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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) again urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to use its authority to protect children from the dangers of vaping as the agency continues to miss and delay critical deadlines in a letter to FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf. Durbin has repeatedly criticized FDA for its long-overdue review of pre-market tobacco product applications (PMTAs) from e-cigarette manufacturers, which had a federal court deadline of September 9, 2021. FDA has missed that court-ordered deadline by 28 months as unauthorized e-cigarettes flood the market and addict America’s children. “This repeated failure to meet FDA’s own stated projections tells us FDA is not meeting its obligations under the court order. Given these delays, and with no end in sight, there is absolutely no reason why FDA continues to permit unauthorized e-cigarettes to remain on store shelves. FDA has the tools and the authority to clear the market

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5th Grade Honor Roll COLLIN ABBOTT, MAYCEE CARRAWAY, HAILEY DARR, LUKAS DARR, AIDEN DAUGHERTY, CLAYTON DAUGHERTY, HANNAH GILLESPIE, NEHEMIAH HARGIS, LIAM HAZELWOOD, JOSEPH HEITZMAN, HUNTER HORTON, AIDEN KRAUSHAAR, ELLISON NEWTON, LAYTON OSELAND, LIAM REISCH, KINDELL REPPENHAGEN, ABEL SHORT, SAMSON TAYLOR, TATE VALSTAD, JERI WAHL, REMINGTON WEDDING 5th Grade High Honor Roll LOGAN ALLGOOD, LIAM ANDERSON, CATHERINE BALCER, JESSA BARO, MADELYNN BAZE, AUBREY BEHL, BRYNNA BICK, ABILENE BRAY, KARLEEN BRITTAIN, ANNORA BURKMAN, MAKAILYNN BYRD, MOLLY CAMPION, RICHARD COOLEY, OLIVIA DALTON, LANDEN DEVERGER, HAYLIE DEWITT, PEYTON EICH, ARTHUR FALLIN, CHIARA FALTER, HAYLEIGH FERGUSON, PIPER FRY, VIOLET GAJEWSKI, SAWYER GREATHOUSE, CLEIGHTON GREEN, MYA GREEN, ROBERT GRESHAM, KNOX HAMILTON, CARSON HAYES, EVA HERRING, CARTER JOHNSON, GAGE JORDAN, JAXEN KLUNK, KADE LAKIN, ANNABELLE LAMBERT, WILLIAM LAUBSCHER, LUCY LILLEY, BRYLEE MADSON,

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ALTON - Ethan Bazzell of Emergency Medical Services is Alton Memorial Hospital’s January Employee of the Month, receiving the award Jan. 15 from Dave Braasch and EMS manager Jason Bowman. Bowman said that “Ethan is a true professional in his field, both with patient care and when it comes to his teamwork with his fellow co-workers. You can always find a smile on Ethan’s face and he leads by example.” Squad leader Mike Mulrean says that “Ethan is always willing to help out in any department and looks for solutions to new ideas in the department.” Ethan is also working tirelessly to complete his Paramedic degree with working full time.

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EDWARDSVILLE - More than 20 years ago, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville alumnus Khari M. Garvin worked in the SIUE Head Start/Early Head Start program to help educate, strengthen and advance preschoolers, families and communities. Today, he is still a leader in Head Start – but on a national scale. Garvin , who earned a master’s in education in 2005 from SIUE, is director of the Office of Head Start (OHS) at the Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The OHS administers grant funding and oversight to the 1,600 agencies that provide Head Start services in communities across the country. OHS also provides federal policy direction and a training and technical assistance system to help grant recipients in providing comprehensive services to eligible young children and their families. “I genuinely believe in Head Start’s mission (to end poverty) and the thoughtful, research-based, two-generation

