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EAST ST. LOUIS – Benny Davis, 37, of Granite City, was sentenced in federal court on Monday, March 7, 2022, to 10 years in prison for possessing firearms while being a convicted felon. Davis was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release upon his release from prison. According to court documents and statements made in court, Davis was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped by the Hartford Police Department for traffic infractions. Police officers discovered a rifle, three shotguns, and a stolen handgun during a search of the vehicle. The recovered firearms were all loaded at the time of the traffic stop. The officers also obtained videos of Davis firing the guns the day prior to his arrest. Davis admitted to being a convicted felon at the time of his arrest which prevented him from legally possessing firearms or ammunition. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction

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ALTON - Alton Police and Fire Departments responded to a two-vehicle crash around 9 a.m. Tuesday near the Clark Bridge on Landmarks Boulevard in Alton. The area has been one of many collisions over the years. The Alton Fire Department reported there were no injuries in the crash and the vehicles appeared to encounter moderate damage. A fertilizer truck and another vehicle collided in the accident. There was some fertilizer spilled on the road and certain protocols had to be taken to ensure safety, the fire department said. There was only a minor amount of fertilizer released to the road, so it was relatively easy to clean up. The crash was still under investigation by the Alton Police Department and no other details were provided.

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EDWARDSVILLE – The Junior Service of Edwardsville Glen Carbon is excited to bring an event like nothing our area has seen before! On March 19, 2022, The Moose Lodge in Edwardsville will be the place to be! Co-chairs Sara Colvin, Kate Grahek, Robyn Wendt & Michelle Chitwood state “The chairs of Brisket and Brews are so excited for this event. We are grateful for the support that local businesses have given us in preparing for this event.” Moussalli’s Prime, 1818 Chophouse, Doc’s Smokehouse, Edley’s BBQ, and Pig on a Wing have amazing tasting options that are sure to please. Don’t eat meat? No worries! For those needing a vegetarian option, Clean Eatz has that covered. Catfish Seminar is coming in from Nashville to knock everyone’s socks off. The band is not solely a country music band, but plays a variety of genres, which will lead to an overall enjoyable experience for everyone present. Junior Service Club would not be able to have suc

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ALTON - Community murals, a new Route 66 Visitor Center, Mother Road monuments and reopening the historic Cannonball Jail are interlocking pieces of a revitalized Route 66 envisioned by the Great Rivers & Routes Tourism Bureau of Southwest Illinois The Tourism Bureau has applied for a grant under the Route 66 Grant Program administered by DCEO and the Illinois Office of Tourism. If approved, the grant would fund the projects throughout communities along the Last 100 Miles of the historic highway in Illinois. The grant funds are available to certified Destination Marketing Organizations in Illinois who represent and promote the Mother Road. “In four years, Route 66 will celebrate its centennial birthday. We want to be part of the Illinois and national celebration with a new and exciting stretch of the Mother Road in southwest Illinois,” Cory Jobe, President/CEO of the Tourism Bureau said. “We have plans that include investing in four interlinking projects that highlight

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EAST ST. LOUIS – March 6-12, 2022, is National School Social Work Week, an opportunity for schools, communities, and partners to acknowledge and recognize the impactful work social workers do to support students, families, and their communities. School social workers focus on the whole child, link families to community resources, and serve as a valuable voice as part of a school’s multi-disciplinary team. “School social workers are powerful. Not because they have magic wands, but because they deeply care and support our youth,” said School District 189 Executive Director of Communications Sydney Kaufman, MSW. Kaufman, herself a social worker, noted that the East St. Louis School District has multiple school social workers at each campus that assist with advice, support, and resources for students and their families. “They help solve problems that may negatively impact student learning, equip students with social-emotional learning skills, and foster

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CARLINVILLE - The Illinois State Board of Education has announced Blackburn College as one of the recipients of the fiscal year 2022 Teacher Residency Planning Grant. The Teacher Residency Planning Grant is a critical tool to combat the teacher shortage. This third round of funding for the initiative prioritized programs that would serve rural areas or that would focus on preparing teachers in early childhood, bilingual education, or special education – the teaching areas experiencing the highest demand. This grant provides funding for colleges and universities to partner with local school districts to design and implement a teacher residency. Like a medical residency for future doctors, in a teaching residency, the teacher candidate embeds at a school for a full year, shadowing a veteran teacher and taking classes at the school – compared to one semester of student teaching typically offered in teacher preparation program. Research shows that residency programs are

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ALTON — Olga’s Kitchen is celebrating International Women’s Day, on March 8 by giving women a free side of Olga’s Snackers® with any purchase. Rewards members can redeem the offer via the Olga’s Kitchen mobile app when placing an order online or by using their account number when dining in. Those who do not currently use the app and rewards program will be able to download it at Apple or Google Play to immediately receive the offer or can sign up online at olgas.com. Free Olga’s Snackers® are available for dine-in, delivery, and carryout orders placed through olgas.com. In an effort to support and spotlight local female entrepreneurs, Olga’s Kitchen is hosting a $200 Olga’s gift card giveaway on Instagram . To enter a women-owned business, users can tag their favorite local female entrepreneur’s business account on the Olga’s Kitchen post to be entered for the chance to win. The winner will be selected and announced

