Riverbender 🕸

Couples names: Myles & Angie Hayes City: St. Charles, Mo Date met or started dating: February 16, 2002 Date married: October 9, 2004 What makes your relationship special? The last couple years, Angie was diagnosed with breast cancer, had surgeries, chemo and radiation. We’ve come through each hardship stronger than we started. We lean on each other, God, and all our family to get through rough times. Share a memory you have made together: The births of our two kids. Kennedy was born 06/21/2006, and Ryan was born 12/18/2010. We are definitely blessed with all the people we have in our lives!

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Couples names: Ashley & Aaron Connors City: Godfrey Date met or started dating: April 3, 2013 Date married: August 29, 2020 What makes your relationship special? High school sweethearts through & through! Met in the hallways of Alton High, flirting by our lockers & haven’t been apart since! We both have grown as individuals while always staying at each other sides! Every obstacle life has, we overcome it. Truly if it’s you see me, you see him & vice versa. Blessed to know true love so young. Share a memory you have made together: So many too count. From watching each other walk the stage, choosing & finding our careers, vacations, tragedy, his proposal in DisneyWorld, our two weddings (one small & intimate due to Covid, to our big celebration), buying our home, pool parties with our family & friends, adopting our many fur children. So many worth bringing up.

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Couples names: Zachary & Stacy City: Godfrey Date met or started dating: August 3, 2017 Date married: February 23, 2018 What makes your relationship special? What makes our relationship so special is that he found me when I was at my lowest and he made me who I am today. The happiest I’ve been. Share a memory you have made together: The day we got married. It wasn’t the wedding we wanted but we were both ok for not spending a lot on a wedding. We just wanted to spend the rest of our lives together.

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Couples names: Stephanie & Zachary City: East Alton Date met or started dating: July 6, 2014 Date married: October 17, 2020 What makes your relationship special? We are each other’s best friend. Share a memory you have made together: When Zach and I first started dating he lived in Springfield, Illinois and I in Wood River, Illinois. One time I planned to take the Amtrak to see him, I ended up missing my train and there were no more schedule to go that day. That didn’t stop us from seeing each other. Zach took a chance with his beat up, one head lighted intrepid and came and picked my up. Our relationship has continued to defy all odds and it may be us against the world but we are sure that with each other and our love for one another we can conquer what ever obstacles may come.

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Couples names: Kevin & Kris Blumenberg City: Hardin Date met or started dating: March 17, 1984 Date married: September 23, 1989 What makes your relationship special? He’s type A and I’m type B. Complete opposite personalities but we compliment each other. Share a memory you have made together: Our 30 year anniversary trip. We went on a road trip with no reservations or plans. We ended up in Tunica - Memphis - Lynchburg TN and ended in Nashville. A week of open roads and so many memories.

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EDWARDSVILLE — Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine on Monday announced that his office has filed charges of predatory criminal sexual assault against a defendant who, if convicted, faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Prosecutors charged Brok A. Weigand, 33, of South Roxana with two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, one count of attempted predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and one count of criminal sexual assault. The counts of predatory criminal sexual assault are the most serious of the charges – class X felonies. Those counts carry a mandatory sentence of life in prison because they involve two separate victims. The charges allege that Weigand committed acts of sexual contact with three relatives, all of whom were younger than 13, between January 2014 and December 2022. “Any crimes committed against children are inexcusable. These types of offenses against children

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ALTON – People who have cardiac arrests may benefit from CPR, yet many people who witness cardiac arrest do not perform CPR. That’s why OSF Saint Anthony’s Health Center (1 St. Anthony’s Way, Alton) is hosting two (2) additional first aid and CPR training class so Riverbend area residents are prepared to take action if necessary. These additional first aid and CPR training classes will be held: Wednesday, February 15, 5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Monday, March 6, 5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Each class will be held in the hospital’s Perpetual Help Center and led by a certified instructor. Space is limited and the cost is $65.00/person. Registration can be completed by calling (618) 920-6816 or by email at susiesweetman22@gmail.com. “Knowing CPR and first aid can help save lives,” says Dennis E. Sands, MD, Chief Medical Officer, OSF Saint Anthony’s. “If your child or loved one isn't breathing, knowing how to do CPR could mean

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EDWARDSVILLE - Nektar, one of the bands that developed what became known as progressive rock, will bring their Music and Light Theatre to the Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville for 7 p.m. performances on Saturday, March 18 (sold out) and Sunday, March 19 (tickets available). The group is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the landmark recording, "Remember the Future," by playing the album in its entirety at each concert. Their performances also feature a spectacular light show. “It’s wonderful to be out on the road playing for our old and new fans,” says founding member Derek ‘Mo’ Moore, “sharing classic material from ‘Remember the Future’ and other early recordings, and introducing them to the sounds of Nektar's most recent album 'The Other Side.'" Formed in Germany in 1969 by British expats, Nektar soaked up the musical freedom they found in their new home, favoring extended compositions and concept albums over the constraints of pop.

