Featured
Girls’ basketball: Miners grab two victories from last four games
Published
13 years agoon
By
BenGil Staff

Chelsea Gill attempts to drive around the defender.
The Gillespie Lady Miners expected two weeks of tough, defensive games and they knew four wins would have been tough.
The 8-5 team grabbed two victories and although it was not what they were hoping for, it was a 2-2 finish that they liked.
The team started extended their win streak in Staunton on December 6. The ladies went in the game knowing it was not the easiest game on the schedule, but it was a team they would see quite a few more times before the season is over. In fact, it is the team they are paired up with in their first game of the Holiday tournament next week.
Staunton Game
If the ladies did anything, they set the tone. Haylie Kirkwood led the Miners with a season-high 16 points in the win over the Bulldogs. Ellen Gray was right with Kirkwood as she finished with 15 points, another season-high for her.

Haylie Kirkwood gets a hand in the offenders face to attempt to distract the shot.
The Miners outscored the Bulldogs in every single quarter and eventually came out on top, 60-39, in a big South Central Conference dual. Almost everyone got their fair share of points against the Bulldogs as six of the ladies finished with four or more points.
Chelsea Gill and Haylie Kirkwood set the tone in the first quarter as the pair put up 8 points each. Ellen Gray extended the lead in the second quarter after scoring 11. Kirkwood added 6 more points to the guest side of the scoreboard in the second quarter and by halftime, the Miners led 30-22.
The Lady Miners had to stop Sophie Fairman, Staunton, to be able to take home the victory. Fairman scored 16 of the 22 points for the Bulldogs in the first half and it was inevitable, she was going to be the same threat in the second half if the Miners did not step it up.
After holding Fairman to 10 points in the second half and scoring another 30 points, the ladies were in positive position to take home the 60-39 victory. Alexis Burns and Ellen Gray led the ladies in the second half as each put up 8 points while Molly Gray led the team in steals as she tallied 5 on the evening, 3 in the second half. Kirkwood led the team on both ends of the floor though as she tackled 9 rebounds and scored 16 points.
Jerseyville Game
To extend the win streak, the Miners had to beat Jerseyville next on December 10. It was not such an incomparable task and the ladies had no struggles. Shelby Jarman led the Miners with 12 points on the evening as Alexis Burns followed up closely with 11.
Jarman scored eight of her twelve in the first half as she helped the Miners overcome a small deficit after the first quarter. The ladies trailed Jerseyville by four points in the first quarter, but were back in the lead by halftime with a 22-19 score.
After missing 6 free throws attempts in the third quarter, the ladies were only able to score 6 points. The defensive end held strong though as Jerseyville was only able to sink 6 points as well and the Miners held their three point lead entering the final quarter.
Alexis Burns sealed the 42-38 victory for the team after she scored 6 of the 14 points in the final quarter for the Miners. Molly Gray led the team with 5 steals while Kayli Morris and Alexis Burns were strong off the boards as each tallied 5 rebounds.
Metro East Game
Despite winning their first two games, the Lady Miners dropped their next two to Metro East Lutheran and South Central Conference rival Pana Panthers. The ladies faced off against the Metro East Knights on December 13. Alexis Burns made a statement in the first half as she led the team with 9 points leading to a 28-26 halftime lead.

Ellen Gray looks for a teammate to pass it to.
The ladies extended their lead to three points by the end of the third quarter, but could not finish it out in the fourth quarter as they were outscored by 10 points and took the 47-54 loss. The Miners were only able to score seven points in the final quarter as the Knights went on to score 17 with the help of Mackenzie Gocal’s 8 points.
Alexis Burns led the Miners against the Knights with 16 points as Shelby Jarman pitched in with 13. Tyler Ross and Chelsea Gill led the team with 4 assists each while Alexis Burns led the team with rebounds as she grabbed 6 on the evening.
Pana Game
Standing 8-4 on the season, the Lady Miners entered their last bout against the South Central Conference leader: Pana. The Panthers were 11-2 on the season before the game against the Miners and extended their record to 12-2 after the game on Saturday, December 15.
The ladies fell behind early in the game despite leading 2-0 for the first minute of the first quarter. After only scoring two field goals and two free throws in the first quarter, the Miners trailed 6-14. By halftime, the Miners only trailed by nine points after being outscored by just a single point in the second quarter. Alexis Burns scored 4 of the 12 points in the second quarter while four other ladies put forth a field goal.
Pana continued to extend their lead in the second half and held the pressure on strong until the seconds of the game. Molly Gray attempted to carry the Miners in the second half as she scored 5, but it was not enough to overcome the deficit as the ladies were outscored by 4 points in the third quarter and 6 in the fourth quarter.
Not a single Miner was able to put up double digits in the 33-52 loss, but Molly Gray and Alexis Burns were the closest as the pair scored 7 points each. Tyler Ross led the team with the hot hands as she had 3 steals while Haylie Kirkwood and Alexis Burns wrestled down 8 rebounds each.
UP NEXT: After the loss, the Miners are 8-5 on the season and head into the Carlinville Holiday Tournament next week. The ladies will play their first game in the Carlinville Holiday Tournament on the day after Christmas, December 26. They will match up against Staunton at 1:30 in the afternoon.
Either way if they win or lose, they will play on December 27 at 1:30. Opponent will be determined by Wednesday’s games.
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Featured
Gillespie man injured in DUI accident
Published
10 years agoon
October 16, 2015By
BenGil Staff
A Gillespie man was taken to a local hospital after suffering injuries following a single-vehicle accident that occurred Sunday morning, October 11, after he drove off the roadway and into a deep ditch near the intersection of Route 16 and Charles Street in Gillespie.
Gillespie Police Chief Jared DePoppe reported that the police department was dispatched to the scene of the accident shortly before 3 a.m. Officers arrived to find Jonathan Genisio, 29, of Gillespie as the driver and only occupant inside the Ford Mustang vehicle.
Genisio was arrested, but give a notice to appear in court so he could seek medical treatment. He was charged with six different counts in addition to having his vehicle impounded. His charges include driving under the influence of alcohol, no insurance, improper lane usage, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, failure to notify SOS of an address change and failure to wear a seat belt.
At the time of publication on Thursday evening, the vehicle was recovered from impound and Genisio was discharged from the hospital. The extent of his injuries was unable to be released by medical personnel.
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Community News
Gillespie council discusses budget and meeting process
Published
10 years agoon
August 1, 2015By
BenGil Staff