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CHICAGO – In recognition of Women’s History Month, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) is kicking off 'HERstory' – an initiative to celebrate and elevate Illinois and Illinois women-owned businesses . As part of this, DCEO is spotlighting women-owned businesses, resources, and hosting events with women trailblazers designed to provide tools and guidance for women in business to succeed. “During the month of March, and every day of the year, DCEO is focused on delivering resources that women-owned businesses need to grow and thrive,” said Acting Director of DCEO, Sylvia I. Garcia. “I'm proud to recognize the significant economic contributions that women entrepreneurs provide to Illinois’ economy, generating over $74 billion in economic activity each year.” Illinois has a vibrant community of 47,000 women-owned businesses that employ close to 411,000 employees across the state, in addition to 408,000 Illinois

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EAST ALTON – A series of upcoming training opportunities will prepare the next wave of citizen scientists to help shape stream health across the state of Illinois this spring. The Illinois RiverWatch Network will host a series of statewide trainings throughout March and April, which will educate community members on how to monitor the health of their local streams. RiverWatch, a community science initiative, is coordinated by the National Great Rivers esearch and Education Center (NGRREC SM ) at Lewis and Clark Community College. Each spring, RiverWatch offers workshops where volunteers learn to collect and identify stream macroinvertebrates (water bugs) and describe the physical condition of the stream habitat. Upon completing training and becoming certified, volunteers may adopt a stream site where they can monitor water quality and contribute to a state-wide dataset using these RiverWatch survey methods. “Macroinvertebrates are easy to collect and can tell us a lo

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GRANITE CITY – Granite City Community Unit School District #9 will host a public hearing on Tuesday, March 22 at 6 p.m. at the James J. Greenwald Administration Building in Granite City. In relation to school code 105 ILCS5/10-19.05 with the Illinois State Board of Education, GCSD9 would like to request permission to utilize three full days of school improvement (code WFS) instead of six half days of school improvement (code XHS). For more information about Granite City School District #9, visit www.gcsd9.net .

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ALTON - Maeva's Coffee at 1320 Milton Road in Alton will be hosting our fifth Writers of the Riverbend Mix and Mingle in the hallway of Maeva’s Coffee on Saturday, June 11. Are you a book lover yourself? Come support local authors and discover what works are being created in your community! Meet people behind stories written right here in the Riverbend and connect with others who share your love of reading. This free event is perfect for browsing and picking up new books to add to your reading list. Creators, industry professionals, students, and dabblers: Sell and promote your craft! Are you a creator, but don’t have anything to sell? No problem, you can still attend without a space. Published or unpublished, authors, poets, songwriters, wordsmiths, editors, designers, illustrators, publishers, agents, creators, and book lovers are welcome! Come connect with new fans, network with other creators, promote your projects, and be a part of the community. Event Details:

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CARROLLTON - The Carrollton Fire Protection District firefighters and other departments battled an intense fire at the Oasis in Carrollton late Monday night and remained at the scene Tuesday morning extinguishing hot spots. Carrollton Fire Protection District Chief Tim Thaxton described the situation as “a total loss” for the Oasis bar and grill. The nearby motel remained intact thanks to the efforts of the firefighters. Chief Thaxton said the call came in around 11:30 p.m. on Monday. Chief Thaxton said the cause of the fire was not yet determined and that they were still investigating. Multiple neighboring departments responded to assist from Jerseyville, White Hall, Greenfield, and Roodhouse on standby. Thaxton thanked all the other departments and his firefighters for their efforts in the difficult situation.

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ALTON - Below is information about this week’s road closures – Mar. 7, 2022 Piasa Valley Area: 6th Street east of Alby Street is open to George Street, with surface restoration work being completed as weather permits. Please drive carefully as some of the roadways are still rock surfaces. Alby Street is closed from 6th Street north to 9th Street, with closures north and east of Alby/7th Street in place. 7th Street from George to Mechanic Street is closed. 8th Street east of Alby is closed to Easton Street. Turner Tract Area: Danforth Street will continue to be closed this week to all thru traffic to allow for sewer installation work. The alley south of McKinley east of Lincoln is back open to traffic, with pavement restoration happening soon. Douglas Street, between State and Lincoln Streets is open, with pavement restoration started and being completed in the next couple weeks, weather permitting. Please drive carefully. Shields Valley Area: The west end of Greenwood

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GRANITE CITY - Caylie McElroy has not only skills as an athlete, but she is an outstanding student for Granite City High School. Caylie's top sport of the season is about ready to unfold - girls soccer. She has been a three-year member of the Warriors girls soccer squad. She also played girl's golf in 2021. Caylie is the Stillwater Senior Living Female Athlete of the Month for Granite City High School. Recently, Caylie also earned the Granite City Rotary Club Student of the Month honor with Lauren Wilson. Students for that honor were chosen on the basis of academics, as well as scholastic, extracurricular, and civic honors and awards and organization membership and leadership. She is a three-year youth vocalist and a Sunday service vocalist. She is very involved in school activities from Member of Fellowship Of Christian Athletes, Renaissance Club, Spirit Club and Varsity Club.

