St. Elmo News
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Thursday, Oct. 20
• Vit-Em-In Sunday School Class potluck, 6 p.m., First United Methodist Church fellowship hall. Fried fish, beverages and table service will be provided.
• Friendship Quilt Club, 7 p.m., St. Elmo Public Library.
Friday, Oct. 21
• Deken Park Haunted Trails, 7-10 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for children 12 and under.
Saturday, Oct. 22
• Young people in Fayette County will join employees from the Vandalia Wal-Mart to celebrate the county 4-H program and encourage artistic expression. Wal-Mart will host youth in the store from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. to learn more about the 4-H visual arts project. Young people will learn fun ways to decorate pumpkins for the fall season and each youth will take home a pumpkin they decorated at no cost. The youth also will have an opportunity to see a demonstration of the National 4-H Science Experiment “Wired for Wind.”
• Deken Park Haunted Trails, 7-10 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 24
• The Fayette County Home and Community Education Board, 10 a.m., Vandalia Extension Office.
• The past and present officers of the County HCE Board, 11:15 a.m., Vandalia Denny’s Restaurant.
• An after-school craft day will be held at the St. Elmo Public Library.
• St. Elmo Lions Club will sell bags of small Heath bars from 5-7 p.m. They will go door-to-door, but if you are not home and still want the bags of candy, call a club member. The candy is $4 per bag.
• Fayette County Republican Women, 7 p.m., in the Vandalia First National Bank basement.
Tuesday, Oct. 25
• Masonic Lodge #769, 7:30 p.m., Masonic Temple.
Wednesday, October 26
• Royal Neighbors of America, 1 p.m., Phillips Building. At the meeting articles for veterans will be collected.
Thursday, Oct. 27
• Exxon/Mobil Annuitants, noon, at the Litchfield Chinese restaurant.
• The Fayette County Home and Community Education International Night at the Phillips Building, St. Elmo. Registration will be at 5:30 p.m. and a potluck at 6 p.m. Beverages and table service will be provided. Following the meal, the program will be on Scotland.
Successful Blood Drive
at St. Elmo
The quota for the Red Cross blood drive held Oct. 10 in the parish hall of St. Mary’s Catholic Church was surpassed by two units. The quota was 24, and the drive received 26 from the 27 presenters. A first-time donor was Kara Watson of St. Elmo.
Receiving pins were the following: Bob Vogel of Altamont, 13 gallons; Michael Cole of St. Elmo, 4 gallons; and Mark Goldsboro of Brownstown, two gallons.
Those who have given 50 or more units of blood are: Ina Abendroth of St. Elmo, 130; Andy Lilly of Beecher City, 114; Bob Vogel of Altamont, 104; Anna Jean Rhodes of St. Elmo, 97; Leroy Snyder of St. Elmo, 90; Glen Schumacher of Brownstown and Delores Voelker of Altamont, each 81; Marie Hopper of Farina, 79; Paul Sidwell of Brownstown, 76; Wayne Lovett of Brownstown, 71; and Dale Roll of St. Elmo, 54.
Posters were put up by Ray Morris, the city workers did the unloading, and the St. Elmo Women’s Civic Club furnished homemade cookies and covered the canteen expense.
Chairman Karen Denning appreciates all who donated blood and helped in any way. The following worked at the drive: Ina Abendroth, Susie Belden, Helen Koonce, Pat Porter, Irene Reed, Ann Rowland, Una Tish, Max Watson and Ethelyn Williams.
The next Red Cross blood drive at St. Elmo will be on Friday, Dec. 9, at the St. Elmo High School.
St. Elmo Lions Club
The St. Elmo Lions Club’s annual Halloween candy sale will be held from 5-7 p.m. next Monday. The club has bags of small Heath bars for sale, and members will go door-to-door to sell them. Those who are not home at that time but wish to buy some of the bags of candy can contact any club member. The candy sells for $4 per bag.
