Mayor’s Row…..by Ned Mitchell
The weather was perfect for last weekend’s annual Oktoberfest sponsored by the Sesser Area Chamber of Commerce. Hundreds of people from all over Illinois and surrounding states came to city park to enjoy the day. Civil War soldiers with overnight camping, a huge car show, horse pull, pumpkin pie contest, lots of food, crafts, flea market vendors and others all came during the day and the evening ended with the Christopher chapter of the Red Hatters Club performing at the historic Sesser Opera House. A lot of hard work went into this event this year and those who put the activities together are to be commended. Sesser had it’s best foot forward this weekend and we heard nothing but compliments on the way our town looks. It was another successful event with no accidents or police calls. That should make us all very proud! If you see a chamber member tell them what a great event this was. Also congratulations to street department employee Tony Gobtop who won first place in the bar b que cook off with his chicken on the grill.
Congratulations are in order for Juanita Cook who just celebrated 50 years of continuous employment and service to Sesser Concrete. Sesser Concrete has been in business for 59 years and Juanita has been there for the last 50 of those. This business is one that has been successful through the years and we are most happy to have them in our community providing good jobs for area workers. We appreciate them!
Coming up this weekend the Sesser VFW Cox Post is having a spaghetti supper on Saturday, October 15th. They also have their every Friday night fish fry so area residents can have fish on Friday and Spaghetti on Saturday. There is also a shotgun raffle where two shotguns are being raffled. The tickets are $5.00 each and there will only be 100 tickets sold on each gun. Our VFW is like a lot of others in that it becomes more difficult to keep the doors open due to a declining membership. This club is a good addition to Sesser and have been supporters of various community events for years. If you are interested in raffle tickets give them a call or contact Delmar Jones here in Sesser for more information. We need to pitch in and raise the necessary money for this club.
Also this weekend a special two night meeting featuring evangelist Tom Cohoon of Evansville, Indiana will be held at the historic Sesser Opera House. The meetings start at 7:30 Friday and Saturday night and will also feature special singing. Evangelist Cohoon is a personal friend of Hal Lindsey and has studied with him. There is no charge for admission to this event and the public is welcomed and encouraged to attend.
It’s not too early to begin planning for the annual country store at the Bear Point Free Will Baptist Church. The event will be on Saturday November 5th from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm. They feature home made soups, desserts and craft items with all proceeds going to mission work. This is one event you need to plan on being early for!
For Sesser history buffs the old M & B Market has fell to the wrecker’s ball as it was torn down this week. As most of us remember the store was owned and operated by cousins Lena Musso and Madeline Bracco for many years and was one of the last neighborhood grocery stores in Sesser. I think I have the names and relationship of the two owners correct but I am not really sure about the facts on this subject. I do know that I traded, as it was known years ago, with these two fine ladies. The new owners of the property decided to take the building down. This store was unique and a part of our culture for many years. I can well remember going there or to Rozenski’s store on Highway 148 in Sesser. If you needed a pound of hamburger, they ground it right while you waited. There was no pre packaged! Those were the days!
We at city hall are rapidly running out of time for projects that need to be completed before year’s end. Our street work should be done within the next few days, then we have sidewalks to pour and a huge sewer project on the north side of town. The sewer project is scheduled to begin on November 7th and will be a major undertaking for us. Our city workers will make the repairs which will save the residents of Sesser thousands of dollars as compared to what it would take to hire a contractor. On top of all this we have some water line extensions that need to be addressed in the very new future so we’re going to be quite busy in the coming weeks. We appreciate your patience with us as we work to make Sesser a better place to live.
Where will it all end? Another huge scandal has been uncovered in the Department of Children and Family Services agency. Last week I mentioned that a deputy director who had resigned under investigation was being looked at over a bank account that he controlled that DCFS money was deposited into. Now that story has really expanded and is up to about $280,000.00 in questionable purchases. According to the Inspector General’s findings the money was supposed to pay for tee shirts, coffee mugs, refrigerator magnets and other promotional items. So far the Inspector General is having trouble confirming delivery on some of the items. Now DCFS does not want to talk about it, the union does not want to talk about it, and the reformer/unreformer does not want to talk about it. Keep in mind this governor was the one who campaigned on the promise that it would no longer be “business as usual” in his administration. So how did this guy get to be a deputy director with no college degree and no experience for the job he was put in? Beats me but if you look around this administration is riff with unqualified and uneducated people in positions of high importance. They have perfected the art of cronyism like no others before them. Wonder how many case workers could have been hired for $280,000.00? This could get very interesting!
And while I have the soap box out complaining about the reformer/unreformer and his campaign promises I found it interesting that despite calling legislator initiatives a pork barrel program and a waste of tax payer money now he has decided he needs to spend 197 million dollars to do exactly that. Two years ago it was a waste of money and now it is a wise investment. Out of the 197 million dollars Franklin County was hugely rewarded with a $15,000.00 grant. Now there is some real economic development. We evidently don’t have to worry about too much pork in this county. Illinois is way behind on paying it’s bills yet we can find197 million dollars for this stunt. But it will get the reformer/unreformer a lot of publicity between now and the election. That’s a lot of ribbons to cut and a lot of pictures to be taken.
Marge Earley is recovering after successful surgery. Arnold Becktell is also home after surgery and we are happy things turned out well for both of them medically. Send a card, make a call, or visit in person to wish them well and let them know it is good to have them back in Sesser!
We’re available to help you if you need help. Give us a call at 625-3611, 625-5322, or 625-5788. Email suggestions or comments to nedmitchell@verizon.net or www.sesser.org . We’ll try to do all we can to help you in any way feasible! | |
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