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SPRINGFIELD - The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has awarded a $1.5 million grant to SIU School of Medicine scientist Brandon Cox, PhD, to test compounds that are predicted to stimulate regeneration of cells used for hearing, called hair cells. The process could illuminate a path to restore human hearing. Researchers have discovered that birds, fish and amphibians can regrow these auditory hair cells. The new hair cells form from adjacent supporting cells after damage. Humans are born with roughly 12,000 of these specialized sound-detecting cells within the ear. Hair cell damage is a common cause of hearing loss, affecting about 1.5 billion people worldwide. Once hair cells are killed, it is believed the damage is irreversible and becomes cumulative as we age. Hearing loss is the most common injury that affects men and women serving in the United States military. The damage can result from either intense or prolonged exposure to loud noise or exposure to specific medications. Members

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GODFREY – Lewis and Clark Community College experienced an increase in enrollment this spring for the first time since the Spring of 2016. “It is definitely due to everyone’s hard work that we are experiencing an increase in total student enrollment and headcount,” said Vice President of Student Affairs Cherise Jackson. “In addition to new strategies we have deployed focused on recruitment efforts, efforts aimed at retaining students and supporting them through their academic journeys toward graduation are also playing an important role in our overall increases in enrollment." As of Feb. 6, the total student headcount was up 9.6 percent to 4,007 students, with total credit hours up 5 percent to 32,869. Of the college’s student body, there are currently 2,444 students (up 5.2 percent) taking 24,776 credit hours (up 3.2 percent) at Lewis and Clark, and 1,563 dual credit students (up 17.3 percent) taking 8,093 credit hours (up 10.9 percent) at their

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EAST ST. LOUIS – The Illinois State Police (ISP) Public Safety Enforcement Group (PSEG) is an investigative unit created in 2019 comprised of both state and local law enforcement agencies and community organizations utilizing a community-based approach to violent crime reduction. PSEG successfully helped decrease violent crime in the East St. Louis area in 2022. Compared to 2021, homicides in East St. Louis decreased by 22% and non-fatal shootings by 29%. In 2022, PSEG seized more than 175 firearms. “Thanks to ISP’s Public Safety Enforcement Group, we’ve taken significant steps forward in building safer communities where all families can thrive,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Our dedicated troopers and historic investments in state-of-the-art facilities are crucial components of a holistic, community-based approach to reducing violent crime and making Metro East residents feel safe.” “In 2019, there were 36 homicides and 121

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WOOD RIVER - Detective Christopher S. Alfaro was recognized as the Wood River Police Department Officer of the Year for 2022 at the City Council Meeting on Monday night. Wood River Police Chief Brad Wells said Detective Alfaro was an obvious choice for the honor because of his attention to detail, work ethic, and sincere compassion for victims as an officer. “On February 23, 2022, a shooting of a person was reported in the 300 block of Bonita Street,” Chief Wells said. “The suspect was identified and arrested. On October 2, 2022, the Wood River Fire Department battled an apartment fire and it was determined the fire was arson. A resident of the apartment was seriously injured due to the fire and is paralyzed. A suspect was identified and arrested. On December 21, 2022, three fires were reported to Wood River Dispatch at the same time. One of the fires was in the 100 block of Penning, one in the 100 block of Acton Avenue, and the other in the 300 block of Edwardsville

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WOOD RIVER - Wood River Fire Department Engineer/Paramedic Kris Ayers was recognized by the mayor and city council for being awarded the 2022 Firefighter of the Year on Monday night. Ayers was also deployed in the Army Reserve for just under a year and has come back and immediately in the fold to assist with training and much more. “He is our training officer and CPR coordinator,” Chief Stahlhut said. “Kris is just a great overall role model and mentor. He wants everyone in our department to be successful. He passes on his knowledge and has tremendous character and integrity that he passes on to others. He is a good family man and has found a good family-work balance. He is a great individual overall for the firefighter of the year.” Chief Stalhut continued and said this award was originally presented on December 21 at the Wood River Firefighters Association holiday party and is based on nominations from within the fire department organization by his peers an

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MASCOUTAH – MidAmerica St. Louis Airport today announced a new record of 163,210 passengers served in 2022, continuing a trend of positive passenger growth. The 2022 passenger count exceeds that of 2021 by nearly 2,000 and is fueled by a robust recovery from the travel disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. As travelers become more comfortable with air travel and demand continues to surge, many people are taking advantage of the services that MidAmerica St. Louis Airport offers. “MidAmerica Airport’s continuing growth is due to numerous factors,” said St. Clair County Chairman Mark Kern. “Passengers can count on easy access from Interstate 64, affordable parking and efficient airport and security operations, and they appreciate Allegiant’s strong route network serving popular destinations at affordable rates.” MidAmerica airport currently serves the following nonstop destinations via Allegiant on either a year-round or seasonal