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GODFREY – The Visiting Artist Lecture Series returns to Lewis and Clark Community College this month with respected master artist Victor Wang. Wang, a professor at Fontbonne University, has exhibited internationally and has been recognized with several awards for excellence in both painting and instruction. L&C Art Program Coordinator Angela Hung looks forward to resuming the Visiting Artist Lecture Series with such a distinguished artist. “We are pleased to welcome Victor Wang as the first guest speaker in the Visiting Artist Series,” she said. “Victor is a renowned master artist whose work is broadly published and exhibited internationally.” Wang is known for the way he conveys the human experience by representing the emotional tension and psychological drama of life’s turning points. “In the lecture, I will share my work through different periods and talk about how I developed my body of work ideally and technically,”

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JERSEYVILLE - A Jerseyville man has been charged with failing to register as a sex offender, according to the most recent felony filing report from the Jersey Circuit Clerk’s Office. Jacob B. Shaw, 19, of Jerseyville, was charged with unlawful failure to register as a sex offender. The incident took place on Jan. 27, when Shaw “knowingly failed to register” with the Jerseyville Police Department “within three days after he established a residence in Jerseyville,” Assistant State’s Attorney Kevin Tellor said of the charge. Shaw was charged with a Class 3 felony. His failure to register violated Chapter 730, Act 150, Section 3(a) of the Illinois Compiled Statuses . A warrant for his arrest was issued on Jan. 30 and his bail was set at $15,000. His preliminary hearing was set for Feb. 6 at 9 a.m. at the Jersey County Courthouse. More information and updates on this case are available from the Jersey Circuit Clerk website .

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URBANA – Love. Amor. Aimer. Liebe. Milovat. A red rose. Six different languages, all expressing the same emotion. Floriography is the forgotten language or secret language of flowers. Throughout history, including the Victorian Era and many cultures including the Persians have used flowers to send secret messages to others. Nowadays, many people use flowers to convey emotions but rely on florists to translate emotion into flowers. Flowers in a bouquet are like words or phrases in a sentence. Each one can convey a different part of the message or emotion but are you sure your flowers are sending the right message? When thinking about luck, people often think of the four-leaf clover, however, there are other flowers representing luck. Since Victorian times, Bells of Ireland have been considered a symbol of good luck, the perfect flower to send to someone who is starting a new job or moving to a new home. Shamrocks are a symbol of good luck and fortune. Myrtle at a wedding means

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EDWARDSVILLE – A new Chick-fil-A ® restaurant will begin serving the Edwardsville community on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. Chick-fil-A, Inc. has selected Phillip Brunner as the independent franchised Owner/Operator of Chick-fil-A Edwardsville. Located at 2319 Troy Road, near the Edwardsville Marketplace shopping mall, Chick-fil-A Edwardsville will be open for dine-in, drive-thru, and carry-out from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Guests of Chick-fil-A Edwardsville can place an order for pickup, dine-in, or drive-thru on the Chick-fil-A ® App or online . When joining the Chick-fil-A One ® tiered membership program, guests receive points on every qualifying purchase, which can be used to redeem available rewards. The Edwardsville restaurant joins 22 other Chick-fil-A restaurants serving the wider St. Louis market. Locally Owned and Operated As full-time, hands-on leaders in their restaurants and communities, Chick-fil-A Owner/Operators proudly

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EDWARDSVILLE - The Lincoln School Alumni Foundation has generously provided Edwardsville Community Unit School District #7 with funding to employ a part-time home-school liaison. The liaison will be responsible for working collaboratively with families and community partners to ensure the needs of the whole child are being met, while supporting parents/guardians in addressing family needs, social/emotional and academic needs of the student in the home setting, as well as partnering with the educators serving the child. “Part of the Lincoln School Alumni Foundation’s mission is to help under resourced students across the district. Their generosity enables the district to help provide additional resources and opportunities to students who need it the most,” said District #7 Superintendent Dr. Patrick Shelton. “The historic Lincoln School Alumni Foundation is very much aware of District #7’s effort to improve our students’ reading skills,”

