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Corrine Falke: Heritage Health Spotlight

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Born and raised in Lutie, Oklahoma for about 5 years, Corrine Falke landed in Heritage Health 94 years later. “I cannot believe how old I am, I do not know how I got here so fast.” Corrine is the Heritage Health Spotlight for the month of July.

Her family made the move to Illinois when she was 5 years old. Both of her parents were immigrants from Italy. Her father came to Oklahoma 5 years before her mother came over. His brother lived in Oklahoma already, so it was easier for him to find a job. Then her mother came over 5 years later with Corrine and they settled in for a handful of years before they moved to Wilsonville, Illinois.

“Growing up was wonderful,” she said. Her mother had two brothers. One of them had 4 daughters and the other had 3 daughters. It was a blast for Corrine and her two sisters. “All girls, it was the best.” Corrine said they always used to play run-sheepy-run on their block.

Her father mined coal in Oklahoma with his brother. “The mines were very dangerous back then,” Corrine added. Her mother had two brothers living in Mt. Clare at the time who also mined coal. As she remembers, her mother spoke to one of her brothers and they persuaded her it was easier mining up north. So, as you can guess, that is when Corrine’s made the move to the BenGil area.

“I grew up in Wilsonville,” Corrine explained. Her family lived with her uncle until they could find a house. Her father ended up working in a mine in Wilsonville, so they thought it would be best to live there. “It was a whole different day,” Corrine laughed.

As she grew up in Wilsonville, she remembers playing on the square in Wilsonville until it got dark every night. “We would start as soon as the sun came up and when it went down, we had to go back home.” She enjoyed growing up in Wilsonville and loved every day of it.

Corrine went to school right in Wilsonville. It was actually very nice, she recalled. The toilets were outside, Corrine smiled, “it was another day.” Up until the eighth grade, Corrine went to Wilsonville. Then she started high school in Gillespie.

If it were not for basketball, Corrine would not have loved school so much. “I liked to play that game,” she noted. After graduating from a rather large class of over 100 at least, she got married right after high school to Wilbert.

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She met her husband at the bridge in Mt. Clare. “The kids used to gather there or we used to go down to the big swing in the evening,” Corrine started. “We always had to be home in the evening. No one had cars, it was not like today.”

It was at the bridge where she found her love. The people from Gillespie would come and play with us. “I don’t know what we did there by that bridge,” Corrine said, “But we always had fun.”

Wilbert and Corrine got married and stayed in Wilsonville for $2 a room. “I never dreamt of going to work, but one day I was by the sewing factory that just opened and the owner asked me, ‘Would you consider going to work at the sewing factory?’” So, she went to work and stayed there for about 18 years off and on.

She took some time off when her mother died because her father moved in with them. Then after losing her father a month later, her family moved closer to Gillespie by the Fassero’s. “The Fassero’s became family as well as the Valero’s, they were thrilled we moved there because we had two little kids.” Their two boys were Bill and Wilbert, named after his father.

Wilbert was working on the railroad around that time, but Corrine and him loved to watch their boys play baseball, football, and run track. “I remember one day my oldest boy forget his football towel. So, I made him walk back to Benld and get it,” Corrine laughed. The towel smelled terribly she recalled, so it had to be washed on a regular basis. “Its not like that now-a-days, they will pull a car out and go get it.”

When asked if she went on any vacations, Corrine balked. “Vacations?! We went to see relatives!” She had a brother in Chicago, so they went there quite a bit. Then Bill, her son, lived in Rolla when he was in the Army, so they went to Missouri often. He was also stationed overseas twice, so that is how they visited Germany. Corrine had her relatives in Italy, so Italy was a familiar place for the Falke’s. “I went to Italy four times. Bologna was absolutely wonderful!” The food was the best part, Corrine said. It was made fresh every day.

“I have a lifetime of memories,” Corrine closed. She was living in Staunton Assistant Living initially with her husband. Then, she fell and broke her shoulder. She now resides in Heritage Health. “I did not want it to end this way,” she went on to say. “We did not want to be separated.” But, Corrine looks at from an optimistic point of view. She was married for over 75 years, she never had any trouble with her boys, she had a wonderful marriage, both of her boys went on to graduate from school, and she has always been very healthy.

“The girls here are very nice!” Although she said it is not home for her, it is the closest she will get. Corrine hopes one day her and her husband will get to join back together at the same place. That would be a wish come true!

