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PIASA - Jillian Beilsmith is the kind of student-athlete that any coach would love to have on their team. She is one of the athletes that are always persistent and improves throughout each season. Jillian, a senior, started the girls' cross country season at 30 minutes in the three-mile but finished the season with a best of 24:00 for the Southwestern High School Piasa Birds. Jillian is an Altonized Community Federal Credit Union Female Athlete of the Month for the Piasa Birds. "She has been a top three finisher in every race this year," Southwestern's head girls cross country coach Gary Bowker said. "She is normally our No. 2 runner. She leads the team with her hard-working example every day. Jillian improved her overall time on our home course by over six minutes during the course of the season." Jillian thanked her parents and sisters and Coach Gary Bowker for always providing her with so much encouragement during the season. She acknowledged her favorite part about cross country

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ALTON - A Community Job Fair is scheduled for 5-8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022, at Alton High School. View the Flyer HERE Employers represented are the Alton School District, Illinois Central School District, Arbor Management, Aramark, Alton Farm & Home Supply, Caritas Family Solutions, City of Alton, Beverly Farm, Army Recruiting Center, Target, Scott Air Force Base - 375th Force, Support Squadron-Human Resources, Illinois State Police, Alton Steel, Vandalia Bus Lines, Amazon, Gateway Regional Medical Center, Carrollton Bank and more… David Allison from Aramark says, "To my knowledge, this is the first Job Fair of its kind in the Alton Godfrey Area. We hope to make it an annual event.” Allison says, "We are still taking employers right up to the end of business on Wednesday." If you would like to have a space for your company contact David by email at dallison@altonschools.org or by phone at 618-433-7860. This is a free event for employers and job seekers of all

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ALTON – BJC HealthCare will make it easier for families to access BJC’s world-class care in the Godfrey area in 2023. BJC will develop a 14,000-square-foot outpatient care facility with additional shell space for future expansion at the corner of Godfrey Road and Celesta Street. The BJC Outpatient Center will offer care for patients of all ages, with space for primary and specialty care, laboratory and radiology services. Additionally, BJC Medical Group will relocate its Alton Memorial Convenient Care to this new Godfrey Road location. The building is within the Alton Memorial Hospital EMS coverage area, and an ambulance post will be established at the location. “Alton Memorial Hospital is excited to expand our array of outpatient services in Godfrey with our colleagues from the BJC Medical Group,” said Dave Braasch, president of Alton Memorial Hospital. “We believe this will add even more convenient access to high-quality health care for those people

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EDWARDSVILLE — Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine announced Monday that a Wood River man has received a three-year prison term for the battery of his grandfather. Justin M. Davenport, 36, received the sentence as part of a guilty plea to a charge of domestic battery – 2nd subsequent offense (a class 4 felony). Davenport also will have to serve four years of mandatory supervised release, formerly known as parole. Davenport pleaded guilty to punching his 86-year-old grandfather in the leg and pushing him on July 8 in Wood River. Davenport resided with the grandfather and has a previous conviction for battery of the grandfather. “We take elder abuse and domestic violence very seriously,” Haine said. “The family dynamics of such cases are complicated. After consultation with the victims, we believed that this term of incarceration was appropriate. We must cherish our senior citizens. Physical abuse cannot be tolerated.” Haine thanked Wood

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CHICAGO - Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced that more than 170 teams of assistant attorneys general and investigators from his office will be monitoring elections throughout Illinois on Tuesday, Nov. 8, to ensure that voters’ rights are protected, and polling places are accessible. Raoul urged voters to call his office if they encounter suspected improper or illegal activity. Chicago and northern Illinois voters can call 1-866-536-3496. Central and southern Illinois voters can call 1-866-559-6812. Dial 711 to access TTY-based Telecommunications Relay Services before your call if needed. Attorney General Raoul also encouraged voters to be aware of their basic voting rights. “The right to participate in our nation’s democracy is one of the most fundamental rights we have as Americans,” Raoul said. “I am working closely with partners in law enforcement and fellow state attorneys general to ensure everyone has safe access to the polls. Voters

