Riverbender 🕸

ALTON - Illinois American Water continues very active work to separate the Alton combined sewer system and install new sanitary sewers continues. The area of 3rd Street between Belle Street and Piasa Street is still closed. There is considerable digging on 3rd Street in Alton as of Tuesday. "As was expected with one of the oldest and busiest streets in the history of Alton, the contactor has encountered some challenges since excavating started on 3rd Street," Illinois-American Water said again this week. "There are numerous old, abandoned utility lines, and even an old brick cistern was uncovered last week. To support safety, progress has been slowed some, resulting in a bit of a delay." Illinois American anticipates it will finish the 3rd Street part of the project in a few weeks, then Belle Street shortly after that. Below is other information about road closures – August 22, 2022: Piasa Valley Area: 9th Street is still closed from Alton Street east to George Street.

Continue Reading

WOOD RIVER - Amiya Hardin, a senior girls volleyball player for East Alton-Wood River Community High School, is expected to be one of the key players for the Oilers as the 2022 season gets underway in the next week. Last season was a very good one for Hardin, as she served up 50 points and 19 aces for EAWR, along with 183 kills, 25 blocks, 15 of them solo, 12 assists, and 72 digs in helping the Oilers to a 12-24 record in 2021. She's also won many awards and honors on her team the last two seasons and has also been named Honorable Mention on both the Prairie State and Cahokia Conference All-Conference teams. For her efforts on the court, Hardin has been named a Midwest Members Credit Union Female Athlete of the Month at EAWR. Hardin, who plays for head coach Bethany Billingsley, had played volleyball since middle school and enjoys playing the sport very much. "I've been playing volleyball since seventh grade," Hardin said. "My favorite thing about volleyball is you only get better

Continue Reading

CARROLLTON - Several individuals in Greene and surrounding counties have been charged with crimes ranging from battery to vehicle theft over the past month, according to the latest Greene County Jail Booking Report. David Moore, 50, of Alsey, was charged with two counts of aggravated battery of a peace officer and one count of resisting a peace officer, in addition to a Failure to Appear warrant in Greene County. He was arrested by the Scott County Sheriff’s Department on August 9 and remains in custody. Robert Sprague, 49, of Roodhouse, was arrested for battery by the White Hall Police Department on August 9, but has since been released on bond. Kyle Hoffman, 29, of Kane, was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle. He was arrested by the Greene County Sheriff’s Department on August 9 and has since been released on bond. Douglas Hall, 35, of Roodhouse, was arrested for retail theft by the Roodhouse Police Department on August 2 and was given a Notice to Appear

Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement regarding reports by a former senior security employee at Twitter who is alleging widespread security failures at the company: “The whistleblower’s allegations of widespread security failures at Twitter, willful misrepresentations by top executives to government agencies, and penetration of the company by foreign intelligence raise serious concerns. If these claims are accurate, they may show dangerous data privacy and security risks for Twitter users around the world. As Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I will continue investigating this issue and take further steps as needed to get to the bottom of these alarming allegations.”

Continue Reading

CAHOKIA HEIGHTS, IL – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with Radhika Fox, EPA Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water, Deb Shore, EPA Region 5 Administrator and John Kim, IEPA Director, toured areas of Cahokia Heights that have been hard hit with legacy flooding and sewage issues and led a roundtable discussion with local officials and community members about efforts to address environmental injustice. Also joining Duckworth, Fox and Shore were: Chris Belt, 57th District State Senator; Latoya Greenwood, 114th District State Representative; Jay Hoffman, 113th District State Representative; Mark Kern, St. Clair County Board Chairman; Curtis McCall Sr., Mayor of Cahokia Heights; Joe Ahlvin, Senior Operations Manager; of IL American Water and members of the community. Photos of today’s tour and roundtable are available here . “For too long, communities like Cahokia Heights have unfairly borne the brunt of environmental injustice, which is why

