Community News
Veres resigns from trustee seat in Wilsonville
Dave Fullington of Fleming, Tawfall & Co., certified public accountants, presented the villages annual audit for the fiscal year that ended April 30.
Wilsonville Trustee John Veres publicly announced Monday night that he is stepping down from the seat to which he was elected in April. The stunning announcement came in the final minutes of the Board of Trustees’ regular monthly meeting for November, though it may have been a topic of discussion during a 20-minute executive session convened earlier in the evening to discuss personnel issues.
“This will be my last full meeting,” Veres announced. He said he is accepting a career opportunity that will require extensive travel. Because of the travel commitment, he said he may not always be available for meetings of the Village Board and other obligations associated with the trusteeship. “I have decided to step down next month.”
Veres said he will attend a bid opening on Nov. 16 for long-awaited improvements to the Liberty Street Lift Station, but will step down next month—presumably when his replacement is ratified and sworn in.
Veres, who is the spouse of Village President Annetta Veres, was elected to a two-year unexpired term in April 2015 and re-elected to a four-year term in April of this year. With more than three years remaining in his term, the interim trustee appointed to take Veres’ seat will serve until the next consolidated election in 2019, at which time a two-year unexpired term will be open for election.
President Veres asked remaining trustees to give her the names of individuals they think might be interested in serving as an interim trustee.
“John, I thank you for your service,” she said to her trustee husband. “You’ve been an asset to the board and I thank you for your service.”
Veres said he was attracted to running for the trustee’s post, in part, because of his wife running for Village President and to help her implement her vision for improving the community.
[pullquote]Veres said the reason he came on the board was because he was interested in improving our infrastructure.[/pullquote]
“The reason I came on was because I was interested in improving our infrastructure,” Veres told the BenGil Post after the meeting. He said he believes the community has made strides in improving infrastructure, including installation of a new master water meter to measure water coming into the village’s water system from Gillespie, installation of a new altitude valve for the village’s water tower, sealing lift station manholes to prevent water infiltration and the impending improvements planned for the Liberty Street Lift Station. “The engineering part of it was something I enjoyed,” he said.
With a background in engineering Veres chaired the board’s Water and Sewer Committee. President Veres said newly appointed trustee Joe Kelly will take over that chairmanship and urged Kelly to attend the bid opening for the Liberty Street Lift Station project.
He said he also was pleased to have been involved in re-establishing a police force in the village.
“We now going to be providing police protection to Lake KaHo,” he said. Earlier in the meeting, the board approved a contract to provide police protection services for the community of Lake KaHo.
VILLAGE AUDIT
Dave Fullington of Fleming, Tawfall & Co., certified public accountants, presented the villages annual audit for the fiscal year that ended April 30. The formal audit is a legal requirement for all municipalities in the state. Fullington read from the audit text regarding the auditors’ opinion of the village’s accounting procedures which indicated no findings regarding the village’s accounting procedures.
“In other words, it’s a good opinion,” Fullington said.
While the audit found no discrepancies in accounting procedures, it also documented a slightly less stellar financial position for the village from the previous year. According to Fullington, the village’s end of the year cash position, which includes checking accounts and other reserves readily accessible within 60 days, was down by about $24,000 from the previous year. The village’s total capital assets decreased by about $22,000, primarily due to depreciation, according to Fullington.
The audit reported an approximate decrease of $12,000 in investments, but President Veres took issue with that figure, noting that the village did not cash in any of its certificates of deposit in the past fiscal year.
The audit placed the village’s net financial position at $1,256,211 at the end of the fiscal, with the water and sewer departments accounting for the lion’s share of that figure. The end-of-the-year net position is down more than $63,000 from the previous year. The bulk of that decline came from a decline in the combined net position of the water and sewer departments. At the end of the fiscal year, the net position for the water and sewer departments was $985,985—down $60,179 from the previous fiscal year.
John Veres announced he is stepping down from his trustee seat effective December 2017 when a new trustee will be appointed.
