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Western Illinois Today News is broadcast at 7:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 5:00 PM Monday through Friday

Complete report of local, regional, and state news with all area obituaries.
 

 

February 8, 2010--The Mercer County School Board is looking at starting their meetings with a prayer. Superintendent Alan Boucher says he has checked with the district's legal counsel on the matter and they say it's okay. The Aledo City Council begins their regular meetings with a prayer by a local pastor.

 

February 8, 2010--Former Orion football coach Jason VanHoutte has had his trial continued to this spring. He appeared in Rock Island County Circuit Court for a status hearing this morning with a pre-trial conference now scheduled for April 15th and a new trial date was set for May 3rd. VanHoutte is facing three Class 1 felony counts of criminal sexual assault stemming from incidents involving a female student at United Township High School, where he was a teacher. He was fired from both his teaching and coaching jobs after his arrest last August. VanHoutte remains free on $100,000 bond.

 

February 8, 2010--A Mercer County Board member is calling on residents to get involved in county board meetings. Republican Jason Connell is running in District 5, which represents the City of Aledo. He is opposed to the jail expansion and he wants people to attend tomorrow night's county board meeting for that cause. The Mercer County Public Building Commission is proceeding with the $5-million jail expansion that will add 30-cells. The county wants the extra space to house more U.S. Marshals Service prisoners. Construction is scheduled to begin by this spring or summer.

 

February 5, 2010--The Aledo City Council has scheduled a Public Property Committee meeting for next week. The session is Thursday, February 11th at 6 PM at City Hall. The agenda includes discussion on the Henderson Auto Sales lot. The city purchased the property for $60,000 last December. The Aledo Fire Department is interested in acquiring the site to build a new fire station.

 

February 5, 2010--The Aledo City Council's TIF Committee hears details on two projects. One involves the proposal for a new Dollar General at the former Coast True Value site. Developer Steve Kiline is seeking a $250,000 TIF incentive for the $1.3 million project. He says the new store would generate more tax revenue for the city. Also, John and Colleen Nation are seeking a $102,000 TIF incentive for a restaurant project at the former Times Record building. The other topic at last night's meeting was conflict of interest involving Mayor Dick Hunter and aldermen Bob Rillie and Rich Maynard. They have property in the TIF district, but Hunter says the direction now is to remove those properties from the TIF to remove the conflict. Aldermen are expected to vote on final parameters for the Aledo TIF district at the February 15th meeting.

 

February 4, 2010--The Mercer Carnegie Library Board disappointed with this week's defeat of the $2.8 million building bond referendum. Board president Barb Runyon says they'll evaluate the results and determine the next course of action. The measure was turned down by a 428 to 347 margin. A similar proposal was also defeated last year.

 

February 4, 2010--A state tournament assignment for the Mercer County High School band program. The Golden Eagles learned from the IHSA yesterday that they will be playing at the Class 1A/2A girls basketball state finals on February 27th at Illinois State University. Band Director Rusty Ruggles says he sent the IHSA a sampling of his band's work earlier this school year. Ruggles took the former Aledo High School band to the boys basketball state tournament in Peoria in 2007. Click here for interview with Rusty Ruggles.

 

February 3, 2010--A comprehensive housing profile for Mercer County is now being shared with local governments. The data was collected by the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs and the Mercer County Economic Development office says Jenny Garner with the Mercer County Economic Development office. She presented the report to the Aledo City Council this week.

 

February 3, 2010--The Mercer County Public Defender has won the Democratic nomination for the open 14th Judicial Circuit seat. Mike Darrow took control of a three-way race last night and will now run unopposed in the November general election. Darrow has served as Mercer County Public Defender since April 1, 2007.

 

February 2, 2010--The Mercer Carnegie Library referendum was defeated tonight. The $2.8 million building bond issue was turned down 428 to 347.  In terms of voter turnout in Mercer County, there were 1,272 Republican ballots cast and 1,047 Democratic voters went to the polls. Overall, turnout was just 16-percent in Mercer County. Of 14,288 registered voters, only 2,346 voted yesterday.

