E-Newsletter - January 22, 2010

Zahnow Students Put Hats On For Haiti

Hats of all variety were the style today at Zahnow Grade School in Waterloo. Students were allowed to wear hats if they brought in a dollar which contributed to the school’s “Hats For Haiti” campaign. The $1,051 in proceeds will be given to Lutheran Relief Aid and sent to help those affected by the devastating earthquake last week in that island in the Caribbean.

Zahnow students from Mrs. Matson's first grade class show off their hats today while visiting the school’s library.

Real Estate Tax Assessments Main Topic Of Wednesday Night County Commissioner’s Meeting

Keeping their promise of having their meetings more assessable to the public, the Monroe County Commissioners held an evening meeting Wednesday in the old courtroom building of the courthouse. The event was well-attended with nearly three-quarters of the seats filled.

While most of the folks attended to listen to County Assessor Carl Wuertz discuss his means of figuring tax assessments, there were also several other speakers on the agenda. County Treasurer Kevin Koenigstein gave an overview of county finances. He said revenues were down slightly, but the county continues to have a very high financial rating. Health Department Administrator John Wagner listed the many services offered at the new Monroe County office. He pointed out the office still has about 9,000 doses of the H1N1 flu vaccine available to the public and urged all those who still want it, to contact his office for the free vaccination.

Gene Henckler, director of the Monroe County Emergency Management Agency, laid out the details and the estimated cost of the unfunded government mandated updates required of new communication equipment needed to be operational by 2013 for all emergency departments.

Ears perked up when it was Wuertz’s turn to speak. He discussed the many facets he uses to calculate the assessed real estate values, including taking into account the state multiplier which showed Monroe County as being undervalued. The initial assessments were recently mailed out and many citizens and business owners have noticed an increase in their assessments. Wuertz said that overall in the county, assessed values increased by about five percent. He said property along the bottoms land and Waterloo commercial property did increase the most. When he analyzed Waterloo businesses and looked at their current market values, he decided to raise their assessment by about 30 percent to get them more in line with what he determined was a more realistic figure.

Several land owners were in attendance and questioned the increases. Phil Canman, owner of The Lantern Restaurant in Columbia and President Of Monroe County Taxpayers, questioned the increase in light of a recent report in the Post-Dispatch which determined real estate values in the St. Louis Metropolitan area fell last year by six percent.

Wuertz said anyone who believes they have been over assessed can set up an appointment with his office to discuss the matter. Appointments are required and can be arranged by calling his office at 939-8681, ext. 211.

Additional quarterly night meetings for 2010 are set for Wednesday, April 21, Wednesday, July 21, and Wednesday, October 20. The Monroe County Board of Commissioners will continue to meet on the first and third Mondays of each month at 8 a.m. in Courthouse room 220, with the exception when a legal holiday conflicts. In that case, the meetings are moved to the following Tuesday.

There was a big turnout in the old courtroom of the County Courthouse Wednesday evening for the first evening meeting this year of the county commissioners.

During Wednesday night’s meeting of the board of commissioners, County Assessor Carl Wuertz points out how an example of a neighborhood region, one of the many aspects his office uses to determine the assessed valuation of property in Monroe County. Taking the minutes is County Clerk Dennis Knobloch, seated.

County Assessor To Offer Saturday Appointments: With an increase expected in the number of people wishing to discuss adjustments to their recently released real estate tax assessments, Monroe County Assessor Carl Wuertz has decided to offer appointments on two upcoming Saturdays. “I would like to offer more convenient times for those who are unable to visit the assessor’s office during weekday business hours,” said Wuertz. The Saturdays are Jan. 30 and Feb. 6 from 9 a.m. to noon.  Appointments are required and can be arranged by calling his office at 939-8681, ext. 211. The idea for Saturday hours was first brought up by Connie Vogt, a citizen attending Wednesday night’s meeting of the board of commissioners. Wuertz, who was in attendance, heard the idea and said he would look into the matter.

