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Gillespie Council revisits Yard Sale Permit

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Police Department collected over $800 in ordinance violations from February

DePoppe explained the police department collected over $800 in ordinance violations in February and $720 in towing and impound fees.

During a regular scheduled city council meeting on March 12, 2012, the Gillespie City Council discussed revisiting the yard sale permit after Janice Weidner made the suggestion to look over the ordinance. Weidner and Barrett suggested just going after the homes making a business out of “yard-saleing.” Majority of the aldermen were in favor of changing it because “it is not fair to 97% of the people in the community.” Mayor Hicks suggested leaving the ordinance and just see what happens when yard sale season comes.

Then when there is an issue, Hicks said the city would write an ordinance violation. “We haven’t even tested it yet,” Hicks noted. Weidner explained that there is no administration to enforce it and no one to “police” it. Weidner made a motion to resend the yard sale permit ordinance and after a second from Barrett, the council discussed it further and made note that anyone that wants to have a yard sale has to come to the city clerk’s office and fill out the paperwork.

According to Barrett, it would make more work for the girls in the office. Frank Barrett then withdrew his second, so the council could not vote on it without a second. “Let’s just spin it this summer and see how it works,” Hicks closed.

Chief of Police Jared DePoppe then explained that the police department collected over $800 in ordinance violations in February and $720 in towing and impound fees. Also from February, the ordinance officer handed out 16 self-initiated ordinances as well as one old one.

Steve Kluthe, police committee, assessed violations for animals running at large and reported that ordinance citations are not being done. Kluthe said the ordinances are going to have to be enforced rather than giving a verbal warning. He then said he would like to send DePoppe to a 40-hour police executive training course. The course would take place in April and would be no cost to the city.


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Tanya Hill approached the council to see if she could have anything done with her bill due to a recent leak.

The council then heard from Donnie Shuey who is head of the water department. Shuey explained to the council that the city is losing “a lot” of money on the satellite meters. “Some of the master meters are losing us money because of their age,” Donnie explained, “One customer is a big customer and uses nearly 2 million gallons a month. That is reading on the old meter.” Hicks said the council needs to check on this issue.

The second issue brought by Donnie was the clear wells at the water plant have been leaking “forever” due to their age. One was built in the 1920’s and the other was built in the 1950’s. He explained that they have a sump pump hooked up and it cycles every half hour. The wells are 7.5 feet and hold nearly 230,000 gallons of water. To repair the issue, the wells would need to be sprayed with a liner to prevent leaks. Shuey is going to get an estimates to spray the wells and return them to the council.

Alderman Janice Weidner then explained that she contacted Carrollton about the power saving capacitors that the city was eyeing for the water and sewer plants. “They think they have done better than the projected savings,” Weidner explained, “The capacitors sound like a good thing.” George Halekso explained that over the average, the city should see a reduction. “My recommendation is to find out what they took out because they said there are eight points and only seven are listed,” George explained, “I do believe, you will be able to monitor it and see the reduction.” The power savings solution could save the city upwards toward $1,000 each month. The total cost to install the capacitors in each building is $13,625 with a 7-year warranty, so it would pay for itself after 13.3 months.

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The council then heard from Dave Link, who questioned the council about the progress on the bids on Macoupin Street. Dan Fisher responded and said the city has received one more bid to fix the remaining work that needs down. He went on to say that there may be one more coming in, but the city will give the finance committee power to act once the bids are in. The remaining work that needs to be done, according to Fisher, is the well work, the dirt around the bottom of the building along with the debris behind Link’s building, and the top of the building.

The next visitor was Tim DeSherlia. Tim requested to buy property on 309 Park Avenue. Mayor Hicks explained to DeSherlia that the property is not for sale because it gives the city the right away to the creek. It also has three sewers running through the lot, which makes the lot unsellable. “Selling the property with easement to the sewer would not get you anything because you cannot build on the lot,” Hicks explained.

Tim went on to say that he does not want to build; he just wants it for himself since he has taken care of it for five years. “I want it all for myself because people drag their yard waste on the lot,” Tim said. Hicks said to notify the police when the occurrence happens again and the police will take care of the problem. The council also said they could post “no dumping” signs on the vacant lot.

Tanya Hill then approached the council about their water bill. The family did not notice they had break and it got progressively worse. Mayor Hicks said he would print out the last five months and compare them to previous months to see how much water was actually lost. From there, the council will make a decision whether to refigure the bill or not.

In new business, the council went on to declare a house on 304 Baker a public nuisance. The City Attorney will proceed with a nuisance abatement order.  After the council declared the house a nuisance, the council made a motion to donate the same amount of money as previous years to Safe Families and Post Prom.

In closing under standing committee reports, Frank Barrett reported storm damage to one of the docks at Gillespie Lake. Barrett said there would not be a temporary fix and the entire dock would need to be fixed.

Wookieepedia: Be was a Human male Theran Listener.

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School board accepts financial report, wrestles with rising insurance costs

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Ken Loy, an auditor with Loy Miller Talley Certified Public Accountants, Alton, presented highlights of the financial report for the fiscal year that ended June 30 this year.

