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Evansville school restroom project discussed Page 13 Corps meeting Page 6 Chester 3rd at CIT Serving The Area With Local News Since 1980 Page 14 Legal notices Pages 21-22 © Copyright 2015, County Journal www.countyjournalnews.com Volume 37 Number 3 24 Pages Your Local News Leader Thursday, January 21, 2016 75¢ Grand American assured Jackson County for this summer in Sparta marking bicentennial By Travis Lott with special event Despite the lingering cloud Two significant historical of dysfunction in the state of markers will be unveiled Illinois that led to the cease Saturday at 2 p.m. at the of shooting events at the Special Jackson County Court- World Shooting and Recre- house in Murphysboro. ational Complex, the Grand The public is invited to at- ceremonies American and AIM shoots tend the unveiling, mark- will return to Sparta from ing the county’s bicenten- July 28 to August 15. at 2 p.m. this nial and a special citizen. The announcement was Jackson County was cre- made January 15 at the com- Saturday at ated from Randolph and plex, and it comes via a Johnson counties and be- memorandum of under- came Illinois’ ninth county courthouse standing between the Ama- January 10, 1816. teur trapshooting Associa- The county is named after in M’boro tion and the Illinois Depart- Andrew Jackson, hero of ment of Natural Resources. the Battle of New Orleans Under the agreement, if the Shown during the announcement and signing of the in the War of 1812 and sev- land for the development of state fails to open the com- memorandum of understanding, from left are ATA enth president of the United Brownsville and was a del- plex by April 15 of this year, executive director Lynn Gipson, ATA president Wayne States. egate from Jackson County IDNR and the ATA will ne- Morris and IDNR chief of staff Jason Heffley. Brownsville, the first to the first Illinois Consti- gotiate, in good faith, an Jackson County seat, was tutional Convention. He amendment to the lease we’ve come to know it,” thousands of tourists every once Illinois’ third largest served in the General As- agreement, which will allow Gipson said. “We want to year, providing an overall $22 town. sembly from 1818 until his the ATA to use the facility to have it here forever.” million impact. When the courthouse death in 1835. host and conduct all shooting Gipson said that if there is This economic effects are burned in January 1843, The markers to be un- and camping activities from a silver lining to this situa- split between the Grand the county’s citizens voted veiled commemorate the May 1 to August 31. tion, it’s that there is now a American and the Scholastic to relocate the county seat. birth of Jackson County The agreement allows for heightened awareness of, in Clay Target Program National Murphysboro received the and the importance of the ATA to explore other op- just 10 years, how important Championships. nod in September 1843. Will. They are being erect- tions and terminate the lease the facility has become to the The SCTP accounts for One of the founders of ed by the descendants of agreement if the organiza- local community. roughly $10 million of the Jackson County was Dr. Will, Jackson County gov- tion would like to. However, “Unlike any state park any- overall impact. Conrad Will. He was born in ernment and the Illinois that would be completely con- where, the economic impact However, representatives Pennsylvania in 1779 but State Historical Society. trary to ATA executive direc- is tremendous,” Gipson said. from the SCTP were not in at- came to Illinois in 1813. He The Murphysboro Tour- tor Lynn Gipson’s senti- The County Journal has re- tendance during the signing was a physician and oper- ism Commission is coordi- ments. ported multiple times over of the agreement. ated a grist mill, tannery nating the bicentennial ac- “If we don’t have the Grand the past year what the finan- and salt works. He donated tivities. here, my fear is that we’ll cial significance the complex never see the Grand again as has on the area, bringing in Continued on Page 5______ Black ice caught many drivers by surprise January 14 By Travis Lott Black ice plagued local road- ways last Thursday morning, At least causing multiple serious ac- cidents and several fender benders. seven The ice was a surprise, as January 14 was forecast to be accidents in uncharacteristically warm for an early January morning— and by mid afternoon, the Randolph temperature had surpassed 50 degrees. of his car while traveling However, conditions were westbound on Route 154 just just right in the