Recognized for his contributions and dedication, Kermit Esarey is inducted into the 2022 SJO Hall of Fame

ST. JOSEPH -- St. Joseph-Ogden High School will introduce four new inductees to the St. Joseph-Ogden Hall of Fame during the Spartan football team's Homecoming game against Nokomis. The distinquished group includes 1960 graduate Dee Evans, former three-sport athlete Brandi Carmien Burnett, veteran teacher Kermit Esarey, and The Gary Olson Family.

Below is a short biography and highlights about Kermit Esarey provided by the high school.

Kermit Esarey

Kermit was born and raised in southern Illinois. He graduated from Mt. Carmel High School in 1940.

He attended the University of Illinois, College of Agriculture, majoring in Agricultural Education. He was drafted into the Army after his junior year as a 2nd Lieutenant. He returned to the U of I after his release from the military and received his Bachelor’s degree.

He began his teaching career at Scotland High School where he taught for one year. He then taught at Cisne High School for four years. He moved to St. Joseph and started teaching at St. Joseph High School in 1952. He completed his Master’s degree that same year from the U of I and continued his teaching career at what is now St. Joseph-Ogden High School until his retirement in 1982. He was also the FFA advisor while teaching at SJO.

Kermit was married to his wife, LaDema for 73 years. She preceded him in death in 2017. They had one daughter, Gail, who lives in Arlington, Texas with her family. After Kermit’s retirement, he and LaDema moved to Texas to be closer to their family. While they resided in St. Joseph, Kermit and LaDema were active members of the St. Joseph Methodist Church. Kermit was also a member of the local Lion’s Club and the IAVAT.

Kermit was awarded the Honorary State FFA Degree in 1979 as well as an honorary membership in the Alpha Tau Alpha fraternity. Kermit supervised more than 20 student teachers during his career at SJO. He would often say that some of his greatest satisfactions in life were to visit with former students and encourage them to become successful in ag related fields.

In 2020, his daughter Gail established a scholarship at the U of I in his name to be awarded to a student majoring in the agricultural field. Kermit passed away in 2019 at the age of 97. Kermit was the oldest of four brothers. We are honored to have several members of his family here with us tonight to receive this award in his name.

Thank you to Kermit Esarey for your dedication to the SJO school! Congratulations once again to Kermit Esarey and his family for the induction into the St. Joseph-Ogden High School Hall of Fame.

The Gary Olson family inducted into Hall of Fame

Below is a short biography and highlights about the Gary Olson Family provided by the high school.

The Olsons

Gary and Nancy Olson and their three children, Ory, Isaiah and Bria are all SJO grads.

Gary graduated in 1980. He played basketball and was a member of FFA, serving as President his senior year. Nancy graduated in 1983 and was a cheerleader all four years.

Ory graduated in 2005. He played basketball all four years, football and track each one year. He was also involved in FFA, serving as President his senior year.

Isaiah graduated in 2007. He was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball and baseball. His Senior year he was Captain of basketball and football, which was the 2006 Runner-Up state team.

Bria graduated in 2010. She was a three-sport athlete in volleyball, basketball and track. She was captain of both the volleyball and basketball teams her senior year. She still currently holds the school record in high jump.

Nancy and Ory both graduated from Parkland College. Isaiah and Bria both graduated from the U of I.

Nancy was an SJO Cheer coach for several years and helped start the student cheering section, Maroon Platoon. Gary, Isaiah and Bria all coached basketball at the St. Joseph Grade and Middle Schools for several years. In addition Gary and Isaiah coached freshmen basketball at SJO for a few years. They have previously received the SJO Friend of Education award for their countless hours of volunteer service they have given to SJO. They are always willing to provide equipment and give of their time to help the school.

Gary and Nancy have been married for 37 years. Their children are Ory and his wife Nicki, Isaiah and his wife Kathryn and Bria and her husband Michael. They have nine grandchildren. They all operate the family farm together and reside north of St. Joseph.

