The Jacksonville Developmental Center tops the list of blighted and vacant area properties at the center of a new citizens ad hoc committee currently in development.

Moving Jacksonville Forward aims to provide guidance from area citizens to the City of Jacksonville, Village of South Jacksonville, and Morgan County Commissioners on the direction of blighted properties in the area.

Local news editor Ben Cox is one of the organizers of the committee and says having family members who live near the JDC grounds along with his job as a reporter motivated him to write an op-ed piece for the Illinois Times last year which led to his involvement with the committee.

“Every time you drive by there the smokestack on the old coal power plant leans a little bit more, things get grown up a little bit more, and then with my job, we’ve been at ground zero for a lot of the fires, the arrests and the problems. It just started sticking in my craw a little bit and I couldn’t stay quiet anymore. So I wrote the op-ed to kind of poke the bear and it drew some attention to some folks over in Springfield.

I had decided not to publish it here in Jacksonville because I figured okay, lawmakers will see it in a Springfield publication. And it really has been an abdication and a dereliction of duty by all forms of government from the top down. Democrats, Republicans, we’ve had a Democrat governor, and a Republican governor since the place closed and no one is doing anything about it.”

Last year the City of Jacksonville along with the Jacksonville Area Chamber of Commerce and Jacksonville Regional Economic Development Corporation conducted a survey asking the public for input on what to do with the JDC grounds. Nearly 500 residents responded with the vast majority favoring maintaining green space on the grounds with family-friendly entertainment activities as well as mixed-use retail options.

Cox says the committee is now the next step in that process to show both state government and potential grant providers that the citizens of the area have a stake and a voice in the future of the former JDC and beyond.

“So this would be not just JDC too, this is also Norris Hospital, this is also one of the buildings on the AC Humko grounds, and we have a number of blighted neighborhoods. So we’re looking for people who are interested in seeing Jacksonville move those properties forward. JDC is obviously the number one priority.

We want citizens who kind of live within that Diamond, Michigan, South Main, West Morton area, in and around that block of JDC and some of these other properties to step forward and say- yeah, I’ll work with the city, I’ll work with JREDC, I’ll work the Chamber, Main Street- whoever I need to work with to see this move forward in the next three to five years because things are only going to get worse there.”

According to recent studies, the estimated cost to abate and raise the former Jacksonville Developmental Center is $67 million, with the old Norris Hospital on East State Street estimated at between $1 and $2 million.

Cox says the purpose of Moving Jacksonville Forward is for the committee to be a direct conduit of public input to the government entities regarding the public’s wishes on how these properties will help move the area forward economically, socially, and environmentally.

Anyone interested in serving on the committee, must have their permanent residence or be a business owner in the corporate limits of either the City of Jacksonville or the Village of South Jacksonville, have no affiliation of employment or standing with the city, the village, JREDC, the Chamber, or Main Street or its affiliates.

More information on the committee can be found via the Moving Jacksonville Forward Facebook page which also has a link to the online member application.

The Morgan County Health Department is urging the public to take caution as it monitors a surge in cases of influenza.

According to an announcement Friday, Morgan County Health Department officials are monitoring what they call a “significant increase” in influenza A and B transmission levels in the area. They say monitoring has indicated higher transmission rates, increased case counts, and hospitalizations due to influenza.

Morgan County Health officials are urging the public to take extra precautions at this time including practicing frequent hand washing with soap and water for at least twenty seconds and staying home when you are sick to avoid spreading the illness to others.

Influenza spreads through droplets from infected individuals through coughing, sneezing or even just talking. The public is reminded that the influenza season typically runs from October to late March so taking extra precautions is especially important at this time.

Residents are reminded the Morgan County Health Department offers flu vaccination clinics on Monday from 10 to 11 am, and 1:00 to 5:00 pm. Tuesday through Friday the clinics are offered 8:00 to 11:00 am and 1:00 to 3:00 pm.

These clinics are offered at the health department located at 425 East State Street in Jacksonville. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call the Morgan County Health Department at 217-245-5111, or you can email morganhd@morganhd.com.

More information has become available in the recovery of a Scott County man who had been missing since early January.

According to Greene County Sheriff Rob McMillen this afternoon, at approximately 5:00 pm Thursday, a pair of area hunters were checking traps in an area near the Scott-Greene County line when they saw in a field what looked like a human body.

