The Village of St. Joseph Board of Trustees will take action on amending the existing liquor license to allow for a Package/Pour License which would allow the opportunity for additional business owners to pursue a video gaming license.

In Feb. 2012, Village Trustees passed an ordinance to allow restaurants that serve food and liquor on-premises to apply for a video gaming license and have machines on-premises if the total gross revenues from video gaming do not exceed 50-percent of the total gross revenues from the combined sale of food and alcoholic liquor and video gaming on the premises in any calendar year.

According to Illinois Gaming Board Reports, Roch’s is the only establishment within the Village of St. Joseph that has a video gaming license at this time.

In 2019 the municipality tax revenue the Village of St. Joseph received totaled $12,408.19. Since 2012, the Village has collected $113,707.51 in video gaming tax revenue.

La Luna Cafe also had video gaming available until 2018.

The Village of St. Joseph uses video gaming tax money to make improvements to the stormwater system.

Nearby local municipalities have expanded liquor and video gaming ordinances that meet the state standard and allow for a variety of establishments that serve liquor to also provide video gaming.

In 2019, nearby Ogden, which has six establishments and 27 video gaming machines, collected $39,497.06 in video gaming taxes. One establishment in Homer, which has four machines provided $4,115.54 in tax revenue. Royal’s one establishment with three machines collected $2,293.07.

In 2019 the State of Illinois increased the number of video gaming machines an establishment can have from five to six. Truck stops on three acres of land within a 3-mile distance from a freeway interchange with a convenience store and a sales average of at least 10,000 gallons a month are allowed up to 10 terminals.

The State also increased the maximum wager from $2 to $4. Within SB 0690, the maximum cash award increased from $500 to $1,199 and allowed an in-location progressive jackpot up to $10,000.

The Village of St. Joseph’s board meeting will also include action after a presentation from Clark Dietz on the 2020 MFT Resolution and an update from Jim Page on a new grant application proposal for a bike path at Woodard Community Park.

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Grunge. Hip Hop. R&B. Heavy Metal. Rock. Rap.

The 1990’s were all about music.

Champaign natives Andrew Duncanson, Josh Stimmel and Chris Breen began their band, Kilborn Alley, in 1999. They had no idea where their talent might take them.

Producing blues music for 19 years, Kilborn Alley has recorded six albums: The Tolono Tapes, Four, Better Off Now, Tear Chicago Down, Put It in the Alley and Kilborn Alley Blues Band.

“I think the thing that really helped us is that the band has evolved musically,” Duncanson said. “We keep growing, keep creating new songs, learning together and maintaining a friendship.”

Coming out of high school, Kilborn Alley members didn’t expect much to happen with their band. But with hard work, and a few breaks, they have now traveled to 40 states and 8 countries going into the release of their seventh album.

They have also received accolades that have put them on the map on the blues music scene.

The group has been nominated for “Best New Artist Debut” and “Best Contemporary Blues Album” at the Blues Music Awards.

In Linda Cain’s review of the 2010 Blues Blast Music Awards at Buddy Guy’s Legends in Chicago, she wrote, “Kilborn Alley took the stage with a vengeance and got the crowd revved up from the first note as harp player Joe Asselin displayed his unbelievable lung power on “Train To Memphis.” Josh Stimmel tested the strength of his Gibson’s strings with his mighty note-bending on some down-home licks on “Foolsville.” Andrew Duncanson’s commanding, soulful vocals, which alternated between the styles of Howlin’ Wolf and Otis Redding, thundered across the room. His show-stopping performance on “Better Off Now,” elicited whoo’s and yeah’s from the fans and even had the wait staff stopped in their tracks. That number earned the quintet the award for Best Blues Song, the title track from the band’s CD on Blue Bella.”

Duncanson calls the band, which currently includes eight members, “family.”

Duncanson and Stimmel graduated from Centennial High School while Breen went to Central. The core four band members are rounded out by Aaron “A-Train” Wilson, who grew up in Danville.

“It means a lot to do this with those guys,” Duncanson said. “They’re my brothers.”

The group does not have plans to slow down, either.

