Here are the top headlines from the Aug. 14 editions of The Telegraph over the years
20 years ago
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The Rosewood Heights Fire Protection District honored one of its volunteer firefighters for his 50 years of service to the department with a surprise party. His fellow firefighters and family members organized the event to recognize 74-year-old John Niehaus. U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Belleville, attended to offer his congratulations. Costello said he wanted to meet Niehaus after Rosewood Heights Fire Chief Tim Bunt had written to ask whether there was any community service award appropriate for Niehaus.
25 years ago
Aug. 14, 2001
Environmentalists objected after the state of Illinois approved a permit allowing Olin Corp. to discharge pollutants, including cyanide, into the Mississippi River. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency renewed Olin’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit on July 25, 2001. The Piasa Palisades Group of the Sierra Club said it feared Olin would release 10 times as much cyanide as it had been releasing, but IEPA officials asserted that an increase in cyanide concentration would not be allowed under the permit.
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35 years ago
Aug. 14, 1991
A St. Louis man was sentenced to eight years in prison for his role in a January 1991 attack on an Alton woman who survived having her throat slashed. Dennis W. Erting, 43, was sentenced in the Madison County Circuit Court after pleading guilty to attempted murder. His co-defendant, Thomas Buddeke, 47, of Alton, had been sentenced in July 1991 to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to the same charge. Prosecutors said Buddeke was the one who cut the victim’s throat in a field in West Alton, Missouri, and left her to die. The cold weather apparently helped clot the victim’s blood and probably saved her life.
50 years ago
Aug. 14, 1976
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Madison County farmers whose lawsuit challenging higher assessments of their properties was dismissed in July 1976 by a circuit judge were appealing the decision to a higher court. Attorney Dennis McGrady of Gillespie, representing the farmers in the class action suit, filed a notice of appeal seeking review by the Fifth Appellate Court in Mount Vernon. The farmers hoped that a favorable decision in the higher court could result in partial rebates on their 1976 property taxes and lower assessments.
75 years ago
Aug. 14, 1951
Organizers estimated that 6,000 people gathered in and around Lincoln-Douglas Square in Downtown Alton to watch a civilian defense demonstration featuring bombers simulating an attack on the city. Fire trucks from several Madison County communities converged on the square to demonstrate their aerial ladders and hoses. Aerial bombs were set off at all four of Alton’s firehouses, and sirens were sounded as if there were an actual emergency. The highlight of the demonstration came when three bombers from Scott Air Force Base flew low over the city as the “bombs” were going off.
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100 years ago
Aug. 14, 1926
Camp Warren Levis in Godfrey closed what was described as its most successful season in several years, thanks to some new equipment and other improvements. A report from Boy Scout headquarters showed that 146 boys attended camp over the summer, and 126 passed the tests for their merit badges. Four boys achieved the rank of Life Scout, and six earned the rank of Star Scout. One Scout, Earnest Lowe of the Hartford troop, ended camp needing just two more merit badges to reach the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest distinction a Scout could achieve.
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