Continue Reading

WOOD RIVER – Today, city council member Jeremy Plank commended the City of Wood River staff for prioritizing transparency by adding to the city website: city meetings agendas a calendar of events list of current projects “one-click” electronic payment of billings “In 2021, I launched ‘A Transparent Wood River,’ a plan to make our city more accountable and accessible to its citizens,” said Plank. “I appreciate the work of city staff for helping to make Wood River a leader in transparent local government.” “A Transparent Wood River” is an initiative inspired by the Ballotpedia.com Municipal Transparency Checklist . This checklist includes common-sense items the city should disclose on its website, including the city budget, audits, meeting agendas, open records information, contracts, and lobbying information. “As a city councilman, I will continue to prioritize transparency so our residents can see their

Continue Reading

EDWARDSVILLE – The Madison County Coroner’s Office confirmed the names of the two workers who died after becoming unconscious while in a manhole at a construction site in the 100 block of East Union on Friday, August 19, 2022, as Jack M. Pfund, 19, of Edwardsville and Cody W. Toenyes, 22, of Bethalto. The coroner's office said both men were pronounced dead at the scene at 7:24 p.m. on Friday, August 19. The Edwardsville Fire Department said the area where the two men were found had very little oxygen and there was a buildup of toxic gases. Jack Pfund is the son of Pfund Construction CEO and President Matt Pfund. Toeneyes is a CM grad.

Continue Reading

CARROLLTON - Several drug-related arrests have been made by the Greene County Sheriff’s Department and departments from surrounding counties over the last month, according to the latest Greene County Jail Booking Report. Pamela Gordon, 50, of East St. Louis, was charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving under the influence of drugs and a “Failure To Appear” warrant in St. Clair County. Gordon was arrested last night at 11:40 p.m. by the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department, where she remains in custody. Erica Adams, 34, was arrested by the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department last night at 9:04 p.m. and remains in custody. She was charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and illegal transportation of alcohol by a passenger. Krista Burrows, 28, of Rockbridge, was charged with posession of a controlled substance, possession of methamphetamine, a “Failure

Continue Reading

GRANITE CITY – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today hosted a roundtable discussion with public safety leaders and officials at Granite City’s City Hall focused on the challenges our law enforcement officers face and her efforts at the federal level to ensure they have the resources they need to keep communities safe. Duckworth also spoke to the officials about her bipartisan Public Safety Officer Support Act that President Biden signed into law last week. Photos of today’s roundtable are available here . “It takes a special person to get up every day determined to keep our streets safe and protect our little ones from danger,” said Duckworth. “With the spikes in violent crime we’ve seen in communities from Highland Park to Uvalde—not just in places like Chicago as some people want you to think—this is everyone’s problem because it happens everywhere. We need to better support our officers and communities, which is

Continue Reading

ALTON - Amoriah Gray, the 7-year-old author of the children’s story “Amoriah’s Magic Afro Puffs,” held a book signing at the Boys & Girls Club of Alton on August 10. With this being the final stop on Amoriah’s summer book tour, her mother Angela Gray said the event was “a huge success.” “Amoriah's Book signing at the Boys & Girls Club was a huge success. Several parents purchased books and T-shirts,” Gray said. “Other parents took information cards with her website to order later. Some of the Boys & Girls staff even ordered.” In addition to copies of her book, T-shirts, coloring kits and more were up for sale at Amoriah’s latest book signing event. Gray said they also custom-made some T-shirts for the Boys & Girls Club of Alton. “To show our appreciation to the staff for everything they did for Amoriah this summer, we made shirts from our small business, Luv2Express Tees & More,” Gray said.

