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ALTON - Kristina Castelli, the Alton High girls volleyball team libero, recently earned honorable mention All-Southwestern Conference honors as a defensive specialist, her coach Phil Hamilton said. Castelli is an Auto Butler Female Athlete of the Month for the Redbirds. Coach Hamilton said Castelli fills the libero role of specializing in play on the back row. “She can go into the game in more than one position,” the coach added. “The libero allows you more flexibility almost the entire game in the back row. The libero is the backbone of your defense and your passing.” He said it is quite an honor for Castelli to be on the All-Southwestern Conference list, considering the competition for the nomination. “You have to be judicious with your All SWC entries,” Hamilton said. “She does enjoy volleyball immensely and is also a soccer player on the varsity team in the spring. She is a great athlete overall." Hamilton closed by saying: "We have

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ST. LOUIS - Yelena Gass-Bronstein spent her entire career as a registered nurse at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Now, she’s counting on her colleagues to save her life. Roughly 15% of the U.S. adult population will develop kidney disease, and Gass-Bronstein is one of the 90,000 people in the U.S. who currently need a kidney transplant. In order to avoid the “miserable” experience of dialysis, she is searching for a living kidney donor who would be willing to donate a kidney, as soon as possible. “I helped so many people during my career, and now I need help myself,” Gass-Bronstein said. “The bottom line is that in order to survive, I will need an organ. All those prayers and support — I have lots of people who responded with emotional responses, that they’re praying for me, that they’re wishing me the best. And it’s very meaningful to me, of course. It means a lot to me. But I need to find an organ.” Gass-Bronstein isn’t

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EAST ALTON - As the afternoon closes on the demolition project of the Old Citizens Savings Bank in East Alton, a large part of the building has been removed. Here are photos thanks to the 618 Drone Service. The photos provide an above-ground look at how the building's remnants are now stacked. In the morning, the demo group will be back out at the scene and continue removal until the building is completely taken down. As promised, quick progress was made on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, the first day of demolition. All day long, the site attracted the attention of onlookers and most there reflected on the architecture and history of the building, which unfortunately couldn't be saved because of a contaminated and destroyed interior, East Alton city officials said. Riverbender.com will provide another tear-down look on Friday as the demolition continues.

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Feeling bloated today? You’re not alone. It’s not uncommon to get the sensation caused by gas, air or fluid retention in the stomach or small intestine. But what’s important to know: bloating has many causes, says Aminat Ogun, MD , an OSF HealthCare family medicine physician. So don’t let it linger and hope it will go away. If symptoms persist, see a health care provider so they can rule out something more serious and give proper treatment.“It might feel like your stomach is full, swollen or sometimes tender. It can cause some discomfort,” Dr. Ogun says.Causes for bloating include: The body makes too much gas. An overgrowth of intestinal bacteria. H. pylori is a common type. Dr. Ogun says it causes chronic inflammation in the stomach lining, and it can lead to peptic ulcers or even stomach cancer if untreated. Diet issues, like intolerance of certain carbohydrates or a gluten intolerance. Hormone changes during a woman’s menstrual cycle.

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EDWARDSVILLE - Habitat for Humanity is partnering with SIUE Softball to offer a delicious chicken dinner at the Edwardsville Moose Lodge on Marine Road from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, November 5, 2023. Todd Taplin, a local attorney, and one of the event coordinators, said he firmly believes in Habitat’s mission and is so thankful to have the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville softball players volunteering for the day. He said the SIUE softball squad will make the day much easier for the group of Habitat for Humanity volunteers, plus is just a fantastic community service act by the women. He said this particular fundraiser is vital for their group in the mission to equip another individual with a Habitat home. He said the difference Habitat makes in recipients' lives is beyond incredible. The NCAA Division 1 Cougar softball team has a reputation for being a very giving group in the community. The women’s softball group stays busy all year long. Between fundamental

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MARYVILLE - Maryville Police Chief Tony Manley provided some follow-up information about an accident last week at Amberleigh Drive and Route 162 across from Anderson Hospital. He confirmed a person was airlifted and there were significant injuries in the crash, but he didn’t know the current condition of the individuals. He said one vehicle apparently came out of Amberleigh Drive and didn’t stop when they were struck by another vehicle on Illinois 162. He said there is a pretty hefty speed limit on Route 162, but he said it is not common for an abundance of accidents in that area. However, he urged that after this serious incident, people need to make sure they exercise caution in that area.