Law enforcement confirmed the body was that of 54-year-old Kenny Eugene Gauges of rural Glasgow. Sheriff McMillen said Gauges was found by a fence row at the end of a field a few yards inside Greene County and approximately a half mile east of his residence.

Gauges was reported missing after he was last seen on Patterson Road in the vicinity of his home near Glasgow on the afternoon of Thursday, January 9^th.

Law enforcement from Scott and Greene Counties along with volunteers conducted multiple searches of the area since then without success. Sheriff McMillen says Gauges was found in a remote area only accessible by field roads that could not be seen from any main roads.

Sheriff McMillen says members of law enforcement, family, and other volunteers joined in the search for Kenny which at one point included an airplane that assisted by looking in areas searchers on the ground could not access due to the winter weather conditions.

He says a great deal of thanks goes to all those who helped in the search. “The Sheriff’s Department and Greene County and Scott County communities are grateful for the volunteers- everyone that came out on the 13^th, and then again on the 17^th to help in the search. K9s were used on the 17^th as well as volunteer help and there was just a lot of volunteer time.

A lot of people just wanted to help, and we appreciate all the assistance that was put forth toward searches there by the volunteers. We do this for a living, but there was a lot of people who gave up time from their days and braved the elements, so we want to make sure they are recognized for the assistance, and I’m sure the family has a lot of gratitude for that too.”

Sheriff McMillen says that based on the initial investigation they believe no foul play was involved and Gauges likely succumbed to the elements. Greene County Coroner Brady Milnes says an autopsy has been scheduled for Saturday in Bloomington with the McLean County forensic pathologist.

Kenny Gauges’s family confirmed via social media early Friday that he had been found, and said more information will come following completion of the autopsy.

The benefactor of this years Jacksonville Kiwanis .5k event has been announced and this year the committee chose an organization both close to the race course, and near to their hearts.

Earlier this month, the Kiwanis put out a call for applications to be benefactor of the annual .5k, an event that sees participants walk, run, skip, or roll their way across the downtown square between Bahan’s Tavern and Don’s Place.

Like all public Kiwanis events, the goal of the .5k is to help raise funds that benefit children in the area. Marcy Patterson with the Jacksonville Kiwanis Club says you don’t have to be an athlete to participate in the event that annually helps give a local non-profit a healthy shot in the fundraising arm.

“It doesn’t require any exercise it just requires a lot of energy and the willingness to have some fun. We’ve had this event every year for about ten years now and it normally ends with us presenting a ten thousand dollar check to someone.”

The Kiwanis had a tough task as nearly twenty organizations applied to receive the .5k funds this year. After pouring over the applications though, the Jacksonville Area Community Food Center stood out and was named the recipient.

Melissa Hall with the Food Center says she is overjoyed the Food Center was chosen because the need for food security in the Jacksonville area continues to grow. “When Marcy called me, at first I was in shock, but then when she told me how it had transpired I was thrilled and very excited.

Everybody is gracious and generous during the holidays, but with the new year starting it kind of goes by the wayside so this will certainly help fill in some gaps for us. Every month [the need] is just higher than that month the year before. So, I mean the need is there and it’s just steadily climbing.”

The Jacksonville Kiwanis .5k, benefiting the Jacksonville Area Community Food Center will be held on April 5^th beginning at 8:00 am. This year’s event starts at Bahan’s and travels to Don’s Place.

The cost is $25.00 ahead of time, and $35.00 after March 21^st. Each participant will receive a commemorative shirt. To register or to find out more information, go to the Jacksonville Kiwanis Club page on Facebook or ask any Kiwanian for a registration form.

Hall says she is thankful for the support from the event and community. “That’s the main thing, I mean the community has certainly come together for us and we love it and appreciate it and it’s that continued support that makes us run.”

The Jacksonville Area Community Food Center is located at 311 East Morgan Street in Jacksonville. You can donate directly to the center by postal mail or by stopping by the center. They also now accept donations via PayPal and Venmo.

More information can be found on the Jacksonville Area Community Food Center Facebook page.

A large portion of western Morgan and eastern Scott Counties was without power for a few hours Thursday after a piece of equipment failed.

Ameren Illinois spokesperson Brian Bretch told WLDS News this afternoon, that approximately 1,500 Ameren customers were affected by the outage which included Meredosia, Chapin, and Bluffs.

