Community News
Wilsonville Board votes to release mowing lien on Oehler property
The newly erected storm siren for the Village of Wilsonville standing near the retired siren. (photo/Village of Wilsonville)
UPDATE SEPT. 11: Updated the article to remove the paragraph containing the “Village of Wilsonville agreed to acquire the property for the village in February but later rescinded that action”. President Veres reported the property the village previously expressed interest in was not the same property the village removed the $5,000 mowing lien last Tuesday evening.
Following a brief, sometimes heated, debate the Wilsonville Board of Trustees voted unanimously Tuesday night to release a $5,000 mowing lien against a piece of property located on Wilson Street. The board also authorized the village engineer to advertise for bids to upgrade the Liberty Street Lift Station and declined to take up the issue of allowing the use of golf carts within the village limits.
The board’s regular Monday night meeting was shifted to Tuesday night due to the Labor Day holiday.
On a motion by Trustee Bob Carr, seconded by Roland Rife, the board voted unanimously to release the mowing lien on the so-called Oehler property on Wilson Street, clearing the way for resident Ryan Montoro to buy the parcel for back taxes. Before bringing the motion to a vote, the measure was amended to release the lien for Montoro or “anyone else” who might have an interest in the parcel.
Montoro asked the board last month to consider releasing the lien, noting the property was not worth the $5,000 the village wanted to clear the property. The property was once the site of a gas station and it is unknown whether or not underground petroleum tanks have been removed. Montoro said Monday night that he has been mowing the property voluntarily and is only interested in acquiring the land because it is adjacent to property he already owns.
“If you’re buying it, Ryan, I have no problem dropping the lien,” Carr commented Monday night.
“That’s what I feel, too,” Rife agreed.
President Veres seemed to urge board members to either enforce the lien or consider reducing the amount of the lien in lieu of releasing it.
“Five thousand dollars is a lot of money,” she said.
But Montoro said he would be uninterested in buying the property if he had to pay even half of the lien, again noting the property was not worth $2,500.
Trustee Keith Mohr initially objected to the measure, asking “how long will it be before he (Montoro) stabs us in the back?,” apparently referring to previous complaints Montoro has voiced about the village administration. Montoro said he was angered by the allegation.
Brought to a vote, however, the measure passed unanimously with Carr, Rife, Mohr and John Veres voting “yes.” Trustees David Day and Joe Wood were absent.
Following the vote, Mohr turned to Montoro and asked: “Does that make you happy?”
LIBERTY LIFT STATION BIDS
On a motion by Carr, seconded by Veres, the board voted unanimously to authorize publishing an advertisement for bids for a project to make improvements to the Liberty Street sewer system lift station.
IEPA issued permits last month to pave the way for the long-awaited project, which will include the installation of two new pumps along with other improvements. The lift station has been prone to overflowing during and after heavy rainfalls in the past.
Veres also reported that a new altitude valve has been ordered for the village water tower and will be installed when it arrives. He said Ranger Excavation will be doing some excavation work prior to the installation to locate a bypass at the base of the tower.
GOLF CARTS
The board declined to take up the issue of allowing golf cart usage in the community after Police Chief Wayne Watkins reported he had been approached by residents who want to be able to legally use the vehicles to get around town.
“I have some people in town who want an ordinance to let them ride golf carts in town,” Watkins said. “The only problem I have with it is people don’t always know the difference between a golf cart and a four-wheeler. If you allow golf carts, the next thing you know, you’ve got golf carts running around town.”
Watkins said the community of Marine, where he once worked as a police officer, allowed golf carts “and it was nothing but a headache.”
Later in the meeting, when the issue was brought up for further discussion, Carr noted that such an ordinance would have to include provisions to require golf carts to be properly licensed, properly insured and to be equipped with lights, turn signals and seat belts. State law forbids golf carts from operating on state highways, so the vehicles could not be operated on Illinois Route 138 even if the village adopted an ordinance to allow their use.
[pullquote]Rife said apparently only one village resident has asked for an ordinance.[/pullquote]
Rife said apparently only one village resident has asked for an ordinance.
“It doesn’t seem like a big issue,” he said.
In other police-related business, the board authorized Watkins to select a date and publish an advertisement for a day for village residents to register and license their dogs. Watkins said he has several volunteers lined up to work the event and County Animal Control Officer Buzzie Bertagnolli plans to be on hand to ensure residents have proper paperwork for registering their animals.
Watkins said dogs must be vaccinated for rabies by a licensed veterinarian. He said some people think they can buy supplies from a farm supply store and vaccinate their dogs themselves, but state law requires dogs to be vaccinated by a vet. The cost of registering and licensing dogs is $6 per animal.
The board also briefly discussed the need for establishing two accounts for the Police Department—one for revenue generated from the village’s share of county fines and one for revenue coming from fines imposed for local ordinance violations.
VILLAGE TRACTOR
President Veres reported that a new tractor, the purchase of which was authorized last month, has been delivered and is being used. The first payment of $755.72 on the six-year loan will be paid on Sept. 15 and on the fifteenth of every month thereafter.
Meanwhile, Trustee Veres reported that repairs for the village’s older tractor may not be as extensive or as costly as board members originally feared. Local tractor repair man George Harbaugh reportedly found that the tractor was slipping out of gear because a ring broke and the clutch shuttle and stripped the shaft. Veres said parts have been ordered and the tractor should be back in service shortly.
The board authorized a payment of Siever’s Equipment’s final bill of $2,505.92 for work done on the older tractor and for delivering it to Harbaugh’s shop. President Veres said payments to Siever’s for the older tractor totaled $3,879.58.
EMERGENCY SIREN
President Veres reported that the village’s new emergency siren has been erected and was sounded for the first-time Tuesday morning during regular monthly testing.
In a related matter, the board was told that a bill of about $29,000 from Global Technologies is being paid with city funds, after which the USDA Rural Development program will reimburse $20,000 of the cost in grant monies.
OTHER ACTION
In other action during the relatively brief meeting, the board:
- Agreed to donate $75 for the purchase of decorations for the annual Senior Citizens Christmas dinner.
- Agreed to declare a recently replaced photocopier as surplus property.
- At the request of resident Bill Molinar, agreed to survey the location of Elm Street, an undeveloped but platted street on the village’s southwest side, and to determine whether a large oak tree in the area is on the street right-of-way or private property. The board voted last month to offer Elm Street as an access to property Molinar wants to develop.
- Heard a challenge from President Veres to donate privately toward a fund-raising effort on behalf of Ryan Reid, a local teen selected to participate in baseball training in Jupiter, Florida next spring. Veres said she is donating her municipal pay at the end of the month. “I’m putting out the challenge to help this boy from our town,” she said. The cost of the trip is reportedly estimated at about $3,000.
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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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