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Volume 153 — Number 31
THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2015
TWO SECTIONS — 16 PAGES
No Charges
To Be Filed
Against
Officers
Michael Baszis began his duties as managing partner at Arcola Valu
Buy last week. He is pictured above with his wife, Andria, and the couple’s 20-month-old son, Aiden Michael. Andria, an Arcola High School
graduate, bakes cakes and cupcakes from her home-based business,
called “Cupcake Wiz,” and the couple plans to offer her tasty creations
at the store.
ARCOLA VALU BUY GROCERY STORE
Baszis New Store Manager
•Plans Changes, Including ‘Cupcake Wiz’
By Chris Slack
Arcola’s only full-service grocery
store has some new faces who are
planning to bring in fresh ideas
and new offerings in the near
future.
The seven local owners of Arcola
Valu Buy on March 2 hired Arcola
resident Michael Baszis as the
store’s new managing partner.
Mike Lindenmeyer, one of the
owners of Arcola Development
Partners, said Baszis is “full of
energy.”
“I think he will be a huge asset
for our town. We are all so excited
about it and will do all we can to
help him turn this store into a
great asset for Arcola. Michael had
been a very successful manager for
Five Guys & Fries in Champaign
and made the great decision to quit
his job and stay closer to home to
be with his family,” said
Lindenmeyer.
Baszis, a native of Westville, has
ties to Arcola. He is married to the
former Andria Madson, a 2006
graduate of Arcola High School.
The couple have been together for
seven years and have been married
about three years. They have an
active 20-month-old son, Aiden
Michael.
Baszis said he enjoyed his job at
Five Guys & Fries in Champaign, a
position which he held for about
three years.
“I loved my job,” he said, “but I
didn’t like the drive or being away
from my family. I wanted to be
closer to home.”
Baszis plans to introduce several changes to what Arcola Valu
Buy offers…and that includes getting his wife involved in the operation.
See Arcola Valu Buy...p. 10A
Criminal charges will not be filed
against the two police officers who
shot and killed Tommy E. Smith, 39,
of Arcola on January 11.
Douglas County State’s Attorney
Kevin Nolan announced his decision
to not file charges against Arcola
part-time police officer Sean Junge
and Tuscola officer Mark Payne on
March 5. After looking through
reports and reviewing recordings
compiled by Illinois State Police
investigators, Nolan told NewsGazette reporter Mary Schenk that
he made the decision to not pursue
any charges against the two officers.
Nolan entered his decision after
reading through interviews and
looking at crime scene photos and
in-car camera recordings. He also
reviewed 911 radio traffic.
The shooting occurred at the home
of Mr. Smith’s mother, Norma Jean
Tomlin, at 224 Circle Drive, Arcola,
at about 6:45 p.m. on Sunday,
January 11. Mr. Smith’s stepbrother, David Wilson, indicated in a 911
call that Mr. Smith was involved in
a domestic issue with his mother.
Police were called to the scene at
5:39 p.m.
Mr. Smith reportedly had been to
his stepbrother’s house down the
street wanting a key to his mother’s
house. During this time, it was
noted that Mr. Smith had a handgun and an AR-15 rifle. He had also
reportedly been drinking. An autopsy showed that Mr. Smith died from
multiple gunshot wounds to his
chest and neck.
An inquest into the manner of Mr.
Smith’s death is scheduled for 7 p.m.
March 18 at the Douglas County
Courthouse, according to Douglas
County Coroner Joe Victor.
In addition to his part-time duties
with the Arcola Police Department,
Junge is a full-time assistant fire
chief for the city of Mattoon. Payne
is a sergeant with the Tuscola Police
Department.
WHAT’S ON THE COMMUNITY AGENDA?
Arcola Recreation
Summer League
Signup
Arcola Recreation will be having registration for
summer baseball, softball and t-ball on Saturday,
March 14, from 9 a.m. to noon at the pool house
concession stand. If you have Arcola Recreation
shirts/jerseys from previous years, please bring
them to registration with you.
Deadline to register for summer league is March
15. Forms with payment may be mailed to Arcola
Recreation, P.O. Box 105, Arcola, IL, 61910 prior
to March 13. Registration forms are available on
the web page, www.arcolarec.org.
