50¢ MARCH 18, 2020
PITTSFIELD, IL
Pike Press
pikepress.com
VOL. 178, NO. 12
COVID-19 impacts Pike County Thank you,
Margaret Numann of Griggsville, for subscribing to Pike Press!
NEWS
By BETH ZUMWALT and DAVID CAMPHOUSE Pike Press No case of Covid-19 has been reported within 70 miles of Pike County, but the effects of preventing the spread of the disease is being felt locally. The respiratory, flu-like illness, has sickened hundreds of thousands of people world wide and resulted in thousands of deaths, including more than 80 in the United States. Schools originally were to close Tuesday, March 17 and re-open March 31, with the plan students would attend school Monday, March
16 to pick up homework and books for the two week hiatus. That plan was quickly amended to also prohibit schools from opening Monday, March 16. Every school in Pike County made arrangements for students to pick up their necessary items. Pikeland opened the doors of all three schools Sunday, March 15. “We had good response,” Paula Hawley, superintendent of the district said. “At South School all but 11 students picked up their packets, at PCS, all but 45 and at the high school, all but 20.” Ron Edwards, superintendent at
Pleasant Hill, said turnout was high in their district for students picking up school work. “I have to commend my staff for making this work,” Edwards said. “The teachers, custodians, everybody have went above and beyond.” Griggsville-Perry and Western had pick-ups scheduled for Monday. The virus has also resulted in the cancellation of events, but school administrators have not said whether or not athletic seasons would be scrapped. “We’ve cancelled all activities — extra-curricular or not until the 31st,” G-P superintendent Kent Hawley said. Beth Zumwalt/Pike Press
Arends-Awe announces sale to Sloan.
South School teacher Kristi Heafner hands a packet of homework assignments and worksheets to a parent Sunday afternoon at South School. All Pikeland School gave students an opportunity to pick up materials books and encouraged them to study while being confined to their homes during the Covid 19 situation.
See page A2
20 year PFD members. See page B1
SOCIETY
COVID-19 hits older adults hardest Bradbury finds way to celebrate 100 . See pages A3
WEEKEND WEATHER FRIDAY, MARCH 20
48 26 High
Low
SATURDAY, MARCH 21
39 27 High
Low
SUNDAY, MARCH 22
44 34 High
Low
ONLINE pikepress.com
INSIDE Classified . . . . . . . .B3 Community . . . . . .B2 County News . . . . . . A2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B2-3, B6 Court . . . . . . . . . . .B5 Marketplace . . . . . .B4 Obituaries . . . . . . A5 Opinion . . . . . . . . A4 Our Town . . . . . . A5 Sports . . . . . . . . . . .B1 Obituaries in this issue: Coleman, Cox.
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By DAVID CAMPHOUSE Pike Press According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) older adults are among those more at risk of contracting and having serious complications from the COVID-19 virus. In response to the threat of COVID-19 to Pike County seniors, area agencies that serve older adults are making a concerted effort to minimize risks, and, in some cases, they are shutting down their operations entirely in the near-term. Reca Risley, executive director of the Pike County Senior Citizen Center, reports that their facility is closed effective Monday, March 16 until the end of the month, at which point the threat will be reassessed. “There’s just nothing life or death that we do inside the building.” Risley said. “The board has decided to not have events encouraging people to congregate.” Similarly, assisted living facilities are making attempts to reduce risks to their residents. Pittsfield’s Liberty Village, along with the area’s other assisted living facilities, has adjusted operations accordingly says Liberty Village administrator Billye Titus. Liberty Village and other assisted living facilities are limiting access to the their facilities to visitors who are vital to (See, ADULTS, A2)
:KR LV DW ULVN DQG ZKDW VKRXOG WKH\ GR By PIKE PRESS STAFF Illini Hospital, along with its parent company, Blessing Hospital, has set up a method for people who think they might have the disease to be tested without overloading the emergency rooms and, also exposing others to their symptoms. A flu-like illness screening center opened Monday, March 16 at 8 a.m. in the former IHS location behind Illini Community Hospital. In order to be seen at the center, must first call the hotline 217-277-3504. The caller will be able to discuss their concerns or symptoms with a registered nurse. The caller will then be directed as to what their next step might be. Directions might be to stay home, go to the most appropriate place to get further evaluated or they may be directed to the flu-like illness screening clinic. Upon arrival, the patients will be re-directed for a brief registration and if medially indicated, will be tested, if tests are available. Anyone who shows up at the screening center without having called the hotline first, will be directed to call the hotline to go through the phone (See, RISK, A2)
“I’ve not seen any guidance from IHSA or IESA saying they’re going to cancel seasons.” School administrators were complimentary of their staffs for coming through under extenuating circumstances. “My staff has been phenomenal to get everything together to make sure our students have everything they need in order to learn over this hiatus,” Hawley said. The Pike County Court system, on the recommendation from the Eighth Judicial Circuit, as eliminated as (See, IMPACT, A2)