Bretch says as crews were patrolling the lines and investigating the substations immediately after the outage, they found a voltage sensing device inside a substation had failed.

Bretch says power was rerouted within the substation to get customers back on the grid as soon as possible. “So what happens in an outage like that, we will send out people who patrol the lines and people who patrol the substations. So when we found out that the lines were okay, the substation folks found that a voltage-sensing device had malfunctioned.

They isolated it, determined the cause, and then rerouted to get the customers back on and kept a crew on site to make those repairs. Then when it is all said and done, we basically switch the people back who are served by that piece of equipment so we’re not overloading the systems.”

Power was restored to all customers by approximately 5:00 pm Thursday according to Bretch. He says the grid is pretty resilient including the addition of many smart devices that have been implemented over the last several years to help notify or prevent outages.

Bretch says that even though greater smart technology has been added to the grid in the Jacksonville area, you should still call in anytime the power goes out. “Don’t assume that your neighbors have called it in. I get asked the question a lot that, if we have all that smart technology on the lines and in the substations, why do customers still need to call?

All that equipment does help us, but if we have that information plus ten or fifteen people from a neighborhood who have called us, that allows us to respond quicker to that location. So the phone calls do help, the smart technology does work and does what it is supposed to do in letting us know. Sometimes it automatically switches and we’re good there, but it all works hand in hand overall.”

Bretch says there are some instances in which power is lost to the smart technology meaning it can’t activate or report where the problem is. He says other times a quick flash or flicker of the lights in your home means that technology detected a problem and corrected the issue automatically.

Bretch says the smart technology has led to a big reduction in power outages across the Ameren grid, especially since its implementation in the Jacksonville area. If you lose power, Ameren Illinois reminds you to call it in by dialing 1-800-755-5000.

Burgeoning college students will soon be invited to a scholarship information event at an area college.

Lincoln Land Community College in Jacksonville has announced it will host a community scholarship information and Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion event on Wednesday, Jan. 29th, from 2 to 6 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public. Director of the Lincoln Land Community College Jacksonville Branch, Keri Mason says, All those interested in a two-year or four-year degree, health care careers or workforce training are invited to attend the free event,”

She says “Students and their families will be able to get informational materials on local scholarships and ask any questions they may have.”

From 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., attendees can visit an exhibit area with local community organizations providing information on various scholarships. Participating organizations include the LLCC Foundation, LLCC Pipeline for the Advancement of Healthcare Workforce (PATH), LLCC Workforce Equity Initiative (WEI), Jacksonville Promise, Jacksonville Rotary Foundation, Cass-Morgan Farm Bureau Foundation, the Elks Club of Jacksonville, Illinois Sheriff’s Association, Learning Disabilities of Illinois, MacMurray Foundation Scholarship, MCS Community Services, and Jacksonville Skilled Nursing.

Representatives from the LLCC Foundation will be available to answer questions and provide LLCC scholarship application assistance from 2-6 p.m.

Families who would like assistance completing the FAFSA can schedule a 30-minute appointment between 2-6 p.m. to meet with an LLCC financial aid professional.

Registration is encouraged and available at www.llcc.edu/jacksonville, by calling 217-243-6699 or texting 217-290-2909.

Motorists traveling between Scott and Pike Counties will have an easier time getting around now that a main bridge has reopened.

The Illinois Department of Transportation announced late Friday, that the Florence Bridge located on IL Route 106 has reopened to traffic.

The bridge was closed indefinitely by IDOT on January 6^th, after a portion of the bridge was damaged in a traffic crash that ended a multi-county chase in which a man jumped from the bridge into the river.

36-year-old Brian Lee Kerr, Jr. was pulled from the Illinois River and arrested by authorities. Kerr is the primary suspect in the shooting death of a Des Plains, Illinois man on December 28^th in Oak Grove, Kentucky.

Investigators say through a series of vesicle thefts and one carjacking, Kerr made his way to Clinton, Iowa, where he stole an SUV. He was spotted by police in the vehicle traveling on Illinois Route 336 north of Quincy.

Officers pursued Kerr and a female passenger in the SUV through Adams and Pike County until Kerr crashed the vehicle into the gates and a guardrail of the Florence Bridge, where he then exited the vehicle and jumped from the bridge into the river.

Kerr was treated at an area hospital and then booked into the Pike County Jail.

