The location where the road will begin relocation. The forefront of the road is owned and maintained by USACE. Further along, a pothole indicates where the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ ownership takes over. The Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake, which lives in increasingly limited areas across North America, has become an infamous species in Carlyle. Over the years, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) has neutralized plans for an $8 million resort near the lake, delayed the construction of a Wal-Mart and questioned the impact of a bike path north of the high school, all in the name of protecting the endangered Massasauga.
According to Doug Wasmuth of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) at Carlyle Lake, his organization was under fire for much of the late 1990s and early 2000s from citizens and businesses angered at the snake’s interference in bringing tourism to Carlyle. Now, with a $134k road relocation project set to begin this winter, Wasmuth is once again hearing feedback about the Massasauga. But though the project will incidentally recover a small stretch of snake territory, said Wasmuth, conservation is not the purpose of the project.
“What people don’t realize is that we’re not the snake people. “It’s the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of Natural Resources. All we do is own the land,” said Wasmuth. “The majority of the old South Shore State Park park is owned by the Corps of Engineers. We lease it to the state. We own it; they take care of it. But there is a section (of the park) that Illinois owns. Part of that section is where this road is.”
The road in question, which leads to an old campground in former South Shore State Park, winds through both IDNR and USACE territory, meaning there is a stretch in the middle owned and maintained by IDNR.
“We have our section of the road, the state section of the road, and then it goes back to ours,” said Wasmuth. “Our section of the road is great, but you hit the section of the state road and there’s potholes. They have no money, no budget. They couldn’t take care of it.”
The same fate befell South Shore State Park, which fell into disuse and had to be closed due to hazardous conditions. In early 2016, the Corps “revoked their lease” and reclaimed the park, closing it to make it habitable. The campgrounds, considered a “prime location” because they do not flood, are now open for day use. The USACE plans to finish renovations in the future to enable camping.
The purpose of the $134k project is to relocate the hazardous stretch of IDNR road onto USACE territory, enabling the USACE to maintain it themselves. The project required the completion of a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) report — which asserts the project will have little to no adverse effects on the environment — which has subsequently been signed by district engineer Col. Bryan Sizemore. The existing stretch of road will be torn up and rebuilt through a stretch of Corps-owned woodlands less than a quarter-mile to the west.
Wasmuth said that many citizens are under the impression that the project is purposed to improve conditions for the Massasauga, possibly due to a Sept. 23 article in a metro-east newspaper tying the project to the snake.
“We’re not building the road for the snake,” said Wasmuth. “We’re just building the road and it’s going to help the snake.”
And it will help the snake. Not only will the road be moved from prime snake territory to less-favored woodlands, but the USACE will also plant Massasauga-approved prairie grass in place of the old road.
“The existing degraded road traverses high quality (Massasauga) habitat on IDNR property. The relocated road would be located on USACE land and would once again provide a safe, well-maintained route to the northwest end of the Dam East Recreation Area where (the snakes) are not known to occur,” wrote Brian Johnson, chief of USACE’s Environmental Compliance branch, in a press release.
While the $134k price tag is the current estimate, Wasmuth said it’s difficult to put a price tag on it. Same goes with the timing, which will come down to how large of a budget he receives going forward. Wasmuth predicted the road will be finished within three years. The current plan is to begin clearing the land for the new road this winter, after the endangered Indiana bat vacates the trees.
According to Amanda Kruse, USACE public affairs officer, the effects of construction will be negligible on citizens.
“It’s not going to affect anyone’s daily commute,” she said. “Most people won’t even know what’s going on.”
The electric vehicle sign is installed in a far corner of the Case-Halstead Public Library parking lot. The library recently purchased the county’s first Level 2 electric car charger, which charges cars at a rate about twice as fast as chargers intended for home use. The charger is free to use and meant to encourage conservation through reducing the country’s dependence on fossil fuels and increasing reliance on clean energy and low or zero emission vehicles. Libraries have always been at the forefront of progressive ideas, according to former Case-Halstead Public Library board president Barb Guebert. Even before the new library was built in 2014, she said, they wanted to be forward thinking. Though the initial idea of solar panels was dashed by city ordinances, Case-Halstead recently introduced another way to give back to the environment. As of Monday, Oct. 1, the far corner of the library parking lot is now home to Clinton County’s first Level 2 electric car charger.