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BETHALTO - Civic Memorial High School announced its second quarter Honor Roll lists. Seniors - High Honor Roll Alyssa Abernathy Akkadia Allsman Kadince Arico Charly Bellanca Ethan Bruhn Andrea Buchanan David Chen Gabriella Cochran Makayla Collman Avari Combes Anaiah Dabney Brian Dame Jasmine Davis David Dutton Alliya Eckler Justice Eldridge James Farris Brenten Foutch Samuel Frey Abrianna Garrett Bryce Griffin Elijah Gruen Samantha Hamby Bella Hannaford Lela Haskins Lisa Henry Joshua Hodge Alyssa Hoffmann Jayden Huff Drake Jones Ella Landers Sydney Law Lucy Lednicky Madison Lindley Joshua McCune Isabel Mims Lucas Naugle Aniston Naumann Kaitlynn Niemeyer Madelyn Ogden Raegan Ottwell Courtney Picklesimer Shelby Quick Xander Randall Ethan Rea Reagan Richards Meredith Schaaf Kent Scottberg Jae Lynne Shotwell Destiny Slone Avy Smith Lauren Stacknick Taylor Stanford Josaline Stewart Christian Strader Noah Thien Kylie Thomas Lincoln

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WEST ALTON - Eagles might be the main attraction for many people, but trumpeter swans are also here to stay for the winter months. Ashley Lockwood, an educator with the Audubon Center at Riverlands, explained that trumpeter swans and other birds of prey have migrated to the area for the winter season. The birds will be a big drawing point for tourists over the next few months. “Wintertime is definitely known as the month of both eagles and swans. We have, for the past couple months, consistently around 200 of those swans out here,” Lockwood said. “Winter is actually our busiest season, definitely, and we have a good amount that you can see out here, not just the eagles or the swans, but we’ve had a lot of birds of prey this year.” Lockwood explained that the river determines when birds like the swans migrate to the Riverbend region. The swans need colder temperatures to survive, so they are more likely to be in our area when the river has iced over.

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SPRINGFIELD - Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias has told Illinois motorists today to stay away from the DMV. That’s because Illinoisans can now obtain more DMV services and complete more transactions online. In addition, Giannoulias unveiled a series of new measures aimed at reducing wait times if a DMV visit is required. “Don’t come to the DMV, skip the trip!” Giannoulias said. “The truth is that most people no longer need to even come to a DMV because the services they need are available with just a few clicks. Our efforts to modernize the office and create efficiencies have led to a ‘Do-it-Online, Skip-the-Line’ approach, which saves Illinoisans time and headaches.” Giannoulias noted that 2.25 million Illinoisans will need their driver’s license or state ID renewed in 2024. Of those, more than 1 million, or nearly half, have the ability to renew online. In 2023, there were just over 1 million Illinois drivers who were part

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EDWARDSVILLE - On Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024, In Crowd hosted their fundraiser “Blooming Where We Are Planted” to benefit Habitat for Humanity. In Crowd is a professional development organization that aims to connect professionals throughout the Riverbend community. They decided to sponsor a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity, and all proceeds from the brunch, 50/50 raffle and live and silent auctions will help fund the organization’s tenth build starting in the spring. “In Crowd reached a point where they’re really wanting to impact the community and they just reached out and said, ‘Hey, we want to do this for you. This is how we decided we wanted to impact the local community,’” explained Marc Gibbs, president of the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Habitat for Humanity chapter. “And it just got us on this journey of just having conversations, planning this event, starting here and then kind of seeing where it goes from here for year

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SPRINGFIELD - As the Iowa caucuses draw closer each election season, there’s usually lots of talk about caucuses and primaries - but what exactly are they, and what’s the difference between them? CJ Nasello, host of Our Daily Show! on Riverbender.com , recently sat down to clarify these terms for viewers and voters ahead of the 2024 election. “Caucus season and all that starts today,” Nasello said. “It kind of amazes me, because some of us - I’m not picking on you - just don’t know what the difference is. So what’s the difference between a primary and a caucus?” According to usa.gov , primaries and caucuses use different methods to accomplish the same goal - help states and political parties choose their presidential nominees. In a presidential primary, voters cast secret ballots to anonymously vote for their preferred candidate. Those votes are then taken into account by the state they were cast in before the state