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O’FALLON – HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital presented the quarterly Being Extraordinary Everyday (BEE) Award to Mark Hensch, CNA. Hensch was nominated by a patient. The nomination read in part, “Everyone was wonderful. Mark seemed to go above and beyond. He would always check on me and met all the must-haves. He did hourly rounding. I did not have to ring for anything. He was proactive with my water jug, fresh ice and water, and washcloths, towels, etc. were given before needed. He lived the mission, (and) he lived each core value. He anticipated my needs, was knowledgeable and always had a smile. He said he was in nursing school, and I hope he continues in health care; he will make a difference in the lives he touches.” In addition to Hensch, 11 other St. Elizabeth’s colleagues received nominations this quarter. The BEE Award was established to recognize the colleagues outside of nursing who go beyond expectations of their daily work to

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GRANITE CITY - Juniors Alex Boyer and Addyson Cathcart of Granite City High School were selected as Granite City Rotary Club Students of the Month for January. Students were nominated by teachers and were chosen on the basis of academics, as well as scholastic, extracurricular, and civic honors and awards, and organization membership and leadership. Each honoree will receive a framed certificate and a gift card and will be recognized at the Mayors' Prayer Breakfast on March 14, 2023. ALEX BOYER Boys Basketball Team Captain ... Member of Foreign Language Club and Math Team ... Secondary Honors Program ... Received the Andy Phillip Basketball Award ... Member of Unity Youth Group ... Son of Scott and Brooke Boyer. ADDYSON CATHCART Three-year member of Cheerleading Team ... Secondary Honors Program ... Personal Choice Award ... Member of Varsity Club and Warrior Flock ... Alpha Peer Leader ... Park District volunteer ... Elks Soccer Referee and Park District Umpire ...

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EDWARDSVILLE – Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Department of Civil Engineering hosted the local MATHCOUNTS competition on Saturday, Feb. 4 on the Edwardsville campus. This year’s competition featured 60 students from seven local middle schools. “The Department of Civil Engineering has hosted the local MATHCOUNTS competition for the last three decades,” said Susan Morgan, PhD, PE, associate dean for research and graduate studies and professor in the Department of Civil Engineering. “In addition to providing an opportunity for potential future engineers and their parents to be on campus, it provides an opportunity for current SIUE students to interact with practicing engineers as they grade the tests. It also brings engineering alumni back to SIUE’s campus.” “MATHCOUNTS is a yearly math-based competition series for middle school students to compete individually and as a team from chapter level to state and then nationally

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ST. LOUIS - St. Louis Business leaders and one Independence Center member put their dancing shoes on and raised over $700,000 for Independence Center at this year’s Dancing with the St. Louis Stars. The 15th annual event benefits Independence Center, a St. Louis nonprofit committed to restoring the lives of adults with severe and persistent mental illness. Proceeds from Dancing with the St. Louis Stars allow Independence Center to provide a comprehensive system of high-quality programs and services to people with serious and persistent mental illnesses. Independence Center’s goal is to help people live and work in the community, independently and with dignity. “We feel so fortunate that our Dancing with the St. Louis Stars event helps shine a light on some of the mental health issues happening right in our community,” said Independence Center Executive Director Trish Holmes. “Independence Center’s success relies on the proceeds raised at this

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ALTON – OSF HealthCare is offering advanced technology for people with diabetes to get an exam to check for diabetic retinopathy and macular edema when visiting their primary care provider or endocrinologist. Diabetic retinopathy is the number one cause of blindness for adults in the U.S. The IDx-DR software developed by the Iowa-based startup Digital Diagnostics analyzes photos of the retina and uses artificial intelligence (AI) to evaluate the extent of damage to blood vessels that might occur from high sugar levels in the blood caused by diabetes. The test typically takes a few minutes, and in most, but not all cases, doesn’t require the eyes to be dilated. The company was the first to receive FDA authorization to market the novel autonomous AI technology. Mark Meeker, DO, vice president of Community Medicine at OSF HealthCare, says many patients with diabetes put off going to an additional appointment at a different office to get a dilated eye exam every year o

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EDWARDSVILLE — Madison County is in search of a new chief county assessment officer. “We will be hiring a new supervisor of assessments to replace Joe Dauderman who is retiring soon,” County Administrator Dave Tanzyus said. Madison County will hold testing for the position at 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 27. The examination will determine candidates who are eligible for appointment for the chief assessment officer. The chief county assessor will serve a four-year appointment. The chief assessment officer oversees the valuation of real estate throughout Madison County for the purpose of property taxes. No person may serve as the chief assessment officer who is not qualified by experience and training in property appraisal and property tax administration. No person may serve for the position who has not passed an examination prepared and administered by the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) to determine his or her competence to hold the office. More information about

