Days Gone By In Staunton

Thursday, Nov. 15, 1990 -- Food Pantry Operates Year round -- Besides receiving food donations from the American Red Cross and through Boy Scout collections, the Staunton Food pantry, which provides food and staples to families in emergencies receives support from area residents and local churches throughout the year. The emergency Food Pantry, located in the United Methodist Church, is open each Tuesday from 1 to 3 p.m. Five churches in Staunton take turns each month in donating a different type of needed supply. Each church also takes a turn manning the Pantry. The churches are the First United Methodist, St. Paul United Church of Christ, the First United Baptist Church, Zion Lutheran and St. Michael's Catholic Church.

The Pantry is managed by a board which includes President Lucille Tiburzi, Treasurer Lucille Binney and buyers Mr. and Mrs. Joe Monti.

Tiburzi said, "It is strictly an emergency food pantry." She said the number of people who come to the pantry for free food does not vary too much from month to month or season to season. "The people who come to the pantry for help are usually unemployed people who get in a pinch," she said. Although the Pantry keeps a list of people who have been helped, it has never been counted.

Last year the Pantry was the recipient of a winning $10,000 raffle ticket at St. Michael's Octoberfest. Pantry workers were very grateful to the anonymous purchaser of the ticket for aid to the Pantry. But the need for food continues and Tiburzi said, "We'll take donations anytime."

Thursday, Nov. 15, 1990 -- DEATH BEING TREATED AS ISOLATED CASE FOR NOW -- As of Monday, November 19, the Illinois Department of Public Health had put the decision to do mass inoculations in Staunton against meningococcemia on hold. On Friday, November 16, Dr. Al Suano, pathologist with the Illinois Department of Public Health confirmed that the death of Angela Bird, age 16, of Staunton was from meningococcemia, an infection of the blood. Kent Tarro, Macoupin County Public Health Administrator, said Bird's death was being treated as an isolated case.

As of Monday, no other cases of meningococcemia had been reported in the area. The Macoupin County and Illinois Departments of Public Health and the U.S. Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia, were following developments in the case. The information on this death, the disease and how to recognize it was being disseminated to all physicians in Macoupin, Madison, and Montgomery counties.

At a press conference November 16, which attracted radio and television coverage from Springfield to St. Louis, Karen Hazzard, Macoupin County Communicable Disease Coordinator, described the disease, its symptoms, and prevention. She said, "Don't wait until you have the symptoms to seek treatment." Hazzard said if a person was a family member or had close contact through kissing or sharing food or beverages within two weeks prior of Bird's death, he should see his physician about taking the prophylactic, Rifampin. Hazzard said, "If they have had the contact we described, this medicine is to prevent infection." She said meningococcemia can be a fast-acting disease.

The disease can be characterized by headaches, sudden onset of high fever, stiff neck, vomiting, and possibly a blotchy rash. Hazzard said she did not have the statistics on how common the disease is. She said, "These diseases often pop up in isolated incidents." Meningococcemia is caused by one of several bacteria in 'group C" of the neisserium bacteria family. The bacteria is harbored in the upper respiratory tract of humans. Hazzard said a water or food supply was not the cause. There have been 30 confirmed cases of this disease, meningococcemia, in Illinois in 1990. Three deaths have resulted. Twenty of the cases were in the northern one third of the state.

Hazzard said the Health Department was not recommending inoculations at this time (Friday), but they were recommending the use of Rifampin. The prophylactic is generally administered in capsule form over a short period of time, usually two capsules, two times a day for two days. She said innoculations only cover specific sero-types of the bacteria. There are five sero-types of the neisscrium and it had not yet been determined which one was involved.

She said the Department was also not recommending that students stay out of school. Of the 370 Staunton High School students, 129 were absent when school began on Friday.

Two questions that came up several times were related to the issue of "a carrier," and whether or not this was the same disease that was diagnosed in Livingston last year. Hazzard said, "It is all speculation how Bird came up with this disease ... There had to be someone who had the bacteria. Whether you qualify that person as a 'carrier' I cannot say." As to whether the disease Bird had was the same as those in Livingston, Hazzard said, "If it is the same strain as the disease in Livingston, it may or may not be related."

The Public Health Department gave a supply of the prophylactic to local drug stores Friday evening. Although there were many calls for the drug, a supply was still available on Monday.

Macoupin County Board Will Reorganize -- The Macoupin County Board, composed of 21 men and six women, will reorganize beginning December 11 as a result of the November election. Five new board members who were elected November 6 to the 27-member board will be installed at the regular board meeting, which is the second Tuesday of the month. Each of the nine districts in the county has three board members. After the installation the board will elect a new chairman. The present chairman is Dave Thomas of Mt. Olive. Following his election the chairman will have the job of appointing board members to the 20 committees and commissions that exist in the county.

Staunton's members of the Macoupin County Board are Joe "John" Odorizzi, Bernie Hannig, and Elmer Bruce.