Sheri Coleman’s Legal Team Seeking Testimony From Joyce Meyer Ministries Employees

A motion was filed at the Monroe County Courthouse Thursday by Jack Carey’s legal team in regards to his representation of Sherri Coleman’s family, including her mother, Angela Decicco, and her brother, Mario Weiss. The motion asks the judge to order the requested deposition from Joyce Meyer and several employees from her ministry located in Jefferson County, Mo. The motion claims that the attorney representing Joyce Meyer Ministries, Michael King, has not acted in a timely manner to comply with the deposition requests filed by Carey on Dec. 22, 2009 and also on Jan. 5, 2010.

“Respondents have repeatedly failed to timely comply with Plaintiffs’’ requests for discovery in this case, forcing Plaintiffs to file Motions to Compel,” the motion also stated.

Ministries employees who are named in the motion for their testimony are Joyce Meyer, Danny Meyer, Mike Bauer, Mike Cole and Robert Sanabina. Joyce Meyer Ministries Inc. was named a respondent in discovery in the wrongful death civil case against Christopher Coleman on May 26, 2009. Carey now seeks to also name the Coleman’s former employer as a co-defendant. The parties are now waiting on the judge to rule on this motion.

First National Bank of Waterloo has withdrawn its bid to merge with First State Bank Of Red Bud. Red Bud Bancorp and First Waterloo Bancshares mutually agreed this week to terminate the merger which the parties signed September of 2009, reported FNB CEO and President Gary Hemmer and Ron Wallace, interim CEO of First State Bank of Red Bud.

“We believed on Sept. 18, 2009 that the combination of our organizations was in the best interest of our customers, shareholders, employees and communities,” said Wallace and Hemmer. “We believe today, however, the current environment is such that obtaining regulatory approval has taken much longer than anticipated and as a result, First Waterloo Bancshares is withdrawing its application,” they said. “Continuing to wait for approval is not in the best interest of either company.”

Hemmer added that he feels this announcement is truly a disappointment. “We have invested substantial time, dollars and resources into making this transition work,” Hemmer said. “However, there comes a time when you have to make a strategic decision to walk away from an opportunity.”

Wallace said that First State Bank of Red Bud will move forward and continue to effectively serve its customers and communities like it has since 1875. “We agree it’s time to move on,” he added.

Contract Issues Halt Cherry Street Work For Time Being

Because of some possible financing issues with the firm contracted to complete the Cherry Street / Old Town Development, the City of Columbia discussed their contract with Veile Construction of Belleville during their council meeting Tuesday at City Hall. During the meeting, it was discussed that there may be some issues with subcontractors being behind on receiving payments for work. At the meeting, the aldermen voted to allow City Engineer Ron Williams, Administrator Al Hudzik and Attorney Tom Adams to analyze the matter. The three will determine whether Veile is in compliance with the performance bond and the payment bond. “If we determine Veile is not in complying with its contractual obligations, we would then advise the city council to take the appropriate actions,” Hudzik said. “We do hope we can find a solution to get the road open, the sooner the better.”

Columbia Mayor Kevin Hutchinson said the city is working to resolve this issue in a very prompt manner. They do not expect much delay in the scheduled completion of this project. “If need be, we will get Cherry Street open to traffic before the remainder of some of the other details are completed,” he said. Hutchinson added that he has confidence in the contractor, bank and bonding agent to work together to resolve this matter.  

A message was left Friday at the office of Veile Construction, but a call has not yet been returned.

A road grader sits at the top of Cherry Street blocking the roadway as work was temporarily halted.

Columbia To Honor President’s Day: The Columbia City Council passed an ordinance approving the observance of the holiday in February from Lincoln’s Birthday to Presidents’ Day. City Hall offices will be open on Friday, Feb. 12 and closed Monday, Feb. 15. Additionally, the council meeting originally scheduled for Feb. 15, has been changed to Tuesday, Feb. 16^.

