Illinois College announced today that they are welcoming back a familiar face to a leadership role.

IC has hired Katie Carls to return as executive director of development and alumni engagement this month.

Carls left IC in 2021 after serving nearly seven years as director of business development and campus events. In her new role, she will lead alumni and family engagement, as well as annual support and stewardship efforts. Carls and her team will work with IC senior leadership to shape advancement strategy and work with donors to meet the College’s goals to support student success, realize strategic growth and achieve sustainable foundations.

A native of Arenzville, Carls grew up attending basketball camps at Illinois College. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from MacMurray College and a Master of Science degree from Western Illinois University.

She has previously worked for the PGA Tour on The Players Championship and the Senior Players Championship, and worked in branding and fan experience for the NCAA in the championships department.

In her previous role at IC, Carls managed annual events like Homecoming, Commencement and summer camps, as well as important, singular events that included former President Jimmy Carter and former Cardinals’ manager Mike Matheny. She most recently worked for Indianapolis-based advertising agency, Bradley and Montgomery, that serves national corporate clients like Chase, Microsoft, XBOX and Apple.

The Art Association of Jacksonville has announced that the date for the 2022 Lawn Party will be postponed one week due to potential inclement weather. The rescheduled date for the arts organization’s annual fundraiser is Saturday, August 27, from 5 to 7 p.m., at the David Strawn Art Gallery located at 331 West College Avenue.

The National Weather Service says weather for Saturday includes rain of up to ½ an inch, as well as possible thunderstorms with hail. Because the majority of the event takes place on the lawn of the David Strawn Art Gallery, organizers say they made the difficult decision to reschedule.

Art Association of Jacksonville Ways and Mean Chair Jessica Richardson says: “Thankfully, our live entertainment, caterers and other key players in planning the event were available and happy to push the event back one week. We will hit the pause button and resume at the same time and same place in one week.”

Event co-chairs Kristin Jamison and Sarah Van Aken have added a twist to this year’s Lawn Party adding a craft cocktail and charcuterie contest to the evening. More than 30 community members have entered cocktails and charcuterie boards in the contest. Lawn Party attendees will vote for their favorite cocktail and charcuterie board with a donation to the Art Association in cash or via an online platform.

This year’s Lawn Party will also feature the dedication of a sculpture in memory of longtime Art Association supporter Judy Grojean. The outdoor sculpture was recently given to the Art Association by Mrs. Grojean’s children, their families and her many friends after her death last February.

Tickets for the fundraiser are $30 per person. Reservations can be made and paid for online by clicking this link, nd walk-ins will be accepted the night of the event. All proceeds will benefit the Art Association of Jacksonville’s programming throughout the year.

Two Rivers Crime Stoppers is asking for the public’s assistance in finding individuals who may be responsible for two arson fires that burned the Greene County Almshouse.

The first incident occurred on August 8th. Firefighters from the Carrollton Fire Department were able to respond to this incident quickly and initially save the structure. The first incident is believed to have been started on the second floor of the structure.

The second incident occurred on August 17th and started around 9:30PM. The fire was fully involved before fire crews arrived, and the structure was destroyed.

This property is owned by Greene County and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

The charge of arson in an Illinois court is a Class 2 felony. Aggravated arson is considered a class X felony. A Class 2 felony carries a 3 to 7 year prison sentence. A class X felony carries a 6-30 year prison sentence.

The Greene County Sheriff’s Department is asking if anyone has any information about these two incidents to submit a tip online at http://tworiverscrimestoppers.org/. Simply click on “Send In a Tip” on the left hand menu and fill out the form or call 1-800-300-2590 or you can leave a tip through the Jersey County Sheriff’s Department mobile app. Crime Stoppers says if your tip leads to an arrest for this particular crime, you are eligible for a cash reward.

The Illinois Department of Transportation announced that a 10-mile maintenance project on U.S. 67 in Morgan County, between Gravel Springs Road and West Morton Avenue in Jacksonville has started.

The scope of this $4 million project, which includes placing a protective thin layer of asphalt over the existing concrete, is part of IDOT’s Transportation Asset Management Plan. The project is intended to extend the lifespan of the existing driving surface in order to delay more costly pavement rehabilitation.

Traffic will be maintained using flaggers, cones, and message boards for the various traffic control operations. Lane closures will be necessary but at least one lane of traffic in both directions will be open. This project is scheduled to be completed near the end of October.

Motorists can expect delays and should allow extra time for trips through this area. To avoid the work area, when feasible, use of alternate routes should be considered. Drivers are urged to pay close attention to changed conditions and signs in the work zones, obey the posted speed limits, refrain from using mobile devices, and be alert for workers and equipment.

To stay up to date on construction projects by IDOT in the area follow IDOT District 6 on Twitter or visit gettingaroundillinois.com.

Crime Stoppers of Morgan, Scott & Cass Counties are requesting information to assist the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department in an investigation of a recent burglary in Chapin.

