-
Deputy Smith Resigns
Perry County Deputy Jesse Smith was questioned, removed as the county schools resource officer and reassigned, suspended and subsequently resigned following allegations of inappropriate internet communication with a student.
Earlier this month Sheriff Steve Bareis confirmed to the Pinckneyville Press/Du Quoin Weekly newspapers that Smith, who was hired to be the School’s resource officer in early 2015, had been taken off of the school resource duty back in November of last year and resigned his position with the Sheriff’s Department on January 16. Bareis declined further comment on the matter siting employer/employee confidentiality. Following the interview, the Press/Weekly staff filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with Perry County, Pinckneyville Community High School and the Du Quoin Community Unit School District seeking further information related to Deputy Smith.
The FOIA response from Perry County revealed that Smith had been questioned as early as August 2015 about his use of “texting or messaging.” At the time Bareis stated in an investigative narrative, “I called Deputy Smith in and warned him again and told him at that time he was to have no contact with a juvenile on Facebook, Snapchat, email, or any other social media outlet.” It was not the first time Smith, who is married, was warned by Bareis about “inappropriate contact with other women and girls.”
Bareis added that, “since the (name redacted) incident it has come to my attention that last school year that he (referring to Smith) was emailing (name redacted) while on duty. (Name redacted) stated that the contact was strange and she finally just stopped responding to his emails.”
The narrative begins by stating that Bareis had yet another complaint about Smith on Saturday, November 12, 2016 from a Du Quoin parent referring to “inappropriate communications toward her daughter from Deputy Smith. Bareis’ narrative states that he met with the Du Quoin High School Administration and (name redacted) the following Monday. She stated that he (referring the Smith) had messaged her about two weeks ago on personal messenger through Facebook. In Bareis’ narrative he writes that the student further stated, “she was kind of weirded out by the contact and told her mom.”
The FOIA response from the School District stated that “no formal complaints have been filed with the Du Quoin Community Unit School District #300.”
Following the meeting with the Du Quoin High School Administration and the female student Bareis and Perry County Sgt. Scott Kellerman met with Smith in the Sheriff’s investigations office. Bareis stated that Smith three times denied having “any contact with a juvenile on Facebook or any other social media or email,” but when asked specifically about the student in question Smith admitted to the contact. Smith then tried at that point to explain his reasons for the messaging. Bareis then writes in the narrative that he offered to “connect” Smith “with counseling” for the issue. Bareis then wrote that Smith “did not respond.” Smith was then pulled from his duties as the schools resource officer and placed on patrol duty. Bareis continued the narrative stating that Smith “showed agitation and said okay, and got up and walked out.” “I did not release him (Smith) and I had more to talk to him about,” Bareis added.
That Wednesday, November 16, 2016, Bareis wrote that he stopped at PCHS and spoke with Superintendent Hagene and Principal Foutch about Smith being reassigned. Bareis writes that, “they (referring to Hagene and Foutch) advised they too had two reports of inappropriate behavior.”
A FOIA response from PCHS Stated, “that there are no documents on file pertaining to your request.”
Bareis ended the narrative by stating that he found Smith to be in violation of Departments Rules and Regulations by Disobedience to Orders, his On/Off Duty Conduct and Behavior unbecoming of an Officer under the Sheriff’s ethics policy.
According to a resolution dated November 21, 2017, included in the FOIA release, between the Sheriff’s office and the Fraternal Order of Police, Labor Council in addition to being reassigned to patrol, Smith received a four day suspension and agreed not to file a grievance over the discipline.
The FOIA request also disclosed a Separation Agreement between the Sheriff’s Department and Smith dated January 12, 2017. In the agreement, the County agreed to pay Smith one months severance plus all accrued benefit time. Additionally, the Sheriff’s Department agreed not to disclose issues with Smith’s employment to potential employers unless Smith consented to the disclosure, not fight an unemployment claim by Smith and not to release any information about Smith unless someone filed a valid FOIA request for his records.
Following the FOIA response the Press asked Sheriff Bareis if it would have been better if an outside agency had handled the investigation. Bareis stated that, “If I had any indication of any criminal activity it would have been turned over to the State Police.”
The Press’s attempts to reach out to Smith were unsuccessful as of press time.
