1. careers
2. nursing

In God We Trust
ST. ELMO BANNER
Serving St. Elmo and Brownstown Since 1880
St. Elmo, Illinois - Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015
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1
Event
Calendar
Share the details of your organization’s meeting or event by
calling newspaper correspondent Anna Jean Rhodes
(618) 829-5488
Tuesday,
Jan. 20
10 a.m. -- Toddler Trot
at Ballard Nature Center
11:30 a.m. -- Altamont
Garden Club meeting at
Atlamont Lutheran Parish
Hall
6:30 p.m. -- Altamont
Opry at Living Museum
Wednesday,
Jan. 21
5 p.m. -- TOPS at
Altamont Library
5:30 p.m. -- St. Elmo
School Board meeting,
Unit Office
7 p.m. -- Brownstown
School Board
Volume 135 - Number 3
www.altnewsban.com
Family’s icicle lands them in national spotlight
BY NATHAN SCHOLES
Meant to honor their beloved husband and stepfather, a giant icicle five miles
south of St. Elmo has led to
national notoriety beyond
Katherine Ragal and son
Garrick Moreland’s wildest
dreams.
Alan Ragal, Katherine’s
late husband, had been
making small icicles in the
yard from low-hanging
tree limbs when in 2010 his
stepson Garrick, proprietor
of Black Water Tree Service,
got involved. Each bringing
an expertise to the endeavor,
the two constructed a 30foot icicle.
Alan then passed away in
2012.
The mother-son duo kept
the tradition alive, but issues
arose when Garrick trimmed
his mother’s low-hanging
limbs this past year. Instead
of quitting, the two decided
to go bigger.
When the weather recent-
ly turned cold, they built a
plexiglass cage with T posts
and, using Garrick’s bucket
truck, ran a hose 45 feet
into a tree. From there, they
determined where the water
would fall while battling the
elements.
“It was like -2 degrees
when we were doing this.
We had to keep running the
water and shutting it off every few minutes or the hose
would freeze,” said Garrick.
He said the trick to the
creating the icicles, which he
guarded as a family secret,
is at the top. Once the icicle
started forming at the top
and the plexiglass frame
had frozen over, he slowly
ran water down the formation. The icicle eventually
connected to the frame after
about a week of continuous
running of water.
Sabrina Porter, Garrick’s sister and Katherine’s
•see ICICLE pg 10
Thursday,
Jan. 22
1:30 p.m. -- St. Elmo
Unit of Home and Community Education, the
home of Anna Jean Rhodes
Sunday,
Jan. 25
4 p.m. -- Pancake and
sausage supper at St.
Paul Blue Point, 4 miles
north and 2 miles east of
Altamont
Monday,
Jan. 26
10 a.m. -- Fayette
County Home and Community Education Board,
Vandalia Extension office
6 p.m. -- St. Elmo Lions
Club, Mary Ann’s Restaurant
7 p.m. -- Fayette County Republican Women,
National Road Interpretive Center, 106 5th St.,
Vandalia
Tuesday,
Jan. 27
6:30 p.m. -- Altamont
Opry at Living Museum
Wednesday,
Jan. 28
5 p.m. -- TOPS at
Altamont Library
Monday,
Feb. 2
7 p.m. -- St. Elmo City
Council meeting at Phillips Building
Tuesday,
Feb. 3
12 p.m. -- Friendly
neighbors meeting at Phillips Building
7 p.m. -- Council of
Catholic Women at St.
Mary’s Catholic Church
Parish Hall
Wednesday,
Feb. 4
1 p.m. -- Wright Corner
HCE at Loudon Townhouse
Thursday,
Feb. 5
7 p.m. -- St. Elmo
Women’s Civic Club
at St. Mary’s Catholic
Church Parish Hall
A mannequin resembling Elsa from the Disney film Frozen stands in the “ice cave.”
The icicle reaches 45 feet into the air. The scene is illuminated at night and continuously
plays “Let It Go.” (photos by Nathan Scholes)
The Wellness Complex welcomes family nurse practitioner
Fayette County Hospital
has hired Deidre Langston,
family nurse practitioner
(FNP), to provide services at
The Wellness Complex.
Fayette County Hospital
is excited to announce that
Deidre Langston, FNP, will
provide services at The Wellness Complex beginning
on Feb. 2. Deidre began her
education at the University
of Illinois where she obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. She
then attained her Bachelor
of Science in Nursing from
Lakeview College of Nursing. Deidre began her nursing career as a staff nurse
at Fayette County Hospital
and also Anderson Hospital
in Maryville, Illinois. Her
aspirations led her to pursue
additional education at
Frontier Nursing University
in Lexington, Ky., where she
received her family nurse
practitioner degree. Deidre now returns to Fayette
County Hospital’s The Wellness Complex as a family
nurse practitioner. She is
experienced in and excited
about caring for patients of
all ages for both acute and
chronic illnesses. She will
join Dr. Skow, Dr. Patel, Dr.
Bahrainwala and Lori Johnson, FNP, and will help to
improve the ability for more
Brownstown approves tax levy,
to proceed with consolidation
BY NATHAN SCHOLES
The Brownstown
Community Unit School
District # 201 met in regular session on Wednesday,
December 17, 2014.
The board approved
the 2014 Certificate of Tax
Levy in the amount of
$903,567. It also approved
proceeding with consolidation efforts with St. Elmo
schools.
The destruction of
closed session audio
recordings over 18 months
old and board policy updates were approved.
patients to be seen daily at
The Wellness Complex.
“When we interviewed
her for the opportunity, she
exclaimed that she is very
excited about the possibility of returning to work for
Fayette County Hospital,
and she was a terrific nurse
when she worked for us
before, so we are extremely
pleased that she is going to
be part of our team again,”
according to Greg Starnes,
CEO.
Appointments with Deidre Langston, FNP, can be
scheduled by contacting The
Wellness Complex at (618)
283-5545.
Deidre Langston is the newly hired family nurse practitioner at The Wellness Complex at the Fayette County
Hospital. She will begin providing services on Feb. 2.
Financial Peace University classes to
be offered at Liberty Christian Church
Liberty Christian Church
located five and a half miles
north of Brownstown will
be offering Financial Peace
University (FPU) classes
beginning Thursday, Feb. 5
at 6 p.m.
FPU is a program that
teaches money management
from a Biblical perspective.
Through video teaching,
class discussions, and interactive small group activities,
FPU present Biblical, practical steps to get from where
you are to where you’ve
dreamed you could be. The
program shows attendees
how to get rid of debt, manage money, and spend and
save wisely.
Classes will meet for an
hour and half each week
for nine weeks. Questions
should be referred to John
Schaub at (618) 292-2160 or
topcutwalnut@gmail.com.
Liberty Christian Church is
located at 1593 E 2300th Ave,
Brownstown.