Pulling from influences that showcase Chicago blues, Memphis soul, gospel music and rock, Kilborn Alley will perform their set at the Homer Lake Forest Preserve from 4 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, September 22.

The concert, which is free and open to the public, is part of the Champaign County Forest Preserve’s Summer Concert Series.

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Homer, Ill. –

Turning 100 years old is something few expect to do. Even of those who think they might, actually getting to 100 is out of their hands.

As Edith and Warren Gordon of Homer prepare for a 100th birthday celebration on Sept. 1, 2019, they are also looking forward to their actual birthdays, Sept. 7 and Sept. 14.

“We’ve never been 100 before,” Edith said. “We don’t know what to expect.”

Warren has big plans for the days between Sept. 7th and the 14th.

“Since I’m a week older, for a week, I’m the boss,” he said.

Edith replied, “he thinks he is.”

Edith met Warren on a blind date after her sister encouraged her to go to the St. Joseph Fall Festival when she was 19. Her sister wanted to meet up with a boy. The boy brought along Warren.

“She wouldn’t go without me,” she said.

“I wasn’t going with anyone,” Warren said.

While Edith may have been a blind date, the couple continued to go out on double dates. They spent time together during WWII when Warren was working at a defense base in Indianapolis. He traveled to Edith’s hometown in Homer to see her, then worked on making the Norden Mk bomb for three-and-a-half years.

Toward the end of the war, in 1945 when they were 25 years old, Edith and Warren walked down the aisle together at the Homer Methodist Church in a small, simple service surrounded only by family.

The couple celebrated their 74th wedding anniversary in June.

The Gordons raised four children together: Raymie, Marsha,  Sharon and Dan. Today they have six grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.

Family members from all over, including nieces and nephews from Texas, Tennessee, Maryland and South Carolina will be at the Labor Day celebration.

When the Gordons turned 90, they celebrated alongside family, and even a few of Edith’s classmates that hit the milestone.

“We had a celebration then, but this is going to be a bigger celebration because so many folks are coming,” Warren said.

Of the 18 students Edith graduated with, three made it to 90. Another graduate of Homer High School who was a year ahead of Edith turned 90 that year. Warren, who graduated from Urbana High School in a class with more than 150 students, also celebrated.

“I thought 90 was old. But I don’t feel 90,” Edith said.

“100 my gosh, don’t say that! That really makes me old.”

Edith believes it might be the good genes she and Warren were blessed with. She had four aunts who made it to 90, and Warren had two sisters who lived that long, too.

But, she also believes the fact that they have never drank or smoked might have played a part.

Dan, Ray and Sharon all live in Homer now, Sharon living right across the street, to take care of their parents, makes sure they get to their doctors’ appointments and to make sure Edith doesn’t have to go up the stairs on her own.

“When we bought this (1951), I could run right up those steps, and then come back down and go to the basement and not think anything about it. But now they won’t even let me go upstairs; they follow me up, then they go down ahead of me. They are afraid I’ll fall.”

She admits that she can walk around her home fine right now, but being on the grass is difficult. Warren needs a little more help.

While their bodies may be more fragile than in their younger years, they have no problem remembering the good times they spent with their children and grandchildren.

Warren would light the grill every weekend to make grilled chicken or hamburgers wrapped in foil while Edith provided the macaroni and cheese, potato salad and her famous baked beans.

It wasn’t unusual for them to churn ice cream, either. Vanilla ice cream is still Warren’s favorite treat.

Edith stayed at home to raise the kids while Warren worked as a machinist at CS Johnson before moving on to become an instrument maker at the University of Illinois.

“I wanted to raise the kids,” Edith said. “I didn’t want to put them in a home with somebody else raising them.”

Many of her days were spent doing housework, but her children remember the countless hours she spent in the garden, even until she was in her mid-90s.

“She’d spend hours out there,” Dan said. “If she wasn’t in the house, she’d be out there literally for hours mowing and picking weeds.”

“I worked hard,” Edith added. “I love the garden. It’s work. And I did a lot of canning of everything we made.”

In her 100 years, all Edith has ever known is Homer.

“This has been home to me forever,” she said.

