Six down and only two to go. The sounds of blues funk will echo throughout downtown Jacksonville tonight as a staple of the Chicago music scene takes the stage.

Maurice John Vaughn with the Freddie Dixon Band goes on at 7:00 tonight as the Jacksonville Main Street Summer Concert Series begins to wind down for the year.

Executive Director for Main Street, Judy Tighe says, tonight’s show brings a special feel from up north to the square in Jacksonville. She says don’t let the blues term fool you, as this performance is all about the funk.

“I think it’s just boogie- it’s just fun! It’s not sad, you know a lot of people think the blues is kind of a bummer theme. But no it’s not, it’s fun and upbeat and I think everyone is going to enjoy it.”

Tighe says the summer concert series has become more than just a concert each week, as they have seen more and more people coming from out of town, as well as using the events for reasons to gather beyond the great performances.

“This season in particular we’ve seen a lot of out-of-town fans and sometimes family members. We forget how global our world is and how interconnected. So there’s a lot of time you’ll have a fan or a family member of our performer that is coming from more than fifty miles away.

We’re also seeing more and more businesses using this as an employee kind of team-building, spirit-building opportunity. So a lot of them are using this as sort of an employee appreciation night.”

Tighe says the concerts have also been used as a gathering spot for family and class reunions.

The many downtown businesses, which have long enjoyed the concert series according to Tighe, are now teaming up to help the Jacksonville Food Center have enough on the shelves.

She says now through the end of August, participating stores with a Pack the Food Center Flier are giving discounts, specials, or prizes to any customer who brings in non-perishable food items to donate to the food center.

More information can be found on the Jacksonville Main Street and participating business’s social media pages.

The Pike County Sheriff’s Department is seeking information following a rash of vehicle-related crimes.

Sheriff David Greenwood said in a press release Friday, that his office began receiving calls from citizens on Monday reporting their vehicles had either been, burglarized, damaged, or stolen.

The calls came from residents in the Barry, Kinderhook, and New Canton areas. Greenwood says as of Friday, they have had at least sixteen cars that were burglarized and, in the process, some were damaged, with four of them being moved or stolen.

He says other communities outside of Pike County have experienced these same types of incidents and are believed to be tied together.

Investigations into the incidents are ongoing. Greenwood says if you have any information regarding any of these incidents, call the Pike County Sheriff’s Department at 217-285-5011 or Pike County Crime Stoppers at 217-285-1500.

If the information provided leads to the arrests of the individuals involved, you can receive a cash reward and you can remain anonymous.

Greenwood is reemphasizing to the public to lock their vehicles and never leave their keys or any valuables inside.

Navigating the downtown square in Jacksonville will be a little rough around the noon hour on Sunday as one of Central Illinois’ largest rides for charity will stop for lunch.

The 2024 Peacekeepers Incorporated Golden Anniversary Ride will be rolling through the Jacksonville area on Sunday. Peacekeepers was started in 2004 as a Springfield Non-Profit group aimed at assisting the men and women of law enforcement and military in the State of Illinois.

Peacekeepers later joined forces with the Illinois Sheriff’s Association helping the group to take their efforts statewide.

Doug Thompson with the Jacksonville Police Department says the ride will pile into the downtown square late Sunday morning. “We are going to have the downtown plaza completely blocked off, so there will be no through traffic allowed on the plaza from approximate 11:30 am until about 2:00 pm.

That is all sort of dependent on their ride and how quickly they get here. But we plan on shutting the plaza down with barricades about 11:30 preventing traffic from entering the plaza.”

Thompson says approximately 500 vehicles consisting mostly of motorcycles and Jeeps will be downtown for the lunch stop of the ride. The Springfield Police Department’s motorcycle patrol will lead the group along the ride, with several law enforcement vehicles from a variety of departments also taking part.

