Passavant Area Hospital officials are reporting great returns on a program to target asthma among children in Jacksonville.

            It’s part of Healthy Jacksonville, and was funded through a couple of grants from the hospital association and Blue Cross-Blue Shield.

            Passavant CEO Dr. Scott Boston says the program accounted for a 56-percent decrease in pediatric asthma cases in the emergency room at Passavant.

            Asthma diagnoses are five times as common for black children, and they represent one third of the hospital’s pediatric asthma ED patients.

            Dr. Boston says though 12-percent of Jacksonville residents are black, 36-percent of the program participants are black.

            Dr. Boston says Healthy Jacksonville is looking at offering a help with COVID vaccination hesitancy among African Americans.

            Boston says health workers are developing trust among those who have been distrustful in the past.

            Dr. Boston says any inroads the group can make to reduce that distrust of the vaccinations will help the hospital better knock down COVID infections in the general population.

Jacksonville Main Street’s Judy Tighe wants public feedback about what’s going on in downtown Jacksonville.

            Tighe and Main Street were ready for public input at a meeting last March, when the state shut everything down for COVID.

            Tighe is anxious to re-schedule that session soon.

            She says the public needs a voice for the downtown which we all own.

            Tighe says the public input in the past was used to fashion grant applications. That may still happen, but she says it’s important to hear from the people either way.

           No date has been set for the session, but Tighe hopes it might be held before summer.

            Main Street is bringing back the free downtown concert series starting June 4^th. The series will continue every Friday through the summer, take two weeks off for the 4^th of July and the Morgan County Fair, and return for four more shows through August 6^th.

            The summer culminates with the craft brew festival, and an art fair August 7^th.

Passavant Hospital’s CEO has concerns about vaccination hesitancy among some of the age groups.

            Passavant continues to offer COVID vaccinations in clinics at the hospital.

            Passavant CEO Dr. Scott Boston says the clinics worked well with the older set.

             Boston says more than 70-percent of the Morgan County population over 65 have had their shots.

            Dr. Boston says availability is not an issue, and Morgan County now has the Johnson one shot vaccine along with Pfizer, and Moderna.

            Boston says health officials are trying to understand the hesitancy.

            Dr. Boston says ethnic groups, such as Spanish and French speaking, and African Americans, has a reluctance to get the shots, because of mistrust.

            He says the other age group is 30-plus white men who might have political reasons for not trusting the vaccinations. Another group is young women who have questions about the vaccinations impact of fertility.

            Dr. Boston says the shots will continue in the clinic setting until all are distributed to those who want them.

The downtown concert series is returning for Jacksonville.

            Jacksonville Main Street Judy Tighe says the event coordinator, Melissa Zoerner was able to convince those secured for last year’s cancelled performances to come back this year.

            Tighe says the concerts will use spacing and masks to keep everyone safe.

            She says they will all be on Friday nights, and opens June 4^th.

             The first concert will be disco music with the Shagadelics. Nick Schnebelen will perform rock June 11th, Phil Vandrel and country June 18th, and Earnest James and Zydeco music will be performed June 25th.

            The series will skip a couple of weekends for the 4^th of July and the Morgan County Fair. It will return with southern rock on the16th, country music on the 23^rd, and blues on the 30^th.

            The series finishes with the Harmons, a bluegrass band on August 6^th, followed by a craft brewery festival and art fair the following day.

            Tighe says this is being done with community support, and the series needs local funding.

            Sponsorship levels range from the Diamond level at $5000 plus, to the digital gold starting at $100. Sponsorship forms are available on the Jacksonville Main Street website.

March turned out to be warmer than normal, and a little bit wetter.

            It was the warmest March since 2016. The temperature averaged 46 and a half degrees last month. That’s about 5 and a half degrees warmer than normal.  

            A typical day last month saw a high of close to 59, and a low at night at just under 35.

            The temperature reached 73 twice last month, on the 11^th and 28^th. We dipped below 30 at night six times. It was 70 or higher on four dates.

            There was no snow last month, but there was 4 and a third inches of rain measured in March. Normal rainfall is just over 2 and 8 tenths inches.

            The rainiest stretch started on the 15^th.  Nearly 3 inches of rain fell through the 19^th.  The heaviest rain was an inch and a half on the 18^th.

            Precipitation for the year is now at 7 and 9 tenths inches. That’s about an inch and 8 tenths above normal.

            WLDS WEAI is a reporting station for the National Weather Service.