Best Feature Series Hope Hudson

Amanda [email protected]

An entrepreneurship program, Operation Jump-start, has found its way to Perryville.

Operation Jumpstart is a

12-week training course de-signed to help entrepreneurs test the feasibility of their business, and it reaches eight states, including Mis-souri. Started in 2006, the program filtered throughout southeast Missouri, eventu-

ally reaching seven other Delta states.

For the first time, howev-er, the program has reached Perryville. And the city’s own Economic Develop-ment Director Scott Sattler is teaching two of the 12

classes offered. The program was started

by the Douglas C. Greene Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and was the brainchild of James Stapleton, who felt that, in order to build growth

and healthy businesses, an intensive training course should come to fruition.

The Perryville classes started April 23 at the Per-ryville Education Center, and will continue through June 4, where those en-

rolled in the program will “graduate” the start-a-busi-ness crash course.

For each week and each seminar, a different aspect of starting a business is dis-cussed.

By Amanda [email protected]

Hope is never far away and wishes do come true.

This was demonstrated over the weekend when Perryville resident Hope Hudson, along with her parents and sister, travelled to Churchhill Downs, Louisville, Ky., for a behind-the-scenes peek at the annual Kentucky Derby, thanks to the Make a Wish organization.

“I can’t even explain every-thing we have done and every-one we have run into this week,” Hope’s mom Jennifer Hudson said. “Make a Wish sent the most amazing people we have

ever met in our lives. Hope is on cloud nine. She doesn’t want to come home.”

Hope, 11, is the daughter of Nathan and Jennifer Hudson of Perryville. Her grandparents are the Republic-Monitor’s very own sports writer Bill Cairns and his wife Linda, as well as newly elected Perryville City Alder-man Prince Hudson and his wife Shirley. She has a younger sister Alaina, 8.

Hope has spent her entire life in and out of hospitals, facing surgeries and treatments to im-prove her quality of life. She was born with Hajdu-Cheney Syn-drome, a rare connective tissue


A portion of St. Joseph Street in the city square will be closed beginning Mon-day, May 14 due to repairs being done on a building on the southwest corner of St. Joseph and Jackson streets.

The building is home to L&A Consulting, This n’ That consignment shop and Reflections Beauty Salon.

Building owner Jackie Ahrens said damage was done to the structure in winter of 2010 after an ice storm struck Perryville, and a leak in the roof caused freezing water and snow to leak down beneath the brick of the building. When the water froze, bricks literally “popped off” the building, she said, and fell down into the street below.

Because of weather con-ditions and insurance is-sues, the work had to be put off until this spring. It is ex-pected to take two to three weeks, and the only portion of the street that will be blocked off is the portion directly in front of Ahrens’ building. Insurance is only covering a portion of the damages, Ahrens said.

John Randall, a brick mason from Cape Gi-rardeau, will be laying new brick to an entire side of the building, and doing any other repairs needed.

“We’ll take the whole section down and put it back up, back to its original condition,” Ahrens said.

The street is being

TUESDAY >>> MAY 8, 2012 >>> 75¢ VOLUME 133 >>> ISSUE 36

SERVING PERRY COUNTY SINCE 1889

Honor a teacher today for National Teacher Day. 11A

SV holds annual banquet page. 6A

Something happening?Let everybody know with an announcement in the Republic-Monitor! If your event is free, or if you are advertising a non-profit organization, send it to us, and we’ll

let everybody know!

Email: [email protected] or call 547-4567


In a special meeting Thursday, the Citizens Electric Board of Di-rectors voted to approve a build-ing project that will allow the corporation to continue providing reliable power and efficient ser-vice to meet the future needs of its members. It was decided that the facilities headquarters, currently located in Ste. Genevieve would move to Perryville.

Newly re-elected board mem-ber Stanley Petzoldt declined to

comment on the decision to make Perryville the new central location for the co-op, but board member Karl Klaus said the newly con-structed facility would be located along the Highway 51 bypass in Perryville, on the property where the CEC service department is lo-cated.

“The office building currently occupied by CEC at 123 N. Spring Street will be sold,” Klaus said on Monday. According to a release from CEC, a facilities assessment conducted in 2010 indicated CEC would best be served by relocat-

ing its administrative office to a more central location, which in this case is Perryville. The study further indicated that the electric co-op should reduce the number of facility locations from five to three, move the northern and southern service departments to more accessible locations within their respective districts and con-struct a disaster-resistant facility to protect critical technology.

The board including Presi-dent Alvin Franke, Vice Presi-dent Herb Fallert, Secretary Karl Klaus, Treasurer Richard DeWil-

de, Charles Hurst, Marion Kertz, John “Skip” Lottes, William Odneal, Doyle Oehl and Stanley Petzoldt approved designs for all three facilities and established a budget, with the intent to begin the project as soon as possible. The board also selected a general contractor and instructed the firm to proceed with the subcontractor bidding process.

Late last month the utility company held their annual meet-ing where it was discussed how CEC staff has outgrown its aging facilities and its increasingly so-

phisticated equipment requires a disaster-resistant structure to maintain reliable service. CEC Chief Executive Officer Van Rob-inson said with interest rates and construction costs not likely to get any cheaper, the time is right and will have minimal impact on Citi-zens’ overall budget.

“While there is still much work to do, today represents a signifi-cant milestone in the facilities planning process,” Robinson said on Thursday. “Getting the lights back on during a crisis is vital to

CEC to relocate main office to Perryville

See CEC/Page 5A

See St. JoE/Page 5ASee HudSon/Page 5A

See SAttlEr/Page 11A

St. Joe to close at square

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL

Submitted Photo

Eleven year old Hope Hudson and her family took the trip of a lifetime last week to the Blue Grass state where the group attended the Kentucky Derby thanks to the Make A Wish organization. Pictured in their race-day finest are (from left) Hope’s father Na-than Hudson, Hope, her mother Jennifer and sister Alaina, 8.

Hudson’s Derby wish comes true

Operation Jumpstart underway in Perryville, Sattler says

Submitted Photo

Hope Hudson met some incredible people on her Make A Wish trip to the Kentucky Derby including winning horse jockey Mario Gutierrez (left) and the rider for another Derby pony Hansen, Ramon Dominguez.

www.perryparkcenter.com

The Avengers (PG13)Showing through Wednesday, May 16

Sand Volleyball starting soon!

PPC will close at 5 p.m. onFriday, May 18 for PHS Graduation

the lives of Citizens’ mem-bers. Currently, CEC’s criti-cal equipment is located in a flood zone and is also vul-nerable to an earthquake or tornado. When things are at their worst, we need to be at our best.”

In the past 65 years, the electric load served by Citizens Electric, a not-for-profit utility, has grown more than any other Mis-souri electric cooperative and now sells the most kilo-watt hours in the state.

This development is primarily because of new and expanding industries within its service territory, which includes all of Ste. Genevieve and Perry coun-ties, the northern portion of Cape Girardeau County and the western part of

St. Francois County. CEC maintains more than 3,100 miles of energized lines and supplied more than 1.6 bil-lion kWh to nearly 27,000 members in 2011.

Specific costs are not available at this time; how-ever, the annual expense of implementing this facilities plan is expected to amount to less than 2 percent of CEC’s entire budget — less than the corporation spends annually on right-of-way tree trimming. At 80 per-cent, Citizens’ largest an-nual expense is purchasing power.

“Right now is the most fiscally responsible time to build,” Robinson said. “Construction costs and fi-nance rates can’t get much lower.”

For more information on the electric co-op, visit the website at www.cecmo.com.

CEC

the law requires that the unaccredited district pay some of costs borne by the schools getting the transfer students.

From my numerous discussions with Mel Han-cock, I don’t think he ever imagined that his amend-ment would be used to restrict the right of children to transfer out of unaccred-ited schools.

Hancock’s motivation was to make sure the state did not shift costs onto local government as a way to get around the primary purpose of his amendment, which was to limit the growth of state government spending.

But years after his death, Hancock’s amend-ment now has become the foundation for another step

in the state’s financial re-sponsibility for local public schools.

In the short term, the St. Louis County circuit court’s decision has eased pressure on lawmakers to address the student transfer issue in the remaining days of the legislative session.

But there will remain for future legislatures the much broader question upon which there has been little apparent agreement among state leaders: What, ulti-mately, is the state’s moral, if not legal, responsibility to assure an equitable and accredited level of educa-tion for students across Missouri?

(Phill Brooks has been a Missouri statehouse re-porter since 1970, making him dean of the statehouse press corps. Email him at at [email protected].)

OBITUARIES AND NEWSThe Republic-Monitor • www.perryvillenews.com Tuesday, May 8, 2012 • Page 5A

Perryville Elks

921 N. Perryville Blvd. (on by-pass)

BINGO

For Bingo or Hall Rental Information Call 547-ELKS or Brian Rellergert at 547-5552

Birthdays celebrated 4th Thursday each month

Thursday, May 10Starting 6:45 p.m.

23 Games - Max Payout $3600Progressive game $2000 • 21 Numbers

BINGO

BINGO

Deaths

HowePerryville

Aaron Jacob Howe of Perryville died Tuesday, May 1, 2012 in Perry County. He was 21.

He was born May 17, 1990 in Perryville, the son of Pete W. and Diana (LaRose) Howe of Perryville, who survive.

Other survivors include two brothers, Mi-chael Howe of Terre Haute, Ind. and Timothy Howe, of Sparta, Ill.; paternal grandmother, Marge Owen of Marion, Ill.; maternal great-grandmother, Lucille Brayfield of Perryville; uncle to Stephanie, Alyson and Kyla and Godfather to Alexis, aunts, uncles, cousins and many friends.

Aaron graduated from Perryville High School Class of 2008, where he was a standout football player wearing jer-sey no. 54. After graduation he attended Southeast Mis-souri State University, and he had been employed at TG Missouri. Aaron loved sports and was a huge 49ers fan. He loved spending time with his family and friends, and always had a smile. He was a member of Zion Lutheran Church.

He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, Charles and Lucille LaRose; paternal grandfather, Robert Howe; and his paternal step-grandfather, George Owen.

Memorials may be sent to the family’s choice.The funeral service was held Saturday, May 5 at 10 a.m.

at Zion Lutheran Church in Longtown with Pastor Paul Winningham officiating. Burial was at the church cemetery.

Miller Family Funeral Home provided the arrange-ments.

AaronHowe

HuberSafety Harbor, fl

Billy Louise McCulloch Huber of Safety Harbor, Fla. died Sunday, April 29, 2012 at Suncoast Hospice, Palm Harbor. She was 84.

Billy was born Feb. 25, 1928, the daughter of Claude and Effie McCulloch in Coldwater, Kan., the youngest of five siblings.

Attending schools in the Festus/Crystal City area, Billy graduated in the first class of LPN’s at the University of Missouri, Colum-bia.

She married the love of her life on Aug. 5, 1954 in St. Louis to H.J. (Red) Huber who resides at their home in Safety Harbor. She is survived by her loving family, daugh-ter and son-in-law, Laura and Tim Parker of Ooltewah, Tenn.; granddaughters, Sarah B. Parker of Arlington, Va. and Alice K. Parker of Huntsville, Ala. and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and nephews and great-great nieces and nephews.

During her years of living in Safety Harbor, Billy had been a valued member of Espiritu Santo Catholic Church, Safety Harbor and before her poor health, an involved member of the Safety Harbor Kiwanis. Many cherished years were spent volunteering at Safety Harbor Library and Safety Harbor Museum.

