50¢ JULY 15, 2020
PITTSFIELD, IL Thank you,
Heather Wilmesher of Barry, for subscribing to Pike Press!
NEWS
Rotary holds year end event. See page A8
Pittsfield returns to normal billing practices. See page A8
COURT McCartney deies Tate’s motion to withdraw guilty plea. See page A6
WEEKEND WEATHER FRIDAY, JULY 17
91 75 High
Low
SATURDAY, JULY 18
94 76 High
Low
SUNDAY, JULY 19
96 74 High
Pike Press
pikepress.com
VOL. 178, NO. 29
Pike County sees COVID-19 hospitalization, workplace outbreak By DAVID CAMPHOUSE Pike Press Pike County Health Department (PCHD) has been notified of two new Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Pike County, a female in her 60’s and a male in his 30’s — bringing the county’s total number of COVID-19 cases since the outbreak to eight, six of which are currently active. According to Pike County Health Department’s Sharon Bargmann, both new COVID-19 patients are isolating at home. Disease investigations have been initiated in both new cases, including contact tracing and notification of close contacts. Close contacts are in quarantine per CDC guidelines. “Currently there are 59 individuals quarantined,” Bargmann said. “Contact tracing is still being conducted to identify other close contacts.” In addition to the new COVID-19 cases, a previously identified positive case has since been hospitalized, and a Pike County workplace outbreak has been identified. CDC definition of a workplace outbreak is two or more positive COVID cases (in the last 14 days) working in the same business. Public health officials determined that temporary closure of the business is not warranted at this time. “The workplace is in Pike County,” Bargmann said. “The outbreak is specific to employees at the business. Whether or not the employees live in Pike County, I can’t say.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines allow critical infrastructure workers to continue work following potential exposure to COVID-19, provided they remain asymptomatic and additional precautions are implemented to protect them and the community. Bargmann said the PCHD staff communicate with each active COVID-19 patient and their close contacts frequently to monitor their health. “We call the close contacts every couple of days,” Bargmann said. “The positive cases we call every day.” Of the active Pike County COVID-19 cases, each has displayed symptoms of the disease. “They’ve all been symptomatic — showing some variation of the disease,” Bargmann said. “Obviously, the patient that has been hospitalized has had a rough go.”
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David Camphouse/Pike Press
VOLUNTEERS BEAUTIFY SKINNER HOUSE GROUNDS
Bunny Kennedy, left, and Becky Birch, right, pull bindweed out of a flower bed at Griggsville’s Skinner House Monday, July 13.
Pike Press building for sale By BETH ZUMWALT Pike Press The Pike Press building at 115 E. Washington is for sale. The Pike Press will continue to operate and is not for sale, only the building. Owner Tim Campbell made the announcement last week. “JBC Management LLC, an arm of Campbell Publishing Company, has decided to list the Pike Press building for sale,” Campbell said. “The historic buildig is dedicated to the operation of the Pike Press, one of Campbell Publishing Company’s five community newspapers.” The building was built circa 1973, shortly after the Pike County Democrat and the Pike County Republican merged to form the Pike Press. The Pike Press or one or more of its predecessors has served Pike County for more than 180 years. But as times changed, the Pike Press has adapted to meet the needs of the community while remaining efficient and profitable. “Because of technological advancements, all five of our community newspapers now function without pressrooms,” Campbell said. “The
papers instead use a third party for printing. It’s no longer necessary to maintain a large structure when a smaller amount of space will do. So our strategy calls for down-sizing of our footprint. As costs rise in the newspaper industry, we look to cost savings as the main ingredient for success. Reducing space equates to saving costs. These synergies are key to all businesses and particularly to the mission of the Pike Press of producing a quality, community-based newspaper.” Campbell is adamant that the Pike Press will continue to be a leader in keeping the county and surrounding area informed as he understands the importance of a local newspaper. “I recall times in my youth when things were different in this industry. Those memories include images of my grandfather printing The Calhoun News in Hardin,” Campbell said. “Standing on a platform twice a week and feeding the newsprint through a massive press seems ancient by today’s standards. Likewise, the process of inserting the freshly printed issues through a large ‘folder’ machine evokes nostalgia. It’s bittersweet to think in those terms. But often progress has its benefits.”
