Jersey County 2023 Year in Review – Part 1
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January
The Illinois Supreme Court entered an order preventing the implementation of the Safe-T Act throughout the Sate of Illinois after a Kankakee County Judge ruled parts of the act unconstitutional last week.
The Kankakee County ruling would have effected 65 counties throughout the state, including Jersey and several neighboring counties, allowing the current bail system to remain while appeals were made with the Supreme Court.
The Illinois Supreme Court order came to “maintain consistent pretrial procedures throughout Illinois” just before the law was to take effect after several counties began requesting temporary restraining orders to prevent enforcement of the act.
Attorney General Kwame Raoul referred to the temporary restraining orders as “11th hour theatrics,” in a press release. Raoul also noted that Safe-T Act has been in effect since 2021, adding that some plaintiffs were seeking to avoid all provisions of the Safe-T Act, not just pretrial release. Other provisions include requiring body cameras for all Illinois police by 2025.
“Only the Supreme Court’s final decision on the merits will be binding on all Illinois courts,” Raoul said in a press release. “It is important to note that the order issued today by the court is not a decision on the merits of the constitutionality of the Safe-T Act.”
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A Jersey County woman has been missing for 10 days, and is believed to be in danger.
Kaila Marie Vincent-Vatole, 38, was last seen near her residence, around Little Piasa Road in Dow, on Sunday, Jan. 8, around 4 p.m. and is considered missing and endangered by the Missing Persons Awareness Network.
Vincent-Vatole is described as a white female who stands at 5’1” and weighs 95 pounds. She has hazel eyes and long wavy hair which has been dyed blond. Additionally, she has multiple tattoos on her neck, shoulders, arms, legs, hands, and fingers.
It was reported that Vincent-Vatole was last seen wearing a black hoodie, black sweatpants with white lettering down both sides of the legs, and white high top shoes. It was also noted in a Facebook post that Vincent-Vatole wears false teeth.
Vincent-Vatole’s sister, Angie Vincent-Bollinger said that her family is very concerned.
“It is not like her to go this long without reaching out to someone,” said Vincent-Bollinger. “I know her three kids are worried sick about her. Her whole family is.”
Vincent-Vatole’s daughter, Paige Bell, created a Facebook group called “Help find my mom Kaila Marie Vincent (Kai)” as a way to get the word out about her mother’s disappearance.
“I created this group to bring awareness to my mom Kaila Marie Vincent who has been missing since January 8th,” wrote Bell in a post. “It’s not like her to not reach out to family and loved ones or to not have her phone. I feel like something’s seriously wrong. We just want her home safe!”
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Coach Jim Woelfel was celebrated for his 45 years of coaching and dedication to Jersey student-athletes.
“Coach Woelfel has served as a custodian within our schools and somehow found the energy to coach basketball for 45 years at St. Francis Holy Ghost, Jersey and his daughter’s own teams at Southwestern,” district officials said before presenting Coach Woelfel with a plaque. “Coach Woelfel is known to be an old-school hard-nosed coach, but don’t that fool you because he has a heart of gold for our student-athletes. He consistently let our student-athletes rise to their potential whether they were his best player or a young person who was just learning the game. During his years of coaching in Jersey Community, Coach Woelfel has led his fifth and sixth- grade team to eight county championships and middle school teams to two conference titles.”
February
Jersey County held a public meeting to discuss a proposed solar panel project.
The company attached to the project, the Saturn Power Corporation, based in Ontario, Canada, is seeking an application for a permit to build a solar farm in Jersey County. The corporation is currently working to get a state block grant approved, if the building permit is granted by the county. The timeframe process to issue the building permit is around two years.
The proposed farm will be on 31 acres of private land, and will be fitted with panels that have a 20 to 30 year life span. These panels will be used to tie into the power grid provided by the Ameren substation on Route 3, which gives power to Jersey County. The corporation will also be in charge of removing and disposing of the panels after they run their course and paying for the removal process. If the farm is built, a new local source of electricity will be available to residents.
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Eric Ivers was sworn in to the Jersey County Board during the monthly board meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 9, filling the vacancy left after the death of Alan Womack.
