Riverbender 🕸

CARROLLTON - Aaron Havrefield, county engineer with the Greene County Highway Department, said road conditions are fairly normal in Greene County so far today. “Right now, everything’s pretty well melting off. It’s a lot of slush for the most part,” he said. “The temperature’s up high enough that nothing’s really freezing to the road … it’s died off quite a bit, we have good visibility and everything else up here.” Havrefield said the Highway Department hasn’t received any reports of power outages or accidents in the area, but they’ll continue to monitor road conditions tonight. “It shouldn’t freeze anytime soon, but I’ll keep an eye on it later tonight to make sure it doesn’t re-freeze or anything,” he said. If Greene County residents encounter any dangerous road conditions, Havrefield said to contact the Greene County Highway Department at (217) 942-6941.

Continue Reading

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Transportation is hosting free virtual workshops in February as part of its continuing Building Blocks of Success series for Disadvantaged Business Enterprise firms interested in strengthening their skills, growing their business, and bidding on state projects. New and existing DBEs, as well as firms interested in becoming certified in the program, are invited. February workshop dates and topics are: Feb. 2, 10 a.m. to noon: IDOT EPAS System – Consultant Prequalification Feb. 7, 10 a.m. to noon: Bidding on the IDOT Website Feb. 9, 10 a.m. to noon: Excel Estimating and Bidding Spreadsheet Feb. 21, 10 a.m. to noon: Contractor Sub Agreements Feb. 23, 10 a.m. to noon: Job Costing & Work-in-Process Feb. 28, 10 a.m. to noon: Contracts Future topics covered will include avoiding pitfalls, daily documentation, contracts, construction materials requirements, getting paid, steps needed to be certified as a DBE firm, and more. Building

Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Ian Jeffries, CEO of the Association of American Railroads (AAR), to discuss improving employee benefits for rail workers, including additional sick leave and personal time. While the most recent rail and labor agreement that Congress approved in December prevented a strike and provided rail workers with the largest wage increase in 50 years, it did little to reform point-based attendance policies – which enforce attendance by keeping a running tally of absences and tardiness - and penalize workers for taking time off. In the meeting, Durbin urged Jeffries to push the rail industry to explore reforming these personal time and sick leave policies. Durbin and Jeffries also spoke about the need for continued investment by the freight railroads in the Chicago Region Environment and Transportation Efficiency (CREATE) Program, a public private partnership between the City of Chicago, the State of Illinois,

Continue Reading

SPRINGFIELD - Illinoisans will be turning up their thermostats to stay warm for the rest of the winter season, which brings an increased risk for home fires and carbon monoxide incidents. Unlike smoke, carbon monoxide is a colorless and odorless gas only detectable by special devices and CO alarms. The Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) encourages residents to have their furnaces checked, change furnace filters, and make sure carbon monoxide (CO) and smoke detectors are functioning properly. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), heating is the second leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries, and the third leading cause of home fire deaths. Local fire departments across the country responded to an estimated average of 48,530 fires involving heating equipment per year in 2014-2018, accounting for 14% of all reported home fires during this time. These fires resulted in annual losses of 500 civilian deaths, 1,350 civilian injuries, and $1.1 billion

Continue Reading

CHICAGO - The Powerball jackpot is inching closer to becoming one of the top 10 prizes in the game’s history. Tonight’s drawing is now at an estimated $526 million. Less than three months ago, one lucky player in California won the record-breaking $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot - setting the world record for the largest prize ever won in lottery history. Illinois Lottery players also struck it big in the past 12 months. Seven players have won prizes of $1 million or more with Powerball. In total, Powerball players purchased nearly four million winning tickets and won over $41 million in prizes in 2022 in Illinois. With over 7,000 Illinois Lottery retailers across the State, lottery players can conveniently pick up a ticket at their local store - or they can login to the Illinois Lottery website or app and purchase a ticket online. Powerball drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, with the next prize draw taking place tonight, January 25 at 9:59 p.m.

Continue Reading

GLEN CARBON - The Glen Carbon Chick-fil-A location is getting closer to opening; Village Administrator Jamie Bowden said the expected opening date is February 9, shortly before the Glen Carbon Village Board approved adding signage and interior barricades to help mitigate traffic around the new restaurant. “This has been requested to allow Chick-fil-A to open - I believe the anticipated date is the ninth of February,” Bowden said, adding that the date was “tentative.” He said the site developers are currently working with the Illinois Department of Transportation on the entrances to the restaurant. “The developer is still working diligently to get the Plum St. entrance open, it’s right-turn-in, right-turn-out,” he said. “There will be no entrance off 159. There will be barricades placed on the extension of Lavelle and Robinson that will allow people to come in off 159.” He added that four new signs with the Chick-fil-A