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ALTON - Lorenzo Small and several other Alton-area musicians have been forming a group called “Our Father’s Music” to highlight the connections Alton and its residents have to music and music history. They had a photoshoot at Lewis and Clark Community College on Saturday, Jan. 28 to help the community visualize the group as they go forward. "We decided if we're going to start group, to at least get a picture so that as we try to promote other artists, anyone on the outside of this group would know who we are," Small said of the photoshoot. “Our purpose is to bring attention to people from the Alton area who are accomplished musicians and/or artists themselves,” he added. Other group members include several Alton-area musicians. The current members are as follows: Howard Neal - frontman and visionary of the group Lorenzo Small - percussionist, group secretary Dilbert Caldwell - vocalist from Alton group “Picture This” Louis Bratte

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ALTON - Marquette Catholic’s St. Baldrick’s fundraiser event was highly successful once again Friday afternoon in raising funds for research and cures for cancer. Marquette Catholic Principal Tim Harmon said as of Friday, $7,276 was raised and the class competition donations had not yet been counted. He said usually another few thousand dollars come in from the class competition in the St. Baldrick’s event. “The St. Baldrick’s went very well,” Harmon said. “I believe 12 people had their heads shaved in raising funds for cancer. We also had an overwhelming response from hair stylists to cut hair." The people who had their heads shaved were Mary Donahue (head custodian), Michael Eddy (teacher), Garrett Flowers (teacher), Joe Boevingloh (alumni) Peter Walch (student), Steven Walch (St. Mary’s student), Andrew Roth (student), Christian Maag (student), Thomas Alonso (student), Devon Doherty (student), Michael Wahl (student), Joey Nugen

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Couples names: Kevin & Kesthien Smith City: Godfrey Date met or started dating: August 24, 2010 Date married: October 26, 2019 What makes your relationship special? What makes our relationship special is not the aesthetic, but it is the history and adventure. It is the inspiration we give to not only pursue what you love, but fight for what may seem unbeatable. In the year 2010, two( once unfortunate) kids met on the first day of highschool, and learning more than what meets the eye fell for one another. In the time period for us where it was most advised to "have fun" and take most romantic experiences as a lesson for the future, we fearlessly deemed ourselves ready to take on the world together. We both had come from imperfect backgrounds which brought us closer. We had ever class together from 1st period to lunch, so it only seemed destined, but it wasn't just a snatch and grab. "Kevin had proposed a relationship multiple times but I had rejected it due to distance

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Couples names: Matt & Mary City: Carrollton Date met or started dating: February 25, 2003 Date married: February 25, 2006 What makes your relationship special? We are Highschool sweethearts. We met our senior year of high school and have been together ever since! When I met Matt, I had a daughter already and even tho we were so young, he took my daughter in as his own and eventually legally adopted her. We have been through the ups and downs, the hard times and the best times. We have 3 beautiful children together, 1 daughter and 2 sons. We were also blessed with a beautiful granddaughter in 2021! Share a memory you have made together: Oh where to start?! We have so many memories together but the ones I love the most are when we are traveling as a family. All the road trips, all the camping trips, all the hiking trips and all the places to see!

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JERSEYVILLE - In conjunction with Jersey State Bank, J.C.H.S. has selected their “Student of the Month”. The recipient for the month of January is Kateryna Savienkova. The selection of a “Student of the Month” is based upon the number of F.O.C.U.S. nominations, which a student receives for a given month. F.O.C.U.S. (Finding One Clearly Unique Student) is a program, which acknowledges a student each week for academic or kindness. Each week teachers may recognize students who have performed well in their classes by selecting them as F.O.C.U.S. students for that particular week. During January, Kateryna received the most F.O.C.U.S. nominations. Because she received the most nominations, he was named “Students of the Month” at JCHS. She is being congratulated by Marci Tonsor of Jersey State Bank. In conjunction with Jerseyville Banking Center, J.C.H.S. has selected their “Students of the Month”. The recipients for the month of January

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Couples names: Don & Heather City: Palmyra Date met or started dating: May 1, 1995 Date married: June 8, 2013 What makes your relationship special? We are a bleneded family with 9 kids. We original met back in 1994, but we grew apart and both went on and started a family. After major life changes and many years later we rekindled the fire and got married. Here we are living our best life, going to car shows, cruises and the beaches in Florida. Can't wait to continue this journey. Share a memory you have made together: One of our best memories is the week we spent on the beach. Such a paeaceful, relaxing, making memories time.

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Couples names: Lexie & EJ City: Wood River Date met or started dating: June 4, 2013 Date married: August 12, 2023 What makes your relationship special? We’ve always knew we could come back to each other. Share a memory you have made together: Finding out we were having a baby together after years of knowing each other.

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