Bald Knob Cross of Peace meeting held, board elected

A new, nine-member board of directors formally began work this week at the annual Bald Knob Cross of Peace meeting.

The meeting was Tuesday night at the Cross of Peace welcome center located atop Bald Knob Mountain near Alto Pass.

Tuesday's meeting was attended by about 40 to 50 people on a bitterly cold winter night.

The new board replaces a court-appointed governing body which has overseen restoration of the Cross of Peace during the last two years.

Bald Knob Cross of Peace members cast ballots which were sent out in December for the new directors.

The new members of the board of directors come from throughout Southern Illinois. They are:

D.W. Presley of Carbondale, Carol Nebughr of Cobden, David Williams of Johnston City, Helen Holderfield of Alto Pass, Ron Stork of Sparta, Gerald Wright of Pinckneyville, Pam Collins of Cambria, Don Laster of Anna and Jan Witmer of Pinckneyville.

Eight of the nine new board members were able to attend Tuesday night's meeting; Jan Witmer could not be present.

The first order of business for the new board was to elect officers.

D.W. Presley was elected as president. Carol Nebughr was elected as vice president. David Williams was elected as secretary. Helen Holderfield was elected as treasurer.

New board president Presley then recognized members of the transition board, who were presented with plaques.

Presley also paid tribute to the Friends of the Cross organization, which has worked hard to raise funds for restoration of the Cross of Peace. The group raised more than $415,000 for the $560,000 cross restoration project.

Ron Stork was recognized for the work he has done as manager of the  cross restoration project.

"Ron has done a fantastic job with the restoration," Presley said.

Stork, in turn, also praised those who have helped with the restoration effort, which he said was 95 percent complete. He said work should be completed when the weather improves.

Roger Gibson, the live-in caretaker at the Cross of Peace, also was recognized for the work he has been doing.

Presley said all of those who have worked on

 restoration of the Cross of Peace deserve to be recognized.

Presley is the grandson of the late Wayman Presley, who, along with the Rev. William Lirely, spearheaded the effort which led to the building of the landmark at Bald Knob Mountain.

D.W. Presley became emotional when he remembered his grandfather. He said Wayman Presley "would be very proud to see this cross the way it is today."

Presley said the new board would immediately begin work on doing the work needed to ensure that lights shine on the cross during the night.

A fish fry is planned Friday evening, Feb. 25, at the St. Joseph's Catholic Church parish hall in Cobden. Proceeds will go to lighting the cross.

Plans for other upcoming events also were discussed at the meeting.

An annual Easter sunrise service is set for Sunday, April 24, and the annual Blessing of the Bikes, sponsored by the Christian Motorcycle Association, will take place the following Sunday, May 1.

Tuesday's meeting came on the same day media outlets reported that a federal judge had thrown out an atheist's lawsuit over the awarding of a $20,000 state grant for work on restoration of the cross.