Weekend Wrap-Up - August 14, 2010

Saturday Morning Fire Damages Columbia Home

Gary Limestall’s garage received fire and smoke damage Saturday morning at his home on Evergreen Lane in Columbia. Limestall had been working in his garage and front yard earlier that morning. Just after 7:30 a.m., a neighbor, Brian Allscheid, noticed smoke billowing out of Limestall’s closed garage door. Allscheid quickly notified the emergency dispatcher and Columbia police officers and firefighters were soon on the scene. The police found Limestall in his basement and assisted him to exit his home without injury. The CVFD was able to quickly extinguish the blaze, confining the fire to the garage. “There was a lot of smoke in the attic we were able to blow out as well,” said Fire Chief Mike Roediger. The cause of the blaze has not yet been determined. Limestall is staying with his father who lives on the other end of Columbia until repairs can be made to his home.

Columbia homeowner Gary Limestall, right, watches as the CVFD puts out the fire in his house on Evergreen Lane.

 

Boater Injured Near New Athens: A person riding in a boat along the Kaskaskia River on Saturday evening was injured at the 23-mile-marker. The victim was transported by boat back to the marina at New Athens were the person was transported to a hospital by ambulance. The name and condition of the individual have not yet been released.

 

Fairview Heights Blasts Their Way To Lead In Best Of Three Mon-Clair Championship Series

The defending league champs, the Fairview Heights Redbirds, took a 1-0 lead over the Waterloo Millers in this weekend’s best-of-three championship series held at Valmeyer’s Luhr Field at Borsch Park. The Millers will have to win two in a row Sunday to earn the first place trophy. Sunday’s first game will start at 1 p.m. and game three, if necessary, will have a first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m.

In Saturday morning’s St. Clair Division semi-finals, the Redbirds defeated the St. Louis Spikes 11-0 to earn a spot in the championship series against the Millers. Waterloo had beat Valmeyer 9-7 in the Monroe Division semi-final game held Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Waterloo quickly dusted off their uniforms and prepared for game one against Fairview Heights. The game belonged entirely to the Redbirds. Behind the strong pitching of Rob Bloomberg, who scattered four Millers hits, and  a powerful hitting performance by  Michael Adamson (3 for 4 with 5 RBI), Fairview Heights rolled to a 10-0 victory.  

Fairview Heights slugger Michael Adamson led off the game against Waterloo with a line drive home run to give the Redbirds a 1-0 lead. Adamson had quite a day at the plate, as he was on base five times during the team’s victory earlier that day over the St. Louis Spikes, and continued his torrid pace against the Millers, driving in five RBI.          - photo by Bob Haentzler of Gateway Photography / www.gatewayphoto.net

Waterloo's Jake Degener slides in safe, scoring on a sacrifice fly as his cousin, Valmeyer catcher Jake Degener, looks for an out call that never came.          - photo by Bob Haentzler of Gateway Photography / www.gatewayphoto.net

 

Local Enjoy Cards – Cubs Series: Several Monroe Countians are in attendance this weekend enjoying the rivalry games at the Cards – Cubs at Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis. Folks are also heading to local watering holes to view the games on the big-screen televisions.

Heading to Busch Stadium for Saturday’s game are Columbia residents, left to right, Andrea Crowder-Khoury, Paul Khoury, Carol Basler and Chris Basler. Paul was the only one who went home happy as the Cub won the game 3-2.

 

The 30th annual Maeystown Oktoberfest is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 10, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the grounds of the Old Rock Mill. More than 50 artisans, antique dealers and food vendors will be on hand. Crafts will include rug weaving, artists and woodworking, along with the items at the Country Store. Menu items will be ham and beans, turtle soup, kettle corn, bratwursts, potato pancakes, baked goods, funnel cakes and apple butter, along with coffee, soda and apple cider. The village specialty shops, bed and breakfast, Village Kaffee Haus and museum will be open throughout the day.

The public is invited once again to join along with the folks of the Maeystown Preservation Society in making the apple butter for the event. Apples will be peeled Friday, Sept. 24, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The apple stirring and canning will take place Saturday, Sept. 25, from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Anyone interested in lending a hand is invited to stop by at any point during those days. Lunch will be provided. For more information about the Maeystown Oktoberfest, contact David Braswell at 458-6660.

 

Thursday’s Storm Causes Damage Beck Vocational Center

Thursday’s thunderstorm hit Beck Vocational Center hard. The strong winds knocked down four utility poles and one transformer. Power lines fell across the lone entrance / exit road, trapping 100 people at the facility for several hours. No one was injured, reported Beck Director Dian Albert.