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GODFREY – Those considering a career in nursing are invited to attend Lewis and Clark Community College’s Nursing Open House, Nov. 10, on the college’s Godfrey Campus. Nursing Professor Denise Caldwell said attendees will be able to tour the state-of-the-art facilities in the Templin Nursing Building and learn details about what it takes to become a nurse. “The Open House provides a wonderful opportunity to get an inside look at everything our program has to offer,” she said. “Instructors and students will also be on hand to answer questions and share their experience in the program.” The event will also feature interactive exhibits and skill demonstrations in the simulation lab. The public is invited to attend from 6-8 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 10, in the Templin Nursing Building. For more information, call (618) 468-4401 or visit the website www.lc.edu/nursing .

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ALTON - Tammy Iskarous, founder and executive director of Riverbend Family Ministries, has recorded some incredible community achievements during her 10 years as executive director of Riverbend Family Ministries. She will be the person roasted and toasted at this year's Ninth Annual Local Celebrity Roast for Pride, Inc. Pride, Inc. is taking reservations for its roast that will be held at 6 p.m., Thursday, December 1, at Lewis & Clark Community College. The reception for the event begins at 5 p.m. with dinner to follow at 6 p.m. The Roast begins at 6:55 p.m. and concludes by 8. Ten years ago, Tammy Iskarous had the vision to bring smaller nonprofits all under one roof so they could work together holistically for families in crisis due to violence, addiction, homelessness, and poverty. Riverbend Family Ministries, an incubator model of care, has been recognized by leaders in Madison County and Illinois. Tammy has also been on the boards of other nonprofits, such as YWCA - Alton, Wood

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EDWARDSVILLE - As the community prepares to celebrate the season of giving, Home Instead® encourages Edwardsville area residents to share the holiday spirit with older adults who may not have family and feel alone. Through Be a Santa to a Senior ® , community members can give a special holiday gift to an older adult who may otherwise go without. “A simple gift can bring such joy to older adults who may not have loved ones to celebrate with,” said Nikki Bishop, owner of the Edwardsville Home Instead office. “Through Be a Santa to a Senior , we can help them feel the holiday spirit.” This year program coordinators hope to collect 250 gifts for local older adults. This is the program’s 2 nd year in the area. To participate, shoppers can look for Be a Santa to a Senior trees or displays at locations around the area. Ornaments featuring the name and desired gift of an older adult will be on display, and shoppers can buy the requested gift and

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GRAFTON - On November 3, various city, county, and state agencies came together at Grafton City Hall in an exercise designed to analyze and coordinate their proposed actions in response to a flood emergency. Doug Downing, Coordinator for Region 8 of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA), created and led the exercise which allowed the various groups to hear responses from all participants during the forecast, flooding, and recovery stages of a major flood scenario. IEMA developed the exercise based on a request from the Grafton mayor after a meeting they had in Springfield last year. “It’s rare that a municipality requests this type of help, so we were glad to come and conduct this exercise for Grafton. IEMA has responded here in the past and that history was helpful, but the real benefit of this exercise is that we all now have a plan at the city, county, and state levels. We can respond efficiently to future flooding events and minimize coordination efforts with

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On Monday, the bi-partisan group of Sixty-Two (62) State’s Attorneys who have sued to overturn the Safe-T Act released the following joint statement: “As the Chief Legal Officers of our respective Counties we swore to protect and defend the rule of law. Therefore, we are compelled to inform the people of the State of Illinois, that the SAFE-T Act is unconstitutional and a serious threat to public safety, specifically, to victims of and witnesses to violent crimes in our communities. This is not political. We are Democrats and Republicans. Whatever the result of the various elections decided tomorrow, our fundamental legal concerns with the SAFE-T Act remain. "The SAFE-T Act violates the constitutional requirement that all bills “shall be confined to a single subject,” but the SAFE-T Act quite obviously covers several unrelated subjects across its 764 pages. "A court’s ability to require a monetary bail is specifically stated in the Constitution Yet the

