A West Central Illinois Sheriff says his department will continue to rigorously investigate all violations of the Illinois Sex Offender Registry Act after he announced a number of arrests and convictions this morning.

Pike Sheriff David Greenwood updated the public on the statuses of five individuals who had been arrested for violating the registry dating back to late last year. Two of the individuals have already been sentenced to serve time in state prison.

64-year-old Robert Wayne Niffen of Pleasant Hill was sentenced in Pike County Circuit Court this week following his arrest for failing to register as a sex offender back in October.

Niffen was on federal probation for sex offender registration violations at the time of his arrest, and after a bench trial in August, he was sentenced yesterday to serve five years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

In August of this year, 39-year-old John Crull of Griggsville pleaded guilty to failing to register as a sex offender following his arrest in December of last year. He was also sentenced to serve five years in the Department of Corrections.

Three other accused registry violators are scheduled to appear in court in Pike County before the end of the year.

45-year-old Christopher A. Ellinger of Griggsville was arrested in December for failing to register as a sex offender. He is next due in court on Tuesday of next week.

29 year old Patrick T.D. Cantwell of Pleasant Hill was arrested in May and will next be in Pike County Court on December 3^rd for failing to register.

And on August 1^st of this year, 21-year-old Jeremy B. Vogel, no address information provided, was arrested for failing to register as a sex offender. Vogel is next due in court on November 19^th.

A Jacksonville neighborhood will be blocked off from traffic next week during the holiday.

The Jacksonville Police Department has announced portions of West State Street near Duncan Park will be closed during Trick or Treat hours on Wednesday and Thursday.

Jacksonville Chief of Police Doug Thompson says he knows it will be a burden for those few hours, however closing the streets is all about keeping the kids safe.

“A couple of years ago we did this and we felt that it just provides so much more safety for the children who are out there trying to enjoy the evening. We are going to have barricades set up so that no traffic can go east or west on West State Street from Pine Street going west all the way to Webster.

Also we will have State Street at Sandusky and State at Caldwell blocked off so no southbound traffic will be able to get to State Street from those two roads. Then we are also going to block off Park Street at College so no traffic can go north on Park to State Street, and that should help eliminate any non-local traffic to that area.”

Chief Thompson says anyone who lives in the closed area will be allowed in with their vehicles, but he urges they use caution while traveling through the neighborhood. “We’re going to have officers at what we believe to be the thoroughfare areas that people might be trying to enter who will assist them in getting around the barricades and then just remind them to please be careful.

You’re going to see kids possibly in the street unfortunately because they are already going to be out, and they are kids, so we are asking those in the vehicles to proceed with caution.”

Chief Thompson says the residents in the blocked-off area have requested the streets be closed as each year hundreds of children go door to door in that area. “The community in that area, that neighborhood, they really have taken to the Halloween spirit and I feel like they are just as much a part of this as all of the children and all of their costumes. Because it looks like when you drive up and down State Street in the evening right now, those houses are really decked out and they are celebrating the season of Halloween.

I know this may cause somewhat of a headache for some people traveling, but again it is for the safety of the children and we want the children to be able to enjoy themselves and no accidents occurring that could involve a child whatsoever.”

West State Street will be blocked off for Trick or Treating from 6:00 to 9:00 pm next Wednesday and Thursday between Pine Street and Webster Avenue, with intersections blocked at Caldwell, Sandusky and Park Streets.

Chief Thompson is asking the public to help spread the word and reminds motorists to be careful and watch out for children near the street in any neighborhood when Trick or Treating will be happening in Jacksonville both Wednesday and Thursday.

The weather may be seasonably warmer over the coming days, however, a holiday season tradition is still just right around the corner and volunteers are needed.

The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign kicks off a short two weeks from now, and Jacksonville Salvation Army Major Chris Clarke says, that although it is an early start for the campaign this season, this year has been tough, and many area residents are in need.