IDOT officials say the Florence Bridge is back open, however, additional closures will be required in the near future to finalize repairs.

A Jacksonville service organization is looking for an organization to donate money to.

The Jacksonville Kiwanis Club announced the return of its annual .5k run, walk, or skip event for 2025.

The event is a fun event that takes participant’s across the downtown square between Don’s Place and Bahann’s Tavern. This year’s event will be held on Saturday April 5^th.

Marcy Patterson with the Jacksonville Kiwanis says the event has helped a number of area non-profits in the past, and now they are asking for the public’s help in nominating a worthy organization.

“This year the participants are going to go from Don’s Place to Bahan’s. If you’re not familiar with this [event] it doesn’t require any exercise it just requires a lot of energy and the willingness to have some fun. We’ve had this event every year for about ten years now and it normally ends with us presenting a ten thousand dollar check to someone.

This year we haven’t picked our benefactor yet and we are looking for submissions and we need your help. We need your help to find some non-profit organization who could use this money.”

Patterson says there are a few requirements the Kiwanis asks from the benefactor of the event. “We require them to participate in the event. We require them to help us market the event to their pre-existing groups and friends. We use that opportunity to bring in new groups of people to the event.

Some of the past recipients have been the Ken Bradbury Foundation, the Jacksonville Drumline, and the Esprit de Corps Academy. So different groups have received the money and they always bring a team of people with them to help that day and anybody is eligible to apply.”

The Jacksonville Kiwanis .5k will be held this year on Saturday, April 5^{th, and is open to anyone who wants to participate. The cost is $25.00, and there will be stops such as the banana stand for those needing to power up if they are running, walking,} or skipping too hard.

A commemorative shirt is also available for all participants who register ahead of time.

To learn more information and apply to be this year’s featured benefactor, go to the Jacksonville Kiwanis Club’s Facebook page. At the top of the page, you will find a link to the application.

All nominations are due in by January 17th. For questions, contact Marcy Patterson at marcy@mlpatterson.com or Maggie Kittler maggiemags03@gmail.com.

Morgan, Scott, Cass County Crime Stoppers is working to assist area Sheriff’s Offices in their efforts to find a missing Scott County man.

According to a social media post by Crime Stoppers, along with Sheriff’s Departments from Scott, and Greene, counties, 54-year-old Kenny Eugene Gauges is missing and endangered.

Kenney Gauges was last seen on Patterson Road near Glasgow and is reportedly in need of medication. Kenney Gauges is described as being a white male who is six foot one inches tall, with blond hair and blue eyes.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Kenny Eugene Gauges is asked to contact the Scott or Greene County Sheriff’s Offices. You can also leave an anonymous tip as to the whereabouts of Kenney Eugene Gauges by calling Crime Stoppers of Morgan, Scott and Cass Counties at 217-243-7300, or the Two Rivers Crime Stoppers Unit at 1-800-300-2590.

As the area remains under a winter storm watch, local municipalities are wasting no time in declaring winter emergency street conditions.

As all of Central Illinois braces for the predicted winter storm this weekend, the Jacksonville-Morgan County Office of Emergency Management reports the City of Jacksonville has declared a snow emergency effective from 10:00 PM on Saturday, January 4, 2025, through 10:00 PM on Monday, January 6, 2025.

Officials say the declaration is made to facilitate safe and efficient snow removal operations across the city. Snow emergency routes will be active and residents are reminded that street parking on these streets is strictly prohibited.

Vehicles found parked along these routes may be towed at the owner’s expense. To further support snow-clearing efforts, residents are encouraged to avoid parking on streets altogether whenever possible.

Likewise, the Village of South Jacksonville has issued notice that snow emergency routes will be in effect when snow accumulates 3 or more inches and will stay in effect until further notice is given.

Snow emergency routes in the village include East and West Greenwood, East Vandalia, South Diamond, Lincoln Avenue, and Hardin Avenue.

The City of Beardstown is asking that residents limit street parking as much as possible from midnight Saturday evening January 4th to Monday, January 6th at noon. Snow emergency routes will be in effect and parking around the city square is prohibited.

As of late this afternoon, the National Weather Service is predicting that snow will begin after midnight Saturday and into Sunday night with current estimates of between 3” and 7” inches of accumulation.

Stay tuned to this station for continuing updates including area weather cancellations. You can also find the complete list of weather-related events and cancellations online at WLDS.com.