By STEVE EIGHINGER
Herald-Whig Staff Writer
The nation's worst overall economic malaise since the Great Depression did not spare West-Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri.
Unemployment rates grew as the year progressed, reaching heights not seen since the late 1980s, yet there remained optimism 2010 would see a recovery begin to unfold.
Even though Quincy reached 9 percent unemployment in November -- its highest mark since March 1988 -- it was a far cry from many other cities around the state that were strapped with unemployment rates as high as 18 percent.
In Adams County, the unemployment rate grew to 8.1 percent in November, but that was the 11th-lowest rate in the state.
"We went into the slowdown with a lot of momentum ... and now, we're trying to ride this thing out," said Jim Mentesti, president of the Great River Economic Development Foundation. "This will carry over into 2010, but how long we don't know. There are still local businesses growing and expanding, but it's just slower and more methodical than it was before.
"I know some of our detractors don't like to hear it, but we continue to do considerably better than most areas of the state and the Midwest. It's a challenge, but we're winning the challenge."
True as that night be, it did little to soften the blow to numerous individuals and families across the region whose livelihoods were affected by job losses, furloughs or downsizing.
"I can tell you that the people that are coming into our office are not the typical folks we have seen over the last 10 to 15 years. A lot of them are skilled and highly trained, but are unemployed," said Patti Meldrum, executive director of Gamm Incorporated, which oversees four full-service career centers in Northeast Missouri in Hannibal, Kirksville, Moberly and Warrenton.
According to the Northeast Missouri Workforce Investment Board, the number of people seeking help at those four centers rose to 86,256 during fiscal 2009, almost double their 2008 total.
There were similar reports on both sides of the river.
Dawn Guiterrez, family services director for the Salvation Army in Quincy, said, "More than 55 percent of the families we serve are new clients every month."
Most of the 13 counties in West-Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri saw unemployment increase from 25 to 75 percent. At one point in the year, the region had lost more than 3,300 jobs according to figures supplied by the Illinois Department of Employment Security and the Missouri Economic Information Resource Center. By the end of the year, that number had been reduced to about 2,900.
Some of the hardest-hit areas were in Clark, Scotland and Monroe counties in Northeast Missouri, whose unemployment rates all hit double digits in January -- and stayed there the entire year. Clark County reached as high as 14.3 percent in June.
Alternative energy talks
The city of Quincy is still in the early stages of a $100 million project for developing hydroelectric facilities on the Mississippi River, with the principal focus at Lock and Dam 21 in Quincy, where a new type of French-made turbine technology would be tested.
The long-range goal of the project would be to sell energy as a source of revenue. If funding and feasibility studies pan out, the earliest completion date for such a project would be around 2018 or 2019.
The city has halted efforts to develop hydropower at Lock and Dam 20 in Canton, Mo., and Lock and Dam 22 in Saverton, Mo., so it can focus on hydro possibilities at Lock and Dam 21, Lock and Dam 24 in Clarksville, Mo., and Lock and Dam 25 at Winfield, Mo.
The city now hopes to recoup some of its initial costs by turning over the Canton and Saverton projects -- along with its preliminary engineering studies -- to others with an interest in exploring those projects further.
There is also the possibility that BLH, the French-based manufacturer the city is dealing with for the hydroelectric project, could ultimately build a production plant in Quincy.
Also under the heading of "alternative energy," the Adams Electric Cooperative is optimistic the Pigeon Creek wind turbine installed in late August near a substation south of Baldwin Field will play an integral role as a future power source.
When it is eventually up and running, the 900-kilowatt turbine is expected to generate 2,500 megawatts of energy per year, or enough for about 200 to 300 homes.
School Board drama
The ongoing drama between members of the Quincy School Board and President Melvin "Bud" Niekamp continued to hamstring some of the day-to-day operations of the board at a time when the district faces an uncertain economic future.
On April 30, Glenn Bemis was elected president of the board, with Niekamp -- who provided the necessary vote to break a 3-3 deadlock between Bemis and Tom Dickerson -- was elected vice president.
As vice president, Niekamp surprised the board when he asked for a multi-year forensic audit and investigation of the district's legal counsel. Bemis resigned as president on June 29 and tried to name Dickerson as his successor, but the presidency went to Niekamp.
