May 10, 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....

10 things you don’t know about me… Tonya Yeazel

September 5, 2019

September 5, 2019

Every week we ask a St. Joseph area resident to tell us 10 things we don’t know about them. This...

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...

10 Things You Don’t Know about me… Sharon Jeffers

March 20, 2019

March 20, 2019

I have two grown and married children, Logan/Tressica and Lauren/Kris, and two beautiful grandchildren Weston, and Emma I grew up...

5 Question Friday with Drama Director Chandler Dalton

October 28, 2022

October 28, 2022

The SJO drama department is producing “The Internet is Distract—Oh look a kitten!” Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at...

‘There was a spunk and tenacity to her that would never quit, concede or fail’

February 2, 2023

February 2, 2023

Tiffany Kelley was many things. A loving mother. A great friend. An inspiration and a fighter. The St. Joseph resident...

Krall joins Longview Bank

April 22, 2021

April 22, 2021

Brad Krall is coming home. Krall is now the Loan Officer and Mortgage Lender at Longview Bank in St. Joseph....

Kids Say…

April 3, 2019

April 3, 2019

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

Senior Spotlight: Taylor Barnes

June 7, 2019

June 7, 2019

Every week we are going to do a Q and A with an SJO senior. This week we talked to...

‘The first one to tell you how important you were to him’

September 5, 2022

September 5, 2022

Connor Wienke made sure people knew how he felt about them. Whether it was a smile, a friendly comment or...

Senior spotlight… Mallory Ames

July 31, 2019

July 31, 2019

Every week we ask a St. Joseph-Ogden senior five questions. This week we spoke to Mallory Ames. What do you...

10 tips to get your home ready to sell

August 5, 2019

August 5, 2019

Clear out your personal belongings and declutter. It’s a good idea to eliminate clutter and depersonalize the home. You’ll want...

Senior Spotlight with Payton Cain

December 12, 2019

December 12, 2019

Every week we ask a St. Joseph-Ogden senior five questions. This week we spoke with Payton Cain. What do you...

For Schmidt, hard work pays off

July 12, 2019

July 12, 2019

Sammi Schmidt isn’t afraid of hard work. The future Illinois State Redbird was awarded the Gary Butler award at St....

Frisby to fly high at Illinois State

May 14, 2019

May 14, 2019

A welcome packet from Normal told St. Joseph-Ogden High School senior Justyn Frisby all he needed to know — he...

Comments
Leave a Reply