“It’s been a tough year for many non-profits including the Salvation Army. Donations are down overall about twenty percent, so we want to make our goal this year so we can so that we can provide all the services throughout the year. So we made the decision to start November 1^st.

The Red Kettle Campaign consists of about forty percent of our overall budget throughout the year, and that includes not just kettles, but donations that people send in the mail and make online.”

Clarke says the Jacksonville Salvation Army fell short of its goal last year, however, an area donor helped make up the difference. He says they can’t assume the same will happen this year and will need help to reach this year’s goal of $180,000.00.

He says prospective bell-ringers can sign up online, or by calling into the Jacksonville Salvation Army Office. Clarke says most of the kettles are indoors and volunteers will know ahead of time. He says it is a simple process when you head to the kettle to volunteer.

“So we ask people to just show up at the site, we will have the kettle and there will be an apron if they want to wear it, and a bell of course. They can simply ring the bell, but we also encourage volunteers to greet people, to say hello, good morning, or say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays.”

Volunteers are suggested to work a two-hour shift, but one-hour shifts are also available. Clarke says they also look for organizations or workplace groups to get together and volunteer to cover an entire day.

Kettles can be found this year at HyVee, Midland Farm & Home, Walmart, JC Penney’s, Buchheit, and Ace Hardware in Jacksonville.

For more information or to sign up to be a bell ringer, go to registertoring.com, or call the Jacksonville Salvation Army Office at 217-245-7124.

You can also donate to the campaign by going to one of the kettles or dropping off a donation to the Jacksonville Salvation Army’s new home located at 1124 Wall Street in Jacksonville. Donations can be mailed to P.O. Box 220, Jacksonville, Illinois 62651.

A retired Morgan County official is staying on a state committee for another term.

Now, former County Commissioner Bradley Zeller has been reappointed by Governor J.B. Pritzker to continue serving as a member of the Illinois Finance Authority.

Zeller retired as County Commissioner in September after serving for 22 years on the county board. According to the announcement, Zeller also continues to serve on the Emergency 911 Board and the Jacksonville Regional Economic Development Corporation Board. He is a member of the Jacksonville Area Chamber of Commerce and a former Vice President of the Alexander Businessmen’s Association.

Pritzker says Zeller brings a strong background in agricultural economics to the finance authority. He farms 1,300 acres, including his family’s centennial farm.

A beloved event for runners is celebrating a milestone this upcoming weekend on Jacksonville’s west side.

The Jacksonville Memorial Hospital annual 5K/10K will run for the 30^th time this Saturday. Race organizer Kevin Eckhoff says the race started in conjunction with the 125^th anniversary of what was then Passavant Area Hospital and has continued to grow each year.

Eckhoff says participants come from far and wide to support the event, and the course is great for both experienced runners or beginners, as well as for the growing number of walkers who participate each year.

“It’s what we call a flat and fast course. There is only one hill there under the viaduct on Westgate and once you pass that it’s pretty straight so it’s a very easy course for both runners and walkers.”

Eckhoff says just as the race has grown over the years, so has the technology as a St. Louis based company brings a high tech way to handle the race scoring each year. “Fleet Feet Sports, and they do a great job. The very first years of the race I handled that part myself and it got to be more and more of a hassle so we now have those guys take care of it. It’s a professional organization and they do a great job of timing the race.

They use a chip in the bib system with an RFID chip. As soon as you cross the start line it activates your chip and then when you cross the finish line it deactivates your chip and instantaneous sends a text message to your phone with your race time.”

There is still time to register for the run. Online registration is available through this Friday, October 18^th. In-person registration and packet pickup will be offered from 5:30 – 7:00 pm Thursday, October 17, at the Springfield Running Center, 2943 W White Oaks Drive, Springfield

Registration is $30.00 now through Friday, and Saturday registration is $35.00. To register online, go to raceroster.com and search JMH.

The 30^th annual Jacksonville Memorial Hospital 5K/10K presented by Gatorade will start at 8:00 a.m. this Saturday from Founder’s Lane on the east side of JMH.

