Breaking News
School Superintendent Tieman resigns
A stunned Board of Education on Monday night accepted Joe Tieman’s resignation for purposes of retirement as Superintendent of Community Unit School District 7. The resignation is effective June 30, the end of the academic year.
Tieman, currently in his seventh year as superintendent, has been a district employee for 18 years, serving first as a middle school principal. He was an assistant superintendent under former Supt. Paul Skeans and stepped into the superintendent’s role upon Skeans’ retirement. Prior to starting his career at CUSD 7, Tieman was a teacher in the Girard school district.
Tieman told the BenGil Post he reached the decision to retire quickly and suddenly. As recently as January, the board had voted to extend Tieman’s contract by one year, a routine action to maintain a three-year contract for the superintendent.
“It’s been the best job in the world,” Tieman said of his tenure as superintendent. “To be treated so well by the board and to be treated so well by the staff, I can’t think of a single negative thing.”
Tieman said he’s been proud of the board’s willingness to add personnel to provide more and more educational opportunities for district students, and he’s been pleased to see standardized assessment test scores gradually improving.
“Number one, I’m proud of how this community came together as a school district when the mine subsidence happened and we ended up with a beautiful new school,” he said.
In other action Monday night, the board hired Stephanie Bray as a technology integration specialist for the 2020-21 school year and posted an open position for a middle school physical education teacher—the position Bray will vacate to accept the new job.
Board members also voted unanimously to join in a collaborative application for grant money to cover up to 85 percent of the cost of equipping one or more rooms for distance learning programs. Spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, University of Illinois and Blackburn College, the program is intended to help schools offer programs to students of other districts within the cooperative.
Tieman also briefly updated the board on efforts the school district has undertaken to continue education programs for students during the Covid-19 school closure. The district is offering electronic options for students who have computers and internet access. In addition, the district distributed packets of printed materials for students unable to take advantage of the electronic option. Tieman said the district will distribute a second round of instructional materials on March 30.
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Another major winter storm is forecasted to blanket the BenGil area in heavy rains, flooding and snowfall starting Wednesday night through Thursday.
The mixture of precipitation and rapidly changing weather likely will produce the potential for sudden icing on roads, with high winds leading to blowing snow and reduced visibility.
“The Illinois Department of Transportation’s snow-and-ice teams will be prepared and out in force, but the public needs to be ready for conditions to change quickly and worsen if they are out on the roads,” said Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman. “As always during periods of extreme weather, the safest option is to postpone any unnecessary trips and stay home. If you must travel, prepare for very slow and potentially hazardous conditions. And please slow down around our plows and other emergency vehicles, giving them plenty of room to do their jobs.”
The National Weather Service is predicting a wintry mix of precipitation to start with thunderstorms and heavy rain in much of the state this evening, converting to freezing rain overnight before turning to snow Thursday morning. In addition to localized flooding, ice and sleet accumulations are likely, creating extremely slippery surfaces and slick conditions.
Due to the rainy conditions ahead of temperatures falling overnight, the effectiveness of pretreating and salting surfaces in advance of significant snowfall will be limited. The public should anticipate icy conditions even when roads appear clear and greatly reduce speeds.
“As the Illinois State Police plans to take on the unpredictable Illinois weather, we would like to remind motorists to do their part in keeping the roads a safe place,” said Illinois State Police Director Brendan F. Kelly. “ISP, alongside IDOT and other agencies, will be working in hazardous weather conditions. Please remember to slow down, stay vigilant and move over for ANY vehicle on the side of the road.”
Statewide, IDOT has available more than 1,800 trucks and equipment to plow, treat roads and respond to weather emergencies. If you encounter a plow or any maintenance vehicle during your travels, please slow down, increase your following distance and remain patient. Do not attempt to pass – conditions in front of the plow will be worse than behind it.
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Police are investigating the death of a Bunker Hill woman who was found dead at the end of her driveway near the roadway on Monday morning, January 31.
Nancy Blycker, 91, had multiple injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. The Macoupin County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call to the 2900 block of Wood Hill Lane around 7:40 a.m. on Monday.
The initial suspicion was homicide, according to a release by the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis who said approximately 20 investigators were working the investigation, but the autopsy contradicted that suspicion.
The Major Case Squad said on Tuesday it is “highly unlikely” Blycker’s death was the “result of homicidal means.”
The Major Case Squad turned the case back over to the Macoupin County Sheriff’s Department. The official cause of death is pending further lab analysis.
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The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the BenGil area, southwestern Illinois, and the St. Louis area.
The warning was issued early Tuesday taking effect at midnight tonight until noon on Thursday, February 3 calling for a “wet, heavy” snow. The forecast also calls for ice prompting a warning about possible power outages.
“All indications continue to point to a disruptive, impactful, and dangerous winter storm impacting the region starting late tonight and lasting through Thursday night,” the National Weather Service said in its Area Forecast Discussion.
The BenGil area is expected to receive heavy mixed precipitation including snow accumulations between 6 and 10 inches, sleet accumulations around three-quarters of an inch, and ice accumulations around two-tenths of an inch. Wind gusts will be as high as 35 mph on Thursday.
The storm is expected to start with rain most of the day today before transitioning into a mixture of freezing rain and/or sleet Tuesday night, then all snow Wednesday morning or as late as Wednesday afternoon continuing until about noon on Thursday.
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