Friday, February 24, 2017
Du Quoin Resident to be Featured on Naked and Afraid
You think you know NAKED AND AFRAID? Think again. The television pop culture phenomenon that entices and shocks viewers every week returns Sunday, March 5th at 10PM ET/PT on Discovery featuring Lacey Jones of Du Quoin, Illinois. The all-new season is upping the ante and changing the game with the most real, raw, dangerous and insane moments you won’t see anywhere else on television. Last season, America’s #1 cable survival show garnered over 47M viewers P2+ and this year’s twists and turns promise to deliver naked and extreme television.Each week, meet a new man and woman as they take on the toughest survival challenge out there… NAKED AND AFRAID. Only on NAKED AND AFRAID will you see survivalists strandedat sea for 24-hours dodging sharks. Only on NAKED AND AFRAID will you see people forced to hand-craft bird ‘nuggets’ to ward off starvation. Only on NAKED AND AFRAID will you see a duo hoping to survive under an active volcano, or skinning pelts with their bare hands in an attempt to ward off hypothermia. Only on NAKED AND AFRAID will you see two strangers come together and give it everything they’ve got just to make it one more day.
Will these survivalists have the emotional strength and drive to endure these grueling conditions and find out what they’re made of? Watch as each couple battles the elements, each other, and their own inner weaknesses to see who will triumph over the terrain, or fail under the force of nature.
Tune in this season, as two NAKED AND AFRAID super fans see if they have what it takes to conquer the ultimate survival challenge... all documented in real time, and uploaded daily over Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter for the ultimate NAKED AND AFRAID fan experience. And look out for a surprising twist this season, as one duo discovers they are not alone.
NAKED AND AFRAID is produced for Discovery Channel by Renegade 83; David Garfinkle, Jay Renfroe, Steve Rankin and Mathilde Bittner are executive producers. For Discovery, Denise Contis and Joseph Boyle are executive producers.
Friday, February 10, 2017
Bennett Arrested in Murder of Sidnee Stephens
Following a court date this morning, Chad R. Bennett II was charged with four counts of the First Degree Murder (Accountability) of Sidnee Stephens, as well as one count of Concealment of Homicidal Death.
Bail is fixed at $1,000,000. Following his court appearance, Bennett fell down the courthouse stairs and was taken out of the building on a stretcher and transported to the hospital by ambulance.
Bennett’s previous charges were dismissed with leave to reinstate (nolle pros) on Aug. 22, 2013. Bennett was taken into custody earlier today. The case is set for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 14 at 9 a.m. It is expected that a motion to reduce bail will be filed If that motion is filed, it will also be heard on Oct. 14.
The counts are marked as “Accountability,” meaning, “a person is responsible for conduct which is an element of an offense if the conduct is either that of the person himself, or that of another and he is legally accountable for such conduct…”
Count one says the defendant on or about July 18 or July 19 2010, after committing residential burglary, participated in aggravated kidnapping, shot Sidnee Stephens with a firearm or strangled Stephens thereby causing her death.
Count two says that without lawful justification and with the intent to kill Sidnee Stephens, he shot Sidnee Stephens with a firearm or strangled Stephens thereby causing her death.
Count three says the defendant shot Sidnee Stephens with a firearm or strangled Stephens, knowing said act would cause the death of Stephens, thereby causing her death.
Count four says the defendant on or about July 18 or 19 2010 shot Sidnee Stephens with a firearm or strangled Stephens, knowing such an act created a strong probability of death to Stephens, thereby causing her death.
Count five was marked as Concealment of Homicidal Death (Accountability). That count says that Bennett, on or about July 21 or 22, with knowledge that Stephens had died by homicidal means, concealed the death of Sidnee Stephens by attaching a concrete block to the body of Stephens with a strap and positioning the body of Stephens under the Beaucoup Creek Bridge on Cudge Town Road in Pinckneyville.