Members of the Community Unit School District 7 Board of Education voted on Monday night to accept the district’s annual financial report and audit, and agreed to drop $5 million in mine subsidence coverage in an effort to mitigate against rising commercial insurance premiums.

Ken Loy, an auditor with Loy Miller Talley Certified Public Accountants, Alton, presented highlights of the financial report for the fiscal year that ended June 30 this year. Loy said the auditors provided a “clean opinion” overall for the district’s procedures for accounting, tracking financial information and maintaining internal controls. State law requires the auditors to render opinions in three specific areas, including an opinion on overall auditing standards and an opinion on internal control compliance within each of the district’s major programs. Additionally, the auditors were required to present on opinion on the district’s handling of federal funds, which exceeded $3.4 million last fiscal year.

“You have three reports with three clean opinions,” Loy said.

The financial report also includes a financial profile assessment required by state law. Loy said the profile, determined through calculations for five different ratios, is 3.7 out of 4.0 for the past fiscal year. The “Recognition” status is the state’s highest category for school districts.

“Most districts have been on the ‘Watch List’ and Gillespie has been on the ‘Watch List’ in past years,” Loy commented. “But you’re at the top of the ladder now and have been for the past two years.” Loy said Gillespie had a perfect score in four of the five categories used to determine financial status but fell short in the area of long-term debt.

“Your long-term debt is a little on the high side,” Loy said, largely because of financial liabilities the district incurred after the loss of Benld Elementary School due to mine subsidence.

The report shows the district having $11,460,000 in long-term debt, requiring annual debt service payments of $1.1 million to $1.2 million. Additionally, the district has $639,711 in lease liabilities for equipment such as school buses.

Comparing revenue to expenditures, the district took in more money than it spent in all for two funds, where budgeted spending deficits were covered with existing surplus funds.

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The financial report documents a property tax for last fiscal year at $3.49 per $100 in equalized assessed valuation. At the same time, the district’s total equalized assessed valuation was set at $103,564,334, up from $87,198,959 two years ago.

“The last three years, you’ve had some pretty big increases in equalized assessed valuation of six to eight percent,” Loy commented. “That’s a lot different from a few years ago when it was 2.7 to three percent.”

 The document reports the cost of educating one student for one year at $8,892, which is what the district would charge as tuition for an out-of-district student. The average daily attendance was 1,005, which is up from 996 the previous year, but still shy of 1,028 for 1,100 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Loy characterized the school’s overall financial condition as stable.

“You’ve had three or four pretty good years in a row that helps offset some of the bad years you had in the past from about 2016 to 2020,” Loy said.

COMMERCIAL INSURANCE DEBATE

On a motion by Amanda Ross, seconded by Peyton Bernot, the board voted to renew a commercial insurance policy with Wright Speciality with some modifications to the company’s original proposal. The action followed several minutes of debate as the board wrestled with substantive increases in premiums.

Athletic Director Jeremy Smith addressed the board with an end-of-season report.

The policy covers general liability, property damage, crime, vehicles and workers compensation, along with additional coverage for mine subsidence. While premiums for coverage in most areas were similar to the previous year, the premium for property damaged jumped nearly $40,000 from $105,821 to $142,444. Supt. Shane Owsley said the increase was due to the insurer’s experience with paying out weather-related claims over the past year. Additionally, the company proposed reducing the district’s deductible for wind and hail damage from 10 percent to 1 percent.

The total premium for standard coverage came in at $261,238, compared with $219,888 last year.

Additionally, the district purchased mine subsidence insurance for $124,189 for the first $10 million in coverage, plus $48,852 for the next $5 million and $44,175 for yet another $5 million in coverage. Essentially, the district was paying $217,216 for a total of $20 million in mine subsidence coverage.

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Owsley said the district could shave $5,893 from the standard policy premium pay upping the deductible to $15,000 for all perils excluding wind and hail.

“I’d love to keep all the insurance, but you’d be looking at about $50,000 in additional premiums,” Owsley said. “I don’t have any good answers for you.” Owsley proposed increasing the deductible from $10,000 to $15,000, dropping $5 million in subsidence coverage, and purchasing additional “gap” coverage for about $50,000 for wind and hail coverage.

Owsley noted that a castrophic loss due to mine subsidence, as when Benld Elementary School was a total loss, is unlikely. Moreover, $20 million in coverage would not be nearly enough to cover a total loss of one of the district’s classroom buildings. Mine tunnels under the newly constructed BenGil Elementary School were injected with concrete before the school was built, but portions of the High School/Middle School are undermined and subject to mine subsidence damage.

“When you drive around this area in the country, you see a lot of sinks,” Weye Schmidt commented.

Owsley said he’d been advised that it’s not a question of wthether or not the district will experience mine subsidence damage at some point but rather “when” that damage will occur.

Bernot agreed $20 million would not be enough to cover a catastrophic loss and if such a thing were to happen, the district would be forced to return to the legislature for funding to replace a school. Additionally, the amount of money the district can levy is limited by tax caps, meaning the district cannot levy enough in property tax to cover the increase in premiums.

“Where would that money come from?” Bernot asked.

“It would have to come from our reserves,” Owsley replied.