 

February 2, 2010--The Aledo Main Street program is proposing a shared marketing plan involving the City of Aledo and local businesses. The goal is to get the word out about Aledo using different media sources, such as TV and billboards says Aledo Main Street manager Pam Myers. Any business wishing to participate in the endeavor can contact Myers at 582-2751.

 

February 2, 2010--Wrestling workouts have resumed at Rockridge High School after a skin herpes outbreak. Rockridge principal Katy Hasson says the mats were rolled back out yesterday. All wrestling activities were cancelled at Rockridge last week due to the outbreak. The Class 1A wrestling regional is this Saturday, February 6th.

 

February 2, 2010--The Aledo Fire Department wants to move forward on a new fire station. Fire Chief Dennis Litwiler says the fire department would like to acquire the Henderson Auto Sales lot, which the city purchased in December. He says they would then construct a 10,000 square foot facility on the site. The existing 5,500 square foot fire station was built in the mid-1960's. Litwiler says the department would seek grant funding for the project and a tax increase would not be necessary.

 

February 1, 2010--Local high school students have a chance to get rid of old prom and homecoming dresses and also make a little money in the process. It's a fundraiser for the Mercer County High School student council says teacher Stacey Gramley. The dresses will be sold February 13th from 8 AM to Noon and the dresses must be dropped off at the high school by February 5th. For more information, contact Gramley at the high school at 582-2223.

 

January 29, 2010--As the City of Aledo debates removing residential properties from the TIF district, a TIF consultant is offering some advice to the Aledo City Council. Nancy Hill of Ehlers and Associates spoke to aldermen this week. No final decision has been made on removing the properties.

 

January 29, 2010--With a skin herpes outbreak involving several wrestlers at Rockridge High School, area coaches are taking precautions. Sherrard head coach Jeff Garrett says his team won't get to wrestle a dual meet with the Rockets because of the situation, but he understands. Because Mercer County wrestled with Rockridge at the Orion invite last week, Monmouth-Roseville decided to cancel their match with the Golden Eagles this week. Coach Joe Verlinden says he's really not surprised by the move. Rockridge has cancelled all wrestling activities until February 1st.

 

January 28, 2010--A Mercer County man serving 30 years in prison for setting his wife on fire will not get a new trial. 40 year old Kristopher Jones’ post conviction petition was turned down in a ruling handed down this week by Mercer County Resident Judge James Conway. Among his arguments was ineffective legal counsel during both his trial and appeal. Jones was found guilty of attempted murder and heinous battery in July of 2005. The Sherrard man was accused of dousing his wife with gasoline and igniting her in June of 2004. The burning occurred at an isolated farm near Sherrard. Tanya Jones nearly died from the incident. She suffered 3rd degree burns to almost half of her body and was physically scarred from the crime.

 

January 28, 2010--Mercer County unemployment is now at 13-percent. The number was released today by the Illinois Department of Employment Security and reflects a 4-percent increase from the same period a year ago. Unemployment is also up in Rock Island, Henderson, Henry, Warren and Knox Counties. Declines in Professional-Business Services and Manufacturing continue to contribute to the overall employment loss compared to last year’s levels. Retail Trade, Wholesale Trade, and Transportation-Warehousing-Utilities also experienced declines from a year ago.

 

January 28, 2010--The Sherrard School Board will be making some difficult decisions over the next month. Because of declining revenues and a tight budget, cuts are going to be made with staff and programs likely to be victims. A community forum will be held on the issue on February 2nd says Superintendent Becky Rodocker. The board is scheduled to make final decisions on the cuts at its February 17th meeting.

 

January 28, 2010--Local State Representative Patrick Verschoore says he continues to get calls from local school officials concerning delayed payments from the state. He's telling them to be patient, but eventually an alternate revenue stream, like an income tax hike, will have to be considered. Verschoore says he's yet to make up his mind on the Democratic race for governor between Pat Quinn and Dan Hynes.