Treasurer Dan Fisher (right) addresses the council.
The treasurer for the City of Gillespie had a lot to say about how city officials handle their subcommittees and how city funds are spent during the city’s committee meeting held Monday evening, July 27.
Dan Fisher, the elected treasurer for Gillespie, spoke to the council for over 30 minutes about how bills are paid and more importantly, how purchases are appropriated for and planned. During the city’s board meeting held earlier this month, Fisher suggested the council move their meeting dates to coincide with how the bills are paid.
He explained that many council members bring up issues or have questions about certain bills during the council meetings, but the questions are left to be answered by the city clerk who isn’t present at the board meetings. In addition to dragging out the meetings, Fisher said the questions should be taken care of before the meeting is held.
“We need to have a standardized process on how we buy things,” Fisher told the council Monday evening. “We need to spend more time on appropriating.”
[pullquote]We need to have a standardized process on how we buy things[/pullquote]Fisher distributed a “Budget Basics” packet to board members during the committee meeting held Monday and said the council should consider implementing a purchase order system to account for all purchases. “That way when the bills come in, we can match the form up with it and everyone knows what the purchase was for and what account it comes out of,” he clarified.
Council members agreed with what Fisher had to say to them. “We need to spend a lot of time when do our appropriation and it’s going to take a lot of time from everyone, including myself,” he continued. “We need to find a way to be collective in how we do things.”
Fisher closed by adding that the council also takes too long at their regular city council meetings, which are held on the second Monday of each month. Speaking of the city’s July meeting that lasted nearly 3 hours, Fisher said the council needs to be much more “business-like”.
“We take too long at our meetings,” he closed. “It’s been proven that people lose focus after 90 minutes and there is no reason why we shouldn’t be able to get a meeting done in 1 hour and 15 minutes.”
City clerk Frances Smith spoke up after Fisher referred to the council’s last meeting. She prefaced her statement by saying she didn’t intend to saying anything, but continued by saying that the council’s July 13th meeting took her three days to transcribe. “It makes the clerk’s job hard – whoever it is,” she said. “There is a lot of side conversations and it’s very hard to hear on the tape.”
Ash Street Project
Alderman Steve Kluthe informed the board that he received the bid specifications back for the Ash Street Project which allows the council to advertise the specs to get an idea how much drainage project will cost.
Kluthe said the bid specifications cover everything including equal opportunity employer and prevailing wage information, but said the project could probably be handled by a local contractor. The project includes installing a culvert that will transfer the water to Cherry Street.
The council hopes the completed project will then alleviate the water that currently gets backed up north of Ash Street. “They are going to put a culvert underneath Ash Street to the north and grade the ground on the north side so the water flows to the culvert and down to the south end where there is a storm drain,” Kluthe explained.
TIF District
[pullquote]We should stretch the money out and begin to reinvest the money into community development[/pullquote]Fisher informed the council that the tax bills for the TIF district went out and the city can expect to receive close to $60,000. He reminded the council that even though the city made a big payment to United Community Bank last year in excess of $90,000, there will still be a payment made to UCB for their portion paid into the TIF until the TIF expires, which Fisher said is 12-14 more years.
After the city pays UCB, Fisher said the council can expect to still have somewhere north of $40,000 remaining each year. “I would like us to start to look at other projects that meet the TIF criteria that we could spend $20-$30,000 per year,” Fisher explained. “Long-range projects – projects that could last 10-12 years. We should stretch the money out and begin to reinvest the money into community development.”
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Elementary School News
Elementary school releases supply lists for fall
Published
10 years agoon
July 15, 2015By
BenGil Staff