Members of the club met the evening of Oct. 10 at Mary Ann’s Restaurant. President Bob Wells opened the meeting with the pledge of allegiance, and the meal blessing was given by Richard Lowe.
Others present were Don Crawford, Lewis Crawford, Roger Fulk, Bob Lowe, Le Mar Marchman, Rex Reeder and Randy Wolf.
Club members selling the candy are to meet at the First United Methodist Church parking lot at 4:30 p.m. on Monday.
Caring and Sharing advertising posters are being put up. Those wanting to participate in the Caring and Sharing are to pick up an application. They will be available Nov. 1-15 at St. Elmo City Hall and St. Elmo Foods.
The club decided to have two horse categories in the 2012 Labor Day parade – horses with riders and horses pulling vehicles.
FFA National Convention Donations
After receiving a request, the Royal Neighbors of America #5784 donated $200 toward travel expenses for the St. Elmo FFA Chapter to attend the National Convention in Indianapolis, Ind., Oct. 19-21.
At the August FFA Alumni meeting, it was voted to give the kids $400 toward their travel expenses, and the alumni voted to have a fundraiser breakfast and lunch stand at the FFA Fair on Sept. 10.
The cost of the group travel is about $1,800 to go. Four girls and four boys will be going. The cost will be split in half – $900 for the girls and $900 for the boys.
At the convention, they will participate in a career show and expo, will hear from several keynote speakers and participate in general sessions, competitive events, educational tours and leadership workshops.
Activities also will be planned for down time – a rodeo, haunted hay ride and a concert featuring Blake Shelton, Little Big Town and Steel Magnolia.
More than 1,300 booths representing colleges, agriculture related companies, other companies and the armed forces will be at the career show.
FFA says, “This is really important for the FFA future so that it can become better leaders, go to college and make something of ourselves.” FFA members already are very involved with Soil and Horse Judging.
The 2011 FFA officers said, “We would like to do fundraisers, but we don’t just have the time. We would appreciate any donations you have to offer. From Danielle Mc Elroy, Dalton Parks, Ashten Smithson, Charlie Ledbetter and Brock Smith.”
After Bill Wagner left St. Elmo to teach at Kaskaskia College, Doug Thurnau is the new FFA adviser and is trying to revive the FFA Alumni.
American Legion
The American Legion Post #420 has donated $200 to the Cub Scouts. The group has helped the Legion at the Veterans’ Memorial and in other ways.
At the meeting held the evening of Oct. 11 at the Legion Home, they discussed the new storage building they plan to put up to hold the handicap equipment the Legion has to loan out. They hope the contractor can put down the foundation before the weather turns bad.
Present for the meeting were Doyle Beck, Charles Bosomworth, Xon Hanna, Ernie Myers, Max Watson and Laverne Wright.
Library Board
The St. Elmo Public Library District Board met the evening of Oct. 13 at the St. Elmo Public Library and, after approving the September minutes and paying the bills, learned that Beecher City Branch Library had its first after-school craft program that day, with 37 children decorating pumpkins and listening to and acting out stories.
St. Elmo Public Library’s first after-school craft day will be held next Monday.
Don Crawford has finished and mailed the per capita grant. The IPLAR and Gates surveys have been completed.
Seven laptops and eight desktops have been ordered so far for the Digital Divide Grant and are to be in place in a few days.
The laptops will be mobile for classes, and the Brownstown and Beecher City branch libraries will each get four desktops. Microsoft Office and Centurion Guards have also been ordered. The rest of the desktops for the grant will be ordered the week of Oct.17. Deer Park has donated four cubicles for the computers at the Brownstown library. Desks will be purchased for the others as needed.
The second phone line at Brownstown will be eliminated if the contract will allow it.
There have been three appraisals on the Beecher City property. The purchase price was reduced to $110,000 and the closing will be on Wednesday, Oct. 19. The board voted to open a construction account at First State Bank of Beecher City. They also passed a resolution to accept the addendum to the agreement for the purchase for Beecher City Branch Library building.
The signs for the branch libraries at Beecher City and Brownstown should be in place within three to six weeks.