 

January 28, 2010--The Aledo-Westmer Committee of 10 being recognized for their service. A special dinner is planned for tonight at the Mercer County VFW says Mercer County School District Superintendent Alan Boucher. The committee consisted of Cheryl Brown, Dan Callahan, Stephanie Carey, Eric Coulter, Rachel Fowler, Stacey Gramley, Vic Johnson, Jeannette Neeld, Neil Truman, and Kristin Wurzburger.

 

January 28, 2010--Aledo's TIF district was discussed in two parts of town last night. The Aledo City Council's TIF committee had a meeting at City Hall and heard from Tom Henderson of the Illinois Tax Increment Association. He says it may not necessarily benefit the school district if the city removes all residential properties from its TIF district. Over at the Mercer County Unit Office, school board president Dwight Shoemaker is asking the school board to adopt a resolution supporting the removal of residential properties from the TIF district. He says any way you slice it, the school loses money from the TIF and the school disitrict is in no financial position to wait for the payoff over 10-years from now. Henderson was also asked about Aledo City Council members who own property in the TIF district. He says they should remove themselves from discussing TIF matters. Those impacted by that are Mayor Dick Hunter and aldermen Bob Rillie and Rich Maynard.

 

January 27, 2010--A two-hour discussion involving the Aledo Police Department.  Most of it was done in closed session last night by the Aledo City Council's Police Committee. At issue is the contract status of Mike Sponsler. His contract expires April 30th. No final action was taken last night, according to Mayor Dick Hunter.

 

January 27, 2010--A local service organization is not soliciting funds over the telephone. Bill Stropes with the Aledo Jaycees says his group doesn't operate that way. Just like any phone soliciting situation, never give out any personal information such as bank account or social security numbers.

 

January 26, 2010--The Rockridge High School wrestling program continues to cope with the loss of a team member. Sophomore Steven Sieghartner died in a car crash last month. Teammate Steele McCulley says the team is honoring his memory the rest of the season. The Rockridge JV tourney is now called the "Steven Sieghartner Memorial Tournament". The teen died on Christmas night from injuries sustained in a December 22nd automobile accident.  Also on the Rockridge wrestling front, several wrestlers have been diagnosed with "skin herpes".  The condition is caused by a virus that is spread through skin to skin contact and is common among wrestlers. In response to the outbreak, a decision has been made to cancel all wrestling activities until February 1st.   

 

January 26, 2010--After much attention on discipline at Mercer County High School earlier this month, things have quieted down. It was a subject of discussion at the last Mercer County School Board meeting, but things are getting better says Unit 404 superintendent Alan Boucher. The Mercer County School Board will get a discipline update tomorrow night.

 

January 26, 2010--Western Illinois congressional candidate Bobby Schilling says it will take a strong local ticket for Republicans to make a difference statewide. Schilling was at Oak View Country Club last night urging on his party, saying it will take a grassroots effort. He says it will take both quality and quantity. Schilling says he's excited that he out raised Phil Hare in individual donations for the 4th quarter fundraising report--$54,000 to $49,000.

 

January 25, 2010--The deer hunting season has wrapped up in Illinois. Illinois Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Tim Schweitzer says preliminary figures indicate hunters harvested over 189,000 deer during the 2009/2010 season, including 1,523 in Mercer County. In Mercer County, 871 deer were harvested during the firearm season, 50 during muzzleloader, 180 during late winter CWD, 410 during archery and 12 during the youth season.

 

January 22, 2010--The City of Aledo has had to file a utility lien against its former city manager. The action is being taken against Patrick Burelle. The lien amounts to around $200, according to current city manager Janice Green. Liens can be filed if an account is delinquent for 61 days. The lien is being applied to his property at 207 SW 8th Street, which is undergoing foreclosure, according to a filing in Mercer County Circuit Court. Burelle also came under fire last spring by the Aledo City Council for his use of a city cell phone after he left office. Burelle served as Aledo city administrator from 2006 to 2009 before leaving for a job in Michigan, which he just stepped down from last week.