Growing up on a farm and now living in town, she said she’s enjoyed how quiet the community is.

“It’s just been good living in Homer,” she said. “I feel like this is farm country.”

It was important to the couple to make sure that their children grew up knowing God.

“The kids didn’t say, ‘Are we going to church this morning?’ ” Edith said.

“Everybody knew they were going. We went there, had dinners at the church, our friends were from the church.”

Their son Ray now ministers at Homer’s United Congregational Church.

As their children got older, they enjoyed spending time in the backyard together, watching the satellites pass by near the campfire.

“We joke about looking for aliens,” Angela said. “That’s something that all of us have fond memories of.”

Dan said the family would stay out together until 10:30 or so, then head away so they could get up for work in the morning.

“One of our nephews still wants to come over and have a campfire,” Sharon said. “Mom and dad now can’t get out like they used to, but Josh is always, ‘can we have a campfire?’ ”

Like many families, the Gordons took their children on a summer vacation, traveling to Deer Lake in Minnesota.

As their children moved out and started their adult lives, Edith and Warren made a point to include their grandchildren in the outdoor activities they enjoyed. They got a camper, taking it to Weldon Springs for a week or to Springfield during the State Fair.

“The kids have fond memories of doing that,” Sharon said.

But they probably had the most fun after Warren retired. They drove to California, Niagra Falls, Florida, Wyoming and Nebraska, among other trips.

When they went to Champaign to grocery shop each week, they invited friends. After shopping, they would “double date” at a local buffet.

“After he retired, that was a lot of our exercise,” Edith said.

Dan said his mom could eat more fried chicken than he could, even in his younger days.

“It was nice to eat chicken that you didn’t fry,” she said.

Part of their annual trip to Deer Lake was to eat a fried chicken dinner in the car.

“We’d hardly be out of Illinois when the kids were ready to eat,” Edith said. “They loved to eat on the way up.”

The time the Gordons spent together has created something special.

“As a family, we’ve been pretty close,” Warren said. “We always enjoyed that.”

Warren, a former horseshoe player, said that he is excited about turning 100.

At age 16, he wasn’t sure he would make it this far.

Full of a teenage spirit, Warren and seven of his friends went on a ride in a Ford Coupe built in the 1930s: three people inside the car, and two on each side of the car, riding on the crossbar.

When the boys did not see a car coming perpendicular to their vehicle, the car was stuck, and Warren rolled across the road where IL-150 and Main Street in St. Joseph now meet.

Warren was unconscious for eight days.

“I was lying there in the bed and not coming to,” he said. “I’m thankful I don’t remember much about those eight days either. I’m thankful to be alive.”

Warren said that he feels he and Edith have led a good Christian life.

But most of all, he said they are proud of their family.

“The good Lord has been with us most of the time,” he said.

“We have quite a family group,” he said. “We are proud of all of them.”

Edith agrees.

“We’ve enjoyed it. We have up and downs, there’s no doubt about it,” she said. “You don’t live with somebody and always see the same thing the same way.”

But Edith said there was one thing they did see the same way.

“I knew, he would never, ever hit me,” she said. “And that’s worth a lot.”

In his quick wit and a smile on his face, Warren replied, “You don’t have to pay for what you didn’t do.”

For the Gordons, what they did in the time they spent together means more than just dates.

“It doesn’t seem like I’ve been alive 100 years,” Warren says. “But time just marches on.

“Eternity is a long time.”

All are invited to a birthday celebration on Sunday, September 1st from 2-4pm at Homer Community building.

The post Edith and Warren Gordon are excited to turn 100 first appeared on SJO Daily.

For some, it’s not about self, but about community.

Since 1984, Homer resident, Don Happ has been working to better his community.

A Philo native, Happ, along with his wife, Deb, chose Homer as the place to start their family.

“At that time, no one knew the impact this man would have on our community,” Homer Activity Committee Chairman Angela Lawrence said.

By 1985 Happ joined the Homer Fire Department. During that same time, Happ opened Don’s Auto Center out of the family home located in town.

As 1988 rolled around, his business had grown to need a larger space. Happ opened his storefront at 202 N Main St., providing residents with a reliable auto mechanic and commercial revenue for the town.