The water and sewer departments experienced a revenue increase of about $8,000, but that increase was offset by increases in expenditures, according to the audit. Maintenance costs increased by about $19,000, Fullington told the board, while expenditures for supplies increased by about $1,000. Overall, the departments had combined revenue of about $121,000, and expenditures of approximately $181,000.
According to the audit, revenue from all sources to the village fell by about $7,200 last fiscal year, while expenditures increased by about $9,880.
Overall, the village took in about $139,000 in revenue and had expenditures of about $181,000, including approximately $45,000 in one-time expenditures for remodeling the Wilsonville Community Center.
“If you take out those expenses for the Community Center, your revenue and expenses are pretty much balanced,” Fullington said.
WATER TOWER ALTITUDE VALVE
Trustee Veres reported that a new altitude valve has been installed for the village water tower.
“I’ve noticed more pressure in our house,” Veres said, confirming the valve is working.
President Veres shared a photo of the old valve, which was stuck in a slightly opened position. “It’s a wonder anyone was getting any water,” she said.
“We ended up replacing more pipe than we thought,” Trustee Veres said. Veres said when workers excavated the pipe, they discovered it went down and under an existing drain pipe, requiring workers to replace more pipe than anticipated.
Total cost for the project was about $15,000.
POLICE PROTECTION FOR LAKE KAHO
On a motion by Trustee Keith Mohr, seconded by Kelly, the board voted unanimously to enter into a contract to provide police protection services to the community of Lake KaHo near Mount Olive. Under terms of the contract, Wilsonville officers will patrol Lake KaHo eight hours per week and Lake KaHo will compensate Wilsonville $50 per hour for the service. The contract includes provisions for a 60-day probationary period during which either party may terminate the contract. After 60 days, either party can terminate the contract with 30 days notice.
Fines and fees collected as a result of Wilsonville’s police presence will accrue to Lake KaHo. Wilsonville will cover workers compensation and insurance liability for officers while they are patrolling in Lake KaHo.
Before voting, Kelly questioned provisions for instances when officers are required to stay in Lake KaHo in excess of eight hours. For example, he said, a DUI arrest when officers are approaching the eight-hour ceiling could require an officer to remain in Lake KaHo for more than eight hours to complete paperwork.
Trustee Veres said that on such occasions the additional time would be deducted from the time the officers are in the community the following week. Likewise, patrol time would be reduced when officers are required to testify in court.
CONDEMNED HOUSING
President Veres reported that a building inspector hired by the city condemned four properties,
“One is down and one is going down real quick,” she said. “We’ll see what happens with the other two. Everyone is asking for extensions, but if we start giving extensions they’ll still be sitting there next year. My last word to (Village Attorney Kevin) Polo was that they have 30 days.”
OTHER ACTION
In other action, the board:
- Voted to order 1,000 laser printable checks from DeLuxe at a cost of $329.99. The laser checks will eliminate the need for the Village Clerk to prepare separate vouchers for village expenditures. “If you look at the cost of vouchers and the cost of checks, you’re money ahead by going this route,” Trustee Veres said.
- Authorized cutting a check for $1,400 to Paul Harbaugh to pay for a clutch assembly for a village tractor Harbaugh is repairing.
- Voted to make a single payment of $15,670 to the Illinois Municipal League Shared Risk Fund, which provides insurance coverage for the village.
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Gillespie 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, May 11 at 900 Broadway, inside Gillespie Methodist Church Gym.
To donate, please contact Brenda Lowe at (217) 7101336 or visit www.bloodcenter.org and use code 60020 to locate the drive. Appointments are requested. You may also call ImpactLife at 800-747-5401 to schedule.
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) 7475401. Donors who last gave blood on or before March 16, 2026, are eligible to give at this drive.
Blood donation is a safe, simple procedure that takes about 45 minutes to one hour. Individuals with diabetes or controlled high blood pressure may be accepted as eligible donors.
ImpactLife is a nonprofit community organization providing blood products and services to more than 100 hospitals and emergency medical service providers in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin, as well as researchers and resource sharing partners across the country.
