May 31
See What You’re MiSSing!
Parties reconcile atrazine lawsuit Swiss company settles for $105 million By STEVE HORRELL stevehorrell@hotmail.com A settlement was reached recently against the maker of weed-killer atrazine, ending nearly eight years of litigation at the Madison County Courthouse and in federal court. The settlement, for $105 million, will provide relief for more than 1,887 community water systems. The suit was filed in 2006 by the Holiday Shores Sanitary District against Syngenta, the Swiss maker of a popular herbicide. The suit alleged that atrazine runoff from nearby farms contaminated Holiday Lake, which provides water for the district. It also alleged that atrazine causes cancer. Later, the class action suit added many more plaintiffs – among them the city of Greenville – and took on national implications. Syngenta issued a statement recently saying that it and the other plaintiffs agreed to the settlement to avoid the business uncertainty and expense of protracted litigation. They acknowledged no liability. “The scientific evidence continues to make it clear that no one ever has or ever could be exposed to enough atrazine in water to affect their health. The plaintiffs acknowledge that they have not commissioned and are not aware of any new scientific studies relating to the safety of atrazine.”
Madison County The settlement is good for the company and good for farmers, Syngenta said. “The value of atrazine is clear,” the statement continues. “It benefits American farmers by up to $3.3 billion and supports up to 85,000 American jobs related to farming annually. Atrazine helps protect the environment and critical wildlife habitat by reducing soil erosion by up to 85 million tons each year. There is no substitute for atrazine, which is used in more than 60 countries and meets the most stringent safety requirements in the world.” Attorney Steve Tillery said the individual amounts that eligible water districts recover will be calculated based on the levels of atrazine and the frequency of atrazine contamination measured in the water and the population served by each district. About 300 districts with the highest contamination levels will recover 100 percent of their costs, Tillery said. “The scope of this historic settlement is enormous and its protection of the health of millions of Americans across the country is a huge benefit to the public, the environment, and the taxpayers,” Tillery said in a statement. See "ATRAZINE" on Page 3
Kelly Tosh/Intelligencer
Members of the Intelligencer's editorial department are, from left: Oliver Wiest, Laura Scaturro, Steve Horrell, Marci WintersMcLaughlin, Renata Pipkin, Bill Roseberry, Krista Wilkinson-Midgley, Matthew Kamp, Julia Biggs, Bill Tucker and Carol Kohler. Not pictured is Mark Polege.
Intelligencer earns top honors The Edwardsville Intelligencer recently placed first in the general excellence category of the Southern Illinois Editorial Association’s 2012 Better Newspaper Contest in the small dailies division. The Intelligencer received 531 of a possible 600 points covering six divisions. The Morning Sentinel of Centralia was second in the general excellence point standings with 465 while The Daily Republican of Marion was third with 455. The Robinson Daily News and Journal-Gazette/Times-Courier of Mattoon received honorable mention awards. In the six categories, the Intelligencer was
first in best use of photography and best editorial page, second in best local news coverage and best local sports coverage and third in best newspaper design and advertising excellence. In addition, Krista Wilkinson-Midgley, who writes for the Intelligencer ’s sister publication, The Edge magazine, received an honorable mention award in the best feature story category for an article she wrote on Project Restore. Intelligencer publisher Denise Vonder Haar said staff members do their best to put out a quality product every day. "The award is a great honor to the staff of
District, union agree on deal
Edison's looks to fill entertainment void From laser tag to bowling and everything in between By JULIA BIGGS jbiggs.edwi@gmail.com
Contract with support staff could be finalized June 18
Many Edwardsville area residents were saddened when Skate Corral, the mini-golf course and Cottonwood Bowl were torn down in 2002 to make way for Lowes. Just three years later, Montclaire Bowling Lanes was razed to make way for Harvard Square.
By JULIA BIGGS jbiggs.edwi@gmail.com
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Since that time, if residents in the area wanted to bowl, they needed to go to the few lanes located at SIUE or to neighboring Collinsville, Alton or Fairview Heights. But Edison’s Entertainment Complex, located at 2477 Route 157 in Edwardsville, is hoping to fill that void and much more. Local residents and managing partners Matt McSparin and Terry Rujawitz have been overseeing the construction of the Edison’s since December of 2011. See "EDISON'S" on Page 3
the Intelligencer," Vonder Haar said. "We have a talented group of people who work very hard to produce a quality daily newspaper for the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon communities." Full-time and part-time members of the editorial staff are: Bill Tucker, managing editor; Bill Roseberry, sports editor; Marci WintersMcLaughlin, chief photographer; Steve Horrell, reporter; Oliver Wiest, reporter; Julia Biggs, reporter; Matthew Kamp, sports reporter; Krista-Wilkinson-Midgley, clerk/lead writer for the Edge magazine; Renata Pipkin, clerk; Mark Polege, photographer; Laura Scaturro, reporter and Carol Kohler, reporter.
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Edwardsville District 7 Superintendent Ed Hightower provided an update on District 7 employee contract negotiations, state budget discussions and the re-employment of 15 certified teachers during the Edwardsville District 7 Board of Education Monday night. On May 22, the District 7 Board of Education and the Edwardsville Support Service Personnel Association (ESSPA) reached tentative agreement on a three-year contract, pending approval by the ESSPA membership and the board. The contract extension will run from July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2015. The ESSPA membership, which consists of custodians, maintenance and grounds workers, cafeteria staff, monitors, and class-
For the Intelligencer
Matt McSparin, left, and Terry Rujawitz of Edison's Entertainment Complex.
District 7 room assistants, will vote to ratify the new agreement on May 31. The Board will be asked to approve the new contract agreement at its scheduled meeting on June 18. If approved, the new agreement will include a salary freeze for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years, with a 2 percent increase in 2014-15. The ESSPA agreement comes on the heels of an agreement with the Edwardsville Federation of Secretarial Employees (EFSE) that was made on May 14. This threeyear collective bargaining agreement will run from July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2015. The EFSE agreed to a salary freeze for 2012-2013, which was the second year in a row for a freeze . See "BOARD" on Page 3