(See, OUTBREAK, A2)
ONLINE pikepress.com
INSIDE Classified . . . . . . . A7 Community . . . . . A4 County News . . . . . . . A2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A6-8 Court . . . . . . . . . . A6 Marketplace . . . . . A5 Obituaries . . . . . . A4 Opinion . . . . . . . . A3 Obituaries in this issue: Craig, Lash, Twins, Willard
Pike Press © 2020 All rights reserved. This
Pike County benefits from Paycheck Protection Program By DAVID CAMPHOUSE Pike Press According to data released by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has supported several dozens of small businesses in Pike County and many of the county’s largest employers during the COVID-19 economic crisis. The Paycheck Protection Program, implemented in the CARES Act, supported over 2.2 million jobs across Illinois. “The Paycheck Protection Program has been an incredible lifeline for small businesses in Illinois and across the 18th District,” said U.S. Representative Darin LaHood, who represents Pike County and much of western Illinois in Congress. “Due to stay at home restrictions, many businesses were forced to temporarily shut their
doors in recent months.” PPP provides small businesses with forgivable loans for the purposes of paying payroll, rent and utilities. Locally, PPP was administered by several banks, including the Farmers National Bank of Griggsville (FNBG). FNBG Ag lender Gary Nation says that he has assisted many local businesses in navigating the PPP application process. “We’ve done around 60 loans — about a million dollars,” Nation said. “That’s all money that has come back into the county to help businesses survive.” According to Nation, the PPP program has benefitted businesses in most every industry sector. “We’ve seen every kind of business — farmers, hairdressers, restaurants — everything across the board,” Nation said. Nation said the bank is waiting
on the SBA to make PPP loan forgiveness official and open up the agency’s loan forgiveness application portal. Nation also said that the original PPP program expired June 30, but it has been reopened this month, with $127 billion dollars left to distribute to eligible businesses to pay payroll, rent and utilities. Originally, businesses were required to spend 75% of the awarded PPP money on payroll and 25% on rent/utilities, but subsequent guidance from the SBA has allowed businesses to spend a minimum of 60% of the PPP dollars and 40% on rent and utilities. Pittsfield’s LSSD, Inc. trucking company was one of the many Pike County businesses to receive PPP funds. According to LSSD Operations Manager Jim Sheppard the funds were a timely and effective financial stopgap during the economic slow-
down. LSSD, which relies heavily on agricultural and food supply chain businesses, was hit hard, according to Sheppard when restaurants, schools and slaughterhouses shut down. “A great deal of of our business is ag related, and there was an effect on the feed and livestock side,” Sheppard said. “30% of our business, though, is general freight, and that was the most significantly impacted.” Faced with laying drivers off, Sheppard said that PPP allowed LSSD to keep drivers on payroll, earning what they were accustomed to earning throughout the company’s slowdown from March through May. “It got us through the worst of it,” Sheppard said. “We’re not back where we want to be, but we’re getting closer. January is our slowest month, and right now it’s kind of like January in July.”
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Picture Pittsfield to hold inaugural Christmas in July event
PITCHING
David Camphouse/Pike Press
IN TO CLEAN UP
LAKE PITTSFIELD
On Saturday July 11, left to right, Aaron Heightman, Brad Heightman, Stephanie Heightman and Chloe Heightman clean up trash left by residents on the east side of Lake Pittsfield.The Heightmans were joined by Dustin Borrowman, Don Heightman and Pat Waters, who spent the morning clearing bottles, cans, cigarettes and other debris from the lakeshore and woods. The group discovered an area of dried grass burnt from discarded cigarettes, glass and other hazards.
Pike County residents and visitors are invited to join the community for Christmas in July, July 20-25. This is a new event for the community. The main Christmas in July event will be held on the courthouse lawn from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, July 25. Activities include the Pike County Art Guild’s Kiddy Kraft Korner with water gun painting from 3-5 p.m., live music from the Scottfree Project from 5-8 p.m., and vendor booths all day long. There might even be a summery Santa sighting! “I think events like Christmas in July are important to this community, especially now,” Jessica Guthrie, Picture Pittsfield president, said. “Having fun things to do that are outside and allow people to socially distance, as well as help boost our local businesses, (See, CHRISTMAS, A2)