The Greene County Health Department says it’s going to expand.

Health Department Administrator Molly Peters announced in a press release on Tuesday that the department has been awarded over $400,000 in grant funds for addressing Greene County community needs assessment results. The Illinois Project Assessment of Needs in Greene County prioritized access to healthy foods, mental health, substance use prevention, and recreational activities.

Peters says that Community Health Manager Ron Sprong has recently become a Mental Health First Aid instructor and Peer Recovery Specialist and is a trainer for Narcan distribution. The Community Health Division will be expanding focused efforts related to substance use in the prevention, treatment, and support of substance use in Greene County. The effort will include becoming a part of a Recovery Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC), which creates a council to build a coordinated network of community-based services and supports that are person-centered for people in substance abuse recovery.

Peters says that the Health Department is seeking a number of staff to join their team which includes a Financial Manager, Personal Health Services R.N., Community Engagement Specialist, and Interim ROSC Coordinator. Please see the greenecountyhd.org/careers for more details or call Greene County Health Department Public Health Administrator, Molly Peters at (217) 942-6961 ext. 101 for more details.

Snap, the parent company to Snapchat, has reached a $35 million settlement with Illinois in a class action suit over the state’s biometric privacy law.

Snapchat users in Illinois who used the app’s lenses and filters between November 17, 2015 and the present may be eligible to receive a cut of the settlement. The Chicago Tribune reports individual payouts are estimated to be between $58 and $117. Although the settlement amount still needs to go through a final approval by the hearing in November.

The deadline to submit a claim is November 5^th. Information can be submitted to the website snapillinoisbipasettlement.com. Snapchat has not admitted fault in the settlement. In a released statement, the company says it was out of an abundance of caution and a testament to their commitment of user privacy that they reached the settlement with the State of Illinois.

The Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department has announced a guilty plea of a man arrested last month on several drugs and weapons charges.

On Tuesday, 35 year old Jonathan E. Myers of Hardin, pled guilty to theft, possession of methamphetamine, and attempted possession of an explosive or incendiary device. The charges stem from 3 separate incidents that occurred in Hardin between June and July.

The first incident, which was a report of a theft and criminal damage on June 10th at a Hardin business. Myers later posted bond and was released from the Jersey County Jail. The second incident was a traffic stop on July 9^th in Hardin, which resulted in Myers’ arrest for possession of methamphetamine.

The final incident was the execution of a court-authorized search warrant at Myers’ residence on July 10^th after Myers’ arrest that resulted in the discovery of more methamphetamine, controlled substances, and improvised explosive devices in various stages of completion.

Subsequent to Myers’ guilty plea, Calhoun County Judge Charles H.W. Burch sentenced Myers to the following:

* Unlawful Possession of Methamphetamine, 4 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections
* Attempted Possession of an Explosive/Incendiary Device, 4 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections
* Theft, 300 days in County Jail, fines, fees, court costs, and restitution to the victim in the June 10th incident.

All three sentences will be served concurrently.

Jacksonville Police are investigating a theft at a laundromat.

Police were called to the Stonebridge Apartment complex in the 1200 block of Lincoln Avenue at 8:04AM yesterday in reference to criminal damage to property and an alleged theft.

Upon arrival, police determined that some time between Friday and Sunday unknown subjects used a drill to remove approximately $25 worth of coins from a coin-operated washing machine.

If you have any information about the suspects or this incident, please call the Jacksonville Police at 217-479-4630 or leave an anonymous tip with the Morgan-Scott-Cass Crime Stoppers by calling 217-243-7300 or text a tip to 274637. The first word of the text tip must be “payout.”

A Pike County resident has taken trash hauling into his own hands after a recent company took over waste hauling in Pittsfield.

Pittsfield and many other residents in the area are upset with the changes brought by Canadian-based garbage pick-up service Green For Life or GFL.

GFL recently bought out Area Disposal and Trash Queen in the area. According to WGEM and several residents in Jacksonville, prices have nearly doubled for their trash service. Many residents are paying different amounts based upon their neighborhoods in different municipalities.

The City of Jacksonville is currently working on a citywide contract in hopes of streamlining bills and prices for everyone.

Pittsfield resident Josh Allen told WGEM he wanted to do something about this upset in not just Pittsfield, but all over Pike and possibly parts of Scott County.

WGEM reports that Allen quit his full-time job to start his trash pickup business, J&J Disposal, charging his clients in Pike County $85 every three months. Allen says through word-of-mouth and Facebook, he already has hundreds of people signing up for his service. Right now Allen is only serving portions of Pike County but is considering branching out to Scott County.