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Members of the Community Unit School District 7 Board of Education on Wednesday night approved a package of four capital improvement projects totaling more than $160,000 in value. Work will start on the projects after the end of the current school year and is expected to be completed before the start of the 2026-27 academic year in August.
The board met on Wednesday night after Monday’s inclement weather forced the district to reschedule the board’s regular monthly meeting.
The board approved entering into a contract with Fisher Tracks, Boone, Iowa, to resurface the district’s all-weather track at a cost of $105,209. Supt. Shane Owsley told the board the district will use about $50,000 from an all-weather track activity fund, with the remainder to be paid with proceeds from an alternate revenue bond issue approved last year for capital improvements.
Great Western Abatement, Jerseyville, was retained to remove flooring containing asbestos from the choir room floor and middle school gymnasium school at a cost of $40,700. Great Western’s bid was the lowest of seven bids, ranging up to $65,000, submitted for the work. Additionally, the district is paying $8,900 to Reliable Environmental Services, Springfield, for engineering and design work associated with the asbestos removal.
All-purpose rubberized flooring material will be installed on the middle school gym floor by Dynamic Sports Construction, Leander, Texas, at a cost of $51,424.
For the first time in a number of years, the high school gymnasium floor will be sanded and refinished with new artwork. Blast Technologies, St. Louis, was hired to sand the 4,200-square-foot floor at a cost of $5,250. Designs Unlimited, Pinckneyville, will paint game lines and logos on the floor before sealing it with a clear stain at a cost not to exceed $18,738.
The board also accepted a bid of $33,890 from DeLaurent Construction, Wilsonville, to resurface the 118,700-square-foot parking lot at Benld Elementary School.
Though no action was taken, Board President Mark Hayes reported that the Building and Grounds Committee had directed Owsley to investigate the cost of replacing the CUSD 7 administrative building.
“This building is very much in need of replacement,” Hayes said. “It’s beyond its time.” During Monday’s torrential rainfall, Hayes said water came in through windows and water seeped in under the sill plate, bringing displaced nightcrawlers into the building. Staff members ran fans after the storm in an effort to dry out the interior.
According to Hayes, the school has been in contact with the local Baptist Church to investigate the possibility of acquiring the former Trinity Baptist Church for use as an administrative building. Church officials, however, have not yet made a decision about the fate of the former sanctuary after Gillespie’s two Baptist churches merged.
Owsley said the current administrative building comprises about 6,000 square feet. Current estimates are $400 per square foot for new construction which would translate into about $2.5 million to replace the administrative facility. The district might be able to shave some dollars off that estimate by reducing the size of the building.
“There’s a lot of unusable space in this building,” Owsley said, suggesting a more efficient floorpan could reduce cost. He also mentioned the possibility of a basement to provide storage space for outdated documents.
In addition to construction costs, Owsley noted, the district would be responsible for tearing down the existing building.
“I have no idea what’s in this building,” Owsley said, raising abatement concerns. “I’m guessing disposal of this building is going to be expensive.”
Hayes said Kevin Wills, the district’s bond issue advisor, will attend the June board meeting to discuss the possibility of refinancing some existing bonds to free up enough revenue to build a new administrative building. The administration currently is housed in a “temporary” structure that has served as the administration building for several decades.
MINE SUBSIDENCE STUDY
After several minutes of discussion, the board took no action in relation to entering into a contract with Marino Engineering and Associates to assess the district’s risk for incurring damage from a mine subsidence event. Owsley said existing maps show that portions of Gillespie Middle School are undermined. While the high school is not undermined, a major subsidence would likely damage the high school as well as the middle school. In recent months, more than one residential home on Elm Street near the school property has experienced damage from mine subsidence.
Marino’s $94,000 Phase I proposal would “determine the likelihood of something happening to one of our buildings,” Owsley said. The problem is that too much information could negatively impact the district’s ability to purchase subsidence insurance. “Information is great until it’s not.”
The district currently pays about $300,000 for mine subsidence insurance on the middle school, high school and vocational arts building. The school carries no subsidence insurance on BenGil Elementary because mine shafts under the building were grouted before the school was built.
