The Illinois chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving held its 13^th annual Law Enforcement Recognition Dinner in Springfield this past Saturday.

The MADD Hero Awards are presented to officers, prosecutors, and community partners across the state for excellence in their field. This event is made possible, in part, through a partnership with the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Two South Jacksonville residents were honored at the dinner for their over 30 years of work for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

George & Marilyn Murphy’s advocacy to eliminate drunk driving stretches back to 1985 when they helped to found the Morgan County Chapter of MADD after their daughter Kellie was struck and killed by a drunk driver.

George Murphy says that the Legacy Award from the state chapter really took he and his wife by surprise: “We’ve had this Legacy Award for many years. I don’t even know for how long it has been on our program, so they surprised us with it. I’ve always said that when we got involved [with M.A.D.D.], it was to honor and help victims and recognize other people like law enforcement. So it is a surprise when they recognize volunteers for their work.”

Murphy says he’s currently alarmed by the jump in current traffic deaths within the last quarter of this year. He says that the country is facing a crisis when it comes to increases in driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

Murphy says one of the biggest pieces of the Morgan County MADD chapter is hosting victim impact conferences face-to-face with those who have been convicted of driving under the influence: “We had started our victim impact panels in June 1989 and had run them continuously quarterly each year until the pandemic hit us in 2020. We are trying to resume. It takes volunteers to tell their story to the offenders. We just get a burn out after awhile from our victims who help us on the panel. Hopefully we can get them started. If not, [the offenders] can register and do an online victim impact panel so it’s not like it is a total loss. I just always have felt that the personal, face-to-face panel is better than any sign up on the Internet and taking a course.”

Murphy says he and his wife get calls from across the country on how people can get involved with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, how to start a chapter, or just seeking help with their situation. He says he will continue to help people and advocate for the stop of drunk driving.

The Village of Bluffs is seeking a grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to update one of its most used parks.

Bluffs is applying for a $600,000 Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Grant through IDNR to update Lewis Park at the center of the village. The grants are given to communities to help acquire and develop land to be used for public parks and open spaces.

Bluffs Mayor Linda Sapp says that the village is on a time crunch to get the grant submitted to the state: “We have all the designs ready to go. The grant itself is due at the end of September. We are trying to get it done as quickly as possible. We would be adding ADA-compliant parking, pickle ball, a bags court, electrical updates which we definitely need for events, updating the pavilion to more of an amphitheater. There will be shade for people. Right now, it gets pretty hot there during midday. We will also be adding a little playground area and a walking path.”

The Journal Courier reports that Bluffs’ residents can help with the grant process by sharing photos taken at the park, as well as any history they might have by dropping off copies at Bluffs Village Hall or emailing Sapp directly.

Sapp says the park along with a recent $1.1 million grant to replace the Village’s water tower is all a part of a current vision for the village: “I guess it’s probably just a vision the Board and I would like to see Bluffs improve. We needed the water tower. We pretty much had our hands full with that process. Then, Benton & Associates came to us and said there was this possibility out there [for the park]. When this opportunity became available, we knew that we really needed to go after this. Just August 20th, we had our annual burgoo picnic. In that little park, we had wall-to-wall people. We just want to continue and make all of the improvements that we can.”

Bluffs residents are also encouraged to sign a petition in support of the park improvements at change.org. The link to the petition can be found here.

More than 1,200 municipalities received notification from the state on Wednesday that they will receive a portion of $371 million as part of the second round of funding through the federal American Rescue Plan Act.

Jacksonville received their second traunch of $1.265 million. A full list of each municipality and their amounts can be found at this link.

Through ARPA, in accordance with federal rules, COVID-19 relief funding was provided directly to localities with a population above 50,000 while states distributed relief funds to Non-Entitlement Units or NEUs that did not receive direct aid from the federal government. NEUs received funding as part of the first tranche in the fall of 2021 and recipients who claimed funds last year will automatically receive the second half of funding. The funding can be used to cover expenses incurred while responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The funds can be used to cover revenue losses and the costs of responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency or to its negative economic impacts on households, small businesses, impacted industries, essential workers, and the communities hardest-hit by the crisis. These funds can also be used to invest in building, maintaining, or upgrading water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure.