Continue Reading

The region is being hit this morning with strong snow with some accumulation as of 7 a.m. Wednesday, but overall, weather forecasters say the area has been fortunate for a later snow shower arrival. Temperatures remained higher than originally expected and the rain-to-snow transition was slower than expected, Marshall Pfahler, a National Weather Service in St. Louis meteorologist, said this morning. The NWS in St. Louis reported at 6 a.m. that the area is seeing the heaviest snow of the event. “This is causing the snow to accumulate quickly, even on treated surfaces,” the NWS said. “Please drive carefully if you have to travel.” Chad Scott with Hyper-Local Extreme Weather’s prediction of “a bright, fluffy snow” came true, just a little less than expected because of the slow rain-to-snow transition. Pfahler said temperatures are largely above freezing around the region and should continue to rise this morning as the main part of the snow

Continue Reading

GLEN CARBON - The Glen Carbon Village Board approved several items at their Jan. 24 meeting, including the purchase of new police radios and a new speed trailer, as well as an Intergovernmental Dispatch Services Agreement. Members of the Village Board voted unanimously to approve the purchase of three new portable radios from Motorola Radio for $15,832.95, to be used by new officers of the Glen Carbon Police Department. “As our residential populations have grown over the past eight years, the number of our sworn officers has grown from 20 sworn officers to 28,” said Police Chief Todd Link. “This purchase would allow us to obtain additional portable radios and fully outfit our new officers.” The purchase of a new speed trailer from All Traffic Solutions for $16,119.70, also for the Glen Carbon Police Department, was approved unanimously by the Village Board. “Glen Carbon PD already has one-speed trailer, but it’s been non-functioning since abou

Continue Reading

EAST ST. LOUIS – A Belleville man admitted to stealing more than $17,000 in Government benefits from a deceased in-law in a U.S. District Court on Tuesday. Scott C. Gunnarson, 47, pled guilty to one count of Theft of Government Funds. “By failing to notify the Government of a loved one’s passing and continuing to collect their benefits, individuals commit felony theft,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “Defrauding benefit agencies is a serious offense, and relatives tempted to swindle funds face going to federal prison.” “This plea demonstrates that stealing Social Security benefits designated for another individual is a federal crime,” said Gail S. Ennis, Inspector General for the Social Security Administration. “I want to thank OPM for working with us to investigate this crime and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for prosecuting this case.” “OPM OIG is committed to protecting federal funds from fraud,” sai

Continue Reading

EDWARDSVILLE - On Tuesday afternoon, Madison County Sheriff Jeff Connor announced the rollout of a new look for the sheriff's office's squad cars. The sheriff used the participation of his deputies with suggestions and a committee to come up with a plan for the squad cars. "A committee went over all the suggestions and taking everything into consideration came up with these new markings for our squad cars," the sheriff said. Sheriff Connor said the office will be slowly transitioning to the new modern look for marked cars. "We also will be updating our uniforms in the very near future to give them a new look," he said.

Continue Reading

ALTON - Ameren Illinois crew members were busy Monday outside the old Lenhardt Tool and Die building at Sixth and Piasa in Alton. The Ameren Illinois workers were bringing down power lines right outside the building. Demolition is planned there in the near future. Ameren tied two substations together so they could accommodate this abandonment of wire circuits. The project encompassed about 1,500 feet of wire. The workers finished the project at about 12:30 p.m. Monday. Ameren used 72-foot bucket trucks for the project. Once the building is demolished, Ameren Illinois will put in new poles and new wires in the area in about a month.

Continue Reading

COLLINSVILLE – Ameren Illinois customers in Madison County will be the beneficiaries of a $39 million investment the company is making to modernize its natural gas energy delivery infrastructure. Beginning in mid-April, approximately 90 contractors, working on behalf of Ameren Illinois, will start construction to upgrade a seven-mile stretch of natural gas transmission pipeline in Madison County. Crews are upgrading the 1950s-era pipeline with modern 12-inch steel pipeline parallel to Illinois Route 162 from Nameoki Road in Granite City east to Interstate 255. Once the pipeline is completed and in-service by early September, it will strengthen the integrity and reliability of the company's natural gas system and support economic development for all of Madison County. "We have made significant progress in the last several years strengthening the integrity and reducing the emissions of our natural gas infrastructure across our Ameren Illinois service territory," said Eric Kozak,

Continue Reading

People across the country are getting sick with a multitude of seasonal illnesses. Colds, the flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and COVID-19 seem to be lurking around every corner, and one symptom that seems to be unavoidable is congestion. While over-the-counter medications to help combat congestion are flying off store shelves, some people are taking matters into their own hands and are resorting to at-home remedies. A couple of congestion remedies in particular that many people are trying at home include garlic and onions. While using these popular kitchen staples to combat side effects from seasonal illnesses may seem like something new, these “hacks” have actually been around for a long time. In fact, claims that raw onions can help relieve congestion date as far back as the 1500s. “These kinds of remedies like onions in your socks and a lot of these things have existed for centuries when they didn’t really understand the science behind how infections

Continue Reading

ALTON - Alvin D. Perry, 18, of Alton faces charges of aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated unlawful use of weapons after the Alton Police Department received a post of gunshots fired in the vicinity of East 20th Street and North Henry Street last Friday afternoon. Alton Police Chief Jarrett Ford said when officers arrived Friday at the scene, they determined that an occupied vehicle had been struck by gunfire but no injuries occurred. The chief said the investigation also showed the gunshots had been fired from a vehicle as it drove through the area. Officers located the vehicle a short time later and were able to stop the driver and detained the driver/occupant. Ford said he thought his investigators did an outstanding job in this case, finding the suspect so quickly. Perry was given a bail of $250,000 in this case, by Judge Ronald Slemer.

