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ALTON - State Rep. Amy Elik (R-Alton) racked up dozens of endorsements this election cycle, but says no endorsement is “more important than that of the voters.” “From farmers to teachers to first responders to job creators and more, I’m proud of every endorsement I’ve received this year,” said Elik. “But no endorsement means more than that of the voters. Every vote cast can be a vote to stop corruption, bring forth a fiscally responsible state government, and create a better life for working families. I encourage everyone to use their vote to save Illinois.” Elik previously announced support of business groups, including the Illinois Manufacturing Association, Illinois Chamber, Associated Builders & Contractors, Technology & Manufacturing Association, Illinois Farm Bureau, and NFIB-IL PAC. Standing up for constitutional freedoms, groups including the National Rifle Association, Illinois State Rifle Association, ABATE of Illinois, and

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O'FALLON — HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Foundation is excited to announce the return of the Elizabethan Gala after a hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic and invites the public to attend. The 2022 Gala will be held on Friday, Nov. 4 at the Regency Conference Center, 400 Regency Park in O’Fallon, beginning at 6 p.m. with a cocktail reception, followed by dinner and a program. The evening concludes with live music by the Fabulous Motown Revue. During the program, HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Foundation will honor Tom Vernier and Fr. James Deiters as Elizabethan Awardees for their commitment to HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital and the future of health care in the region. The Elizabethan Gala is a traditional fall event that dates back to 1983. The “Elizabethan Holiday” was started by St. Elizabeth’s Auxiliary as a luncheon and fashion show to promote positive community relations for the hospital, support the hospital’s mission and honor the Feast of

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BUZZ MAGAZINE - After a two-year hiatus, the Madison County Historical Society (MCHS) has resumed all regular programming, including the annual Dining in History (DIH) event. DIH, which also serves as the Society’s annual meeting, is held at a historic site in Madison County and includes a program on that location. In years past, it has been held in the Madison County Courthouse for the building’s centennial, the Wildey Theatre, and Diamond Mineral Springs, to name a few. The 2022 Dining in History event will be held on Sunday, November 6, at the Old Bakery Beer Company in Alton. The Old Bakery Beer Company is a certified organic craft brewery and restaurant that occupies a century-old building that was used as a commercial bakery from 1903 to the 1980s. It opened as a brewery in 2015. Tours of the modern brewery begin at noon and are followed by a buffet luncheon at 1 p.m. Immediately after the meal there will be a brief Annual Meeting, held for the purpose of electing

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BUZZ MAGAZINE - For the home gardener, seeds are a topic of great interest. Some of us shop for our seeds each spring and some of us spend the tail end of each growing season collecting our seeds for next year's gardens. I can honestly say that I am both. I feel like it is important to save your own seeds for several reasons: saving seeds is free, supply chain shortages can make it difficult, if not impossible to acquire your garden seeds, seed saving produces stronger plants each year and it builds a stronger community. One of my early spring indulgences is to fix myself a big mug of hot Earl Grey and flip through my seed catalogs with sticky notes and notebook. I love finding pretty new flowers to incorporate and new varieties of my favorite foods to try, either for their beauty or new flavor profiles. If you're like me, you know just how costly this can quickly become. The cost of seeds is growing each year and the number of seeds you get per pack is dwindling. I used to share

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Name: Quentin C. Downing Hometown: Bethalto Years of Service: 1980-1983 KIA: No Branch: Army Rank: Sergeant Submitted By: Tamara Downing

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ST. LOUIS - All aboard for the Sleigh Shed, St. Louis’ newest seasonal pop-up cocktail experience. This season the Train Shed restaurant at St. Louis Union Station is transformed into Sleigh Shed, a glittering holiday destination with creative cocktails and delicious dining. Gather your friends and experience a wonderland of whimsy, decorated from top to bottom with the bling and baubles of the season. Sleigh Shed is ready for its close up on your Insta page. The holiday hot spot at Union Station opens on November 4 and continues through New Year’s Eve. Sleigh Shed will be open Sundays through Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Celebratory cocktails at Sleigh Shed include: Rudolph’s Reserve: Zafra Masters Reserve 21 year Rum Blood Orange Cordial Lime Cocktail Punk Smoked Orange Bitters Sleigh All Day: Bruzco Mezcal Cava de Oro Blanco Tequila Suau Orange Brandy Pineapple Gum Syrup Lime Juice Cocktai

