Illinois College is getting ready to make a little more space around campus. IC officials announced today the school will be holding a campus yard sale next week.

Kirsten Henderson, Director of Campus Events at Illinois College says the yard sale is something the school has done in years past, and school leadership thought it was time to purge unused items once again.

Henderson says next week’s yard sale is open to the community and will feature an array of items. “We are going to be selling off some old furniture pieces, and just some miscellaneous pieces from around campus that are in good condition but haven’t been used in the last few years or so.

It’s anything between desks and office furniture, to rugs, sporting equipment, classroom furniture, things of that sort, and larger items like shelving units and things like that. So if anyone is interested and needing some extra furniture for their offices or homes they should come on by.”

Henderson says they’ve tried to make the sale easy to find as well. “This is going to be held in our athletic facility the Bruner Fitness and Recreation Center. People can go in the main doors and down the concourse and then make their way to King Field House on the lower level.

There’s going to be some major big items for very small prices so if they want to come on in, we’re welcoming anyone. And just for notice we are doing cash and check only.”

The Illinois College yard sale will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday next week, and 9 a.m. to noon on Friday in the King Fieldhouse at the Bruner Fitness and Recreation Center located on Edgehill Road.

Anyone who is curious about the new disc golf course in Jacksonville and the sport, in general, will have the chance over the next few days on the downtown square.

The Jacksonville Disc Golf initiative is hosting a fundraising tournament this Saturday on the downtown plaza, and will also have an informational booth set up at the Central Park Market tonight and the Downtown Concert tomorrow night.

Sean Meek with Jacksonville Disc Golf says he has labeled the downtown event on Saturday a putt and approach tournament and is a great way to try out disc golf. “The nice thing about the square is there are eight grass sections that encircle the central statue and the smaller ones in the center is where we’re going to start. It’s sixty feet so it’s just a little toss. It’s great for new players to start throwing short distances.

But there are still a lot of trees down there to make it interesting for the people who are more experienced.

So we’re going to start in the center and do four holes, and then when you get to the larger sections on the outside, we’re going to split one of those up into two smaller holes that are about sixty feet. Then we will have three holes that will be much longer. I think the longest I measured was about one hundred and sixty feet, which will be a very interesting hole for the given space.”

Meek says even though the downtown tournament is great for the beginner, there is still something of interest for even the most skilled player. “These holes will be challenging given the amount of trees that are down there and the path that you’ll have to take to get to the hole.

Then we have one additional hole that we’re going to put in that is really wide open and clear in that green space just on the north side of the square. They’ll have an easier run at what is called an ace pot. So if you buy into the ace pot and you make the hole in one so to speak, then you’ll get half of that pot.”

Anyone who registers by 8:00 pm tonight will receive their choice of a gift card for a drink from either the Soap Co. Coffee House or Springfield Beer Company. Everyone who plays will receive a custom-stamped disc to keep.

Practice starts at 9:00 Saturday morning with the tournament beginning at 10:00 am. A raffle for one of three gently used practice baskets will be drawn at 4:00 pm.

The cost to play is $30.00 and Meek says all proceeds are going toward setting up the new 18-hole professional-level course on an unused section of the Nichols Park Golf Course.

Meek says they will be putting and practicing both tonight at the market and tomorrow at the concert and anyone interested can purchase a disc, or donate to the course if they choose, but everyone is welcome to stop by and say hi. For more information, go to the Jacksonville IL Disc Golf page on Facebook.

The Jacksonville Area Senior Center was founded in 2003 and is hosting a 20th Anniversary Celebration Party on Wednesday, July 12^th.

An anniversary ribbon cutting was held this morning at the center, located in the Jacksonville Community Park Building at 1309 South Main Street. Lucy Myers with the Jacksonville Area Senior Center says members of every activity group will be at the celebration next week.

“Everybody’s going to be doing something here next week, and we’re going to be serving cake and punch and we hope we can get some of the neighborhood in to see what we do and maybe think about joining.

Everybody thinks this is a place for old people, and it is, we’re all old but that’s okay (laughs). But we have a lot of fun here too.”

 Activities at the Jacksonville Area Senior Center include bingo, sewing, bridge, board games, and the Son Shine Singers. Bread of Love meals, potlucks, and special events are also held as well.

