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Weekend Wrap-Up - April 19, 2010
Local High School’s Hit The Stage This Weekend
The drama
departments of all the area high schools were busy this weekend with
performances. Gibault and Red Bud each put on The Wizard Of Oz,
Waterloo presented the popular Broadway musical Bye, Bye Birdie,
Valmeyer’s annual Junior Class Play was The Groom Said No! while Dupo
actors staged You Can’t Take It With You.
Scuffle
Friday Night At Waterloo Bar:
More than 10 individuals exiting Main Street bar in Waterloo were involved
in an altercation just before 12 midnight on Friday night. Waterloo officers
and County Sheriff’s deputies were called to the scene to pull apart the
arguing parties. No arrests were made that night. Whether or not charges
will be filed has not yet been determined.
Unoccupied Car Rolls Into House:
A
Toyota Corolla owned by Crickett Leber rolled into a home at 213 North Main
Street in Waterloo on Friday, April 9. Leber had parked her car in the St.
Paul UCC’s parking lot before meeting up with friends. She accidently left
the manual transmission car in neutral and a few minutes after Leber exited
the car, it began to roll. The Corolla left the parking lot, crossed Main
Street and came to rest after colliding with bushes in front of the home of
Jason Polk. There was no reported damage to the car, the home or the bushes.
Electrical Fire At Dental Office Quickly Put Out Thanks To Keen Observer Thanks to a witness spotting a fire Saturday evening that just had started outside of Smiles R Forever Dental in Waterloo, it was quickly put out without damaging the structure. Lexi Buss was across the street outside of a duplex on Illinois Avenue when she noticed a small fire in a bush outside of the business. She told her father so they hopped in their truck to get a closer look. When they confirmed it was electrical wires and lighting fixtures which were ablaze, they immediately dialed 911 to dispatch the Waterloo Fire Department. Firefighter Eric Osterhage was first on the scene and he quickly stomped out the burning wires and mulch. Firefighter Scott Schewe then sprayed the area with a fire extinguisher to completely douse the flames. The owners of the business were then notified of the situation. Waterloo Fire Chief Mark Yeager said it appeared the wire short-circuited causing the fire.
“We are
very lucky that Lexi reported the fire as quickly as she did,” said Yeager.
“The fire could have quickly spread to the building and we could have had
some major structural damage to this business.”
Weekend Sports Wrap-Up Saturday baseball results had Waterloo losing to Belleville West 8-4. Columbia dropped a double-header to Mater Dei, 14-8 and 11-1. Gibault traveled to Okawville for a split double-header and lost to the home team 15-5, and Wesclin 11-5. In softball, Gibault lost 2-1 to Althoff on Friday, then defeated Okawville 7-4 and Carlyle 7-5 on Saturday. It was Columbia over Granite City 19-0, Waterloo over Red Bud 3-0 and Althoff 12-0. Girls soccer action included Columbia defeating Belleville West 3-1, while Gibault lost to O’Fallon 7-0.
On tap
for today…. The Waterloo baseball team hosts Highland, and Gibault travels
to Cahokia. Softball has Waterloo playing at Highland, Gibault hosts Wesclin
and Valmeyer plays Evansville at home. In girls’ soccer, Columbia hosts
Triad at 7 p.m.. The Waterloo Bulldog boys’ tennis team hits the courts at
Highland.
Masked Streaker Caused Brief Delay In Waterloo JV Baseball Game Players, coaches, umpires and fans could hardly believe their eyes at a practical joker who appeared Saturday afternoon at the WHS ball park outfield during a game between the Waterloo and Gibault High School JV baseball teams. Right before the start of the fourth inning, a teenage male donned only in a green pro wrestler’s mask, a Speedo and tennis shoes ran from the left field foul line and picked up a cloth object lying in center field. He then turned around and made a dash back to the left field line. Apparently, the streaker disappeared after making his way onto Washington Drive. The person’s identity and reason for pulling this prank are yet unknown.
Jobs, Transportation, Money On Wednesday Night’s County Board Agenda by Joe Leicht Money, transportation and jobs go hand in hand, and will be the topics at the Monroe County Board of Commissioners' April 21 evening meeting at the courthouse in Waterloo. The official agenda is not set, but the commissioners said at their April 5 regular meeting that Treasurer Kevin Koenigstein, Monroe-Randolph Transit District Director Jessica Pirtle and Workforce Investment Agency Administrator Kathi Weilbacher will speak at the 7 p.m. meeting. "Kevin will be reporting on the general economics of the county," County Board Chairman Delbert Wittenauer said. Weilbacher, who was recently appointed to the position, will discuss eligibility for employment assistance. At the April 5 meeting, she said computer skills - or lack thereof - among recently downsized or laid-off workers is an issue. "Already, we're finding that welders and other skilled laborers are finding they have to apply for jobs online. It's something they've never had to do before, and some of them need help," Weilbacher said. Wittenauer said Monroe County's use of the transit district's shuttle and call-a-ride services doesn't equal Randolph's, but it is growing. In fact, the county agreed on April 5 to give the district a financial boost. "They are six years old, and growing at a fast pace. We have two vans running here in Monroe County. But as they expand, they need a larger line of credit up to $65,000," Wittenauer said. The board agree to co-sign an operating loan agreement for the transit district to allow it to raise its credit line; Randolph County has agreed to guarantee two-thirds of the loan, while Monroe will cover the rest. The midweek meeting will be the second of the county board's evening sessions this year.