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BENTON – Bryan Flanagan, 35, of Centralia, Illinois, was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison on Thursday, March 3, 2022, on two counts of distribution of child pornography and five counts of interstate communication with intent to extort. Flanagan pleaded guilty to charges in federal court on September 16, 2021. Flanagan extorted multiple minor girls online to send him sexual videos and images. Beginning in February 2020, Flanagan used fake profiles pretending to be a teenage boy on Facebook to contact multiple underage girls across the United States. Flanagan pressured and threatened his victims into sending him sexually explicit videos and images. When some victims refused to do so, Flanagan lied and told them that he was babysitting a young child and would rape or molest the child unless his online victims sent him the requested images. Flanagan distributed images of child pornography to at least two of his victims. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood,

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BENTON – Bryan Flanagan, 35, of Centralia, Illinois, was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison on Thursday, March 3, 2022, on two counts of distribution of child pornography and five counts of interstate communication with intent to extort. Flanagan pleaded guilty to charges in federal court on September 16, 2021. Flanagan extorted multiple minor girls online to send him sexual videos and images. Beginning in February 2020, Flanagan used fake profiles pretending to be a teenage boy on Facebook to contact multiple underage girls across the United States. Flanagan pressured and threatened his victims into sending him sexually explicit videos and images. When some victims refused to do so, Flanagan lied and told them that he was babysitting a young child and would rape or molest the child unless his online victims sent him the requested images. Flanagan distributed images of child pornography to at least two of his victims. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood,

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ROXANA - Sophomore Kinsley Mouser was a key to her Roxana Shells girls basketball team in the 2021-2022 season. Kinsley is the Midwest Members Credit Union Roxana Female Athlete of the Month. The most important thing Kinsley thinks she has derived from playing sports is "you have to work hard for everything you want and the harder you work, the bigger the outcome." Kinsley has played basketball since about third grade she enjoys playing against girls of all age levels because she believes it improves her own game. The Roxana sophomore thanked her parents, grandparents, and sister for attending all her games and constant support. She also had only positive remarks about her coaches Brian Diskin, the head coach, and Carol Fletcher, the assistant coach. "My coaches always push me and the team to get better," she said. Coach Fletcher said Kinsley has a nice shot and advanced to the sectionals of the three-point shooting competition. Kinsley is a versatile athlete and soon she will

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GRAFTON - When Kateryna Savienkova was 9 years old, her family fled their home town of Luhansk, Ukraine. The year was 2014. At that time, the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, backed by the Russian government, was embroiled with Ukrainian people in armed conflict. Since then, Kateryna’s family has made their home in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. Since the Russian invasion just over a week ago, Kharkiv has been under attack. Today Kateryna (Katya) is an exchange student at Jersey Community High School. She is a junior and lives with her host family in Grafton. Almost 3 years ago, she learned of a program that offers scholarships for Ukrainian exchange students. After a lengthy application process, she was awarded the opportunity of a lifetime from the Future Leaders Exchange Program in cooperation with the American Councils. Scheduled to attend the 2020/21 academic year, her plans were delayed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Determined to make her dream

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ALHAMBRA - Bank of Hillsboro Alhambra Branch Manager Jeanne Reckman will retire after 25 years with the branch at the end of the year. Julie Jett, head teller at the Alhambra branch, has stepped up to branch manager in preparation for Reckman’s retirement. “My time at the Alhambra branch has been phenomenal. I love our customers and there is no greater reward than seeing someone young and helping them to build their accounts,” said Jeanne Reckman. Reckman grew up in Alhambra and started at Bank of Hillsboro in 1997 as a part-time teller. She then became a full-time teller and moved up to branch manager, 21 years ago. Reckman said she’s enjoyed getting to build relationships with her customers and watch them grow alongside their bank accounts and achieve their financial goals. Reckman said her replacement, Julie Jett, has been at the branch for 5 years and she’s excited to see her lead the branch and help it grow. “I’ve known Julie Jett

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COLLINSVILLE – The Illinois Department of Transportation announced today that flashing yellow arrow traffic signals will be installed in the coming months along U.S. 67 from Illinois 140/Broadway Connector in Alton to U.S. 67 and Illinois 111/267 Lars Hoffman Crossing in Godfrey, improving safety and traffic flow along a major commercial thoroughfare. The first flashing yellow arrow signal was recently activated at the Walmart entrance on Godfrey Road and U.S. 67. Installation of all 12 planned flashing yellow arrow signals is expected to be complete in June. Temporary daytime lane closures will be required. The Federal Highway Administration encourages flashing yellow arrow traffic signals at certain intersections to reduce left-turn crashes, following research that shows drivers found them easier to understand and fewer collisions occurred where they were used when compared to traditional yield-on-green signal configurations. They also have been proven to increase intersection

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