Information regarding corona virus’s impact Gatherings are to be kept to under 10 people Q Jennifer Niebur of Niebur Funeral Home says the needs of families will be decided on a case-by-case basis. “We will still over cremation, with the option of having a service once this has passed,” Niebur said. “Or we could embalm the body and have a burial with a service to be held later.” Niebur said she feels she needs to follow the recommendations of the Funeral Directors Association and the Center for Disease Control to protect herself. “What if I don’t fallow the recommendation and somebody gets sick?” she said. “Funerals and visitations are one of the worst situations for spreading the virus because of all the close contact.” At this point, Niebur said she if a family choses to have a small service, she is working on posting the service on the funeral home website, so that family and friends unable to attend can view the service. “I hope people understand that not everybody the family wanted to attend will be able to attend services. It’s a difficult time for the family anyway, I hope people are understanding,” Niebur said. Q Pike County Health Department is restricting access beginning Tuesday, March 17 until further notice, for the safety of our clients and staff. Employees are continuing to work and assist clients over the phone. Please call 217285-4407 for assistance. Q Courthouse: Until further notice the Eighth Circuit Court has postponed certain court cases and proceedings. Cases that will be postponed are: civil matters including jury trials, traffic cases, ordinance violations, misdemeanor cases,, probate, small claims, family court, child support, law magistrate, juvenile cases, marriages, criminal felony probation and payment reviews. Cases that will still be held include criminal felony, except probation and payment reviews, juvenile temporary custody matters, juvenile detention hearings, petitions for emergency order of protection, emergency hearings on family matters, statutory summary suspension hearings, mental health hearings and other emergency hearings as decided by the judge assigned. Q The Pittsfield High School Spring Musical “Cinderella” is in limbo. According to Christie Mendenhall, director, the future of play depends on several factors. The play (See, INFORMATION, A3)
Fire destroy two hog barns Saturday By BETH ZUMWALT Pike Press Two hog barns containing breeding and gestation facilities were destroyed by fire Saturday night. The buildings were close to the Spring Creek, Hardin Township line. According to Josh Flint, spokesman for Maschhoff’s LLC., who owned the buildings, the fire was reported around 8:30 p.m. The call reported the barns were fully engulfed in fire. Employees and a local farmer were able to get to the scene first,” Flint said. “There are four barns in the facility, two breeding and gestation barns, an isolation barn and a farrowing room. They were all connected by hallways. Those first on the scene were able to knock out the hall-
ways. That kept the fire from spreading to the other two barnes.” Spring Creek Fire Department, along with Pleasant Hill, East Pike, Pittsfield and Griggsville Fire Department all were called to the scene throughout the night for both manpower and water. “No one was injured,” Flint said. “At this time we are unsure how many animals were lost. There were more than 2,000 on the site, but some were in barns that didn’t burn.” Flint said workers were on the scene Monday, trying to get the roofs that collapsed off the scene and inventory the damages. He said he was unsure if Maschhoffs would rebuild but suspected they would.
Submitted photo
A Saturday evening fire destroyed two hog barns and left an undetermined about of animals dead. The hog barn was owned by Maschhoffs and located south of Time near the township line of Spring Creek and Hardin Townships.
Help get the city $25,000 in free money By BETH ZUMWALT Pike Press Anyone scrolling through Facebook and sees this graphic should stop and vote for Pittsfield’s Historic House Square. The contest, sponsored mainly by Stihl tools and Independent We Stand, an organization to inspire small business owners to discover their local roots and help consumers understand the importance of supporting them. Other businesses and agency also participate. Jessica Guthrie of Picture Pittsfield nominated Pittsfield for the contest which is in it’s fifth year. “It was passed on to me by a Picture Pittsfield volunteers,”
Guthrie said. “The nomination process is simple and voting is simple. I nominated Pittsfield as soon as it went live.” Nominations are being accepted Feb. 24 through April 19. Semi-finalist voting will be April 27 through May 24 with the winner being announced June 2. Grand prize is $25,000 and a 4th of July party, sponsored by the sponsors. In her application/nomination form, Guthrie suggested the money would be used “to create a fun, relaxing outdoor space along our historic courthouse square - essentially Pittsfield’s “Main Street”. We have a few empty ‘toothholes’ in our four blocks of historic buildings from the late 1800s,
where buildings had to be torn down due to disrepair. We have a few local business leaders purchasing and revitalizing the remaining buildings, but these empty spots are somewhat of an eyesore in an otherwise beautiful facade. One of these empty lots would make a great space for people to gather, listen to live music, play oversized board games, etc. This community space could also be a reason for people to come to the heart of the city to meet up with friends and family, shop, eat and otherwise enjoy their time, boosting the local economy. We have the volunteers and some local contractors who could help make this a reality; it pretty much just comes down to funds for
materials and supplies. Adding pavers, a community fireplace for winter, possibly a community water feature for summer, some tables and chairs, planters, overhead lights and maybe a small area for a stage, we could turn an out-of-place blank space in to our residents’ favorite place to be.” Bill Brunelle, one of the contest’s co-founders, says this is the fifth year for the contest and it has become one of his favorite projects. “It is the funnest project i’ve ever worked on,” he said. “I love working with these small towns and helping them the small business owners.” Brunelle said supporting the local businesses are what keeps small towns thriving.
Submitted graphic
Look for this graphic on Facebook and vote for Pittsfield. If declared the winner, a group of sponsors interested in preserving downtown, small towns, will give Picture Pittsfield $25,000 to attract visitors to the downtown area and businesses.
In addition to awarding the check, Brunelle said the winning community will be the recipient of a big 4th of July party. “What’s any more small town than a 4th of July party,” he said.