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ALTON - For the past several years, the Alton Police Department and its union, PBPA Unit #14 have purchased Christmas dinner items for Oasis Women's Center in Alton. "The items are then prepared by Oasis staff for the Center’s Christmas dinner," Alton Police Chief Jarrett Ford said."It is our small way of helping support the Oasis Women’s Center." Earlier in the month, the Police Benevolent and Protective Association Alton Unit 14 Annual Shop With A Cop event also left many area children with smiles and hope for Christmas.

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ALTON - A disturbance was reported to the Alton Police Department at 1 a.m. Monday, December 26, 2022, at Danny's Lounge in the 100 block of West Fourth Street. Alton Police Chief Jarrett Ford said when officers arrived where they discovered that patrons had detained one male subject outside the business after he created a disturbance inside and struck an employee before exiting. "The male subject was taken into custody and brought to the Alton Jail," the chief said. "No serious injuries occurred."

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ST. LOUIS COUNTY - On Tuesday, December 20, 2022, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office issued charges on suspect Joseph Gutowski, 40 years of age, of the 1200 block of Moncoeur Drive in St. Louis, Missouri 63146, for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Possession of Child Pornography, and Promoting Child Pornography - Second Degree. A booking photo of Gutowski is attached. Gutowski is being held on $250,000 cash only, no 10%, bond. Please note, charges are merely an accusation and Defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law. The probable cause statement reads: Between 2017 and 2020, the Defendant was a teacher in the Rockwood School District (Lafayette High School). The Victim, who was 16 years of age, was an exchange student from a different country and was staying with the Defendant. At this time, detectives have no evidence to suggest any current students are victims of the Defendant. St. Louis County Police Crimes Against

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CHICAGO – With families across Illinois and the nation gathering to celebrate the holiday season this weekend and COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses circulating at concerning levels, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is reminding the public to celebrate the holidays safely and take action to protect their most vulnerable loved ones, including the elderly and the very young. IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra is urging those who are feeling ill to take a COVID-19 test and to stay home if they test positive to avoid spreading the virus to friends and family, especially those vulnerable to serious outcomes. IDPH also announced today that as of the end this year, it will follow the lead of the CDC and shift from daily reporting of new COVID-19 cases and deaths to a weekly cadence for reporting that data. Daily case and death data will no longer be reported as of January 1, 2023. Following that date, IDPH will report weekly data on Wednesday of each week for the

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ALTON - The Alton City Council passed several resolutions and approved several ordinances at their last regularly scheduled meeting of 2022. Among the items passed were a lease renewal agreement with Chez Marilyn, the disbursement of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the City of Alton, and many more. Alderman Nate Keener and Alderwoman Stephanie Elliott were both absent from the meeting. The council unanimously approved the disbursement of ARPA funds for “emergency priority projects within the City of Alton.” Later on in the meeting, during the “Public Forum,” an Alton Overnight Warming Center volunteer suggested part of these ARPA funds be used to address rising homelessness in Alton. A “lease renewal agreement” between the City of Alton and Chez Marilyn, Inc. was also approved unanimously by the City Council. The council also voted unanimously to grant a Special Use Permit at 301 West Elm St. to allow the operation of a “cat

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ALTON - Tyler Dreith, an Alton resident, business owner, and volunteer at Alton’s Overnight Warming Centers, asked the Alton City Council to commit some of their American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding toward supporting the city’s homeless population at the council’s December 21, 2022 meeting. “We need the City of Alton to come up with some kind of plan to address homelessness in our community. We need a commitment,” Dreith said. “We need a commitment of either time, people, a plan of action, or funds. As of right now, we have none of this from the City of Alton, which is kind of discouraging.” Dreith added that past administrations in Alton’s government made promises that were never kept, and the current administration is doing nothing to help by using ARPA funds solely for themselves. “About four years ago, the administration at that time promised a Homelessness Task Force … that was never seen through,” he

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ALTON - Alton Main Street is launching a new video storytelling series called Choosing Alton, which shares the tales of why interesting and diverse people have decided to lay down roots in our community. Choosing Alton was conceived by Roger Lewis, who serves on the Board of Directors for Alton Main Street. “You never know who you are next to in line at the grocery store or who may be filling their gas tank on the other side of the pump,” he shared, adding “Your neighbor may have a compelling story of where they are from and how they landed next door to you, and it could be a story you never knew. We decided to start telling these stories.” Lewis served as Producer of the series, which was funded by Executive Producer John Simmons. Local media company Shift Agency was hired to film and edit the episodes which are between 15-20 minutes long. The entire 12-episode series is available for viewing now at www.DowntownAlton.com/ChoosingAlton . “Our aim with