Billy will be laid to rest in Perryville with graveside ser-vices at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Safety Harbor Library in her memoriam.

BillyHuber

TerryWingerter

championship seven times — Tennessee 1998, LSU 2003, Florida 2006, LSU 2007, Florida 2008, Alabama 2009 and Auburn 2010. Only Alabama in 2010 did not win the Southeastern Conference title.

Picking only conference champions will almost never include the best four teams, and this past season is a good example. If only conference champions had been chosen for the pro-posed BCS four-team play-off after the 2011 regular season (including confer-ence championship games) here’s who would have been included: No. 1 LSU, No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 5 Oregon and No. 10 Wis-consin. Left out would have been No. 2 Alabama, No. 4 Stanford, No. 6 Arkansas, No. 7 Boise State, No. 8 Kansas State and No. 9 South Carolina.

Some squawk that Alabama making it into the title game with a loss (9-6 in overtime to No. 1-ranked LSU) shows the regular season is irrelevant — the Crimson Tide lost, but still got the chance to play for the national title. Just don’t mention that to Wisconsin, Stanford, Oregon, Okla-homa, Oklahoma State, Clemson and Boise State — all of these teams lost critical games late in the regular season, and if they hadn’t lost, Alabama prob-ably wouldn’t have been playing LSU for the title in New Orleans.

The current BCS system could still be used to select the top four teams. Agreed, there are problems with it: the computers are secre-tive in the way the best teams are calculated; and the coaches poll (CNN-USA Today) is made up of coaches who don’t get a lot of time to watch football teams … except who they are playing each week. The BCS also includes the less controversial Harris Poll,

composed of former play-ers, coaches, administrators and current and former media members.

I’d welcome any im-provements, as long as the system consistently selects the best four teams.

n The first two play-off games should be at the higher-seeded teams’ stadiums. The finals should be played at a neutral site, either rotated among the bowls (as it is now) or of-fered to the highest bidder.

The reason the first round should be played on college campuses is because of money — most fans don’t have deep enough pockets to travel to two far away venues at the end of each foot-ball season, right around Christmas. Plus, there aren’t many football venues more magical than games played at stadiums on col-lege campuses — Death Valley in Baton Rouge, La., or the Big House at Ann Arbor, Mich. (which seats 109,901), or Camp Randall at Madison, Wis.

Also, if the top two of the four finalists received a home field advantage, the regular season would take on even more importance. Last year, if Oklahoma State hadn’t lost during the regular season to 25-point underdog Iowa State 37-31, the final rankings would have been: LSU, Oklahoma State, Alabama and Stan-ford. Alabama, because of its three-point loss to LSU, would have had to travel to Oklahoma State for the first round. But the Cowboys did lose to Iowa State, and in a four-team playoff would have had to travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to play the Crimson Tide.

Our college football landscape is constantly changing, but the move to a four-team playoff is as big a shift as the game has ever seen. I welcome it.

(Tay Smith is the editor and publisher of the Repub-lic-Monitor. Email him at [email protected].)

from Page 4a

from Page 4a

Smith

Brooks

CissellPerryville

Melba (Hoffman) Cissell of Perryville died at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 4, 2012. She was 99.

She was born Nov. 6, 1913 in McBride, the daughter of Francis C. and Mary E. (Yeager) Hoffman. She was married April 3, 1937 in Belgique at Belgique Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Catholic Church to Leo Cissell, who preceded her in death in February, 1967.

Survivors include one son, Roger Cissell and wife, Jan-ice of Springfield; two grandchildren, Tammy (Jeff) Bills of Woodland, Calif. and Steven (Christal) Cissell of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and seven great-grandchildren.

Melba was a homemaker and did restaurant work. She will be missed by her family and many friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, one brother, two sisters and a son, Richard Cissell.

The family prefers memorials to be made to Masses and St. Vincent DePaul Parish.

Visitation will be Tuesday, May 8 from 5-8 p.m. at Mill-er Family Funeral Home in Perryville. Parish prayers will be recited at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Visitation will continue on Wednesday, May 9 from 6:30-9:50 a.m. The Rosary will be recited at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. The funeral Mass will be Wednesday, May 9 at 10 a.m. at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Perryville with the Rev. Milton Ryan C.M. officiating. Burial will be at Mount Hope Cemetery in Perryville.

Miller Family Funeral Home in Perryville provided the arrangements.

MelbaCissell

“Because the city pro-vides water and sewer ser-vices, people are thinking that if the city provides these services, and here is some insurance regarding such services, that the city

is soliciting this insur-ance, as if it’s one in the same,” Buerck said.

Should an owner de-cide to purchase insur-ance for their own water line, they can through the HomeServe company. But again, Buerck stresses that this is not mandatory cov-erage, as it is not through the city.

from Page 3a

Water

blocked off due to safe-ty concerns, because if bricks could “pop off” the first time, there’s no reason it couldn’t happen again during renovations, Ahrens said.

“If anything should come loose, we want to keep it safe by blocking

off the road,” Ahrens said. The portion of St. Jo-

seph will only be closed during working hours, Perryville City Adminis-trator Brent Buerck said.

The businesses within the building should not be affected by the reno-vations, and will remain open.

Perryville City Coun-cil approved closing off a portion of St. Joseph in fall 2011.

from Page 1a

St. Joefrom Page 1a

disorder. Connective tis-sue is strong fibrous tis-sue that supports and joins other body tissues and parts. Abnormal develop-ment of bones, joints, and teeth also occurs. A de-crease in bone mass and changes in the skull and jawbone are also features of this syndrome.

“This diagnosis causes so much,” Jennifer said. “She has many health problems because of it.”

Hope and her fam-ily arrived in Kentucky on Tuesday, where they toured different facili-ties, learning all there is to know about the time honored tradition of horse racing in the Blue Grass state, with the pin-nacle of their visit being a front row seat to the big-gest show on Sunday, the 138th Kentucky Derby.

“We were seated in section 322, which was far away from the finish line, but was on the last turn on the home stretch,” Jennifer said. “It was in-credible. I took so many photos.”

In addition to the Derby, the Hudsons toured the grounds and stables at Three Chim-neys Farms, and attended the traditional Kentucky Oaks race held the Fri-day before the Derby, was won by a horse ridden by Rosie Napravnik, the first female jockey to ever win the title. She was riding Believe You Can.

“We got to see the jockey’s room on Friday afternoon,” Jennifer said. “And Hope actually got to meet Rosie before the race. She asked Hope if she had a favorite in the race yet, and Hope told her no, so Rosie said, ‘Then you should bet on me.’ Just one more thing that made this trip magi-cal.”

The Hudsons also toured Claiborne Farms, the final resting place of horse racing legend Sec-retariat.

Hope and her family spent a lot of time with people from what Jen-nifer called Team O’Neil from southern California. This made the come-from behind win of I’ll Have Another, who is trained by Doug O’Neil, even more special. O’Neill has one of the largest stables in Southern California and has won three Breed-ers’ Cup races, and after Saturday, is now a Triple Crown winner.

“The people from O’Neil’s camp were stay-ing at the same hotel with us. We spent a lot of time with them. Doug was very taken with Hope,” Jenni-fer said. “He was so good to her.”

Although not feeling well when she first arrived in Kentucky, Hope was privy to a rare treat when she got to sit on the back of I’ll Have Another’s stable pony Lava Boy, who is also part of lead-ing horse trainer O’Neil’s troupe, and O’Neil asked her, “Have you ever sat on $5 million before?”

Jennifer said that brought a real smile to Hope’s face, even though she was ill.

The family also saw several celebrities who were in town for the race including singer Nora Jones, Cindy Lauper and rapper/actor Ice-T.

No self-respecting fe-male would go attend the Kentucky Derby without a beautiful hat, and the Hudson girls were no ex-ception.

“When I found out we were going to the Derby, I started looking online to find hats,” Jennifer said. “I saw some I liked by the East Angel Harbor Hat Company.”

Jennifer contacted the company, who generously donated custom hats for both Hope and her sister to wear to the Derby.

“We had a problem when we got here,” Jen-nifer said. “The hats were delivered to the wrong hotel, but we found them in time for the race.”

Jennifer said the trip was one of a lifetime.

from Page 1a

Hudson

AMERICAN LEGION 13398 Grand Ave. • Perryville • 547-4588

Kitchen Hours Mon-Thurs 11:00-8:00 • Fri, Sat & Sun 11:00-9:00

King Kut Steak - Every Wednesday

Mother’s Day Breakfast BrunchComing - Sunday, May 13 (7:30-Noon)

Are You on the Go?Call in your order to go & we’ll have it

ready for you when you need it!!!

WingerterPerryville

Terry A. Wingerter of Perryville died Friday, May 4, 2012 at his home in Perryville. He was 74.

He was born March 11, 1938 in McBride, the son of August “Gus” and Ileen (Hoffman) Wingerter. He was married Aug. 11, 1957 to Beula Brown, who preceded him in death in 1990.

Survivors include two sons, Mark (Mary) Wingerter and Jeff “Chunk” Wingerter, both of Perryville; one daughter, Jennifer (Daryl) Adams of St. Mary; one broth-er, Robert (Rose) Wingerter of Perryville; one sister, Margery Tucker of Perryville; one grandson and two granddaughters.

Terry was an Army Veteran. He was a painter, working for Flentge Painting. He was of the Baptist faith.

He was preceded in death by his parents, wife, and one son, Frank Wingerter.

The funeral service was held Monday, May 7 at 10 a.m. in the Miller Chapel. Burial was at the Brown Cemetery.

Miller Family Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.

TUESDAY >>> MAY 22, 2012 >>> 75¢ VOLUME 133 >>> ISSUE 40


PHS GRADUATIONThere was a lot of action in circuit court last week. 3A

Amid tears and shouts of joy, PHS seniors say ‘so long’ to friends, teachers and high school. 1B-2B

© 2012, Perryville Newspapers, Inc. www.perryparkcenter.com

PPC will close at 5 p.m. onFriday, May 18 for PHS Graduation

Sand Volleyball Captain’s MeetingThursday, May 24 at 6 pm

High Hopes Hoops BB Camp by Coach Art Dickinson Monday, June 4 - Friday, June 8

Something happening?Let everybody know with an announcement in the Republic-Monitor!

If your event is free, or if you are advertising a nonprofit organization, send it to us, and we’ll let everybody know!

Email: [email protected] or call 547-4567

A BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY

Photo by AmAndA LAyton

Morgan Baer said a tearful goodbye to the class of 2012 on Friday as the 176 seniors from Perryville High School crossed the stage to receive their diplomas. (See more graduation coverage on Pages 1B-2B.)


With pomp and circumstance, as well as tears and tissues, the senior class of 2012 bid their goodbyes to Perryville High School at commencement Friday night at the Perry Park Center.

The gymnasium was full to capacity, and well wishers were crowded onto the track above the audience as seniors walked across the stage to receive their diplomas from the District 32 Board of Education President Tina Litgge, who was accompa-nied on stage by fellow board members, vice president Kevin Bachmann, secretary Barb Hagan, Scoot Cooper, Mark Grem-aud, Scott Hotop, Nancy Voelker and Jeff Weibrecht. Also on stage were treasurer Betty Berkbigler, high school principal Lee Gattis, assistant principal Joel Roth and athletic director Jeff Steffens, along with school superintendent Kevin Dunn and as-sistant superintendent Russell Leek.