early morn- west of Sparta. ing hours for the development McConachie reportedly ex- of patches of ice over shaded ited the north side of the road areas and bridges and ruin- and struck the embankment. ing several morning com- He was not taken to the hos- mutes. pital. Randolph County Less than 15 minutes later, Seven accidents occurred in emergency crews were called Randolph County within an to assist a rollover accident hour and a half, stretching on the S curve of Shawnee- emergency personnel to their town Trail near Glober Lane limits. east of Palestine. A minivan driven by Sheriff Shannon Wolff said This is one of the two cars involved in the head-on collision on Wine Hill Road Thursday Charles Kelly, 69, of Sparta he was glad to have four depu- morning. It was the most serious of the accidents. The helicopter is shown in the background. ties on duty, which was an un- lost control and proceeded to usual bit of good fortune for slide, spin and flip over. The Three minutes after the call Lee Kellum, 56, of Sparta lost Ruma, where Marah Donjon, a department that has been minivan sideswiped a truck on Shawneetown Trail, crews control and struck an em- 17, of Prairie du Rocher lost understaffed since before he driven by Matthew Thies, 31, were called back to the same bankment. Kellum was not control of her Jeep Wrangler. took office. of Campbell Hill. spot where the McConachie taken to the hospital. Donjon was traveling east The first call came at 6:31 Thies was not injured, but wreck occurred on Route 154 At 7:23—just 25 minutes af- when her vehicle hit the ice, a.m. after Stephen McCona- Kelly was airlifted to St. near Sparta for a similar inci- ter the Kellum wreck—crews chie, 52, of Sparta lost control Louis University Hospital. dent in which a car driven by were called to Route 155 near Continued on Page 5_____ Missing fentanyl subject of criminal investigation An investigation is report- The County Journal is aware edly taking place into the of the person named in the theft of or tampering with a subpoenas issued in July and potent drug. August but is not using his Randolph County State’s At- name because no charges torney Jeremy Walker said have been filed. this week that he will not dis- At issue is missing fentanyl cuss the facets of any investi- from an ambulance or ambu- gation taking place. lances. The investigation has He did say that some Ran- been ongoing since May, ac- dolph County subpoenas cording to the News Demo- have been issued, and they are crat. public record. Fentanyl is a strong pain Those subpoenas, according killer stocked in ambulances to the Belleville News Demo- and at the hospital. To a drug crat, concern employee abuser, it can have the same records, logs about the dis- effects as heroin, only they pensing of narcotics and pay- last longer. It is 40 to 50 roll records of MedStar Am- times more potent than pure bulance Service and Belleville heroin. Memorial Hospital. Since last summer, fentanyl Alligator at school MedStar is headquartered in has been ordered removed Steve Ceriotti, better known as Serengeti Steve, made a presentation to Chester Grade Sparta. from all ambulances in a 10- School students January 12. Ceriotti, shown above, owns Reptile Experience in St. Louis, “No charges are pending in county area, including Ran- and he advanced to the Las Vegas finals of America’s Got Talent in 2012. He is a Guinness Randolph County or any- dolph County, because of “un- Book of World Records holder for the longest time holding a live, venomous scorpion in where else at this time to the authorized tampering,” ac- his mouth at 17 minutes, 17 seconds. Ceriotti’s presentation was funded by the Chester best of my knowledge,” said cording to the Belleville news- Grade School Parent/Teacher Society. Walker. paper. Page 2 County Journal January 21, 2016 Sparta Accident on Rte. 3 business seriously injures child Aside from the ville. wrecks that happened The impact of the heavily Thursday morning, an- crash pushed Simp- other wreck occurred son’s car into the ditch. damaged January 14 at 4:58 p.m. A 6-year-old male near Evansville. passenger in Simp- According to the re- son’s car sustained in- by fire port released by the capacitating injuries state police, a vehicle and was airlifted to an Along with other driven by Matthew undisclosed hospital. Hornbostel, 29, of The condition of the local fires Effingham was travel- child is unknown. A Sparta business ing south on South Hornbostel is charg- was heavily damaged Prairie Road and failed ed with failure to stop by fire at about 8:30 to stop at the stop sign at a stop sign, and the p.m.