E-Newsletter - September 26, 2008

Two County Homes Broken Into: Jewelry was taken on Wednesday from two homes south of Waterloo. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department reports the bandits struck during the daytime while the homeowners were not there. One of the homes was located on Route 3, just south of Sportsman’s Club Road. The second was near the intersection of KK Road and J Road.

 “If anyone saw something or someone out of the ordinary in that vicinity on Wednesday, please contact the Sheriff’s Department and relay the information,” said Sheriff Dan Kelley. The number is 939-6464.

One of Waterloo’s emergency sirens malfunctioned several times Thursday. City officials are aware of the problem and are working to correct the situation.

Visitors Get First Look At County’s New History Museum

Edd Kueker gives Waterloo Alderman Vicki Koerber a history lesson concerning one of the antique covered wagons he donated to the soon-to-be-opened History Museum of Monroe County. The Waterloo City Council hosted a sneak-peek to the facility Wednesday. It will open to the public in mid-October. The museum is located near the historic Bellefontaine House on the south end of the city of Waterloo. It contains many items from the Edd and Violet Kueker collection, as well as other donated artifacts.

Gibault Student Project Wins Governor’s Achievement Award: Although they have already graduated, six former students in Gibault High School teacher Jim Corsi’s history class have been recognized for a project they completed last year. The students have been selected as the 2008 winner of the Illinois Governor's Unique Achievement Award. With the urging of the Waterloo City Council, in 2007 the students researched the needs of area senior citizens. They presented their findings to the council in a report titled, “Seniors Helping Seniors.” The council members applauded their effort. Corsi and the students will attend a ceremony Oct. 8 in Springfield.

The Knights of Columbus will sponsor two youth Soccer Challenges this weekend. The event is open to boys and girls ages 10 to 14. The winners of each event will compete in the regional competition. The first of this weekend’s challenges will be Saturday, Sept. 27, in front of Gibault High School, beginning at 4 p.m. Sign-up is at 3:30 p.m. Sunday’s event will take place at the Columbia American Legion Hall. Sign-up is at 1:30 p.m.

Family Movie Night and a food drive will kick-off the local celebration of National 4-H Week. The Monroe County 4-H Federation is sponsoring the event on Sunday, Oct. 5, at the County Annex. The movie will be shown at 7 p.m., on a large screen on the Annex’s parking lot. The public is invited, along with families and friends of the 4-H families Youth Cooking School. Participants are asked to bring a canned or non-perishable food item in lieu of admission. Free popcorn and drinks will be provided. The items will be donated to local food pantries.

The Waterloo High School Booster Club and the WHS Student Council are bringing back the WHS Homecoming Parade. It will be Wednesday, Oct. 1, beginning at 6 p.m. The parade will start at the intersection of Hamacher and Bellefontaine. It will proceed west to Main Street, head south through town, take a left on Fourth Street then north on Rogers Street back to the WHS parking lot. A bonfire will begin at 8 p.m. All local organizations, WHS alumni, former teachers, administrators and staff, past state finalist teams and former homecoming kings and queens are invited to participate in the parade. For more information, contact Robyn Conway at 618-977-0140 or Lori Dillenberger at 618-406-2877.

Maeystown will celebrate its 28th Oktoberfest on Sunday, Oct. 12. The historic village will play host to booths of arts, crafts, antiques and food from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the grounds of the restored 1859 Rock Mill and Museum. More than 50 arts, crafts, antique booths and food stands will be featured. The arts and crafts will include woodcarving, jewelry, rugs, soaps, quilts, pine needle baskets, pottery and a country store. Food will include turtle soup, ham and beans, and popcorn cooked in old-fashioned kettles. Bratwurst, potato pancakes, German potato salad, fried chicken, pork kabobs, apple butter, caramel apples, funnel cakes, baked goods and ice cream will also be available. Festival visitors are asked to leave pets at home.

The village specialty shops, bed and breakfast, restaurant and museum will be open throughout the day. A flyover plane ride of Monroe County and Maeystown will be awarded to the first place winner of the Maeystown Preservation Society raffle. Proceeds from the Oktoberfest will be used by the Preservation Society to develop the museum and visitors center in the mill.

Terry and Larry Herbeck celebrated their birthdays with their families at Joe Boccardi’s Tuesday, Sept. 23. Presiding over the festivities was their mother, Rose, whose homemade pies were a Columbia restaurant favorite for many years. Sending their birthday wishes to the Herbeck boys was the entire membership of the Columbia Lions Club, seated nearby.