Members from the Perryville High School Band, under the direction of music directors Jay Peters and Michael Harrer, along with the PHS Chamber Choir con-ducted by Terry Edwards, provided music

for the event. Leading the Class of 2012 were saluta-

torian Abigail Buchheit and valedictorian Ashley Meinhardt, who got the attention of the graduates and faculty members in at-tendance by rewarding them with a cookie she had strategically taped under their seats prior to commencement.

“Thanks to Hoeckele’s Bakery and Matt Bush for getting these ready on such short notice,” Meihardt said. “You each have a

With smiles, tears, seniors graduateMore graduation stories and photos can be found on Pages 1B-2B.

From Page 1B

StAFF Photo by AmAndA LAyton

Thomas-Michael Yates gets a final ad-justment to his collar from his mother Kelly before the commencement.

Photo Submitted

Hope Hudson of Perryville spends some quality time with horse train-er Doug O’Neil before his pony I’ll Have Another won the Preakness in Maryland on Saturday. The duo met at the Kentucky Derby this year thanks to a trip funded by the Make A Wish Foundation.

Hudson’s horse wins Preakness

Water line cut

Hope is I’ll Have Another’s good luck charm as the horse goes for the Triple Crown.


And in a story fit for a Hollywood script, local lucky charm Hope Hud-son did it again as she brought a little of her magic to team O’Neil and his horse I’ll Have Another, who won the Preakness Stakes Saturday, bringing them a race away from the fabled Triple Crown.

Hudson, the 12-year-old daughter of Jennifer and Nathan Hudson, of Perryville, took the trip of a lifetime earlier this month when the Make A Wish Foundation sent the youngster, along with her family, to Louiville’s Churchill Downs for a behind-the-scenes look at the time-honored Ken-tucky Derby.

It was there that the family first crossed paths with trainer Doug O’ Neil, who immediately took a shine to the ailing youth. Hope sat astride O’Neil’s horse Lava Boy, a stable pony for I’ll Have Another, who as a grade one racing pony earned a career $5.2 million.

O’Neil said the Hudsons are “part of the family now.”

Jennifer said the trip to Maryland for the 137th Preakness was amazing. “We had free reign. Whatever Hope wanted, she got. It was incredible,” Jennifer said.

The trip to the Preakness was funded by trainer Doug O’Neil, Three Chimney’s Farm and I’ll have An-other’s owner Joe Them, and Three Chimney’s J. P. Reddam.

Jennifer is overcome with the hos-pitality showered on the family.

“It was very special,” she said. “They pulled us into the winners circle when the race was won, and after the photos were taken with the blanket of daisy’s on I’ll Have An-other’s back, they took them off and draped them across Hope’s wheel-chair. They’re shipping the flowers back home to us.”

Hope has spent her entire life in and out of hospitals, facing surgeries

See HOPe/PAge 4B


Thursday, a water main break in Brewer caused Public Water Supply District No. 1 — which includes the northern city limits of Perryville all the way to St. Mary city limits — to issue a water boil alert until today, if not later.

Residents within the water district are advised to boil any tap water for drinking, and Public Water Supply District No. 1 Superintendent Allen Weisler said it’s OK to shower, as long as a person has no stitches or open skin abrasions.

The break occurred around 4 p.m., Thursday, after contracting group Sullivan Excavation, of Silex, was attempting to lay pipe ducts for the installation of fiber optic cables and accidentally struck what Sullivan Contracting owner Bill Sullivan calls an “unlocatable water main.”

“When the main was installed in the late 70s/early 80s, they didn’t put a tracer wire with it,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan said that presently, any time a main is installed now, a tracer wire is placed along with it so others are aware that the water main exists.

“There was no way for anyone to know where it was,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan said there was already a break, or stress point, in the water main, and when the contractors exca-vated near it, “it basically cracked.”

By 5:30 p.m., Thursday, the main

During installation of fiber optic cables, line disrupted, causing a boil water order to be issued.

See WaTeR/PAge 4B

Mud festival help neededAmanda [email protected]

The city’s first-ever mud festival is getting closer, and volunteers are needed to help.

The mud festival, organized by 573 magazine in Farmington, is a free community event that literally deals entirely with mud — mud volleyball, a mud fashion show, a mud obstacle course, a mud pit and several other “mud” festivities will be offered free of charge.

But, the city is asking for local not-for-profit organizations, vendors and volunteers to help make the July 14 event possible.

“It’s an opportunity for local orga-nizations to make a little money, and it’s also a good way to give back to the community,” said Perryville City Administrator Brent Buerck.

So far, the Perryville High School cheerleading squad has hopped on board with volunteering, and will act as “pit bosses,” helping to man the mud pit. Also, the Perryville Fire Department will be helping maintain the mud by keeping it wet with fire hoses.

Others are needed to act as medi-cal aid, as well as safety and security staff.

The festival is also looking for

See MUD/PAge 4B

local vendors to help serve drinks and food, or anything else in between. Buerck even suggested that a vend-ing stand exist at the festival to sell tennis shoes, as they

are the only kind of foot-wear that is acceptable to tackle the mud fest.

The event will take place at the city park, on the grassy hills between High-way 61 and the old armory. For those folks interested in attending the event (not just volunteering), a permission

slip must be filled out, free of charge, before July 14. You can find the permission form at 573mag.com. Oth-erwise, a form can be filled out at the actual event, but for a small fee.

For those interested in volunteering for the festi-val, visit 573mag.com.

water line was repaired by the water district. “They did the damage, and we had to repair it,” Weisler said.

Sullivan is acting as a sub-contractor for another contracting group, Excel Utility Contracting, to lay the pipe ducts. Excel is

doing contract work for a regulated telecommuni-cations provider Sho-Me Technologies, of Marsh-field, which is currently laying fiber optic cable through portions of south-east Missouri.

Though the main is re-paired, the water district still issued a water boil alert be-cause as of Friday, Weisler had not yet retrieved three clean water samples from the

area. Until he’s able to retrieve

three or more, the alert will be in affect “until Tuesday at the earliest,” he said.

A service attendant with-in the water district said several thousand people are affected by the break.

For questions regarding the alert of the main break, call Public Water Supply District No. 1 at (573) 547–4570.

said Wood. “It will be interesting to see how the success of this sea-son translates to the other sports that my athletes play and I am hopeful, they will see success and growth.”

Wood, who also coach-es the St. Vincent Cross

Country team, is already preparing for next season and his athletes and ex-ploring available camps and clinics for both his stu-dent athletes and coaches to attend.

“This (seasons success) will only help our numbers next year,” Wood said. “Students are already ask-ing for advise on (work) they can put in over the

summer.”End of season awards

for track and field and other St. Vincent Spring sports will be given out Friday morning before school ends.

NEWS, FROM PAGE 3BPage 4B • Tuesday, May 22, 2012 The Republic-Monitor • www.perryvillenews.com

620 N. Kingshighway, Perryville • 547-2888

all that you hear

Janette Call, BC-HIS

All that you hear is true. Better Hearing Solutions has been improving the lives of people with hearing loss by offering hearing solutions and “excellence in service.”

Better Hearing Solutions has helped many people to improve their quality of living through better hearing. Our office leads the way byoffering innovative, affordable hearing instruments that solve the everyday problems of people with hearing loss.

Good hearing is essential to everyone, regardless of age. That is why Better Hearing Solutions tailors each client’s appointment to fit his or her specific lifestyle and hearing loss.

Better Hearing Solutions - offering superiorproducts, services and value with care and integrity!

www.betterhearingsolutions.netMon-Fri 8:30 am-4:30 pmwww.SADI.org

1913 Rusmar St.Cape Girardeau, MO

573-651-6464

801 E. Marshall St.Charleston, MO573-683-6464

201 Hwy 34 WestMarble Hill, MO

573-238-4040

1418 West St. Joseph Suite 10 • PerryvilleVoice/TDD: 573-547-7800 • Fax: 573-547-7808

MO Toll Free: 1-800-898-7234SADI-North

What is Autism? Autism is a developmentaldisability that typically involves delays and

impairment in social skills, language and behavior. Autism is a spectrum disorder, meaning that it

affects people differently.

GAPS

Giving Autistics’ Parents Support

• Therapy Equipment • Safety Devices• Medical or therapeutic needs.

To make a referral to GAPS or for more info, call (573) 651-6464.

What is Autism

GAPS can help with....

OLD TIMERS DAY

Our Sponsors: K and L Repair, Ruehling Family Auction Service, Perryville Outdoor Products, US Bank, River Hills Antique Tractor Club, Davis Farm Supplies, MFA Agri Services

Saturday, May 26 & Sunday, May 27, 2012Seminary Picnic Grounds, Hwy T, Perryville - 9:00 a.m.

Sponsored by: River Hills Antique Tractor Club

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS & ACTIVITIES

2 FULL DAYS

Saturday, May 26 - Day 19 am Showopens FleaMarket,Vendors,FoodStands, TractorDisplay,SmallEngines,Truck Display,Cars,OldToolsandetc.,Old TimeMusic,FreeHayRides,OldFarm Equipment,OldLawnMowers,SteamEngine9:30-10:00 Demonstrations: Corn Shredding, Treshing Machine, Stationary Baling, Corn Shelling10:30-Noon Demonstrations: Cord Wood Sawing, Hand Corn Shelling, Buck Saw Wood Sawing, Rope Making, Black SmithingNoon Lunch1-2 pm Tractor Games: Chain in the Box, Teetor Tottler, Fish in The Barrel Poker Run, 5 Card Stud2-3 pm Baker Fan

3-4 pm Baling Hay, CuttingandConditioning

Sunday, May 27 - Day 28:30 am ChurchService9:30 am ShowOpens FleaMarket,Vendors,FoodStands, TractorDisplay,SmallEngines,Truck Display,OldToolsandetc.,FreeHayRides, OldFarmEquipment,SteamEngine10-11 am 5 Mile Per Hour Tractor Ride All Tractors EligibleNoon AntiqueTractorPull1-2 pm Tractor Games

Don’t forget to register for the July 28 Tractor Ride

OFFICIAL STATE INSPECTION STATION

NOTICE

423 Magnolia Street,Perryville, MO

573-547-4543 or 573-547-4342

PERRYVILLETIRE

CENTER, INC.Your Local Complete

Tire Center

OPENSATURDAY

7:00 A.M. TO1:00 P.M.

(MECHANIC ON DUTY)

IT’S YOUR TURN TO GET UP TO $80when you purchase four select Goodyear® tires.**

OR

DOUBLE YOUR REBATE UP TO $160by using the

GOODYEAR CREDIT CARD

Offer valid March 1 through May 31, 2012

From Page 3B

Cairnsgranddaughter Hope had made a wish to see the Kentucky Derby.

Hope is suffering from a rare disease, and doctors are searching for a way to help her. Hope is very passionate about horses. She is sharp as a tack when it comes to horses. Give her a sheet of paper and a pencil and she will draw you a horse.

Last week at Churchill Downs she met up with trainer Doug O’Neill, who trains I’ll Have Another. Mr. O’Neill brought out Lava Man, an 11-year-old horse who had won over $5 million dollars. O’Neill took Hope from her wheel chair and placed her on the horses back. It seemed Lava Man enjoyed it as much as Hope did. She was all smiles and gave a big thumbs up.