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ST. LOUIS - Mitchell Wall Architecture & Design is proud to announce its Cascade Mausoleum is recognized by the 2022 Architecture Awards. Architecture MasterPrize gave the mausoleum, located in Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, an Honorable Mention in Architectural Design. A mausoleum had not been built in Bellefontaine Cemetery for over 70 years. Then a family approached Thomas Wall of Mitchell Wall Architecture & Design to design a mausoleum. They trusted Wall and his process and allowed him to express his creativity without financial or aesthetic restrictions. “Thomas has an amazing appreciation of art and beauty,” said the client, who wishes to remain anonymous. “He has the unique ability to extract, cultivate, and realize a vision that goes far beyond simple bricks and mortar. Mitchell Wall does not miss a detail." Built at a cost of $5.3 million, the structure with a solid concrete core encased in granite panels and blocks overlooks Cascade Lake. Visitors

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ST. LOUIS - To honor veterans this Veterans Day, Scooter’s Coffee is giving back to those who have proudly served our country. On Friday, Nov. 11, veterans can receive a free handcrafted drink of any size at Scooter’s Coffee. Veterans can choose from any of Scooter’s Coffee hot, iced or blended drinks, including holiday favorites such as a Peppermint Mocha , Praline Caramelicious®, and Sugar Cookie Latte – all made with rich, fresh espresso. Veterans can visit scooterscoffee.com/menu for a full list of delicious drink offerings. “We are grateful to veterans and all military members for their courage, sacrifice, and commitment to serve and protect our freedom,” said Joe Thornton, President of Scooter’s Coffee, LLC. “Scooter’s Coffee customers, dedicated franchisees, and employees are passionate about helping veterans in the communities we serve, and we are honored to give back to those who exemplify our company Core Value

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ALTON - Alton Alderwoman Rosetta Brown shared today that the weekend Souls To The Polls voting campaign in Alton was "well-attended" and "a huge success." "Over 300 people voted on Sunday," she said. "The caravan to the polls was phenomenal. The voters were ignited." Brown thanked the pastors, church members, voters, and community organizers and leaders for the effort. "Thank you for exercising your right to vote," she said. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8, and the polls in Illinois are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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MARYVILLE - Angela and Steve Gorazd, owners of Bella Vista Winery in Maryville and Hidden Lake Winery in Aviston, had an exciting Friday evening. Angela, Steve, and son and grape grower Matt Gorazd and winemaker Cory Kunkle, were on hand to receive the Illinois State Governor's Cup Award for their wine Off-Duty. The Illinois Grape Grower and Vitner Association (IGGVA) was present at Bella Vista Winery at 5:30 p.m. Friday to present the award. Several of their wines also won Double Gold awards. Illinois Gubernatorial Candidate Darren Bailey visited the Maryville location on Friday night. "Every year there are Illinois Grape Growers competitions throughout the state," she said. "We are a member of the association and usually do well. Winning the Governor's Cup Award is something we are quite proud of." Steve Gorazd retired from his job after 30 years and Angela retired from her nurse practitioner role, and their hobbies were studying wines. The couple took wine classes in their spare

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EDWARDSVILLE - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD), have awarded three SIUE students scholarships for the Water Quality Control Operations Program at the Environmental Resource Training Center (ERTC) of SIUE. The student recipients include Karli Mackey of Hillsboro, Donovan Simpson of O’Fallon, and Jordon Williams of St. Louis. “This is a great opportunity to get into a meaningful career and lessen the financial burden of earning my degree,” said Simpson. “Thanks to the scholarship, I don’t have to pick up a part time job, I can solely focus on my schoolwork.” “This scholarship and this program are helping me get my water and wastewater certifications,” said Mackey. “I would like to work my way up to being in some kind of supervisor role at a plant one day, and this opportunity will help me do just that.” The MSD/ERTC scholarship was created to encourage minorities