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Gillespie teen wins drive safe Chicago video contest

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Wins $2,000 Prize and Video She Created will Air on 160 TV Stations Nationwide

CHICAGO – Emily Bergen, 16, a student at Gillespie High School in Gillespie, has won the annual Drive Safe Chicago public service announcement contest.  Antonio Knott, 15, of Merrillville High School in Merrillville IN, placed second in the voting, and Noelani Elizalde, 17, also from Merrillville High School, was third. 

Sponsored by the National Road Safety Foundation in partnership with the Chicago Auto Show, teens from Illinois and surrounding states were invited to submit ideas for a 30-second PSA about sharing the road with other passenger vehicles, trucks, motorcycles and pedestrians.

Three finalists were selected and each worked with an Emmy Award-winning producer to transform their PSA submissions into 30-second TV public service announcements.  The public was then able to vote for their favorite online.  More than 1,400 online votes were cast.

The winner received $2,000 and will be featured on nationally-syndicated Teen Kids News, reaching more than 160 TV stations across the country. The first runner-up got $1,000 and the second runner-up won $500.  All three finalists’ teachers received $100 gift cards.

Bergen’s winning PSA shows a young driver starting her car and pressing a “share the road” button.  As she drives, an AI voice warns her of a bicyclist, a pedestrian and children in a school zone. The voice then reminds her, “Cars don’t come with devices like me, which is why you need to know how to share the road.”

“The carnage on our roads can be reduced if drivers remain aware of others who share the road,” said Michelle Anderson of The National Road Safety Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes safe driving. “We think the creative ideas about sharing the road from our Drive Safe Chicago winner and runners-up convey that message effectively.”

“Although today’s new cars are safer than ever, with technological advances that are proven to help avoid crashes,” said Chicago Auto Show Chairwoman Kelly Webb Roberts, “drivers must still be aware of others they are sharing the road with, whether it’s a car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle or pedestrians.”

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The National Road Safety Foundation says driver error accounts for 94 percent of all fatal crashes, with speeding and driver distraction among the leading factors.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 40,990 people died on U.S. roads and highways in 2023, with hundreds of thousands of injuries and an estimated annual cost of more than $340 billion.

View Bergen’s winning video below:

Bergen’s video is also featured center on the National Road Safety Foundation’s website with the runners-up videos to the right and to the left: https://m.shortstack.page/NLxMqT

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L&C announces fall 2024 honors lists

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Lewis and Clark Community College

Students earning a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 or higher out of a possible 4.0 are named to the President’s List. Those students earning a grade point average between 3.25 and 3.74 are recognized each semester on the Dean’s List.

Further requirements are listed in the college’s online catalog at http://catalog.lc.edu. All questions should be directed to the Enrollment Center at (618) 468-2222. Below is an excerpt containing students residing in Macoupin County.

President’s List

BENLD – Ryleigh L. Phillips; Zander E. Rieffer; Emily R. Schoen; Tristen B. Wargo;

BRIGHTON – Brandon M. Adams; Ike D. Austin; Lainie L. Behrends; Reagan Beilsmith; Ian C. Brantley; Tina M. Brass; Lane Cox; Madison P. Fenstermaker; Hunter D. Gillis; Hailey Gula; Alexis R. Harrop; Gavin Humm; Thomas D. Kunz; Nicholas O. McGee; Audrey A. Perkins; Ava J. Pulley; Alyssa J. Schuchman; Addison Strohbeck; Sydney A. Valdes; Abby Van Doren; Piper L. Voorhees; Madelyn E. Zarges;

BUNKER HILL – Alex Betts; Grant J. Burch; Kayleigh K. Butler; Abigayle L. Collins; Denise Deias; Braden T. Fulton; Dillon M. Guess; Maya R. Henfling; Hannah J. Herrmann; Madalynn Hilyard; Madelyn Landreth; William Manar; Kaylee L. Richert; Andrew Sanner; Abby N. Spraggs; Noah A. Thyer;

CARLINVILLE – Jack E. Beard; Matthew J. Eldred; Jack Goby; Stephanie K. Harding; Gabriel R. Henson; Alexsis A. Kalaher; Weston E. Kuykendall; Lillian McCurley; Emerald Ondrey; Joanna M. Roemer; Jessica N. Strubbe; Karleina J. Tipps; Samuel L. Wilson;

GILLESPIE – Lauren E. Bertagnolli; Ean L. Davis; Lanie G. Doty; Kennedy G. Helmkamp;

