April 6, 2026 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Foundation created to honor Oberheim

The family of Police Officer Chris Oberheim is working to develop a not-for-profit foundation.


The foundation name was announced Tuesday night at the St. Joseph Village Board meeting.


“We are proud to announce for the first time in public the name of our foundation is ‘Peacemaker Project 703,’ said a statement from Amber Oberheim. “Together with the community, we are looking forward to defending our blue family and their badges in Chris’ honor.”

The announcement was made after St. Joseph Village Trustee Jim Wagner presented Officer Oberheim’s cousin, Bev Pridemore, a check for $1,500.

Wagner Signs and Graphics had sold T-shirts, hats, yard signs and car decals to honor Officer Oberheim. The items can be found on BackBlueLine.com.


Proceeds were donated to the family.


Wagner said the response has been massive.


“It has been pretty overwhelming,” Wagner said.


The Wagners have sold more than 300 signs, 100 T-shirts, and 100 decals.


Wagner said he feels the response to the project is not only to honor Oberheim, a family man who served his community for more than 20 years but also to show support for all police officers.


“This is bringing people together in the community. They want to show their support of the law enforcement,” Wagner said.

Pridemore read a statement from Amber Oberheim.


“We would like to express our deepest gratitude to Jim Wagner, Wagner Signs and Apparel, the community of St. Joe, and everyone who has supported our family in the last three weeks. Your generosity has been abundant and your love is giving us strength to move forward every day. We have been completely overwhelmed with the way that people continue to show up for us on a daily basis.”

Banner
Related Posts

SJO community mourns death of Chris Knipfer: ‘He truly had a heart of gold’

November 22, 2019

November 22, 2019

Chris Knipfer always wanted to help. “He would do anything for anyone,” said Jason Retz, the cross-country coach at St....

Kids Say….

April 5, 2019

April 5, 2019

Every week we ask five students from a local school to answer a question on a worksheet. This week the...

Kids say…

June 17, 2019

June 17, 2019

Every week we ask five St. Joseph area students a question about farming. Today, five students from PVO South tell...

Senior Spotlight… Anna Wentzloff

January 27, 2020

January 27, 2020

What are your plans after graduation?My plan after graduation is to attend college to become a Child Life Specialist concentrating...

Talk of the Town with SJO Superintendent Brian Brooks

May 9, 2019

May 9, 2019

Every week we ask a village mayor, school superintendent or board member three questions. This week we talked to St....

Cummings hopes to continue work as trustee

December 7, 2020

December 7, 2020

Village Trustee Terri Cummings has big goals for the village. Short term, Cummings hopes to contribute to the betterment of...

Kids say…

July 19, 2019

July 19, 2019

Second graders from PVO South tell us what they would have on their farm. This post is sponsored by Longview...

10 things you don’t know about me… Jason Retz

November 7, 2019

November 7, 2019

In honor of SJO Cross Country going to state this week we asked head coach Jason Retz to tell us...

Marching Spartans to perform at U of I

October 25, 2019

October 25, 2019

After last marching band season band director Chuck Hess began searching for a new a show. He wanted a show...

Auto shop offering free oil changes to healthcare workers

June 12, 2020

June 12, 2020

St. Joseph Automotive and Diesel is helping the people who help us. During the month of June, in collaboration with...

10 things you don’t know about me… Kelly Skinner

January 15, 2020

January 15, 2020

St. Joseph resident Kelly Skinner is opening her new business, Soul Care, today. The grand opening and ribbon cutting is...

‘We can’t wait to be back’

April 8, 2020

April 8, 2020

Amy Gibbons, the owner of Salon 192, is urging people not to do anything rash. That means resisting the urge...

Senior spotlight… Lindsey Aden

January 2, 2020

January 2, 2020

What are your plans after high school? I hope to attend Stanford University to double major in political science and...

Senior Spotlight… Drew Coursey

July 17, 2019

July 17, 2019

Every week we ask a St. Joseph-Ogden senior five questions. This week we spoke to Drew Coursey. This post is...

‘This role has been an amazing one to take on’

April 1, 2022

April 1, 2022

Wyatt Loghry has loved the Addams Family since he was little. And now, he is playing the patriarch, Gomez Addams....

Comments
Leave a Reply