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ALTON - Rosetta Brown, the Alton Branch NAACP First Vice President and Alton Alderwoman had a great way to sum up the Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024, Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration at the Greater St. James Baptist Church: "It was incredible." While it was zero degrees outside with a wind chill 20 to 30 degrees below zero, the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was alive and well in the confines of the Greater St. Baptist Church. People of all ages were present - from very young to even a person in her 90s. The energy of Dr. King appeared present during the Alton ceremony from every speaker and participant. One speaker and participant seemed to naturally flow from one to the next and the beauty was the ceremony encompassed participation from all age levels. Leon Smallwood-Bey, president of the Alton Branch of the NAACP, said he was glad everyone gathered on Sunday to honor Dr. King despite the incredibly frigid conditions outside. Inside the Alton church on Sunday, he said it was a grea

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WOOD RIVER - A man who made every Valentine’s Day and other occasion special for more than four decades has died. Jeffrey McElroy, owner of Jeffrey’s Flowers By Design in Wood River, left a lasting impact on the region. Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced for the Wood River businessman. Kristen Burns, a marketing consultant for the City Of Wood River, said Jeffrey was the one who always handled flower arrangements for her kids during homecomings, proms and almost any family event. “He was a great guy,” she said. “I adored working with him. I never saw him when he didn’t have a smile on his face. "His work was always beautiful. He could make a bunch of daisies look beautiful. It was always so nice to see such a friendly face and such a sweet man. It is a huge loss for the community.” Wood River Mayor Tom Stalcup said Jeffrey was a friend of his family and Wood River in general for many years. “He was a great asset to the

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ALTON - A burst pipe at Bluff City Grill called for an emergency response on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. The Alton Fire Department responded around 2:30 p.m. at Bluff City Grill, located at 424 E. Broadway in Alton. The restaurant was closed at the time of the break. With a high of only ten degrees on Monday, burst pipes are a common concern in the Metro East. Temperatures are not expected to rise above 15 degrees Fahrenheit until Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, before dropping back down to single digits on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024. The pipes at Greater St. James Baptist Church, the host of Sunday's Martin Luther King Ceremony also had a similar problem, the pastor reported at the beginning of the event. To avoid freezing and bursting pipes, keep your home above 55 degrees Fahrenheit if possible. Drip cold water in the faucets that are farthest from the main water valve. Open your cupboards to keep the pipes warmer. Open your outside valves and spigots, and close inside valves. If your

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ALTON - The Calhoun County Ferry Company announced on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024, that the Golden Eagle Ferry and Winfield Ferry are closed until further notice. The Corps Of Engineers Melvin Price Lock and Dam in Alton reported on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, that the Mississippi River is still navigable despite very icy conditions with low temperatures. This morning, the Mel Price Lock and Dam reported three barges had navigated through and one is holding up at the present about upper Elsah, while another was pushing ahead at 5.5 knots by Pere Marquette and another at 5.56 knots past the Hardin Bridge. Riverbender.com will check on river conditions on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, with the frigid conditions predicted to continue through the day.

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ALTON - Joshua Young never gave up on the Alton Community Boxing Club. Now, his vision is a reality. Almost eight years in the making, the Alton Community Boxing Club finally has a permanent home at the YWCA in Alton, where boxers of all ages can come to practice their skills and build confidence. As a mentor, Young is a Difference Maker in the Riverbend community. “ shows what the true nature of Alton could be and what it is,” Young said. “It shows the harmony amongst the demographics, and the interactions are genuine. They all kind of come in and grow to become family. They go through things as family goes through, but that’s all family. It’s really an honor to watch these young people and these kids do their thing.” Young explained that the boxing club started informally in 2016 when a group of young people began boxing at the park. They called themselves “Fists Up, Guns Down” to “curb street violence and gun violence,”