 

January 22, 2010--The chairman of the Mercer County Republican Party says a GOP upset victory in Massachusetts this week will have a trickle down effect. Mike Bertelsen is referring to the Scott Brown win over Martha Coakley to fill the late Edward Kennedy's seat--the first time a Republican has won that position since 1972. Bertelsen envisions similar outcomes in Illinois in November. Bertelsen is predicting Bobby Schilling will have enough support in November to unseat Phil Hare in the 17th Congressional District, a seat held by Democrats since 1983.

 

January 22, 2010--The United School District being faced with some difficult decisions. Superintendent Jeff Whitsitt says their current financial plight is all state related. United is currently owed over $350,000 from the state this school year.

 

January 22, 2010--A local bank celebrating 100 years today. Some humble beginnings for the Farmers State Bank of Western Illinois says President Bret Robinson. Farmers State Bank of Western Illinois now has offices in Alpha, Alexis, Aledo, New Windsor, Woodhull, and Viola.

 

January 20, 2010--The Mercer County School District is anticipating over $1.3 million in consolidation incentive money over the next several years, but the first payment of just over $116,000 is already late from the state says Unit 404 superintendent Alan Boucher. Unit 404 is also awaiting on another $650,000 from the state for various items such as transportation, pre-k, and special education.

 

January 19, 2010--A downtown Aledo business owner is still planning to move forward with his dream of creating the largest candy store in the Midwest. John Kesinger calls his idea the Pope Creek Chocolate Company. The 10,000 square foot project would include redevelopment of the existing Knox Heating and Cooling storefront along West Main Street in downtown Aledo. The estimated cost for the project is $750,000. Knox Heating and Cooling will relocate to another building in Aledo.

 

January 19, 2010--Former Aledo city manager Patrick Burelle has stepped down from his job in Michigan. Burelle left Aledo for Algonac last January. The Algonac City Council approved a separation agreement with Burelle last week, giving Burelle 26-weeks of salary in the sum of $34,000, according to The Voice newspaper. Burelle served as Aledo city administrator from January of 2006 to January of 2009.

 

January 18, 2010--Mercer County Hospital's one-year management contract with Genesis Health Systems is nearing an end, but the agreement is likely to be extended. Those details are being worked out says Jeff Cooper with Genesis. The contract is set to expire March 30th. Genesis began its relationship with DeWitt Community Hospital in Iowa through a management contract but eventually assumed ownership of the facility.

 

January 18, 2010--Based on information obtained at the state school board convention, Mercer County High School is too small for the existing student population. Unit 404 school board president Dwight Shoemaker says this information serves as a starting point in examining future building needs in the district. Shoemaker says he favors adding on to an existing building rather than building a brand new school. Around 400 students attend Mercer County High School.

 

January 15, 2010--One of Illinois' top high school coaches just picked up his 600th victory, but he got his first win at Westmer.  Neil Alexander has made a name for himself coaching basketball at Lincoln High School, but he got his coaching and teaching start at Westmer in 1976 and then the following two years at Yorkwood.  Click here for interview with Coach Alexander reflecting on his days at Westmer and Yorkwood. 

 

January 15, 2010--With the plans for the Mercer County Jail expansion due out any day, one local contractor won't be bidding on the addition. Mike Frye of Frye Builders says his firm's hands are tied due to the Mercer County Public Building Commission adopting an impact agreement for the project, which requires union labor or paying prevailing wage. The Illowa Construction Labor and Management Council says this does not prevent Frye Builders from bidding it, but Frye disagrees. Frye did add that the building commission needs to take a better look at who they award the project to compared to when they did when the jail was originally built. The impact agreement was approved on a 3-2 vote with Bill Brown, Kevin Basala and Kevin Utz in favor and Doug McCaw and Ed Kelly against it.

 

January 15, 2010--Former Rockridge baseball coach Glen Cook is coming out of retirement. Cook has been hired by the Rockridge School Board. He guided the Rocket baseball program for six years, resigning following the 2007 campaign. He finished with five straight 20-win seasons and led Rockridge to its only state tournament appearance in baseball in 2003. Click here for interview with Glen Cook. 