Just after 2:15 p.m., on Aug. 12, the thunderstorm rolled over Beck, located east of Hecker. The winds knocked down the poles leaving electric lines stretching across the road. Those stranded at the facility included adult nursing LPN students along with high school students and their parents registering for classes for the upcoming fall semester. Albert called Ameren / IP to report the incident. Prior to Ameren’s arrival, North County Electric employee Jay Horrell of Red Bud arrived at the scene. He flagged down a passing Monroe County Electric vehicle. Horrell and the county crew began working on the situation until Ameren arrived. The roads were open by 5:30 p.m. allowing everyone to leave.

Albert said repairs will continue this weekend and power will be restored by Monday. “Classes will start on schedule next week,” said added.   (story provided by The North County News of Red Bud.)

A power line partially blocks the entrance to Beck Vocational Center in rural Hecker.         – photo by North County News of Red Bud

 

Waterloo Public Schools To Start Later Than Other Local Districts
by Joe Leicht

The first day of classes for students in the WCUSD 5 will be Sept. 7, the Tuesday after Labor Day. One of the reasons for the delay is the continued renovations taking place at the junior high school building (the old high school building). Valmeyer School and SS. Peter and Paul Grade are the first to start with classes beginning Tuesday, Aug. 17. Columbia Public Schools and Immaculate Conception Catholic Grade School in Columbia begin Wednesday, Aug. 18. Gibault High School opens their doors to kick off the 2010-2011 school year on Thursday, Aug. 19.

There are about 2,000 Waterloo youngsters who will be enjoying the couple extra weeks of summer vacation this year, before heading back - or for the first time - to a completely reconfigured system of public schools. "It's our hope that our children in their day-to-day classroom schedules will not see that much of a difference," Waterloo District Superintendent Jim Helton said of budget- and growth-spurred changes that will mean "new" buildings,  staggered starting times, some new administrators and slightly fewer teachers.

According to the district's estimates as of the first week of August:
- Zahnow School will  house pre-kindergarten through first grade classes, and classes will start at 8:30 a.m. Enrollment is projected at 440;
- Rogers Elementary will house the second and third graders, with classes also starting at 8:30 a.m. Enrollment is projected at 420;
- Gardner Elementary (the former junior high building, renamed in honor of the late Ed Gardner) will house grades four and five and commence class time at 8:30 a.m. Enrollment is projected at 410;
- Waterloo Junior High School (the former high school building) will house grades six through eight. Classes start at 7:55 a.m. and projected enrollment is 640;
- Waterloo High School's projected enrollment is 930 students. Classes will begin at 7:45 a.m.

The district in July sent out information on the staggered starting times that - in many cases - will cause parents to rethink their younger children's school transportation. Helton said he was prepared for some negative reaction, but pleased that parents were more accepting of the changes than he expected. "People understand we had to do something. From our standpoint, we couldn't afford to cover every need that had to be covered.  This was necessary to keep class sizes relatively the same. In some ways, this is going to benefit parents of younger students," he added. Helton refers to a program coordinated with Lighthouse Learning Center, whereby for a nominal fee, parents can drop students off at school as early as 6:30 a.m.

The Waterloo district will have a distinct Valmeyerian flavor, as former Valmeyer Elementary Principal Dawn Ivers and former Valmeyer Superintendent Brian Charron are part of the "new look" Waterloo District. "Dawn was a teacher at the old junior high before she went down to Valmeyer. We are happy to have gotten her back, she's very kid-oriented and will give Gardner Elementary its own identity as principal," said Helton. "Brian successfully ran the Valmeyer District as superintendent over 500-plus students. He's going to give us strong leadership as principal at the high school," Helton said.

The district has had to trim $1.1 million from its operating budget to make up for state funding that is still several months in arrears. Seven teachers, one administrative position and seven paraprofessionals had to be cut for the 2010-2011 school year. Helton noted that book rental fees were not affected as a result of budget constraints, but that facility-use fees, sports and activity fees were increased.

A dedication event for Gardner Elementary School is tentatively planned for Sept. 18.

 

Recent Obituary

Sharon Ann Mueller, nee Votaw, 62, of Waterloo, died Aug. 12, 2010 in Waterloo. She was born June 23, 1948 in St. Louis, Mo., the daughter of Mary Ann (Gartland) Shelvy and the late Walter Votaw. In addition to her mother, Mrs. Mueller is survived by her husband, Ollney Mueller Jr.; step-grandchildren Charles E. Pyatt III, Christina Ann Pyatt, Julie Anna (Robert) Stofiel, Jane Elizabeth (Gene) Brussman and Dawn (Tom) Helfrich; a step-mother, Carol Votaw; sister, Mari Lester; niece, Rachel Lester; nine grandchildren; and one great-grandchild; along with aunts, uncles and cousins. Besides her father, she was preceded in death by her first husband, Charles E. Pyatt Jr. Mrs. Mueller was a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Waterloo. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Memorials may be made to Backstoppers.