A motor vehicle was broken into overnight in the 500 block of South Kremmel Street of Columbia. The Illinois State Police’s Crime Scene Unit is assisting in the investigation of the stolen stereo equipment. Columbia Police Chief Joe Edwards said this incident was the only report of this nature in the city.

Alice Gregson celebrated her 49^th birthday on Thursday, Jan. 21. Her mother, Jeanette Gregson, remembers it was six degrees below zero that day in 1961, when her baby girl was born at St. Clement’s Hospital in Red Bud.

Illinois Pork Industry Expert Kim Simonovich was the guest speaker Thursday evening at J.V.’s in downtown Waterloo for the monthly meeting of the Waterloo Lions Club. Simonovich addressed industry progress and the economic impact of pork to our region. “The Illinois Pork Industry supports more than 7,800 jobs in the state,” said Simonovich.

Several annual meeting are right around the corner. Monroe County Soil and Waterloo Conservation District is meeting Feb. 5 at Turner Hall. The County Pork Producers Board is scheduled to get together Feb. 16 at Annbriar and the always-popular Monroe County Farm Bureau annual gathering is March 6 at St. Mary’s Parish Hall in Valmeyer.

The Waterloo High School band is gearing up for their annual winter concert. It is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 4, at 7 p.m. This will be the concert and jazz band’s first major performance in the new WHS auditorium.

The jazz band will feature alto saxophonist Jessica Reifschneider on the Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn song Isfahan. Other featured will include Brad Erb, Andy Kurtz, Kristen Reifschneider and Logan Ward. The concert band will follow with classic tunes written by George and Ira Gershwin entitled Gershwin and an arrangement of For the Beauty of the Earth.

WHS band members Emily Arnold, Rosemary Chapple and Shelby Nugent were selected to participate in the SIU Edwardsville Bi-State Band Festival held Jan. 15 and 16. Approximately 50  schools from Illinois and Missouri sent their top musicians to participate in the annual event. Sophomore French hornist Nugent earned the first chair position in the Honor Band.

WHS Band Director Michael Mullins said he is very proud of the accomplishments of his band students, especially of Nugent.  “To make this band as a sophomore and to further earn first chair is quite extraordinary.  Shelby has a lot of talent and is a very hard worker,” he said.

The Waterloo Community Blood Drive met their quota of 75 units collected earlier this week at the American Red Cross Blood Drive held at St Paul UCC. The next Waterloo Community Blood Drive will be at the church on Tuesday, May 18.

The Waterloo Junior High School boys’ basketball team continued their winning ways with a victory Thursday evening at home. They beat Collinsville 36-27. The Junior Bulldogs recently won third place in the Cahokia Conference Tournament.

WJHS’ Reid Hoffman, right, goes up for a long range jumper in the team’s victory Thursday over Collinsville.                 - photo by Bob Haentzler of Gateway Photography / www.gatewayphoto.net

The Sparta Mid-Winter Classic is heading to a conclusion on Saturday. Currently, Columbia is 2-0, defeating Lebanon and Steelville. Columbia plays DuQuoin on Friday evening at 7 p.m. Waterloo has split the first two games in the tournament, losing to Sparta, and winning in overtime last night against Trico. Next up for Waterloo is Red Bud this evening at 5:30 p.m. Red Bud has dropped two games, losing to Sparta and Trico. Gibault is playing in the Nashville Invitational Tournament. After losses to Central and Waltonville, the Hawks will play Saturday at noon against Freeburg for seventh place.

Waterloo Sends Four Skaters To All-Star Team: The Waterloo Bulldogs hockey team had four players selected to play in the MVCHA All Star game Sunday, Jan. 24 at the East Alton Ice Arena. Getting ready to lace up for the team are seniors Nick Fannon, Joe Steck and Cody Smothers and sophomore Dylan Purcell.