Board members called a special meeting for July 2 to elect a new vice president, and Niekamp called his own special meeting directly preceding it. Meanwhile, former board president Dennis Koch initiated a quo warranto suit, the mechanism to remove an elected official from office based on the incompatibility issue.
Dickerson was elected vice president at the special meeting. But parents, teachers and others vented their frustrations at the board and Niekamp, with many complaining that the controversy distracted the board from dealing with the important issues confronting it, such as class sizes and finances.
Dickerson suggested that Niekamp step down as president and be reappointed to the board. But on July 11, Niekamp resigned his seat on the County Board.
On July 24, attorney Jack Inghram filed the quo warranto suit, representing 14 citizens, seeking to remove Niekamp from office. Judge Diane Lagoski asked that the list be narrowed, and then agreed that she would hear the suit with Bemis, Carol Nichols and Bill Daniels as plaintiffs.
When board member Curtis Lovelace's wife was hired for a cafeteria position, Niekamp filed a Freedom of Information Act request asking that the administration justify her hire. He was refused on the grounds the request was a personnel matter, but the controversy caused Superintendent Lonny Lemon to question Niekamp's ability to do his job.
In November, the board renewed its suggestion that Niekamp step down as president and be reappointed to the board. When he refused, the board stripped him of all but those duties required by law.
Swine flu scare
Fortunately, the H1N1 flu scare never really materialized. By the time the first shipments of vaccine arrived in flu-mist form in Quincy in early October, the worry about a pandemic had begun to subside.
Local authorities in both West-Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri had been well prepared, having established clinics and hotlines in case any of the potential worst-case scenarios came to fruition.
The Adams County Health Department dispensed 7,500 doses of H1N1 vaccine through four separate clinics in the fall. "Less than a dozen" cases were confirmed in Adams County, according to Health Department officials.
Going into the Christmas holiday, Illinois reported 78 people had died from the H1N1 virus. Missouri reported 11 deaths.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says 56 million Americans (including about 22 percent of all adults) had received the H1N1 vaccine. About 111 million doses of the vaccine had been produced.
The CDC estimates 10,000 have died from H1N1 in the United States, although that is an estimate because reporting methods in many states have been sketchy. The CDC says a normal flu season claims 36,000 lives.
The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed 12,100 deaths worldwide through mid-December, including 3,200 in North America.
H1N1 is a new strain of influenza virus, initially referred to as "swine flu". Although the virus, first detected in April, contains a combination of genes from swine, avian (bird) and human influenza viruses, it cannot be spread by eating pork products or being around pigs.
The outbreak began in Veracruz, Mexico, with evidence that there had been an ongoing epidemic for months before it was officially recognized. The outbreak was declared a pandemic in June by WHO, the first such move since the 1968-69 Hong Kong flu outbreak.
Missouri murders
LaGrange, Mo., resident Christopher Piersee was sentenced Oct. 29 to two life terms in prison without the possibility of parole for killing his wife and infant son last February. A sobbing Piersee apologized to members of his wife's family and said that he would never be able to forgive himself.
Piersee pleaded guilty Aug. 25 to two counts of first-degree murder. Piersee and his attorneys reached the plea bargain in exchange for having the death penalty removed as a possible sentence. He admitted to killing Patricia Yarbrough Piersee, 21, and son, Landon Piersee, 5 months, on Feb. 3 in their LaGrange home.
Lewis County Prosecutor Jake DeCoster said shortly before the murders, Piersee took Coricidin, an over-the-counter cold medicine for people with high blood pressure containing Dextromethorphan. Also known as "Triple C," the drug can cause powerful hallucinations and psychotic behavior, medical experts say.
Manuel Cazares of Hannibal faces an April murder trial in St. Charles for allegedly stabbing ex-girlfriend Amanda Thomas and Carl Patrick Epley to death Feb. 28. The case was moved to St. Charles from Marion County on a change of venue. Cazares, 32, pleaded not guilty May 4 to two counts of second-degree murder.
Authorities say Thomas and Epley were found stabbed to death in Thomas' apartment on Starlight Ridge in Hannibal. Cazares, who had a son with Thomas, said in a voluntary statement to police that he killed the two because he was jealous, police said. An autopsy revealed that Thomas was stabbed three times and Epley seven times.