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ALTON - The Alton YWCA will host a trivia night to fund their free community and youth programs. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the trivia starts at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, at the Best Western Premier Conference Center in Alton. In addition to trivia, attendees can enjoy a 50/50 raffle, silent auction and “a wagon of booze” raffle, according to Alton YWCA Executive Director Dorothy Hummel. All proceeds go back to the organization. “This trivia night is important to us because it brings in dollars, it gives us an opportunity to talk about what we do and provides the financial support to us so we’re able to offer those programs for free to most of the community,” Hummel said. “Our mission is ‘Eliminating racism, empowering women.’ We focus on developing racial justice events and programs and social justice events and programs.” Many of these programs are child-centric. The Child Enrichment program works with the Alton,

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JERSEYVILLE - JCHS Law students heard from a special guest speaker on Wednesday morning when Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lisa Holder White gave a presentation and spoke with students in the school’s auditorium. Kevin Strebel, who teaches Law at JCHS, said this opportunity was a win-win for Justice White and his students. “The 4th Appellate District in Illinois is 41 counties, and Justice White has a desire to meet the people in the district,” Strebel said. “This was an opportunity for her to do that, and for our students to talk to a professional at the top of her profession.” Strebel said Justice White’s visit also gave students a better understanding of the state-level court, which may not make headlines as often as the local or national-level courts. “I don't think the average citizen knows much beyond what happens at the local courthouse,” Strebel said. “I think that many of us would be more likely to recognize the

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GRANITE CITY - Granite City senior libero Raegan Shrum “grew tremendously as a player in the past two seasons,” the Warriors’ Head Girls Volleyball Coach Grace Hurst said this week. “Number 11 was a very consistent player for this team,” the coach said. Raegan Shrum is a Stillwater Senior Living Female Athlete of the Month for the Warriors. Coach Hurst continued and said Raegan was able to hold together the back row with serve receive and defense all season long. “Everyone knew she was going to go out there and do her job, but also give energy to her teammates,” the coach explained. “She was one of the captains this year and showed great leadership with her play and communication every single day.” Again, congratulations to Shrum for her honor as a Stillwater Senior Living Female Athlete of the Month for Granite City.

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EDWARDSVILLE – The Edwardsville Police Department Lt. Bradn Whittaker reported one impaired driving arrest over the recent Halloween enforcement effort. Edwardsville Police also reported the following: 1 drug-related arrest 7 speed citations 7 other citations during the recent Halloween enforcement effort. Whittaker said law enforcement agencies throughout Illinois participated in this effort to save lives by getting impaired drivers off the roads and more people buckled up. The fall enforcement campaign took place from Oct. 14 through Nov. 1. Extra emphasis was placed on enforcement during late-night hours when statistics show the most unbuckled and impaired driving fatalities occur. The recent law enforcement campaign was made possible by federal highway safety funds administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

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JERSEY - Jersey junior Amelia Strebel is working with tenacity this fall as winter begins in preparation for the 2024 indoor and spring outdoor track and field season. She has been diligent about her time in the weight room and her father, Kevin, who doubles as Jersey’s head girls track and field coach, said he expects big things from her in the spring. Amelia is a Sparklight Internet Female Athlete of the Month for the Panthers. Kevin Strebel said Amelia works out often during early bird time before school and he said he was proud of all the improvements she made last season. Amelia said she agrees she has worked hard and hopes to improve her technique going into next season. “I am excited to see what I can do next season,” she said. Last year, Amelia posted bests of 96-1.25 in the discus and 32-3 in the shot put. She hopes to post some even better performances this coming spring. The Panthers' junior placed third in the shot put in the Mississippi Valley Conference

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ALTON - Alton Band and Orchestra Builders (ABOB) is calling all crafters to participate in their 34th Annual Olde Alton Arts and Craft Fair. On Dec. 2–3, 2023, approximately 200 crafters will gather at Alton High School to sell their crafts to the Riverbend community. The crafters keep their profits, but proceeds from the fair itself will go to ABOB to provide uniforms and instruments to the Alton Community Unit School District #11 music program. “ABOB holds a special place in our heart to support, and it’s such a worthwhile cause,” organizer Dave Fritz said. “I’m not sure that we’d have such a strong instrumental music program in the Alton district without the support of ABOB and our community that supports it. So we thank everybody that supports ABOB to provide this musical opportunity for our students.” This is ABOB’s 75th year. As Alton alumni, Fritz and his children have benefited from the organization’s work, and

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EAST ALTON - The demolition of the old Citizens Savings & Loan Bank at 700 Berkshire Blvd. in East Alton began Thursday morning, Nov. 2, 2023. By 9:30 a.m., the demolition was in full gear and shortly after a crowd collected in a parking lot across the street to take photos, video and simply reminisce about yesteryear with the historic bank. The Citizens Bank was built in 1964 and the architect was Alvin K. Stolze. Russ Colona, the long-time track and field and cross country coach at East Alton-Wood River, lives down the street from the old Savings and Loan. He said, "We moved here in 1982. It is kind of sad. It was about a quarter a mile around it to go by my house and my kids used to do hill training here. I also used the round building as a landmark to tell people how to get to our house. I am right behind it. The father of Kathy, my wife, banked here. It is a neat thing the architecture used on it. I feel they are taking a piece of history away, I think." Christine, another

