E-Newsletter - July 24, 2009

Valmeyer Repeats As FFA Fun Night Winners
For the second year in a row, Valmeyer High School has won the FFA Fun Night competition at the Monroe County Fair. Wednesday afternoon they beat out teams from Waterloo, third place; and Red Bud, second. “We didn’t start off all that well, but turned things around and finished strong,” said VHS Ag Advisor Howard “Sir” Heavner. Events included the egg toss, wheel barrel race, blind man lawn mower course, tug of war, straw bale stacking and obstacle race.

Hank Marquardt and his rooster accept a blue ribbon from Fair Queen Amanda Stumpf.

The Valmeyer FFA pulls their way to victory in the tug of war.

Waterloo Ag Advisor Tim McDermott, left, coaches his squad during the three-legged race.

Upcoming Events At the County Fair
Friday, July 24 ($10 after 3 pm)
7:30 pm - Figure 8 Race
 
Saturday, July 25 ($15 after 3 pm)
9:30 am - Open Class Heavy Horse Show
9:30 am - Open Class Mule Show
11 am - Pedal Pull (children 4-12 years old) in poultry barn
11am - Youth Fun Tent
12:30 pm - Heavy Horse and Mule Hitch Classes
7:30 pm – Demo Derby – car and truck

Sunday, July 26 ($12 after 12 noon)
10:30 am - Mini Horse and donkey judging
12 noon - Sandcastle and Animal Sculpture Contest
1-3 pm - Thunder and Lightning Cloggers
4 pm - ITPA Truck and Tractor Pull
 
Paperwork Regarding Coleman Case Distributed Amongst Attorneys
The lawyer representing the family of the slain Sheri, Gavin and Garett Coleman in a civil lawsuit versus Christopher Coleman was granted the employment records of the accused. An employee of prosecutor Jack Carey’s office was at the Monroe County Courthouse on Thursday afternoon to pick up Christopher Coleman’s employment records from Joyce Meyer Ministries. Julie Fietsam was handed over more than 400 pages of documents from Circuit Clerk Aaron Reitz’s office.
 
Earlier this week, attorneys representing Christopher Coleman asked a judge to deny Carey’s request for the records, but the judge declined that request and released the information. Also on Thursday, Judge Stephen Rice granted the request of Christopher Coleman’s attorney, William Margulis, for the Major Case Squad report. Rice gave State’s Attorney Kris Reitz 21 days to comply.

The Monroe County Economic Development Council is working to establish a county-wide database of businesses. The council is looking for the names of businesses, the primary contact person, mailing address and email address. “As the economic development council has become more active, we realized that we do not have a direct and effective way to get information about our programs and educational events out to our local business community,” said MCEDC Chairman George Obernagel. “Therefore, we decided to tackle the task of creating a business database.”
 
The information collected will not be sold or shared, added Obernagel. It will be held in the strictest of confidence and will be used only to provide information to businesses. Emails and any other communication will be identified as being from the MCEDC. Businesses will have the option to be removed from future correspondence. Business owners interested in being part of the database can contact Nora Feuquay, U of I Extension Community and Economic Development Educator, at 618-363-9386 or nfeuquay@illinois.edu.

The winner of the Taste Of Monroe County Super-Consumer contest will be drawn Sunday, at 8 p.m., inside the commercial building at the Monroe County Fairgrounds. Nearly $160,000 of receipts has already been collected during fair week. Entrants have until Sunday afternoon to turn in their receipts totaling $100 from local stores to be eligible to win the prize packaged valued at nearly $7,000. So far, the family turning in the biggest July receipt is Dale and Kay Haudrich of Hecker. They purchased a combine valued at $136,600 from Wm. Nobbe and Co.

Jim Seboldt celebrated a birthday earlier this week. He was spotted on the big day by working in the swine pen at the Monroe County Fair.
 
Everything seems to be going smoothly at the fair, but there were some reports of a few bumps and bruises. Fair Queen Amanda Stumpf got a small wood splinter in her finger, Little Miss Ashley Osterhage is sporting a bandage on her knee and Valmeyer FFA’s Katie Mosbacher broke her glasses while tosses straw bales during FFA Fun Night.

The Monroe County YMCA is coordinating a school supply drive for area students in need. They invite the public to participate in their Backpack Attack program. Needed supplies include backpacks, crayons, rulers, notebooks, erasers, calculators, pens and pencils. Supplies can be dropped off through Aug. 7 at the following locations: (For more information, contact Marge Francois at 281.9622.)
Columbia: Monroe County YMCA, Market Place, Joe Boccardi’s Ristorante, Regions Bank, Walgreens, West Park Bowl and First National Bank of Waterloo.
Waterloo: City Hall, Schnucks, Rural King, First National Bank of Waterloo and Gene’s Barber Shop.
Millstadt: First National Bank of Waterloo and Schmidt Chiropractic Clinic.
Valmeyer: Corner Pub.


Australians Visit Monroe County During Tractor Tour Of The U.S.

About 15 farmers from Australia made a stop in Monroe County during a break from their tour of the United States. This year the group is driving their restored Chamberlain tractors from Baltimore to Los Angeles. Being in the southern hemisphere, this is their winter, so they have a respite from their chores. Monroe Countians John Meier of Waterloo, Butch Klein of Columbia and Earl Doerr of East Carondelet treated the visitors to a tour of their antique tractor collections before they all headed to visit “that big horseshoe” (the Gateway Arch) in downtown St. Louis.
 