A year later he purchased the Amoco gas station, which later became Marathon. The Happs have also established a rental business in Homer, providing rental houses, apartments and storage units to the community.

By 1990, the fire department continued to fill the need of responding to fire calls, but also saw a need to run medical calls, too.

“Don along with the assistance of Pro Ambulance started that process,” Lawrence said.

In 2009, the Homer Fire Department went from an intermediate first-responder level to an immediate life support level.

“Without hesitation, (Happ) knew what he needed to do,” Lawrence said. “Soon after with lots of training and licensing, we were able to upgrade.”

A decade later, on Aug. 1, 2019, the Homer Fire Department announced that it will team with OSF Pro Ambulance Service to have an ambulance in the Homer station.

“Waiting for an ambulance to come from the Champaign area could take 20 to 30 minutes,” Lawrence said. “And unfortunately 20 to 30 minutes could be the difference between life and death for some people.”

Lawrence said Happ’s commitment to Homer has gone beyond his commitment to business and the fire station, though.

He has also made a point to sponsor anything from ball teams and festivals, and fireworks to band trips.

After decades of commitment to Homer, Happ was named the 2019 Homer Citizen of the Year for the second time on Saturday afternoon.

Happ was humble in his acceptance speech.

“I’ll just say one quick thing, that this isn’t about me, it’s a team effort,” he said. “This fire department is a team effort with my fire chiefs over in Sidney. This isn’t about me; Pro Ambulance, it’s all a team. And I appreciate everybody.”

The post Homer’s Don Happ named Citizen of the Year first appeared on SJO Daily.

Homer, Ill.-Traditions are important.

For Homer’s Angela Lawrence, traditions mean shared experiences with her daughter and the friends and family she’s grown up with.

At 43-years of age, Lawrence, who is the President of the HCIA (Homer Community Improvement Association) and the head of the Homer Activity Committee, has fond memories of being part of Homer’s Fourth of July celebration as a kid.

Hosted by the Homer Rec Board, the day-long event included games, such as an egg toss and a tug-of-war contest, before the community paraded throughout the streets of Homer and settled into the evening hours and fireworks.

Over time, though, the Rec Board dissolved. The town-wide celebration became a parade and fireworks for about a decade, then dwindled down to just a fireworks show.

But Lawrence kept listening to her grandmother, Edith Gordon, a Homer native who will turn 100 years old this year.

“My grandma is always like, ‘We’ve always done the Fourth of July,’ ” Lawrence said.

To keep Homer traditions alive, residents formed the HCIA (Homer Community Improvement Association) and HAC (Homer Activity Committee) a little over three years ago.

Lawrence, the President of HCIA and a leader in the HAC, said she’s involved for her almost 11-year old daughter.

“I want my daughter to have the same community memories that I have,” Lawrence said. “I do it because I want her to say ‘When I was little, we could walk up to the fireworks and play games and have fun.’ That’s my reason for doing it.”

Many Homer natives have the same memories.

“Everybody knows they go up (to Village Hall) and they will run into family and friends and people that maybe they haven’t seen in a while,” she said.

HCIA has moved the fireworks display from the local park to Village Hall, where, beginning at 4 p.m., families can play games, grab a bite to eat, shop from local vendors and get ready for the parade.

Lawrence said everyone is invited to participate.

“All they have to do is show up,” she said.

Parade participants can ride bikes, walk a dog, showcase their business or ride on a fire truck. This year, local marching bands, cheerleaders, political parties, police cars and the Sidney Dairy Barn Moo Mobile will join the lineup.

“Everybody throws candy,” Lawrence said.

The parade that heads down Second Street from Village Hall turns to Main Street before going down Wabash Street and Ellen Street, returning to Village Hall. The parade lasts about 40 minutes.

“It’s not a terribly long distance, but it covers all the main parts of town where everybody is,” Lawrence said.

Homer favorites such as the Homer Deli Belly, the soda shop and the Homer Bakery should be open during the parade.

Crowds are invited back to Village Hall for games such as a balloon toss, an egg toss, sack races and a watermelon eating contest.