O’Neill and she sat down and talked about horses. She had taken a lik-ing to a horse named Han-sen. But she told O’Neill that if Hansen was not hav-ing a good day, she would cheer for I’ll Have Another. Hansen faded like a sunset. Hope began cheering for

I’ll Have Another.Well the horse won and

O’Neill looked at Hope and said, “We are going to Baltimore Baby”!

Early last week my son-in-law Nathan got a phone call from O’Neill inviting them to the Preakness, the second leg of the triple crown, held in Maryland. A talk between he and my daughter Jennifer, Hope’s mom, took place. It is a well known that race horse trainers and owners are very superstitious, so O’Neill wanted Jennifer at the race. The answer was yes. So Thursday they boarded the place for Balti-more for the second leg of the Triple Crown.

When the dust has settled I’ll Have Another was the winner by a nose, coming from fifth place for the win. A wreath of Black-eyed Susans was placed on the neck of I’ll Have Another, and later that evening, the wreath was given to Hope.

Hope and the rest of the family were escorted out of the Pimlico Race Track by the Maryland State police. Mr. O’Neill thinks he has a good luck charm in Hope. At the post-race interview he has always thanked Hope. It is a dream come

true for an 11-year-old girl who is a sweet as can be. O’Neill said Hope and her family were part of the O’Neill family.

Does that mean they will be going to New York for the final leg of the triple crown, the Belmont Stakes? We will wait and see.

(By Bill Cairns writes sports for the Republic-Monitor. Email him at [email protected].)

From Page 3B

Track

From Page 1a

From Page 1a

Mud

Hope

From Page 1a

Water

and treatments to improve her quality of life. She was born with Hajdu-Cheney Syndrome, a rare connec-tive tissue disorder. Con-nective tissue is strong fi-brous tissue that supports and joins other body tissues and parts. Abnormal devel-opment of bones, joints, and teeth also occurs. A decrease in bone mass and changes in the skull and jawbone are also features of this syndrome.

“This diagnosis causes so much,” Jennifer said.

“She has many health prob-lems because of it.”

O’Neill has one of the largest stables in South-ern California and has won three Breeders’ Cup races. A win for I’ll Have Another at the Belmont Stakes on June 9 in New York will make him the first Triple Crown winner since Af-firmed in 1978.

Although the Hudson family hasn’t received an official invite to the June 9 Belmont Stakes, many across the nation speculate that the little girl who cap-tured the heart of a horse man will be trackside to cheer for Team O’ Neil.

Call or e-mail, Nicole

Zoellnerto discuss your

options.

573-547-4567 ext. 18nicole@

perryvillenews.com

Are you thinking about

running an ad in The Republic-

Monitor?

See news? Call

547-4567.

Photo submitted

Hudson was visibly over-come with emotion when trainer Doug O’Neil draped her wheel chair with the mat of daisies that had been on the back of I’ll Have Another in the winner’s circle on Sat-urday after the Thorough-bred won the Preakness.

Eating healthier, feeling better, living longer. 1B

County, city make several arrests. 3A

THURSDAY >>> MAY 31, 2012 >>> 75¢ VOLUME 133 >>> ISSUE 43


© 2012, Perryville Newspapers, Inc. PAGE 7B www.perryparkcenter.com

Zumba Summer SessionStarts Monday, June 4

High Hopes Hoops BB Camp

For Boys & Girls Starts Monday, June 4

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (PG)

Starts Friday, June 8

All the Top Name Brands at a Top Name Store

MEMORIAL DAY

Photo by AmAndA Keefe

American Legion Post 133 veterans put their hats to their hearts and bow their heads on Memorial Day at the courthouse to remember those who have served our country. Legion members, from left to right, include Larry White, Orville Bachmann, Don Giesler and Bill Richardet.

Corn crop is in peril

Perry’s heroes honored

Despite recent rain, area farmers facing a drought.By Amanda [email protected]

Local corn growers are concerned about the lack of rain in the area, as southeast Missouri braces for one of the driest spring seasons in the last 118 years, despite a series of showers Wednes-day and more expected today.

The lack of rain has made for slow growing crops, and little to no rain at this stage of corn plant development can cause stunted brace roots, making stalks susceptible to dam-

age in high wind or summer thunderstorms.

“Call it a flash drought,” said Pat Guinan, University of Missouri climatologist in a recent article.

The southern half of the state has been plagued with no rain and higher than av-erage temperatures for the months of April and May.

According to the Na-tional Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., high temper-ature records that stood for more than a quarter century in southeast Missouri were broken over the three-day Memorial Day weekend, with Saturday, Sunday and Monday being the hottest on record, making it feel more like the Fourth of July than the official kick-off of the summer season.

Monday’s high of 96 degrees broke the previous record of 92, set in 1978, while Sunday was a high of 95, three degrees warm-er than the 1972 record of 92 degrees. Saturday lake goers baked in 96-degree heat, beating the previously recorded record high of 94 degrees set in 1978.

The soil moisture prob-lem has been compounded by the cloudless skies, which leaves planted fields to bake.

Bill Wiebold, MU agronomist told regional extension specialists on a teleconference that the drought has already caused the death of corn roots.

“This may be a year with rootless corn,” Wiebold said.

Brace roots, or nodal roots are the first set of roots extending from the node of the corn stalk, and supply the needed moisture for corn stalk growth. They will dry up and die if they do not find moisture.

According to Wiebold, some corn plants in MU re-search plots are just seven inches tall. “Usually corn would be knee-high by now,” Wiebold said. “While

file Photo

Hope Hudson will get a front row seat at the Belmont Stakes next weekend to cheer on I’ll Have Another and her new friends from Team O’Neil.


It was a commemorative yet equally sobering Monday morn-

ing as Perryville held its annual Memorial Day observance in thick summer heat on the lawn of the downtown courthouse.

The observance began with the parade that started at the American Legion and made its way down Jackson Street toward the court-house. Members of VFW Post

4282 hosted and led Monday’s pa-rade, and members of the National Guard, AMVETS, American Le-gion Post 133 and Scout groups followed in suit, flags waving.

Residents lined Jackson Street with their hats on their hearts and

Parade is followed by courthouse ceremony.

Burning debris may not be a good ideaAmanda [email protected]

Because of the re-cent dry weather con-ditions, the possibil-ity of fire risks is on the rise.

Perryville Assis-tant Fire Chief Jeff Bohnert said that be-cause of the mixture of low humidity and the onset of incred-ibly dry weather, the risk of a fire starting is certainly increased.

“The grass and wheat fields are get-ting dry, and leaves and even litter could potentially spark a fire,” Bohnert said. “It’s dry and there’s low humidity, which dries it out even more, and it certainly increases the risk [of a fire].”

In a past Republic-Monitor article, Perry County Weather Ser-vice representative Rick Shanklin said

Hope Hudson headed to the Belmont

By Amanda Layton [email protected]

Any athlete worth their salt knows you don’t mess with a streak, and luck comes in all forms. That’s why local

girl Hope Hudson has been cordially invited by the hors-ing racing camp Team O’Neil to join them and I’ll Have Another as the horse takes a stab at the Triple Crown next weekend at the Belmont Stakes in New York.

“We’re on cloud nine right now,” Hope’s mother Jennifer said.

Hope, 12, first crossed paths with the world of thor-oughbred horse racing ear-lier this month when, through the generosity of the Make a Wish foundation, the Hud-sons took a trip to the Ken-tucky for a behind the scenes look at Churchill Downs be-fore having a seat at the time honored Kentucky Derby. It

was there that the Hudsons first became acquainted with horse trainer Doug O’Neil, who instantly took a shine to the ailing pre-teen.

“They’re part of the team; they’re part of the family,” O’Neill said.

After his horse I’ll Have

See DRY/PAge 5A

See HOPE/PAge 5A

See HONOR/PAge 5ASee DEBRIS/PAge 5A

Perryville resident has become I’ll Have Another’s good luck charm.

OBITUARIES, NEWS, FROM PAGE 1AThe Republic-Monitor Thursday, May 31, 2012 • Page 5A

Deaths

WinklerPerryville

Cletus T. Winkler of Per-ryville died Sunday, May 27, 2012 at St. Francis Medical Cen-

ter in Cape Girardeau. He was 85.He was born April 7, 1927 in Perry Coun-

ty, the son of Theodore and Louise (Ponder)Winkler. He was married on Oct. 20, 1951 at Apple Creek to Anna Leible.

He was the loving husband of Anna Win-kler who survives in Perryville and he was a loving father to Randal (Susan) Winkler of Cape Girardeau. Other survi-vors include three brothers, Thomas Winkler of St. Louis; Hubert Winkler and Walter Winkler, both of Perryville.

Cletus was a World War II Army Veteran. He was a self-employed painter and very involved with the Apple Creek Organizational Baseball League, and also managed sev-eral teams. Cletus was also an avid hunter and fisherman. He was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church at Apple Creek, Parish Men’s Organization, American Legion and VFW.

He was preceded in death by his parents, five brothers, and two sisters.

The family requests memorials to the St. Joseph Church Building Fund.

Visitation will continue on Thursday, May 31 from 6:30-9:30 a.m. at Miller Family Funeral Home in Perryville. The rosary will be recited at 9 a.m. at the funeral home. The funeral Mass will be Thursday, May 31 at 10 a.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church at Apple Creek with the Rev. Tony Dattilo officiating. Burial will be at St. Michael’s Ceme-tery, Apple Creek, with graveside military honors courtesy of the American Legion Post 133 and the Delta Team.

Miller Family Funeral Home provided arrangements.

CletusWinkler

KellerPerryville

LeRoy J. Keller of Perryville died Sun-day, May 27, 2012 at Perry Oaks Nursing & Rehabilation Center in Perryville. He was 87.

He was born Aug. 30, 1924 in Perryville, son of Adrian and Janie (LaRose) Keller. He was married on Dec. 24, 1949 to Thelma Yount of Perryville, who survives.

Other survivors include two daughters and a son, Wanda (Tim Britt) Boland, Terry (Brenda) Keller and Linda Keller, all of Perryville; a sister, Dorothy Brooks of St. Louis; three grandchildren, Brad, Michelle, Greg; and two great-grandchildren, Lindie and Caden.

Mr. Keller had worked for Mississippi Lime in Ste. Gen-evieve. He was a member of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Perryville.

He was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers, Hubert and Junior; and four sisters, Helen, Mary Ella, Mary Lou and Lindola.

Memorials are preferred to American Cancer Society or American Diabetes Association.

Visitation will continue on Thursday, May 31 at Young & Sons Funeral Home from 6:30 a.m. until time of service at 10 a.m. with Rev. Jim Ward C.M. officiating. Burial will be at Mount Hope Cemetery.

Young & Sons Funeral Home, Inc. in Perryville provid-ed the arrangements.

LeRoyKeller

they are called brace roots, the nodal roots supply moisture for the growing plant. “Without water, the plant cells don’t elongate.”

The lack of rainfall can cause corn to be shorter, with ears much closer to the ground.

Wiebold said the corn can overcome this initial drought if rain falls soon.

“The corn plant keeps trying to put out new roots,” Wiebold said.

Until those nodal roots form, the plant depends on primary roots, which grow deeper in the soil from below the seed corn kernel.

If primary roots are in dry soil the plants may die. If secondary roots fail, the plants may fall over from lack of support.

