News

Year in Review

Posted December 31, 2014 10:00 pm

By Pete Spitler The Herald Tribune

As the clock wound down to the New Year, it is time to think back and reflect on the stories that made headlines in 2014.

The Herald Tribune's Editorial Board came up with a list of 35 stories worthy of "Top 10" contention, with the task of narrowing it down to 10. In ascending order, here are our top picks of the year.

10. Kim Butler named Menard's first female warden

On April 16, Kim Butler was named warden of Menard Correctional Center in Chester, succeeding Rick Harrington.

She is the first female warden of Menard and only the second female warden at an all-male facility in state history.

An Illinois Department of Corrections veteran of 20 years, Butler had been assistant warden at Menard since 2012.

"Everybody who lives in Chester has heard stories about this place and how bad it can be," Butler said to the Herald Tribune during a media tour of the facility on May 20. "But my theory is that it doesn't have to be that way anymore."

A SIU graduate and Gulf War veteran, Butler oversees a facility that houses around 3,700 inmates. Menard was briefly on lockdown recently after five inmates contracted chickenpox.

9. Best Western Reids' Inn sold

After more than 20 years in the hotel business, the Reid family sold its hotel in Chester to Chester Investments, Inc. on May 23.

Deepak Patel, president of Chester Investments, said the city's uniqueness was one reason for the purchase.

"This property caught my attention because of the town size and the uniqueness that it is a small town," Patel said. "It's a Best Western Property in good standing."

The Inn, which opened in 1994, had recently been awarded a Director's Award from Best Western for quality standards at the time of sale.

The Reid family still owns Reids' Harvest House Smorgasbord.

8. Kyle Landon named NCAA All-American

After an exceptional career at Chester High School, Kyle Landon found his talents translated well to college track and field competition.

The SIU sophomore won All-American honors in the high jump, his signature event, at the NCAA Outdoors Championships in June with a height of 7-2.5. The mark earned him a tie for third and is one that he recently equaled at the Saluki Fast Start on Dec. 6.

That performance earned him a USTFCCCA Male National Athlete of the Week selection on Dec. 8, followed by a Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week nod on Dec. 10.

7. Chester football advances to Elite Eight

Despite recent success on the gridiron, Chester High School's football team hadn't won a playoff game since 2001 entering the 2014 season.

That changed this year, as not only did the Yellow Jackets end their streak, they advanced to the IHSA Class 2A Elite Eight for the first time in program history.

With victories over Black Diamond Conference foes Carmi-White County (first round) and Johnston City (Sweet 16), Chester faced traditional football power Tuscola in the quarterfinals at W.O. Smith Field on Nov. 15.

After a rough first half, Chester gave Tuscola all it could handle in the second half, finishing 10 yards away from a victory in a 17-14 loss.

"We'll reload and this will hurt for a little while," said Chester coach Bryan Lee after the game. "Eventually, it will kind of sink in that we did something that nobody else has done before."

6. Chester Grade School breaks ground on gymnasium

Another story to come out of the busy month of April was the groundbreaking of the $5.85 million Chester Grade School gymnasium addition.

The existing CGS gymnasium, and its connecting classrooms, was condemned in July 2012 due to foundation shifting and cracking from excessive rainfall in April 2011.

Nearly $4.4 million of the project's funds are coming from the state's Capital Development Board through the Illinois Jobs Now! program.

"We are here to let everyone know the end is in sight," said Chester District No. 139 Superintendent Chris Diddlebock during the ceremony. "They will not have to listen to me tell them the school is on the way, but from here on out, you'll be able to see progress."

The project has a projected completion date of July 15, 2015 and is expected to be ready for the 2015-16 school year.

5. Chester juvenile charged for lewd Facebook messages

In mid-December, the Herald Tribune was notified of a series of lewd and inappropriate Facebook messages being exchanged between juveniles, the perpetrator of which is a 16-year-old male Chester High School student.

The Chester Police Department received a series of complaints regarding the issue and through copies of the messages the Herald Tribune has received from parents involved in the case, the newspaper has identified at least eight victims.

All of the victims are male and appear to be between the ages of 10 and 15 years old. The case against the juvenile suspect "began in earnest" on Monday, according to Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker.