Myers says the Senior Center is open three days a week and is encouraging potential new members to come to the 20th-anniversary event. “We’re here Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Most people find out about us by someone who has come and joined us and had a good time. Dues are relatively inexpensive, they are one dollar per month.”

The Jacksonville Area Senior Center’s 20^th Anniversary Party will be held next Wednesday, July 12^th from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at 1309 South Main Street. For more information on the Center and its activities, contact 217-883-1090.

As the City of Jacksonville and surrounding areas are slowly starting to recover from Thursday’s storms plans for the 4^th of July holiday are still a go.

Thousands of households and businesses in West Central Illinois lost power when the derecho hit just before the noon hour Thursday. Ameren Illinois officials say as of 1:00 pm today, Morgan County has less than 1,000 customers still without power.

Jacksonville Mayor Andy Ezard says both Ameren and the City of Jacksonville are making progress in restoration efforts. He says he knows it is not moving as fast as everyone would like, but he says the impact from this storm is much greater than the normal summer storm Jacksonville is used to seeing.

“We’re seeing more and more of it. A lot of times it only impacts a certain area of town and this one impacted every area of town in some way. And it comes onto a holiday so there’s challenges with events and things planned. But from where we were even just twenty-four hours ago when we had probably sixteen hundred residents without power.

I think we’re down to six hundred now as we speak. So it is trending down which is good. Crews are cleaning up some big trees that were still blocking the roadways and Ameren has gotten to those power lines that were entangled with those trees. So a lot of it will be looking different hopefully soon.”

Ameren officials say that continued storms moving through the area combined with how spread out the damage was slowed progress over the weekend, but the clear skies overhead have helped crews gain ground on the outages.

Ezard says he is thankful that everyone has been patient with Ameren and the city during the clean-up. He says even through the frustrating times, there is a silver lining. “I know everybody’s doing the best we can. Their patience has been great. It’s good to see neighbors helping neighbors, friends helping friends, and families helping families. If there’s one silver lining it shows again how Jacksonville comes together and helps each other.”

Ezard says despite the extensive damage all over town, including in Nichols Park, there is no need for concern about the 4^th of July festivities because everything is still a go. “We’ve prioritized more of the north side of Nichols Park in anticipation of the fireworks where people gather and sit and watch.

We’ve looked over the area and gotten some limbs that were hanging down and cleaned that area up. We’ll wait for some other areas that aren’t utilized as much. But yes the fireworks are on Tuesday night and the parade is on for the morning.”

The Jacksonville 4^th of July fireworks show will again be held at Nichols Park beginning at dusk.

The annual Jacksonville Rotary 4^th of July Parade steps off at 10:00 am from the Morgan County Fairgrounds and progresses down West State Street to the downtown square.

WEAI will broadcast the parade live, tune into 107.1 fm for coverage starting at about 10:10 am.

The Illinois State Fair is giving livestock exhibitors some extra time.

The State Fair announced today that the deadline for entering livestock at this year’s fair has been extended to this Friday, July 7^th.

According to the announcement, the rules state that the entries must be postmarked by July 1; however, if the postmark deadline falls on a Saturday that deadline is extended to Monday which would have been today.

Illinois State Fair Manager Rebecca Clark says however no one can control the weather.

With many areas of the state impacted by severe weather in recent days, including various post offices experiencing power outages and the overall impact to Illinois families and communities, the Illinois State Fair is providing a grace period for 2023 Livestock Entries.

All 2023 livestock entries must now be postmarked by this Friday, July 7th. In addition to mailing livestock entry forms, exhibitors can drop their forms off in the entry drop box located at the Emerson Building on the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

Many residents in the listening area remain without power after yesterday’s severe storms, and the Morgan County Health Department is reminding the public about the dangers that could be lurking in their refrigerators.

Linda Day with the Morgan County Health Department’s Food Sanitation Department says if you have been without power since the storm passed through just before noon yesterday there’s a chance your frozen food is still safe, but anything in the refrigerator needs to go.

“For the refrigerator, if your power has been out for four hours or more, we tell you to get rid of all perishable food. So meat, milk, eggs, anything that you’ve prepared- things like that you would need to go ahead and throw out.

In a freezer, if it’s totally packed, and I mean as full as you can have it, it might hold for 48 hours. If it’s only half full, you’re looking at about 24 hours. You want to keep the lid closed, stay out of it because the more you open it the warmer it’s going to become.”