Local Farm Bureau insurance agent Rebecca Franklin said she has had many inquiries this year about crop insurance.

“I haven’t sold more crop insurance policies than average this year, but that is because there are deadlines that have to be met, and it was too late to purchase,” she said. “But I have had lots more people ask about it, and several on the list who want to be contacted for next sea-

son.”Dry weather affects

other crops as well, as area soybean growers know. Currently, uneven stands of soybean are a direct re-sult of no moisture in the soil.

Wiebold said. “I’ve seen tall soybeans, short soybeans and no soybeans in the same row.” At plant-ing some seeds found moisture and came right up. Other seed waited for rain. Some seed never re-ceived moisture.

“The worst thing that happens is to get 1/10 of an inch of rain after plant-ing in dry soil,” Wiebold said. “That’s enough to germinate seed, but not enough to grow roots.”

Wiebold said wheat is ripe. “I’d never seen wheat harvest in May. It looks good. But, seed heads may not be full.”

Also affected by the dry temps are hay har-vests, with most cattle owners crossing their fin-gers waiting for the sec-ond cutting of the season, fearful of the supply and demand that may drive up prices.

Perryville County got some rain Wednesday and, according to National Weather Service fore-cast models, the next best chance of rain is today, which will also bring tem-peratures that are closer to the seasonal average.

From Page 1a

From Page 1a

Debris

Dry

Another won the Derby, he, along with the horse’s owner J. P. Reddam, in-vited the family to attend the Preakness in Maryland where Hope was welcomed with open arms to the win-ner’s circle when I’ll Have

Another won the race. “It was very special,”

Hope’s mother Jennifer said.

O’Neill has one of the largest stables in South-ern California and has won three Breeders’ Cup races.

A win for I’ll Have An-other at the Belmont Stakes on June 9 at Elmont, N.Y., will make him the first Triple Crown winner since

Affirmed in 1978, and now Hope will have a chance to be a part of the excitement.

Attendance at the Bel-mont Stakes ranks fourth in North America, and usually surpasses the attendance of all other stake races.

The race will be broad-cast by NBC, and those interested in watching the race should check local list-ings for time and station.

Hope was born with Hajdu-Cheney Syndrome, a rare connective tissue dis-order. She has spent her life in and out of hospitals. She is the daughter of Nathan and Jennifer Hudson of Per-ryville.

Her grandparents are the Republic-Monitor’s sports writer Bill Cairns and his wife Linda, as well as Perryville City Alderman

Prince Hudson and his wife Shirley.

The family will be fly-ing to New York to stand trackside to root on a horse trainer they can now call a friend, and a horse who just needs a little hope for an-other victory to secure his place in the record books.

But regardless if I’ll Have Another crosses the finish line first, Hudson has already won.

Citizens Electric is proud to sponsor the cost for one World War II veteran on CEC lines and a guardian to visit the WWII Memo-rial in Washington, D.C., as part of the Greater St. Louis Honor Flight program.

Now known as “the Greatest Generation,” a phrase coined by journalist Tom Brokaw, WWII veter-ans are dying at the rate of approximately 900 per day, according to a recent study. The Honor Flight Network

is a nonprofit organiza-tion created solely to honor America’s veterans for their immense sacrifices.

The trip includes two seats on the Honor Flight charter, meals, accommoda-tions and bus transportation throughout the trip, which is tentatively scheduled for Nov. 6. (Flights are based on a waiting list, so the CEC-sponsored seats could be earlier or later.)

CEC’s power supplier, Wabash Valley Power As-

sociation, is a co-sponsor. The trip reflects Citizens’ and Wabash’s commitment to community – one of the Touchstone Energy Cooper-atives’ governing principles.

“Sponsoring this trip is such a small token of our appreciation for these men and women who gave up their youth to fight for com-plete strangers. Everything co-ops stand for would not be possible without their service,” said CEO Van Robinson. “The least we

can do for them is to fly a veteran to our nation’s capi-tal, so he or she can see how this country has honored them and forever preserved their legacy.”

Applications are avail-able on Citizens’ website, cecmo.com, or at its Per-ryville and Ste. Genevieve customer service offices. The deadline is Monday, July 30.

To donate to the Honor Flight Network, go to hon-orflight.org/donate.

the highest risk of fire usu-ally occurs during the spring and summer months, espe-cially when dry vegetation meets low humidity levels.

It is during these times that Shanklin and Bohnert advise against burning. And, should someone wish to have a bonfire or even light tiki torches, Bohnert

says to use good common sense when going about it.

“Attend the fire at all times, have water ready in case of emergency and put it out before you leave,” Bohnert said. Perry County Sheriff Gary Schaaf said in a previous Republic-Mon-itor article, “Most of the time, people have common sense not to burn during these conditions.”

Bohnert says that in past years, he’s seen wildfires

occur once or twice a year in the area, but it usually occurs closer to the fall sea-son. He said he’s seen some wildfires that spanned any-where from 20 to 50 acres of land. According to a National Weather Service drought map, Missouri is highlighted as having “ab-normally dry” weather, and in the most southern parts of Missouri, there are even signs of drought.

Schaff says he is un-

aware of any no-burn advi-sories issued for the county at this time, but the city al-ready has a well-established ordinance in place that pro-hibits any burning in the city whatsoever.

However, Rich DeWilde, of the Lake Perry Lot Own-ers Association, issued a no-burn order early last week.

“We try to do this every year during dry weather, and this will be ongoing until it starts finally raining again.”

From Page 1a

From Page 1a

Hope

Honortheir heads bowed in re-membrance of those lost and those still fighting for our country’s freedom.

Missouri National Guard veterans of 42 years, Her-man Erzfeld and Lawrence Buchheit, were among those standing along Jack-son Street, and had plenty to say about Memorial Day.

“If soldiers didn’t serve, we wouldn’t be here today,” said Erzfeld, 75. “We should be proud and hon-ored of them for protecting our freedom.”

Buchheit, 70, added, “Without veterans, we wouldn’t have Memorial Day. It’s what keeps our country free.”

Once the parade reached the courthouse steps, high school band members played the National An-them, then Reverend Jona-than Stites of Immanuel Lutheran in Altenburg took the podium to deliver a brief prayer.

“We thank and praise [the Lord] for giving us this great land for us to live and die in,” Stites said. “Thank

you for those service men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice.”

Afterward, Boy Scout troops led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance, then Mayor Debbie Gahan took the podium to share her thoughts on the observance of our vets and soldiers.

She told a story of John F. Baker, a man she attend-ed school with who, after high school, served in the Army in Vietnam. Though he didn’t die in service, she wanted to recognize him for his bravery and sacri-fice, as he saved and evacu-ated wounded soldiers from American bunkers that had been attacked.

“He was exhausted, with no ammunition left, and re-turned to fight, and dragged two more wounded soldiers out,” Gahan said.

Baker was recognized by former President Lyndon B. Johnson with the Congres-sional Medal of Honor, and in honoring Baker, John-son said, “The battlefield is the scarred and the lonely landscape of man’s greatest failure, but it is also a place where heroes walk.”

Gahan then said, “On this Memorial Day, I choose

to remember John Baker — my homegrown, hometown hero.”

Afterward, several mem-bers of the VFW, AMVETS and American Legion spoke briefly on behalf of those lost and those still serving.

Commander of AM-VETS Dean Hotop said, “Today is Memorial Day, but every day should be Memorial Day.”

Virginia Schnurbusch of the American Legion Aux-iliary said, “It’s always nec-essary to defend our free-dom, because freedom isn’t free.”

Then, the day’s featured speaker, past national Com-mander of the AMVETS Jerry Hotop, took to the po-dium.

“We honor those men and women of the U.S. Mil-itary who endure dangers to fight and preserve our way of life,” Hotop said. “We owe a tremendous amount of debt to men and women who took up arms to defend the United States. We pay tribute to those who stepped well beyond the line of fear, and we remember those brave men and women who gave so much, and the fami-lies of loved ones left be-

hind. May we never forget those who fought for our freedom. Today, of all days, we reflect on what it truly means to live in freedom.”

Reverend Stites gave a closing prayer, saying, “We honor the service men and women who fight and died for this country. Lord, continue to bless our great country, continue to bless our service men and women who continue to serve both here and abroad, and con-tinue to bless our retired veterans.”

He followed with the Lord’s Prayer, of which ev-eryone in the crowd recited somberly, heads bowed.

Then, a wreath was placed on the soldier’s me-morial statue on the court-house lawn, and afterward, the parade reassembled, one by one, and continued back down Jackson.

Then, a lone Boy Scout stood on the hill of the court-house and played “Taps,” his back turned away from the crowd, his face to the sun. It was a quiet walk back, as folks bowed their heads and kept their hats at their hearts, remembering the lives lost, and the lives still fighting.

CEC to honor WWII vet with honor flight

Photo by AmAndA KeeFe

The veteran memorial outside the Perry County courthouse attracted rain that wouldn’t let up for the first time in weeks, a welcome relief for Perry’s residents, and particularly farmers.

A REFRESHING RELIEF

See news?

Call Amanda at547-4567.

TUESDAY >>> JUNE 12, 2012 >>> 75¢ VOLUME 133 >>> ISSUE 46


DAD’S DAYHearing scheduled for city theft cases. 3

Perryville residents get ready to honor their fathers. 10-12

© 2012, Perryville Newspapers, Inc.

Something happening?Let everybody know with an announcement in the Republic-Monitor!

If your event is free, or if you are advertising a nonprofit organization, send it to us, and we’ll let everybody know!

Email: [email protected] or call 547-4567 www.perryparkcenter.com

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (PG)

Friday, June 8 - Thursday, June 21

4th of July Closing at 5 pm

Perry warned of at-large child abductors


Perry County parents should be aware of the recent attempted child abductions that have oc-curred in neighboring communi-ties in order to keep their children

safe, according to Perryville Po-lice Chief Keith.

Last week, four children, in three separate instances in neigh-boring towns, were approached by two male subjects in a pick -up truck. All of the children were able to get away before being ab-ducted.

On Wednesday, Terre Du Lac and Bonne Terre police depart-ments were notified of the at-

tempted abduction of three girls in two separate instances. “The inci-dents in Bonne Terre and Terre Du Lac (both in St. Francois County) appear at this time to be linked due to similar suspect and vehicle descriptions given by the intended victims,” stated a press release the Bonne Terre Police Department issued Thursday.

The victims were approached by a vehicle containing two men

near First State Community Bank in Terre Du Lac at about 3:50 p.m., Wednesday. The girls said the passenger, described as a hav-ing a large belly, tried to grab them. The driver was described as having gray hair in his beard. The vehicle was described as a black Ford truck, possibly a Ranger or an F-Series with a ladder in the bed. The tailgate was possibly primer-colored.

The second incident occurred in the area of De Soto Road in Bonne Terre at about 7:30 p.m. the same day. A 7-year-old girl said two males tried to coax her into the truck but she refused and ran away.

Late Thursday night, police in nearby Fredericktown, in Madi-son County, received a call about

Three children approached in Terre Du Lac, Boone Terre and Fredericktown.

See DANGER/Page 5

See FITNESS/Page 5

See GARDEN/Page 5

Fitness director is hired

Garden tour is June 16

Hope’s horse pulled from race


A new leagues and fit-ness manager has been cho-sen to work within the Perry Park Center.