“If we find out there’s not a major concern,” Owsley noted, it could reduce the district’s subsidence insurance costs.
On the other hand, if the study reveals a high risk of experiencing mine subsidence, the insurer could drop the district at the end of the current policy’s term. With only two companies in the country offering subsidence insurance, the district could end up with no insurance at all to cover damage from mine subsidence.
The only way to avoid that scenario would be to implement whatever options Marino might recommend to reduce risk. Those recommendations would likely include grouting (backfilling) mine shafts under the middle school. Grouting for the elementary school cost $4 million. To grout under the middle school would likely run as much as $6 million or more.
The only way the study would make sense, Owsley suggested, would be if the district was “comfortable making the corrections the study is going to make.”
Moreover, $94,000 would cover only a preliminary assessment.
“To get a full understanding of what’s going on underground, we’d be looking at a half million dollars,” said Owsley.
The issue was allowed to die when no board member moved to consider the contract.
COMMUNITY SOLAR PARTICIPATION
On a motion by Bill Carter, seconded by Weye Schmidt, the board voted unanimously to enter into a contract with Summit Ridge Solar to participate in a community solar project. Under terms of the 15-year contract, the district will realize a 13 percent savings on electrical power bills. The contract is automatically renewable for five years unless the district chooses to withdraw.
“Illinois provides a number of incentives for using solar,” Owsley said. “However, not everyone likes the look of having solar panels on their property. This will get us the benefits without putting up solar panels on our property.”
Summit Ridge’s proposal was the most lucrative of the proposals the district received. Other companies offered shorter terms with savings of five percent.
After 20 years, it’s likely the savings would drop to five percent. Owsley said he was told the district was better off going with the longer contract to get 13 percent in savings for as long as possible.
The school district was able to secure such favorable rates, according to Owsley is because there is an issue with solar fields storing the power they generate. “Our main usage time is during their maximum production time.”
DISTRICT FOCUS
During a District Focus segment, the board recognized sophomore Matrix Wright, whose art was the only entry from the United States included in the 2026 TOLI International Student Art Exhibition. The exhibition is a project of The Olga Lengyel Institute for Holocaust Studies in New York. The exhibit includes student art relating to themes associated with the Holocaust.
Wright’s work, entitled “An Immortal Continuum,” attempts to portray “the constant entrapment a Holocaust survivor might feel.”
Exhibition organizers received more than 250 entries from around the globe.
BUDGET PROCESS
On a motion by Peyton Bernot, seconded by Board President Hayes, board members voted unanimously to begin work on developing a district budget for fiscal 2027. Board members also approved a routine measure to permit expenditure of fiscal 2027 funds after July 1, pending approval of a new budget.
The school district’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30 but new budgets typically are approved two to four months after the start of the fiscal year.
The current fiscal year’s $19 million budget was approved in September last year.
PERSONNEL
Following a one-hour executive session to discuss personnel and other issues, the board voted unanimously to approve the request of long-time middle school English and language arts teacher Kim Henderson, effective at the end of the 2028-29 school year.
Board members also voted unanimously to hire Andrew Crook as a first-year, non-tenured high school English teacher for the 2026-27 school year, pending documentation of certification and a routine background check. A graduate of Gillespie High School, Crook earned his teaching certificate at Illinois College, Jacksonville and for the past two years, he taught English at North Mac High School.
In separate actions, the board made multiple assignments to staff the district’s summer school program. Those hired include: Jessica Kelly as a middle school teacher, Ashlee Gibbs as a high school math teacher, and Jennifer Brown and Rob Macias as high school drivers’ education instructors. Each of the positions are contingent upon adequate student enrollment to offer the classes. In addition to academic staff, the board hired Andy Hirstein as a summer school food service worker.
The board voted unanimously to accept the resignation of Foli Seferi as high school paraprofessional and as assisted football coach. Both resignations are effective immediately.
In other personnel action, the board appointed Cate Plovich as the BenGil Elementary School yearbook sponsor, and appointed Josh Ross as a volunteer assistant football coach, pending documentation of certification and a routine background check.