Continue Reading

WOOD RIVER - Girl Scout Troop 130 and 792 spent the last year planning, preparing, and implementing projects that both benefited Partners for Pets in Troy. Troop 130 titled their project “Shelter Helpers - A Project for Partners for Pets” and Troop 792 titled their project “Care for Critters.” Both troops learned recently that their projects met all of the requirements for the Silver Award and they will be presented their awards at the Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois’ annual Recognition of Excellence Awards Ceremony in May of 2023. Troop 130 Silver Awardees are Somona Acheson of Wood River, granddaughter of Kathy Acheson, KayLynn Buttry of East Alton, daughter of Dustin and Janet Buttry, Hope Carter of Wood River, daughter of Carmen Elfgen, and Melina Luebbert of Hartford, daughter of Ted and Kristie Luebbert. Troop 792 Silver Awardees are Julia Heil of Carrollton, daughter of Jeff and Jean Heil, and Elisabeth Preston of Edwardsville, daughter of Samuel

Continue Reading

GLEN CARBON - Girl Scouts 193 received one of the organization's highest honors recently by earning a Girl Scout Bronze Award. Amber Donnelly, a spokesperson for Girl Scouts Troop 193, said thank you to Lowe's of Glen Carbon for donating pallets to the service project. The project was to build a goat playground and the Girl Scouts also collected $127 to donate toward the upkeep of animals at Willoughby Heritage Farm. Willoughby Heritage Farm is located on 40 acres of bluff line prairie and woodland overlooking the American Bottom at 631 Willoughby, Collinsville. The farm has more than 30 acres of wildlife preserve complete with hiking trails. Donnelly said the Girl Scouts in the troop and adult volunteers made the project a success with their dedication to the cause. For the Girl Scout Bronze Award, it is suggested a minimum of 20 hours of building a team, exploring the community, choosing a project, planning it, putting a plan in motion, and spreading the word about the project.

Continue Reading

ALTON - Alton’s Fall City-Wide Litter Clean-Up will be held on Saturday, September 10th from 9:00 a.m. until noon, rain or shine. The community is invited to pitch in by picking up bags, gloves, a free donut, and directions to areas that need cleaning. Registration stations are open from 8 am-12 pm and located Downtown at the corner of 3rd & Belle St., and in Middletown at Fast Eddie's Chicken at 7th and Central Ave. At 9:00 a.m., groups are departing in Upper Alton from Taqueria Maya at 621 College Ave and North Alton from Joe K’s Restaurant, located at 2530 State St. If needed, groups can pick up supplies at Great Rivers Tourism Center, or Jacoby Arts Center two weeks prior. Alternatively, volunteers can simply pick up litter in their neighborhood and deposit it in their trash & recycle bins. The bi-annual cleanups are coordinated by Pride, Incorporated, collaborating with Alton Main Street who share the vision and understanding that litter-free streets are essential

Continue Reading

ALTON - Alton's Kathleen Richardson was named Senior Operations Supervisor in the Alton District, effective August 22. In this role, Kathleen will oversee operations and management of the Alton Wastewater Treatment Plant. She will report to Senior Production Manager Fred Campbell. Kathleen joined Illinois American Water as a Wastewater Technician. Prior to that she worked for the City of Alton as a Wastewater Operator, was a Utility Worker for U.S. Steel, and a Welder/Rigger for Central Mine Equipment Company. Kathleen is licensed as a Class 3 Wastewater Operator. Kathleen is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Richardson was the first woman hired at the former City of Alton Waste Water Treatment Plant. Kathleen started at the WWTP in 2012 and stayed on with the acquisition in 2019. Since that time, she and her co-worker has received company-wide recognition for creating a project to save the company money. Kathleen is married to Alton Fire Department Battalion Chief Derrick

Continue Reading

EDWARDSVILLE - This is another in a series of articles with photos and descriptions of entries in the Edwardsville Arts Fair at City Park on September 23-24. Today an Alton and Edwardsville artist are both featured. Artist Name: Jenna Muscarella Location: Alton Artist Statement: " I collect cigar boxes and keep physical memory keepsakes inside of them. I admire the detail and craftsmanship of each box. I observe each line in the design every twist and curve. I visually represent the box details with my quick, calligraphic one-shot mark." Artist Name: Jane Voltz Location: Edwardsville Artist Statement: " I search for small antique treasures and resurrect them into unique jewelry compositions. I love re-imagining the old, making it new and precious again." Artist Name: David Hasty Location: St. Louis, MO Artist Statement: " David Hasty is a St. Louis photographer with several years of experience. My work is varied and extensive. I consider mysel

