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Chester boy recovering from head injury Page 5 Inside This Issue Local gun sales .............. Pg. 3 CC Sparta on residency ....... Pg. 6 COUNTY JOURNAL 40 Years for Graham ...... Pg. 8 JJ Serving Randolph, Perry And Jackson Counties Since 1980 Beattie reviews status .... Pg. 11 Champion tree .............. Pg. 13 Local sports ........... Pgs. 14-16 © Copyright 2013, County Journal www.countyjournalnews.com Volume 34 Number 3 24 Pages Your Local News Leader Thursday, January 17, 2013 60¢ Coal pensioners urged to rally for insurance Potential Patriot bankruptcy threat By Jeff Blair years and promised to the em- Hundreds filled the Knights of ployees. Columbus hall in Pinckneyville Many retirees argue that they January 10 for a special meeting have health issues related to the of the United Mine Workers of work they did in the coal mines, America retirees. and they must take medications, The meeting was called to up- some of which are very expensive. date the retirees about Peabody, They note that if they lose their Arch and Patriot coal companies UMWA health care benefits, they on the status of a Chapter 11 will not be able to afford those bankruptcy filing by Patriot Coal. medications. Steve Earle, international vice Since its surge in 2008, Patriot president for UMWA District 12 has seen its stock, and the num- headquartered in Madisonville, ber of mines it is operating, fall Kentucky, called it a very serious dramatically. situation in regard to the pension There have been 19 mines idled, and health care benefits for retir- and the company’s stock has ees. fallen from a high of $80.70 in Patriot Coal Company is a spin- 2008 to just under 9 cents a share off of Peabody Energy and was last week. established in 2007. Peabody had The first bankruptcy hearing is purchased smaller coal companies scheduled for January 29 at 10 in Appalachia, including Mag- a.m. at the federal courthouse in num Coal, a subsidiary of Arch. St. Louis. The case was originally This puts the benefits of retir- on the docket in federal court in ees of both Peabody Coal and Arch New York City but was trans- Minerals in the spotlight for the ferred by a New York judge to St. bankruptcy hearings. UMWA re- Louis. tirees are generally covered un- The judge cited the fact that der one of three benefit plans, the Peabody’s corporate headquarters 1950, 1974 or combined benefit is located in St. Louis, and that lo- plans. cation would be more accessible With a beer pressed firmly to his lips and his Speedos securely in place, Neal Capps of Chester takes The retirees’ concern is that if to the thousands of employees and the Polar Plunge Saturday. Patriot is granted Chapter 11 sta- retirees who have an interest in tus, they will lose most of the ben- efits that were negotiated over the Continued on Page 5__________ S’ville Polar Plunge raises $6,000 The annual Polar Plunge is be- He said there were 60 jumpers, the Percy Haberman house coming quite the Steeleville area most ever, and 20 more than last party, and for a good cause. No ice, but 60 year. Jumpers paid $20 to make Last Saturday, it is estimated the plunge off the boat dock into deemed uninhabitable that almost 200 people gathered jumpers faced a the lake. at the Wally and Vickie Wathen “It’s great,” said Barbour. “We It appears unlikely that Phyllis and Priscilla Haberman will move back farm south of Steeleville for the cold rain and have had no issues, and everyone into their Percy home on Almond Street. fifth annual event. just has a good time.” The twin sisters have not lived in the home for several months. They The highlight of the day was shallow lake Saturday’s air temperature was moved out shortly before a TV crew taping an episode of “Hoarding: when a group of swimsuit-clad 56 degrees, and the lake was about Buried Alive” for The Learning Channel completed the first phase of souls jumped into the frigid Metro East area. Seth was se- two feet lower than usual. production. Wathen lake. There were all ages, verely injured in a car-vehicle Participants jumped from one to Enough trash and debris to fill two large dumpsters was removed from including some preteens to 55- accident in Chester last October. four at a time into about six feet the house, giving Percy code enforcement officer Robert O’Rear a chance year-old Kim Helbig of Smithton. He is making a slow recovery. of water then headed for a warm to make a comprehensive inspection of the structure. The day included music, food and Both