Kindergarten
- 5 boxes CRAYOLA brand crayons (24 count)
- 1 box CRAYOLA brand broad-line markers (classic)
- 1 backpack
- 1 box of water paints
- 1 pair FISKAR brand scissors (children’s)
- 6 large glue sticks
- 1 small plastic school box
- 4 pocket folders
- 4 large erasers
- 20 pencils (#2, lead, plain yellow)
- 2 boxes of Kleenex
- 2 rolls of paper towels
- 2 containers of anti-bacterial wipes
- 1 large box of sandwich size ZIPLOC bags (girls)
- 1 large box of gallon ZIPLOC bags (boys)
- 1 clipboard
- 1 highlighter
- 1 spiral 1-subject notebook (wide ruled)
- Extra set of clothes to keep at school
- Tennis shoes for P.E.
First Grade
- 1 plastic school box
- 3 packs of pencil top erasers
- 2 large pink erasers
- 5 packs of Ticonderoga brand pencils
- 2 yellow highlighters
- 2 boxes of CRAYOLA crayons (24 count)
- 12 Elmer’s brand glue sticks
- 1 pair of FISKAR brand scissors
- 1 spiral 1-subject notebook (wide ruled)
- 2 plastic 2-pocket folders
- 1 8ct classic CRAYOLA fine line markers
- 2 dry erase markers
- 1 roll of paper towels
- 2 boxes of Kleenex
- 3 containers of Clorox Anti-Bacterial Wipes
- 1 box of sandwich size ZIPLOC bags (girls)
- 1 box of gallon ZIPLOC bags (boys)
- Tennis shoes for P.E.
- Extra set of clothes to keep at school
Second Grade
- Handheld pencil sharpener
- 8 large Elmer’s glue sticks
- 1 large zippered pencil bag
- 24 – #2 pencils
- 1 wide ruled spiral notebook
- 1 package wide ruled loose leaf paper
- (2) 1” three ring binder
- 1 pack of pencil top erasers
- 1 pair of FISKARS brand pointed scissors
- 1 yellow highlighter
- 1 box broad line classic CRAYOLA markers
- 2 boxes CRAYOLA crayons (24 count)
- 2 plastic pocket folders
- 1 CRAYOLA watercolor paints
- 1 box of Kleenex
- 1 roll of paper towels
- Large Ziploc bags
- Sandwich size Ziploc bags
- 2 containers of Clorox wipes
- 1 box of CRAYOLA colored pencils
- 2 dry erase markers
- Extra set of clothes to leave at school
- Tennis shoes for P.E.
Third Grade
- 1 small school box
- 4 packages of pencils (#2, plain yellow)
- 2 boxes CRAYOLA crayons (24 count)
- 1 box CRAYOLA colored pencils
- 1 highlighter
- 1 pair pointed scissors
- 6 ELMER glue sticks
- 2 pocket folders
- 3 boxes Kleenex
- 2 containers of CLOROX wipes
- 1 roll of paper towels
- 1 package of loose leaf paper (wide rule)
- 2 notebooks (wide rule)
- (2) 1” binders
- 2 packs of pencil top erasers
- Gallon-sized Ziploc bags (boys)
- Sandwich-sized Ziploc bags (girls)
- 2 packages of post-it notes
- Tennis shoes for P.E.
Fourth Grade
- 2 packages of wide rule loose leaf paper
- 48 pencils
- 3 packs pencil top erasers
- (1) 2” binder
- 1 box 24 or 48 count CRAYOLA crayons
- 1 pair FISKAR scissors
- 1 box of colored pencils
- 1 single subject notebook (wide rule)
- 3 folders
- 2 packages of white index cards
- 4 highlighters
- 4 packages of post-it notes
- 2 boxes Kleenex
- 1 container of Clorox wipes
- Hand held Pencil Sharpener
- Dividing tabs for binder
- Tennis shoes for P.E.
Fifth Grade
- Art Box
- Pencil Pouch
- 36 pencils (mechanical preferred)
- 12 pencil top erasers
- Crayola crayons
- Markers
- Crayola Colored Pencils
- Red or Blue Pen
- Scissors
- Clear Ruler
- Clear Protractor
- 1 Bottle of Elmer’s Glue or 2 Glue Sticks
- (1) 3 Ring Binder (2 inch)
- 2 notebooks (one subject-wide ruled)
- 1 package of loose leaf paper (wide ruled)
- 3 folders
- 2 highlighters
- 2 boxes Kleenex
- Girls-Antibacterial Wipes
- Boys-4 pack of post it notes
- Hand Held Pencil Sharpener
- Pocket Dictionary
- Tennis shoes for P.E.
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