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EDWARDSVILLE – Southern Illinois University Edwardsville engineering students saw great success at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers St. Louis Section Blackbox regional competition held on Saturday, Oct. 29 at Washington University in St. Louis. Students competed in teams of two to analyze a mystery circuit and were tasked with figuring out the circuit details. SIUE students Jaya Chitrakavi and Alex Abernathy placed first in the Analog Blackbox competition and Kelsey Haines and Izzy Lamonte placed third in the Digital Blackbox competition. “We are extremely proud of our student's performance,” said Amardeep Kaur, PhD, associate professor in SIUE’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “This competition gave our students a chance to put their skills to the test and use their knowledge to come up with the mystery circuit details.” The SIUE students received a monetary prize and SIUE will host the competition next year

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WOOD RIVER - Senior Tyler Robinson is a three-sport athlete for the East Alton Wood River Oilers. He just wrapped up his football season and is getting ready to start up in basketball. Then in the spring he'll be playing baseball. He's been playing baseball and basketball since kindegarten and football since the 5th grade. He says his favorite thing about playing all of these sports is being able to play them with his friends. He wanted to thank his dad and grandpa for helping him become the athlete he is today. "They've always worked with me to help me become the best that I can be," he said. For the football season he plays at tight end. He's scored a touchdown and helped score a couple of two-point conversions. He's also made seven tackles and assisted on another seven. In basketball he plays at forward. HE played in all 32 games last season for the Oilers who had a 12-20 record. He scored 63 points last season and had 71 assists. He also pulled down 103 rebounds. In th

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ST. LOUIS – The Drug Enforcement Administration St. Louis Division broke its fentanyl seizure record in the Fiscal Year 2022 with more than 671 pounds of the deadly opioid seized through Missouri, Kansas, and southern Illinois. That’s a 41% increase over the 396 pounds seized in the last fiscal year, and more fentanyl seized than the last two years combined. Among the seizures was a record 20,000 fake pills seized in partnership with St. Louis County Police Department, and the first colored fake pills DEA has seized. The latter were seized in Kansas. The colored fentanyl has been also seized in powder form throughout the division. The increase of 41% in fentanyl seizures aligns with the continued increase since the synthetic opioid was first seized by the division in 2017: FY 2022 – 671 pounds FY 2021 – 396 pounds FY 2020 – 180 pounds FY 2019 – 227 pounds FY 2018 – 77 pounds “Looking at this staggering increase in seizures,

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CHICAGO - Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced joining a coalition of 21 attorneys general in urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve over-the-counter birth control pills that meet applicable safety and efficacy standards, including a pending application for the nation’s first over-the-counter (OTC) pill. If approved, safe and effective birth control pills will become available for purchase over the counter, removing barriers that currently keep many people from accessing timely reproductive care. In a letter submitted to the FDA , Raoul and the attorneys general argue that approval of the pill would allow individuals — especially those from vulnerable populations — to take greater control over their health, lives and futures. It would also help them avoid the health and economic perils that come with unwanted pregnancies. “Women have the right to make their own reproductive health care decisions, including having access to

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CHICAGO, November 7, 2022 – The Powerball jackpot has officially set another new world record. Tonight’s top prize now stands at a mind-blowing $1.9 billion. There has never been a jackpot this big, meaning tonight’s draw is making history as the largest lottery jackpot of all time. Although no one matched all six numbers drawn to win the historic jackpot on Saturday, eight Illinois Lottery players will be jumping for joy after winning six and five figure prizes. Three lucky players matched four numbers and the Powerball, plus they added the game’s ‘Power Play’ feature to win $150,000 each. Five players matched four numbers and the Powerball to win $50,000 each. Nearly 400,000 other prizes, ranging from $150,000 to $4, were won in Saturday’s Powerball drawing in Illinois. Every single Powerball win is also a win for the retailers selling the winning tickets, as the retailers receive a selling bonus of 1% of the prize amount. The current

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