Scott County Times
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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2019
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Times NEWS Winchester approves two requests for TIF façade program. See page A2 Bluffs Picnic royalty. See page A2
AlseyManchester School Reunion unites former teachers and staff. See page A3
First Baptist Church of Winchester Awana. See page A4
WEEKEND WEATHER FRIDAY, AUG. 23
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SATURDAY, AUG. 24
88 70 High
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SUNDAY, AUG. 25
89 69 High
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Scott County Times
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Scott County Times Obituaries listed in this issue: Lawson, Stice
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WINCHESTER, IL 62694
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VOLUME NO. 152 NUMBER 34
Proposed EMS explains tax levy By CARMEN ENSINGER Scott County Times In January of this year, the Winchester EMS submitted an application to the Scott County Board to become a Special Service District to allow it to collect property taxes from property located within the district covered by the EMS. EMS member Lynette Shafer explained the proposal to the Winchester City Council at their Aug. 7 meeting in hopes they would lend a letter of support in favor of the proposed Special Service District. “As part of the Illinois State Statute to be declared a Special Service District, there are several steps we have to go through,� Shafer said. “One
of those steps is that we have to request municipal support for all of the cities and village in the service area.� Shafer said the need for the revenue from the tax levy is two-fold – the EMS are receiving more calls and there are less volunteers to handle these calls. “Over the last 10 years, our calls have gone up over 50 percent,� Shafer said. “At the same time, the number of volunteer EMT’s has gone down by 50 percent. There are only three of us who take the majority of the calls.� Last year they made 317 calls. Of those 317, 238 of those were transport calls with the remainder being billed calls. “Other things cutting into our operating money is
the Advanced Life Support calls,� Shafer said. “Thirtyseven percent of the calls was where we needed paramedics and since Passavant no longer runs, we have to use Lifestar
they do not have a secondary insurance, we are not allowed to bill those patients for the remaining amount.� In 2018, the total amount of write-offs for Medicare and Medicaid amounted to $62,002.13 resulting in approximately 37 percent of charges being written off. However, the real problem is staffing – they simply cannot get enough volunteers to staff the ambulance. This is not something that is unique to Winchester, however. “The main reason we are asking for this tax is because of the staffing issue,� Shafer said. “It is a nationwide problem in the EMS field for both volunteer and paid squads. There is a large burnout rate and all squads around here are
calls require the presence of more than just a basic life support unit such as they operate, which is run by volunteers. The Advanced Life Support unit handles cases such as heart attack, wrecks, trouble breathing, etcetera.� Many of the calls received are from patients under either Medicare or Medicaid and these entities only pay a portion of the bill. Last year 52 percent of the calls were for Medicare patient and 16 percent were for Medicaid patients. “Our base rate for an EMS call is $600 and Medicare approves $438 of that amount so we have to just write off the difference unless they have a secondary insurance and we can bill for the remaining 20 percent,� Shafer said. “If
“The main reason we are asking for this tax is because of the staffing issue.�
Lynette Shafer EMS member as our paramedic unit and they charge us $150 to come down whether we get paid or not.� Shafer explained that some
(See, LEVY, A2)
Scott County burglary may be linked to Pike home evasions By BETH ZUMWALT Scott County Times A burglary in far eastern Scott County late Thursday night or early Friday morning Aug. 15 and 16, may be tied to two home invasions and a burglary in Pike County and burglaries in Adams County. The home in Scott County was burglarized sometime over a 12 hour period. The owners were out of town and had a relative checking on their property. The relative discovered the break-in. The burglary in Pike County is suspected to have taken place Thursday with the two home invasions following later, in the early morning hours of Friday. In one of the home invasions, a male resident was hit in the head with a firearm but received no serious injuries. In the second, the intruders shot off a firearm to show the resident they were serious. All four of the suspects have been arrested. They include: Tyler Runk, 22; Germarco D. Tate, 26; Edwin Powell, Jr. 29 and Jordan Timothy Ray Gallup, 28, all of Jacksonville. Runk was arrested shortly after the crimes. Powell was arrested Monday afternoon after Scott, Pike and Adams County’s Sheriff’s Departments, Illinois State Police Zone Four Investigations, Pittsfield Police Department, Jacksonville Police Department served warrants on three residences in Jacksonville. Powell turned himself into the Pike County Sheriff’s Office Monday afternoon and Gallup turned himself into the Alton Police Department later Monday. All are being held in the Pike County Jail with bond set at $300,000 each. The Scott County State’s Attorney’s office says they are awaiting reports from law enforcement before deciding what charges to file in Scott County.