Between the hours of 10:30 pm and 11:30pm on Tuesday, an unknown suspect captured on video surveillance footage made entry into a garage in the 900 block of Brockhouse Road in rural Chapin. An undetermined amount of cash was then removed. It should be noted the unknown person attempted to enter parked vehicles, as well.

The police are asking that anyone who has information concerning this incident to submit a tip online by going to www.morganscottcrimestoppers.webs.com and clicking the leave a tip button on the home page or calling Crimestoppers at 217-243-7300. Tips may also be submitted by texting 274637 with the first word of the text tip being “payout.”

If your tip leads to an arrest you may be eligible for a cash reward.

A Warsaw man is in the Hancock County Jail after a teenage girl missing from Quincy since May was located at his residence.

The Quincy Police Department took a missing person report on May 22 regarding a 14-year-old girl. A press release on May 24^th from Quincy Police asked for the public’s assistance in locating the missing juvenile.

According to Muddy River News, detectives assigned to the Quincy Police Department’s juvenile division have been investigating her most recent disappearance. Multiple search warrants have been executed on various social media, phone and other Internet-based companies developing leads attempting to pinpoint the girl’s location. The juvenile detectives, working in conjunction with several members of the U.S. Marshal’s Service and the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, conducted multiple interviews on Wednesday, Aug. 17 and searched multiple houses in Carthage and Warsaw. The teenage girl was found at approximately 1:30 p.m. at 350 Van Buren in Warsaw and taken into protective custody. She was transported to the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office and turned over to her guardians.

The resident of 350 Van Buren, 20 year old Nicolas Foster, had just left prior to the juvenile being located but was found at a nearby family member’s residence by authorities and arrested on an unrelated Lee County, Iowa warrant for 3^rd degree sexual abuse.

Foster was transported to the Hancock County Sheriff’s office, interviewed and lodged in the Hancock County Jail on the Lee County warrant. The investigation continues into possible charges related to the girl’s disappearance.

Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced on Tuesday the U.S. Department of Education has approved the discharge of all remaining federal student loan debt owed by borrowers who attended the now-defunct ITT Technical Institute (ITT), forgiving approximately $100 million in debt owed by more than 5,000 Illinois borrowers.

The Department of Education will erase all remaining federal student loan debt that borrowers received to attend ITT from Jan. 1, 2005 through its closure in September 2016. The decision, which follows department findings based on extensive internal records, testimony from ITT managers and recruiters and first-hand accounts from borrowers, will result in 208,000 borrowers receiving $3.9 billion in full loan discharges. Former ITT students who have not yet applied for a borrower defense to repayment discharge will also receive relief without any additional action on their part.

Today’s announcement follows an April 2021 borrower defense application submitted by Raoul and a coalition of attorneys general urging the department to forgive the loans of former ITT students after the school defrauded students by encouraging them to enroll and take out loans based on false and misleading information about the value of an ITT degree and empty promises of high-paying jobs after graduation.

ITT enrolled roughly 282,000 students across the country between 2007 and 2010. Student borrowers who have questions or are in need of assistance can call the Attorney General’s Student Loan Helpline at 1-800-455-2456. Borrowers can also file complaints on the Attorney General’s website.

Murrayville-Woodson Police Detective Mike Broaddus will be participating in a special racing event in St. Louis this weekend.

The Murrayville-Woodson Police Department gave away 5 free tickets to the Bommarito Automotive 500 in St. Louis. Broaddus will be joining approximately 200 other law enforcement officers and vehicles in the opening laps of the races on Saturday.

During the opening lap, the song “Amazing Grace” will play, while the names of fallen officers from the past year will be played on a big screen. Upon completion of the first lap, all law enforcement vehicles will start their lights and sirens and run a second lap as the Indy cars behind them begin the race while the vehicles exit the track.

The Murrayville-Woodson Police Department will be posting videos of Broaddus’ participation.

The Village of Bluffs is getting two new part-time officers while Winchester is losing its police chief.

The Journal Courier reports that the Bluffs Village Board recently approved the hiring of two part-time officers, Nate White and Caleb Handy.

Handy is currently the Chief of Police in Winchester. Handy has been in the position at Winchester since October 7, 2020. According to the report, Bluffs Chief of Police Patrick Johnson says that Handy will soon be resigning from the position in Winchester. White is also listed as a current employee of the Winchester Police Department.

Winchester Mayor Rex McIntire says that a search is underway to find Handy’s replacement: “Obviously, we were disappointed. I talked to Caleb about this situation about 2-3 weeks ago, and he mentioned that with his family and he’s a full-time Corrections officer at the Jacksonville prison that it was just a lot for him and he didn’t think he was doing the job as Chief of Police justice. He thought he would have to resign as Chief but said he did want to stay on as a part-time officer in Winchester.”

McIntire says he is unsure if White will remained employed with Winchester. He says he will know more about White’s situation after a face-to-face meeting in the next few days.

Bluffs Village officials said they wanted the two new officers to cover day shifts with the upcoming school year.