A letter of recommendation was presented from the Republican Central Committee on the appointment of Ivers to fill the vacancy in District 2.
The board also approved a revision to the County Board Committee appointments for the current term to include Ivers.
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Jersey’s Vicki Watkins was inducted into the Illinois Drill Team Association Hall of Fame last week.
From 1986 to 1999 Watkins served as Panthers Poms coach earning five state championships and continues to judge for the IHSA, the Illinois Drill Team Association, and Missouri Dance Team Associations.
“This year’s inductee served as an IDTA coach from 1986 thru 1999,” Alex Foster with the IDTA said during Watkin’s induction. “Under her tutelage, her teams were awarded five IDTA state championships, of which four were consecutive from 1995 thru 1998. After retiring from coaching, she continued to serve as an IDTA General Effect judge, treasurer, regional rep, officer, and committee member. She continues to serve IDTA 37 years later, still on the competition floor with all of you while wearing her enthusiastic smile and contagious positive attitude as both a General Effect and Legality judge.”
March
The Jersey County Against Drugs Coalition and Jersey Community Hospital held a Community Resource Fair providing the public a chance to gather information on drug prevention, treatment, and recovery programs available in the area.
Rita Robertson, Substance Use Prevention Services Grant Coordinator and Prevention Educator, said the Resource Fair is a great opportunity for vendors to share information with the public as well as other vendors. Robertson added that helps breaks the stigma of substance abuse in the community.
Erin Hileman and Lauren Savoie with JCH said the issue is very prevalent in the area and agreed reducing the stigma is important. They also provided information on the recovery programs at JCH that include medicated assisted recovery, peer recovery, counseling, and psychiatric support. One thing Hileman said they’re doing through the program is providing free Narcan throughout the area, noting the reality of substance use issues in the area.
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The large array of solar panels on the roof of Jersey Community High School is projected to have an estimated net annual savings of approximately $97,000 in energy costs next year, according to information presented at the March Jersey Board of Education meeting. During the meeting, Assistant Superintendent of Transportation and Facilities Cory Breden said that even in the most recent winter months savings in energy costs were around $10,000.
“December, January and February are not great months when it comes to solar,” Breden said. “Still, able to save a total of a little over $10,000 with our solar.”
“Great decision by the board to include those solar panels and reaping the benefits,” he added while noting that the estimated savings of $97,000 might be a little low based on the current prices.
With over 3,000 solar panel modules on the 153,025 square foot roof, the largest array on a school roof in the state of Illinois, solar produced about 70% of the electricity for the 2022 calendar year at the high school.
April
Deputies from the Jersey County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) are continuing to make their way door to door to introduce themselves to the residents in the patrol zone they have been assigned.
JCSO divided the county into four zones and two deputies have been assigned to patrol each one. Deputy Justin Decker and Deputy Caleb Gibson are assigned to Zone 1, Deputy Travis Trisler and Deputy Jesse Faul are assigned to Zone 2, Deputy Jeff Klunk and Deputy Katlin Edwards are assigned to Zone 3, Deputy Jamison Metcalfe and Deputy Sally Arbuthnot are assigned to Zone 4.
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Mary Lillesve was recognized by the Grafton Chamber of Commerce at their most recent meeting for her dedicated service to the City of Grafton.
During her time in Grafton has served as City Clerk from 2011 to 2017, City Alderwoman from 2017 to 2023, Chairperson of the Tourism Committee from 2017 to 2023 and was essential in bringing the giant turtle to the Grafton Riverfront.
Dan Ebbing, Chamber Vice-President, presented a plaque, which will be displayed on what is now named “Mary the Turtle,” along with heartfelt praise for Lillesve’s dedication to the community.
“The old saying is it takes a village,” he said. “This is one of the people that makes something happen.”
Former Mayor Rick Eberlin said it was “truly an exceptional evening for a truly exceptional lady.”
“No doesn’t exist in Mary’s vocabulary,” Eberlin said. “Since the day she came she’s been an asset to our city, always saying yes. I remember when I went to Mary and asked if she would serve out a term as a council lady and she thought about it, but she never said no and I thank God that she didn’t.”
May
A retirement celebration was held for Mayor William Russell before Kevin Stork was sworn in as the city’s new mayor earlier this week.