Chad Unterreiner, 28, of Perryville, will now be tak-ing on the position that last belonged to former man-ager Rodney Sadler. Unter-reiner will be responsible for directly handling all little league teams, as well as all fitness aspects offered at the center. He will also act as president of all little league teams.

Jared Tanz, newly ap-pointed Parks and Recre-ations director, was respon-sible for finding someone to fill the role that’s been va-cant for nearly two months, and after an extensive search, Unterreiner was of-fered the job late last week.

UP, UP AND AWAY

Photo Submitted by diStrict 32

The balloon release at Perryville Elementary School.

Perryville Elementary students get return mail after Lady in the Moon balloon release

Three students at Perryville Elementary School have received letters from people who found balloons the children released at school in March.

First graders Jacob Reed, Brianna Jacob-son and Brady Woods and their classmates sent their wishes skyward during a reading lesson that ended in the balloon release. The students read The Lady In the Moon by Lily Wong Fillmore.

“The story is about the Moon Festival in China,” said first grade teacher Rose Rosen-

zweig. “The children celebrate with special food like moon cakes and then write poems which are wishes they send by reading to the Lady in The Moon.”

At PES, the students wrote their wishes on cards and signed their names. The reverse of the card explained the project and asked the finders of the balloons to mail the card back to the school.

Jacob’s balloon was found in Wickliffe, Ky. His wish was for a pair of shoes with wheels on them.

Brianna’s balloon made it to Kentucky, as well, where it was found by a girl named Si-enna from Dresden, Tenn. who was on spring break. Brianna wished to meet Hannah Mon-tana, and Sienna wrote back that she’d once wanted to meet Hannah Montana, too, but now wanted to meet Justin Bieber instead.

Brady’s balloon followed the breeze to Thebes, Ill. His wish was for “one zillion dollars.”

The family who found his balloon mailed him $1 to help him get started.


A small area school has come up with a clever way to raise money for a class trip by incorporating a love of nature and the hospitality of a small community.

United in Christ Lu-theran School in Frohna will host a Country garden Tour featuring the beautiful yards of four area families from Frohna and Altenburg.

The one-day event will be held on June 16 between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

The beautiful yard of Bob and Darlene Bach-mann will be open for the community to tour, featur-ing their large pond, gazebo and woodland area. The couple also has a well-kept vegetable garden.

Tim and Colleen Muel-ler will also participate, showing off landscaping

Submitted Photo

In this May 5 photo provided by the Hudson family, Hope Hudson, 12, in a plaid hat, along with her Jen-nifer; sister, Alaina, and father, Nathan pose with Kentucky Derby winner I’ll Have Another.


In a heartbreaking mo-ment Friday afternoon, a chance at a history-making race ended in disappoint-ment when Triple Crown contender I’ll Have Another was scratched from the race card due to a potential ten-

don injury. In a shocking announce-

ment Friday afternoon, horse trainer Doug O’Neil and I’ll Have Another’s owner Paul Redam made the decision to retire the three-year-old chestnut colt due to tendonitis in his front left leg less than an hour before the Belmont Stakes, ending the horse’s racing career.

“He’s had an incredible run,” O’Neill said. “In any

sport you got to stay injury-free. Could we have run him? Yes. Would that have been the right move? No. I’m just proud the whole team was unanimous in not running him. He’s a once-in-a-lifetime horse.”

The horse garnered na-tional attention as the heav-ily favored to become the sport’s 12th Triple Crown winner, and the first in more

I’ll Have Another has health problems at the Belmont Stakes.

See HOPE/Page 5

OBITUARIES Tuesday, June 12, 2012 • Page 5

Deaths

BohnertPerryville

Corine M. Bohnert of Perryville died Wednesday, June 6, 2012 at Perry Oaks Nurs-ing and Rehabilitation Center in Perryville. She was 101.

She was born June 27, 1910 in Perry County, the daughter of Charles and Eliza-beth (Lappe) Berkbuegler. She was married on April 20, 1931 in Brewer to Otto Bohnert, who preceded her in death Jan. 28, 1972.

Survivors include one son, Elvis Bohnert of Perryville; 11 grandchildren; 22 great-grandchildren; six great-great-grandchildren; six step-grandchildren; and 10 step-great-grandchildren.

Mrs. Bohnert was a homemaker and also did house cleaning for people and babysat. She was an avid quilter. She was a member of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; one son, Leo Bohnert; one daughter, Lunette Geringer; one brother, three sisters and three grandchildren.

Memorials to St. Vincent de Paul Parish or Masses.The funeral Mass was held Saturday, June 9 at 11 a.m. at

St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Perryville with Rev. Milton Ryan, C.M. officiating. Burial was at St. Maurus Cemetery in Biehle.


CorineBohnert

C095-21257 | Teaser Ad series Female Version 2 of 3 | 6.6952" x 6" PERRY COUNTY REPUBLIC MONITOR | 4C | 100%

2 E. Ste. Maries Perryville, MO573-547-6521

40% OFFALL LADIES - MENS - KIDS

NIKE APPAREL

ALL MENS & LADIES

SKECHERS$39.99

WernerPerryville

Lillian R. Werner of Perryville died Sat-urday, June 9, 2012 at Independence Care Center of Perry County in Perryville. She was 87.

She was born on July 16, 1924 in Frohna, the daughter of Theodore H. and Doretha E. (Mueller) Kassel. She was married on May 6, 1945 to Norman L. Werner, who preceded her in death on Aug. 7, 1980.

Survivors include two sons and two daughters, Norman “Bud” (Susan) Werner of Sikeston; Terry Werner of Froh-na; Judy (Norton) Smith of Las Cruces, N.M.; and Donna (Robert) Klaus of Frohna; one brother, Norbert Kassel of Broomfield, Colo.; 10 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchil-dren and one great-great-grandchild.

Mrs. Werner had been a homemaker. She was a member of Concordia Lutheran Church, LWML, Ladies Aid and Choir in Frohna, and a former member of Frohna Exten-sion Club. She was an avid bowler, card player, and cook.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; three brothers; a sister; daughter-in-law, Mary Werner; and great-grandson, Tate Werner.

Memorials are preferred to Concordia Lutheran Church or School in Frohna or Lutherans for Life.

Visitation will be held at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna on Tuesday, June 12 from 5-8 p.m. and on Wednes-day, June 13 from 6:30 a.m. until time of service at 10 a.m. with Rev. Rod Benkendorf officiating. Burial will be at the church cemetery.

Young & Sons Funeral Home, Inc. in Perryville provid-ed the arrangements.

LillianWerner

VaethSte. Genevieve

Austin F. Vaeth Sr. of Ste. Genevieve died Saturday, June 9, 2012 at Ste. Genevieve County Memorial Hospital in Ste. Genevieve. He was 89.

He was born Sunday, June 11, 1922 in Ste. Genevieve, the son of Peter and Hilda (Schlattman) Vaeth. He was married on Sat-urday, Oct. 7, 1950 to Lavern (Roth) Vaeth of Ste. Genevieve, who survives.

Other survivors include sons, Richard (Anne) Vaeth of Overland Park, Kan.; Austin (Sandy) Vaeth Jr. of Ste. Gen-evieve; Tom (Debbie) Vaeth of Perryville; daughter, Jeannie (Mike) Schmidt of Perryville; son, Paul (Sherry) Vaeth of Ste. Genevieve; daughters, Kathy (Mark) Schmelzle; Linda (Kenny) Bader and Cindy (Jeff) Kertz, all of Ste. Gene-vieve; Dave Vaeth; Patty (Dale) Shuh and Larry (Charity) Vaeth, all of Ste. Genevieve; one brother, Adrian Vaeth of St. Louis; grandchildren, Megan, Molly, Amanda, Kyla, Julie, Kurt, Chris, Keith, Jenna, Michael, Melissa, Brit-tany, Jeremy, Maria, Rachel, Nick, Tommy, Adam, Emily, Elisha, Krissy, Kellen, Justin, Kelsey, David, Daniel, Brett, Tyler, Macy, Collin, Barrett and Hayden; and great-grand-children, Addysun, Lilly, Reece, Brody and Ally.

He was preceded in death by his parents; and brothers, John J. Vaeth Sr., Peter Vaeth Jr. and Robert Vaeth.

Mr. Vaeth was a member of VFW Post 2210, he was an avid gardener, he loved his family and the St. Louis Car-dinals. He was a member of the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 562.

Memorials can be made to Valle Schools.The funeral service will be at Church of Ste. Genevieve

on Tuesday, June 12 at 10 a.m. with Rev. Dennis Schmidt officiating. Burial will be at Valle Spring Cemetery in Ste. Genevieve. Military graveside services performed by VFW Post 2210.

Basler Funeral Home provided arrangements.

AustinVaeth Sr.

service men and women.Our veterans risked their

lives to defend this great na-tion. They experienced the horrors of war, of blood-shed, of loss, so you and I can enjoy the freedoms we

have today. They exhibited a devout patriotism that’s hard to fathom. The least we can do is guarantee these men and women can rest peacefully and receive quality care well into their twilight years.

(Jason Crowell may be emailed at [email protected].)

From Page 4

Crowell

From Page 4

Smithyellow and even red, which represents the highest (and coldest) clouds that produce the most rain. On my computer, I refreshed Intellicast radar every 15 minutes. Things looked good for Perry County.

But then, as the storm passed into Ste. Genevieve County, the radar’s red col-ors disappeared; then the yellow colors were gone. By the time the storm ar-rived in Perry County, even the dark green colors had turned light green.

We received some sprinkles, enough to wet the driveway, but nothing to help our dry fields. What I thought would be a happy afternoon turned disap-pointing. What happened next, however, was worse.

The rain passed through Perry County south into Cape Girardeau and began to re-intensify; the dark green and yellow colors re-appeared on radar. The rain had again become a storm.

By the time it arrived in Scott County, the storm was again producing downpours, even spawning a tornado that tragically killed three.

Radar showed clearly intense rain north of Perry County had become a sprinkle in Perry County and then, again, intense rain south of Perry County. We’d been left out.

In May, this region of Missouri accumulated 1.7 inches of precipitation, the 15th driest May in 140 years of record keeping by the National Weather Service.

So far in June, Perry County has received .08 of

an inch of rain, which fell June 4. Yesterday we got some rain; today we may get more as scattered thun-derstorms are predicted. Through the 19th, there’s only a slim chance of rain.

Thank God for yester-

day’s downpour. Hopefully, we’ll get a lot more of them.

(Tay Smith is the editor and publisher of the Republic-Monitor. Email him at [email protected].)

the attempted abduction of a 10-year old boy with sus-pects matching a similar description to the instances in Terre Du Lac and Bonne Terre. According to Freder-icktown police officer Cap-tain Eric Hovis, the incident occurred around 9 p.m. near the child’s home and the town’s elementary school.

“It was at the intersec-tion of Henderson and Newbury Street,” Hovis said. “This 10-year old boy

was on his scooter, and this vehicle pulled up at the in-tersection.

The driver got out and demanded the kid get in the truck, the child said no, he was shoved to the ground, then got up kicking and screaming, and ran away as the suspects fled the area.”

Bonne Terre Police Chief Doug Calvert says they think the individu-als that tried to kidnap the 10-year-old boy in Freder-icktown may be the same people that they are looking for with the attempted kid-napping in Bonne Terre.