OTHER ACTION
In other action, the board:
• Approved a mens highs school soccer coop with the Carlinville School District, with the provision Carlinville will dissolve the agreement if it pushes its program into a higher competitive classification.
• Approved an intergovernmental agreement with Lewis and Clark Community College under which the college will recognize some high school courses as college level credits.
• Approved early graduation requests for an undisclosed number of students, provided all graduation requirements are met.
• Approved renewing the district’s membership in the Illinois Elementary Schools Association.
• Approved the final calendar for the 2025-26 school year pending no further emergency days. Barring the use of emergency days, Monday, May 18 will be the last day of student attendance, with graduation ceremonies set at 2 p.m., Sunday, May 17.
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One of the greatest annual events in American sports is the Saturday is the Kentucky Derby, which will be run for the 152nd time this Saturday. One past champion was bred in Macoupin County.
This week marks 137 years since the victory of Spokane, who captured the 1889 Kentucky Derby during the infancy of the event. The horse was bred at “The Meadows,” the farm of Gen. Richard Rowett one mile north of Carlinville.
Rowett horses, and their jockey colors of orange jacket and blue cap, were on tracks throughout the west and south. But Spokane was the greatest production of The Meadows, a nationally recognized breeding ground for thoroughbreds.
In 1885, a prized dark brown horse named Hyder Ali was standing at The Meadows when Rowett bred him to one of his top mares, Interpose. This pairing had produced favorable offspring in the past, including Grey Cloud, a fine racer owned by Noah Armstrong of the Doncaster Ranch near Twin Bridges in the Montana Territory.
Armstrong’s famous stable included such horses as Lord Raglan, the third-place finisher in the 1883 Kentucky Derby. When Rowett offered Interpose for sale late in 1885, Armstrong, familiar with the high quality of Rowett stock, purchased the pregnant mare and her suckling filly, Madelin, for the price of $1,000 and shipped the brood to Montana.
The Doncaster Ranch was known for its spectacular, three-story round barn that featured an indoor track. While in Spokane in the Washington Territory on business, Armstrong received word of the birth of Interpose’s colt. In honor of the city, he named the colt Spokane.
Spokane showed great promise as a two-year-old, winning two of five starts in 1888, and Armstrong entered him in the 1889 Kentucky Derby. Although a premier race, the Derby had not achieved the monumental status it enjoys today.
The race was run on May 9, 1889–a Thursday–in front of a crowd of 25,000, a fraction of the throngs that fill Churchill Downs today.
Home state favorite Proctor Knott was the overwhelming favorite at 1-to-2, while the relatively unknown Spokane was listed at 10-to-1 odds. That was enough for Frank James, brother of outlaw Jessie and a regular at countless tracks.
James, flush with a windfall of $2,400 from an earlier race that day, asked a bookmaker of the odds on Spokane. The reply was “Ten-to-one and the sky’s the limit.” James threw down $5,000 on Spokane, causing the bookmaker to reply, “As far as I’m concerned, that’s the sky!”
Under jockey Thomas Kiley, Spokane edged Proctor Knott by a head, setting a record at 2:34 ½ over the mile-and-a-half layout (it was changed to a mile and a quarter in 1896). He remains the only Kentucky Derby winner ever born in Montana.
Proving the win was no fluke, Spokane again beat Proctor Knott five days later at the Clark Stakes in Louisville. On June 22, Spokane won another key race of the era, the American Derby at Washington Park in Chicago, to become the first horse to win both races in the same season.
Back in Illinois, Rowett did not live to see the triumph of Spokane, as he died on July 13, 1887. His death was covered on page one of the New York Times the following day.
In addition to breeding, Rowett is also remembered as the first to introduce the true-bred beagle hound to this country from his native England. Prior to that, he was a Civil War officer and state politician.
The only horse actually born in Illinois to win the Kentucky Derby was the 1970 champion, Dust Commander.
Tom Emery of Carlinville, who wrote the award-winning biography Richard Rowett: Thoroughbreds, Beagles, and the Civil War, may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.
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