FIRST
Carmen Ensinger/Scott County Times
DAY AT SCHOOL
Sierra Hartsock points to the clock on the wall in the kindergarten room to her daughter, Aaliyah Bowman, 5, during the Meet The Teacher Night at Winchester Grade School Thursday night. The event allowed the children to meet their teacher and for parents to bring school supplies to the school. Mom is pointing out the clock to Aaliyah and telling her what time she will be coming home in the afternoon.
City of Winchester buys bank building By CARMEN ENSINGER Scott County Times The offices of the city of Winchester will be moving to a new location soon after the city council unanimously approved the purchase of the old bank building on the square at a special council meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 14. “The purchase of this building is going to allow us to accomplish several goals at once,� Winchester Mayor Rex McIntire said. “It is going to give us a lot more room for operations as well as a much more prominent presence in the city. Because it is located on the square, there will be a lot more parking available.� Current city hall is located at 121 S. Hill. St. It contains the office of the mayor, city clerk, treasurer, public works department, police department and is home to the fire department. “There is no doubt that we are cramped in our current location with all the offices located in that one building,� McIntire said. “Our plan, at the moment, will be to move the mayor, city clerk and treasurer’s office over there and maybe the public works director’s office.� The police department will remain in the current city hall with expanded offices and the fire department will gain additional room as well. The building itself is an
Carmen Ensinger/Scott County Times
Very soon, the old First State Bank building, located on the corner of South Main and Market streets, will be the new home of Winchester City Hall. The council approved the purchase of the building from Anita Newman at a cost of $48,500 at a special city council meeting, Aug. 14.
icon on the square having been in the Frost family for more than 100 years. McIntire said the building was First State Bank until around 2008-09 until the bank failed. The building was then purchased by Dave and Anita Newman, who used the building as more or less a collectible warehouse The council purchased the building from Anita Newman at a cost of $48,500 and the financing of the purchase is still being discussed but McIntire said they may sell off two or three lots off of the tract of land the city purchased
last year on the north end of town at an auction. Financing will be done through the local banking institutions. As for the condition of the building, McIntire said it is in very good condition. “There are no major repairs needed before we move into it,� McIntire said. “About all that needs done is some painting and maybe some new carpeting. We have gone through the building several times before we decided to buy it.� The building also includes the community room next door (See, BANK, A2)
Former Scott county sheriff dies By BETH ZUMWALT Scott County Times Ken E. Lawson, a former sheriff of Scott County and lifelong resident of Winchester died Thursday, Aug. 15. Lawson was sheriff of Scott County from 19861990 and in that time and the 30 years he served as an Illinois State Trooper, developed lot of friends and respect from the people he served and with whom he worked. “He was Officer Friendly before that was a thing,� Judge David Cherry and former Scott County State’s Attorney, said. “He was honest, good, hardworking and did it the way it was supposed to be done.� Cherry said Lawson was rarely seen without a toothpick and would frequently take it out of his mouth when he wanted to make a point. “He’d take that toothpick out of his mouth, point two fingers at you and make his point,� Cherry said. Another one of Lawson’s habits Cherry found amusing was “the warning.� “You’d be driving down the road and meet him
and he’d shake his finger at you,� Cherry said. “The next time you’d see him, you’d ask what the warning for for and he said, he knew I was doing something wrong.� George Lindsay, now the Winchester chief of police, was a deputy under Lawson in his term as sheriff. “He was a great guy,� Lindsay said. “ Very knowledgable of the law. Very through.� Bob Smith, a current Scott County deputy, said he did not work with Lawson, but knew him very well. “Ken did not know a stranger,� Smith said. “He was very knowledgeable both as a trooper and has sheriff. Lawson is survived by his wife of 61 years and the couple’s five children. Visitation was Monday night at the Coonrod Funeral Home in Winchester, complete with a walk-through by area law enforcement officers. Funeral services were held Tuesday, Aug. 20 at the Christ Lutheran Church, with burial at the Winchester City Cemetery.