4. Chester Municipal Pool closes

Roughly 75 years after it was built, the Chester Municipal Pool closed its doors on June 27, a month after opening for the 2014 swim season, and hasn't reopened after major water leakage was discovered.

An inspection was conducted by Burbach Aquatics July 16-17 and the resulting report put a $5.7 million price tag on repairing the facility to its "original condition."

The report, dated Sept. 5, made available to city council members on Sept. 12 and the local media on Sept. 15, highlighted the pool's historic value, but also offered a grim view of the long-term viability of the current facility.

"A new pool vessel designed by (Burbach Aquatics Inc.) would have a 50-year design life, while any renovation project to the existing pool will likely extend the life of the pool for a maximum of 10 years at a cost of more than half of the cost of a new pool," wrote David Burbach, director of aquatic services, in the report.

In the months since the report's release, Chester Mayor Tom Page appointed a nine-member Chester Pool Committee (CPC) to come up with options on what to do with the facility. The CPC was scheduled to have its first meeting on Tuesday at City Hall.

3. Chandler accident/community response

A lot of people in Chester and the surrounding area were hurting this summer after a tragic accident claimed the lives of Bret and Toree Chandler.

The well-liked and well-known couple were driving along Missouri Route T in their 2002 Jeep Wrangler on the night of July 19 when the vehicle failed to negotiate a right curve and traveled off the right side of the road, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Bret Chandler was driving and he over-corrected, sending the vehicle off the left side of the roadway and into the South Fork Saline Creek bed, where it overturned.

The couple, who were wearing their seatbelts, were pronounced dead at the scene by Perry County Ambulance paramedics. The exact cause of the accident is not known, but family representatives believe Chandler swerved to avoid an animal on the road.

In the wake of the accident, the community banded together in support of the couple's two children, 7-year-old Damon and 8-month-old Fallon, raising more than $20,000 at a fundraiser at 1st Class Auto in August.

2. Gas leak in Chester leads to evacuations

A power line on Swanwick Street in Chester fell on and ignited a nearby van and street sign on Aug. 16, which resulted in the rupture of a nearby natural gas line and mandatory evacuations of a four-block radius of the 1500 block of Swanwick.

"The public was really good," said Chester Fire Chief Marty Bert. "We had the city department set up barricades and everybody came together real well and took a complicated situation and made it pretty easy."

Bert said between 50 and 60 houses were evacuated and close to 500 gas meters had to be shut off.

"There was a street sign next to the van," Bert said. "The power line fell onto the street sign, which caused electricity to puncture the ground and cause a rupture."

Bert said Chester and Ellis Grove firefighters were toned out at 5:25 a.m. that day for the report of a downed power line.

They discovered the street sign had welded itself to the natural gas line.

That led city police and fire representatives to begin evacuations at 6 a.m. Bert said initial evacuations began with a one-block radius due to the fire, but were expanded when the gas leak was discovered.

In the weeks and months since the incident, Page has spoken out about the desire to train a Public Information Officer (PIO) to handle requests for information from the media and other agencies during a city emergency.

1. Derrick J. Twardoski pleads guilty/sentenced to 53 years in prison

Derrick J. Twardoski was sentenced to 53 years in prison by Judge Richard A. Brown at the Randolph County Courthouse on Oct. 3.

Randolph County State's Attorney Jeremy Walker said Twardoski, 34, will be 86 years old when eligible for parole in 2066. Twardoski's attorney, public defender James Kelley, requested the minimum sentence of 20 years in prison, while the state asked for the maximum of 60.

Walker said he did not know how Brown reached the 53 figure.

"If I only knew," he said on the day of sentencing. "I always expected Judge Brown may give him a few years off the top end for saving the family from a trial."

Twardoski pleaded guilty in August to one count of first-degree murder in connection to the arson deaths of 12-year-old Ethan Owen, 9-year-old Kailey Owen and 5-year-old twins Landan and Brandan Owen in a house fire in the 800 block of West Almond Street in Percy on May 10, 2013.

He had previously been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and had been scheduled to face trial on Sept. 8 before a plea deal was reached.

"Talking with the family through the whole process, the goal was to get over 50," Walker said. "If we got over 50, it would be a success."

Twardoski is currently serving his sentence at the maximum-security Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill, near Joliet.

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