The federal Department of Government Efficiency has struck a major project for the Jacksonville Parks Foundation.

Dr. Michael Woods presented the Grace Orchards project to the City Council last month in order to create community-based orchards in unused green space throughout the City of Jacksonville. The fruit from the trees would then be available for members of the community to come pick for their own consumption.

Woods says that the federal government has frozen climate funds that would have gone directly to the planting of the orchards: “We are really excited about getting this orchard established on vacant land across our community, trying to address both food insecurity needs, addressing the treescape, beautifying vacant lots – that’s kind of our goal with the Grace Orchards. We received approved funding from Faith in Place, which was a pass through from the federal government to the USDA through the Forest Service and then through Faith in Place. Unfortunately, right now all of the federal grants are being scrutinized and/or placed on a hold, and we are caught in that situation. So, our grant has been placed on a hold while they are still trying to figure out the disbursement of those resources.”

Woods says the hope was to plant the trees this Spring but with the freeze they have been delayed. For now, the Parks Foundation will continue to move forward on its new East Park Acres urban farming project. The East Park work will start within the next week with cover crops, with help from the City of Jacksonville Parks Department.

Woods says that the orchard initiative is now pivoting towards searching for local resources to purchase the trees in order to plant this Fall: “One – we are reaching out to many of our philanthropic community members in hopes that they may be so inclined to step up and maybe provide $1,000 or if I could find 6 individuals to invest $5,000, we can get that $30,000 ready to go pretty quick [to replace the grant funding]. We also realize there are various types of people – we’ve already had several individuals step up and give us $500 investments to help us bring this project to fruition. That’s one thing – we invite the entire community, no matter what you may have, if you want to invest $20 to help buy a tree – that would be great. The Jacksonville Parks Foundation is putting forth an initiative or sort of a call to the community to help us invest in getting this orchard established. Then, if the federal funds do get released, the beauty of it is it will just help to amplify and extend the project even further. The grant was to pay for 200 trees. If we get the donations to match the $30,000, then if the funds get released on top of that – it would just double the size of the orchard project.”

Woods says he’s also seeking out several different grants totaling approximately $2 million in order to further the Jacksonville Parks Foundation projects ranging from the urban farms to low-income housing. For more information, visit townbrook.com.

The Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs and the USDVA Women’s Health Department will be honoring one of Jacksonville’s own today.

U.S. Army Veteran and Amvets Department of Illinois Commander Laura Doss has been named one of IDVA’s 25 Illinois Women Veterans Leaders of 2025.

Doss will be awarded the honor at Malcolm X College in Chicago. The award is given to women veterans for their extraordinary leadership, contributions, and commitment to the women veteran community.

Calhoun County area firefighters saved a woman’s life on Wednesday during a structure fire in the village of Batchtown.

According to a press release from the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office, shortly before 2PM on Wednesday, West Central 911 Dispatch notified emergency units and first responders in Calhoun County of a structure fire in the 100 block of West Batchtown Road in Batchtown after a bystander reported a fire inside the home.

Volunteer Firefighters from Richwoods Volunteer Fire Department, Point Fire Protection District, and EMS personnel from Calhoun Volunteer Ambulance, as well as the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office immediately responded to the scene. The Village of Hardin Fire Department also responded for mutual aid.

The first firefighters arrived on scene within 5 minutes of the call and began dousing the residence. EMS personnel on scene called family members and discovered that a 59-year-old female was still inside the house. Volunteer Firefighters from Richwoods Fire Department made entry to the residence and recovered a victim from inside; and extinguished the fire.

Immediate life-saving measures were rendered by Calhoun EMS personnel. The victim was then transported by Calhoun Ambulance Service to the Batchtown helipad, where she was flown by Survival Flight to a St. Louis area trauma hospital.

The Illinois Fire Marshall’s Office arrived following the fire to conduct an investigation of the origin of fire. The results of this investigation are still pending at this time.

The sole occupant suffered injuries, but is expected to recover. However, several family pets did perish in the blaze.

Crime Stoppers of Morgan, Scott, and Cass Counties are seeking information to assist the Jacksonville Police in their investigation of a recent burglary.

Sometime between February 1^st and last Friday, unknown individuals broke into a vacant building in the 600 block of East Beecher in Jacksonville and took a Ryobi 1800 Generator.

The police are asking that if anyone who has further information about this incident to please submit an anonymous tip online by visiting the Morgan Scott Cass County Crime Stoppers Facebook Page and click on the ‘Contact Us’ button at the top of the page or visit their website and morganscottcrimestoppers.com. Click on the ‘Submit A Tip’ button at the top of the page.

Or, you can call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 217-243-7300. Remember, Crime Stoppers want your information and not your name. If your tip leads to an arrest or recovery of stolen property, you may be eligible for a cash reward.

The City of Virginia has no acting mayor or any personnel in its offices.

The Cass County Star Gazette reports that at the March 10^th Virginia City Council meeting Mayor Randy McClure had City Clerk Ashley Cox read a prepared statement prior to reading a resignation letter and then exiting the chambers.

McClure’s letter lashed out at nearly all of the city’s committees and departments for lack of work or lack of action, citing personality conflicts that he says has hindered progress. He also took aim at the current city council, saying those same personality conflicts have caused a refusal to come together and work on issues that remain.

Citizen complaints have mounted at Virginia City Hall for current issues with calculation and accounting for water bills.

Ward 1 Alderman Ott Wulf acted as mayor pro temp for the remainder of the meeting, with little board action taken after McClure’s exit.

