1. education
2. school

In God We Trust
The Altamont News
Community Service Since 1881
Altamont, Illinois - Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014
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Gift Guide on
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Event
Calendar
If you have an event you
would like included in the
Altamont Community Calendar, call The Altamont
News at 483-6176 or drop
it off at the office located
at 7 Do It Drive, Altamont.
Monday-Friday
11 a.m. - Golden Circle
Nutrition Program at
Municipal Building
Tuesday,
Dec. 2
6:30 p.m. -- Altamont
Opry at Living Museum
Wednesday,
Dec. 3
5 p.m. -- TOPS at
Altamont Library
Saturday,
Dec. 6
1-4 p.m. -- Christmas
trees at Dr. Wright's house
9:30-11 a.m. -- Christmas for Kids at Altamont
Living Museum
Sunday,
Dec. 7
1-4 p.m. -- Christmas
Trees at Dr. Wright's
house
Artist with cerebral palsy presents
City announces
his paintings to AGS art class
BY NATHAN SCHOLES
Local artist Scott Deters,
who has cerebral palsy,
recently presented his paintings and story of determination to the eighth grade
art class at Altamont Grade
School. Through the use
of a laser and an assistant,
he explores his passion for
abstract paintings.
Deters, a painter for
15 years, eventually became frustrated with both
a technique that required
him to paint with a brush
strapped to his forehead and
the hand-over-hand technique. He was finally able to
find a technique that suited
him through a nonprofit
organization called Artistic
Realization Technologies, or
A.R.T.
By way of a laser attached
to his head, Deters is able
to direct his assistant to the
colors, the size of the canvas,
and design elements he
wishes to use. He communicates with a computer and
typically answers a series of
“yes-no” questions from his
assistant to provide proper
guidance.
Deters lives outside of
Teutopolis and is active in
the ARC art program. His
sister, Stacy Zerrusen is
the art teacher at Altamont
Grade School, leads the
ARC art program, and is her
brotherʼs primary painting
assistant.
Sunday,
Dec. 14
Tuesday,
Dec. 16
Altamont afterschool program
receives grant
6 p.m. -- Homemade
nature ornaments at Ballard Nature Center
6:30 p.m. -- Altamont
Opry at Living Museum
Saturday,
Dec. 13
9 a.m.-2 p.m. -- Craft
show at Mason Civic
Center
9 a.m.-3 p.m. -- 22nd
Annual National Trail
Farm Toy Show at Effingham Knights of Columbus
10 a.m. -- Toddler trot
at Ballard Nature Center
6:30 p.m. -- Altamont
Opry at Living Museum
Tuesday,
Dec. 23
10-11:30 a.m. -- Prarie
Christmas at Ballard
Nature Center
7 p.m. -- American
Legion GrobengiserFisher Post 512 at 111 N
2nd Street
7 p.m. -- American
Legion Post 512 Auxillary
at 202 N 2nd Street
Tuesday,
Dec. 30
10-11:30 a.m. -- "All
About Hibernating" at
Ballard Nature Center
6:30 p.m. -- Altamont
Opry at Living Museum
estimated tax
levy amount
for FY 2015
Scott Deters, a local artist with cerebral palsy, presented
his story and art to the eight grade art class at Altamont
Grade School. For the piece shown, Deters chose to
use a toothbrush to add extra texture. His sister, AGS
art teacher Stacey Zerrusen, shows the painting to her
eighth grade class.
BY NATHAN SCHOLES
The Altamont City
Council announced their
estimated tax levy for the
upcoming fiscal year in
the amount of $183,200
at the councilʼs regular
meeting on Monday, Nov.
24. The amount represents
a 4.7% increase from this
past year.
Commissioner White
gave an update on the water treatment plant.
Commissioner Jones
discussed a water leak in
the pasture between 6th
and 7th Streets.
He also mentioned that
he is targeting Dec. 10 as
the last day for city leaf
pick-up.
After that date, residents must contact the
city to make arrangements for leaf removal.
In other business,
members present approved the following:
--Dec. 26, 2014 as an
additional employee
paid holiday
--the purchase of a
replacement GIS unit in
the amount of $7,000
--the 2015 holiday
schedule, which includes
no additional holidays
from 2014 --resolution
2014-11-05, which establishes the meeting schedule for 2015. All meetings
are held on Mondays
with the exception of the
meeting on the Tuesday
after Memorial Day.