Public Hearing Tonight On This Year’s Fiscal Budget by Joe Leicht Columbia officials have cobbled for public perusal a draft of the 2010-2011 fiscal year budget that suggests a cautious approach to economic uncertainties. A public hearing for the proposed budget will be the topic of discussion tonight at city hall at 6:45 p.m. The budget draft is also available at City Hall, the Columbia Library and on the city website. The 44-page draft indicates the city, subject to revision, plans to spend $13.28 million during the 12 months that begin May 1. The budget projects those expenses will be balanced against $11.57 million in revenues. Within the proposed budget is a $4.81 million General Fund, which covers discretionary spending for regular city operations not including utilities, the ambulance service, the library and other dedicated funds that generate revenues from sources other than local real estate and sales taxes. The budget is predicting $1.16 million in real estate taxes, up $102,687 from last fiscal year. The draft also reflects an estimated decline in revenue from the Illinois Income Tax, down $101,476 to $756,600. Mayor Kevin Hutchinson said, "It's going to be a tough, tough year. Bare bones."
Waterloo’s Budget Hearing Is This Monday Night The public will have a chance to discuss Waterloo’s proposed 2010-2011 fiscal year (beginning May 1) budget during tonight’s (April 19) public hearing at city hall beginning at 7:15 p.m. A copy of the budget is available at city hall prior to the meeting. Waterloo operates a $27 million budget, which is comprised of $26,950,000 in receipts and $25,620,000 in disbursements. “We’re taking into account a reduction in State funding so we will have less in our General Fund for this coming year,” said City Treasurer Shawn Kennedy. “The expected state cutbacks will mean we will have less to spend on planned street projects.” Waterloo aldermen will vote on the budget at their April 26 meeting.
Red Bud
students from St. John the Baptist collected over 400 food items
to help stock the Hope Church Food Pantry. The food pantry is for people
that need assistance and is a community outreach that is for the entire
area, not just for members of Hope Church.
Two
Columbia Runners Compete In The Boston Marathon:
Longtime friends Scott Harres and Dustin Row competed today in the Boston
Marathon. The initial report is that Row finished in two hours and 56
minutes – 924th place out of 26,000 who competed. Harres’ legs
cramped during the race causing him to finish further back in the pack. The
two are frequently seen jogging along Main Street and Bluff Road in
Columbia. They train when they have time away from their jobs and playing
with the local rock band Where’s Charlie?
Waterloo FFA Honors Top Members During Their 70th Annual Banquet
Waterloo
FFA members, parents, friends, teachers and local agricultural supporters
gathered April 15 at the 70th annual WHS FFA Banquet. Awards were
handed out to the top FFA students, Superintendent James Helton was
presented an Honorary FFA Degree and the current officers past the baton to
next year’s chapter leaders.
Children
were the focus of Saturday’s annual Kids Heath Day
at
the Monroe County YMCA. There were fun and healthy activities throughout the
day at the facility.
Recent Obituary Ray A. Huffman, 54, of Valmeyer, died April 17, 2010 in St. Louis, Mo. He was born June 3, 1955 in Cape Girardeau, Mo., the son of Bonita Huffman and the late Ray Huffman Sr. In addition to his mother, Mr. Huffman is survived by his wife, Diane Huffman; children Sharon (Terry) Marquardt, Bryan Huffman, Stephanie Huffman and Shannon (Brian) Eckart; grandchildren Hannah, Jonathan, Blake and Gabrielle; sisters Vonita (Rick) Bazzel, Nathan (Charnetta) Huffman and Jane (Wayne) Reed; and in-laws Carnel and Catherine Gilbert; along with sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews and cousins. Besides his father, he was preceded in death by a brother, Douglas Huffman. Mr. Huffman was a member of H. Cattle Company and Rodeo Genetics, St. Mary's Catholic Church in Valmeyer, the Randolph County Saddle Club and Chester Eagles. Memorials may be made to the family. Visitation is Tuesday, April 20, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Quernheim Funeral Home. Funeral is Wednesday, April 21, at 10 a.m., at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Valmeyer with Father Jose Jacob officiating. Mr. Huffman will be buried at Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Madonnaville.
Today's News - April 19, 2010
Gas Leak At Taco Bell Causes Temporary Evacuation
A heavy
smell of natural gas was reported by employees of Taco Bell of Columbia as
they arrived to work just after 10 a.m. Monday morning. Columbia
firefighters were dispatched to the scene and soon determined the leak to be
coming from a broken coupling on the furnace sitting atop the roof.
Firefighter Francis Asselmeier climbed onto the roof and used a wrench to
shut the valve stopping the leak. A heating and cooling specialist was
called to make the repair. Columbia Fire Chief Mike Roediger said the store
would be ready to open on time today.
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