Kathy Spitler is to check with Arab about quarterly spraying at the Brownstown Library.
The Dollar General tax-exempt status has been approved.
The Friends of Brownstown Branch Library are buying 10 new bookshelves for their library.
By a unanimous roll call, the board adopted Ordinance 11-05 to Levy and Access Tax for St. Elmo Public Library District for the fiscal year July 1, 2011-June 30, 2012.
Avena Park Board
The Avena Park Board voted to place two new members on the board – Daphne Oldfield and Jimmy Caraway. The new members take the place of Tony Porter and Janni Wright, who had moved out of Avena Township.
The board has decided to change the meeting date and time once again. Starting in November, the monthly meetings will be held at 6 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month, and the meetings will continue to be held in the St. Elmo Community Park Centennial Building.
The next meeting will be on Tuesday, Nov. 8, at 6 p.m.
The St. Elmo Swimming Pool soon will be winterized. At the next board meeting, the members will decide when Santa Claus will visit with children in the St. Elmo Community Park.
Those present at the Oct.12 meeting were Daryl Calvert, Jimmy Caraway, Greg Haslett, Ro Mars, Buddy Mitchell and Daphne Oldfield.
Lunch Bunch
Present for the Lunch Bunch meeting at noon Oct. 13 at Mary Ann’s Restaurant were Wayne and Sandra Lovett of Brownstown, Pat Porter of Farina and Arlin and Lillian Grobengieser, Martha Pankey and Sue Stites of St. Elmo.
Rhodes-Side Gleanings
Dr. Prentiss and Phyllis Lea, Soo Jin and Chae Rin (also Ginger, their cocker spaniel) came the afternoon of Oct. 8 to visit with me. Le Mar and Billye Jo Marchman joined us for dinner at my home that evening.
After church on Sunday, the Leas and I ate at Effingham. That afternoon Prentiss took the girls to the Pumpkin Patch south of my home. About 5:30 p.m. Sunday, they left to return to Green Oaks.
We’re Still Here!
Survivors of polio exclaim “We ARE Still Here!” The “We’re Still Here” information event held annually in October is spearheaded by the Polio Health International group out of St. Louis.
The campaign wants to inform the public about the polio survivors and the survivors want the public to know that polio still is happening in other parts of the world.
Because it has been eradicated in the United States some think there is no reason to take the vaccine that now is still given, but there could be another outbreak in the U.S. if the polio vaccine is not taken by everyone.
Those who developed polio before the first polio vaccine started being given in 1955 are getting older. Polio victims can start developing “post-polio” symptoms 20 or more years after having polio and, the older they get, the more symptoms they have.
Some had to start wearing a brace or braces after having polio and some didn’t have to, but over the years, started having to wear a brace. Some got to start walking with help only from a brace but, over the years, started using canes, then using walkers, then being in wheelchairs and some have ended up bedfast. Some have started having trouble breathing correctly and have to have a C-pap or oxygen.
Polio victims suffered motor nerve damage so some muscles were paralyzed. Their good muscles had to do what they need to do. Over-exercising the good muscles throughout the years causes weakness in them. Weakness is one of the major symptoms.
Many polio victims who are still survivors had the disease caused by a virus when they were infants and young children, but there were older children and adults who also had the disease. Those who had polio are now in their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and some could be in their 90s. Many who had polio more than 50 years ago now are suffering post polio symptoms that include weakness, pain and fatigue.
Having disabilities makes it necessary for the parking lots, restrooms, classrooms, assembly rooms, motels, hotels, businesses, etc., to be accessible and comfortable. Each decade people are living longer and the handicapped are increasing, so there needs to be more handicapped facilities established.
There are organizations in several states for polio survivors. The local Illinois area one is the Polio Survivors and Friends of East Central Illinois that meets at the Sarah Bush Lincoln Education Center, Mattoon.
The November meeting will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5. Monthly newsletters are sent to about 60 polio survivors and friends.
The group welcomes all interested people.