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ALTON - The National Great Rivers Museum (NGRM) in partnership with the Meeting of the Rivers Foundation (MTRF) is now accepting entries for their second annual “Winter on the River” Photography Contest MTRF is looking for artists to capture the beauty of winter along the river for a community photo contest that will be exhibited at the NGRM beginning January 7, 2023. All entries will remain on display as part of this exhibition through the end of the winter season. Artists will be able to submit up to three photos for a one-time, entry fee of $20.00 that will benefit the mission of MTRF in promoting and inspiring lifelong, environmental stewardship for the Mississippi River and great rivers system. The contest is open to photographers of all skill levels with no age restriction. Entries must be mailed or brought to the National Great Rivers Museum during the submission period beginning November 1, 2022, through December 19, 2022. Contest eligibility, regulations, and

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BELLEVILLE - Illinois American Water is encouraging customers to participate in the Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) National Prescription Drug Take Back Day this coming Saturday, Oct.29, 2022. Customers are encouraged to drop off unwanted medications at approved collection sites so they can be incinerated. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends having unwanted medications incinerated. Flushing medications down the toilet and throwing them in the trash are discouraged. The event is Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Participating Illinois Take Back Day collection sites can be located here. Take Back Day events help keep medications from getting into the wrong hands and provide an opportunity for medication to be disposed of in an environmentally-friendly way. Proper disposal also helps prevent medications from being flushed down the toilet or poured down a drain. The DEA offers National Take Back Day twice a year in April and October. In April 2022,

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ALTON - Alton Pride is excited to announce its first annual Thanksgiving Food Drive Competition! Area bars are competing for the title of “Top Turkey”, a trophy, and bragging rights. From October 29 thru November 12 participating locations will be collecting non-perishable food items for Thanksgiving. The business with the most donations will be crowned the winner. People can donate several non-perishable items, including but not limited to: Boxed Stuffing Mix Dry Macaroni Canned Cranberry Sauce Canned Pie Fillings Flour Powdered Drink Mixes Jell-O Mix Graham Crackers Instant Potatoes Canned Yams Cornbread Mix Pie Crust Mix Vegetable Oil Rice Pudding Mix Cream of Mushroom Soup Gravy Mixes/Jars Canned Vegetables Muffin Mix Cake Mixes/Icing Sugar Dried Beans Powdered Milk French Fried Onions We encourage the community to drop their donation off at their favorite hangout. There are currently ten businesses competing to be crowned Top Turkey:

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Below are the Halloween parades, trick-or-treat dates and times, and events in area communities. Parade October 27 East Alton Halloween Parade, 7 p.m. Bethalto Halloween Parade, 6:30 p.m. October 29 Wood River Halloween Parade, 10:30 a.m. Hartford Halloween Parade, 1 p.m. October 31 Edwardsville Halloween Parade, 6:30 p.m. Alton Halloween Parade, 7 p.m. Trick-or-Treat October 27 Bethalto, 7-9 p.m. October 28 Brighton, 6-9 p.m. October 30 Edwardsville, Noon-9 p.m. Glen Carbon, 4 to 9 p.m. Alton, 6-8 p.m. Godfrey, 6-8 p.m. Grafton, 5-8 p.m. Carrollton, 6-8 p.m. Roxana, 6-8 p.m. Bethalto, 6-8 p.m. Wood River, 6-8 p.m. East Alton, 6-8 p.m. South Roxana, 6-8 p.m. October 31 Edwardsville, Noon-9 p.m. Jerseyville, 5-9 p.m. Alton, 6-8 p.m. Godfrey - 6-8 p.m. Carrollton, 6-8 p.m. Roxana, 6-8 p.m. Bethalto, 6-8 p.m. Wood River, 6-8 p.m. East Alton, 6-8 p.m. South Roxana, 6-8 p.m. Granite City, 6-9 p.m. Events These are upcoming