Thompson says there could be some traffic delays as the group makes its way into town. “They are coming in on Old State Road, they will turn on Clay and go north to Douglas, take Douglas up to Main, and then Main onto the plaza. As I said, it will be closed off with barricades so they will park on the plaza and any associated parking lots that they will need.

I know it appears that there will be a lot of food trucks coming downtown to provide food for them, as well as a number of restaurants that will be open. It’s a pretty neat ride. I did it ten years ago on a motorcycle. I have another commitment or I would have gone on it this year too.”

The ride kicks off at the 183 Air National Guard at the Springfield Airport and head down Old Jacksonville Road. They will then stop here for lunch before continuing up to Havana, and then on to Sherman for the final stop.

This year the group plans to award $15,000 to the Illinois Military Family Relief Fund, $13,000 in scholarships to dependents of military and law enforcement personnel, and nearly $5,000 in special awards and contributions.

For more information go to the Peacekeepers Inc. Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/springfieldareapeacekeepersinc/posts/pfbid0vueEtZQLCb989oJugbRbishvjmq2gLaTVibst5YAfL3vtzdxHxcaB25MKvbVT4FXl

One person was killed in a Pike County house fire early Thursday morning. According to an announcement by Pike County Sheriff and Coroner, Davids Greenwood Friday afternoon, at 5:49 Thursday morning, the Pike County Sheriff’s Department received a 911 call reporting a house fire on 150th Avenue in the township of Pleasant Hill.

The caller told dispatchers that it appeared as though the fire had been burning for a while as of the time of the call. Greenwood says the Pleasant Hill and Spring Creek Fire Departments were dispatched to the scene and were aided by assistance from the Pittsfield Fire Department.

During the firefighting efforts, a body was discovered at the scene. 77-year-old Sondra Heimer of Pleasant Hill was pronounced deceased at the scene. Greenwood says her body was transported earlier today to Bloomington for autopsy to determine a cause of death.

An investigation into the incident remains ongoing by the Pike County Sheriff’s Office. Greenwood says the Illinois State Fire Marshall’s Office has been called to investigate the cause of the blaze.

A West Central Illinois healthcare facility is named in one of three spending bills recently advanced by the U.S. Senate’s Appropriations Committee.

In a joint announcement by Illinois Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin on Friday, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to advance funding bills for Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies; Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; and Legislative Branch offices for Fiscal Year 2025.

Among the items listed in the Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies appropriations is $1 million in federal funding to the Blessing Care Corporation to fund an update to the laboratory department at Illini Community Hospital in Pittsfield. The funds would help modernize the lab facilities at the hospital that are, in some cases, more than 80 years old.

The Pike County hospital was one of a number of healthcare facilities across the state awarded the largest sum available for this type of project in a healthcare setting.

Other areas named in the spending bills include funding for VA Medical & Prosthetic Research, agriculture research, WIC and SNAP food benefit programs, and construction funding for military and veteran service facilities at Rock Island and Marseilles.

Durbin says the approvals are the first in a number to come: “Bipartisan efforts are necessary to get many meaningful things done in Washington. And right now, one of the most pressing items requiring a bipartisan effort is passing appropriations bills that fund the government for the next fiscal year. This week, the Senate Appropriations Committee took the first step to advance these bills which will benefit families, communities, and the economy in Illinois. I look forward to taking up the remaining bills as soon as possible.”

Duckworth says that investing in communities makes the nation stronger as whole: “Our state and our nation are stronger when we invest in our communities and families-and that’s what these bipartisan funding bills do. I’m proud I was able to help secure critical support for projects throughout Illinois that help expand healthcare and childcare access and more.”

Congressional Democrats hope that this is a sign of things to come on a bipartisan basis. The Farm Bill extension is slated to expire on September 30th and has yet to gain traction in either chamber since the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture passed its version in May. The bill has remained stalled out since then.

Jacksonville Police responded to the scene of a traffic crash after a report of a child driving a minivan.

