The descendants of a Pike County man who once received a gift from Abraham Lincoln, have now donated that gift to the museum that honors the 16th President.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum announced today, that it has acquired an original photograph that Lincoln gave to a man who had been gravely injured while preparing for a rally during the historic 1858 U.S. Senate race between Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas.

Charles Lame was nearly killed when a cannon went off prematurely the day before a Lincoln political rally in Pittsfield. According to an article written for the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society in 1968 by Historian Leroy H. Fischer, it was common practice at the time for an unloaded cannon to be fired during these types of events.

Lame reportedly was injured when he and another man were test-firing the cannon and it went off as Lame was ramming gunpowder into the barrel. The blast burned his face, and the ramrod went through his arm and ended up embedded in a tree a block away.

Lame was rushed to his home, where he eventually recovered from the incident without losing his arm, and lived another 40 years until his death in 1897.

The day after Lame was injured, Lincoln arrived and held his rally delivering a two-hour speech in the Pittsfield town square.

After the rally, Lincoln tried to visit Lame, but the doctor would not allow visitors. Lincoln arranged for Lame to receive a photo that had been taken that day. The photo is an ambrotype, a negative image on glass. The images were displayed on black backgrounds. That background showed through the clear portions of the negative image, creating the illusion of a black-and-white photo. The oval image is 2 ¾ inches high by 2 ¼ inches wide.

Two copies of the photo were made per Lincoln’s request. The photo was passed down by Lame’s descendants until it was inherited by Mrs. Mary Davidson of Hendersonville, Tenn. She passed away in August 2022, and her children decided the image should come to Springfield, where it could be preserved and enjoyed by future generations.

The photo will be displayed in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum’s Treasures Gallery starting Monday, Oct. 2.

A pair of area Congressional Representatives are touting bipartisan proposed new legislation to boost levee protections along the Mississippi River.

15^th District Congresswoman Mary Miller and 16^th District Congressman Darin LaHood announced today they joined Illinois Representatives Mike Bost and Eric Sorenson in introducing the Upper Mississippi River Levee Safety Act in the U.S. House on Tuesday.

According to a press release by Representative LaHood Wednesday morning, the proposed legislation aims to give local levee districts along the upper Mississippi River more flexibility to maintain their systems and better prepare for future floods.

According to a report by Farm Week in an announcement by Mary Miller’s Office, the bill would require the Army Corps of Engineers to update flood probabilities used to set design standards for levees and flood walls with information no less than twenty years old.

Current flood district modeling sees rural districts on a 50-year flood frequency, rural and lower-populated at a 100-year frequency, and more concentrated urban and industrial areas set at a 500-year frequency.

Area motorists may need to allow for extra time while traveling through a portion of Interstate 72 in Morgan County in the coming days.

The Illinois Department of Transportation announced today that a maintenance project on Interstate 72 in Morgan County is set to start this week.

IDOT Spokesperson Paul Wappel says the project will focus on a large portion of the interstate. “IDOT will be doing four miles of maintenance on I-72 in Morgan County. The work will start at the Scott County line east to the US-67 interchange and that starts this Friday, September 29^th. This is a maintenance project consisting of patching for the four-mile stretch.”

Wappel says lane closures will be necessary, but at least one lane of traffic in both directions will be open. Traffic will be maintained using flaggers, cones, and message boards. Benefits for motorists include preserving the pavement and extending the life of the road.

Wappel says motorists can expect delays and should allow extra time for trips through this area. He is urging the public to slow down and keep themselves and highway workers safe.

“I want to remind motorists about being safe. With these types of projects, we ask motorists to please be extra alert in the construction zone and work zones. There is no concrete barrier between the workers and motorists. All that separates them will be orange barrels and attenuator trucks.

So we ask motorists again, to please be safe, be careful, and drop the electronic device. We just want everyone to get from point A to point B and home safely.”

Motorists are asked to avoid the work area, and when feasible, the use of alternate routes should be considered. Wappel says the project is scheduled to be completed in mid-October.

The next major infrastructure project in the City of Jacksonville officially got underway Tuesday afternoon.

A groundbreaking was held at the city’s Wastewater Treatment Plant on the future site of the new headworks facility. The construction project is the first of a three-phase plan to update and modernize the plant and bring it up to federal requirements over the next ten years.

Mayor Andy Ezard along with a slew of city and county officials, as well as city department heads ushered in the start of the project by turning the first shovel fulls of dirt.

Cameron Jones with Benton & Associates says the project is the first step in bringing the Jacksonville Wastewater Treatment Plant fully into the 21^st century. “We’ll be able to clean the water better, more efficiently, replace things that are getting old after thirty years of life.

It’s a harsh environment in a wastewater treatment plant. But we want to be able to grow economic development and be able to support whatever comes our way. Make a facility that is flexible but yet is improving the water quality in our area and improving the streams downstream and making it a place that everyone wants to live.

The city has already been approved for $ 2 million in grant funding and a low-interest loan toward the more than $12 million project.

Mayor Ezard says he was happy about the large turnout for the groundbreaking to kick off the project. He says this project is very dissimilar from the new Water Treatment Plant on Hardin Avenue.