If you’re a resident of Pike County and are interested in J&J Disposal, call 217-285-3553.

A New Berlin man who admitted to pointing a handgun at an Illinois State Senator as the two were driving separate vehicles in Springfield in March 2021 was sentenced to 9 months of probation last Wednesday.

The Illinois Times reports that 55 year old Michael L. Hoyle pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in front of Sangamon County Judge Ryan Cadigan last week. tate’s Attorney Dan Wright agreed to drop a felony count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and a misdemeanor count of unlawful use of a weapon as part of the plea.

Cadagin sentenced Hoyle to complete 60 hours of community service, 9 months probation, fines, fees, court costs, and ordered not to possess a firearm while on probation.

Hoyle was arrested by Springfield Police after Hoyle got into a confrontation with State Senator Elgie Sims while the two vehicles were traveling westbound on Lawrence Avenue in Springfield on the evening of March 15, 2021. Sims told the State Journal Register after the incident that he feared for his life after Hoyle harassed him and pulled alongside his SUV and brandished a .40 caliber handgun.

Sangamon County State’s Attorney Dan Wright provided this comment via email to WLDS News: “The Defendant’s acceptance of responsibility and conviction of aggravated assault with a firearm concludes the case. The victim was actively involved and approved the terms of the plea.”

Hoyle through his attorney Scott Sabin at the conclusion of his sentencing last week declined to comment about his motive for the incident and wanted to conclude the case to not adversely affect his business, according to the Illinois Times.

Hoyle is the owner Kwik-Wall Company in Springfield which supplies moveable walls and partitions throughout the country.

A Quincy woman who pleaded guilty in April in Adams County Court to one count of home invasion and one count of aggravated sexual assault is sending mixed signals to the court.

Muddy River News reports that 33 year old Karen Blackledge sent a letter to the Adams County Circuit Clerk on July 27, saying her legal representation was “less than efficient and effective” that led to her plea resulting in two back-to-back 20 year sentences in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Blackledge acknowledged in court in April that she illegally entered a home on Quincy’s North Bottom Road on November 9^th of last year and while in the home used a weapon to stab Christine “Tina” Schmitt, who died from complications from the wounds she received in the incident on December 12^th.

Adams County Judge Amy Lannerd asked Blackledge on Friday about the counsel provided by public defender Babs Brennan was less than efficient in her case. Blackledge told her it was not in court.

Brennan also filed a motion on July 27 to vacate the court’s sentence on May 5 and allow Blackledge to withdraw her guilty plea because she didn’t believe her client understood fully the questions that she had previously been asked about the case

After asking Blackledge five separate times if she believed Brennan was ineffective or if she needed more time to review evidence in the case to which Blackledge denied, Lannerd declined to allow Blackledge to withdraw her guilty plea, a decision that Blackledge says she is going to appeal.

Blackledge’s and Bradley S. Yohn were arrested by U.S. Marshals in Springfield on November 10^th of last year in connection to the November 9^th assault and alleged carjacking and kidnapping of Schmitt. Yohn remains lodged in the Adams County Jail. He has a status hearing scheduled for Oct. 12, and his jury trial is set to start Nov. 7.

The Village of South Jacksonville is taking care of a long standing problem with job descriptions and employee policies.

Village President Dick Samples presented the Board of Trustees with a number of suggested amendments, suggestions, and additions to the village’s employee policy manual during Committee of the Whole session on August 18th.

Samples said the changes will help the Village Administration to provide better, more detailed job performance evaluations of non-union employees and also give village employees a better sense of what their job actually is: “It’s really just us setting down and evaluate this once these people are supposed to be doing according to them and to us, what to expect out of them…It’s like having a license. All of a sudden you are now evaluating somebody based on their performance. If they want to go speed, you can go give them a ticket. If the employees don’t do part of the job they are supposed to be doing, you can somehow get them to start, correct them, or you find somebody else who is going to do the job. We have nobody in mind at this present time, but we are trying to move forward to make this a better place to live and to work for the village.”

Samples says so far this has not been a liability for the village, and it’s not part of any current litigation before the village board.

The policy manual updates and the employee policies for performance evaluations cover strictly non-union employees. Samples says that the Fire and Police Departments as well as other union village employees are not subject to the proposed changes or evaluations because the unions have their own set of performance standards and evaluation processes written into their contracts with the village. Police specifically have performance evaluations, policies, and steps of correction written into state statutes.

The policy manual and performance evaluations for non-union employees are expected to be an action item for the village board’s September business meeting.