According to a police report, a caller to West Central Joint Dispatch reported the child driving the van at approximately 9:15 Friday morning. Officers responded to the intersection of East Michigan Avenue and Hardin Avenue and found the vehicle had crashed.

Following a subsequent investigation, officers determined the van was traveling west on East Michigan Avenue when it ran off the roadway and struck a stop sign at the intersection of Hardin before then striking a tree in the 300 block of East Michigan.

The seven-year-old female driver was uninjured in the crash and the vehicle did not need to be towed from the scene. According to police reports, the minivan was owned by Enterprise Car Rental of the 900 block of West Morton Avenue.

No citations were issued, and no further details were included in the report.

Three people were arrested after a vehicle fled from a traffic stop in Jacksonville last night.

Jacksonville Police conducted a traffic stop in the 600 block of North Clay Avenue at approximately 9:30 Friday night, and according to police reports, the vehicle fled the scene before being detained a short time later.

The driver of the vehicle, 19-year-old Montiara S. McGee of the 800 block of North Main Street, was arrested for aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer, obstructing a peace officer, and disobeying a stop sign.

A passenger in the vehicle, Demorion J. Harris of the 500 block of North Church Street was arrested for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm for having no FOID card after a firearm was found in his possession.

A third occupant of the vehicle, a female juvenile, was also arrested for obstructing a peace officer after she reportedly ran from officers during the stop. A fourth occupant of the vehicle was not charged for any wrongdoing.

Demorion Harris remains held at the Morgan County Jail this morning, pending an appearance in court. Mantiara S. McGee was issued a notice to appear and later released. The status of the female juvenile was not released in the report.

Pikeland School District #10 has hired a new leader for the interim.

Pikeland School officials announced on June 21 that Dr. Jo Campbell has been hired as the interim superintendent for at least the first semester of the 2024-2024 school year.

Campbell will fill the role while the Pikeland School Board continues its search for a permanent, full-time replacement after former interim superintendent Dr. Todd Fox recently departed the district for a new full-time teaching position with John Wood Community College in Quincy.

According to the June 21st announcement, Dr. Campbell has 33 years of experience in education and has previously served as an interim superintendent for the following districts: Schuyler-Industry CUSD #5, Canton USD #66, LaHarpe CSD #347 & Dallas ESD #327, Palestine CUSD #3, and Abingdon-Avon CUSD #276. Dr. Campbell officially started his duties with Pikeland on June 25th.

The Pikeland Board of Education said in the announcement that it will continue to work with School Exec Connect, to find a full-time superintendent.

The identity of the person who was killed when a car left the track at the Jacksonville Speedway last night has been released.

Jacksonville Police and LifeStar EMS were called to the Morgan County Fairgrounds just before 8:00 pm for a report of an incident with injuries involving a race car.

According to an update by Morgan County Coroner, Marcy Patterson this morning, 65-year-old Ralph A. Willhite, of Jacksonville, was in the infield when he was struck by a 410-winged sprint car that had lost control. He was declared deceased at the scene by Morgan County Coroner Marcy Patterson.

Witnesses say a mechanical malfunction may have led to the car leaving the track and entering the infield at a high rate of speed. The remainder of Friday’s races were canceled after the incident. At least one other person was taken to Jacksonville Memorial Hospital for serious injuries.

No further details have been provided as of press time. Patterson says an autopsy has been scheduled for Monday.

One person was killed when a car left the track at the Jacksonville Speedway last night.

Jacksonville Police and LifeStar EMS were called to the Morgan County Fairgrounds just before 8:00 pm for a report of an incident with injuries involving a race car.

According to a press release from the Morgan County Coroner’s Office overnight, a 65-year-old male was in the infield of the track during the races when he was struck by a 410-winged sprint car that had lost control.

The victim was pronounced deceased at the scene by Morgan County Coroner Mary Patterson.

No further details were provided as of press time. The Morgan County Coroner’s Office is withholding the name of the deceased pending the notification of next of kin. An autopsy has been scheduled for Monday.