Friday, September 30, 2016
SOFTBALL: Lady Panthers can't capitalize against Carterville
The Lady Panthers had a golden opportunity to knock off defending state champion Carterville in last Tuesday’s SIRR Mississippi Division battle for first place, but couldn’t score after loading the bases with nobody out in the top of the seventh inning and fell 3-2 for their first conference loss of the season, and their first loss with Mariah Clark in the pitching circle.The Lady Lions scored first, getting a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI triple by Montana Taylor and a sacrifice fly by Sydney Monje.It wasn’t until the top of the fourth inning that Pinckneyville was able to answer, tying the game on Josie Gleason’s two-run homer to center that brought in Clark, making it 2-2.An error on a ground ball hit by Megan Barrett brought in a run for Carterville in the bottom of the fifth that turned out to be the decisive score. In the top of the seventh, Mayci Doerflien singled, Kiya Hagene walked, and Megan Mayo reached on a fielder’s choice bunt to load the bases for PCHS, but Carterville’s Baleigh Koester got a ground ball for a force-out at home followed by two strikeouts to silence the Lady Panthers’ potential rally.Gleason (1-2, R, 2 RBI, BB, HR), Clark (1-2, R, BB, 2B), Doerflein (1-3) and Lauren Jackson (1-3) had Pinckneyville’s hits. Clark allowed two earned runs on five hits and a walk with eight strikeouts in the pitching circle. Carterville’s Koester was just a tad better, giving up four hits and three walks with ten Ks for the Lions.On Thursday, Pinckneyville grabbed a pair of wins over Sparta, both by the score of 13-0. The first was a completion of a game suspended by rain back on April 3.Clark got the win in game one with a one-hitter and ten strikeouts. The offense got 14 hits from Mayo (1-4, R, RBI), Doerflein (1-3, R, BB), Hagene (2-4, 2 R), Gleason (1-3, RBI, BB), Clark (2-3, RBI, BB, 2B), Daisy Dudek (3-4, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2B), Lynlee Lindner (1-3, R, RBI), Kylee Kling (1-4, 2 RBI, 2B) and Emma Banach (2-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, HR).Dudek shut out the Bulldogs in five innings in game two, allowing three hits and striking out four batters while going 4-for-4 at the plate with 4 doubles and 5 RBIs. Also hitting for PCHS were Mayo (2-3, 2 R, RBI, 2B), Jackson (1-2, 2 R, RBI, 2B), Doerflein (1-3, R, RBI), Kling (1-1, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB), Gleason (1-3, BB) and Clark (1-3, RBI, BB).The Lady Panthers are at Du Quoin on Monday, host Anna-Jonesboro on Tuesday, then travel to Murphysboro on Wednesday and Nashville on Thursday to close out the week.
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Indians beat Murphysboro, earn home playoff game
Du Quoin will host a home playoff football game for the first time since 2012 after learning Saturday night that the Red Bud Musketeers (7-2) will visit Van Metre Field this coming Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. kickoff in the IHSA Class 2A Playoffs.The Indians improved to 7-2 overall and likely wrapped up that home game with Friday’s 41-21 victory at Murphysboro which featured several season-high performances from Du Quoin seniors in the final regular season game of their careers.First, there was the combination of quarterback Caleb Vogel and his tight end Devin Jones. The duo connected five times for three touchdowns with Vogel adding a fourth TD through the air to Jordan Edwards. Vogel completed 15-of-20 passes for 151 yards and 4 touchdowns - all season highs for the Du Quoin signal-caller.“We never gave up on (the passing game),” said DHS head coach A.J. Hill. “Early in the year we kind of struggled throwing the ball, allowed teams to focus on our run. Being able to mix it up like that, I can’t say enough about Caleb and his development over the course of the year. He came out and put the ball where we needed it to be, he’s done a great job. I’m proud of him, I’m proud of the team, and the guys out there catching it. We had some guys that had to step up and fill some roles, they did that well. Tonight we talked before the game, ‘hey let’s go get a team win,’ and that was a team victory right there.”Jones’ three touchdowns were also a season-high for the Indians’ Rob Gronkowski-like tight end, as were his four sacks on defense. He had eight tackles total and also served as Du Quoin’s punter in the game averaging 31 yards per kick.“It couldn’t have happened at a better time,” Hill said of Jones’ big night. “We’ve talked to him all year, just be patient, it’s going to come, there’s going to be a time when we can’t just run the ball every play and we’re going to have to rely on the passing game. Caleb feels confident throwing it out there to a big kid like Devin, and he wants the ball every play. He’s got a great set of hands, he gets himself open, and he makes the plays when they come his way. That’s just a credit to them staying patient. We’ve all kind of been waiting for that game where they have a little breakout, and tonight was it.”Then there was running back Zayne Fornear. Fornear continued his assault on the Indian record books by racking up a career-high 261 yards on 19 carries to bring his unofficial career total to 2,868 rushing yards (1,149 this season). While researching some of the Du Quoin football records can be a difficult task, this number is believed to be second all-time behind Jon Lanum’s total of 3,207 yards from 1996 to 1998.Fornear also added a pair of touchdowns, giving him 39 touchdowns for his career. He’s also scored eight times on two-point conversions, giving him 250 points in three seasons as a Du Quoin Indian. That ranks third all-time behind Indian legends Stan Clarry (299) and Don Stanhouse (282). It should be noted that those point totals do not include passing touchdowns or two-point conversion passes, only those scored rushing, receiving, on special teams, and on defense.Back to the team itself, the victory makes it six straight wins for the Indians after falling to 1-2 with a one-point loss to Herrin in week three.