Journal Gazette from Mattoon, Illinois • Page 11

a a a www.jg-tc.com Tuesday, April 7, 2009 B5 RECORDS AREA DEATHS John A. Ashmore OAKLAND John Archie Ashmore, 88, of Oakland died at 8:45 a.m. Monday (April 6, 2009) at his home. There will be a private graveside service. Burial will be at the Fairview Cemetery, south of Oakland, with military rites conducted by members of V.F.W.

Post 3637 of Oakland and American Legion Post 977 of Brocton. There will be no visitation. Standard Funeral Home in Oakland is assisting the family with arrangements. He was born April 7, 1920, in Oakland, the son of Archie and Winifred Shoemaker Ashmore. He married Dorothy Bracken in 1973; she survives.

Other survivors include one son, Mark Ashmore of Oakland; one stepson, Gene Ashmore of West Terre Haute, two sisters, Betty Mehlhoff and Josie Brinkley, both of Paris; six grandchildren; and several great- and great-great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by one brother and one sister. Mr. Ashmore worked at Economics Laboratory in Joliet and at Walnut Point State Park. He also was a U.S.

Navy veteran. Edith Marie Wood Knapp ALDERSON, W.Va. Edith Marie Wood Knapp, age 81, of Alderson, W. died Saturday, April 4, 2009 at her home in Alderson. Born November 23, 1927 at Pipestem, W.

she was the daughter of the late Henry Dell and Annie Hill Wood. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 59 years, Calvin Ray Knapp on May 7, 2005; a son, Davis Lee Knapp on October 19, 1979; a sister, Bessie Humphreys; and three brothers, John Stanley Wood, Ira L. Wood, and Lacy Haden Wood. Mrs. Knapp was a mother and homemaker.

She was a member of the Johnson Memorial United Methodist Church, Alderson, where she was a member of the Helping Hands Circle. Survivors include: a son, Arnold R. Knapp of Alderson; six daughters, Margaret Messer and her husband, John, of Charleston, Illinois, Hazel Baker and her husband, Randolph of Alderson, Mary Williams and her husband, Terry, of Fraziers Bottom, Linda Quillen and her husband, Ronald of Alderson, Ruth Surgeon and her husband, Johnny, of Alderson, and Beverly Whitt and her husband, Eddie, of Alderson; a brother, Dolphis Ray Wood and his wife, Carol Sue, of Lewisburg; a sister, Arlis Richmond and her husband, Rodney, of Melbourne, Florida; 16 grandchildren including, Jeffrey Messer of Wheaton, Illinois, Jennifer Messer Peterson and Jana Messer of Charleston, Illinois; 14 great grandchildren including John, Caleb, and Joshua Peterson and Ashton, Braden, and Kolton Messer; and many nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be Wednesday, April 8, 2009 at 11 a.m. at the Lobban Funeral Home Chapel.

Burial will follow at the Old Greenbrier Memorial Cemetery, Alderson. In lieu of flowers, contributions of sympathy may be made to Kanawha Hospice Care, 223 Maplewood Avenue, Lewisburg, WV 24901. To sign the online guestbook, go to www.jg-tc.com and click on obituaries. MARRIAGE LICENSES Kyle Robert Thompson of Iuka and Ashley Nicole Miller of Charleston Frank Eugene Prahl and Angela Renee Ezell, both of Mattoon Matthew Charles Scheer of Paducah, and Allyson Nicole Nolte of Mattoon Roy Vaughn Smith and Dawn Marie Measel, both of Charleston CORRECTIONS Voters in Mattoon will elect four city council members in today's election. Because of an editing error, the number of candidates who will be elected was listed incorrectly in a report in Monday's newspaper.

An article in Monday's newspaper about British film producers recruiting Amish people for a documentary incorrectly listed the U.S. phone number for Toby Forrester-Paton, assistant producer. The correct number to call for more information about the project is 330- 601-6812. Elsie Hensley NEOGA Elsie Marie (Larison) Hensley, age 96, of rural Neoga, formerly of Mattoon, passed away at 10:50 a.m. on Sunday, April 5, 2009, at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center.