The Columbia Ice Eagles club hockey team is looking to win their second division 1A championship in a row. The Eagles (14-1-1) begin their playoff run in the playoffs when face off this Saturday, Jan. 23. They also have several members of their team competing in the MVCHA All Star Game on Sunday, including Kyle Steibel, Matt Royer, Kyle Royer, Cody Overmann, Alex Nanna and Matt Lamonica.

J. Fires is celebrating their first anniversary with activities planned through Jan. 23. “Come and enjoy food and drink specials all day long,” said owner Jennifer Pensoneau.  J. Fires is located at 725 North Market Street in Waterloo. Their website is www.jfires.com.

Courtney Kaufmann will soon be a teenager. She turns 13 this Saturday.

Costello Offers Comments On Republican Victory Of The Late Senator Kennedy’s Seat: U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello released the following statement regarding the results in the U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts: “The election results in Massachusetts are a clear sign to the Obama administration and Democrats and Republicans in the Congress that voters are frustrated with government and the economy. We need to continue to pay attention to these concerns, re-evaluate our efforts on a variety of issues and work together to move forward in a positive way.”

Recent Obituary

Dr. Lee Kolmer, 82, died Jan. 18, 2010 at Kavanagh Hospice in Des Moines, Iowa, from congestive heart failure. Dr. Kolmer was born Jan. 4, 1928 in Waterloo the son of the late Carmelita and Arthur Kolmer. Dr. Kolmer was preceded in death by sisters Shirley Ann and Mary; and two infant brothers, James and John. He is survived by his wife of nearly 58 years, Jean Kolmer, formerly of East St. Louis; siblings Dorothy Dussold of Union, Mo., Joe Kolmer of Columbus, Ohio and Elizabeth Kolmer of St. Louis, Mo.; children Diane (Bill Blum) Kolmer of West Des Moines, Iowa, Jim Kolmer of St. Paul, Minn., and John (Clarissa Baach) Kolmer of Peoria; and grandchildren Jefferson, Neil and Zhi Yu of Peoria. He grew up farming with his father in rural Waterloo before serving in the United States Army during World War II. He was stationed in Italy and Yugoslavia. After the War, Mr. Kolmer enrolled at Southern Illinois University, where he completed a bachelor’s degree. He earned a master’s degree from Iowa State University in 1952. He then obtained his Ph.D. degree in Agricultural Economics in 1954 from Iowa State University. Mr. Kolmer taught at SIU from 1954-56 before joining the Iowa State Faculty in 1956 and became an administrator of the Cooperative Extension program in 1965. He was named Associate Dean of Agriculture and Director of Extension in 1971 at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore. Two years later he was named Dean of Agriculture at Iowa State University. Lee was recognized with many honors in his professional career, but the one he treasured the most was the Faculty Citation given to him by the Iowa State Alumni Association in 1997. He was acknowledged for expanding the horizons of all students and professionals in the College of Agriculture during his 14 year tenure as dean. He was instrumental in forming the nationally-known Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. His travels on behalf of the university included Peru, China, Belgium, France, England, Spain, Morocco, Ghana, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Russia and Kenya. He left the Dean’s job in 1987 when he and his wife, Jean, moved to Washington, D.C. for two years with the U.S.D.A. He then returned to ISU as professor of economics until his retirement in 1992. Visitation was at Hamilton’s Funeral Home in West Des Plains, Iowa. Funeral was at St. Francis of Assisi in West Des Plains. Mr. Kolmer was buried at Glendale Cemetery. Memorials may be made to Haitian relief efforts through the Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, the American Red Cross or any suitable aid organization, or to Iowa State University to the Dean Lee R. Kolmer Award for Excellence in Applied Research or the Lee R. Kolmer Scholarship Fund for AgBusiness.