“After those two losses in a row, two tough losses, games we felt like we could have played better and capitalized on some things and won, for them to respond with six straight wins it means a lot,” said Hill. “We’ve got a great group of seniors who have kind of kept them on the path and not let them lose focus. We’re playing pretty good right now going into the playoffs, and you’ve got to feel good about that as a coach. We’re kind of clicking on all cylinders. Our defense has just gradually gotten better, and we keep getting better at what we do. That makes you feel good as a coach.”Friday’s game against the Murphysboro-Elverado co-op didn’t start off well for Du Quoin, as Brandon Graeff took the game’s opening kickoff all the way to the house for a 7-0 Red Devils lead.Du Quoin was flagged five yards for motion on first down of their possession after that score, but it didn’t stop them from going 83 yards and capping off the scoring drive with an 11-yard pass from Vogel to Edwards. Kameron Johnson’s extra point tied the game up with 7:06 to go in the first quarter.The Devils achieved one first down on their next drive before punting it away, and on second down and nine from Du Quoin’s 30, Fornear blasted off for a 70-yard touchdown run with 3:20 on the clock to put the Indians on top 14-7.Murphysboro stuck around with a 44-yard TD run by Brandon Caldwell with 7:04 left in the first half, but Du Quoin responded. Fornear picked up a first down in Red Devil territory and in the process drew a late hit penalty flag to set up a first-and-ten at the Murphy 22. Five plays later, Vogel and Jones connected on their first touchdown from 8 yards out to extend their lead to 21-13 with 3:53 left in the second quarter, which would be the halftime score.After the break, the Indians received the kickoff and proceeded to do what they do best - run the football and chew up big chunks of game clock. Du Quoin ran 16 plays and drove 75 yards, going up two touchdowns when Vogel hit jones from 10 yards out on a fourth-and-one. The possession ate up nearly eight minutes of clock time.Murphysboro didn’t go quietly, scoring on another long touchdown run by Caldwell with 1:39 left in the period, this one from 42 yards out. The two-point pass from Gavin Topp to Caldwell made it 28-21 in favor of DHS.But the Devils just couldn’t stop the Indians’ offense. Fornear’s 11-yard touchdown run put the finishing touches on an 8-play, 73-yard scoring drive with 10:09 to play. Murphysboro drove deep into Indian territory on their next possession, but Jones came up with a big sack after a low snap on fourth-and-six from Du Quoin’s 15-yard line to force a turnover on downs.While admitting he saw some things that could be improved, Hill was pleased with how his defense played, holding the Red Devils to a 3-for-11 performance on third down conversions, and 1-for-4 on fourth down pick-ups.“I think the big challenge (Friday night) was to keep (Murphysboro) away from the edge, and you saw how dangerous they are with a couple runs when they got to the edge. Overall, I was happy with how our defense kind of contained their offense, because they’re explosive. They get you going side-to-side and then they hit you up the middle with the fullback, they do some different things with the way they align. It’s been a tough week just preparing for that offense and however many different looks they give you. Overall I think our defense did a good job of responding and bending but not breaking a lot of times, creating a few turnovers on downs. I think that was big for our offense.”Du Quoin’s offense turned around and went 77 yards on just five plays, most of the damage coming from Fornear’s legs. The exclamation point came with Jones’ third touchdown of the night, a 10-yard pass from Vogel with 3:05 to play.Jones finished with 5 catches for 51 yards, but it was Will Woodside who led the Indians in receiving with 5 catches for 55 yards. Edwards (4-38) and Anthony Spiller (1-7) also hauled in receptions. Spiller (6 carries, 28 yards), Vogel (2-12), Donovan Cole (2-6) and Donovan McBride (4-4) split the carries that didn’t go to Fornear.Elverado’s Noah Barnes finished with 51 yards on 8 carries for the Devils, getting some blocking help from, among others, Elverado’s Clayton Berger.**Editor’s note: Hudl.com statistics show Fornear for 175 yards on 10 carries against Nashville this year, but upon closer inspection it is believed he actually had 197 yards on 11 carries. Hudl.com season total stats also mistakenly count statistics from this season’s Carterville game twice. Statistics were retrieved from various sources such as hudl.com statistics, newspaper articles, Fred Huff’s 2009 book ‘Du Quoin High School Football History,’ and game films, and should be considered “unofficial.” If you feel an error has been made in the calculation of these statistics, please bring it to our attention. Sports editor Doug Daniels can be reached at perrycountysports@gmail.com.