MEDORA – Aubrey M. Reno; Anneliese M. Shatley; Haleigh Sinclair;

SHIPMAN – Alyssa L. Beck; Gracie B. Darr; Addison A. Jeffers; Tyson Kahl; Josiah A. Schuette; Bailee A. Sorgea;

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SOUTH ROXANA – Lyndsey M. Johansen; Caden O. Lara; Savanah M. Stogsdill;

STAUNTON – Julie A. Aloisi; Samantha R. Anderson; Zane P. Anderson; Shane Baker; Lilly M. Bandy; Grace Bekeske; Gianna Bianco; Carson G. Buffington; Kiersten L. Carlson; Karla J. Castillo; Izabella Claussen; Lillian Dothager; Olivia M. Favre; Eli J. Henke; Alexis A. Hester; Samantha D. Hoffman; Harold I. Irvin, III; Dylan Jarden; Korryn O. Keehner; Nicholas L. Raphael; Alexis P. Schaaf; Brady Seelbach; Carli L. Skinner; Cole Sternickle; Tyler J. Thompson; Lilly Trettenero; Lillyan S. Troeckler;

Dean’s List

BENLD – Ridge A. Braundmeier; Kaitlynn E. Conner; Elizabeth M. King; Alyssa S. McCollum; Marria D. Middleton; Alyssa F. Schuette;

BRIGHTON – Garrett R. Beuttel; Troy J. Brooks; Emily Y. Cambron; Jacob G. Carpenter; Lucy Childress; Olivia Cody; Logan T. Crane; Tristyn N. Ditterline; Kaylin G. Gerard; Cooper J. Hagen; Ashlyn K. Hall; Evan Hanold; Samuel J. Harshbarger; Amelia R. Hines-Pattan; Ella J. Kadell; Daylin M. King; Kayla A. Lemarr; Tucker Mayhew; Elizabeth L. Milford; Stacey M. Mynatt; Blythe E. Roloff; Jordan R. Short; Shiann Vinson; Grace A. Wylde;

BUNKER HILL – Cole T. Burch; Hanna N. Heeren; Madelynne K. Heflin; Taylor Miklavic; Katelyn J. Miller; Abigail G. Scott;

CARLINVILLE – Boedy E. Baker; Emily A. Barbre; Zachary Chapman; Ella R. Clevenger; Alana N. Dixon; Alison J. Dixon; Nathan Dyer; Addison Eldred; Saralynn I. Joiner; Henry S. Kalaher; William G. Meyer; Chloe A. Payne; Amy L. Pocklington; Jack Rives; Lanna P. Vanderpoel; Ella C. Wise; Braley M. Wiser;

GILLESPIE – Reese E. Bussmann; Regan E. Bussmann; Addie M. Hayes; Karter Mix; Adrianne B. Niemeyer; Grace J. Vandoren; Shannon L. Wright;

MOUNT OLIVE – Libbie M. Nowell;

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PIASA – Anna C. Fink;

SHIPMAN – Kaden G. Cottingham; Rocky Darr; Kathryn M. Mueller; Sayuri Owada; Rocky J. Rose;

STAUNTON – Rylee K. Baugh; David S. Dann; Belle M. Darte; Jacob A. Dillon; Vivienne Dothager; Sean T. Fleming; Kennedy L. Legendre; Zander MacHota; Savannah M. Missey; Nicholas Monahan; Nicole M. Narup; Kelley Perrine; Christopher S. Pritchett; Alivia Royer; Katie N. Schalk; Lakesi Settles; Priya E. Siegfried; Justin A. Smith; Kylie A. Tomso; Whitney Weller;

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Gillespie to host blood drive on Feb. 17

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Gillespie Community will host a Community Blood Drive with ImpactLife, the provider of blood components for local hospitals. The blood drive will be from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Monday, February 17 at 900 Broadway, inside Gillespie Methodist Church Gym.

To donate, please contact Brenda Lowe at (217) 710-1336 or visit www.bloodcenter.org and use code 60020 to locate the drive. You may also call ImpactLife to schedule at 800-747-5401. Appointments are requested.

Potential donors must be at least 17 years of age (16 with parental permission form available through www.bloodcenter.org) and weigh more than 110 pounds. A photo I.D. is required to donate.  For questions about eligibility, please call ImpactLife at (800) 747 5401. Donors who last gave blood on or before 12/23/24 are eligible to give at this drive.

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