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STAUNTON - Madison Communications Broadband Technician, Bryan Huffstutler, was selected to compete this year for the second time at the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers Expo in Denver, Co. which was held from October 16 th – 19 th . This was a huge honor since he was personally selected to compete in the games. The SCTE (Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers) is an international organization that is split up between 68 chapters. Bryan did an outstanding job representing Madison Communications and the SCTE Gateway Chapter, competing against 5 other teams consisting of 4 competitors, all which have earned a spot at the International Games by winning their local regional Cable-Tec Games. The 7 competitive events consisted of games that evaluated the technicians in these categories: MTDR (Metallic Time Domain Reflectometer - used for finding faults in metallic cables such as twisted pair copper and coax), OTDR (Optical Time Domain Reflectometer - used for findin

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EDWARDSVILLE - Metro-East Lutheran High School announced its Honor Roll lists for the first quarter of the 2023-24 school year. The link to the Honor Roll lists can be found below: Metro-East Lutheran First Quarter Honor Roll

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STAUNTON - During their Employee Appreciation Week celebration in October, the employees at Madison were challenged to donate non-perishable items to the local food pantries as part of a team bonding exercise. The Madison employees collected a total of 8 milk crates and multiple boxes of food. The items were then divided evenly between the Mt. Olive Care Center and the Staunton Helping Hands Center. These donations are just a small part of Madison’s commitment to care for the communities that they serve. Along with donating to the local food pantries, Madison is also sponsoring the Community Hope Center’s Christmas Toy Drive once again! Please help spread the love to a child for Christmas by donating a new and unwrapped toy for girls and boys ages 0-12. Toys will be accepted until December 6th in their main office lobby at 21668 Double Arch Road in Staunton. They thank you in advance for your generosity this holiday season. To learn more about Madison’s services

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CHICAGO – November is Adoption Awareness Month, and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is celebrating the lifelong commitment of thousands of families across the state who have opened their hearts and homes to 17,159 children in need of loving families over the past decade. “It is our mission to ensure that every child in Illinois grows up in a safe and loving family,” said Illinois DCFS Director Marc D. Smith. “During Adoption Awareness Month we encourage Illinoisans to get involved and become licensed foster, adoptive or guardianship parents to children who need them and celebrate the thousands of families across the state that have been made whole though adoption.” Last fiscal year 1,939 Illinois children were adopted into permanent, loving families. Today there are 19,835 youth in care waiting for a family and place to call home. To learn more about some of them, visit the Heart Gallery of Illinois at https://greenlightfamilyservices.org/heartgalleryofil/

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WEST ALTON - The US Army Corps of Engineers, Rivers Project Office, will temporarily close Maple Island Access Recreation Area beginning November 2, 2023, due to necessary re-painting work on the Missouri side of Melvin Price Locks and Dam to prevent any potential overspray onto vehicle traffic. Weather permitting, this work will be completed by the end of the weekend, and the Access Area will be re-opened on Monday, November 6 th . For more information, please contact the Rivers Project Office at 636.899.2600.

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, met with Michelle DeLaune, President and CEO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), along with NCMEC General Counsel Yiota Souras, to discuss NCMEC’s Congressional appropriation and Durbin’s efforts to protect children online. “I’ve worked hand-in-hand with Ms. DeLaune and her team since the Senate Judiciary Committee began its legislative push to protect children online earlier this year. Their support is a testament to the importance of Congressional action to hold Big Tech accountable for its failure to protect our kids. NCMEC and its programs and services are a critical lifeline for victims, survivors, and their families. As I push to bring our bills to the Senate floor for a vote, I am proud to have NCMEC’s partnership and will do whatever I can to fund their lifesaving services,” said Durbin. NCMEC was

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees—spoke with U.S. Special Representative Penny Pritzker about her role and vision to help advance Ukraine’s economic recovery as that nation continues to fight for their freedom and sovereignty against Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war of choice. During their meeting, Duckworth also reiterated the need for continued American support for Ukraine, which is not only critically important for our Ukrainian partners, but also important for America’s own national security and preventing Putin from continuing his march West, which would threaten our NATO allies. “So long as Ukraine needs our support, the United States should not shy away from our role as a global leader in the fight to uphold democracy and the rule of law,” said Duckworth. “As we continue to work to secure additional,

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