“We talked about this when we started the building plans,” said Guebert. The planning for this also originated from the fact that the lake and the Corps are host to 3 million people a year. A lot of people come in from the east and turn at this corner to go directly to Lake Road. We knew that our location would attract a lot of people and perhaps, in the future, a lot of people with cars that need to be charged. I think this is a major step for the community.”
The Level 2 charger, which supports most electric or partially-electric cars, will charge cars twice as fast as a Level One home outlet charger. Current Case-Halstead board president Frank Buckingham said that use of the charger will remain free and is considered another service of the library. People who drive electric cars can find the Case-Halstead charger on a phone app called Plug Share, and visitors to Carlyle can leave their car to charge as they explore the lake, stroll the town and eat in the restaurants.
“Some (electric cars) have long range and some are shorter range. This will be beneficial to anyone who wants to add some charge to their car, whether they have a Tesla with a long range or a Nissan Leaf that has a shorter one,” said Buckingham. “We’re an oasis for electric cars.”
According to library director Keith Housewright, it’s not uncommon for libraries in larger cities to have electric car chargers these days. Some, like St. Louis Public Library, have parking garages with entire rows of chargers. But as settings become more rural, chargers become scarce.
“If you look at the network of these, they’re pretty spread out,” said Housewright. “If you were driving an electric car you’d be pretty happy that there’s one close by.”
While electric cars aren’t extremely common on the roads of rural Illinois, said Buckingham, they are gaining in popularity. The new charger is connected to a separate meter so the library can determine how much use it’s getting. As the presence of electric cars on the road grows, Case-Halstead may consider adding more chargers to continue to reduce Carlyle’s — and the world’s — dependence on fossil fuels.
“I got a really used Chevy Volt ... I used to use a tank of gas a week. Now I don’t,” said Buckingham. “Gas prices aren’t high but they’re creeping up. People will notice.”
New restrooms on the east of BCDC Park. Thanks to the generous support of community members and local businesses — along with many forward-thinking club members and officers — the Beckemeyer Community Development Club's beautiful park continues to grow and improve.
In the last few years, new restrooms have been constructed on the park's east end along with a lighted tractor pull arena and new bleachers.
The village's original, historic train depot, which has been rehabbed and relocated, now sits prominently on the south end of the park. That project earned the village a Governor's Hometown Award which it will receive this November in Springfield.
The most recent improvement is a $22,836 electrical upgrade which supplies power to everything in the park.
BCDC president Jeremy Pate explained that the electrical upgrade was a project initiated by former club president Speedy Benhoff, who lost his battle with cancer in June.
Pfeffer Electrical Contracting of New Baden was the contractor on the job with city crews handling removal of an old electric shed and pouring concrete for the new construction. Pate added that the old shed and nearby electrical poles were deteriorating and had become a potential hazard at the park.
The electrical upgrade — like all of the improvements made throughout the years — would not be possible without successful fundraisers, which rely on local community and business support.
Some of these include annual pork steak dinners, a cash raffle, the Little Pig Cookoff, Hook'n in the Park, annual tractor pulls and various other events.
BCDC community involvement continues to grow as well. Officers are hoping to host more "movie in the park" nights in the future, weather permitting; an age 30 and over coed softball tournament is in the works for next year; and Santa will be greeting young residents at the park later this year.
In addition, BCDC will host a Christmas lighting contest this season with a cash prize donated by Bob Crippen of Crippen Automotive.
One big project for the future — which was also a priority for past president Speedy — is the addition of a roadway and parking lot for better access of the tractor pull arena and the pavilion on the park's east end.
For more information about BCDC Park or to rent a pavilion for your next event, contact village hall at 618-227-8331
| Fri., Oct. 12 |
445.10 |
| Sun., Oct. 14 |
445.07 |
| Tues., Oct. 16 |
445.04 |
| Oct. 10 | .00 |
| Oct. 11 | .00 |
| Oct. 12 |
.00 |
| Oct. 13 | .10 |
| Oct. 14 | .09 |
| Oct. 15 |
.14 |
| Oct. 16 | .00 |