Jacksonville Police responded to a call of a vehicle burglary in progress early Friday morning. Officers were called to the 900 block of North Prairie Street just after 5 am after a caller told West Central Joint Dispatchers that a man was in her vehicle.

Upon arrival and a subsequent investigation, 20-year-old Peyton J. Surratt, listed as homeless of Jacksonville was arrested for burglary to a motor vehicle after he allegedly removed items from the vehicle.

Surratt was booked into the Morgan County Jail on charges of burglary and criminal trespass to vehicles and was later released with a notice to appear in court.

Approximately 90 minutes later at around 6:30 am, officers were called to the 600 block of West Lafayette Avenue after a resident in the area reported they thought someone had broken into the empty house next door. The complainant told dispatchers they heard the sound of glass breaking and could see someone inside the residence.

Upon entry and investigation, Surratt was found inside the residence and according to the report, he had forced entry to gain access to the home. Surratt was taken into custody and transported to the Jacksonville Police Department where Surratt was found with a substance suspected to be cocaine on his person during a search.

Surratt was again booked into the Morgan County Jail, this time on charges of burglary and two charges of possession of a controlled substance. He remains held this morning at the Morgan County Jail pending an appearance in court.

UPDATE 9AM 9/30/2024: According to WEEK, Law enforcement said Saturday afternoon that Clarissa M. Young has been located. No further information was released.

The Illinois State Police are asking for the public in West Illinois to be on the lookout for a missing teenager.

15-year-old Clarissa M. Young, of Keokuk, Iowa was confirmed missing based on suspicious circumstances by the Keokuk Police Department.

According to the report, sometime during the early morning hours Friday, September 27^th, Clarissa Young left her residence with 28 year old Shawn M. Carrell.

Clarissa is described as a 15-year-old white female with black hair and blue eyes, 5 feet 4 inches tall, and weighs 186 pounds. She was last seen wearing a pink sweatshirt, a black shirt with sunflowers, black shorts, and gray boots.

Shawn Carrell is described as being a 28-year-old white male with brown hair and brown eyes, standing 4 feet 11 inches tall, and is 225 pounds. Carrell has a tattoo of a heart on his right arm and the word ‘Ford’ tattooed on his left arm.

The two people are traveling in a white 1998 Dodge Ram pickup truck with either Iowa license plate O C G 5 0 1, or Illinois license plate 1 7 9 7 8 1 5 B. They are believed to be in the Lewistown, IL, or Macomb, IL area.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Clarissa Young or Shawn Carrell should contact the Keokuk IA Police Department at (319) 372-1310, or call 911.

Lucky number 13 is the year for an annual Jacksonville event centered on beer, brats, and wiener dogs.

The Rotary Club of Jacksonville’s 13^th annual Oktoberfest returns to the Morgan County Fairgrounds this afternoon.

Attendees can choose from a wide variety of games, food, and authentic German beer throughout the event.

Rotary Club of Jacksonville member Joe Kaufmann says, there are also a number of games and contests throughout the day.

“We have men’s and women’s stein endurance with several options and rounds for those. We also have the strong man keg toss so anyone who feels like they can muscle up and throw that keg further than the other guy or girl, you know, give it a whirl.”

Other activities at the event include a bags tournament, a home brew tasting completion, a dressed dog parade, and the crowd-favorite wiener dog races.

The Jacksonville Rotary’s 13^th Annual Oktoberfest runs from noon to 7:00 tonight with the tapping of the keg at 12:30 sharp.

Tickets are $5.00 at the door and Kaufmann says all proceeds go to support Jacksonville area charities.

For more information including a full schedule of the day’s events, go to the Rotary Club of Jacksonville #3227 Facebook page.

One of Jacksonville’s more storied events is celebrating a big anniversary this weekend. The annual Jacksonville Cruise Night returns for its 40^th year on Saturday as classic cars and trucks are set to take over Community Park during the day and Morton Avenue on Saturday night.