Each local government receiving funds will be required to provide a project expenditure report to the U.S. Treasury by the end of April, then annually thereafter. Each must follow all federal compliance and reporting responsibilities.

The City of Winchester is still without a police chief.

The Winchester City Council voted to extend an offer for the full time position to former Roodhouse Police Chief and current Secretary of State Police Officer Steve Speeks at their September monthly meeting.

Via text message over the weekend, Mayor Rex McIntire informed WLDS News that Speeks had turned down the position due to his retirement through IMRF.

McIntire says that Speeks would have been losing money in his retirement if he would have accepted the Chief of Police position with Winchester.

Winchester has been without a Chief of Police since Caleb Handy stepped down from the position in August. McIntire expressed his disappointment and said the city will continue its search.

Several Pike County Fire Departments responded to a fire early Monday morning that destroyed a livestock facility.

The Pike Press reports that a call for a structure fire came in at approximately 3:45AM Monday to Lynch Livestock, located 2 ½ miles north of Griggsville on Illinois Route 107. According to the report, it’s believed that fire had started about an hour prior to the call.

Firefighters from Griggsville, North Pike, Pittsfield, Baylis, and East Pike responded. A small building at the back of the hog buying station was able to be saved from the blaze. Firefighters were on scene approximately 3 hours and 45 minutes knocking down the blaze.

The Pike Press says no animals were harmed and no firefighters were injured in fighting the blaze. The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshall has been called into investigate.

Messages left with Lynch Livestock corporate headquarters in Wauconda, Iowa and with the Griggsville Fire Department have not been returned as of press time.

Calhoun County Sheriff’s Deputies have re-arrested a man out on bond in a follow up to an arrest of two Missouri women on Thursday.

42 year old Amanda A. Koskela and 31 year old Melinda D. Powers-Crouch were arrested in Brussels by deputies in the overnight hours of Thursday on various drugs, traffic, and prostitution charges.

On Saturday, the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office followed up on an investigation into the two women’s activities and executed a court-authorized search warrant at a residence located on Franklin Hill Road in rural Calhoun County.

Subsequent to the execution of the search warrant, deputies took 47 year old Brian P. Rose of Batchtown into custody for two counts of soliciting a sexual act and two counts of patronizing a prostitute. Rose is currently being held at the Jersey County Jail.

Rose was previously arrested on August 24^th by Calhoun County Sheriff’s Deputies following a court-authorized search warrant at his residence where he was charged with Soliciting a Sexual Act, Patronizing a Prostitute, and various drug related charges. According to the Sheriff’s Department, Rose posted bail on those offenses and was out on bond at the time these new incidents occurred.

A Jacksonville business was recently recognized for its extraordinary use of social media to promote its products.

One Knotty Maker, a macrame business, owned by Jessica Lynn received Illinois Local’s 2022 Award for Best Use of Social Media. Lynn is a regular contributor on Facebook and Instagram promoting her latest creations.

Established in December 2020, Illinois Local is a membership of 200 local independent businesses from across the state with the mission to support, grow, and celebrate together. Activities not only include the conference and awards, but also the annual Illinois Local Holiday Market on Small Business Saturday.

The holiday market is the next big event for the organization on November 26^th at the Expo Building on the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield.

The award winners were announced on Monday in an awards ceremony at the Grant Conservatory in Springfield. Blessings on State from Jacksonville was also nominated this year.

Lynn is gearing up to bring the award-winning business along with a new venture The Peachy Nest to Gillham House when it opens on West State Street on September 24^th.

The City of Winchester is giving more power to their Animal Control Officer to cite homeowners for unruly animals.

Leigh Winner, Winchester’s Animal Control Officer, came to the City Council last month asking for more authority to cite homeowners if their dogs were off leash, aggressive, or were found relieving themselves in neighboring yards.

