SENATOR MCCARTER COMMENTS ON SENATOR JONES’ WITHDRAWAL

Wednesday, January 4, Senator John O. Jones withdrew from the 2012 general primary.  We spoke with State Senator Kyle McCarter who is now the sole Republican running from the 54th District. Senator McCarter said he was quite surprised with Senator Jones’ withdrawal as he has been in Springfield for nearly two decades.   Senator McCarter had heard people complaining about how hard it was to get signatures this year.  He commented that he knew exactly how hard it was as he circulated 22 petitions himself.  He said candidates must get more than the minimum number of 1000 signatures when running for office.  Although the minimum is 1000, there are generally a number of signatures that will be invalid. Sometimes signers do not live in the district in which you are running, do not live at the address they listed, or are not registered to vote.   Senator McCarter said filing only 1203 signatures, as Senator Jones did, was something that needed to be investigated.  The Senator said they found typical cases of names to be declared invalid and they also found forgeries.  He said Senator Jones depended on many people to help him get his signatures.  Many of those people did their jobs correctly.  However, unfortunately a few of those people did not.  Senator McCarter told WGEL he is looking forward to the general election.

---

HUMANE SOCIETY SELLS TICKETS TO RAISE MONEY

The Bond County Humane Society has a fun opportunity for you to see a great show and raise money for a great cause.  Rachel Hunsdorfer said the 7th Annual Tony LaRussa’s Stars to the Rescue is coming to St. Louis’s Peabody Opera House Saturday, January 14 at 6:30 p.m.  The Bond County Humane Society is one of the shelters that receive tickets to the show.  Currently, the Humane Society has 25 tickets, at a cost of $25.00 each.  All proceeds from the ticket sales go to the Bond County Humane Society.  Hunsdorfer told WGEL the show has always been great, is well worth the money, and helps the Humane Society tremendously.  For more information or to order tickets, call the Bond County Humane Society at 664-4068 or stop by at 1403 S. Fourth Street in Greenville.

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BUSINESS AFTER HOURS

Greenville businessman Amisha Patel showed off his newly remolded Econo Lodge Motel to members of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce during the group’s monthly "Business After Hours" Thursday evening. Patel has been the owner of the Greenville facility for five years and has won many awards from the parent company.  Among other amenities, the Greenville Econo Lodge features an indoor heated swimming pool, hot tub, exercise room, and free continental breakfast. The Chamber of Commerce has several "Business After Hours" meetings planned for the new year.