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Couples names: Sean & Sydney City: Bethalto Date met or started dating: August 8, 2020 Date married: September 9, 2023 What makes your relationship special? We are a very blended family and completed our family with a baby girl this past August. We are such a team and have so much fun together raising our 3 girls and German Shepherd, Sasha. Share a memory you have made together: We both reminisce on our first weekend trip away together, dating maybe 3 months at the time. We booked a cabin in the woods around Shawnee National Forest. We built a fire by gathering wood from around us and roasted a whole pack of hot dogs over the fire and made some amazing breakfast, enjoying mimosas with a beautiful view. Just talking and realizing how much we both want the same things in life. We both just knew from that trip that we were going to be together. Now we’re getting married this year!

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Couples names: Ariel Moore and Muhammed Morris City: Alton Date met or started dating: May 6, 2021 What makes your relationship special? Im from alton illinois and he is from queens new york . Me and Muhammed (current bf) met playing call of duty a game online and we gamed and chatted over the headset for about 3months then videochatted exchanged numbers after another month he flew me out to New York where I met him for the first time and fell in love I stayed in New York for 1yr 3months seen the city and more and October 28th 2022 I came back to Illinois and brung him here with me and now we been living here since ?? making memories and engaged. Share a memory you have made together: I took him to see the caves in alton since new york (the city)doesn't have any thing like that he absolutely loved it and I enjoyed seeing and being on a beach for the first time when he brung me to new york

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Couples names: Taylor & Brandy City: Brighton Date met or started dating: September 6, 2019 Date married: September 23, 2023 What makes your relationship special? Taylor and I met in 2019 after both of us were getting out of really bad relationships and just starting to find ourselves again. Little did we know, we were meeting the person we would spend our life. Down the road of our relationship, Taylor ended up having stage 3 kidney cancer. It was a situation we never thought we would be in but was a time for us to be strong not as individuals but as a couple. Times were very hard financially and mentally but it showed us both that we can get through anything together! Share a memory you have made together: Taylor and I absolutely love fishing. After bank fishing and going out in the boat with my dad year after year, we finally purchased a boat of our own. We took a trip to Table Rock Lake, took the boat out from sun up to sun down and had the best time. The lake

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Couples names: Harry & Charley City: Alton Date met or started dating: April 13, 1998 Date married: October 3, 2015 What makes your relationship special? I truly believe what makes my relationship special is the way that my Charley loves and the way he has taken care of me and his love for me throughout the years and let me be me even though at times the me is a miserable grouchy irritable old man and I was even that way when I was young there are other words for but since we're in a public forum I won't use them LOL. When I had met him that day I had no idea what was going to happen and that we'd be together 25 years almost later I was on a one-way Road to Hell myself I was into a lot of bad things a lot of self-destructive Behavior and being with him kind of changed all that I found myself wanting to change because of him to become a better person because of him and he believed in me and loved me throughout all of it. his making me a step parent we have helped raise

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Couples names: Chris & Katie City: Alton Date met or started dating: March 11, 2001 Date married: November 8, 2002 What makes your relationship special? We are true partners. We are the best of friends. We bring out the best in one another. We truly want to be together and make our relationship better. Share a memory you have made together: We have shared so many memories together in this life we have created. The last 5 years have been the most memorable for us. We have been raising our 2 nieces and nephew. Seeing life through the innocent eyes of children have changed our outlook on everything we believed and knew before. The adventures we have had and plan on having have made our relationship stronger than I have ever imagined.

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Couples names: Ann & Joe City: Jerseyville Date met or started dating: October 25, 2008 What makes your relationship special? What makes our relationship special is our ability to make it work in any situation. We tolerate each other and support each other even in our worst moments. It’s not always easy, but we are resilient in our love for each other. Share a memory you have made together: A memory we’ve made together was climbing Sky Pond located at Glacier Gorge in the Rocky Mountain National Park! It was a huge accomplishment for us both!! Definitely a feel good moment to hit the top together!

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Couples names: Corey and Lillian (Guccione) Bates Date married: February 10, 1987 Years married: 45 Marriage details: In celebration of their anniversary, Corey and Lillian took a European vacation that included a tour of Paris.

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Couples names: Samy & Ryan City: Wood River Date met or started dating: October 7, 2017 What makes your relationship special? Best buds for life. We were friends before we become partners for life. Share a memory you have made together: Waking up every day at 4 or 5 in the morning to walk to the smoke spot at job core just to see you! And I would do it all over again.

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