Congratulations once again to the Gary Olson family for your induction into the St. Joseph-Ogden High School Hall of Fame.

Village Crier: Youth summer sport programs open for registration

Summer softball registration in St. Joseph closes soon

St. Joseph Summer Softball is now underway. This year's registration fee will include the $5 village fee. Parents will to register online with a credit card.

The program will not have a separate age division for girls four years-old or in kindergarten this year. The organization is encouraging parents with kids in the age group to play Bitty Ball or T-Ball through the St. Joseph Youth Baseball program.

Questions can be sent by email to stjosephsummersoftball@gmail.com. Registration closes on February 21.

Unity FFA pork chop lunch next week

The Unity FFA is celebrating FFA Week next week with their annual pork chop lunch. The drive through service will take place on the UHS east drive on Wednesday, February 24 from 11:00am - 12:45pm. Pork chop sandwiches are $5 each with proceeds going toward supporting the FFA program. Customers can get a meal deal for an additional $2, which will include chips, drink, and cookies.

Sidney summer ball sign up this weekend

Sidney Baseball/Softball/Tball signups will be held this Saturday from 10am to 12pm at the new Sidney Community Building located at 211 E Main Street in Sidney. An additional sign up day is scheduled for February 22 from 5:30-7:30pm. Ages groups are ages five and six for T-Ball and ages 7-15 for baseball and softball athletes. Registration cost is $55.

Questions or if parents are unable to make it to the in-person registration dates, they are encouraged to send a message to (217)649-7450.

Annual Chili Dinner in Sidney next week

The Sidney Fire Protection District will host its annual chili dinner on February 27 at the new community building, located at 211 East Main, from 4-7pm. The dinner will be available only through drive-through service. Toppings, hotdogs and drinks will be provided with the meal.

Sidney Fire Department cancer awareness shirts will also be available for purchase. Donations help support the local district's firefighter association.

Spots still available in Tolono virtual raffle

The Tolono Firefighters Association is doing a virtual raffle for a $500 Allen Meats Gift Card. Tickets for the drawing are $10 a piece and limited to the first 100 sold. Tickets can be purchased through Venmo or PayPal.

As of yesterday there were 34 tickets still available for the drawing. For more information visit the Tolono Firefighters Association page on Facebook.

Area COVID cases dips to 3-month low

Yesterday there were just 46 active Coronavirus cases across the six villages The Sentinel covers. The last time there fewer than 50 active cases in our area was back on November 13 of last year. A day later, that number surged to 60 and continued to rise from there to a peak of 142 active cases on several days.

The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District reported the number of cases rose by five today.

The agency's dashboard now includes mortality data for Champaign County. Out of the 1,427 cases identified in our area, eight individuals lost their lives to the virus. Two individuals from Ogden, four from Tolono along with one resident from Sidney and St. Joseph succumbed after being infected. As of today, 123 county residents have died from the viral infection since March of 2020.

Put it On The Market

Do you have a home for sale in one of our six communities? The Sentinel would like to highlight it in the upcoming new local real estate feature called On The Market.

Each calendar week our online paper will pick a residential property from those submitted for consideration to promote to our audience. With over 700 readers daily, The Sentinel hopes the new section will direct more potential buyers and competitive offers to sellers in our area. For more submission information, sellers and agents can contact us at editor@oursentinel.com.

Show us your art

We know there are more artists in our area. We just haven't met you yet but would enjoy seeing fruits of your creativity. If you paint, draw, sculpt or do metal work, The Sentinel would love to feature your work and share your artistic talent. Do you spend hours at the potter's wheel, dabble in mixed-media, do glass-work or design jewelry pieces? We would like to hear from you.

If you are interested in having your work featured in a story, please send a brief bio in an email with a link to your website or a online gallery featuring your work to editor@oursentinel.com. We very much look forward to sharing your passion and vision with our readers.

As time and space allows we will publish details for upcoming community events. Please send your business, social or community organization's press release or event information at least four days in advance to The Sentinel at editor@oursentinel.com.