“Sewer plants are different and with doing the phased approach we’re happy to have great help from the IEPA with some funding. Even though it’s not the sexiest project, it’s very worthwhile and I think folks will appreciate it when that ten years comes up.”

The head works facility is the first stop in a wastewater treatment plant that puts the water through a first screening to remove all solids. It will replace existing head works that engineers say have been in very poor condition for a number of years.

Officials with Benton & Associates say there will be little to no noticeable interruptions in service as the project is underway.

During his comments in commemorating the groundbreaking, Ezard said that in particular, Leland Walker who is in charge of the Wastewater Treatment Plant was a driving force in seeing eventual upgrades after the new Water Treatment Plant was built.

Ezard said Walker knows so much about wastewater, they call him a “cone-sewer” of sorts. Ezard went on to say that sewer plant jokes are not one of his favorite things, “but they are a solid number two.”

A Jacksonville non-profit animal rescue is inviting the public to its annual event this weekend aimed at helping continue its mission of protecting animals.

The Protecting Animal Welfare Society, or P.A.W.S. of Jacksonville is hosting the 13^th annual Dog Gone Fun-Raising event this Saturday.

Lisa Jackson with P.A.W.S. says the group is celebrating an anniversary of sorts, as it has been ten years since they acquired the property for the current shelter at 400 West Walnut Street.

She says the Fun-Raiser will have a little something for everyone this Saturday and is one of the rescue’s main financial outlets to help keep the facility going. “Every year we have a big event. There is going to be a bounce house, all kinds of local vendors, and Lazy Lakers will be there handling all of the food this year which we are so grateful for having. It takes a huge burden off of us. Jess Spradlin will be doing a live auction. We have baskets that are donated throughout the year from a lot of local businesses that will donate for us to auction off.

The funds from that help to keep the place up and running and cover improvements. We purchased this property in 2013 and it had been a roofing company, not a rescue, so over the years we have tried to make improvements and mold the place into a dog rescue instead of a roofing company.”

Over the last 13 years, P.A.W.S. has continued to grow and now houses approximately 90 dogs and 35 to 40 cats who are waiting for someone to take them home.

Jackson says they have been fortunate and are very thankful for the continued support by the community that has helped to keep the non-profit rescue able to take care of as many animals as possible.

“We are a rescue that is very fortunate to be able to keep a zero balance at our vet. We use Cass Veterinary, they have an office in Virginia and out on West Walnut. So we are fortunate enough that we are able to keep our bill down to zero.

Which makes them a whole lot more able to help us when we call them at seven o’clock at night to say hey, look what happened. So thanks to the donations and fundraising, and memorials that are given to us, we are very fortunate to be a rescue that doesn’t have a huge vet bill haunting us.”

Jackson says sometimes their volunteers go to great lengths and great distances to rescue animals who deserve a second or even sometimes third chance of finding a happy home.

The P.A.W.S. annual Dog Gone Fun-Raiser kicks off this Saturday at noon. Entertainment will be provided by Jacksonville’s own Robert Sampson. There will also be a cash raffle, 50/50 drawing face painting, and more.

For more information on the Protecting Animal Welfare Society, call 217-243-7297, or go to the Paws Jackson page on Facebook.

Police and EMS responded to three separate traffic crashes in a two-hour span in the City of Jacksonville on Monday afternoon.

Officers were called to the intersection of West College and Webster at approximately 3:00 p.m. for a two-vehicle crash. According to the police report, a vehicle driven by Esmeralda F. Brown of Waverly was traveling southbound on Webster and turned into the path of a vehicle driven by 26-year-old Jamie E. Miller of Jacksonville that was traveling westbound on West College.

Both vehicles sustained minor damage, and no injuries were reported. Brown was issued a citation for failure to yield at a stop or yield intersection.

One person was injured in a two-vehicle crash roughly an hour later in the 200 block of West Morton Avenue. According to reports, a vehicle driven by 48-year-old Donna Wilkins of Jacksonville exited a private parking lot and pulled into the lane of travel of a vehicle driven by 24-year-old Ayanna D. Blount of Chicago.

Blount was transported by personal vehicle to Jacksonville Memorial Hospital for head and chest pain, and her vehicle had to be towed from the scene. Wilkins was issued a citation for failure to yield the right of way from a private drive.

Forty minutes later, police and EMS responded to a two-vehicle crash with injuries and airbag deployment at the intersection of East Morton Avenue and Hardin Avenue.

According to a follow-up report by Jacksonville Police, a vehicle driven by 34-year-old Alex W. Johnson of Jacksonville was headed northbound on Hardin at the same time a vehicle driven by 43-year-old Bethany M. Decker of Jacksonville was traveling eastbound on East Morton Avenue.

According to a preliminary report, a caller to West Central Joint Dispatch told dispatchers that he had the green light on Hardin and was T-boned by another vehicle in the intersection.

Decker was checked out at the scene by EMS for a minor injury to her arm. Johnson reportedly went to the hospital via a personal vehicle sometime later. Both vehicles had to be towed from the scene.

