The upcoming Jacksonville Rotary 4^th of July Parade looks to be inundated with another fraternal group in honor of their current leader, and helping kids.

Tony Moore of Jacksonville currently serves this year as Potentate of Ansar Shrine in Springfield. Moore says he became a Shriner after his son Brock received years of treatment at the Shriners Hospital for Children in St. Louis for a rare bone disease in his hips. He says he joined the Shriners to help pay it forward for others.

“It’s all about helping kids. Shriners has twenty-two hospitals throughout the country. Our oldest son, Brock, was treated there between the ages of five and twenty-one years old. That was the main reason I became a Mason and a Shriner- to give back. We just want every kid to have the same opportunity that Brock had.”

Since joining in 2010, Moore has helped over 100 children get treated at the Shriners Hospital in St. Louis, chairing the Ansar Off-Premises Screening Clinics in the area, to giving children and their parents rides to the hospital for treatment.

Ansar’s jurisdiction, or territory, stretches from the Missouri and Indiana borders, and between Danville and Litchfield, covering most of Central Illinois. Moore says a great many Shriners will be walking the parade route in Jacksonville this Friday.

“In our jurisdiction, there’s forty clubs and units (of Shriners), and since it is my hometown parade, I asked any of them that parades to come to Jacksonville and participate. I don’t know how many will be here ,but I will tell it is probably going to be the most that our 4^th of July parade has ever had.”

Moore expects somewhere between 75 and 100 Shriner’s from all over Central Illinois to be here Friday, parading in all forms of transportation such as the “Tin Lizzie” mini-Model T cars, “Ag Corp” tractor club, The Wheels, which are giant sized three wheelers, the Four-Wheel Bar Stool Parade Unit and even an appearance by the Mounted Cowboys on horseback, so long as the weather isn’t too hot for the horses.

Moore says the Shriners are about having fun, but above all else, all about helping kids. “Last year alone, between the St. Louis and Chicago hospitals, we helped a little over three hundred kids get treatment. They will take insurance, but we just want to make sure the family doesn’t have to worry about it; it’s for the rich and poor. They will take insurance if they have already met their deductible, but if you get a patient who can’t afford anything, it’s no cost to the parents.”

Tony and his Wife Dana live and work in Jacksonville. Tony is a member of Harmony Masonic Lodge No. 3, and both he and Dana have been parishioners of the Church of Our Savior for 38 years.

To find out more information about Ansar Shrine and the Shriner’s Children’s Hospitals, go online to ansarshrine.com, or you can call Tony Moore at 217-720-9484.

The Jacksonville 4th of July Parade steps off at 10:00 am on Friday from the Morgan County Fairgrounds. The parade will proceed east along West State Street to Church Street.

The Illinois State Police arrested an out-of-state man in the area yesterday. According to a report by ISP Troop 6 officials, at approximately 10:00 a.m., an ISP trooper conducted a traffic stop on a Hyundai SUV on eastbound Interstate 72 near milepost 68 in Morgan County.

As a result of the traffic stop, the driver, 46-year-old Robert L. McElveen of Cincinnati, Ohio was taken into custody. He was transported and booked into the Morgan County jail where he was cited for Cannabis Trafficking – more than 5,000 grams, Manufacture/Delivery of Cannabis – more than 5,000 grams and Possession of Cannabis – more than 5,000 grams.

No further information was made available by the state police. McElveen remains lodged this morning at the Morgan County Jail.

According to an announcement Friday afternoon, Pike County Sheriff David Greenwood is urging the public not to fall for a phone scam involving the release of a loved one from jail.

Greenwood says calls and messages have been sent claiming money needs to be paid for a loved one to secure GPS to be released from jail.

Greenwood says this is a scam and that the Illinois Office of Statewide Pretrial Services does not charge money for individuals to be placed on supervision or GPS monitoring.

Anyone who receives a message like this is urged to hang up and notify law enforcement of this incident immediately.

Jacksonville Fire Department crews were dispatched to 448 South Mauvaisterre Street for a call for a fully engulfed vehicle fire that was starting to spread to the residence at approximately 7:30 pm Friday.