A 40-minute fireworks show will begin near dusk. Homer hires a DJ to play patriotic music while a continual stream of fireworks burst from the ground into the night sky.

“It’s constant,” she said. “It’s not like two or three here and then you’re waiting for them. It’s just constantly going off and there’s always so many big beautiful high fireworks.”

Lawrence said the grounds around Village Hall are usually packed and the roads leading out of town are, too.

“We have people that line up on (Rt.) 49 outside of Homer by Casey’s that goes towards Ogden,” she said. “And then we have people that line up from Village Hall cutting towards Catlin on the Homer Catlin roads.”

“They know that wherever they go, they will be able to see the fireworks because they’re big.”

The post Homer Fourth of July full of traditions first appeared on SJO Daily.

Located on Main Street in the town of Homer, 1,193, a small sandwich and soda shop has gained the regional attention of consumers.

The quaint shop, formerly known as Homer Soda, offered customers a chance to walk on wooden floors that creek while also sipping on their favorite glass-bottled soda from yesteryear.

Four years ago, on Jan. 24, under the new ownership of Carla Duzan, the business morphed into a vintage soda and sandwich shop, providing a lunch option for local businesses and residents.

Renaming the business to Main Street Belly Deli, Duzan worked to create custom sandwiches with premium products. While she continued to carry bottled sodas, she also expanded, offering coffee and an assortment of ice cream.

The Main Street Belly Deli changed ownership again in the summer of 2018, just days before the Homer Krazee Dayz took place. Eric and Janie St. Pierre purchased the building and the lot next door.

Duzan needed to sell the shop and the building before she moved away from the area.

The St. Pierres had been renting the upstairs space from Duzan for the Cross Trail Outfitters youth program, which Eric volunteers with.

By purchasing the building and the lot next door, the couple will be able to have a location for the youth to meet and a place for them to do activities.

But their focus is not solely on the youth program. They are looking to help grow the business for the town they love.

The St. Pierres just happened upon Homer as they began their home search for what Janie calls a “silly reason.”

“I was driving to Champaign for work and I didn’t want to look into the sun either way. I came home and said, ‘I want to live east of Champaign, so the sun’s behind me when I come in and when I go home.’”

That decision placed them in the same town where Eric frequented the deli for lunch.

“I liked this place because the sandwiches are filling,” he said.

After moving to Homer, Eric, who does not like to cook, hopped from restaurant to restaurant in Homer throughout the day to eat.

“It was kind of a joke,” he said.

As Duzan transitioned away from the business, Eric floated the idea of helping with the business to then part-time employee Jess Sands.

“Eric asked, ‘If I buy this place, will you manage it for me?’” Sands said.

“I said, ‘Absolutely not.’”

“He asked several times, and then it became, ‘I’ll try it.’ “

“Jess has definitely been our right hand through all of this,” Eric said.

“We wouldn’t be able to do it without her,” Janie added. “She’s really the glue that holds it all together.”

Now the manager of the Main Street Belly Deli , Sands runs the day-to-day operations while Eric and Janie tend to their other jobs, too.

Sands said she wants to continue to provide the atmosphere that drew her family in when they moved to Homer from Washington three years ago.

A mother of small children, the relaxed environment was a great spot to get a bite to eat.

“We thought it was a really cool place to be,” she said. “We like trying soda, and we loved the sandwiches.”

While the transition has been fairly smooth, there have also been some hiccups the new owners look to overcome.

The St. Pierres kept what they could in place: soda, sandwiches, ice cream and employees.

“Our goal was to keep the employees so that they could keep their jobs,” Eric said. “Not putting four or five people out of work because we own the deli now.”

They also loved the idea of vintage sodas and vintage sandwiches, which are named after famous Hollywood personalities, such as Marilyn Monroe and Humphrey Bogart.

“Carla set it up with the classic Hollywood to initiate a conversation between generations. It’s just a way for families to connect,” Janie said.

The St. Pierres are currently considering how to add more nostalgic flair and family atmosphere to the venue.

With custom wooden tables that seat 4 to 6 customers, the St. Pierres believe families can gather round to play checkers with soda bottle caps or board games.