Recent Obituaries
Helen Choma, 88, formerly of Columbia, died July 23, 2009, at Canterbury Manor Nursing Center in Waterloo. She was born June 16, 1921, in East St. Louis, the daughter of the late Michael Sr. and Barbara (Czarna) Choma. Ms. Choma is survived by her sisters Mary Garrett of O'Fallon and Catherine Mueller of Columbia; and sisters-in-law, Marie Choma of Bremerton, Wash., and Sophia Choma of Collinsville; along with numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by brothers Alexander, Joseph, Michael Jr., Daniel and John Choma; and brothers-in-law Vernon Mueller and Elmer Garrett. Mrs. Choma attended St. Theresa's Academy through the 10th grade where she developed a love of drawing. She also played the lottery, now and then, and was a gifted story-teller. She was retired from the Missouri Athletic Club where she had worked as a beautician. She was a member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Columbia. Visitation is Friday, July 24, 2009, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Lawlor Funeral Home. Funeral is Saturday July 25, at 10 a.m. at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Columbia with Fr. Carl Scherrer officiating. Ms. Choma will be buried at Mt. Carmel Catholic Cemetery in Belleville. Memorials may be made to Masses, Hospice of Southern Illinois or Canterbury Manor Nursing Center.

 
Gilbert Phillippe, 85, of Red Bud, died July 21, 2009 at the Red Bud Nursing Home following a battle with colon cancer. He was born June 10, 1924, in Clark County, the son of the late Noble and Nellie (Gilbert) Phillippe. He married Genelle (Laws) Phillippe in 1947 in Robinson. In addition to his wife, Mr. Phillippe is survived by his son, Mark (Marcia) Phillippe of Scottsboro, Ala.; a daughter, Gwen (Michael) Snyder of Columbia; grandchildren Laura (Shawn) Eagan of Evansville, Mark (Rachel) Duncan of Union, Mo., Jason (Haley) Phillippe of Huntsville, Ala., and John Phillippe of Port Clinton, Ohio; great-grandchildren Luke, Levi, Bridgett and Claire; and sister-in-law, Doris (George) Huckett of Tulsa, Okla.; along with other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by a sister, Lela Jean (Harry) West. Gil was raised in the Annapolis area of Crawford County, and served in the European Theatre in the U.S. Army during World War II. He was employed by Marathon Oil Co. from 1947 to 1979. He was promoted to the personnel and safety manager at their Robinson refinery in 1967 and held that position until his retirement. Mr. Phillippe served as the mayor of Robinson from 1993 to 1997, and was instrumental in the construction of the Crawford County Jail, Veteran's Museum in Robinson and helped build 14 homes for Habitat For Humanity. He was a member of the Crawford County Board, Robinson Elks, lifetime member of the V.F.W. Post 4549, charter member of the American Legion Post 69 and honorary member of the Red Bud Rotary. He had been the chairman of the board of directors at Crawford Memorial Hospital, later becoming their executive director of the Crawford Memorial Hospital Foundation. He was the executive director of the Lincoln Trail College Foundation and on the Advisory Committee of the Mary Heath Foundation. Mr. Phillippe was cremated according to his wishes. Memorial services will Aug. 29, at 11 a.m., at the Pulliam Funeral Home. Interment with military honors will be at the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Annapolis. Local arrangements were handled by Lawlor Funeral Home. Memorials may be made to the Robinson World War II Memorial Museum, the Lincoln Trail College Foundation, or Hospice of Southern Illinois.

Ralph Riebeling, 62, of Waterloo, died July 24, 2009, in St. Louis. He was born Dec. 31, 1946 in Red Bud, the son of the late Arthur Sr. and Lena (nee Korves) Riebeling. Mr. Riebeling is survived by his wife, Ruth Ann (nee Kohler) Riebeling; children Andrew Riebeling of Cape Girardeau and Catherine (Charles) Huffmann of Fenton, Mo.; grandchildren Andrea, Olivia and Joslin Riebeling, and Samantha, Catherine and Lindsey Huffmann; sisters Clara Sellers of Red Bud. Lenora (Tony) Painter of Pacific, Mo., and Shirley Menke of Waterloo; a brother Arthur Riebeling Jr. of Waterloo; sisters-in-law Margaret Davis, Lorraine Novack, Bernadine Hoff and Monica (Marvin) Hitzemann, all of Waterloo; and brothers-in-law Paul (Mary Ann) Kohler of Waterloo and George Bieber of Arcadia, Mo.; along with nieces, nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by a sister, two brothers, sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law. Mr. Riebeling was a member of the Maeystown Sportsman's Club, Operating Engineers Local 520, SS. Peter and Paul Catholic Church of Waterloo and was a former supervisor at Tower Rock Stone Co. in Ste. Genevieve, Mo. Visitation is Sunday, July 26, from 12 noon to 8 p.m., at Quernheim Funeral Home. Funeral is Monday, at 10 a.m., at SS. Peter and Paul Church in Waterloo with Father Stan Konieczny officiating. Mr. Riebeling will be buried at the church’s cemetery.

 

Breaking News - July 24, 2009

Truck Slams Into Bush Hog On Route 3 Sending One To Hospital
Traffic in the southbound lanes of Route 3 between Columbia and Waterloo has been reduced to one lane following an accident just south of Hanover Road. At 11:45 a.m., a Chevy truck was traveling southbound on Route 3. The driver apparently did not notice a slow-moving tractor pulling a Bush Hog style mower in her path. The truck slammed into the mower ripping it from the hitch of the tractor. The front of the truck ended up partially on top of the mower.
 
“The tractor had its hazard lights on and was visible,” said a witness. The driver of the tractor had a minor injury from the jolt. The driver of the truck and a small child in the passenger seat were taken to an area hospital with minor injuries. Names and the exact cause have not yet been released. Traffic was limited to one lane until the mower was removed from the roadway by Dietz Towing.