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ALTON - The ongoing theft of catalytic converters from automobiles on the rise, State Representative Amy Elik (R-Alton) filed legislation to make it a felony for individuals that stockpile stolen catalytic converters from vehicles. “If your catalytic converter is stolen from your car, it can cost as much as $3,000 to replace it,” said Rep. Elik. “We are seeing an increase in theft because criminals can get anywhere from $25 to over $1,000 by selling the stolen car part at a scrap dealer. Improving the law by making it a felony if you illegally purchase more than 100 catalytic converters will help deter criminals from stealing this expensive automotive part, as criminals will not have anywhere to go to sell the stolen converter.” In September, police seized 287 catalytic converters from a scrap-metal business in East Alton that is accused of illegally buying the parts. And in Chicago, the theft of catalytic converters has nearly tripled compared to a year

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ALTON - An alleged threat was posted on social media last night involving Alton High School and heavily shared overnight, Alton School District No. 11 Superintendent Dr. Kristie Baumgartner said in a statement. "Administration began working immediately with law enforcement to determine the origin of the threat," she said. "Because this is an active law enforcement investigation, additional details cannot be shared at this time. Unfortunately, it is not unusual for social media posts like this to occur after a tragic event such as what just occurred in St. Louis. "However, we must take every alleged threat seriously and investigate each to the highest degree. All schools, including Alton High School, will be open and continue with classes today. As a precautionary measure, there will be an increased law enforcement presence at Alton High School today. Again, this is only a precautionary measure." Alton High Principal Mike Bellm said the communication was sent out to parents, students

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WOOD RIVER – Today, Democratic Candidate for State Senate Kris Tharp (IL-56), a police officer of 25 years and current State senator for the 56th district, announced his endorsement from the Township Officials of Illinois (TOI). “Senator Tharp supports the goals and objectives of our organization. He is readily available when needed to address any issue impacting township government in Illinois," Township Officials of Illinois Treasurer and TOI Executive Director Jerry B. Crabtree said. “We wish Senator Tharp a successful re-election campaign.” Kris Tharp has been a public servant for 25 years, working as a police officer, an elderly service officer for the seniors in his community, and Deputy Commander of the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis, one of the oldest, most successful homicide task forces in the country. “I have had the honor of serving this community in many roles and through them all, I have remained committed to strengthening and

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GODFREY - The Alton Motorboat Club is hosting its 2022 Turkey Shoot on Sunday, Nov. 6 starting at 10 a.m. at the clubhouse, located at 11134 Harbor Dell in Godfrey. The event will be open to the public, featuring lots of food options and all-day raffles with prizes including firearms, cash, meats, and cheeses. Tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20. Alton Motorboat Club Commodore Matt Woulfe said tickets to be sold are also available to be picked up from the clubhouse. Woulfe said after the clubhouse opens at 10 a.m., the shooting line will form at 11 a.m. “We start shooting at 11 o’clock - we have a turkey shoot and we give away a turkey,” he said. “One round consists of 20 shots. We sell shot cards, there’s 20 people in a round, and then we give away one turkey, and the closest to the bullseye wins the turkey." Woulfe added they usually do 22-25 rounds at 20 cards each, which adds up to “quite a few shots.” They also do a Powder Puff roun

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EAST ST. LOUIS – A 20-year-old Cahokia Heights man has been arrested on a variety of charges from Aggravated Kidnapping (Class X Felony), Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault/Weapon (Class X Felony), Aggravated Unlawful Restraint (Class 3 Felony), Aggravated Battery/Great Bodily Harm (Class 3 Felony) and Aggravated Battery/Use Deadly Weapon (Class 3 Felony). Illinois State Police (ISP) and East St. Louis Police Department arrested the man after they were called at 5:29 p.m. on Sunday, October 23, 2022, to a stabbing and criminal sexual assault report in the 3000 block of Market Place, East St. Louis. The East St. Louis Police Department requested the ISP Public Safety Enforcement Group (PSEG) respond to a reported stabbing and criminal sexual assault. ISP said the victim was transported to an area hospital for treatment of her injuries. The suspect left the scene prior to the arrival of law enforcement. After a thorough investigation, PSEG identified Elijah Harper as a suspect.