Revitalizing downtown
The Adams County Health Department moved into a $4.4 million dollar facility and ground was broken for the $24 million Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center.
In Hannibal, B & amp;B Theaters opened, providing the city with a new look, plus playing host to such events as the American Artist Film Festival.
The new 28,500-square-foot Health Department building at Fourth and Hampshire will provide needed space for services and storage. The new facility will be situated across three floors.
The 90,000-square-foot Kroc Center facility will be home to a 500-seat worship center, community room, caf & eacute;, party rooms, fitness center, child watch area, outdoor play area, aquatics center, state-of-the-art game room, walking/running track, gym and climbing wall. It will be built on a 3.5-acre site bordered by Fourth and Fifth, Broadway and Vermont streets. Construction is expected to take about 18 months.
The $4 million, eight-screen B & amp;B Theaters cinema in downtown Hannibal offers the area's first all-digital programming. The Hannibal cinema complex is at Broadway and Main downtown.
All eight theaters have digital projectors, with three featuring the popular 3-D element, and sound systems. The digital projection and sound cost was $640,000.
Cape Air takes off
Airline service between Quincy and St. Louis rebounded in late 2009 when a new air carrier took over the route.
Cape Air, headquartered in Massachusetts, started providing flights on Nov. 8, and had 81 passengers that first week. That exceeded the 74 passengers Great Lakes Airline had for the entire month of October.
Low ticket prices and six round-trip flights on weekdays have made Cape Air popular. A one-way fare costs less than $50, compared to about $200 for most fares on Great Lakes.
Within days of winning the two-year federal contract to serve Quincy, Cape Air secured a code share agreement with American Airlines so there will be seamless connections for passengers. In the two years that Great Lakes served Quincy, the lack of a code share led to concern and frustration among passengers who often had to transfer their own luggage or go through security a second time as they changed concourses.
Airport Manager Marty Stegeman said the improved airline service positions Quincy Regional Airport for growth and development.
New hospital in Carthage
The new $24 million Memorial Hospital in Carthage opened on the east side of the town near the Ill. 336 exchange. The hospital is looked at as an important anchor for economic development in Hancock County. Ill. 336 links Quincy, Carthage and Macomb in a key segment of the long-envisioned and nearly complete Chicago-Kansas City expressway.
Ill. 336 was named the Tom Oakley Highway late this year in honor of The Herald-Whig publisher, a long-time transportation for the region. Gov. Pat Quinn presided over the ceremonies.
In addition, the hospital's proximity to the industrial park will enhance the prospects of that site. The facility will serve as a reminder for manufacturers of the transportation network serving the region, and should serve as a magnet for commercial enterprises.
New Philadelphia recognition
New Philadelphia earned national recognition for its archaeological resources and historical significance. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne designated the site near Barry as a National Historic Landmark, the second-highest honor given by the federal government next to becoming a national park.
Charlotte King of the University of Maryland -- with help from Paul Shackel, director of the Center for Heritage Resource Studies -- coordinated and drafted the nomination for the first community platted by an African American, former slave Free Frank McWorter, in 1836.
McWorter family members, academic and museum officials and state and federal legislators, including then-senator and now President-elect Barack Obama, supported the nomination for the designation given to less than 2,500 sites across the nation.
The designation recognizes properties determined to be of exceptional value in representing or illustrating an important theme, event or person in the history of the nation.
Wicked weather in region
A June storm that many initially thought was a tornado tore through parts of Northeast Missouri and West-Central Illinois, leaving a path of a devastation in its wake.
What was later categorized as 65 to 70 mph "straight line" winds left a long and heavy line of damage and power outages on a Friday afternoon in late June.
The clean-up took weeks as many streets and neighborhoods were littered with large tree limbs. Property damage was considerable in certain areas, even in the downtown Quincy area where the storm blew down a wall of Quincy Plumbing and Heating, 116 N. Third.
The Quincy/Adams County 911 Center reported it received 420 calls in a three-hour period for storm-related incidents, including reports of 196 trees and wires down incidents.
In some form or another, weather was at the forefront much of the year. Illinois and Missouri both reported above-average rainfalls, with summer temperatures being much cooler than in recent years. In fact, there were no 100-degree readings in the Quincy area last summer.
