From the pages of the December 2009 edition of Disclosure:
A former Equality and Harrisburg funeral home director and failed 2008 candidate for Saline County coroner is under fire in a Saline County civil suit that could move into the criminal arena any day. And making the matter more interesting is the presence of Harrisburg attorney/CPA, Robert Wilson, who at one point acted as John B. Jones’ attorney. Jones’ miseries may have begun before 1997, but it was that year that there were outward signs of his downfall, when his wife discovered he was being unfaithful and he filed for divorce from her. However, his recent miseries are far more serious, and have extended to several families in the area, who made pre-need funeral arrangements, then discovered that the money they’d paid in was no longer available when their loved one died.
An Olney man with an obvious dislike for authority figures ended up looking more like a beat-up turd than a tough guy after tangling with police officers. According to authorities, Brandon R. Shultz, 28, of 412 West Cherry St., Olney was either in a bad mood on November 28 or just plain hungry. While he was at 223 S. Camp in Olney he knowingly caused great bodily harm to one Jesse R. Gordon in that he not only punched Mr. Gordon in his mouth and face but tried to bite a chunk out of Mr. G’s left arm.
A correctional officer with the Lawrence County sheriff’s department has been suspended with pay pending further investigation into claims that he committed an incident of sexual misconduct with a female inmate. According to official Lawrence County sources, Jesus Cancino, a two-year correctional employee at the county jail, was suspended Thursday, Dec. 10 following an investigation by the Lawrence County sheriff’s department and Illinois State Police.
A White County man, accused of molesting his stepdaughter and threatening to kill himself and his wife, was taken into custody after some tense moments with police who at one point had the man surrounded at gunpoint Tuesday, October 27. According to reports, city officer Jeremy Smith received a call from police dispatch at 11:30 p.m. indicating he needed to respond to 200 Commerce Street, Apartment 35 at Pineview Apartments to assist Sgt. Tim Whitaker after the sergeant learned a man had threatened to kill his wife then commit suicide with a handgun. Authorities say that David Alfonso Alzate, 39, sent the threat in the form of a text message to his wife’s daughter, Amber Graham, 19, currently living in Cobden.
While officials at the Wabash Community Unit School District (CUSD) No. 348 have issued an official press release on a recent incident involving an elementary school teacher, more questions than answers remain as regards the teacher herself. Further heightening the utter weirdness of the situation is the background of second grade teacher Robin Beard’s husband, and the ongoing perception that someone is making sure the Beards escape anything resembling punishment for crimes or infractions that anyone else would have been either terminated from the job over, or flat out locked away.
Recent acts of violence and underage drinking, all of it going un-charged by Lawrence County officials, have brought the level of lawlessness to a new high in the town of Bridgeport. The intense corruption of the matter is underscored by the fact that the perpetrators appear to be enabled and protected by this town’s own mayor, Max Schauf. However, if the behavior displayed recently by the bunch of young people in question continues, agreed Bridgeport chief of police Scott Murray on the night of the last city council meeting (Dec. 8), it won’t be long until someone is killed—either by violence, excessive alcohol or drinking and driving—all of which is going on right under mayor Max’ nose, and with his apparent blessing.
Yet another incident involving excessive force and Lawrence County law enforcement has the county on edge this month. Talk of yet another lawsuit being filed against the violent—and some say mentally ill—county deputy Dennis York reportedly has county officials concerned, especially in light of the recent passage of a massive county budget, which was bloated by increases in tort immunity, the fund that keeps the county in a position to handle lawsuits against their public officials, such as deputies. Bridgeport resident Benjamin Stoltz, son of Sumner mayor Larry Stoltz, is the most recent casualty of York’s bizarre penchant for inflicting pain, and is currently suffering health problems after being hit by a TASER numerous times in the early morning hours of Nov. 20. Stoltz, 22, has been formally charged in Lawrence County court with Battery and Resisting a Peace Officer (York).
