The South Jacksonville Plans Commission gave the green light for a special cottage business to proceed to the Village Board of Trustees for final approval.

Jamie Smith presented a business plan for a dog grooming/dog daycare business to be housed at her residence in the first block of Meadow Lane.

Smith said that she is in the process of getting her home and garage up to specifications to be approved for state licensing. Smith expects to bring in $68,000 annually with the business that will house 5-7 dogs during working hours while their owners are at work.

Two neighbors and a couple of commission members have worries about noise, aggressive dogs, dog waste, and insurance. Smith assured the Plans Commission she has taken into account those concerns and is taking the proper steps to abate any possible issues.

Village President Dick Samples and three trustees were in attendance for the meeting to hear Smith’s business plan and the final recommendations of the Plans Commission.

Samples says the business is an experiment that will need to be re-evaluated if it passes through the Board of Trustees: “What these fine folks here recommended tonight and approved…and the only other thing is that we will revisit this in 6 months because there are so many things that can go wrong. We don’t know. This is open ground for us. I don’t see any problem at all with the actual grooming of the dogs and all that. When you start putting 4 or 5 dogs together, then you have the potential of having problems with them barking and so on. If we can get away from the barking and all that…and [Smith] is talking about putting bark collars on the dogs, so that should eliminate a lot of things. But, you’ve got people who’ll say ‘You’re not putting a bark collar on my dog.’ That will be something that she has to work out with her clientele.”

The Plans Commission ultimately approved the dog daycare special use permit 4-0. The daycare will not be allowed to board dogs overnight or kennel them at all due to already established residence ordinances in the village. Plans Commission Chair Larry Moore said that the Plans Commission will draw up their final recommendations to present to the board of trustees for their meeting in September.

Springfield State Senator Doris Turner is celebrating the announcement of a natural-gas fueled power plant coming to Pawnee.

Turner says the Lincoln Land Energy Center being built by EmberClear will secure Central Illinois’ economic development: “The Lincoln Land Energy Center will create good paying jobs right here in our back yard. When we look at the realm of companies we hope move to Central Illinois, those that will positively contribute to our society are at the top of the list – and that’s an attribute of EmberClear’s Lincoln Land Energy Center. Lincoln Land Energy Center is an investment not just in our state but also in our communities and our families. I stand strong in my commitment to fight for ways to modernize Central Illinois’ economy and secure jobs that our communities have long asked for.”

The natural-gas fueled power plant will be situated a half mile south of the Village of Pawnee on 160-acres of land. Throughout construction, the IEPA projects the build will generate $1.5 billion in economic development and 700 jobs – with 35 permanent jobs coming to the site upon completion. The total project cost is estimated at $1 billion, and the plant will be exclusively built and operated by union labor.

Despite the Senator’s support, the more progressive wing of the Democrat party has come out against the project. The Clean Energy Jobs Coalition released a statement about the approval of the project yesterday says the project “undermines Illinois’ climate progress and is out of line with the clean energy goals outlined in the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act.” The group says the plant will emit 3.5 million tons of carbon pollution annually while it is in operation. The group went on to say that alternatively over 6,000 megawatts-worth of solar projects are awaiting various points of approval from Ameren and MISO to fill the gap in Central Illinois’ energy grid.

In December, local residents and advocates attended a public hearing in Pawnee and delivered over 2,000 comments to the IEPA in opposition of the plant, according to the State Journal Register.

The plant is expected to begin commercial operations by 2025.

Memorial Care in Jacksonville is welcoming two new physicians.

Dr. Drake Gashkoff and Dr. Hasan Othman have started practicing family medicine and pediatric medicine, respectively, with Memorial Care in Jacksonville.

Gashkoff most recently served as a family physician with Duly Health and Care, previously known as DuPage Medical Group, in Illinois.

Othman completed his residency this year in pediatrics at Michigan State University’s Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Michigan, where he also served as a member of the clinical faculty in the Department of Pediatrics. Prior to that, he was a research fellow at the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio; and a visiting physician at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland.

Both Gashkoff and Othman are now scheduling new patients at Memorial Care in Jacksonville.

A Jacksonville woman involved in a high speed chase with police late last month was arrested last night.

A Jacksonville Police officer initiated a pursuit of a vehicle at approximately 8:30PM Saturday, July 23rd on West Morton Avenue after the officer witnessed a white Ford Edge traveling at a high rate of speed eastbound in the westbound lanes.