According to an incident report, fire crews were met at the scene by Jacksonville Police, who said it was believed ammunition was inside the vehicle and going off due to the fire.

Flames and heat from the fire had started to damage the north side of the home. Fire crews quickly deployed a fire line and extinguished the fire, and cooled the exterior of the home.

A section of asphalt shingle siding on the outside of the home suffered damage, and three windows were broken when they were rapidly cooled during fire suppression efforts. The vehicle, a 2009 Nissan Rogue, had not moved in the last three to four months, and the windows had been in the down position, according to witnesses on the scene.

The owner denied there being ammunition in the vehicle. The report noted that a chainsaw was found inside the vehicle during the follow-up investigation.

No injuries were reported. Damage to the vehicle was estimated at $4,000 and $400.00 in the vehicle’s contents. No damage was sustained to the inside of the home. Damage was estimated at $10,000 to the exterior of the structure. The owner stated to authorities on scene that neither the vehicle or the home were covered by insurance at the time of the blaze.

According to Jacksonville Police, the license plate on the vehicle was not registered to the vehicle in the incident. A cause of the fire was unable to be determined during the investigation, according to the Jacksonville Fire Department’s report.

One person was killed and another seriously injured in a motorcycle crash in Pike County on Saturday.

According to a preliminary report by the Illinois State Police, Troop 6 Troopers responded to a report of a single vehicle crash involving a motorcycle on Illinois Route 106, one-half mile north of Illinois Route 54 at approximately 12:15 pm.

Two occupants were air-lifted to a local hospital with injuries. One of the occupants later succumbed to those injuries.

Illinois Route 106 was shut down for more than two hours for a crash investigation. The roadway was reopened at approximately 2:30 p.m..

No further information was provided by the Illinois State Police. As of press time, the Pike County Coroner’s Office has not released any information.

According to a preliminary report by the Illinois State Police, Troop 6 officers responded to a report of a two-vehicle crash on U.S. 67 at Woodson Winchester Road at approximately 215 Saturday afternoon. Two people were pronounced deceased at the scene. Morgan County Coroner Marcy Patterson confirmed the deaths in a statement late Saturday night.

The State Police also confirmed that two occupants were airlifted to regional hospitals with injuries, and two other occupants were transported to regional hospitals with injuries. No further information about the incident or the condition of those transported has been released at this time.

Muddy River News is reporting at this hour that the two who were pronounced deceased were both students at Pittsfield High School. Late Saturday night, Pikeland Superintendent of Schools, Todd Fox, announced via social media the sudden passing of Pike High School senior Jesse Davidsmeyer and junior Joel Noble.

The crash is the second tragedy to the Pikeland Schools community involving students this year. Freshman and standout basketball star Reese Ramsey lost her life in a two-vehicle crash on Illinois Route 106 on February 11^th.

Fox said in the announcement Saturday “as a school and a community, we are in absolute shock and overwhelmed with grief,” and that “counseling and additional resources will be available at Pikeland for anyone in need”, including students, staff, and community members. Fox is also encouraging parents to talk with their children and reach out if additional support is needed.

Morgan County Coroner Marcy Patterson says the names of the deceased are being withheld at this time pending the notification of next of kin. All lanes of traffic on US 67 were shut down for approximately six hours for investigation at the scene and were reopened just after 8:00 pm.

Patterson says the incident remains under investigation by the Morgan County Coroner’s Office and the Illinois State Police, and no further information will be released at this time.

The public is asked for tips on a pair of crimes that occurred Friday in Jacksonville. Jacksonville Police are seeking information on a suspect involved in a hit-and-run that occurred early this morning.

Officers responded to a single-vehicle crash in the 500 block of South Church Street at approximately 1:45 a.m. Saturday. According to a police report, a car was traveling southbound on South Church when it struck a utility pole.

The vehicle was disabled in the crash, and the driver of the vehicle then fled from the scene. According to the report, officers said it appeared the driver had sustained injuries in the crash. The car had to be towed from the scene, and the driver remains unidentified as of press time.

