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St. Elmo News

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Wednesday, June 20
• The Artworks Gallery Amateur Town and Country Art and Professional Art Show that started June 16 will continue through this Sunday at the Fayette County Museum, Vandalia. Hours are 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday through Saturday; and 1-4 p.m. on Sundays.
• The St. Elmo Board of Education regular meeting, 7:30 p.m., unit office.
Thursday, June 21
• The Vit-Em-In Sunday school Class potluck, 6 p.m., Fellowship Hall of First United Methodist Church.
• Friendship Quilt Club, 7 p.m., St. Elmo Public Library.
Friday, June 22
• Youth Night will be held from 7-9 p.m. at St. Elmo First Baptist Church, 801 N. Walnut. It is for youth in the sixth grade on up. There will be games, prizes, music and snacks. Those needing a ride can call 829-3392.
Saturday, June 23
• 4-H’ers are to participate, starting at 9 a.m., in the Fayette County Fairgrounds cleanup day.
Sunday, June 24
• The Artworks Gallery Amateur Town and Country Art Show and Professional Art Show that started June 16 at the Fayette County Museum ends on Sunday. The museum will be open from 1-4 p.m.
Monday, June 25
• The Fayette County Board of Home and Community Education, 10 a.m., Vandalia Extension Office.
• The St. Elmo Lions Club members and guests, 6 p.m., Mary Ann’s Restaurant. The officers for the 2012-13 year will be installed.
• The Fayette County Republican Women, 7 p.m., Vandalia First National Bank basement.
Tuesday, June 26
 • Masonic Lodge #769, 7:30 p.m., Masonic Temple.
Wednesday, June 27
• The Royal Neighbors of America #5784 will meet at 4:30 p.m. at the Altamont McDonald’s for the birthdays’ celebration.
• The St. Elmo Board of Education will meet at 7:30 p.m. at the unit office to hold a budget amendment hearing and to vote on the budget.
Thursday, June 28
• The summer reading program will have a special program, Swords and Roses, at the St. Elmo Public Library.
• Exxon/Mobil Annuitants, noon, Vandalia Ponderosa.
• The St. Elmo Unit of Home and Community Education, 1:30 p.m., St. Elmo Public Library.
St. Mary’s Potluck
Following the evening Mass at St. Mary’s Catholic Church on June 9, a potluck was held in the Parish Hall to honor the parish graduates and fathers. Tables were decorated with colorful mats and floral centerpieces.
The graduates honored were Patricia Guerrero, Deanna Keller, Taylor Spain, Ben Sperry and Victoria Viramontes. None were able to be present because of conflicts, but each will receive a gift.
Each of the fathers present received a gift.
Blood Drive Quota Exceeded
The quota for the St. Elmo Red Cross blood drive held June 11 in St. Mary’s Catholic Church Parish Hall was 25 and 27 units of blood were received from the 33 presenters.
Pat Logsdon of St. Elmo received a 14-gallon pin (112 units) and Jack Belden of St. Elmo received a 12-gallon pin (96 units).
Others who have donated 50 or more units: Esther Koberlein of Brownstown, 145; Ina Abendroth of St. Elmo, 135; Andy Lilly of Beecher City, 117; Robert Vogel of Altamont, 106; Anna Jean Rhodes of St. Elmo, 100; Leroy Snyder of St. Elmo, 94; Tammy Logsdon of St. Elmo, 84; Marie Hopper of Farina, 83; Connie Roll of St. Elmo, 75; Wayne Lovett of Brownstown, 73; and Teresa Tegler of Teutopolis, 57.
The chairman of the drive, Karen Denning, noted the help of the following: Ray Morris, for putting up the posters; Trinity Chapel United Methodist Church, for providing the cookies; St. Elmo Women’s Civic Club, for covering the canteen expense; and those who helped register, serve sandwiches and beverages, fill out the blood drive cards, etc. – Ina Abendroth, Susan Belden, Helen Koonce, Mary Myers, Pat Porter, Irene Reed, Marilyn Sproat and Max Watson.
The next Red Cross blood drive scheduled for St. Elmo is on Monday, Aug. 13. It will be held from 1-6 p.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. St. Elmo appreciates the easily accessible Catholic Church on U.S. Route 40 for hosting the blood drives.
Lions Club
Lions Club President Bob Wells, at the June 11 meeting, gave out milestone pins to the following members of the club: John Crawford, 40 years; Roger Fulk, 15 years; Dave Maxey, 10 years; Mark Lash, 10 years; and Dee Newberry, 10 years.
After the pledge of allegiance, Richard Lowe gave the meal blessing.
The Fayette County Farm Bureau Federation Food Bank was discussed further for possible future action and support on the part of the club.
The club has agreed to look into having the eye macular degeneration testing at St. Elmo once again, and it is tentatively scheduled for August, the day to be announced later.
The club’s annual October candy sale was discussed.
Officer installation will be held at the next meeting, on June 25, at Mary Ann’s Restaurant during the 6 p.m. family dinner meeting.
Those present at the meeting were Don Crawford, Lewis Crawford, Roger Fulk, Bob Lowe, Richard Lowe, Le Mar Marchman, Dave Maxey, Dee Newberry, Rex Reeder, Lloyd Stanley and Bob Wells.
Avena Township Park Board
The Centennial Building in the St. Elmo Community Park has recently been painted in a pretty blue.
The Freedom Reigns in Christ Outreach Program participants did the painting, with the paint contributed by Sherwin Williams.
The church also gave $200 to the park board, and it was used for brushes and to paint some of the park equipment. Daryl’s Dine-In provided water and snacks for the workers.
The Freedom Reigns in Christ Church is planning a Fun Fest in the park on Saturday, June 30.