Funeral services honoring Hensley her life will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 8, at the Schilling Funeral Home, 1301 Charleston Avenue in Mattoon with Pastor Delton L. Nack officiating. Burial will follow in the Fairfield Cemetery south of Gila, in Jasper County, Illinois. Visitation for family and friends will be held from 5:00 8:00 p.m.

this (Tuesday) evening at the funeral home. Elsie was born January 11, 1913, in Montrose, Illinois, a daughter of Silas Fatoot and Inez (Mendenhall) Larison. She married George Milton Hensley March 12, 1929 in Effingham, Illinois. He preceded her in death May 1, 1972. She was also preceded in death by two sons and one daughter: I Delbert Lee Hensley (stillborn October 28, 1940); Albert Neil Hensley (February 8, 1942 December 11, 1954); and Irma Jane Robinson (March 13, 1933 November 19, 2008); three brothers; two sisters; one granddaughter, Loretta Butler; and two great-grandchil- Edwin Sauerwein FIELDON Edwin Frederick Sauerwein, 83, died at 8:45 p.m., Friday, April 3, 2009, at Jerseyville Manor Nursing Home after years of declining health.

He was born in St. Louis, on April 23, 1925, one of two sons born to the late Edwin and Edna Marie (Egelhoff) Sauerwein. He married the former Thelma Marie Hagen on Jan. 14, 1949 at the United Church of Christ in Fieldon, and they have shared 60 years together. Surviving are his wife; five children and their spouses, Louis and Mary Ellen Sauerwein of Jerseyville, Roger Sauerwein of Jerseyville, David and Melodie Sauerwein Peg Pygott MATTOON Margaret Ellen "Peg" Pygott, 80, of Mattoon, passed away at 2:30 p.m.

on Thursday, April Pygott 2, 2009, at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center. DUE TO THE HEALTH OF HER HUSBAND, FUNERAL SERVICES ARE POSTPONED: Funeral services honoring her life will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, April Albert Hill MATTOON Albert Cleveland Hill, 85, of Mattoon, passed away at 4:40 p.m. on Sunday, April 5, 2009, at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center. Graveside services with Military Honors by the V.F.W.

Post 4325 will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 8, in the Dodge Grove Cemetery, 917 North 22nd Street, Mattoon. Visitation for family and friends will be held from 10:15 a.m. Wednesday morning at the Schilling Funeral Home, 1301 Charleston Avenue in Mattoon. Albert was born September 17, 1923, in Effingham, a son of Ulysses S.

Grant Hill and Elsie (Brown) Hill. He married Velma Cummins on November 1, 1947. She passed away March 2, 2001. He was also preceded in death by a daughter, Jennifer Lynn Hill; three brothers and eight sisters. He is survived by his son, Stephen W.

Hill of Mattoon; two sisters, Mary Kozicki and husband Eddie of St. Petersburg, Florida and Thelma Jordyn Bly. She is survived by nine children: Mildred Louise (Gerald Homann, Peggy Ann Colman, George Richard (Joyce) Hensley, John Edward (Pamela) Hensley, and Norman Dale Hensley, all of Mattoon, Illinois; Fern Marie (John) Calhoun and Beverly Sue (John) Whitlock, all of Charleston, Illinois; Linda (Howard Ingram of Neoga, Illinois; and James Russell (Susan) Hensley of Mitchell, Indiana. Elsie is also survived by 27 grandchildren; 56 great-grandchildren; and 21 great-greatgrandchildren. Mrs.

Hensley was a very religious person and attended various churches, including St. John's Lutheran Church, East Side Baptist Church, and First Baptist Church of Charleston. She was a former member of the Eagles Club. Elsie loved her life to the fullest. She especially enjoyed gardening, playing Bingo, crocheting, reading the Bible and many other books, embroidery, quilting, and canning and preserving produce she grew in her garden.

Her first priority was always her family. Memorial gifts in her honor are suggested to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 ATTN: Tribute Dept. To sign the online guestbook, go to www.jg-tc.com and click on obituaries.

of Charleston, Dennis Sauerwein of Ellisville, and Linda and Jeff McEvers of Jerseyville; eight grandchildren; six great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, and a brother, Charles William Sauerwein. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Crawford Funeral Home in Jerseyville. Funeral services will be conducted at 10 a.m., Wednesday at the Fieldon United Church of Christ with Rev.

Barbara Alley officiating. Burial will be in the Fieldon Cemetery. Memorials may be given to the Fieldon United Church of Christ. To sign the online guestbook, go to www.jg-tc.com and click on obituaries. 9, at the Schilling Funeral Home, 1301 Charleston Avenue in Mattoon with the Reverend Richard Coen officiating.

Burial will follow in the Zion Hill Cemetery, southwest of Mattoon. Visitation for family and friends will be held from 10:30 a.m. 1:00 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Memorial gifts in her honor are suggested to the Zion Hill Cemetery located near Lake Paradise.