The event is now put on by the Morton Avenue Misfits, a non-profit organization dedicated to continuing the car culture tradition in the Jacksonville area. Joel Buchanan with the Morton Avenue Misfits says the 40^th anniversary is very special for the Misfits as they honor the history of Cruise Night this year.

“There is a large car culture here starting way back since, well the beginning. But for Cruise Night in 1984 with Carl Coultas and the Gebhardts and the Hulls, the Northrops and everybody who were just kind of street rodders who were hanging out at this event just getting together and it blossomed and it’s become a very beloved event for a lot of people.”

Buchanan says the festivities kick off in the morning with the annual car show. “We have our car show starting at 9:00 am in Community Park. We’ve got music, multiple food vendors, almost fifty specialty vendors this year, and kid’s Hotwheels racing, just all sorts of stuff from nine to three right in the middle of Community Park. Then from 5:00 to 9:00 pm is Cruise Night, headquartered at Hardee’s and it’s primarily between the streets of Main and Lincoln.”

Buchanan says the car show is more of a cruise-in, but there will be some specialty awards handed out. He says the Morton Avenue Misfits pride themselves on hosting a great cruise night while trying to keep the evening cruise as safe as possible for spectators and cruisers alike.

“We try hard to keep it a safe event and if anybody’s acting up, I’ll try to take care of it myself if the police haven’t already, because we do want it to be a safe and secure environment for our participants and spectators. These people have a lot of time and money in their cars and we don’t want anything to happen to that. We don’t want anything to happen to anybody. So hopefully we will continue to have safe and secure events.”

The 40^th Anniversary Cruise Night Car Show runs from 9 am to 3 pm in Community Park, then the Cruise takes over Morton Avenue from 5 to 9.

Commemorative 40^th Anniversary Cruise Night tee shirts will be available for sale at the day and evening events for $25.00.

WEAI will be holding a live remote in front of Hardee’s from 6 to 9 pm.

A Jacksonville health center is giving seniors the chance to have their own cross-country glory later this month.

Fitness World Health Club has announced the first annual Senior Walk will be taking place on September 23^rd. Ryne Turke with Fitness World says the Senior Walk is a free event and they are working to make it as big as possible and inviting the entire community to participate.

“It was kind of inspired by the idea of the success of the Jacksonville Memorial 5K/10K. So many people from the area and outside of it come out and support that great race, and there are some seniors in the area who also would like to be involved in things like that. But maybe a 5K/10K was a little too much, so we decided we are going to offer three routes for people coming up on September 23^rd.

We’ll have a 1K route, which is about point six miles, we have a 3K route which is about two miles, and if you want to compete in a full 5K route, that is going to be your standard three point one miles.”

Turke says there will be a number of ways seniors can participate no matter the weather or their skill or fitness level. “You can walk, you can jog, you can run, you can do whatever you want. We’re going to have an inside course on our indoor track so you don’t have to worry about the elements. But, in two weeks we’re thinking it’s going to be pretty nice weather, so if you’d like to come out and try our outdoor track instead, we will have it all lined off for you to be ready to go.”

The walk kicks off at 8:15 am on the 23^rd in conjunction with the club’s Silver Sneaker program. Turke says there will be prizes and everyone who participates will get their own runner’s bib, just like in an actual 5K run.

“The goal of this is to promote people in the community that want to be fitness conscious, they want to come out and challenge themselves, they want to try something new, but we have so many 5Ks, and 10Ks in this area, maybe if our seniors compete in this one they will have the confidence to say let’s try this one over here.

So maybe we can get some senior divisions that sign up in the area. Overall we just want to promote fitness in the Jacksonville and surrounding community and we think this is an awesome opportunity for that.”

There is no cost to participate in the event and membership to the club is not required. For more information on the Senior 5K Walk, contact Fitness World Health Club by calling 217-243-5858.