St. Elmo News

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Wednesday, Aug. 3
• Wright’s Corner Unit of Home and Community Education, 11 a.m., Effingham Cracker Barrel Old Country Store.

Thursday, Aug. 4
• St. Elmo Business Association, noon, Mary Ann’s Restaurant.
• The Wheatland Unit of Home and Community Education, 1:30 p.m., Mary Ann’s Restaurant.
Sunday, Aug. 7
• The St. Elmo Christian Church family swim night – leave at 6 p.m. and return around 9:45 p.m. The cost is $1 per person. Youth pastor Dave Altman said, “This will be a great time of fun and fellowship for our church.  Also, it would be a great event to invite your family, neighbors and friends.”
• The Calvert reunion will be held this year (last year there was sickness). The reunion will be held at the St. Elmo Community Park, with a basket dinner at noon.
Monday, Aug. 8
• A Red Cross blood drive will be held from 1-6 p.m. in the St. Mary Catholic Church parish hall. Those presenting themselves as donors will have a chance to win a $250 weekly gas card giveaway. Refreshments will be served.
Individuals who are 17 years of age (16 with parental permission in some states), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood and there is no age limit. The donation must be 56 days from the last whole blood donation or 112 days from the last double red cell donation.
• The St. Elmo Lions Club, 6 p.m., Mary Ann’s Restaurant.
Tuesday, Aug. 9
• American Legion Post #420, 7 p.m., Legion Home.
• Fayette County Board, 7 p.m., Fayette County Courthouse, Vandalia.
Wednesday, Aug. 10
• Avena Township Park Board, 7 p.m., St. Elmo Community Park Centennial Building.
• The St. Elmo District Board of Education will have a special board meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the district office.
Thursday, Aug. 11
• Lunch Bunch, noon, Mary Ann’s Restaurant.
• Post-Polio Survivors and Friends of East Central Illinois, 5 p.m., Sarah Bush Lincoln Educational Center, Mattoon.
• The St. Elmo District Library Board, 7 p.m., St. Elmo Public Library.
• Friendship Quilt Club has changed its monthly meetings to the second Thursdays. It will meet at 7 p.m. in the St. Elmo Public Library.
• The Effingham Chapter #110 Order of the Eastern Star, 7:30 p.m., Effingham Masonic Temple.
Future Events
• The St. Elmo Educational Foundation will have the annual meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 16, in the St. Elmo CUSD #202 District Office. The meeting will elect the directors, elect officers and discuss fundraising activities and accomplishments.
A membership in the educational foundation is $20 per year for an individual member, $20 a year for a family member and $20 a year for a business member. All contributions, including membership fees, are tax-deductible.
Those wishing to join can send their name, address and phone number and a check to: St. Elmo Educational Foundation, P.O. Box 82, St. Elmo, Ill. 62458.
• The Owen-Miller reunion will be held at noon on Sunday, Aug. 21, at the Good Old Banquet Center, Brownstown. All family and friends are invited.
Fayette County HCE
The board of the Fayette County Home and Community Education met the morning of July 25 at the Vandalia Extension Office, with the following present: Flo Allen, Panzi Blackwell, Shirley Klitzing and Phyllis Pryor of the Sefton Unit; Anna Jean Rhodes of the St. Elmo Unit; Dorothy Harpster of the St. Peter Unit; Anita Smith of the Vandalia Day Unit; Karen Hyde of the Wheatland Unit; Mary Smith of the Wright’s Corner Unit; and Evelyn Probst of the Bingham/Ramsey Unit. Guests present were Carrie Hill and Debbie Segrest of the Vandalia Day Unit and Luella Rubin and Marian Rubin of the St. Peter Unit.
Members enjoyed refreshments that Blackwell took to the meeting – fresh fruit furnished by Harpster and mini-cream puffs.  
After the meeting opened with the pledge of allegiance, roll call, minutes and treasurer’s report, the second vice, Rhodes, reported that the county membership ended May 31 with 117 members. The new year started on June 1 with 114 members who rejoined. Since June 1, one died (Hermine Grandt of the St. Peter Unit) and five new members have joined – Connie Bingaman and Virginia Wilbur of the Sefton Unit, Joyce Drees and Mary Myers of the St. Elmo Unit and Lura Tarter of the Vandalia Day Unit—making the membership now at 118. A new statistics membership report was given to each of the units.
Bingham/Ramsey has eight members, Sefton has 32, St. Elmo has 12, St. Peter has 19, Vandalia Day has 18, Wheatland has nine, Wright’s Corner has 13 and there are eight mailbox members from six of the units.
International chairman Klitzing announced that the HCE International Potluck will be on Thursday, Oct. 27, at the St. Elmo Phillips Building. Registration will be at 5:30 p.m. and the potluck at 6 p.m. Joyce Mueller of Vandalia will give a program on Scotland. Klitzing appointed are the following: decorating, St. Elmo; registration, St. Peter; beverages, Wright’s Corner; arranging food on the tables, Vandalia Day; and cleanup, Bingham/Ramsey, Sefton and Wheatland.
For county projects, Sefton Unit reported taking 4 pounds of can tabs to McDonald’s and 12 books to the Fayette County Health Department.Another county project is the Child Cancer Awareness. During September, HCE members are asked to wear a gold ribbon to designate the awareness.
The District 5 newsletter was read by Allen. It announced the district workshop will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 23, at the Mt. Vernon Holiday Inn, with registration at 9 a.m. The cost is $20. Board members signed a sheet and paid the fee to the HCE Fayette County HCE. Harpster has to make the reservations by Aug. 5.
Allen is working on a circus centerpiece the county has to take to the district meeting.
County HCE Program Planning Meeting
Fayette County Home and Community Education had a program planning meeting at 11 a.m. on July 25 at the Vandalia Extension Office. Those present were the county extension director, Rachelle Hollinshead; HCE county membership chairman; First Vice Phyllis Pryor, a member of the Sefton Unit; and the following from the county units:  Flo Allen, Shirley Klitzing and Betty Williams of Sefton, Karen Sanders of Bingham/Ramsey; Anna Jean Rhodes of St. Elmo; Dorothy Harpster, Luella Rubin and Marian Rubin of St. Peter; Carrie Hill, Debbie Segrest and Anita Smith of Vandalia Day; Karen Hyde of Wheatland; and Mary Smith of Wright’s Corner.
Major lessons were decided on for the new program books that should be available at the August board meeting.
The major lessons are offered by the Family and Consumer Economics Team and will be taught by teleconference during the 2011-12 year. During these lessons, participants will receive a leader’s guide and participant materials. A PowerPoint presentation will be shown to illustrate the lesson, and there will be time for questions and answers.
The new program book runs from October of the current year through September of the following year. In October, the program is on Scotland, and the lesson material will be available at the September board meeting.
The other major lesson months – the lesson title and the date the lesson will be given at the Vandalia Extension Office – include the following: November, Joining the Generations with Family Mealtime, 10-11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 13; January, Staying Cool Under Pressure, 1:30-3 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 27; February, Maintaining Healthy Family Relationships, 10-11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan.  25; March, The Cost of Managing Your Money, 1-2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 24; April, Going Green, 10-11:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 8; May, To Soy or Not to Soy, 1:30-3 p.m. on Thursday, March 15; and June, Are You Able to Read the Label, 10-11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 11. September will have a package lesson, Choosing Reliable Nutrition Information, and the lesson material will be available at the August board meeting.
There are no major lessons in December, the unit holiday party; July, the unit activity month; and August, when the unit will have a 4-H month or activity.
The special feature lessons are being worked on by Pryor from various suggestions.
After this meeting the following ate lunch at the Vandalia Chuckwagon: Flo Allen, Dorothy Harpster, Shirley Klitzing, Phyllis Pryor, Anna Jean Rhodes, Luella Rubin, Marian Rubin, Anita Smith and Betty Williams.
Winner of a Hog
The Fayette County Livestock Committee had a fundraiser for Fayette County 4-H by selling tickets and having 4-H families sell tickets for a whole processed hog. The drawing for the hog was held during the 4-H auction the evening of July 12 at the Fayette County Fair, and Susie Miller of Ramsey was the winner.
St. Elmo Lions Club
“Made in America” will be this year’s Labor Day Parade theme. This was decided at the July 25 evening meeting of the St. Elmo Lions Club held at Mary Ann’s Restaurant.
President Bob Wells led in the pledge of allegiance, and Richard Lowe gave the meal blessing that preceded the business meeting.
Dave Maxey had served as president of the St. Elmo Lions Club for an unprecedented eight consecutive years of dedicated service to the club and the community. The current president, Wells, turned the meeting over to senior member Lloyd Stanley to present an award to Maxey.
The Lions Club-sponsored Labor Day Parade was discussed in further detail, to include early registration, categories, possible themes and parade marshals. The categories will mostly be the same as last year. Early registration of $2 will be held at St. Elmo City Hall; it will start on Friday, Aug. 5, and end on Wednesday, Aug. 31. On parade day, registration will be $5.
Lions Club agreed to help support the “Jump for Joel” marathon that will be held on Saturday, Sept. 24. Details will be forthcoming.
Those present, in addition to Wells, R. Lowe, Maxey and Stanley were Don Crawford, John Crawford, Lewis Crawford, Pee Wee Denton, Roger Fulk, Mark Lash, Bob Lowe, Charles Moore, Dee Newberry, Rex Reeder and Randy Wolf.