The driver fled from police and ended up in the parking lot of the Municipal Building at 200 West Douglas Avenue and struck a parked city-owned utility vehicle, causing about $1,500 damage, and took off again. The driver, later identified as 32 year old Jill R. Burnett of the 700 block of East Lafayette Avenue was later apprehended and taken to Jacksonville Memorial Hospital for an evaluation.

Jacksonville Police arrested Burnett at 11:21PM yesterday in the parking lot of a business in the 1900 block of West Morton Avenue for aggravated fleeing or eluding a peace officer and leaving the scene and/or failure to report a traffic crash. She currently remains held without bond at the Morgan County Jail.

Some say politics were at play in a recent attempt to oust a long-time member of Greene County Rural Water District board.

The Greene County Board could not come to a consensus on July 13^th on whether or not to reappoint David Longmeyer as a member of the Greene County Rural Water District Board. Longmeyer has served on the board for more than 20 years and currently chairs the board. The board was split 3-3 on the vote to retain Longmeyer with one abstention. According to the Greene Prairie Press, the lack of Longmeyer’s retention resulted in numerous calls to Greene County Board members from the public who were irate about the decision.

The Greene County Board called a special meeting on July 20^th strictly to handle the matter. The July 20^th meeting is reported to have had large numbers in attendance who were not allowed to speak on the matter until after a re-vote. County Board Chairman Mark Strang moved to put the meeting in executive session but was denied when Board Member Chris Elliott and Greene County State’s Attorney Caleb Briscoe said that moving the discussion into executive session wouldn’t qualify under the “personnel” exemption since Longmeyer is technically not an employee of the county.

The open discussion about Longmeyer’s reappointment began with Board Member Andrea Schnelten saying she was against Longmeyer’s reappointment because several farmers had alerted her to being cheated out of money on their yields by Mr. Longmeyer when rural water lines were ran through their property. Other “no” votes from the previous meeting refused to discuss their reasoning in open session.

Longmeyer was eventually retained to the board in a 5-2 vote. Longmeyer believes that one of the reasons he received a no vote in the previous meeting from Chairman Mark Strang, according to reported comments, was because Longmeyer denied one of the Greene County Rural Water District Board appointees because the appointee didn’t live in the rural water district when they were appointed. Longmeyer said to appoint that person at the time was against the rural district’s bylaws, causing a riff between he and Strang. The appointee was eventually accepted to the water district board after they moved into the water district 90 days later.

The meeting ended with several other public comments in favor of Longmeyer’s reappointment to the board.

National Night Out, an event to promote positive interactions between first responders and the community, will be held tomorrow night in Jacksonville’s Community Park. The event will coincide with several other communities’ versions of the event throughout the country.

Co-Chair for the Jacksonville event, Leslie Forsman says its a way for first responders and the community to meet in a non-stressful situation to get to know one another and learn from one another.

Presentations of various groups and subject matter will begin at 5:30 and run until 7:30. AT&T, The FBI, Midwest Youth Services, Early Years, The Crisis Center Foundation, and other are expected to have informational booths. There will also be several fun games and activities and rides on Big Eli will be open. The event will conclude at 8PM.

All events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Loren Hamilton at the Jacksonville Police Department at 217-479-4630 or visit the event page on Facebook.

The Jacksonville Public Library Board of Trustees announced today that Jake Magnuson of Jacksonville will be the new permanent library director starting August 15^th.

Magnuson replaces Chris Ashmore, who resigned February 7th for personal reasons. Ashmore was with the Jacksonville Public Library for 23 years and was its director for a decade.

Magnuson has worked for the past seven years at the Illinois State Library, most recently in the library development group as a consultant for public libraries. He was a reference and public services librarian at Henry Pfeiffer Library from 2007 to 2014 for MacMurray College.

Michelle Clark of Bluffs took home the $10,000 early bird Routt-Our Saviour Dreams drawing held Sunday afternoon.

Other winners during the early bird on Sunday of $1,000 were Matt Grubb, Dena Dobson and Wade Gregory, all of Jacksonville, and Nancy Tezlow of White Hall.

The drawing was a prelude to the $100,000 grand prize drawing that will take place at 6PM September 4th. The drawing will be broadcast live on WEAI 107.1FM.