An Olney teen who was busted with pills and pot in October found herself behind bars recently. According to court documents, on Oct. 16 at 4:41 p.m. Nikeisha R. Odle, 17, of 201 North Van St., Olney was eastbound on East North St., and S. Whittle Ave. in Olney driving a 1995 white Ford passenger car when she was the subject of a traffic stop. Subsequent to the stop Odle was arrested and charged with one count each of Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance (prescription drug Lorazepam), Unlawful Possession of Cannabis more than 10 grams but less than 30 and one count of Unlawful Possession of Cannabis with Intent to Deliver.
It appears there wasn’t enough criminal activity, alleged or otherwise, to return a true bill of indictment against Saline County board member Danny Gibbs. Specific reports on grand jury activity in Saline County have been sparse and vague since Rocky Dunning was charged with civil contempt for leaking information from a September grand jury setting…but then again, Dunning was on the grand jury. Gibbs, as it turned out, was under investigation by the grand jury for allegations as spurious as they come: “conflicts of contract” regarding Gibbs’ trash-hauling business, Sidco, and Sidco’s work picking up trash for the county courthouse and county jail, contracts Gibbs has had since years before he became a county board representative.
A West Salem woman recently found herself cooling her heels behind bars after being arrested and charged with several drug offenses. Official reports indicate that at 3:38 a.m. on Nov. 8, Stana Jean Mills, 28, of 301 Cooper St., West Salem was apparently speeding in the 400 block of West North Ave in Olney when she came to the attention of deputy JD Robinson.
An Olney man was recently taken into custody after he was found in what appeared to be an intoxicated state in a ditch on Ste. Marie Rd. east of Olney. According to reports, Grayson Eric King, 41 of 725 N. Morgan was discovered by authorities April 10 at 9:02 p.m. on Ste. Marie Rd. and US Route 50 in a car that appeared to have run off into the ditch.
In the wake of the Olney City Council asking some pointed questions of Stop Woman Abuse Now (SWAN) Executive Director Linda Bookwalter concerning the city’s endorsement of the agency, one of their “clients,” brought into the area from Texas allegedly fleeing an abusive relationship, posted $100 cash bond for the man she says has abused her for eight years. “That’s exactly what we are concerned about,” said a source close to the story. “Its not necessarily SWAN’s fault, but there are some undesirables being brought into the area at taxpayer expense.”
Wayne County taxpayers must be wondering how much money will be spent prosecuting a habitual drunkard who federal officials say shouldn’t even be in the country to begin with. Illinois State Police popped the increasingly- infamous Hilario Poot-Avila on Nov. 15 at 1:22 a.m. at Illinois Route 15 eastbound on County Road 800 North, once again for Driving Under the Influence. He was also cited for Improper Lane Usage, driving Unlicensed and of course, Operating an Uninsured Motor Vehicle because drivers can’t get insurance if they don’t have a license.
The husband half of a convict couple, who was granted special permission from judge Larry Dunn to tie the knot before the bride was shipped off to prison, is now back where his wedded bliss began—only this time he is the one looking out through the bars. In June of 2009, Michelle Gibbs, 31, was arrested and charged with one count each of Methamphetamine Manufacturing more than 400 grams but less than 900 grams; Possession of Anhydrous Ammonia with Intent to Manufacture Methamphetamine; Possession of Methamphetamine Manufacturing Materials and Possession of Methamphetamine less than five grams.
Bridgeport and Lawrence County residents were shocked to learn on the morning of Dec. 1 that former county board member Jesse “Jake” Middagh, 73, had died while in the hospital in Vincennes that Tuesday. He had been admitted to Good Samaritan Hospital there the day before in order to undergo knee replacement surgery. Following the surgery, Middagh reportedly had a heart attack, and after that never regained consciousness. Lawrenceville sources indicate that he died at about 10 a.m. that day.