 

January 14, 2010--Mercer County State's Attorney Greg McHugh is telling the Aledo Police Department that he will be filing Class 3 felonies for any fights on Mercer County High School property that result in bodily injury or other extreme behavior. The information was included in a memo sent from McHugh to officers yesterday. The state's attorney is asking police to take offenders right to jail. He says while any battery at the school can be a felony, he will use discretion and apply juvenile charges for minor scuffles or younger first time offenders. Factors will include age, nature of fight and prior history. McHugh adds that if a student uses obscene language to a teacher, then disorderly conduct criminal charges will be the result and the student can expect an immediate arrest. The memo says this action is needed to "stem the tide of the increasing volume of violence at the high school."

 

January 14, 2010--A legal battle over the Mercer County Jail expansion is apparently over. Mercer County State's Attorney Greg McHugh tells WRMJ that "Concerned Citizens for Mercer County" has dropped their appeal. McHugh says the Mercer County Public Building Commission was notified this week. The concerned citizens group attempted to stop the project last fall, but their effort was turned down in Mercer County Circuit Court. They then filed an appeal with the Third District Appellate Court in Ottawa last week, but have since decided to stop their challenge. They originally argued the building commission needed voter approval to proceed with the $5-million expansion, which will add 30-cells for U.S. Marshals Service prisoners. Documents for bidding will be available starting today with bids opened by February 12th and a construction contract signed by March 14th.

 

January 14, 2010--A trial date has been scheduled for later this year for a St. Louis area man charged with killing a Keithsburg woman in 2005. A jury trial is set for April 26th for 29 year old Shauntez Hairston in St. Clair County Circuit Court in Belleville, Illinois. He faces one count of 1st Degree Murder stemming from the July 5th, 2005 strangulation death of 20 year old Marissa Tharp, a former student at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. Her body was discovered in a mobile home near East St. Louis. Hairston remains in custody on $1-million bond at the St. Clair County Jail. The Edwardsville man faces up to 60-years in prison upon conviction.

 

January 14, 2010--The Mercer County School District school code will now include a criminal code element--meaning if a student physically attacks another classmate or staff member, they'll be sent to the Mercer County Sheriff's Department for prosecution on battery or aggravated battery charges. Unit 404 school board president Dwight Shoemaker says this action is in response to a rash of altercations at the high school. Shoemaker says the fights have involved former Westmer kids against former Westmer kids or former Aledo School District students against former Aledo students. It hasn't been Aledo against Westmer.

 

January 14, 2010--Although people with the former Aledo and Westmer School Districts are now accustomed to the Mercer County Golden Eagle name, opposing schools are still getting used to it. Rockridge basketball coach Jeff Henry's team played Mercer County this week and just like many other coaches this school year, he has a hard time remembering they are called Mercer County. Henry is a graduate of the former Yorkwood High School and coached at former Alexis High School. Those two schools merged with Monmouth Warren to become United.

 

January 12, 2010--A comprehensive housing profile completed for Mercer County. The information was released today by Jenny Garner with the Mercer County Economic Development Office. The housing data may be used by social service agencies, advocacy groups, government leaders, developers, appraisers, and bankers. The profile was based on a survey sent to Mercer County residents in November of 2008.

 

January 12, 2010--The Rockridge School Board has learned that the district is owed over $750,000 from the state.  Superintendent Jack Bambrick says $285,000 of that involves transportation funding.  He updated the board on the numbers last night. 

 

January 11, 2010--Rockridge High School head football coach Jeremy Adolphson was fired by the Rockridge School Board on a 4-to-3 vote tonight. Adolphson led the Rocket program for fours years and had a record of 11 and 26, including a playoff appearance in his first season.  Voting to dismiss were board members Susan Neece, Dan Neneman, Corey Bull, and Eric Stewart.  Voting to rehire were Tim Keller, Tom Verschoore, and Bill Woods.  Click here for interview with Coach Adolphson. 

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