They are also working with a designer to revamp the sign outside the shop, and possibly give a facelift to the interior by bringing in decor from the ’50s and ’60s.

“We want a place where you can bring your kids in and you don’t have to worry about what they might see,” Janie said.

Behind the counter, they are working with the health department to make things run more efficiently, and they are looking to add hot sandwiches to the menu.

“We’d like to try and switch things up a little bit now and then to draw in more people,” Sands said.

One item Eric would like to add for the lent season is a tuna fish sandwich.

“It’s my grandmother’s secret recipe,” he said. “I grew up on it.”

Sands focuses on making sure that the Main Street Belly Deli provides the freshest ingredients possible.

Adding to Boar’s Head Premium meats, Sands shops locally for produce, including picking up the summer’s finest vegetables from the Homer Farmer’s Market during the summer months.

“A lot of people don’t know that we also do deli counter,” Sands said. “(Customers) can come in and order their meats and take them home with them just like you do at the grocery store. Our prices are very competitive, too.”

Sands enjoyed preparing cheese plates and sandwich trays for customers over the holiday season.

And the St. Pierres are wanting to expand on that, promoting their box lunches and catering services.

Main Street Belly Deli has provided box lunches and platters for the University of Illinois volleyball and gymnastics teams, the Homer Fire Department and a few weddings, among other events.

“When they heard box lunches, they said ‘Okay’, Eric said. “But when the box lunches get there, we hear that it exceeds their expectation.”

One hurdle the new owners have had to deal with is getting the soda flavors customers are looking for.

Running low on favorites such as Ski, Green River, Cheerwine has put stress on the business.

But with other flavors, such as college student’s favorite Flying Cauldron Butterscotch Bee and the child’s favorite Swamp Juice and Bug Barf alongside a team that can recommend a bottled soda for any occasion, the Main Street Belly Deli has been able to quench some thirst.

The St. Pierres said working with the soda industry has been a learning curve.

“We’ve been struggling to get certain flavors,” Eric said. “It’s not a quick process, especially in the winter time. Soda comes in glass bottles, so you can’t ship them when it’s too cold. They come from Washington state to Illinois, so  they can’t be on a truck overnight. It will break the bottles.”

“Things that you run into that you didn’t know this would be a problem,” Janie said.

The couple is also working hard to bring back the Homer Soda festival, which was replaced with Homer Krazee Dayz in 2018.

The St. Pierres purchased the building and business on a Monday and the festival hit the streets the following weekend.

But there are some things to work out with vendors, local governments and sponsors. Eric said they are unsure what the plan for 2019 is at this time, but is working toward a solution that brings crowds back to Homer in the future.

Most of all, though, the St. Pierres and Sands just want to keep adding quality to the establishment they quickly came to love when they moved to Homer.

“Homer is a cool place. I’ve really enjoyed living here and raising my family here,” Sands said. “It just keeps getting better. It’s quaint and quiet, but we have a lot to offer.”

The post Main Street Belly Deli to celebrate 4 years in Homer first appeared on SJO Daily.

Fithian
Kyle A Weise

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Haley L Miller
Megan C Perry
Taylor J Pruitt
Katherine M Quick
Collin K Rohl
Cole A Woodmansee

Longview
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John M Acklin
Cody A Ayers
Bonnie G Collins
Tanner E Morris
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Justin A Beck
Lacey N. Berlatsky
Abigail C Burnett
Austin R Chilton
Paige B Dalton
Dezarae R Dowers
Mason A Edwards
Carson D Florey
Tenneal R Frerichs
Justyn R Fruhling
Chloe A Graver
Kohlten D Johnson
Riley S Knott
Danielle C Long
Rebecca L Long
Alexis G Manning
Brendan Z Olauson
Adalyn J Parke
Autumn M. Pecchenino
Austin M Reitmeier
Sarah C Sanders
Raegan J Smith
Amanda M Stevens
Macy R Vallee
Jason M Waldeck
Taura Ward
Hannah O Watson
Sarah E Wiseman
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Logan D Hettinger
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Kari J Kemnetz
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