“I’ve enjoyed my two terms as the Mayor of the City of Jerseyville and all the support I received in the community. I look forward to the new council making progress with the projects that we have in enacted and the ones that are coming up in the future.”
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Got Faith? Ministries held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, May 4. The event was also held on the National Day of Prayer.
The ceremony drew a decent crowd, with notable attendees being Jerseyville Mayor Kevin Stork, Jerseyville Walmart Manager Danny Whittington, and movie producer Kevin Edwards. Following the ribbon cutting, the crowd was led into a prayer outside, followed by other visitors saying prayers of their own. The event concluded with socializing and free food and drinks.
“It means a lot to see everyone show up to support us,” said Steve Pegram, the founder of Got Faith?. “It’s unbelievable I didn’t think there would be this many people.”
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The return of Music in the Park drew a large crowd out to The Grove Memorial Park in Grafton on Thursday. Organizers thanked their Diamond sponsor Joe and Leisa Soer, Don Mathenia, Jersey State Bank and Illinois American Water for helping make the series possible, and the the City of Grafton and Mayor Morrow for helping with updates to the park.
June
Music lovers will be pleased to learn that Jerseyville’s Rock the Block will be kicking off at the end of this month.
The City of Jerseyville will again be sponsoring the Rock the Block concert series that brought music to downtown Jerseyville last summer.
The first concert in this series is set for Friday, June 30, where The OWLZ from Alton will perform; they also performed at one of last year’s Rock the Block Events. The OWLZ is a classic rock cover band consisting of Al Coalson, Mike Young, Chuck Hirschberg, Bobby Turner, and Chance Trisler.
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The Jersey County Sheriff’s Office has announced several ways in which the department is setting out to try and help those with substance use disorders and their families in recovery.
“In Jersey County, perhaps the most serious and pervasive criminal threat is illegal drug distribution, use, and abuse.” the Sheriff Nick Manns said in a press release. “Drug abuse is a crime, but it also all too often leads to thefts, burglaries, domestic violence, automobile crashes, and other serious concerns for our community. Drug abuse affects all of us. Can you think of a family who has not been touched by illegal drugs? Whose family has not had a member who was a drug user or the victim of a drug related crime? It affects all of us which means all of us must think about how we can affect it.”
At the Jersey County Jail they’ve been offering different recovery resources and points of contact to inmates so that they have alternatives upon their release.
Amare, the local recovery group, is now regularly visiting the jail on a weekly basis to provide some of their services. Pastor Gibson from Eastland Baptist Church has been visiting to offer additional religious services and guidance. Correctional officers are creating a digital resource guide for cells in the jail.
The Jersey County Sheriff’s Office is also now partnering with Jersey Community Hospital to bring their Medication Assisted Recovery program to the jail.
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During the Grafton City Council meeting this past Tuesday, the Council stopped to recognize the actions of Grafton Police Officer Mike Angel. Angel responded to a call of a bicyclist down on the bike trail at Graham Hollow outside of Grafton earlier this week.
When he arrived on the scene, he found the injured cyclist in a pool of blood. The cyclist had lost control of his bike and hit a 2” by 6” wooden guard rail with extreme force due to his high rate of speed. He broke through the guard rail and was cut in many places. Seeing the severity of the man’s wounds, Officer Angel worked quickly. He immediately radioed for an airlift.
The man had a gash to his neck, gashes to his leg and ankle that exposed bone, and worrisome cuts to his arteries in two places. Officer Angel removed his own shirt and made a tourniquet on the man’s upper leg. Then Officer Angel applied pressure to the man’s wound and kept him calm. The cyclist was taken to a nearby cornfield, where he was airlifted by a medivac helicopter to the hospital. At the City Council meeting, Angel was awarded a life-saving certificate for his heroic actions on June 20. The award was given on behalf of Grafton Mayor Morrow and Police Chief Eric Spanton.
“Officer Angel’s quick thinking and immediate emergency measures helped save this cyclist’s life,” said Mayor Morrow. “We are extremely proud of him and all our policemen and policewomen who are always there for us.”
After receiving his award Tuesday evening, Angel thanked everyone and simply said he was “just doing my job.”