The Morgan County Health Department follows the food safety guidelines outlined by the Centers for Disease Control.

Day says if the power has been out for four hours and a cooler and ice are available, you can put refrigerated perishable foods in the cooler with ice or frozen cold packs to keep the food at 40 degrees fahrenheit or less.

Day says it might be a pain in the pocketbook to throw out a refrigerator full of food, but it is better than you or a member of your household getting sick. “Again just be really careful with food safety. Our favorite saying is when it doubt, throw it out.

You don’t want to eat anything coming out of that refrigerator when you’re been without power for 24 hours and try to eat any of that food. You just run a really high risk of becoming ill from that. So we just want you to be safe.”

Day says if you have an appliance thermometer in your freezer, check to see if it is still at 40 °F or below. You can safely refreeze or cook thawed frozen food that still contains ice crystals or is at 40 °F or below.

More information can be found on the Morgan County Health Department’s website and Facebook page, or from the Centers for Disease Control at cdc.gov/foodsafety

The City of Jacksonville is continuing to clean up efforts around the area and is working to make the cleanup easier for residents as well.

According to an announcement by the City of Jacksonville today, residents are encouraged to take a tree and brush debris to the city brush drop-off located at the end of North Church and Oak Street just north of the Morgan County Animal Control facility. The site will be open 24/7 for drop off of the debris.

Those who are unable to take the tree and brush debris to the site can place it on the curb in front of their residence.

Officials say the Jacksonville Street Department will be making pickups mid to late next week, however, crews will not be picking up construction debris or trash. They will only pick up trees and brush debris.

Residents are reminded to watch for low-hanging or downed lines and not attempt to move them while clearing debris.

City officials are also warning residents that they should be cautious of any outside contractors who approach or contact you for storm cleanup or home repair.

Any concerns regarding contractors in the City of Jacksonville should be directed to the City Clerk’s office at 217-479-4613 or the Community Development office at 217-479-4620.

For additional updates, you can follow the Jacksonville/Morgan County Office of Emergency Management on Facebook.

A west-side retailer in Jacksonville is closed today due to damage caused by yesterday’s storm.

Land of Lincoln Goodwill Industries announced late Thursday, the outlet store in Jacksonville has temporarily closed due to significant storm damage.

According to the announcement VP of Health, Safety, Security & Environment of Land of Lincoln Goodwill, Angie Clark says a team is on-site assessing the damage and making repairs.

She says they are thankful for the Jacksonville Police and Fire Departments that quickly responded. She says they believe the strong winds caused damage to the roof which in turn caused leaking and severe water damage inside the building.

Clark says the on-site team is currently working on the cleanup and disposal of damaged products.

The Outlet Store located at 211 Capitol Way located in a portion of the former Capitol Records complex, will be closed until further notice. Officials say they will reopen as soon as it is determined to be safe to do so.

The retail store on West Morton Avenue was not affected by the storm and will remain open for business.

The rash of wild weather in the area has forced a popular summer event indoors this week.

Jacksonville Main Street has announced that based on the inclement weather forecast for tomorrow which includes scattered thunderstorms, a possible triple-digit heat index, and low air quality, this week’s downtown concert is moving indoors.

Main Street Executive Director Judy Tighe says with the multiple weather issues possible Friday, it’s better to be safe than sorry. “Thankfully the owners at the MAC Center have welcomed us as the rain venue, so we will be setting up over there.

All the times are the same, so beverages will be available at 6:00, the band will start at 7:00 and the afterparty will still be at Guse’s Pub and Eatery. The band will still play till 9:00 like always, just everything will be inside at the Mac Center.”

Tighe says the location of the MAC Center, formerly known as the Bill Wall Gymnasium on the MacMurray Campus will be a great backup to serve as an indoor venue.

“It sits on Hardin Avenue, it’s the old MacMurray College gymnasium. It’s in that building right there on the west side at 409 Hardin Avenue. There’s parking in the vicinity so we should be fine.”

The Harmon Family Bluegrass Band is this week’s featured artist. Tighe says big thanks are being extended to John Rohn and company for opening the MAC center to the concert.

She says updates will be made available online so follow the Jacksonville Main Street Face Book page for more information.