Mayor Rex McIntire says the City Council approved two ordinances for Winner to now cite dog owners with city ordinance violations that will be adjudicated in city court.

McIntire says he would like to avoid a most recent situation where a pair of dogs had to be euthanized: “Since I’ve been mayor, we have had 3 or 4 issues over the 9 years where we’ve had dogs that have been aggressive and their owners were really not being responsible in taking care of them. The latest incident was a group of people that owned 4 pit bulls – 3 males and a female. About two months ago, police were called down to there residence. These dogs were used to being together. [With the police call], two of the males almost killed the female. She was in very bad condition when the police officers arrived. The officers were thinking about shooting the dogs. They didn’t know what to do. Finally, the owner got the male dogs off of the female where the officers could get to her. Our animal control officer took her to the vet and she survived. The owners of the dogs wanted to save the younger male. They allowed our animal control officer, Leigh Winner, to take the other two dogs to be euthanized.”

McIntire says those incidents are few. He says the ordinances are more for nuisance animals that are regularly allowed to get off the leash. He says this may also curtail any possible disputes between neighbors: “I know that people get aggravated when the neighbor’s dog comes over and defecates in their yard continuously. It can even make someone’s yard to where they can’t even use it. I know if something like that continues and it’s a neighbor’s dog continuously making a mess yard, there can be some tense times between neighbors when something like that goes unchecked.”

In all the passed ordinances, they will allow Winner to take custody of the animals in question and cite the owners within reason if a violation has been evidently documented or shown. The tickets would then go in front of the city adjudicator for a final determination of a fine.

The Jacksonville Area Museum is coming up on its one year anniversary later this month.

Museum Board Chair David Blanchette credits the success of the museum to generous visitors and donors. Blanchette says it’s hard to believe that one year has gone by so quickly: “It just seems like yesterday that we opened the museum to the public. It’s been a very successful year for us, and we just wanted to mark that occasion with a very simple event on Sunday, September 25th.”

More than 1,500 visitors have toured the Jacksonville Area Museum during its first year of operation. Several important artifact donations (including most recently for the Capps Factory exhibit) have occurred during the institution’s first year of operation, a museum manager was hired to oversee the museum’s day-to-day operations, and the Jacksonville Area Museum Foundation was formed to raise money to expand and improve the museum.

Blanchette says the Open House anniversary celebration on September 25^th will feature a look back on the metamorphosis of the Old Post Office Building into the museum: “On [Sunday, September 25th] from 1-4PM, which is the normal operating hours for a Sunday, we’re just going to welcome the public to come in. We are going to have pictures on display that show the Old Post Office building before we transformed it into a museum. People that have been to the museum may not remember or even realize what the place looked like before we transformed it. We want to show how it changed from the condition that we got it in to the condition that is in now. Also, we will have some refreshments for folks on our back patio. Hopefully the weather will be nice so people can enjoy that, as well.”

Blanchette says that the Museum is now looking forward to the second phase of expansion. He says with the newly formed Jacksonville Area Museum Foundation, the fundraising arm of the museum, there will be an announcement coming soon on a fundraising opportunity to get Phase 2 expansion completed.

The City of Jacksonville and the Village of Hardin will be the recipient of a new grant from the State of Illinois.

Governor J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity announced yesterday that communities will receive portions of $3.5 million through the Research in Illinois to Spur Economic Recovery program (RISE).

The State is providing grants to help local governments and economic development organizations to create or update economic plans to promote economic recovery post-COVID-19. After the plans are created, DCEO will offer grantees a competitive grant opportunity to apply for funding for specific projects included in their plans. This program is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.

Jacksonville is receiving $75,000 towards a new housing plan for the city. The Village of Hardin will receive $74,998 for business district redevelopment plans focused on supporting and attracting new businesses and commercial corridors.

42 communities are receiving a portion of the funding for various post-pandemic planning purposes.