The driver of the truck was reported to be a tall, slim white male with long dark hair with a goatee and mustache. He was report-edly wearing cut-off jeans, a plaid shirt and athletic shoes.

The passenger was re-portedly an older white male in his 50s with gray hair.

Tarrillion said this is a good opportunity lo-cally for parents to remind their children about safety around strangers.

“Children should be told to never approach an un-

known vehicle, even when asked by the occupants,” Tarrillion said. “They should stay away from adults they don’t know.”

Although the search for the suspects in the at-tempted abductions has not reached Perry County, Tarrillion said residents should be on the look-out for strange vehicles in their neighborhoods.

“Should someone see a suspicious vehicle, they should immediately call the police department so we can send out an officer to check out the situation,” he said.

than 30 years. People of Perryville

were particularly tuned in to this year’s racing sea-son because of local girl Hope Hudson’s close con-nection with Team O’Neil that started at the Kentucky Derby where she connected

with the race team during a trip arranged by the Make a Wish foundation. Hope is the daughter of Jennifer and Nathan Hudson.

O’Neil was drawn to the 12-year-old girl from Per-ryville who has spent her entire life in and out of hos-pitals. She was born with Hajdu-Cheney Syndrome, a rare connective tissue disor-der, forcing her to undergo

multiple surgeries and treat-ments to improve her qual-ity of life.

Hudson has been a media sensation, being featured by publications including Sports Illustrated and even The New York Times.

I’ll Have Another won the Derby, and Hudson won O’Neil’s heart. He invited her and her family to attend the Preakness in Maryland

where his pony once again finished first, and Hudson was welcomed to the win-ner’s circle during the trophy presentation. It was a given the girl would make the trip to New York to root on the colt and his trainer at the Belmont Stakes.

Jennifer Hudson, Hope’s mother, said once I’ll Have Another was scratched, Hope didn’t pick another.

that uniquely incorporates antique farm equipment in planting.

Two homes on the tour have beautiful water fea-tures as part of their out-door decor. Stan and Jenni-fer Hadler have a waterfall

constructed by Stan, and the garden of Marvin Jr. and Aileen Petzoldt that is 30 years in the making has a show stopping water foun-tain made of a large stone boulder her uncovered dur-ing a logging expedition. The Petzoldt property is home to a large number of hosta, multiple outdoor col-lections and the incorpora-

tion of many repurposed items that Aileen refers to as “junkyique.” “We will also be selling containers of blooming annuals at my home,” Petzoldt said.

United in Christ Luther-an School opened its doors in 2011 and has 104 stu-dents grades K-8th grade.

Students from UCLS will use the proceeds from

this fundraising endeavor to partially fund a trip to Wash-ington D.C. next spring for seventh and eighth graders.

Tickets are available for presage for $10 at Carol A. Word CPA, in Perryville, UCLS office in Frohna, and at J’Lynn’s Salon or Emily’s Beauty Shoppe in Altenburg. The day of the event tickets are $12.

“He’s got a good per-sonality, and he’ll get along well with our staff,” Tanz said.

Unterreiner has more than enough experience for the job, as he’s worked at the park center since 2000, and has been active assistant to all the former leagues and fitness manag-ers for more than a decade. He also has extensive ex-perience in coaching, as he assisted in little league coaching and also served as assistant coach for nearly every sport offered at Per-ryville High School.

But, what does he hope to bring to the table now that he’s in the position he has assisted for so long?

“Now I get to utilize my ideas and my philosophies to ultimately make our pro-grams the best they can be,” Unterreiner said. “For every program we do, I want to evaluate it afterward to find out what went well, and how can we improve? We’re not perfect, but we want to make sure that any program is better than it was the year before through evaluating them.”

Unterreiner continued, saying he wants to see the programs evolve, and be-cause he’s been employed at the park center for so long, he feels he’s got the know-how to make it happen.

He will officially take po-sition as leagues and fitness manager in late June, and his first task will be to help co-ordinate the All-Stars Little League competition.

From Page 1

From Page 1

Danger

Fitness

From Page 1

Hope

From Page 1

Garden

THURSDAY >>> AUGUST 16, 2012 >>> 75¢ VOLUME 133 >>> ISSUE 65


It’s SVHS vs. PHS on Friday. 6A

Woman charged with sex crime. 3A

© 2012, Perryville Newspapers, Inc. 7B www.perryparkcenter.com

The Elvis Experience Friday, Aug. 24Tickets on Sale Now

Waterbabies ClassStarts Monday, Sept. 10 (Class fills fast!)

ParaNorman (PG)

Friday, Aug. 17 - Thursday, Aug. 30

Hi - I am Mike Ochs ... Come see me for any of

your car needs.

712 N. Kingshighway • 547-1835Visit us at ochsautosales.com

Gold-buying company being investigated


A major gold buyer that had visited Perryville and surrounding communities several times in re-cent months has shut down in the wake of scandal.

According to a report on CBS News on Tuesday, THR and Asso-ciates shut down after accusations

of undervaluing gold and issuing million worth of bounced checks.

The company first came to Perry County in August 2011, under the name Treasure Hunters Roadshow, where buyers set up to purchase gold coins and other antiques from parties ready to part with their unwanted gold or collectables. They returned again to the area in December under the name American Coin Buyer Guild. Most recently, they were in Perryville in both February and May of 2012.

CBS reporter Julie Watts from KPIX station in San Francisco ini-tially broke the story after an un-dercover investigation that she re-ported on in early May. Following the report, five other CBS stations across the country conducted joint investigations into the company. Since then, THR and Associates has closed up shop and is current-ly “the focus of several state and federal investigations.”

The CBS investigation in-volved CBS producers in five states trying to sell gold to THR

buyers. According to the investi-gation, four of the five producers were either lied to about the value of their gold or offered less than a quarter of the gold’s actual worth, or both.

In addition to the claims of undervaluing gold, the company allegedly issued millions of dol-lars in bounced checks — in the amount of a reported $1.7 million in April of 2012 alone — to cus-tomers across the U.S.

Several former employees have stepped up to talk about the

business practices at THR in-cluding Kenny Birdsall, who re-signed from the company when he learned he had allegedly been issuing bad checks as a THR As-sociate.

Birdsall said he didn’t know he was issuing checks that wouldn’t cash until they were already in the hands of the customers.

Former THR CEO Jeffrey Par-sons is currently facing civil and criminal charges at the federal,

THR, amid investigation, has closed and is alleged to have issue bad checks.

See GOLD/Page 5A

ALL SMILES ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Photo by amanda Layton

Isabel Brown, along with her parents Craig and Stephanie Brown, were nervous and excited Wednes-day morning as Isabel started her first day of school as a kindergartner at Immanuel Lutheran School in Perryville. Isabel, along with 20 other youngsters, will spend the school year as students with Angela Lohmann.

Tilley resigns position

Blood drive at Elks


Yet another blood drive will take place in Perryville at the Elk’s Club this Friday and Saturday. And, though the American Red Cross has held continuous donations throughout the country and in southeast Missouri, they are still at emergency level status when it comes to needing blood and platelets.

According to Donor Re-cruitment Representative Michelle Johnson, the low blood levels are still attrib-uted to summer months.

“At some point every summer we end up at emer-gency level status,” she said. “But even the first six months of this year, we didn’t get blood donations like we’ve gotten in the past.”

The drive will be held Aug. 17 and 18 at Elks. Fri-day’s donation is held from 2-7 p.m., and Saturday’s is 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Red Cross, still low on blood supplies, will hold event Friday-Saturday.

See DRIVE/Page 5ASee TILLEY/Page 5A


Speaker of the House Steven Tilley stepped down from his term as a member of the Missouri House of Representatives, according

to a news re-lease issued Monday af-ternoon.

T i l l e y stated that his optome-try practice, working on campaigns and spend-

ing time with his two daughters are the key fac-tors in his decision.

“Over the past eight years I sometimes put the interest of the caucus and the House ahead of my family,” Tilley said. “My decision to resign early is one I made with my daugh-ters and that puts my family first.”

Tilley will continue his

Former Speaker of the House wants to spend more time with family.

StevenTilley

Hudson gets a visit from I’ll Have Another’s trainerBy Amanda [email protected]

Good things keep hap-pening for one of Per-ryville’s littlest members. Hope Hudson, 13, daugh-ter of Nathan and Jennifer Hudson, came through a recent brain surgery with flying colors and received a very special visit from someone close to her heart this week.

Readers may recall that in May, Hudson, along with her family traveled to Ken-tucky for the annual Ken-tucky Derby, courtesy of the Make a Wish Foundation. It was there that she became closely acquainted with

horse trainer Doug O’Neil, and owner of triple-crown hopeful I’ll Have Another, J.P. Redum.

Hope has spent her entire life in and out of hospitals, facing surgeries and treat-ments to improve her quali-ty of life. She was born with Hajdu-Cheney Syndrome, a rare connective tissue disor-der. On Aug. 8, Hope went under the knife again with surgeons in St. Louis to cor-rect a variety of issues she was having. After a four-day hospital stay, Hope was sent home to recover.

“They performed a lami-nectomy on her second cer-vical vertebrae, and they repaired a durra leak in her

brain,” mom Jennifer, said. “Everything went well, we are still swollen, and it will be a while if we will see if her symptoms will be re-lieved.”

On Monday, Hope re-ceived a very special visit from the man she now calls Uncle Doug, who flew in from California to be with the youngster in Perryville.

“I almost cried, because I love him so much and I missed him,” Hope said.

The Hudson family was very touched by the out-pouring of love and sup-port that the people from the group they affection-ately call Team O’Neil keep showing them. In addition

to the visit, O’Neil gave Hope an iPad as a get-well present. The Hudsons took O’Neil to see a few local sites, but mostly they spent their day visiting and in-troducing him to extended family.

“He hugged Hope as soon as he saw her,” Jenni-fer said. “He instantly told her how good she looked and how proud he was of her. Hope was all smiles, and teared up because she was so excited to see him.”

It isn’t just O’Neil who is standing in Hope’s cor-ner. She has won the heart of the staff of the entire barn where the thoroughbreds

Submitted Photo

Teen Hope Hudson received a special visitor on Mon-day all the way from California. Doug O’Neil, trainer of triple-crown hopeful I’ll Have Another — whom she met when the Make a Wish organization sent her to the Kentucky Derby in May — came to wish her well after her surgery. Hudson has formed a tight bond with the horse racing community.See HOPE/Page 5A

OBITUARIES, NEWS, FROM PAGE 1A, 4AThe Republic-Monitor Thursday, August 16, 2012 • Page 5A

Deaths

EdgarBlechle

From Page 4a

Layton

curtain.” You might find out

what kind of machina-tions, money changing and shenanigans are re-ally out there.

Here’s a news flash. Slick ads, glad-handing and barnyard excrement shoveling are not worth anything at the end of the month, when you have

to pay the bills. And it is we, the middle class who are the ones who have to worry about paying the bills.

It’s also we the middle class, who have to send our sons and daughters out to lay their lives on the line because we were not paying attention.

(Jim Martin is a resi-dent of Perryville. Email him at him at [email protected].)

state, and local levels and owes millions in taxes. Many several managers are pointing the finger at Parsons for the bounced checks, and what they call his extravagant lifestyle. In sworn testimony, Par-son’s admitted to using the company bank account as his own personal bank account purchasing things like homes, boats and a jet that were paid for in part with silver purchased at THR shows, according to CBS.