To sign the online guestbook, go to www.jg-tc.com and click on obituaries. Eileen Hill of Hobart, Indiana; nieces, Elsie Runner of Mattoon and Vickie Hayes and Brenda VanMeter, both of Charleston; several other nieces and nephews and great-nieces and nephews. Mr. Hill was a U. S.

Army veteran of World War II, serving as Sergeant First Class, and retiring after twenty years. He later served as a custodian for the Indiana Public Schools. Albert loved his country and his family. He always held with a strong work ethic and he was very proud of his military service. He spent many enjoyable hours with his family and loved learning all kinds of facts from history, movies, and general interest trivia.

Memorial gifts in his honor are suggested to Coles County Animal Shelter. To sign the online guestbook, go to www.jg-tc.com and click on obituaries. Missouri attempts to shed reputation as 'puppy mill' SENECA, Mo. (AP) When authorities raided J.B.'s Precious Puppies, they discovered more than 200 dogs standing in their own excrement, crammed three and four to a cage. Some were so sickly they were missing clumps of hair.

The skeletal remains of puppies and adult dogs were found inside petfood bags. The ghastly scene deep in the Ozarks has become far too common in Missouri. Missouri is the "puppy mill" capital of America, home to more than 4,000 shoddy and inhumane dogbreeding businesses, by one estimate. But now the state is trying to shed its reputation, with the chief of the Agriculture Department pledging to do more to crack down on bad breeders. "Missouri led the nation in licensing breeders.

Let's lead the nation in putting unlicensed breeders out of business," Agriculture Director Jon Hagler said. Missouri has been No. 1 in puppy mills for decades, with fly-by-night breeders both licensed and unlicensed selling pups churned out by dogs that spend their entire lives in cages. The pets are sold through classified ads, in pet stores and over the Internet. The problem is so severe that Missouri's reputable breeders complain that the shady ones are making them all look bad.

Animal advocates say puppy mills flourish here for a number of reasons, among them: uneven enforcement of the rules, and remote, rural landscapes that allow poor or illegal practices to escape detection. The hills and hollows of the Ozarks have the state's highest concentration of puppy breeders. "It's embarrassing," said Julie Leicht, executive director of the Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation. "We're the meth capital. And we're the leader in puppy mills.

Welcome to Missouri." The stories are heartbreaking. In February, a raid in Missouri's Pleasant Hope netted 93 Yorkshire terriers, their hair severely matted and covered in feces. Last September, 171 anemic, fleainfested cocker spaniels, some of them blind, were taken from a breeder. Fifteen days later, 67 emaciated, mangy dogs and puppies were rescued. "Most people think puppies were born in a box next to a fireplace in somebody's living room," Kim Townsend, an activist who monitors the industry.

"If they walked into these places, they'd be appalled." Since taking office in January, the agriculture chief has been working to better enforce a 1992 program for protecting animals cared for by breeders. He has named a new program coordinator, asked for a re-examination of old cases, ordered a review of internal procedures, and stepped up inspections and the issuing of citations to violators. His new Operation Bark Alert allows people to report unlicensed breeders directly to him by e- mail. But Hagler said his agency simply does not have the means to conduct inspections every year as required by law. "We cannot regulate 3,200 licensed breeders plus every animal rescue, shelter and dog pound, and go after unlicensed breeders with 11 total inspectors." The Humane Society of the United States' "Stop Puppy Mills" campaign says Missouri should stop licensing breeders until it has enough inspectors.

State audits in 2001, 2004 and 2008 sharply criticized Missouri's regulation of puppy breeders as ineffective and lax, citing management conflicts of interest, spotty inspections, few sanctions and failure to track repeat offenders. State authorities can shut down breeders, revoke their licenses, fine them and ask local prosecutors to bring criminal charges of abuse or neglect. But Tim Rickey of the Humane Society of Missouri said the Agriculture Department rarely pursues charges. CHARLESTON RECREATION ROUNDUP Quit competing for the remote and bring your competitive side out to one of these spirited activities offered by the Charleston Parks and Recreation: Summer Guide Behold! The Summer Family Fun Guide is approaching! Make sure to get your hands on this treasure chest of summer fun. The guide will be out in early May.

Look for it in the grade schools, and local businesses-or come pick one up at our office. Spring Tennis Lessons Learn how to discipline your raw tennis talent. Our instructional tennis lessons are aimed to refine your serve, backhand, forehand and every skill in between. All skill levels are welcome to participate! The lessons will take place every Sunday beginning April 19 and concluding on May 10. The fee is $30 per person.