In addition, there will be a 2022 Jeep Wrangler given away for second place, and cash prizes for 47 other ticket holders of $250 to $1,000.

As of this morning, only 154 tickets remain. Tickets can be purchased online at rchsossdreams.com/ or at 453 E. State Street in Jacksonville.

Also, listen for a chance to win 1 of 8 Dreams Tickets on 107.1 The Eagle with Chelsea Bloom in the Mornings or with Kate in the afternoon.

A Sangamon County man has been identified as the individual killed in a motorcycle crash Saturday afternoon in northern Calhoun County.

Illinois State Police report that at 4:10PM Saturday just north of the Village of Michael on Illinois Route 100 a motorcycle was traveling southbound on Illinois Route 100 following several other motorcycles.

State Police reports say that for an unknown reason, the driver, later identified as 40 year old Daniel T. Reckmo of Springfield, abruptly applied the brakes, began to skid out of control, and laid the motorcycle on its side before the motorcycle came to final rest in the northbound lane.

Reckmo was ejected and sustained fatal injuries. According to family members, Reckmo was pronounced deceased at the scene at 4:52PM. The Illinois State Police have not confirmed nor denied Reckmo’s identity in the crash after inquiries.

No further official information has been made available. Reckmo’s family has set up a GoFundMe account to pay for funeral expenses and help support his surviving children.

The City of Jacksonville is working on two separate issues when it comes to recycling, as well as a citywide contract for a garbage service.

City Clerk Skip Bradshaw says that the city is currently working on an agreement with BLH Computers for the disposal of surplus computer monitors and televisions by the city’s residents: “This contract is so that people can take their TVs [that break down] as they need to rather than storing them until June when we have the citywide clean up. That way they can take them directly to BLH, and then, on a monthly basis the city will get an invoice that will tell us the address of the people who have recycled their TV or computer monitor. It won’t give us their names, but it will give us an address and what they turned in. Then, the city pays for that on a monthly basis.”

The city was billed $19,000 during this year’s citywide cleanup just for the disposal of old televisions and computer monitors, with the majority of the bill going towards fuel costs and manpower for the tv recycling program. The hope is with the TV/Monitor Recycling Program under direct management by BLH that it will eliminate or reduce most of those costs, causing billing to the city to go down.

Ward Two Alderwoman Lori Large-Oldenettel noted during the July 25th City Council meeting that by having the year-long drop off agreement, people would no longer have to clutter up their residence with the junk TVs and/or computer monitors. She also said it would reduce the risk of fly dumping around the city’s outskirts.

Bradshaw says there are some rules to the TV/Monitor recycling program. Residents will only be allowed to turn in two TVs/monitors per year per household: “This year will be a little bit different. Residents will still be allowed to turn in 2 from now until the end of the year. Then, they will have 2 for all of next year – 2023. The program is for Jacksonville residents only.”

Bradshaw says that the new TV/Monitor recycling program coincides with the city attempting to extend its current recycling program for normal recycling products like paper, plastics, and aluminum. The current recycling contract ends on August 31st. The extension will come with a 4% increase in costs with the hope that the recycling contract and the new waste hauling contract will be with the same provider. The City Council is expected to vote on both proposals, including a new waste hauler city contract at their upcoming meetings in the month of August.

Bradshaw says he has requested Request For Proposal (RFP)/ Request For Quote (RFQ) from the cities of Morton, Rantoul, and Washington to compare and work on a contract for Jacksonville: “Basically we wanted to take a look at the contracts that they had to kind of see what we wanted to do. The main thing that we wanted to do is to take a look at their RFP. We wanted to see what they put in there RFP and how they worded it so that we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We can take what they’ve done and make our own. I’ve received two of them as of Tuesday so we’ve got those to review. Then we can put our own RFP together and hopefully have it ready before the next City Council meeting.”

Bradshaw says the goal of having a citywide contract is to lower citizens’ bills. Trash service has been a controversial topic since GFL took over Area Waste Management and then Trash Queen in recent months. Bradshaw says that normal trash pick up service has somewhat returned to normalcy in Jacksonville, but billing has been the main complaint that city officials have been hearing about from people across the city. Bradshaw says with the city contract, it would streamline billing for GFL and hopefully level prices for everyone citywide and possibly make them lower.