Karen L. Reagan, nee Roider, 59, of Waterloo, died Jan. 20, 2010 in Waterloo. She was born May 19, 1950 in Red Bud, the daughter of Marcella Hobbs and the late Harold Roider. Mrs. Reagan is survived by her husband, William Reagan; children Michelle (Chris) Willenbrock and Scott Reagan (Dena Laird); a grandchild, Justin Willenbrock; and a brother, James Roider; along with sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews and cousins. She was preceded in death by a brother, Brian Roider. Mrs. Reagan attended St. Patrick Catholic Church in Tipton and was a member of the St. Louis University Billiken Club.

Several letters to the Ed-itor have been submitted by individuals regarding the proposed Waterloo Park District $575,000 Bond Issue to repair the current swimming pool on North Library Street. The issue will be decided by Waterloo voters at the Feb. 2 Primary Election. Since the next issue of The Independent will not be published until Feb. 5, a selection of submitted Letters To The Ed-itor will be printed in this email. Those with similar or opposing views can submit letters which will be considered for printing in the Jan. 29 e-newsletter.

Dear Ed-itor: We as a family are writing this letter to the residents of Waterloo regarding the very real possibility that the Waterloo city pool will not be open for the community this coming summer if required, federally mandated, repairs to the pool are not done. We are encouraging all city of Waterloo residents to support the pool referendum on Feb. 2 so the pool will remain open. This is important to us, not only because we are active with the Waterloo swim team, but because many others in our community and neighboring communities use this pool.

I would expect that if repairs were made that the pool would draw an even larger attendance and attract even more people to our town which could mean more business for Waterloo as a whole. Also, I think having a public pool is a positive for any community and is something that families, especially with children, look for when moving into a community. And, if this referendum does not pass and the pool is closed, what will then become of this property? Will what used to be a vibrant, fun, active place, become a desolate eye sore reflective of better times in our community?

On this referendum, it is being asked that funds be made available to make the needed repairs to the pool. To be clear, the Park District is not asking for funding for a new pool. If the pool closes, I am sure we will find a spot for our daughter on another swim team either Columbia or Red Bud. But it will indeed be a shame if she cannot swim for the city she calls home, Waterloo.

Sincerely, Mark, Suzanne and Lauren Schmidt of Waterloo

Dear Ed-itor: I am a concerned member of the Waterloo community and have a strong opinion on the town pool issue. The pool has been on the chopping block the entire five years I have lived in Waterloo. I hear the town gossip and the issues discussed over the pool. I am not a swim team family and I do not live in Waterloo city limits. I reside about five miles from the pool. On a hot summer day, the pool has been my family’s relaxation and entertainment for the last three summers. Without it, I am not sure what we would do for fun because the next closest pool is the private one in Columbia. It was my understanding the pool will probably not open this year and our recreation will be diminished by driving to other cities to enjoy a pool. Families who do not live in the city limits do use the Waterloo pool. We may pay a little hirer fee but, it is worth it for the convenience.

I am representing all those of us who do use the pool, but do not get a vote. I realize most people do not want taxes to be raised to fund fixing the pool or even the expense to run it. I do understand that it leaks and has some upkeep issues, but for children and our community, it is worth the money. Is there a reason we could not make it the Monroe County Pool and expand those who could fund the pool with our taxes? Just think, if it included all the subdivisions right outside of city limits with all the families living in those areas, I bet we could fund the pool. I am talking for my own concerns and you may take it or leave it because I do not get a vote! 

My family is originally from South St. Louis County and we had numerous places to go for entertainment. In Waterloo, we are lacking in social opportunities and the pool has been my option to get together with other families and for my kids to do something fun in our town. We are a small town, but we are getting bigger by the day and we should not be downsizing with what we already have to offer new families in our neighborhood.

Part of me thinks that if you do not have kids, you do not care. I have some friends who have lived here their entire lives here and have great memories of our hometown pool. They think it is a shame it might close. I am asking all the readers who do have the chance to vote to keep the pool open. Otherwise, what do we have for summer entertainment in Waterloo?

Waterloo community - please think before you vote this time. We need our pool!   Sincerely, Andrea Irovic, a concerned mom in Waterloo.