All participants will meet from 2 to 3 p.m. at the Charleston High School and must be between fourth and ninth grades. Pitch, Hit, and Run Join the Charleston Parks and Recreation Department for Major League Baseball's Pitch, Hit and Run local competition. The event is open for females and males, ages 7-14 years old. This will take place at Baker Softball Field on May 2.

Registration begins at 10:45 a.m. Competition will start at 11 a.m. It is free to participate in this program. Lite-a-Bike Training wheels shouldn't be the only safety measure on your child's bicycle. Our Lite-a-Bike course is full of bright ideas regarding bicycle safety.

Kids of all ages are welcome at the VFW parking lot on May 9 from 10 a.m. to noon. The course is free and bikes will be given away during the event! For more information, give us a call at 345- 6897 or visit our Web site, www.charlestonillinois.org. You can register online or at our office Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m., 520 Jackson Ave. in Charleston.

UN climate talks stall over emissions cuts by rich AMSTERDAM (AP) The two-week round of talks Negotiators at U.N. climate conclude Wednesday and are talks, buoyed by U.S. promises to reconvene in June. to lead the fight against global But delegates from 175 counwarming, are demanding that tries are likely to decide to add industrial countries pledge more sessions to an already deeper cuts in greenhouse hectic calendar of negotiations gases over the next decade. leading up to a decisive meetEnvironmental activists said ing in December in CopenMonday the talks in Bonn, hagen, Denmark, which is to Germany, have made little adopt a new international cliprogress on two key issues: the mate change accord.

carbon emissions targets to be Developing countries want adopted by the rich countries industrial nations to reduce and how to raise an estimated emissions of carbon dioxide $100 billion a year needed to and other heat gases help poor countries adapt to by at least 40 percent from climate change. 1990 levels by 2020. SIREN REPORT Charleston police Avenue and 12th Street. Rose, cie L. Bell, 1030 First and Braver of Litchfield and Vehicles driven by Louis 25, and Poppen, 21, were both Thomas J.

Will, 19515 E. Thomas A. Janes of Neoga Rose of Elberfeld, Dorothy ticketed for operating a vehi- County Road 850N, collided at collided at 2:45 p.m. Thursday M. Cox, 1850 E.

Madison Ave. cle without insurance. 4:20 p.m. Thursday at First Lincoln Avenue and Sixth Apt. and Timothy T.

Pop- Street and Lincoln Avenue. reet. Janes, 22, was ticketed pen collided at 6:37 p.m. Vehicles driven by Aubrey fo operating a vehicle withThursday at Madison A. Harper of Louisville, Tra- Vehicles driven by Olivia R.

out insurance. Inspection reports show that the state instead encourages violators to reduce the number of dogs to a more manageable level or below the threshold of regulation. Townsend, who maintains a Web site with inspection reports on Missouri puppy breeders, said many puppy mills are repeat offenders: "You take away their license, and they go out and get more animals." Jewel Bond, owner of J.B.'s Precious Puppies, failed to meet state standards in 2007 after temporarily losing her federal license. She agreed to get out of the business and let the state sell her dogs at auction, from which she received the proceeds, minus a $1,000 fine. But a year later, Bond was back in business.

Townsend said Bond repurchased some of her dogs at auction. After the raid in February, Bond, 66, was charged with two counts of animal abuse, each punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Bond's telephone has been disconnected, and she did not answer the door on a recent visit to her Seneca kennel, situated behind a tall fence and no-trespassing signs. "All she cared about was strictly the money. You can't convince me she or anybody cared about the welfare of these animals," said Sheriff Ken Copeland, who orchestrated the raid.

Marilyn Shepherd, a breeder in rural Ava in the Ozarks, has been the subject of three federal licensing complaints but still maintains a state license. She would not allow her dog pens to be toured or photographed, saying pictures of caged dogs would set off protests by "whiney-ass animal rights activists." Rickey, of the Humane Society of Missouri, said he is encouraged by what the new agriculture director is doing. "Their focus seems to have changed," Rickey said. "They are working harder to shut unlicensed facilities down. They are seeking prosecutions.

This i is all new and Hill PERSONALS Card of Thanks THANKS TO MY CHILDREN who planned such a great celebration for my 90th birthday. Too all my friends and family who honored me with their presence at the open house, the beautiful cards. telephone calls and flowers. I'll cherish your thoughtfulness the rest of my days. May our Heavenly Father bless each of you as he has blessed me these many years.

Lela C. Giesler Subscribe Today! Call 1-800-453-2472.