A Fairfield man previously convicted of and serving several years in prison for molesting a five-year-old child is now facing multiple charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. According to authorities Sidney B. Smith, 42, of 110 N. West 10th St., Fairfield, has been charged with one count of Unlawfully Contributing to the Delinquency of a Juvenile in that between the dates of November 14 and 16, 2009 he provided alcoholic beverages to a child identified by the initials JAS, who was a person under the age of 17 years, in order to facilitate JAS to commit the offense of Unlawful Consumption of Alcohol by a Minor.
It took two months of meetings to do it, but the Bridgeport city council ultimately shot down Sunday liquor sales in the town at the December monthly meeting. James Brunson, owner of Bridgeport Package Liquors, had been collecting signatures for months from patrons who told him they were tired of having to drive outside of town if they found themselves in need of alcoholic beverages on a Sunday. He and an employee, Darvin Hager (son of councilwoman Pam Hager) presented the petition, which contained approximately 300 signatures, to the council at the November meeting held on the 16th.
Concerns over a new cell phone policy recently instituted at Flora Community Unit School District No. 35 prompted parents to contact Disclosure in order to get some straighter answers than they felt were coming from school administration. The new policy, parents said, fines students monetarily for infractions of school rules on cell phones. Called the “Disruptive Devices” policy, it includes (but is not limited to) any electronic device such as cell phones, CD players, DVD players, digital cameras, cameras, iPods, mp3 players, pagers, beepers and games.
Following a plea agreement with prosecutor Scott Webb, a Carmi woman who played the name game with local authorities in October has been promised a three-year cap on her sentence to the Illinois Department of Corrections. Krista Nichole Russell, 29, not only told police her name was Tiffany Talley, but ran and hid in a large shrub behind Huck’s convenience store in Carmi, where she was ultimately located and found to be in possession of illicit drugs.
Brian James O’Neill II (aka Junior), candidate for Richland County board in February, has very little in his favor in his bid against incumbent Mary Spillman. He has no political experience, he is largely unintelligible when he attempts to communicate and obnoxious when he fails at that communication (which is frequent, if not constant), and he generally needs to bathe more often than he does. Other than that, he has spewed an uncountable number of internet tirades, particularly on a website called topix.net, that speaks volumes for not only his mental state, but the utter unfitness he suffers that should keep him from running for any public office in the country. Nevertheless, run he does, and when he loses, he files frivolous lawsuits against every entity that he perceives cost him the election.
Wabash and Edwards officials were on the scene of an accidental drowning on the county line Friday, Dec. 11. According to Wabash Sheriff Joe Keeling, that Friday at approximately 5 p.m., the body of David W. Geyer, 58, of Albion was located near North 1570 and the Bonpas River just inside Wabash Co. from the Edwards Co. line near Bone Gap. According to a family member, Gayer was last seen at approximately 8:30 p.m. Thursday evening, Dec. 10.
A Neoga man has been jailed and is accused of threatening his wife with a sword. While details are sketchy at best, it appears that Robert D. Hasten, 31, arrived in the city of Olney in less than a blissful mood Saturday, Dec. 5. Authorities say they received a 911 call from Hasten’s wife at about 10:08 p.m. that her husband had tried to choke her and had threatened her with a sword.
An Olney woman facing three First Degree Murder charges for the May 17 stabbing death of 28-year-old Jordan Schwarzlose has been ordered to undergo psychological evaluation in order to determine if she is fit to stand trial. While some critics view the decision as “babying” Amanda Renee Dawn Fisher Colclasure, 27, others indicate it is one more step to get out of the way in the event Colclasure is found guilty and seeks an appeal.
It took nearly an entire year after the filing of sexual assault charges against a Grayville man, accused of molesting a teenager, but state’s attorney David Hyde has finally accomplished something—sort of. In jail since February 2009, Adam T. Brocker, 23, formerly of 110 W. Spring St., Grayville had pleaded guilty to two counts of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse of a victim between the ages of 13-16.