A new mayor for the city will be elected this coming Tuesday with Wulf and Steve Clark listed as candidates for the position.

The Jacksonville Area Chamber of Commerce held its Annual Meeting at the Jacksonville Country Club last night. Four annual awards were announced at the meeting.

The Chamber posthumously recognized Bob Chipman as its Circle of Excellence recipient. In order to receive the Circle of Excellence recognition, the nominee must be retired from an active Chamber Business. The nominee must have served the Chamber on a Committee, as a Board Member or as Chair with a provable record of contributions to the Chamber of Commerce that have made a difference in furthering the goals of the Chamber. A Circle of Excellence nominee must also have provided at least 10 years of service to the Chamber.

Business of the Year was awarded to The Pointe at Jacksonville.

Small business of the Year was given to Neff-Colvin, Inc. The Chamber was especially grateful to Doug Megginson and the crew with Neff-Colvin as they completed the exterior renovations at the Chamber offices over the last year.

The Not-for-profit Business of the Year was awarded to the Jacksonville Regional Economic Development Corporation. The chamber also gave special recognition to Bonni Waters on her upcoming retirement.

Jacksonville Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding a man found unresponsive in a home on West Railroad Street early Sunday morning.

According to a press release from the Morgan County Coroner’s Office, at approximately 2:40AM Sunday officers from the Jacksonville Police Department responded to a residence located on West Railroad. Upon arrival, officers discovered an unresponsive individual in the home. The subject, a 24-year old male, was pronounced deceased at the scene by the Morgan County Coroner Marcy Patterson.

Following the discovery, investigators from the Jacksonville Police Department initiated an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the individual’s death. Due to the nature of the scene, an ongoing investigation is underway. No further details have been released. At this stage, authorities believe the incident to be isolated.

The identity of the deceased has been withheld pending the notification of the next of kin.

The investigation is being conducted by Jacksonville Police Department, the Illinois State Police, The Morgan County Coroner’s Office and The Morgan County State’s Attorney.

The Illinois Attorney General’s Office has announced the arrest of a Scott County man for allegedly producing and disseminating child sex abuse material.

The Attorney General’s office has charged 27-year old Bobby H. Xiong of Bluffs in Greene County Circuit Court with three counts of dissemination of child pornography, Class X felonies punishable by up to 30 years in prison; and two counts of possession of child pornography, Class 2 felonies punishable by up to seven years in prison.

Xiong is currently detained at the Greene County Jail, and his next court date is scheduled for April 28th.

Raoul’s investigators, along with officers from the Illinois State Police and Scott County Sheriff’s Department, conducted a search of Xiong’s residence in the 300 block of Piper Street in Bluffs on Thursday, March 27th. Xiong was taken into custody after investigators discovered evidence of child sexual abuse material.

Raoul’s office is prosecuting this case in cooperation with Scott County State’s Attorney Richard Crews’ office.

A convicted drug felon is heading back to prison on multiple charges after a plea deal on Tuesday in Morgan County Circuit Court.

43-year old Shawn M. Johnson, listed as homeless and formerly of Jerseyville, pleaded guilty to burglary and possession of methamphetamine less than 5 grams.

Johnson’s criminal history in Jacksonville dates back to 2020, when he was originally sentenced to prison on a methamphetamine charge. In April 2024 upon his initial release, he was convicted of misdemeanor retail theft charges and sentenced to one year of conditional discharge.

On the evening of May 20, 2024, camera footage captured a subject smashing glass and breaking a metal door at the Jacksonville Main Street Office in the 200 block of West State Street. A short time later, officers identified Johnson as the suspect and placed him under arrest for burglary, criminal damage to property, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

While on pretrial release, subsequent arrests occurred for drug charges, felony retail theft, and resisting a peace officer – including an August 8, 2024 arrest in which Johnson was found entering an abandoned home in the 400 block of North Church by Jacksonville Police.

On Tuesday, Johnson was sentenced by Morgan County Judge Chris Reif to a total of 10 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, 1 year of mandatory supervised release, ordered to pay a $500 county fine, and was recommended for placement in a facility with drug and alcohol and mental health treatment. Johnson was given credit for 6 days served in the Morgan County Jail.

Members of the Morgan County Health Department say they are carrying on as normal in the face of cuts of millions of dollars to state health departments’ funding by the federal government.

Reuters reports the U.S. Department of Public Health and Human Services canceled around $12 billion in federal grants to states that were allocated during the pandemic. The grants were being used to track, prevent, and control infectious diseases.

The Trump Administration had previously ended more than $11 billion in funding awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and roughly $1 billion by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The Illinois Department of Public Health and 97 local public health departments say that $125 million in funding has been pulled from the state so far, causing cuts to various state and local programs.

Morgan County Health Department Office Manager Meredith Vogel-Thomas says that Morgan County residents should rest assured that several programs they are used to are continuing without disruption: “I’m really happy to report that it is business as usual at the Morgan County Health Department. In the news, there has been a lot of chatter about the state of public health in the world and in the country. For us, frankly, we have just carried on as normal. All of our programs are functioning just like we hoped they would. We haven’t seen a downturn, necessarily, in interest in services. I would actually say that we’ve seen an increase recently. We’re fortunate that we have a really skilled staff that is very happy to talk with folks that have questions about measles, vaccinations, or any healthcare.”

The health department has not said whether the cuts would affect any of their communicable disease surveillance programs or mental health treatment programs in the near term.