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ALTON - Area residents who had to venture to work on this Martin Luther King Day encountered bitterly cold temps below zero degrees with wind chills in the negative 20-to-30-degree range on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. Melissa Mainhart, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in St. Louis, said it had been about three years since the area had endured temps this cold for such a long duration. “The last time we had temps in single digits for multiple days like this was Feb. 12-17, 2021,” Mainhart said. “I remember that year the Grand Basin in Forrest Park froze over in that period.” “This is a really cold air mass. This has performed about how we forecasted. We didn’t get to the top 10 of cold temps or wind chills in most locations, but Columbia and Quincy recorded the fifth coldest wind chills at their locations.” Mainhart said the wind chill factors are so dangerous and that is why the National Weather Service in St. Louis has issued

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CHICAGO - U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), who has made community service a hallmark of her life, issued the following statement to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of serving others: “Decades ago, Dr. King asked us one of life’s most persistent and urgent questions: ‘What are you doing for others?’” Duckworth said. “He spread the message that if America was to become the more perfect Union that generations of Americans dreamed of, it would need to value a desire to do good over a need to be great. By volunteering our time on this National Day of Service or any day of the year, we have a chance to do good in our communities. And through service, we can say a small thank you to incredible Americans, like Dr. King, and every hometown hero, every mom or uncle, teacher or clergyman who turned their compassion into action to make this nation better, safer and more just for all.”

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EDWARDSVILLE - The conflict between the Overnight Warming Location (OWL) and City of Edwardsville continues. The OWL, located at First Baptist Church at 534 St. Louis Street in Edwardsville, provides a space for unhoused community members to eat dinner, shower, sleep and have breakfast on nights when the temperature is forecasted to drop below 20 degrees Fahrenheit. The City of Edwardsville has issued a citation requiring the church to submit a special use permit or pay $750 for every night they remain open. In a Facebook post that has over 400 comments and 1,000 shares, the OWL encouraged people to contact city officials to “speak and persist.” The OWL also shared their response to the City of Edwardsville’s request. “While we affirm and support the City’s responsibility and authority to regulate the commercial activities of businesses, it does not extend to regulating the religious activities of churches,” Pastors Drew Patton and

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WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) today congratulated the Taiwanese people following today’s successful democratic elections that resulted in a historic third consecutive term for the Democratic Progressive Party, led by President-elect Lai Ching-te and Vice President-elect Hsiao Bi-khim, which favors strong ties with the United States. The Senators, who travelled to Taiwan in 2021 to announce a delivery desperately-needed COVID-19 vaccines, issued the following statement regarding the results: “Congratulations to the people of Taiwan on their elections. We look forward to working with the new President, William Lai Ching-te, his government and all the freely-elected representatives of Taiwan. “Just two days ago, the Senate unanimously approved a resolution sponsored by nearly half its members commending Taiwan on this historic occasion. The ties between the U.S. and Taiwan are deep and strong. They have held fast

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GODFREY – Students new to Lewis and Clark Community College for the Spring 2024 semester were welcomed to campus Thursday for a New Student Orientation. About 100 new Trailblazers attended the event, where they were able to explore some of the many clubs and services available to them and speak with academic and financial aid advisors. Pictured, Student Ambassador Ben Thompson and volunteer Anthony Losch, both left, help new students find their classrooms and navigate their way around campus Spring classes begin Tuesday, Jan. 16. For more information on the programs available at L&C, contact the enrollment center at (618) 468-2222 or enroll@lc.edu . Visit us on the web at www.lc.edu .

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today joined U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) and 12 Senate colleagues in urging Senate Appropriations leadership to support funding for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail (IPR) grant program in the Fiscal Year 2024 spending legislation. While the committee-passed U.S. Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill included $100 million for this account, House Republicans have proposed zeroing it out, which would dramatically hinder ongoing work to improve rail infrastructure in the Northeast and across the country. The FRA recently awarded $93.6 million through this program to Amtrak’s Chicago Hub Improvement Project to revitalize Chicago Union Station. “While the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) provided five years of guaranteed funding for the Federal-State Partnership

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