parents attended the blanket or coverup. He gave his report on that inspection to the town board January 10. drink, raffles and the plunge. plunge. A gun raffle was also held. The O’Rear said the home is not fit to live in. This year, the event benefited Jonathan Barbour of Steeleville, gun, donated by Dustin Heiple of “It would be foolish to put money into that house,” O’Rear told the Seth Snider, the son of Lory Snider who spearheads the event, said board. “It’s just not worth fixing up.” of Chester and Terry Snider of the it raised about $6,000 this year. Continued on Page 5__________ He did not say who would be responsible for paying the cost of demol- ishing the home, if it comes to that, and the sisters aren’t able to pay. He said the sisters are working with a caseworker who is trying to find them another place to live. They are also getting counseling from an It’s over; Kellerman case is dismissed agency in Red Bud. By Greg Myers missal. stemming from an alleged incident O’Rear said he will report at next month’s town board meeting on what A Belleville judge Tuesday dis- “They argued that the ordi- involving intimate contact with an- options those working with the two women have come up with. missed an indecent conduct nance under which the citation other man in a parked car in It’s not clear how this latest development will affect the TV show going charge against Perry County was written was unconstitution- Caseyville. The other man, Ian forward. Sheriff Keith Kellerman. The ally vague, and the judge agreed Stennett of Collinsville, later Nicole Bamber, a spokeswoman for The Learning Channel, told the charge stemmed from an alleged with them,” said Caseyville vil- pleaded guilty and paid a $100 fine. County Journal Tuesday she isn’t sure of the Haberman episode’s status. incident that occurred in Decem- lage attorney Al Paulson. “The Wednesday, the sheriff said “I will check, but I imagine the crew will be back,” Bamber said. “We ber 2011 in Caseyville. ordinance was written a long nothing would be served by his never leave a place like that.” Kellerman’s attorney Patricia time ago, and it needs to be re- making any comment. Bamber said the episode is still scheduled to air sometime this spring. Gross filed a motion in St. Clair written. We have no plans to ap- “Enough has been said,” Meanwhile, the two large dumpsters, one of which is on the street, County to dismiss the charge peal the decision.” Kellerman said. remain. Tuesday during a scheduled case Kellerman was charged Decem- Kellerman has been sheriff since status hearing. The motion was ber 16, 2011 under a Caseyville 1998. He also would not comment heard by Associate Judge Julie ordinance violation with a mis- on his plans to run or not run in Help sought for fire victims Katz, and she granted the dis- demeanor, public indecency, the 2014 election. A Sparta church will accept do- trius, his wife Karen and their son nations to help the Demetrius Deontez, 14. Percy ponders finances and hiring Rednour Lowery family of Eden. Lowery said this week that his $32,000 a year when he resigned The Church of God in Christ family is still living at the Holi- “Where do I get the money from considering adding an employee last year to take another job. Jesus All Nations spokesperson day Inn in Sparta. to pay the bills?” at a salary rumored to be $40,000 Mark Prange, who is running Nikea Edmonson said the church “We need a home,” he said. That is the question Percy village a year, plus health insurance and for mayor, noted that Percy spent has been accepting donations The fire, which Lowery said he Treasurer Denise Ernsting put to other benefits. $2,700 on police pay in December from its members to help the fam- believes was started from an elec- Percy Town Board members at Coleman was referring to and $4,280 in November. That’s ily. It will also accept donations trical problem, not a wood burn- their January 10 meeting. Rednour, who is currently work- based on five part-time officers from the general community. The ing furnace, killed his two broth- As of last week’s meeting, the ing as Percy’s part-time police who work a combined 40 hours a family lost everything in a fire ers, Dennis and Willie Monroe. town had about $3,000 in the gen- chief. week. They are paid $10 an hour. New Year’s Day. The two were handicapped, re- eral fund and outstanding bills of “This town is going downhill,” Prange drew applause when he Send donations to the church at sulting from separate accidents more than $9,550, according to Coleman said.