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ALTON - The charity work of the Freer family again made Christmas Day 2022 a blessing for those who would not have otherwise had new toys, coats, hats, gloves, personal care items, new socks, non-perishable food, and blankets under their trees on December 25 morning. The Freer legacy with Community Christmas dates back to early work by the late David Freer and his brother, Tim. David Freer started Freer Auto Body in 1991 after he graduated from Ranken Technical College. The boys' mother, Margaret Freer, their father, Mike, and Tim's wife, Carrie, have all been involved in Community Christmas over the years along with Tim and Carrie's daughters, Lily and Taylor. Taylor has gone off to college, but over the summer she was part of an effort that raised a record $56,000-plus for the 2022 Community Christmas campaign. Margaret said Community Christmas was always David's favorite charity and that has motivated them to keep his legacy alive year after year and make sure children and families

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SPRINGFIELD – The Family Bereavement Leave Act will go into effect on January 1, 2023, expanding unpaid leave rights for employees across the State. As the New Year approaches, employers should be aware of the new requirements under the Act. The Family Bereavement Leave Act (FBLA) is an amendment to the Child Bereavement Leave Act (CBLA) that expands leave time requirements to cover pregnancy loss, failed adoptions or surrogacy agreements, unsuccessful reproductive procedures, and other diagnoses or events negatively impacting pregnancy or fertility. The FBLA also requires employers to provide leave time after the loss of family members previously not covered by the CBLA, including spouses, domestic partners, siblings, grandparents, and stepparents. Employees may take up to two weeks, or 10 working days, of unpaid leave time for any of the events covered by the FBLA to grieve, to attend a funeral, or to make arrangements necessitated by the death of a family member. Employers

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In November, Today Show weatherman Al Roker was hospitalized after a blood clot that formed in his leg sent clots to his lungs. After being discharged on Thanksgiving he was readmitted almost immediately because he started showing more symptoms. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), blood clots are a serious and growing health issue affecting an estimated 900,000 Americans each year resulting in nearly 100,000 deaths. Blood clots are a normal response to an injury where a blood vessel gets broken. If it doesn’t clot, you will continuously bleed causing a hemorrhage. The problem is when blood clots occur for the wrong reasons such as a piece of plaque breaking off in the artery to the heart which can cause a heart attack. According to Mark Meeker, D.O., an internal medicine physician and vice president of community medicine at OSF HealthCare, another example is in the legs. He says blood usually flows relatively rapidly through our body but if something

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EDWARDSVILLE - Senior center/forward Jonathan Stump scored seven points on the way to helping Edwardsville to a big 60-21 win over Gateway STEM of St. Louis recently in a basketball game played at Lucco-Jackson Gym, a win that put the Tigers back to the .500 mark at 5-5. Stump, who's listed at six feet, seven inches, came off the bench in the recent game to make a positive contribution to the Edwardsville win. It was an important one as well, as the Tigers play this week in the Mary Institute-Country Day Holiday Tournament. Stump is an iCAN Clinic Male Athlete of the Month for the Tigers. "I'm feeling great," Stump said during his postgame interview. "It's really fun to get a good win with the guys out there and it's always a team effort, so it's fun to do it together." Things are starting to come together for the Tigers. The Tigers won three of their last four games before the holiday tournament and played well in all four games and Stump is confident that the team is making vital

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JERSEYVILLE - Jerseyville Police Department is investigating a shooting in the 700 block of Liberty in Jerseyville, the police department said in a news release Monday morning, Dec. 26. “It is believed this was an isolated incident,” the department said. “The investigation is ongoing.” Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to contact the Jerseyville Police Department at (618) 498-2131. Because the investigation is ongoing at this time, the Jerseyville Police said no additional information could be released.

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CHICAGO – It’s going to be a very memorable and merry Christmas for a local Illinois Lottery player. That’s because they’re each holding a winning ticket worth $1 million. Three other lucky players also had winning numbers throughout the state with a significant prize of $50,000. The $1 million winning ticket was won playing the Lotto. The lucky player purchased the ticket at a Phillips 66 gas station, located at 1660 East Broadway in Alton, and matched all six Lotto Million 1 numbers in the Thursday, December 22 drawing to win the grand prize. The winning numbers were: 2-3-13-21-28-43. This is now the 13th Illinois Lottery player who has won a prize of a million dollars or more with Lotto so far this year. Christmas will also be very merry and bright for three more Illinois Lottery players after winning big with Lucky Day Lotto. A Lucky Day Lotto ticket worth $900,000 was bought at PK Pantry, located at 19771 S. Torrence Ave. in Lynwood. The winning ticket