Police are also seeking information on a retail theft from Friday. Officers were called to the Hy-Vee grocery store located at 1255 West Morton Avenue at approximately 3:30 Friday afternoon. According to the report, a male subject removed merchandise from the store without attempting to pay for it. No description of the suspect was provided in police reports as of press time.

Anyone with information on either of these incidents is asked to contact the Jacksonville Police Department by calling 217-479-4630 or leaving an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers of Morgan, Scott, and Cass Counties by calling 217-243-7300.

Crime Stoppers of Morgan, Scott, and Cass Counties has added yet another way crime tips can be submitted anonymously. Residents in the area will start seeing Crime Stoppers QR codes popping up soon.

Crime Stoppers Coordinator Loren Hamilton says the QR code is an idea the local board has been working on for some time. He says they will initially start popping up at area businesses. “We have decals made up that we hope to get out to convenience stores, retail stores, and the like that have the QR code on them. So all you’ll have to do is just scan the code as you walk by it. Originally, the plan was to get the code into the schools. That is still the plan, but we will have to wait until the start of the school year.”

The QR code takes the user to the Morgan, Scott, Cass Crime Stoppers website, where they can access the online crime tip submission form.

Hamilton says if you have a business or property where you would like to display the new Crime Stoppers QR code, contact him at the Jacksonville Police Department or any Morgan, Scott, Cass Crime Stoppers board member to get one.

Tips can also be submitted via the Morgan, Scott, Cass Crime Stoppers Facebook page, directly to the website at morganscottcrimestoppers.com, or by calling Crime Stoppers at 243-7300.

Hamilton reminds that tips are always anonymous, regardless of how they are submitted, and if your tip leads to an arrest, you will be eligible for a cash reward.

Motorists traveling through the intersection of Main and Morton in Jacksonville likely did a double-take Friday morning. A number of area law enforcement officers were camped out on the roof of Dunkin’ Donuts in an effort to raise money for the Illinois Special Olympics.

Representatives from the Jacksonville and South Jacksonville Police Departments, along with the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office and West Central Joint Dispatch, took turns on the roof waving at traffic and collecting donations.

Luke Poore with the Jacksonville Police Department says being involved with the Special Olympics is near and dear to his heart. “I’ve been in the Special Olympics for probably seventeen or more years. It started when I was in college, when a retired State Trooper got me involved.

Special Olympics is probably one of my favorite parts of my job, it’s just uh, it’s pure joy. One hundred percent of the proceeds we raise go to the athletes all throughout the state.”

Law enforcement was on hand till noon Friday, selling items such as t-shirts, hats, and coffee mugs as well as taking any general donation from folks willing to help while they grabbed their morning coffee and doughnut.

Poore says if you missed the chance to get by to donate, you can still pitch in to help by going to the Jacksonville Police Department, where you can scan posted QR codes to donate online, or give cash or a check to Luke Poore, and he will get it to the Special Olympics.

The Cop on a Rooftop Campaign is a statewide event held every year by Special Olympics Illinois and Dunkin’ Donuts. Donors can choose which police organization on whose behalf they want to donate. To donate online or find out more information, go to support.soill.org.

The Village of South Jacksonville swore in a new Trustee Thursday night, however, the village will still need to fill two vacancies on the board going forward.

Jeffery W. Coleman was sworn in to fill an open seat on the Village of South Jacksonville Board of Trustees during a special meeting Thursday night.

Coleman served on the board until this year’s April Consolidated Election after he had chosen not to run for a second term last fall, citing more time with family and health concerns.

Village President Dick Samples says at the time, Coleman’s decision centered primarily on his health.

Coleman says everyone in the administration has been supportive throughout the health-related process from the very beginning when he first chose not to seek reelection.

Coleman, who works for Reynolds Consumer Products, says one of his three young children attends school at South Elementary. He and his family want to stay and continue to enjoy the community, and he enjoys serving Village residents as a Trustee.

Not long after Coleman was sworn into office, Village President Dick Samples announced that Trustee Tom Luber will be retiring from his seat on the village Board.

Luber says he and his family are downsizing to a single-level home in the City of Jacksonville. In the interim, he says he will remain on the board for another one to two months while he is still a legal resident of the village.