All of Saline County was abuzz throughout the first half of December because Raymond Moss was due to be released from DOC Dec. 16. For those who didn’t know who Raymond Moss was, the buzz was utterly confusing. For those who had known Moss since boyhood, however, it was completely understandable. In simple terms, Moss, 45, was sentenced to prison after a horrific July 2002 traffic crash he was involved in that killed two very popular area blues musicians, Doug and Forrest Hurd, while he was driving revoked.
A Missouri jury has managed to do what those in Illinois thus far haven’t: they’ve sentenced serial murderer Greg Bowman to death. Bowman, 58, is originally of Bellmont in Wabash County. His father, Ed Bowman, was a years-long mayor of that little village until his resignation and appointment of EMA 2nd-in-command and all-round pest, Colby “Cheeseboy” Rigg, a couple of years ago. Greg Bowman was found guilty in 1979 of the murders of Belleville girls Elizabeth West, 14, and Ruth Ann Jany, 21, and spent almost 30 years in prison for them until a St. Louis bleeding-heart reporter, the misguided hug-a-thug Carolyn Tuft, did a series of articles and created such a stink about his imprisonment that a liberal activist associate judge in St. Clair County turned the killer loose in early 2007.
There’s not much to report out of the last Equality Township board meeting, held Nov. 16…because the meeting itself lasted only four minutes. Business was more than brisk at the meeting, where it was ascertained that the truck that has been under question for a couple of months, having been purchased for the township in 2005, was indeed purchased without a bid. The truck cost in excess of $31,000, which exceeds the amount set by state law for purchases by public bodies such as Equality Township without a bid— $20,000.
December 8 marked the end of a very sad chapter for several families in White and Edwards counties—it was the release date of Adam Raber, 24, following his four years-plus incarceration on the Aggravated DUI/Death conviction that came in the summer of 2005. The conviction came two years after the tragic death of Tina Knapp, 14, in a drunk-driving Aug. 2 car wreck on Gun Club Road west of Grayville, with Raber at the wheel and another teen, Darus Bosecker, riding shotgun.
Willie McClusky, Saline county clerk, is resigning his powerful position as Democrat county chairman, effective Dec. 31. McClusky has cited “possible conflicts” as the reason for his departure from the position fellow Dem Robert Wilson held until a few years back.
The death of Rosie Koehler Humphreys, 85, on Monday, Nov. 30 as the result of a dog mauling caught the horrified attention of not only residents of Clay County’s largest municipality, but has made headlines across the world. That’s because Rosie, who has repeatedly been referred to by those who knew her as “everyone’s grandma,” was killed by a pit bull, two words that reverberate through the dog owning community and resonate differently depending upon where the dog owner stands in regard to pits. The matter has raised an overwhelming amount of questions regarding pit bull ownership, local ordinances and state law, and individual freedoms.
Embattled former coach and teacher Tim Monroe, now of Ridgway, was arrested in early November on charges of conveying threats to witnesses in his cocaine-trafficking cases. Monroe, 38, was charged Nov. 9 with two counts of Harassing a Witness after he allegedly “conveyed a threat of injury” to Paul J. McSparin, 35, and David Cox, 56, both of Harrisburg, on or about Nov. 7.
Olney mayor Mark Lambird is finding out the hard way that when there’s a perception of citizens’ rights and liberties being taken away from them, even in a disaster, there’s going to be a bunch of bristly people confronting you about it. This was apparently the case when folks learned that the city of Olney was in the process of adopting a new ordinance about emergency management and in it, they found objectionable language about many individual liberties that thinking Americans hold near and dear. The ordinance, taken from “already-established” ones in cities near Olney such as Centralia and Flora, has already been through three revisions, Lambird told Disclosure on Dec. 12. During a meeting held for the singular purpose of addressing the new ordinance Dec. 10, citizens expressed to Lambird and the council what they found so objectionable that forced a second, and finally third, revision.