Continue Reading

JERSEYVILLE - Today (Tuesday, Jan. 24) would be a great day to order Domino’s from the Jerseyville location for lunch or dinner - the Jerseyville Domino’s is participating in a fundraiser today to help support the Unified Child Advocacy Network, which helps children who have been physically/sexually abused. A total of 20% of every dollar spent at the Jerseyville Domino’s will go towards the child advocacy network, and that applies across the entire menu. Be sure to use code “DN1” if ordering online at dominos.com , or mention the Unified Child Advocacy Network in-store or to your delivery driver for your order proceeds to benefit the organization. “We’re just trying to get out into the community and let them know that we’re here, and what we’re doing for the children of the community,” said Melissa Dandino, fundraising coordinator for the Unified Child Advocacy Network. More information about the organization’s

Continue Reading

ALTON - The Alton Athletic Association is hosting its 2nd annual Music Trivia Night from 6 to 11 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18, with trivia starting at 7 p.m. at the Hilltop Auction House in Alton. The cost is $200 per 8-person table, and beer, soda, and water are included. Alton Athletic Association President Madeline Gulley-Eades said the music trivia spans all genres, and the event will feature some special guests. “It’s really all genres of music, I know we usually have movie-themed sections and all kinds of stuff,” Eades said. “We even have a few celebrity guests who will be helping with some of the questions, so it should be really exciting.” Those “celebrity guests” will include different St. Louis-area radio DJs who will help with some of the musical questions, Eades added. She also said there will be a silent auction area set up at the event for attendees to bid on possible prizes, including gift baskets, athletic event tickets, and

Continue Reading

EDWARDSVILLE – In recognition of the critical role preceptors play in preparing nurse practitioner students, the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Nursing (SON) has presented five preceptor excellence awards. “Preceptors are one of the most important mentors to our nurse practitioner students,” said SON’s Bernadette Sobczak, DNP, clinical assistant professor and family nurse practitioner program clinical site coordinator. “Nurse practitioners and healthcare professionals are faced with increasing responsibilities and demands in our complex healthcare system. Precepting a student, while it is rewarding, it is extremely time consuming yet critically important to have quality healthcare providers in the community. We just want to recognize these advanced practice nurses and physicians for the excellent job they do mentoring our students.” The SON has agreements with preceptors in a variety of settings, providing care to a wide range

Continue Reading

EDWARDSVILLE – A key business corridor in and around downtown Edwardsville is now eligible for additional state and local incentives for new and existing development projects. The new incentives have been made possible by a Gateway Enterprise Zone expansion that was initiated last year by City officials and approved in December by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The newly eligible area fans out along Main Street, stretching to the northern edge of Edwardsville and to Schwarz Street on the south end of Main. It also includes a swath of Buchanan Street and other nearby areas. “This is an exciting opportunity to help build and develop areas in Edwardsville that have so much to offer in terms of location and accessibility,” Mayor Art Risavy said. Among the incentives available in the enterprise zone are: A sales tax exemption on building materials for improvements or renovations of qualifying projects. A property tax abatement for varying

Continue Reading

GRAFTON - Chelsea Nelson has been hired as the new Director of Park Operations at Raging Rivers Water Park. Nelson brings a wealth of experience in park maintenance and operations, having spent 15 years in the hospitality, tourism, and aquatics industry. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Stout with a Bachelor's Degree in Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management and minored in Business Administration. In announcing the appointment, Raging Rivers Water Park General Manager, Jeremy Hayes said, “Chelsea is an excellent addition to the Raging Rivers team, and under her leadership, park staff will continue to exhibit their traditionally high level of commitment and passion. She will be integral to our continued success in providing families with special memories each visit."

Continue Reading

ALTON - Times have been moved for basketball action in the Alton region for Tuesday night and forecasters still have a Winter Storm Warning posted for the region from this evening to Wednesday morning. Alton’s varsity girls' basketball game has been switched from 7:30 p.m. Tuesday to 6:30 p.m. against East St. Louis. Marquette Catholic’s boys' game at home against Althoff has also been moved to a 6:30 p.m. start time. Chad Scott of Hyper-Local Extreme Weather and other St. Louis area forecasters are warning that travel in the morning could be hazardous as heavy snowfall is anticipated overnight. “As of right now we have a deepening low-pressure system over Southwestern U.S. that will ultimately sweep across Texas and take a hard left turn up toward the St. Louis area,” Scott said. “It is going to go over an area near Memphis, Tenn., and it is called the ‘Memphis low.’ This typically provides a snow trek to the St. Louis area. It is going

Continue Reading