Police say no citations have been issued at the present time as the crash remains under investigation this morning.

The superintendent of an area school district is working to get ahead of rumors circulating about a student and staff member.

Waverly Community Unit School District No. 6 Superintendent Brandy Bruley released a statement addressed to parents and guardians via the district’s social media Sunday afternoon, aimed at addressing rumors surrounding an electronic communication between a staff member and a student.

According to the announcement, the district investigated the matter and learned that an inappropriate electronic communication was sent between the staff member and student however, Bruley says while inappropriate, the content was not sexual in nature.

Bruley says the staff member communicated with a student via a social media messenger, and both the content and manner of contact went against policy and were inappropriate. She says staff members are required by the state to be trained on issues just like this.

“There is annual mandatory training on communication with students that all must take at the beginning of the year. There is information in the training on what is proper communication, such as a coach sending out that a practice has been changed, or canceled or moved, versus different communication we should not be having with students.”

Bruley says rumors circulating on Waverly social media pages stating that the district has or had a sexual predator employed are simply not true, and that the Waverly School District consulted with the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department who investigated and confirmed there was nothing criminal in the content or contact between the student and staff member.

She says in the announcement, the district took swift action in addressing the issue, and the staff member has since resigned. She says the Waverly CUSD No. 6 takes any and all allegations seriously and will always work hard to ensure it can provide the best learning environment for all students.

A seasonal tradition kicks off its 54^th year this Friday in South Jacksonville. The Prairieland Heritage Museum’s annual Steam Show and Fall Festival returns this weekend.

Mike Hall with Prairieland says there will be a little something for everyone at the show this weekend. “Entertainment will be on the bandstand. Several local groups both Saturday and Sunday so we hope everybody comes to enjoy those folks. We have a daily parade on Saturday and Sunday that starts at three o’clock and we have worship services on Sunday at the church. We will have a tractor pull on Saturday, and a pedal tractor pull and garden tractor pull on Sunday. So there is something for everybody to see and do.”

Hall says there are a number of new food vendors on the grounds and more than 20 new craft and flea market vendors this year. Allis-Chalmers is the featured tractor, and Hall says more have been arriving each day. Sorghum and ham & beans are just a few of the returning classics that are favorite attractions at the Steam Show.

Hall says Friday is actually one of the days members have the most fun during the event when children from several area schools come in on field trips. “We hope that many of them can come. They get in for free and get to ride the train, and there’s lots of food and drinks available.

It’s a great day for kids, we try to do educational tours through the buildings like the school house and displays and different museum collection buildings and that sort of thing. There’s lots of history there to see.”

Hall says they are hoping the rain stays away this weekend, but they are prepared so even if things do get a bit damp, the grounds are in good shape for a great event. “We’ve got a really good crew that keeps the mowing up and we’re happy to have everybody’s help.

It’s a great fundraiser for the organization, it’s a great thing for the Jacksonville and South Jacksonville area and we sure hope that everybody can come and enjoy themselves.”

Admission is $10.00 admission at the gate which gets you an armband that is good for all three days of the show. Children under 12 get in free and there are no dogs allowed on the grounds.

The Prairieland Heritage Museum Steam Show and Fall Festival is open this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday on the museum grounds located at the corner of Lincoln and Michigan in South Jacksonville.

For more information, go to prairielandheritage.com.

Crime Stoppers of Morgan, Scott & Cass Counties are requesting information to assist the Jacksonville Police Department in their investigations into a pair of cases of thefts from area vehicles.

Sometime between 2:30 and 3:00 p.m. on Monday, September 18^th, a handbag was taken from a parked vehicle in the 300 block of Walnut Court in Jacksonville. Among the items taken were various credit/debit cards, a phone charger, and an undisclosed amount of cash. The handbag is described as a black cross-body bag with a gold buckle.

The second report occurred at approximately 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 19^th, when various items were removed from a parked vehicle in the 1100 block of East Morton Avenue.

The police are asking that anyone who has information concerning this incident, or any other crimes within the three-county area, submit an anonymous tip online by going to www.morganscottcrimestoppers.webs.com and clicking the leave a tip button on the home page or calling Crime Stoppers at 217-243-7300.

Tips may also be submitted via the Morgan, Scott, Cass Crime Stoppers mobile app, or by sending a text to the word CRIMES (274637). The first word of the text tip must be “payout”.

Crime Stoppers says if your tip leads to an arrest, you are eligible for a cash reward.

More information has become available on the arrest of a Jacksonville man on charges of sexual assault of a child.

73-year-old Steven T. Albers of the 1100 block of East Morton Avenue in Jacksonville, was arrested by Scott County Sheriff’s Deputies Tuesday night.

According to Scott County State’s Attorney Richard Crews, Albers was charged in Scott County Court Tuesday with four counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child and two counts of criminal sexual assault.

Copies of the charging documents were not available from the Scott County Circuit Clerk’s Office as of press time. The Scott County Sheriff’s Office also denied a request for Albers’ booking photo from the Morgan County Jail.

Crews says Albers is set to make a first appearance in Scott County Court on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. He remains lodged at the Morgan County Jail.