Also on June 30, a family is renting the Centennial Building for a 50th wedding anniversary celebration and it has inside bathrooms, but only those attending the family gathering can use them.
Therefore, those attending the church Fun Fest may need bathrooms, but those in the park need much repair. It will take longer than the time to June 30 to advertise for bids of a certified plumber.
If an area certified plumber would like to donate his time before the last of the month event in the park, it would be appreciated.
Those present at the board meeting held the evening of June 12 were President Greg Haslett, Daryl Calvert, Jim Caraway, Buddy Mitchell and Janice Russell.
Fayette County Museum Info
Special exhibits at the Fayette County Museum, Vandalia, for the month of June include Gentlemen’s items from early 1900’s – clothing, watches, shaving, etc., 38-star and 39-star flags and many hand-carved wood items from the museum’s Harold Crawford collection.
During May 332 visitors were welcomed at the museum. Tour groups included South Central third grade, Altamont Lutheran School second grade, Mulberry Grove first grade and Mrs. Hobbie’s seventh grade at Vandalia.
Restoration of the upstairs has progressed, with the installation of new lights and ceiling fans. Visitors will be able to see this progress during the June art show sponsored by the Artworks Gallery in the museum’s upper level.
The annual Amateur Town and Country Art Show and the Professional Art Show opened June 16 and will continue through this Sunday.
The amateur show includes 184 entries of art and photography by 36 amateur adults and 30 youth aged 7-17.
The professional show has 25 pieces by eight professional artists and college age students.
The show can be seen during the hours the museum is open: 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday through Saturday; and 1-4 p.m. on Sundays.
The museum located at the corner of Main Street and Kennedy Boulevard in Vandalia.
American Legion
Officers installed at the American Legion Post 420 during the June 12 meeting at the Legion Home were the following, who all had been re-elected: Charles Bosomworth, commander; Lucian Chandler, senior vice; R. W. Smith, junior vice; Ernie Myers, adjutant; Xon Hanna, finance officer; Clement Lilly, service officer; Richard Lowe, chaplain; and Doyle Beck, sergeant-at-arms and historian.
The officers were installed by Lowe.
Others present were Dave Cox, Wayne Lovett, David Stine and Max Watson.
It was reported that 56 have paid dues to be a Legion members.
The main business was discussing that on Saturday, June16, all the handicap equipment would be moved from the Legion home into the new building that was built next to it. Also that Saturday, new bath stools were to be installed in the Legion home.
Lunch Bunch
Present for the Lunch Bunch held at noon June 14 at Mary Ann’s Restaurant were Wayne and Sandra Lovett of Brownstown; Pat Porter of Farina; and Karen Denning, Arlin and Lillian Grobengieser, MaryEllen Lovett and Marjorie Sarver of St. Elmo.
Because Mary Ann’s was packed that day, the Lunch Bunch shared its table with several others.
District Library Board
At the St. Elmo Public Library District Board meeting held on June 14, after approving the minutes of the May 10 meeting, the Board heard reports from each library of the district.
JoAnn Evans reported that the Beecher City Branch Library needs work done on the bathroom door that doesn’t latch properly.
The Eagle Scouts’ project will cost about $1,530, plus the cost of concrete, and they are raising money to cover this cost.
St. Elmo electrician Doug Engeljohn is supposed to finish the electrical work at the library in another week.
Nola Larimore has been called for jury duty and the other librarians will cover her hours as needed.
Billie Enlow reported that the St. Elmo Public Library has received a call about tutoring. The National Road will videotape the museum in the St. Elmo library as part of its tourist stop for people traveling the National Road.
A patron has offered to make a quilt for the library to sell as a fundraiser.
The cookbook committee is getting organized.
From the Scholastic Book Fair Beecher City received $50, the Brownstown Branch Library received $150 and St. Elmo $190 worth of books.
CEFS has a person who wishes to work at the Brownstown library and will start at the St. Elmo library for a week, then will go to Brownstown.
The summer reading program is going strong and will have two programs ­– Swords and Roses on June 28 and a magic show on July 18.
A lost book list for St. Elmo and Brownstown libraries has been compiled and given to Tony Koberlein, but the Beecher City library lost book list still is being worked on.
Tanea Ricketts reported that the printer in the Brownstown library is awesome.
Per capita grant expenditures will be emailed to Don Crawford. Digital Divide grant is finished. The United States Department of Agriculture grant needs electrical work to finish it. Penny Severns grant money had not yet been received.
The St. Elmo library will get a three-bike stand for the parking area.
Methodist Father’s Day
A Father’s Day potluck breakfast was held in the First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall June 17.
The menu included biscuits and gravy, sweet breads and fruits.
During the morning worship the speaker was the Rev. Robert Tripp of Effingham, a retired Presbyterian minister. His wife, Nancy, and a daughter were with him. Richard Lowe served as the liturgist.
Fathers were honored with gifts from the church. Andra Carson and Shannon Lowe were in charge.
Jeffrey Maxey was the youngest father present, and Richard Lowe was the oldest father present.
Two men who are not fathers were honored for doing “father jobs.”
The first was Holly Huffer, who cleaned up after kids during his 35 years as school janitor, and Kent Janes who took many pictures and did scrapbooks for the church.
The youngsters in the congregation delivered candy bars to each male in the congregation.
Also recognized were Dave and Joann Maxey, whose 47th wedding anniversary was June 17.
The church will do the summer lunch preparation at 10 a.m. on June 21.
At the 10:30 a.m. worship on June 24, the speaker will be the Rev. Jim Giffin of First Church of God.
Also, Delva Krost, who was a lay delegate to the Illinois Great Rivers United Methodist Churches' annual conference, will give a report on the conference that was held in Peoria June 6-9.

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