech.” The Facebook page for the protest nized right. So long as no municipal, state or federal law is broken, law stated that the protest will include enforcement officers will not inter- “No violence, just voice” and that blocking traffic is not allowed. vene.” “Usually when a Black Lives MatThe Jersey County Sheriff’s Office
Jersey County Fair canceled
Welcome, baby Bentley James and Kenzie Hillman. See page A7
WEEKEND WEATHER FRIDAY, JUNE 5
Meagan McGlasson/Jersey County Journal
DMV
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REOPENS
Lines snaked nearly to the roadway at the DMV’s reopening Tuesday, June 2. While the DMV is currently only handling new drivers and expired IDs and plates, those wishing to avoid the lines are reminded that drivers do have a 90-day grace period for expired IDs and tags from Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s emergency proclamation which ended on June 1.
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1. Grafton businesses open up for Memorial Day weekend 2. Local officials to host informational on business guidelines 3. County Board implores Gov. Pritzker to reopen the local economy 4. Local ferries to be open this weekend
INDEX Opinion . . . . . . . . . . .A3 News . . . . . . . . . . . . .A34 Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 School. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A7 Court. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A6 Public Notice. . . . . . . . .A6 OBITUARIES: GOFORTH, OHLEY, WEAVER, WHITE
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ter protest happens, it happens in the city where the inciting event took place. So now, since it’s spreading, it’s good to keep that going, especially in Jerseyville where it’s a predominantly white community. People around here need to be aware of these issues,” Bushong said. Thus far, the Facebook page for the protest, “BLM peaceful PROTEST @ Jerseyville” has over 230 people interested, attracting attention from all over the region. Chief Blackorby urged that those with differing views regarding those of the protestors should respect their fellow Americans’ right to peaceably assemble. “Passerbys are encouraged to refrain from disrespectful and improper response to protestors. Everyone needs to abide by the law,” Blackorby said. The protest is expected to be a march as well, but the projected destination is undetermined. The protest is expected to last until dark.
Curb work kicks off State Street changes By MEAGAN MCGLASSON Jersey County Journal Observant – or even not-so observant – drivers may have noticed a few changes on their trips down State Street, from cycling traffic lights to unique curbs at several different locations. For the curbs that have already been redone (one in front of the Presbyterian church at the intersection of State and Carpenter St. and the two one either side of 67 at the intersection of Exchange St.), the issue comes down to ADA compliance, but it also ties into the eventual resurfacing of Highway 67. “Those curbs are being redone in preparation for the resurfacing project,” Tiffany Brase, Studies and Plans Engineer at IDOT, explained. Yet all of the curbs along State St. will not be redone, at least not on the contract IDOT is currently executing. “Actually, sidewalks (and
consequently curbs at crossings) are the responsibility of the municipality,” she elaborated. “Per the ADA’s new rules, however, the entity that’s there first has to fix them.” So, because the eventual resurfacing of 67 will alter some pedestrian crossings before the city begins the process of making them ADA compliant, it has become IDOT’s responsibility to bring those curbs into compliance. The remaining curbs will be redone at a later date by the city. In order to be deemed compliant, curbs must meet certain requirements when it comes to running slope, or the slope of a curb or sidewalk that runs parallel to the street, and cross slope, which runs perpendicular to it. But why do all of the curbs look so different? “Every intersection is unique,” Jerseyville’s Director of Public Works Bob Manns explained. “So every one (curb) is different.”
Specifically, the curb next to Sweet Life at the intersection of State and Exchange, which is called a bump-out, sweeps out far into the street so that someone in a wheelchair could maneuver out to see beyond the angled parking without having to enter the flow of traffic. The curb across the street next to H&R Block will eventually have handrails, while the curb in front of First Presbyterian Church had to be built up with stairs and a ramp to get the slopes between the road and the sidewalk to a compliant level. And while the first round of curb work is finished, according to Manns and Brase, the coincidence of the curb work, the resurfacing, and a few other ADA street projects is what’s responsible for the stoplight cycling. That particular issue is one drivers may have to grin and bear until all of the new looping systems have been installed by IDOT.