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Bernot commented that he’d be comfortable with eliminating $5 million in subsidence coverage to reduce premium costs.

The approved plan—with $15 million in mine subsidence coverage, a $5,000 boost in the deductible, and the addition of gap coverage for wind and hail—will total $475,386, compared with $421,976 the district paid last year.

ATHLETIC REPORT

Athletic Director Jeremy Smith addressed the board with an end-of-season report, which included an extensive discussion regarding to the future of the district’s soccer program. Previously, the district was part of a coop with Litchfield High School to field enough players tor a team, but Smith reported Litchfield recently dropped out of the coop.

“I’ve reached out to local schools to see if they would coop with us,” Smith said. “They’re not really interested, mainly because, with our enrollment, it would put them up into the next class.”

The district could resume a soccer program as a parent-supported sport, according to Smith and Owsley. However, the Litchfield program became a school-supported sport two years ago, meaning Gillespie soccer parents have not been active for the past two years. Owsley said a goal would be to recruit at least 18 players, at a cost of about $10,000 per player—meaning parents would have to raise about $180,000 to fund the program. Owsley was optimistic about recruiting 18 players because younger players have been reluctant to join the program because they could not drive themselves to Litchfield.

The district currently sends six players to Litchfield.

Smith said he is awaiting results from a survey of students to gauge the level of interest in a local program. In the meantime, GHS Principal Jill Rosentreter said soccer parents are “anxious” about what direction the school will take. She said she and Smith are making an effort to keep parents informed as the local district works toward a resolution.

Smith also introduced a sports webpage which can be accessed via the school district’s webpage. The new website includes a sports calendar, schedules, and information about Sports Hall of Fame inductees. Smith said parents can even set up a personal account through the page which will ensure they receive emails regarding schedule changes, cancellations and other information.

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PERSONNEL

Following a one-hour executive session, the board voted to post a vacancy for an elementary Social/Emotional Learning coordinator, and voted to hire Kelly Helen as a district custodian.

In other action, the board accepted the resignation of Jay Weber as head coach for the parent-funded middle school cross-country program, and hired Trae Wargo as the seventh grade basketball coach.

The board accepted the resignation of Alexis Ollis as the GMS/GHS head cook and posted a vacancy for the position. Board members also voted to hire Amy Costello as a three-hour part-time cafeteria worker, pending a background check, and voted to post a vacancy for a six-hour part-time cafeteria worker.

CEO FUNDING

In other action, the board accepted Owsley’s recommendation to make a $3,000 investment in the county’s Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunitites (CEO) program, payable in three $1,000 annual increments. CEO board chairman Scott Reichman made the request last month during a District Focus segment.

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Elementary school earns ‘Exemplary’ designation from state; Middle, High schools earn ‘Commendable’

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Ben-Gil Elementary School (photo/Ben-Gil Elementary)

The Illinois State Board of Education has recognized all three Gillespie Community Unit School District #7 schools with top designations, marking an outstanding achievement for the district.

Ben-Gil Elementary School has earned the prestigious “Exemplary” designation, placing it among the top 10 percent of elementary schools in Illinois, while both Gillespie High School and Gillespie Middle School have earned “Commendable” designations.

The Exemplary designation is awarded to the highest-performing schools in the state, while the Commendable designation recognizes schools that have no underperforming student groups, a graduation rate greater than 67 percent, and whose performance ranks in the top 90 percent of schools statewide.

“This is a proud moment for the entire community,” said Superintendent Shane Owsley. “This designation is a sign of the hard work, time and dedication put in by the students, staff and community members of CUSD #7.”

All three schools demonstrated strong performance across multiple academic indicators, including:

  • Student academic achievement
  • Student academic progress
  • English language proficiency progress
  • Chronic absenteeism
  • Graduation rates (High School)

Ben-Gil Elementary’s Exemplary status places it in an elite category of Illinois schools, while the Commendable designations for the middle and high schools reflect the district’s consistent commitment to educational excellence across all grade levels.

This district-wide achievement highlights Gillespie CUSD #7’s success in maintaining high educational standards and ensuring every student has the opportunity to succeed, from elementary through high school.

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Police search for suspects after robbery at Besserman Superbowl

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A screenshot of the suspects involved in the break-in from the business’s security system. (photo/Besserman Superbowl Facebook)

Police in Gillespie are searching for at least two people involved in an early morning break-in and robbery that happened early Wednesday at Besserman Superbowl.

The bowling alley said on their Facebook page the incident occurred around 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 23. The suspects compromised the ATM and a gaming machine. The business’s security measures and a quick response from the Gillespie Police Department limited the suspects time inside the establishment to under 10 minutes but substantial damage was sustained.

Temporary repairs were made quickly and normal business hours were not interrupted for Besserman Superbowl but no arrests have been made. Anyone with information about the incident or the individuals involved are urged to contact the Gillespie Police Department at 217-839-2922.

“We appreciate the outpouring of support from our patrons, friends, and family in response to the break-in yesterday morning,” Besserman Superbowl posted on their Facebook page. “We value your loyalty and anticipate serving you soon at our renowned bowling alley and friendly community hub.”

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