The Jacksonville Memorial Foundation is again hosting an annual tribute this weekend.

The annual Tribute Garden brick dedication ceremony will be held this Sunday, September 10^th at the Tribute Garden located inside Jacksonville Memorial Hospital.

According to the announcement, the installation of more than 700 engraved bricks was the last piece in a multi-year restoration project for the Garden. New bricks include replacements of those removed during construction and any bricks purchased in the past two years.

Guests may enter the Jacksonville Memorial Hospital main entrance or north entrance for access to the Tribute Garden, which officials say is now wheelchair accessible from both entrance locations. In the event of inclement weather, the program will be moved inside to Meeting Rooms 2 and 3.

Proceeds from the sale of the engraved bricks is used for upkeep of the Garden. Bricks may be purchased for $100 each and can be used as a tribute to a loved one, friend, or co-worker or engraved with the buyer’s name(s). For more information, call the JMF office at 217-479-5575.

Crime Stoppers of Morgan, Scott & Cass Counties are requesting information to assist the Jacksonville Police Department in their investigation of a recent hit-and-run accident on the city’s north side.

At approximately 12:20 a.m. on Sunday, September 3^rd, a vehicle left the roadway and struck a power pole in the 200 block of North Prairie Street. The vehicle then left the scene southbound on North Prairie.

The vehicle was described as a black Jeep that will have damage to the front bumper.

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 or calling Crime Stoppers at 217-243-7300.

Tips may also be submitted via the Crime Stoppers of Morgan, Scott, Cass County mobile app, or by texting to the word CRIMES, that is the number 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.

A Jacksonville man was arrested by police after he was sentenced to serve prison time in Morgan County Court yesterday.

31-year-old Jordan C. Branch of the 1000 block of South Clay Street was charged with two Class 2 Felony counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance stemming from an arrest in July of last year.

Tuesday in Morgan County Court, Branch pleaded guilty to the first of the two counts. The second count along with two misdemeanor charges of resisting a peace officer, and other traffic court matters were all dismissed per the plea.

Branch was sentenced to serve six years in IDOC with credit for 19 days served in the Morgan County Jail. He was also ordered to pay fees and court costs and serve one year of mandatory supervised release.

Following his sentencing, Jacksonville Police assisted another unnamed law enforcement agency in arresting Branch on two additional charges of manufacturing and delivery of controlled substances. He remains lodged at the Morgan County Jail.

Jacksonville Police are investigating a report of a stolen vehicle that occurred overnight Monday.

According to police reports, sometime between the hours of 9:41 pm Monday and 6:45 am Tuesday, a vehicle was removed from the 1000 block of Beesley Avenue.

The vehicle was recovered later in the day, and no description was provided in the report.

Anyone with information on this theft is asked to call the Jacksonville Police Department at 217-479-4630 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers of Morgan, Scott, and Cass Counties at 217-243-7300.

A Missouri man was arrested by Pittsfield Police as a result of an investigation into a recent string of burglaries.

According to a press release by the Pittsfield Police Department, on Wednesday, August 23^rd, 2023, Pittsfield Police officers were dispatched to multiple burglaries on the city’s west side.

According to the report, officers were able to obtain a video of the suspect and vehicle from a local business. Officers then located the vehicle and suspect at a separate business, and he was taken into custody and the vehicle was seized.

Officers obtained a search warrant for the vehicle and located a substantial amount of stolen property inside the vehicle, a stolen license plate from Jacksonville, IL, and property that was stolen from Hannibal LaGrange College in Hannibal, MO.

41-year-old Dustin R. Debary of Hannibal was booked into the Pike County Jail on four charges of burglary, one charge of theft, one charge of possession of a stolen license plate, illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, and driving on a suspended license.

Officials say more charges are expected in the case. The Pittsfield Police Department was assisted by the Hannibal, MO Police Department.

Two people will split the 100,000 prize after their ticket was pulled in the 2023 Routt Our Saviour Dreams Drawing Sunday.

Dominic and Zander York of Jacksonville were the big winners as the tickets were pulled by Our Saviour kindergartners Sunday evening. The drawing capped the Routt Our Saviour Family Fun Fest and sold out in record time this year with all 4,300 tickets being sold ahead of the Early Bird Drawing this year.

Dreams Drawing Chair Monica Eoff, says a lot of hard work went into this year’s record-setting event. “We definitely have a Dreams playbook. But for an event like this to happen year after year, it really just takes the whole community coming together to make it happen. It really takes a village and this is a perfect example of how you get it done.”

Eoff says all of the proceeds go right back to the students of both schools. “Once all the gifts and prizes are paid out, all the proceeds are split fifty-fifty between Routt and Our Saviours, and then it will go to whatever the greatest need is or the greatest project.”

Eoff says one of the great things about the Dreams Drawing from the organizational standpoint is that the overhead of holding the drawing is already taken care of by the time the names are pulled.

“We are grateful for our community support, we have sponsors who have really been supporting us for almost thirty years if not every year. So we are truly blessed that the community really rallies behind us and comes together to make this happen.

Some of the other winners included Judy Mills of Springfield who will drive off in the 2023 Jeep Wrangler, and Jake Long of Kansas City who will pocket $10,000 from the third-place prize.

15 people won $500 each and 25 people were awarded $250 each. For a full list of the winners, go to the RCHS/OSS Dreams page on Facebook.

South Jacksonville Fire and Police responded to a call of a vehicle fire at approximately 7:00 p.m. in the 1500 block of South West Street Sunday.

South Jacksonville Fire Chief Richard Evans Jr. says flames were showing from the vehicle when they arrived. “We arrived on scene and found the vehicle with heavy fire coming from the engine compartment. We were able to extinguish it pretty quickly. No other damage was recorded and no injuries were reported.”

Evans says the owners of the vehicle said it had experienced some mechanical issues on the interstate while coming back home. He said they were able to get it running and back to town however smoke started showing from the vehicle and they had to pull over before they made it home.

South Jacksonville firefighters were on scene for just under an hour.

Jacksonville Police responded to a pair of calls involving firearms yesterday that included a shots fired incident.

Police were contacted at approximately 4:00 pm by an individual in the 700 block of East Chambers Street who said they had been threatened by a subject with a firearm. The incident remains under investigation by police.

At approximately 8:45 last night, officers responded to the 600 block of North West Street for a report of shots being fired. According to the report, a vehicle was struck during the incident. No injuries were reported.

Police reports do not indicate the incidents were related in any way and are investigating them separately at this time. Anyone with information on either incident is asked to contact the Jacksonville Police Department ar 217-479-4630 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers of Morgan, Scott, and Cass Counties by calling 217-243-7300.

Jacksonville Police and EMS responded to a Morton Avenue Business Sunday afternoon after a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle.

According to a report by Jacksonville Police, responded to the Home and Pharmacy doors of Walmart just before 2:00 pm.

According to the report, the driver of a vehicle attempting to turn left in the parking lot said he did not see a pedestrian crossing the lot at the time. The vehicle then struck the pedestrian as a result.

The pedestrian received a laceration to her right arm and complained of pain in her left knee and the left side of her chest. She was transported to Jacksonville Memorial Hospital by ambulance. Her current status is unknown at this time.

No citations were issued in the incident. The driver was not injured and the vehicle was not damaged according to the report.