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Panthers finish season on a high note
It was an often-exciting, yet often-frustrating season, but the Panthers finished it off in the best way possible this past Friday night, pouring 57 points on Dupo in their 57-30 week nine victory to finish 2016 with an overall record of 2-7. Pinckneyville led the Tigers all the way and got touchdowns from five different players, three by Colton Kling.C. Kling got his first score from 11 yards out with 9:23 to go in the opening quarter, capping off the game’s opening drive that went 63 yards in 7 plays. A flag on the extra point attempt shortened the distance for PCHS, allowing them to go for two and get it on a run by Alex Howard.The Tigers struck back with an 8-play, 46-yard scoring drive that ended early in the second quarter, but on the ensuing kickoff, C. Kling broke free for a 79-yard return for a touchdown and a 15-6 Pinckneyville lead after Dylan Carns’ extra point with 11:41 to go in the half.“Colton Kling’s kickoff return really swung the momentum our way after they scored,” said PCHS head coach Todd Thomas. “I have to give (Dupo’s) kids credit, they’d won one game, they’d been beaten soundly all year long, but they came out and played extremely hard. I think they had something to prove. Every time they came back and tried to make a little run, we answered. The momentum shifts were really in our favor. I think as the game went on, we were a little bit deeper than they were and were able to pull it out.”The defense built off that kickoff return by forcing a three and out, and the offense made it a two-score game by going 49 yards in 8 plays with Howard punching it in from three yards out for a 22-6 lead.The Tigers kept coming though, going 80 yards - all on the ground - in 8 plays to cut it to 22-14, but another big play by the Panthers extended the lead once more. This time quarterback Brian Kling busted a 59-yard touchdown run on PCHS’s second play following Dupo’s previous touchdown, giving the Panthers a 29-14 lead that held up at the half.C. Kling’s third touchdown more or less put the nail in Dupo’s coffin. A short punt set the Panthers up with a first and ten at Dupo’s 35, then B. Kling connected with Ryan Brueggemann for a 28-yard pass and a first down at the Tigers’ 2. That’s where C. Kling took it in from to put the game out of reach with 2:16 left in the third quarter.“(Dupo) has a couple weapons,” said Thomas. “They have a running back that’s as quick and elusive as anybody we’ve played this year. I thought he was a handful last year. We kind of contained him, but they’ve got a young fullback about 240-lbs. and he got some tough yards. He was a concern for me. They’re in a pistol wing-T with a lot of misdirection, we struggled to stop the buck sweep early. Once we settled down and started getting our run defense correct, we stopped it when we had to.”B. Kling, Chase Fulkerson and Tyler Rice each added touchdown runs in the fourth quarter for Pinckneyville.“Option football, a lot of times it doesn’t look real pretty for a couple plays, the next thing you know somebody blows an assignment and it’s a big play,” Thomas said. “You’ve got to be patient.”B. Kling had 138 yards rushing to lead the Panthers, who as a team racked up 280 yards on the ground. Howard (8 carries, 39 yards), Brueggeman (7-36), Fulkerson (4-34), Tyler Rice (1-25), C. Kling (5-14), Lucas Downard (5-0) and Darian Harris (2-4) also ran the ball for Pinckneyville. B. Kling was 2-for-4 passing, connecting with Carns (8 yards) and Brueggemann (29).The Panthers may have won just two games, but there were serious contenders in four others. Pinckneyville lost four games by one touchdown or less two games by a single point. After getting outscored 92-13 in weeks five and six against playoff teams Du Quoin and Anna-Jonesboro, PCHS rebounded to score 99 points in their last three games while allowing 80.“I’m happy with the way we finished up the season,” said Thomas. “It was a very rough start. We were very out of sync at the beginning of the year. We had a lot of injuries in the preseason which really put us out of whack. Howard gets hurt week three, so at one point at time we had five two-way starters out, so we were limited with what we could get done.”“We started off slow, we had a tragedy after week three. The Anna game was a rough game for us. Our kids could have really tanked after that big loss, but we kind of regrouped, came back the next week and had a chance against Nashville, had a chance against Carterville, then beat Dupo. I’m happy that our seniors won their last game, it’s a little disappointing because I think we’re a little better than what our record shows. In athletics the bottom line is learning about life lessons, and I think we really fought through some adversity and finished on a positive note which was wasn’t easy after getting beat bad against Anna like that.”
