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Today's News - April 16, 2008
Earthwork
Begins On New Valmeyer Catholic Church Center Earth moving work has begun at St. Mary Catholic Church of Valmeyer’s new Parish Center. Perry Riechmann, above, was helped yesterday hauling dirt by Bruce Brinkman, Doug Sondag and Garrett Hawkins. The center is expected to be completed in May. The first scheduled event is the Valmeyer School Alumni Dinner and Dance on May 10. Rock band Fountain Creek will provide musical entertainment. Fountain Creek’s bass player, Mark Bundy, fondly remembers playing music in the church’s old parish center in old town. The center and the church were demolished following the Flood of ’93. “I was in the last rock band to play at the old center and will be in the first band to play at the new center,” Bundy said. The Miles Prairie Band performed at the old center several times in the 1970s. Bundy said there was a big fight during a performance in about 1979. “One little kid told us to stop taking breaks and to keep playing. He said that every time we stopped playing his dad would start fighting,” added Bundy, who declined to reveal the name of the youngster. At the end of the night, a church official noticed more than a few windows had been broken and said the church would no longer allow rock bands to play at the hall. “Well, I don’t think they will have any problems with fights at the school’s alumni dance,” Bundy said. A grievance between a Columbia police officer and two Columbia aldermen appears to have been resolved. In accordance with the collective bargaining agreement between Columbia Police Department and the Fraternal Order of Police, Police Officer Josh Bayer’s grievance filed in February involving Aldermen Fred Stumpf and Candace Hejna was first addressed by CPD leadership. It was then addressed in executive session by the Columbia City Council. The involved parties have agreed to stop the behavior Bayer cited in the grievance, and the matter is considered closed.
Dumpster Fire
In Columbia Columbia firefighters Harold “Skates” Thoma, Rich Dreher and Scott Mohrmann put out a dumpster fire this morning at the Columbia Lakes Apartments. The Columbia Volunteer Fire Department was called out at 9:45 a.m. to extinguish a fire in a trash dumpster at the Columbia Lakes Apartments. A cause was not determined.
New Mechanic
At Precision Automotive Roger Weihl has joined Precision Automotive as a journeyman technician. Owners Mike and Rita Biffar opened the shop in 1997. It is located at 613 S. Market Street in Waterloo. They offer professional automotive and light truck repair. “Your vehicle is a major investment, and that is why we care for each customer’s vehicle as if it were our own,” said Mike Biffar.
Morrison-Talbott Library will hold a Book Sale on April 24 through April 26. Preview Night is Thursday, April 24, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.; admission is $2. Fri., April 25, the sale will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sat., April 26, is Bag Day. Patrons can take home a bag of books for $1. . Morrison-Talbott Library’s Calendar of Events Tue., Apr. 22, 7 p.m.: Bestseller Book Club “Rhett Butler’s People” by Donald McCaig Thu., Apr. 24, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Preview Night Book Sale Fri., Apr. 25, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Book Sale Sat., Apr. 26, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Bag Day at the Book Sale. Thu., May 8, 7 p.m.: Russia, from Moscow to St. Petersburg There will be an informational meeting on disaster preparedness and the Community Emergency Response Team on Saturday, April 26 at the Morrison-Talbott Library in Waterloo. It will begin at 2 p.m. and should conclude by 3:30 p.m. CERT Coordinator Kim Strellis is also advising citizens with life support systems in their home to consider obtaining a battery back-up for the equipment. For additional information about a battery back-up, Strellis can be contacted by email at mococitizencorp@yahoo.com.
First National Bank of Waterloo has hired two new loan officers. Larry Hoff is a senior vice president of lending and Elizabeth “Liz” Otto will be a mortgage loan officer.
We Aren't Just Bluffing: Salt Lick Hike Planned For April 26 Salt Lick Point, a 450-acre tract of blufflands between old and new Valmeyer, will be the site of a morning hike April 26 beginning at 8 a.m., offering the public a glimpse of the breathtaking vistas and array of beautiful natural geology of Monroe County bluffs and bottoms. The land was dedicated as a land and water reserve a couple of years ago, which permanently protects the area’s 12 hill prairies, seven limestone glades, racks of limestone cliffs and runs of upland forest. The reserve is open to the public. Salt Lick Point is the highest point in Monroe County, at 810 feet elevation. The Salt Lick Point Stewardship Committee and Valmeyer Boy Scouts recently completed a mile and a half public trail at the site. Clifftop, the Salt Lick Stewardship Committee and the Kaskaskia Valley Audubon Society are jointly hosting the April 26 morning hike. Good walking shoes, perhaps a walking stick, binoculars for those who wish to do some spring birding and water are recommended for the moderate to difficult trail hike.
The Columbia July 4th Committee held its first meeting for the 2008 celebration this morning. The annual picnic and fireworks display will be Friday, July 4, with a rain date set for Saturday, July 5, at the American Legion Memorial Park.
Bernie Becker filled in on guitar for an ailing Mike Jarvis during last Saturday night’s performance of Fountain Creek Band at Valmeyer’s Corner Pub. Becker’s hard rockin’ band Uncle Dick will headline a show Saturday, April 19, at the Waterloo VFW.
Recent Obituaries Darrell Edwin Grohmann, 63, of Waterloo, died April 9, 2008, in St. Louis. He was born Feb. 21, 1945, in Belleville, the son of the late William Arthur and Frieda Magdalena Grohmann nee Matzenbacher. He was married to Nancy Grohmann nee Haudrich. Mr. Grohmann is survived by his wife; children Ryan (Dawn) Grohmann of Waterloo and Renee Grohmann of Belleville; grandchildren Ashley, Aaron (his hunting buddy), Ande and Abby Grohmann; sisters Lucille Georg of Waterloo, and June (Earl) Espenschied of Freeburg; brothers- and sisters-in-law Dale (Kay) Haudrich of Waterloo, Janice Toenjes of Waterloo, Marilyn Haudrich of Hecker, and Norma Hahne of New Athens; uncle and aunt Edwin and Shannon Matzenbacher of Waterloo and Rose Matzenbacher of Red Bud; along with nieces, nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents, sister Arlene Hahne, and brothers-in-law Willard Georg and Fred Hahne. Mr. Grohmann was a member of Hecker Sportsman Club, Hecker Community Center, and Monroe County Longbeards. He was employed at Columbia Quarry. Visitation was at Quernheim Funeral Home. A funeral Mass was at St. Augustine Church in Hecker, Fr. Robert Gore officiating. He was buried at St. Augustine Cemetery in Hecker. Memorials may be made to SS Peter and Paul School or the Violence Prevention Center.
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