RNA Collects School Supplies
At the Royal Neighbors of America #5784 meeting held the afternoon of July 27 at the Phillips Building, the following school supplies were collected for the St. Elmo Elementary School:  10 pair of scissors, 30 boxes of crayons, two pencil boxes, six composition books, 38 subject note books, eight bottles of glue, seven packages of glue sticks, 27 folders, nine boxes of colored pencils, eight boxes of pencils, eight rulers, two pencil sharpeners, two protractors, 11 packages of notebook paper, one notebook, 17 packages of pens, four packages of index cards and six packages of highlighters.
Thank you notes were read from Linda Logue Aranda, for the dinner for Nellie Logue and family, and from Rachel Zimmerman, who received a trophy from the Fayette County Fair and appreciates the RNA donation to the club and the money used to help buy trophies.
Teddy bears were ordered to be given to the Fayette County Health Department at a later time.
At the Thursday, Aug. 24, meeting at 1 p.m. at the Phillips Building, RNA members are to collect the items that will be given to the Vandalia Pregnancy Center. Present for the meeting were Chairman Della Stewart, Ina Abendroth, Jean Brown, Rosemary Owen, Irene Reed, Marjorie Sarver, Betty Wright and Leona Wright.
 

Anna Jean Rhodes

Members of Royal Neighbors of American No. 5784 are shown with many of the school supplies they collected. From left to right are Leona Wright, Rosemary Owen, Marjorie Sarver, Betty Wright, Jean Brown, Ina Abendroth, Irene Reed. The picture was taken by member Della Stewart.