In May 2012, cus-tomers received a writ-ten statement from the company with a promise to reimburse every cus-tomer, however records indicate that THR contin-ued to issue additional bad checks to unsuspecting sellers.

It stated that everyone holding THR checks that had not cleared the bank should receive the fol-lowing message with our deepest apologies:

“Thank you for letting us know about this prob-lem. THR and Associates will make good on all bad checks by sending you out a money order with an extra $25.00 for your in-convenience in addition to the amount on the check. All we ask is that you send a copy of the bad check and what your bank fees are to THR, 3033 E. Clear Lake Ave., Springfield, Ill., 62702, and put on the envelope Attn: Frank Ross.

Perryville Police Chief Keith Tarrillion has said this is one story that he has

been following closely in the national media.

“I have not received any complaints regard-ing this company, I have been following the story closely just in case we should see some issues regarding money our local citizens were promised,” he said.

Tarrillion also said that keeping businesses like THR out of Perryville is an issue left up to the city council.

“Currently our city or-dinance does not prohibit a business of this type from obtaining a business license,” Tarrillion said. “It would be up to the city council to adopt an ordi-nance or change our cur-rent ordinance to prohibit this.”

are kept and trained. “They have two hors-

es they are grooming for races,” Jennifer said. “The horse Know More, won a grade two race a few weeks ago, and when a horse wins he is awarded two trophies. One goes to the owner, one to the barn, and those peo-ple at the barn told them

to give the barn trophy to Hope. Everybody in the barn got attached and can’t wait to see her again.”

In addition to the tro-phy, Redum sent Hope the practice blanket that I’ll Have Another wore at the Derby, and it is signed by all the members from Team O’Neil. Redum also do-nated $15,000 to the Make a Wish foundation in Hope Hudson’s name.

“He just thought that

Make a Wish was such an awesome organization, and it was a great way to give back to other kids, like Hope,” Jennifer said.

“We didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time with Paul, but when we did he was just fascinated with Hope’s spirit. How even on the days she didn’t feel well that she still had such a good atti-tude.”

The Hudsons have been invited to California to visit

their new extended family. “As soon as we get some

vacation time back we are making the trip to Califor-nia,” Jennifer said.

Hope is so grateful to Make A Wish for the peo-ple that they brought into her life.

“It is an amazing foun-dation. I am happy that they gave me the opportunity to go to the Derby. It is amaz-ing, like a dream come true,” she said.

But, even with the blood drive this weekend, John-son says she’s still not see-ing the numbers of donor appointments that the Red Cross would like to.

“We don’t have very many appointments yet,” she said. “It’s making me a little nervous. We’re sup-posed to collect 53 units again, which means at least 64 people need to come through those doors. And though we try to get walk-

in [donors], it’s very nerve-wracking when we don’t see a commitment.”

She continued, saying that 38 percent of the Amer-ican population can donate, and yet only five percent do so.

“There are still many people out there who can donate,” she said. “The need is just constant.”

According to a Red Cross release, if at least three ad-ditional donors give blood at every Red Cross drive throughout August (above what’s currently expected), the organization would be

able to meet hospital needs. And, still, all blood types are needed, specifically O negative, A negative and B negative. Platelet donors are also greatly needed.

Since the emergency level appeal has occurred, nearly 15,000 donations have been given, and those donations have helped to cut the deficit by 30 percent, according to the release.

“And, hopefully, now that school is back in ses-sion, things should pick up, but it will take awhile to build,” Johnson said. “About 20 percent of our

blood donations come from high school and college, so that’s usually our peak time.”

The $5,000 scholarship for donors 16 to 21 is also still on the table for this up-coming drive, and for those who enter.

At the end of the day, the Red Cross again urges Per-ryville and Perry County residents to turn out to the two-day blood drive, spon-sored by KFVS 12.

“Blood donations are down and yet the need is up,” she said. “The time is now.”


Renovations to the Perryville city council chambers in city hall are set to begin Sept. 10, and are expected to last about 45 days, coming to a close around the end of October.

In the meantime, while remodeling is in progress, both the city board and the Perryville Municipal Court will work out of temporary places.

At the Sept. 4 council meeting (which will be the last held in the city hall chambers before renovations begin), final approval will first need to be granted to proceed with the re-modeling, though City Administrator Brent Buerck sees no reason that it won’t be.

Once approved, and once renova-tions begin, three city council meet-ings will occur at the Perryville Po-

lice Department’s training facility, located within the department. Mu-nicipal court, on the other hand, will meet only once — Oct. 3 — at the Perry County Courthouse located in the square (as municipal court only meet once a month, and by the time renovations are done, they’ll be back in chambers for the following court date).

Though last year’s budget didn’t allow for such renovations, the oppor-tunity was excitedly seized this year, and the city hall chambers will get quite a makeover.

The bench at which the aldermen, the city administrator and the mayor sit will be moved toward the right side of the room, as opposed to the middle, and will be designed in more of a U-shape to allow for better conversation among the board. Also, the bench will be lowered so board members don’t look like “floating heads” from the public’s perspective, as Perryville City Administrator Brent Buerck put it.

“You can’t see our faces very

well,” Buerck said at a June 19 coun-cil meeting. “Instead of it being on an eight-inch step, we’ll set it on the floor so you can see our shoulders. It will also allow for better dialogue so [the board] can both see and hear each other better.”

Also in the new bench configura-tion, seats for both the city clerk and city attorney will be added, as opposed to sitting adjacent from the board.

Other changes include the bench becoming bulletproof, and phone lines/jacks will be installed to allow for conference calls. Also, because council will eventually be going pa-perless and begin utilizing iPads for meetings, the jacks will allow for the devices to be charged. This will also allow for Wi-Fi access.

But, Buerck stressed that the city plans to “save as much of what’s here as we can.”

“We’re not throwing away good stuff,” he said June 19. “We’ll reuse what you see on the bench, but we’ll have to make extra panels.”

optometry practice in Per-ryville and will remain ac-tive in politics and public policy. He plans to work as a consultant.

In a phone interview on Tuesday, Tilley said he was looking forward to the next chapter of his life.

“First and foremost, I am going to be with my girls, and I plan on seeing patients at the office,” he said. “I am also going to do some con-sulting work for candidates and some businesses alike.”

He spoke fondly of his time in office and the leg-islation that he voted for while serving the House.

“I’ve served eight years, and it is good to look back and see the difference I was able to make for the people of Perry County,” he said. “The people at the Higher Education Center know what I’ve done, and help-ing secure the money for the soccer park, working on legislation to help TGMO

expand. It is good to look back and see that I made a change in a place that means so much to me.”

Tilley said that at this time, he has no desire to seek any sort of public of-fice.

“I never rule anything out, but my focus is on fam-ily right now, and I don’t just mean my daughters. I mean my parents and siblings, nieces and nephews. I have spent a long time in politics, and have lost sight of what I enjoyed most in life, and that is spending time with family and friends. I also want to concentrate on my business.”

In November 2011, the 40-year-old Tilley said he was putting family first when he bowed out of the Lieutenant Governor race, where he was heavily fa-vored with a $1.5 million war chest, citing a desire to spend more time with his teenage daughters. At the same time, his 17-year mar-riage to wife Kellie ended.

“I want to spend more time with my daughters, who are growing up fast,”

said Tilley. “Being a part-time legislator turned into a full-time job when I be-came Speaker of the Mis-souri House. As speaker, I have given up weekends and traveled night after night meeting around the state fulfilling my duties. Running statewide would require me to spend even a greater amount of time apart from my daughters, something I am just not willing to do.”

Tilley first was elected to the Missouri House in 2004. He served as House majority leader before being selected as speaker in January of 2011. Tilley was to be termed out of the House in January 2013, but decided to step down early.

Most recently, Tilley threw his support behind Republican Sarah Steel-man, who finished a close third for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate during the primary held earlier this month.

Perryville City Admin-istrator Brent Buerck said that the people of Perryville

should take pride in know-ing that someone from the area sat in such an influen-tial place in state govern-ment.

“We were blessed to have a native son rise to this level of prominence in Missouri State Govern-ment,” Buerck said. “To be elected, and then re-elected by his peers, as Speaker of the House is certainly a tes-tament to the impact Steve had in the Capital. Regard-less of your political bend, we should all be proud to have had a Perryville resident become Missouri Speaker of the House. This recognition and respect has been great for our commu-nity and was well-deserved for Steve.”

Pursuant to House Rules, Speaker Pro Tem Shane Schoeller, R-Willard, will carry out the duties of the Speaker’s office until such time as House mem-bers elect a new Speaker. Schoeller claimed the Re-publican nomination in last week’s primary for the sec-retary of state.

purchased Eberhard Faber, and the follow-ing year the company’s facilities were moved to Lewisburg, Tenn.

In 1994, Newell Co. bought Faber-Castell and merged with Sanford Corporation. The Newell Co. produces office sup-plies under the trademark PaperMate.

The Pink Pearl is made from a mixture of rubber and pumice collected from Italian volcanic ash, and Sanford is the world’s largest manufactures of pencils.

Now the only thing I have left to ask is where can I buy one.

(Amanda Layton is a staff writer for the Republic-Monitor. Email her at [email protected].)

From Page 4a

Martin

From Page 1a

Drive

From Page 1a

TilleyFrom Page 1a

From Page 1a

Gold

Hope

Blechleold Appleton

Edgar J. Blechle of Old Appleton died Monday, Aug. 13, 2012 at his home. He was 76.

He was born Oct. 13, 1935 in Perryville, the son of Henry and Lucille (Buchheit)Blechle. He was married on Sept. 6, 1958 to Shirley Ann Favier of Old Appleton, who survives.

Other survivors include three daughters, Barb (Daniel) Miller of Old Appleton; Linda (James) Stewart of Jackson; and Joanna (Dale) Neumann of Old Appleton; one son, Michael (Tina) Blechle of Oak Ridge; three brothers, John (Shirley) Blechle of Per-ryville; Paul (Imogene) Blechle of St. Mary; and James (Clara) Blechle of Old Appleton; one sister, Pat (Rus-sell) Schumer of Old Appleton; one sister-in-law, Louise Blechle; seven grandchildren; and nine great-grandchil-dren

He worked at Bilt-Best Windows, He was a member of the St. Joseph Catholic Church-Apple Creek.

He was preceded in death by parents and one brother, Henry Blechle.

Memorials are preferred to family choice. Visitation will continue on Thursday, Aug. 16 from

6:30-9:30 a.m. at Miller Family Funeral Home in Per-ryville. The rosary will be recited at 9: a.m. at the funeral home. The funeral Mass will be Thursday at 10 a.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church-Apple Creek with Rev. Tony Dat-tilo officiating. Burial will be at St. Michael’s Cemetery-Apple Creek.


Council chamber renovations setCity court, council will have to relocate until construction is finished at the end of October.

photo by AmAndA KeeFe

The Perryville city hall council chambers will have a new look by the end of October, as renovations to the room are set to begin Sept. 10. In the meantime, both city council meetings and municipal court will take place elsewhere, temporarily.

Call or e-mail, Nicole

Zoellnerto discuss your

options.573-547-4567 ext. 18

573-513-0823nicole@

perryvillenews.com

Are you thinking about

running an ad in The Republic-

Monitor?

Documents

Best Feature Series Hope Hudson