Mary Essen, president of the Clinton County Historical Society, delivers a program on slavery and its reaches in this part of Illinois, on Sunday at the society’s museum in Carlyle. (Photo by Bryan Hunt) A standing-room-only crowd attended Sunday’s program on slavery, the Underground Railroad, and its connection to Clinton County and the region, at the Clinton County Historical Society Museum in Carlyle.
“I think I’m breaking an all-time record,” said Mary Essen, the society’s president and the day’s presenter.
Because of the interest, Essen is planning to repeat her program at the April meeting of the Germantown Historical Society.
In 1719 French businessman Philip Francois Renault had the idea to develop mining interests from Waterloo to Galena, along the Mississippi, to prospect gemstones and precious metals.
In Monroe County there is a town called Renault.
Renault brought 500 slaves over from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to work as servants to the miners that would be employed by Renault.
There were no metals or gems found, the business was dissolved, and Renault sold his slaves to people in and around the Kaskaskia River area, mainly in Randolph and Monroe counties.
Music classes have been shown to help children develop strong social bonds. Here Brooklynn, Harper, Molly and Trudy initiated their own game of Ring Around the Rosy in a recent toddler class with “Ms. Heather.” Heather Netemeyer of Trenton has many roles — a mom, as a pianist, a choir director, a piano teacher, a vocalist, and also as a Musikgarten teacher.
Netemeyer is starting baby/toddler and preschool classes, called Musikgarten. She started classes in 2013 and adopted the Musikgarten program in 2016.
"When my kids were younger, I was looking for a quality music program to get them involved in," Netemeyer said, adding that the closest she could find was over a 45-minute drive.
"The cost and travel led me to create my own curriculum and start a class in Clinton County," she said. "For several years I just ran one class a week using my own curriculum of folk songs and nursery rhymes to get my kids involved and get started."
Then, she researched several different programs, and decided on the "Musikgarten" program, in which she became certified and expanded her class offerings at her home studio.
"Now that my children are both in school, I offer even more classes at home, one at the Highland Music School and also will travel to preschools and day cares," she said.
She said that the program offers a variety of music for children.
"What I love about Musikgarten is that the music we teach is based on tried and true folk songs and nursery rhymes from a variety of cultures and backgrounds that are so natural for kids to learn," she said.
Carlyle police K-9 officer/handler Garrett Wade is pictured with Jett, a 20-month-old black German Shepherd. Jett hasn't been with the Carlyle Police Department long, but he has already made an impact.
"He has been deployed about a dozen times," said Carlyle Police Chief Mark Pingsterhaus of Jett.
Jett is a 20-month-old black German Shepherd.
"We purchased him through John Haller, who owns Top Dog Police Academy of Evansville, Indiana," Pingsterhaus said.
K-9 Police officer Garrett Wade went through training for six weeks with Jett and the two have been together since.
Jett is trained in tracking drugs such as marijuana, heroin, cocaine and meth. He can also track people and lost articles.
One of the reasons why Pingsterhaus wanted to get a K-9 program was to help track people.
"We had an incident where an elderly woman who had dementia took off walking in a wooded area and was lost," he said.
Pingsterhaus said that they can also use Jett as a community tool, where he and his handler Garrett will be doing demonstrations.
He also does bite work demonstrations.
Jett has been certified through the state of Illinois since last month.
"Since then, Jett has been deployed 12 times, either by us or local agencies requesting a K-9," Pingsterhaus said.
Still a pup yet, Jett is a "very social dog" and will continue to grow.
"I've been with the police department for over 23 years and this is something officers have wanted since day one — to have a K-9 program," Pingsterhaus said, adding that he talked to the other officers about seeking donations for a K-9 unit
In December 2018, Chief Pingsterhaus went to the Carlyle City Council for their approval to seek donations for the canine program.
Since then, the police department, organizations, and members of the community have stepped up to raise donations for a police dog.
There have been numerous fundraisers and benefits held, and within eight months, they had the funds for a police dog.
"The public has been absolutely amazing; they support us wholeheartedly and we are very appreciative," he said.
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