Additional announcements are included
below:
Drama Club Presents
‘The Rehearsal’
The Arcola High School Drama Club will present a one-act comedy, “The Rehearsal,” on Friday
and Saturday, March 27 and March 28. The production will start at 7 p.m. each night in the junior
high gym.
“The Rehearsal” is about a high school drama
troop that is trying their best to put on the musical,
“Guys and Dolls.” All goes awry with the many
personalities of the cast members, who all would
rather do the play, “High School Musical.” It’s all
the cast members can muster to pull the show
together on time.
Tickets are available at $5 apiece for adults and
$3 for students. For more information, call Arcola
High School at 268-4962.
Catholic Church Fish Fry Friday
St. John the Baptist Catholic Church will sponsor
its annual fish fry and silent auction this Friday,
March 13, at the Arcola Center, corner of U.S. 45
and Main Street. The menu includes fried fish,
baked potato, macaroni and cheese, cole slaw,
applesauce and drink. Desserts will also be available, with donations being accepted.
Serving will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Carry-out meals
will also be available. An assortment of silent auction items will go to the highest bidders.
Distinguished Alumni
Nominations
Arcola Alumni Association is seeking nominations
for the Arcola Distinguished Alumni awards to be
designated in 2015. Forms are available at the
Arcola Record-Herald, Arcola High School, Arcola
Public Library, Arcola First Bank, First Mid-Illinois
Bank & Trust and on the alumni website at
www.arcolaalumni.org.
You may also contact selection committee members Randy Rothrock, Pat Fortney, Jim Clark, Sue
Stout, Rick Klopfleisch, Emily Coombe or Brad
Pullen to request a form. Nominations are due by
Monday, April 6.
Roberts Fund To Provide
Financial Support
Individuals and organizations are encouraged to
submit written application for funds to be used for
projects promoting growth and leadership among
the young in Arcola community. Applications
should state recent history of expenditures for chari-
table and service projects, as well as intended use of
requested funds. Please mail requests to Allen
Roberts Fund Selection Committee, c/o Sue Stout,
P.O. Box 112, Arcola, to be received no later than
April 15, 2015. For more information, call Stout at
268-3190.
Arcola VFW Meeting
Arcola VFW Post 7862 will meet at 7 p.m.
Thursday, March 12, at the Arcola Township
office. All veterans are invited to attend.
Class Of 1975 Reunion
The Arcola High School Class of 1975 is planning its 40-year class reunion. Class members are
asked to send their addresses to
[email protected].
Class Of 1990 Reunion June 26
If you claim the class of 1990 in any way, it
claims you! Save the date for the class’s 25th
reunion for Friday, June 26, in Arcola. If you are
interested in being part of the planning team
and/or to update your contact information, please
email Colleen at [email protected].
Jaycees Regular Meetings
The Arcola Jaycees have their meetings every
first and third Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. at
It’ll Do. All persons age 21 to 41 are invited to
attend.
Arcola Food Pantry Volunteers
Volunteers are needed to help unload trucks at
the Arcola Food Pantry from approximately 3 to 5
p.m. on the first Monday of each month and from 8
to 10 a.m. on the third Thursday of each month.
Duties include moving boxes, stocking shelves,
dividing large amounts of food into smaller packages, etc. Heavy lifting is not a necessity. Volunteers
are also needed to fill in occasionally from noon to
2 p.m. and from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursdays. Please
call the Food Pantry at 268-5122 during that time
for further details.
Arcola Rotary Club Meeting
The next meeting of the Arcola Sunrise Rotary
Club will be at 7:15 a.m. Thursday, March 12, at
the Dutch Kitchen. The Rotary Club meets each
Thursday. For membership information, contact
club President Bill Wagoner at
[email protected].
IN THIS WEEK’S ISSUE
Classifieds ........................................5B
Courthouse News ..........................4A
Down Memory Lane......................8A
Obituaries ........................................6A
‘Time To Farm’ Special ......B Section
HOW TO REACH US
• To fax news and advertising materials to
the Record-Herald, please call 217-2684938. The deadline is 5 p.m. each Monday.
Find the R-H on the web at
www.arcolarecordherald.com
• The newspaper’s mailing address is
118 E. Main St., Arcola, IL 61910.
Phone 268-4950.
• E-mail the newspaper at:
[email protected]