Continue Reading

ST. LOUIS - The Hawthorn, St. Louis’ newest live music and events venue, is excited to announce its Grand Opening & first concert that will be coming to Downtown West St. Louis. The new space, located at 2225 Washington Avenue, is set to celebrate its Grand Opening on November 3 and is currently taking bookings for events including midsize concerts, galas, weddings, and corporate events. Independent country music duo, Muscadine Bloodline, will be taking the stage on November 18 as The Hawthorn’s first large-scale concert in the newly renovated space. The band’s latest album debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes Country Chart and their energetic live shows continue to draw large crowds all over the country. This concert is one of several new events being announced in the coming weeks. “We’re excited to announce the Grand Opening for this unique event space in St. Louis and we’re looking forward to many more big announcements to come,” said co-owner

Continue Reading

GODFREY – Lewis and Clark Community College has another slate of non-credit Community Education classes beginning this month. “As always, we are proud to offer these classes at L&C to help enrich the lives of our community members,” said Community Education Division Assistant Becky Moore. “We offer courses on an array of subjects designed to both entertain and educate. With our community education courses held throughout the year, we hope there is something for everyone.” Saturday Morning Glow Yoga is for anyone who enjoys yoga, whether they are new to the practice or have many years of experience. This course will focus on the fundamentals of yoga, including posture alignment, breathwork and meditation. Participants will reap the many benefits of yoga such as relaxation, improved flexibility and balance, increased physical strength and energy, and better digestion. Students will need to supply their own mats – blocks and straps are suggested,

Continue Reading

FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS - IMPACT Strategies will begin work as Construction Manager this month on renovations to create a new medical marijuana dispensary for Proper Cannabis. The project will convert a former Bank of America building in Bridgeton, MO into a new, 2,500-square-foot retail location. The project features design details in a modern apothecary feel, with high-end millwork finishes, a crisp black and white design with light wood accents, botanicals, geometric fixtures, and midcentury modern furniture. Specialized security measures were taken with the installation of ballistics glass and drywall and a specialty vault. In addition to an interior retrofit, the project includes renovating the building’s exterior. The updated building fac¸ade will feature warm white painted brick and slat privacy screen siding. The project is the firm’s third for Proper Brands. In 2020, IMPACT renovated two locations for medical marijuana dispensaries in South County and Warrenton, Missouri

Continue Reading

EDWARDSVILLE - The Edwardsville Arts Center invites the community to a reception for the current exhibit, “Still Lives: Painters and Objects” on Friday, August 26th from 6-8pm! In the DeToye Student Gallery a display of submissions for this year’s “Out and About” Banner Contest which is hosted with the Campus to Community Committee. The winners’ banners will be hung on lampposts in downtown Edwardsville and throughout the SIUE Campus. “Still Lives: Painters and Objects” was curated by former SIUE Professor of Painting, Jane Barrow, and features 16 professional painters from all over the United States. Each artist is exhibiting only two or three paintings and have had their work exhibited in galleries and venues throughout the country. In choosing artists to invite, Barrow “selected contemporary painters whose interests are either perceptual, emphasizing the painterly illusions of light and form, or conceptual, focusing on

Continue Reading

ALTON - The Alton Marina has become a powerhouse business over the past 15 years under the direction of General Manager Karen Baker-Brncic of Parrot Pointe Marine Inc. On Saturday, August 27th, the region will say goodbye at the Marina to the legendary general manager with a huge anniversary party. Karen will soon retire from her position. Award-winning Barbecue Masters Black Iron BBQ begins selling plates at 6:30 p.m. at the party. Beverage bars will also be on site. The world-famous Z-Band will be the entertainment at the Marina. There will be a Grand Finale on the Big Screen produced by Megyme Productions that people will want to see, Karen said. There is no cover charge and people are requested to bring their lawn chairs and "party attitude," Karen says. The Z-Band starts performing at 7:30 p.m. Under Karen’s leadership, the Alton Marina has emphasized exceptional hospitality and convenience. In 2020, The Alton Marina was selected to be on the cover of Quimby’s. Karen

Continue Reading