Saturday, October 29, 2016
“Hi my name is Brooke and I always have a smile on my face…”“Hi my name is Brooke and I always have a smile on my face…”Have you been around someone that is always smiling, laughing and just appreciates the simple things in life! Well if you don’t know me… That’s me! Smiling, laughing and having a good time is right down my ally! Laughing is my favorite and for the people that don’t know me I am the one that works the front desk here at the Press and also works the cash register at Perry County Market Place! Yup, thats me the one that always has a smile on my face!
Scrolling through the web the other day I came across a quote by Charlie Chaplin. The quote read “A day without laughter is a day wasted” This is perfect! I always say by the end of the day if I have no make up on you know I had a good day of laughing. So I asked some friends and fellow co-workers of my mine here at the Press: “How do I make you laugh” Here are their response.
Kendra Crews: “With your quirky and Brooke moments, you always have a funny joke about something silly that happens and it makes me feel better…plus your lack of pop culture knowledge”
Collin Dorsey: “Besides your cat stories…hmm..You keep me entertained as I get my stuff done. You’re a fun person to talk to and you’re my age so we can relate to the same things”
Pat Bathon: “You make me laugh by just being you, there is too many things too list.”
Stephanie Waller: “Brooke let me count the ways…”
Jeff Egbert: “Oh Brooke..It’s the sweet way that you don’t know any pop culture references prior to 2010.”
Alexis Keith: “When are we not laughing, from you’re stories you that never have an end, to the stories you can’t tell because you’re laughing to hard, and all of our jam sessions in between. No matter what the situation you always find the humor in it. There is never a time when you don’t have a smile on you’re face an one of us does not have tears in our eyes from laughing so hard.”
Nathen: “You make me laugh when you randomly tell me things, like looking me dead in the face sand saying, ugh you’re such a dweeb..” (Haha sorry dear)
Aunt Diana “Listening to you go on and on and on telling a story”
From the quotes above I think we can all agree that I leave everyone speechless! Hahah I amaze people with my crazy wacked out stories and my funny random moments. I know my coworkers here at the Press really get a kick out of the fact that I’m not real familiar with older music (except Bon Jovi) and especially quotes from movies…(Sorry Jeff). So every time one of them ask me a question regarding if I know who sings this or who says this.. I just respond…Bon Jovi??
We were giving this one life to live and to enjoy what we have while we have it, so why live a boring life! Smile, laugh and appreciate the people around you! In my opinion, no body likes a boring atmosphere. I mean somebody has to lighten the mood when times are tough right?
Have a Happy New Year!!
Wednesday, January 18, 2017Help Brooke Make A Cook Book!
Within the past couple of months I have gotten into researching different recipes and wanting to make different kinds of dishes. However, my mother is planning on making my sister and I a cookbook with some of her passed down recipes, such as her famous chicken and dumplings and vegetable soup. Mind you I still live at home and enjoy her delicious home cooked meals every night, but for when I’m older and have to cook for my own family I’m going to want something to refer back to.
Don’t get me wrong, Pinterest is a great place to hop online and type in a certain recipe that your looking for but I want to have my own cook book that has all different types of soups, dips, desserts, appetizers and especially homemade recipes that have been passed down from family members, plus the new recipes that have came about. When my mom cooks specific dishes she always pulls out an old cook book that has different recipes in it from when she was young and use to bake with her grandmother. I want to have something to cherish like that for when I have children one day and be able to pass down the recipes that my mother had.
Anyway, I’ve been on a kick with crock pot recipes. I must say those are awesome. You just throw everything into a crockpot and they are done in like 4-6 hours. Easy right? Well I need your help, I’m wanting to make a cookbook with a bunch of different recipes submitted from our readers! Have a certain way you make chili? I want to hear how you make it. Use a certain ingredient that makes your family members crave? I want to know it!