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What is a better Christmas gift than a loving relationship with people that you care about? Christmas should just not be about exchanging gifts, but about spending time with family and friends, and expressing the love you share with each other. Christmas has been commercialized since before my time, and there is nothing wrong with that. It’s fun and exciting to buy and exchange presents and to see the reaction of the receiver, especially when it’s kids. I love the reaction of someone receiving a gift they didn’t expect, a gift they need, or a gift they wouldn’t have bought for themselves. Of course, the kids will play with their gifts all day and night, but after the adults open and exchange their gifts, they sit around and enjoy each other by talking, eating, playing games, and enjoying the Christmas spirit. Family and friends sitting around and enjoying each other’s company is the most impactful part of the holidays. Christmas is about love. The Christmas

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ALTON - Members of American Legion 354 handed out Christmas presents to veterans at Burt Shelter Care Home located at 1414 Milton Rd. Tuesday afternoon. They handed out presents to eight different veterans at the home and planned on handing out 20 more to other veterans that day. Pictured above is Earl Watts, a longtime member of American Legion 354 handing out a gift. He said he's been giving Christmas presents to veterans for over 20 years now. “That’s very important to still recognize people that have difficulties, and whatever the situation may be,” Watts said. “It’s our job to serve our veterans who have served the United States to help keep this country safe.” Also at Burt Shelter that day was another member of American Legion 354 Allen Bellevue and Alton NAACP President Michael Holiday Sr. Holiday had just been at the Oasis Women’s Center the day before handing out gift cards. He said that these things are ways of showing that th

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EDWARDSVILLE - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s School of Education, Health and Human Behavior’s undergraduate and graduate public health programs have received the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) accreditation. The CEPH is an independent agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. To become accredited, programs must undergo a rigorous multi-year review. “We pursued CEPH accreditation for our students, and now they can be assured that their public health training is rooted in the highest standards in public health education,” said Alice Ma, PhD, MPH, CHES ®, assistant professor of public health and graduate program director. “This accreditation affirms our high-quality programs that can be recognized by employers and doctoral programs.” SIUE’s undergraduate program received the initial CEPH accreditation in 2015. The master’s program, having earned accreditation this year, now makes SIUE one

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EAST ST. LOUIS - Recently, East St. Louis School District 189 recognized one of its heroes in 2022. The school district honored Tarkus Ferguson, a security guard at East St. Louis High School. "Not all heroes wear capes: Please help us celebrate Tarkus, a security guard," the school district said. "He was the staff member who identified a gun and followed protocol to ensure the safety of the school earlier this year. "We thank him for his exceptional service and performance that kept the campus safe!" During the holiday season, it is important to recognize individuals like Tarkus, who make this region a better place to live with their efforts each day. (If you have a story idea about someone who has performed a heroic act, e-mail news@riverbender.com. Please include information about the person, a photo, and a phone number).

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EDWARDSVILLE – Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Business’ master of business administration (MBA) program has been named the fourth largest MBA program in the St. Louis area by the St. Louis Business Journal. “The growth of our program is a testament to the top-quality learning experience our MBA provides our students,” said Janice Joplin, PhD, associate dean for academic affairs and director of the MBA program. SIUE’s fully online accelerated program is the fastest-growing MBA program. The flexible program meets the career goals of individuals in numerous fields, serving students from coast to coast. “The SIUE MBA program provides a flexible educational path, serving students from a variety of industries and geographic locations,” Joplin added. “Our graduates demonstrate interpersonal skills and specialized knowledge in various areas creating the ability to move on to higher levels of responsibility within their

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ALTON - Temperatures stayed in the near zero degrees range for most of the day on Thursday with a high of about 7 degrees and wind chills 20-25 degrees below zero, but residents still were performing many of their daily tasks. Josh Hannah and Cecelia, shown above, were out shopping for some food items and additional hats and gloves, and warmer clothes. Cecelia acknowledged it was definitely cold outside and was ready to get inside. Many with dogs still have to take their pets outside and Terry was shown with his dog, Romeo. Terry said it was windy, but they were making it OK for a brief walk. Others around the area shoveled some of the drifted snow so people get around safely. Those who had to work outside tried to stay warm with constant inside breaks in temperatures that were nearly unbearable.

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ALTON - Alton Fire Chief Jesse Jemison updated the Thursday night blaze in the 1800 block of Main Street in Alton on Friday and said thankfully there were no injuries in the incident. The occupants of the house and the firefighters were safe after the ordeal. "Our firefighters were just freezing while they fought the fire, but we rotated them in and out to keep them safe," the chief said. "All we have to go on is what the occupants said... that they were cooking dinner and using electric appliances in the kitchen. "The only gas units were hot water heater and furnace in the basement. She said she heard a loud "Woosh," and saw flames coming from the area of the kitchen." Chief Jemison said those in the house ran out the front door and across the street to the neighbor's house.

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