Free child identification cards will be available Saturday, Oct. 4, at Southwestern Illinois College’s Red Bud campus. The program will be offered from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and is sponsored by the Illinois Freemasons. Parents will be provided with a color photo, height measurement, fingerprints, DNA sample and a brief CD video interview that shows appearance, speech patterns, personal characteristics and mannerisms. For more information, contact Illinois Freemason Mike Lovell at 618-286-3894.

Mitchell Gregson Earns Top Honors At College Golf Tournament

Kansas State alum and PGA Tour champion Jim Colbert, left, presents the Medalist Honor award to Mitchell Gregson at the Jim Colbert Intercollegiate Tournament held earlier this week at Colbert Hills Golf Course in Manhattan, Kan.      - photo by Cindy Gregson 

Mitchell Gregson helped lead the Kansas State University Wildcats to their victory Sept. 22 and 23 in the Jim Colbert Intercollegiate Tournament in Manhattan, Kan. Gregson, a graduate of Waterloo High School, earned the Medalist Honor for having the lowest individual score for the tournament. He birdied three of the last four holes in his final round to give him a 54-round score of an even par 216. Gregson, a junior at Kansas State, is the son of Gordon and Cindy Gregson of Waterloo.

JV Eagles Defeat Wesclin In Football Action

The Columbia High School JV team defeated Wesclin earlier this week by a score of 33 to 21. One of the team leaders was Brady Luther, right, who picked up yardage after a catch.   – photo by Diana Heard

Marvin Fisher Gearing Up For Tomorrow’s Hills and Hollows Run

Marvin Fisher, second from left, gathered earlier this week with family and friends following a fundraiser at Applebee’s in Waterloo. Proceeds from the event benefit a fundraiser named in honor of his twin brother. The annual Melvin Fisher Memorial Hills and Hollows Half-Marathon / 5K Run-Walk is Saturday, Sept. 27. The starting gun will sound at 8 a.m., at the Valmeyer Emergency Services Building. For additional information, click on the website: www.hillsandhollows.org.  – photo by Carol Floarke

Calendar of Events

Friday

Bingo at the Waterloo VFW (no fish fry this weekend)

Saturday

Melvin Fisher Hills and Hollows Run in Valmeyer

Apple Butter Stir in Maeystown

Apple Butter Stir at St. John UCC of Valmeyer

First National Bank Customer Appreciation Day at the Fairgrounds (11 a.m. – 2 p.m.)

Valmeyer’s Party in the Park

Sunday

Maeystown Sportsman’s Club Meat Shoot

Friday Night Football

Highland at Waterloo

Carlyle at Columbia

Wesclin at Dupo

Red Bud at Freeburg

Recent Obituary

James Melvin “Mel” Hall Sr., 60, of Ellis Grove, died Sept. 22, 2008, in Chester. He was born Oct. 19, 1947, in Corning, Ark., the son of the late Malcolm Leroy Hall and Millie Aline nee Smith. He married Betty Lowery in 1963. Mr. Hall is survived by his wife; children James Melvin (Suzanne) Hall Jr. of Prairie du Rocher, Betsy Aline Hall (Elizabeth Ingram of O’Fallon, Mo.; grandchildren Danielle Biter, Courteney Johnson, Ashley Hall, James Melvin Hall III, Kayla Dionne Johnson, Nicholas Hall, Abigail Edwards, Timothy Edwards and Sean Edwards; great-grandchildren Cherokee Autumn Biter, Matthew Biter, Brian Paul Biter, Paul Birkhead and Brooke Collins; one great-great-grandson on the way, Alexander Hembree; and siblings Billy Joe Little of Blue Mountain, Miss., Robert Wayne Hill of New Albany, Miss., Dorothy (A.W.) Hurt of Jackson, Mo., Jean (Calvin) Dwinell of Hillsboro, Mo., Bob (Gloria) Hall of Hillsboro, Mo., Linda Kimble of Corning, Ark., Peggy (Wade) Luna of Pensacola, Fla., William Ray (Barb) Hall of Corning, Ark., Brenda (Bill) Skaggs of Corning, Ark., and Gloria (Rex) Skaggs of Corning, Ark. He was preceded in death by his parents and Granny Ethel Smith. Mr. Hall was a truck driver for Wonder Bread in St. Louis for 10 years. He was a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War and a member of the National Rifle Association. He was also a member of Local 688 in St. Louis. He was an avid hunter and fisherman and loved to work on old cars and watch Western movies. Visitation and a funeral service were at Welge-Pechacek Funeral Home, Pastor Steve Battiste officiating. He is buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis.