The Clinton County Treasurer’s Office has announced that the 2017 (payable 2018) property tax bills were mailed June 6.
Bills were mailed for 29,968 parcels totaling $50,491,479.05.
The Treasurer’s Office urges taxpayers to take the time to read the information on the back of their tax bills.
Taxpayers are reminded that their taxes can be paid at most Clinton County banks, by mail or at the Treasurer’s Office at the Clinton County Courthouse. Taxes can also be paid by using an e-pay system on the Internet — govpaynow.com (the fee is 2.50%) or with a credit card phone system 1-888-604-7888 (the fee is 5.00%), call the Treasurer’s Office for details. If making payment after the due date, please call for the amount.
Homeowners are reminded that the following exemptions are available:
• Owner Occupied Exemption.
• Improvement Exemptions.
• Senior Citizens Homestead Exemptions.
• Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption.
• Disabled Veterans Exemption, Returning Veterans and Disabled Persons.
Again, taxpayers should call the Treasurer’s Office for more information.
Due dates are:
• First installment - Tuesday, July 17, 2018.
• Second installment – Monday, Sept. 17, 2018.
The Treasurer’s Office will be open for taxpayers’ convenience on the following Saturdays: Saturday, July 14 from 9 a.m. to noon and Saturday, Sept. 15 from 9 a.m. to noon.
The payment schedule gives taxpayers a 60-day interval between payments.
If taxpayers have any questions about their bills, call the Treasurer’s Office at (618) 594-6650.
The Breese Police Department is investigating a rash of burglaries to motor vehicles last week in the southside area of Breese.
The burglaries occurred in the late evening hours of June 14 or the early morning hours of June 15.
In one incident, in the area of South Fifth Street and Main Street, someone entered an unlocked parked vehicle and took cash from a purse.
In another incident in the area of South Pine Street, someone entered a garage and took money out of a wallet in a parked vehicle.
Breese Police Chief Bob Fix said that there were incidents reported that several juveniles were seen on bicycles looking into windows of vehicles on both the south side and north side of Breese and believes that the suspicious juveniles may be related to the thefts. “We are investigating the burglaries and looking through surveillance footage,” he said, adding that he encourages everyone to lock their vehicles.
In addition, he said, report suspicious people RIGHT AWAY!
Below are tips to prevent motor vehicle theft:
• Keep your car visible— park in well-lit areas, near people or with a parking lot or garage attendant on duty. Avoid having your car concealed by larger vehicles, fences or foliage; thieves like to work in private.
• Don’t make it easy– keep windows and sunroofs closed and doors locked. Almost one-fourth of thefts from vehicles are from unlocked cars.
• Activate your vehicle’s alarm. Don’t have one? Factory-installed anti-theft systems are best, but a professionally installed alarm can discourage a thief who likes to work in silence.
• Hide your valuables– many smash-and-grab thieves act on impulse. Keep your valuables out of sight – either with you or in a locked trunk. Don’t count on the glove box; thieves know to look there, and they’re easy to break into.
• Don’t hand a thief your keys —take your keys with you. And if you think you have a great hiding place for a spare key, car break-in thieves know to look above the visor, in the center console, under the floor mat, in the trunk well, etc;
• Stow your stuff before arrival— experienced thieves often stake out parking lots to watch for people putting items in their trunk. Help prevent car break-ins by putting valuables, like laptops, messenger bags and electronic devices, into your trunk before you get to the parking lot.
• Stash the evidence, too— after you’ve put your stuff in the trunk, don’t forget such telltale evidence as power plugs, MP3 adapters and navigation system windshield suction-cup mounts. Thieves know what they’re looking for, so hide the electronic accessories, too.
• Trust your instincts— if you see suspicious activity, find another spot to park. If you’re concerned, tell the attendant or report your suspicions to police. You may be helping keep another person from being a victim of a car break-in – or worse; and
• Take it one more step— many vehicles are broken into with the intent of stealing the vehicle itself. Visible anti-theft devices, like steering wheel locks, steering column collars or brake pedal locks, may discourage the would-be thief from breaking in and trying.
If anyone has information regarding the car theft burglaries in Breese, call Breese Police at (618) 526-7226. Callers can remain anonymous.
BREESE JORNAL PHOTO | JEREMY CHAWGO
Third place — The Aviston Express went 2-1 at the Trenton Gator Classic last weekend and claimed third place at the event. They went 2-0 in pool play with wins over New Baden and Highland before falling to Odin in the semifinal on Sunday. The Aviston Express got rolling last week with wins over Highland once and New Baden twice before falling to Odin in the semifinal of the Gator Classic on Sunday in Trenton.
The Express is now 3-4 on the season and they hosted Salem on Tuesday and will host Centralia on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
They travel to Belleville on Friday before hosting the Metro-East Bears on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Odin 10, Aviston 2: The Express had one bad inning in their semifinal loss on Sunday in Trenton.
With the game scoreless in the bottom of the third inning, Odin scored seven times to take charge in the contest.
Benji VonBurg got the scoring started as he was hit by a pitch from Bradon Thomas with the bases loaded in the third inning.
Dru Johnson followed with a bases clearing double into the left center-field gap making it 4-0.
They would add three more runs in the frame before reliever Logan Hamilton got out of the jam.
Aviston got on the board in the top of the fourth inning when Kyle Petermeyer got a 1-out single in front of a triple from Austin Ratajczyk. Nolan Robben singled home Ratajczyk with the final run of the game for the Express.
Johnson struck again in the fourth inning with an RBI double that sparked a 3-run inning for Odin.
Robben was 2-for-2 in the loss for Aviston who totaled eight hits while stranding six runners on base.
Thomas was the losing pitcher as he went two innings and allowed six earned runs on four hits, one walk and one strikeout.
Johnson was 2-for-3 for Odin with two doubles, two runs scored and four batted in.
Gabe White was 3-for-3 with two singles, a triple, one RBI and one run scored.
Gage Roberts was the winning pitcher as he went all five innings and allowed two earned runs on eight hits, two walks and six strikeouts.
Aviston 13, Highland 7: The Express finished perfect in pool play with their win over Highland on Saturday at home.
The contest featured 25 hits, seven fielding errors, 15 runners left on base and eight walks.
Highland got on board in the first inning with two unearned runs before the Express answered with five tallies in the bottom of the frame.
Cadyn Schuchman led off with a walk before Camden Wempe doubled to the left side.
The next two hitters were retired before Craig Oertel reached on an error that allowed Schuchman to score. Bradon Thomas had the big hit of the frame as he smacked a double into the gap to score two runs and give the Express a 3-2 lead.
Logan Hamilton singled home another run before the Express got another run on the second error of the inning from Highland as they led 5-2 after one inning.
Highland got two runs in the second inning to cut it to 5-4 before Aviston got another run in the second inning when Oertel hit into a double play that scored Ratajczyk who singled earlier in the inning.
In the bottom of the third inning, Thomas tripled and scored on an RBI single from Marshall Smith to make it 7-4. Smith would score later in the inning on a sacrifice fly from Schuchman. Aviston added an unearned run later in the inning as they led 9-4 after three innings.
Thomas and Smith singled with two outs in the fourth inning to start a rally that ended with both players scoring on wild pitches.
Hamilton and Calvin Rakers each had RBI singles in the sixth inning to round out their scoring.
Thomas was 3-for-4 with a single, a double, a triple, one RBI and two runs scored.
Smith was 3-for-3 with three singles, one RBI and four runs scored. Hamilton had two hits and two RBIs.
Ratajczyk was the winning pitcher as he went six innings and allowed two earned runs on six hits, three walks and five strikeouts.
Aviston 3, New Baden 1 (8 innings): The Express played their second tight contest with Post 321 in consecutive days after their win on Friday night in Aviston.
Max Kampwerth was the story of the game as he went all eight innings in earning the win for the Express. He allowed one earned run in the fourth inning. The righty scattered eight hits and one walk while striking out three.
“Max pitched real well tonight and our defense made a lot of plays,” said Aviston manager Dennis Rakers. “We got some big hits late in the game. That was a good baseball game.”
Aviston took a brief lead in the top of the third inning when Steven Lipski led the frame off with a triple to right field. Calvin Rakers reached on an infield single that kept Lipski at third base with no outs.
Nathan Kellermann retired the next two Aviston hitters before walking Matt Walters to load the bases. Nolan Robben drew a walk to send home Lipski with the first run of the game.
The only blemish against Kampwerth came in the fourth inning when Caleb Shelton led off with a triple and scored on a passed ball.
That was all the scoring until the top of the eighth inning when Tyler Malone reached base on a 2-out, infield single. Walters followed with a triple to give Aviston a 2-1 lead. Nolan Robben added an insurance tally with a single to left field that scored Walters.
Kampwerth got a strikeout and two fly outs to seal the win in the eighth inning.
Rakers and Malone each were 2-for-4 on the day. Robben had two RBIs.
Shelton and Will Aubel each had two hits in the loss for New Baden. Kellermann went six innings and allowed one run. Logan Boente was the losing pitcher.
Aviston 9, New Baden 8 (9 innings): The Express got out to a big lead before needing some late-inning heroics in the final frame to steal the Division win last Tuesday at home.
The game featured 28 hits, 21 runners left on base and five lead changes with the Express winning in walk off fashion.
After Aviston starting pitcher Kyle Petermeyer pitched out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the first inning, his teammates went to work in the bottom of the frame.
Calvin Rakers was hit by a pitch leading off the inning before Camden Wempe doubled to left as they had runners on second and third base with no outs.
Tyler Malone drove home Rakers as the Express had a 1-0 lead and runners on the corners with no outs. Matt Walters singled home Wempe to make it 2-0.
Petermeyer helped his own cause with a single up the middle to load the bases with no outs. Marshall Smith singled home Malone to extend the lead to 3-0 before Logan Hamilton would draw a 2-out RBI walk to make it 4-0.
Rakers singled to the left side to score Petermeyer while Smith was thrown out at the plate to end the inning with the Express leading 5-0.
They added a lone tally in the bottom of the second inning when Camden Wempe walked, stole second and third base and scored on a Walters’ groundout to move the score to 6-0.
New Baden went to work in the top of the third inning when Jaysn Miller led off with a walk and advanced on an infield single from Will Aubel.
Caleb Shelton got the Miners on the board when he scored Miller with a single to center field as they trailed 6-1.
Logan Boente singled home Aubel before a sacrifice fly from Nathan Kellermann cut the deficit in half at 6-3 with one out.
Carter Ganey reached on an infield single that scored Boente to end the 4-run frame for New Baden.
Boente struck again in the fourth inning with a bases clearing triple to complete the comeback as they led 7-6.
Trailing by a run in the bottom of the seventh inning, Petermeyer drew a leadoff walk before advancing on a passed ball. Smith reached on an infield single before Jarrett Budde scored Petermeyer on a sacrifice fly to tie the contest 7-7.
Carter Killion reached on a leadoff walk for New Baden in the eighth inning before advancing to third base on a double from Miller with no outs.
Shelton gave the Miners the lead once again with an RBI single before Miller was thrown out on the bases.
The Express came back once again after Wempe drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third base on a double from Malone. Walters walked to load the bases with no outs.
After a pair of strikeouts, the Express got a break when Wempe scored on a wild pitch to tie the contest. They would strand the bases loaded in the frame.
Logan Hamilton got New Baden in order in the top of the ninth before setting up the winning frame for the Express in the bottom half.
Rakers singled with one out in the inning before stealing second base. Wempe added a single to move Rakers to third base.
New Baden loaded the bases with a walk to Malone before Walters cashed in with a game winning sacrifice fly to center.
“Wow, that was a wild game,” said Aviston manager Dennis Rakers. “Give both teams credit, they battled back and forth and played an exciting game.”
Hamilton was the winner out of the bullpen for the Express as he went the final four innings and allowed one earned run on four hits, two walks and three strikeouts.
Aubel was the losing pitcher for the Miners as he allowed two earned runs on four hits and four walks.
Rakers led the 16-hit attack for the Express as he went 3-for-5 with three singles, a stolen base, two runs scored and one batted in.
Smith was 3-for-5 with three singles and one RBI. Wempe was 2-for-4 with a single, a double, two stolen bases and three runs scored.
Malone, Petermeyer and Max Kampwerth each had two hits in the win for the Express.
Shelton had three hits for New Baden while Miller, Aubel and Boente each had two hits in the loss.
| Fri., June 15 |
446.12 |
| Sun., June 17 |
446.99 |
| Tues., June 19 | 447.17 |
| June 12 | .00 |
| June 14 | .00 |
| June 15 | .00 |
| June 16 |
.00 |
| June 17 |
.12 |
| June 18 |
.00 |
| June 19 |
.00 |