By MEAGAN MCGLASSON Jersey County Journal Let’s call it like it is, 2020 has been a wash. Now, with summer rapidly approaching, its highlight, the Jersey County Fair, has been officially canceled. The annual event is a massive draw for both visitors and revenue to the county. As such, the decision to cancel it was an understandably difficult one. “This will be the first year in 70 years that the fair can’t be hosted. The last time we cancelled was for World War Two. But we are not discouraged. We plan on coming back for the best fair to date in 2021,” the fair board announced in a public statement late Tuesday night. The decision to pull the plug on the fair followed months of deliberation and postponement in the hopes that COVID19 restrictions would be loosened enough to host some form of the fair. Following directives from state health officials and local advice, however, the decision was finally made. “The fair is a family event that our community looks forward to all year. It is heartbreaking that due to COVID 19 the fair was canceled,” Tiffany Phillips, future fair director board member, said. “I cannot thank and support the fair board enough for their hard work through this all to try and continue with our fair. As a community I hope we all continue to support the fair and all it has to offer.” It follows similar trends from around the state with Pike and Macoupin counties having already canceled and Greene expected to announce their cancelation any day now. Calhoun County is the lone holdout, but with their fair not held until September, they have the advantage of putting off their decision a little longer. The 4H exhibition is the one area of the fair that has been able to make the jump to a virtual event. The fair board is still determining, however, how best to involve itself in the virtual arena. “For our 4H exhibitors who participate in the virtual show, the board is exploring options on how to reward them for their efforts in preparing projects and livestock for this year’s fair,” the statement said. “My biggest concern is always the kids,” Fair Board President Phil Ringhausen added. “I wanted to make sure we could give the kids something.” As far as good news goes, Jersey County will continue to be represented by last year’s fair queens until next year’s pageant is held. The ladies will remain ambassadors for Jersey County’s agricultural community and the county at large. As for the pre-fair activities of the Jersey County Backyard Barbecue and Bunny Brew Hop, they will be combined into one event, which is currently planned for the last weekend of September.
Classroom projects take flight thanks to grant submission By MEAGAN MCGLASSON Jersey County Journal For second grade East Elementary educator Emily DeSherlia, “bugging out” takes on an entirely different meaning than it does for most. “When I say she’s passionate about butterflies— she’s real passionate about butterflies,” fellow educator (and DeSherlia’s friend since high school) Erica Heitzig said in a video posted to Facebook on May 12. “She’s on a mission to tag an insane amount of butterflies before they fly to Mexico for the winter.” In fact, if you’ve ever seen a woman around the county scrabbling up a bank to get a closer look at some milkweed, it was probably Emily hunting for caterpillars to take home and tag after they transform into butterflies. So, when the Jersey County Business Association (JCBA) approached Heitzig about finding ways to incorporate school projects into the com-
munity, she brought Emily on board knowing her creativity and butterfly mania would lend itself to the project. The original plan was an 8-foot by 8-foot mural, drawn by Desherlia, painted by her sister-in-law Laura Fallin and decorated by her students using bottle caps they’d been collecting since January. Initially, the mural was set to be displayed downtown at May’s JCBA Open Late Night event. Unfortunately, coronavirus got in the way of those plans. “[My students] were so excited about it this past year. They were the ones that collected the bottle caps for it,” DeSherlia explained. “We would have been painting it in April, but obviously that didn’t happen.” The idea for the mural was put on hiatus as DeSherlia brainstormed ways to get her students back to finish their project. That’s where Heitzig came in. “I’ve seen her passionately speak (See, GRANT, A3)
Jarad Jarmon/Jersey County Journal
IS
IT A SIDE-BY-SIDE OR A BOAT?
An individual wades through flood waters to get to the Grafton Ferry parking lot Saturday. The Mississippi River has gone up over the last several days, causing the standing water those that passed through Grafton might have noticed. In response to this flooding, the Grafton Ferry is closed. Officials hope to get it open again soon. Regardless of the ferry’s operation, people were not stopped from surging into the small tourism town. Phase 3 of Gov. JB Pritzker’s reopening plan went into effect at the end of last week, and those restaurants and businesses that reopened, namely on the main strip of Grafton, saw a more metaphorical flooding of visitors.