So I am asking for your help! Send me your favorite recipes, whether it is a favorite crockpot recipe, dessert, dip, casserole, soup anything! You can mail them to the office at 111 S. Walnut Street, email them to me at bedwards@pinckneyvillepress.com, drop them off here at the office or you can even shoot me a Facebook message. I look forward to seeing all the different types of recipes everyone makes!
Thursday, December 8, 2016How Could This Happen?We’ve now had a week to step down from the ledge, research emigration, restock the liquor cabinet, and attempt to process what happened last Tuesday night when Donald Trump seemingly defied all odds, logic, and comprehension to acquire the electors necessary to be our next president. While fear and uncertainty abound, no one yet knows what the effects of the Trump presidency will be. It’s likely to be messy, but, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, we need to try to understand just how in the hell this could happen in the first place.
Before analyzing the election, though, allow me a few lines to explain my political evolution. The first exposure I had to politics came during the 1992 presidential election. I was staying with my paternal grandparents then, and my grandpa, the school bus mechanic for the Trico School District, explained to me his belief that the government should help provide jobs to those who are earnestly willing to work. I would later learn that grandpa was what is referred to as a New Deal Democrat. So, despite being Ross Perot’s campaign manager in our fifth grade mock election, I voted for Bill Clinton. By the time my vote counted, however, I had become a Republican and voted for George W. Bush in 2000, believing his policies best benefited small business owners like my dad. Not long after voting for Bush a second time in 2004, I strayed from the Republican Party due to the bumbling that plagued the second Bush administration. In 2008, I voted Libertarian, and over the next eight years, as Republican opposition and criticism of President Obama (who I did not vote for in 2012 either) became personal, ugly, and stupid, I resigned my position as precinct committeeman for Elk Township and renounced my membership in the Republican Party. Over those same eight years I accepted myself, furthered my education, traveled, began to understand and empathise with those who are different from me, and embraced progressive politics, bringing me to last Tuesday, when I begrudgingly voted for Hillary Clinton over the foul, dodgy, and divisive Donald Trump. I had been a Bernie Sanders supporter from very early on and voted for Clinton not because I deemed her progressive, but because I did not deem her regressive like Trump. But, a multitude of Americans voted differently, and while their reasons are varied, the following three are among the more obvious, even to the most casual of analysts.
First, facts do not matter any more. The clever, snarky memes, the fact checking, the exposés, and the direct quotes that all worked to reveal the hypocrisy, danger, and contradiction of Trump had absolutely no effect in the end. Intellectualism is now regarded as uppity and elitist, opinions are now regarded as facts, and the lack of policy is acceptable because at least it won’t be more of a “same” that was apparently intolerable for sixty million voters. What really happens when everyone is coddled and given that detestable participation trophy isn’t entitlement or a reincarnation of the “Me generation,” it’s the assertion that any opinion, no matter how uninformed, holds validity equal to a substantiated fact because my opinion is an extension of my feelings and no one can tell me how to feel or judge me for what I feel.
Second, there are legitimate concerns held by the “forgotten electorate” that most Democrats (and some Republicans) have disregarded for years. Though the American economy, as a whole, has recovered from the Great Recession, that recovery has not been felt by all Americans, particularly in places like southern Illinois, the Rust Belt, small towns retaining the few locally-owned businesses that have survived, or any place where the most desirable jobs were once found in a coal mine or in a factory. In its best incarnation “Make America Great Again” means returning the U.S. to industrial and economic dominance, which is fine, but immigrants, China, and Obama aren’t the ones who took those jobs away from the red states, robots, dividend-concerned corporate executives, and the simple progression of time did.
Finally, there was an utter failure on behalf of Democratic leadership to field a candidate that even members of their own party could rally behind, let alone the unaffiliated voters. Sure, Clinton received 600,000 more votes than Trump at last count, but how many of those votes were cast for “the lesser of two evils”? There is strong evidence that the Democratic National Convention colluded against one of the most rousing candidates in a generation in Bernie Sanders, who could have beaten Trump in a wash, and, instead, offered a lukewarm candidate who, though immensely qualified, was steeped in a perception of dishonesty and regarded as willing to defend any cause or speak any line just to get a vote. In college, a political science professor taught me that every election is decided by roughly one-third of voters. Thirty-three percent of voters will always vote Democrat, thirty-three percent will always vote Republican, and the remaining one-third will need to be won over. In 2016, that nonpartisan third wanted something different, or at least something new, and they found that in Donald Trump.
Monday, November 28, 2016 