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ALTON - Craig and Amy Lombardi, Madeline Eades, and the Alton Athletic Association, along with Al Womack of the Alton Boys & Girls Club, formulated a brilliant idea this summer for a program to boost the Redbird spirit in the community. Residents may have noticed banners of Alton High School athletes on poles throughout the area and it is because of the efforts of the association, the Lombardi family, and other volunteers. "We met with Al Womack of the Boys and Girls Club this summer to talk about ways to boost Redbird Spirit in our community," Amy said. "We want to keep our athletes in Alton and not see students going elsewhere to high school. The purpose of the project is to showcase our students. We want to get our community excited about our Redbirds. It’s time to paint our town red. "We came up with the banner project from our conversation and created the Alton Redbird Beautification Diversity Program. We are proud of our students and love our Redbird community,

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EDWARDSVILLE - For the first time since the 2019-20 school year, Edwardsville High School has welcomed its German American Partnership Program (GAPP) Exchange partners back. Fourteen students and two teachers from Herman Hesse Gymnasium in Calw, Germany. (in the Black Forest) will be visiting EHS through November 4. German exchange students stay with EHS students during their visit to the United States, while EHS students will stay with the same partner when they visit Germany in June of 2023. While here, German students will participate in several events in the area, including visits to St. Louis, Mo., and Springfield, Ill., while also experiencing American life with their host families. This past Saturday, they had an opportunity to explore St. Louis and visited the St. Louis Zoo, City Museum, and the Gateway Arch. On Monday, German students toured the EHS main campus, the sports complex, and the RP Lumber Center. They had the unique opportunity to enjoy part of a performance

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ALTON - Remarkable Redbird of the Month is senior Peyton Baker. Peyton is an outstanding leader at Alton High in many ways. Peyton has multiple responsibilities within the sports program. One highly involved role she has is a leader of the Redbird Nest, a group of over 250 students who attend Redbird sporting events. Peyton does a tremendous job of exemplifying Redbird Spirit while displaying good sportsmanship in her leadership. She brings passion and energy to all sporting events as the leader of the Redbird Nest in teaching the members what to say and when to say it as she knows all sports well. Peyton was also an integral part of the student showing for the Fox 2 Pep Zone that featured Alton High School earlier this school year and was interviewed by Fox 2's Laura Simon during the broadcast. Pep Zone: Alton High School (fox2now.com) In talking with Alton High School Assistant Principal Vernon Curvey recently, he shared a story of a member of the Redbird Nest throwing an

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EDWARDSVILLE — Madison County State's Attorney Tom Haine announced today that a Madison County jury found Mantia Johnson, 35, of Granite City, guilty of first-degree murder for the killing of Ahmaad Nunley on August 2, 2021. The jury also found Johnson guilty of attempted murder for the simultaneous shooting of Shamyia Seay and the aggravated discharge of a firearm. “This highway shooting and murder was truly terrible," said Haine. "We are happy the jury agreed and convicted Mantia Johnson. Now, the victims' families can begin to gain closure after their pain and loss." On August 2, 2021, police and emergency personnel responded to a shooting on Highway Route 3, where one car had shot numerous rounds into another while driving. Nunley, who was in the victim’s car and had been shot multiple times, was airlifted to a St. Louis hospital, succumbing to his injuries. Seay was also in the victim’s car and shot multiple times but recovered from her wounds and was one

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Blaze Farnan is off to the races. It doesn’t matter that the five-year-old congenital heart patient is in a hospital bed. To keep him moving, part of his rehab includes an innovative new offering for some patients at OSF HealthCare Children’s Hospital of Illinois: the RT300 Supine in-bed cycle ergometer. “We call them the bikes just for short because it's much easier to say than in-bed cycle ergometer,” laughs Megan Kupferschmid. Kupferschmid was part of Blaze’s care team as a clinical nurse educator in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at OSF Children’s Hospital of Illinois in Peoria. She says the use of these in-bed bikes is in the trial stage; the team there is gathering data to investigate the benefits of the technology. According to Kupferschmid, the idea behind the bikes is early movement through activity-based therapy, which can lead to faster recovery and shortened hospital stays for kids who need it. “It allows kids that

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