The council also
discussed repairs needed
to the storm sewer at the
intersection of Division
and Third Streets.
A thorough examination of the necessary
work will be conducted
before applying for
emergency grant funds
to complete the work.
ADM may be asked
to lend support to the
project.
Altamont sends three
to IMEA honor band
BY NATHAN SCHOLES
Three Altamont band
program musicians performed as part of the Illinois
Music Educators Association District 5 Honor Band
on Saturday, Nov. 22 at
Eastern Illinois University.
Nicholas Tkachuk, a French
horn player, Stephen Berg, a
baritone saxophone player,
and Grant Schmidt, a euphonium player, were all chosen
to perform.
The students spent the
day practicing with a collegiate band director before
performing at the Doudna
Fine Arts Center on the EIU
campus. Nicholas Tkachuk,
Tuesday,
Dec. 9
Volume 133- Number 48
www.altnewsban.com
The Immanuel Lutheran
Church recently accepted
a $4,000 grant from the
Effingham County CommunityWorks Fund to assist
in funding a free program
for Altamont School District
students in need of supervision after school. The afterschool program is available
to children from grades
kindergarten through 6th
grade, as well as Altamont
Lutheran Interparish School
families. The purpose of the
program is to offer a safe,
comfortable, Christian environment for children who
would otherwise be home
alone and have no access to
affordable, supervised after
school care for their children.
The Effingham County
CommunityWorks Fund
is one of several funds
administered by the Effingham County Community
due to his status as a high
school senior, is eligible for
all-state honors.
IMEA district band members began the process by
auditioning on Columbus
Day, Oct. 13. At the junior
high level, students were
asked to perform scales and
a prepared etude. In addition, high school students
were asked to sight-read a
piece of music.
District 5 includes schools
from an area that stretches
from Charleston to Salem
to Robinson. The bands are
comprised of 120 students
and there are seven districts
across the state of Illinois.
Altamont IMEA students, from left: Stephen Berg, Nicholas Tkachuk, and Grant Schmidt.
The students performed as part of District 5 on Saturday, Nov. 22 at Eastern Illinois University.
Wright Mansion filled
with decorative trees,
singers this weekend
Representing Immanuel Lutheran Church’s after-school
program and Effingham County CommunityWorks, front
row, from left: Dawn Hunsaker, assistant director of
ILC after-school program, Lacee Scott, Ana Fulk, Kalliana Becker, Lauren Walker, Brayden Elam, and Payton
Hamilton; back row: Ryan Eckhart, Effingham County
Community Foundation representative, Jo Ellen Tappendorf, assistant director of ILC after-school program, and
Vernon Spilker, director of ILC after- school program.
Foundation, an affiliate of
the Southeastern Illinois
Community Foundation.
For more information visit
www.enrichingourcomunity.
org or contact Joedy Hightower, President/CEO of the
Southeastern Illinois Com-
munity Foundation, at (217)
342-4988.
For more information
regarding the Immanuel
Lutheran Church, contact
Vernon Spilker at (618) 2673414.
Guests touring the Dr.
Charles M. Wright House
Museum between 1-1:30
p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6
will be entertained by the
Altamont Community Choir
singing in the living room.
Guests visiting the home
for the 12th annual fundraiser on Sunday, Dec. 7 at
1 p.m. will hear Christmas
carols sung by third, fourth,
and fifth grade students at
Altamont Lutheran Interparish School. Hours for the last
weekend of the event are 1
to 4 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 6 and 7. Admission
is $6 for adults and $1 for
students. The elegant home
is located at the corner of
North Main Street and West
Jackson Avenue in Altamont.
For more information: www.
wrightmansion.org" www.
wrightmansion.org.
Other area musicans
providing Christmas music
are Debbie Nelson, Gerald
Young & Carroll Funk,
Brenda & Collin York, Myra
Duncan, Marcail & Tanner
Clark, Lana Schmidt, Willie Deuel, Richard Tucker,
Linda Miodunski and Peggy
Cox.
Admire the 18 creative
trees provided by Altamont
businesses including:
--“Have a Hollar Jolly
Christmas” by Hollar’s Design with Style located in the
Home Center
--“Reason for the Season”
decorated with Hanson’s
Woods creations
--“Heidanes Hidden
Timbers Leads the Way to a
•see TREES pg 8