Smithton News

Nursing home residents who were evacuated to a nearby church after a fire in their building have returned home.

Mississippi Belle moves down river Military searches for missing St. Ambrose grad Investigators with the Fayetteville Police Department are working with Army officials to find 24 year-old 2nd Lt.

A fire at the Park Haven Care Center this afternoon forced the evacuation of all of the residents.

Bill Marquis was willing to do almost anything to get relief from the debilitating effects of Parkinson's disease.

Phillip McClary is an ordinary guy from Smithton, Illinois who puts on his grass stained shoes just like the rest of us.

A St. Clair County Sheriff's Department officer on extra duty paid for by a grant to crack down on DUIs netted two repeat drunken driving offenders.

A 78-year-old Freeburg man was out walking around his rural Freeburg pond Monday afternoon when he slipped and fell into the water and drowned.

Emergency crews from Hecker, Freeburg and Smithton fire departments were being dispatched Monday afternoon to a reported drowning in Smithton, according to police radio broadcasts.

The Clinton County Showcase is ready to give audiences an encore of Easter when it presents the rousing musical 'Godspell' this weekend and next on its Breese stage.

It's Stephen Schwartz's fresh re-interpretation of the Bible that wound up on Broadway in 1976, with touring companies around the world ever since. The show boasts a score full of infectious melodies in a variety of styles, including 'All Good Gifts,' 'Turn Back O Man' and the ever-popular 'Day By Day.'

Adam Klostermann, of Breese, will make his Showcase debut as Jesus along with Tim Diekemper, of Smithton, as John the Baptist. The cast of 10 also features Marty Diekemper, Jenny Mondt and Lynne Huelsmann, all of Breese; Lauren Fuehne, of Highland; Charlie Pollmann, of Beckemeyer; Josh MacDonald, of Carlyle; Lizz Gloeckner, of Trenton; and Darlene Caviness, of Swansea. The production is directed by Charlie and Mike Huelsmann with Robin Netemeyer doing the choreography. Read more

“We started the program on Feb. 4 of this year”

The new program to give senior citizens a free ride on Metro and MetroLink has a catch in St. Clair County. Only some residents qualify for the benefit.

In St. Clair County, only seniors who live in townships within the transit district can ride free. In Madison County, all Illinois seniors ride free.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich instituted a mandatory 'seniors ride free' program that took effect March 17. The program applies to communities around the state that have large-scale mass transit systems. Read more

“We only do about three or four covers that we rotate occasionally”

The seven members of the Belleville-based band Escape are ready for their close-up. They've spent the past five years writing songs, performing concerts, saving money and producing a CD, which is being released ... via Belleville News

The criminal justice system isn't finished with Sam Shelton. The former Freeburg High teacher who admitted last summer that he tried to kill a Millstadt teen has another case quietly moving through the court ... via STLtoday

Statement as of 6:07 PM CST on February 11, 2008 ... Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until 6 am CST Tuesday... A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until 6 am CST Tuesday. via KMOV-TV Saint Louis

A sexual harassment lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court by a female police officer against the village of Smithton soon may end with a financial settlement.

Carol Ann Davis, a Smithton patrol officer since 2004, had accused Mayor Lloyd Bush of sexual harassment, according to court records.

Bush was initially named in the federal lawsuit but the village attorney, Charles Pierce, said all claims against Bush have been dismissed.

Bush referred all questions about the suit and possible settlement to Pierce. Read more

“It was too coincidental for me that he would bring that up and bring up the case he had with Carol, because I didn't know how they were linked together”

Lloyd Bush Smithton This town is close to settling a sex harassment suit that has been the talk of the town. via STLtoday

“A couple of the investigators stepped into holes and sustained a couple of cuts.”

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Investigators with the Greater St. Louis Major Case Squad have questioned a man as part of their investigation into the New Year's Day shooting death of a 34-year-old rural Freeburg man, whose wife was charged Saturday with his murder.

St. Clair County prosecutors on Saturday charged Cindy L. Shepheard, 33, with the first-degree murder in the death of her husband, Erick W. Shepheard, 34. She remained Sunday in St. Clair County Jail with bail set at $1 million.

Asked Sunday whether police have identified a second suspect in the case, St. Clair County Sheriff's Capt. Steve Johnson said a man whose identity he would not disclose was brought into the Sheriff's Department and interviewed Friday. The man was later released, Johnson said, 'because we didn't have enough evidence to charge the individual with a crime.' Read more

The Major Case Squad said it has some persons of interest in the murder of a St. via KMOV-TV Saint Louis

An overall photo of the structure fire on Press Road near Smithton on Wednesday evening. via Belleville News

\By Rickeena J. Richards

A 20-year-old Freeburg man died Saturday evening after his truck rolled down a hill and into a pond in unincorporated Freeburg, according to information released by the St. Clair County Sheriff's Department.

Jonathan B. Roberts, 20, of Freeburg, was transported to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Belleville, where he was pronounced dead.

Deputies from the St. Clair County Sheriff's Department were dispatched about 9:30 p.m. to 4765 Brenner Road, the residence near the pond. Abbott Ambulance workers and Smithton firefighters also responded to the scene and tried to revive Roberts. Read more

Gilbert A. Karika Jr., 66, of 755 Klein Drive in Smithton, drowned late Wednesday night when his boat capsized in Angler's Lake east of Millstadt.

The St. Clair County coroner's office Thursday afternoon confirmed Karika was the drowning victim.

Margie Swafford, Karika's daughter, said her father's death was 'a tragic, tragic accident.'

'We're completely devastated,' she said.

She described her father as a loving husband, father, grandfather and a hard worker.

'He was the nicest man that anybody could ever meet; never hurt a soul,' she said. Read more