Tee it up with online bookings for Arlington Greens and other CARD programs
Booking a tee time at Arlington Greens golf course is now a 24-hour a day, 7-day per week possibility. The Collinsville Area Recreation District, which owns the course, recently implemented a new software service that, among other things, allows golfers to set a tee time with just few clicks of a mouse. The system shows […]
Read More →Collinsville Kmart to close after 25 years
The Kmart in Keebler Crossing will permanently lock its doors in early September. The mega retailer opened in Collinsville in September 1989. A company representative notified the City of Collinsville Monday that the store will not renew its lease because the store is “sales negative” and has been underperforming for some time, Economic Development Director […]
Read More →Fairmont City woman intoxicated when car smashed into Alton building
Christana M. Martinez had a blood alcohol level more than four times the legal limit when the car she was driving struck the Con-Agra building in Alton on March 9. In addition to a blood alcohol level of .365, Martinez had cocaine metabolites and citalopram (an antidepresent) in her system, according to a statement released […]
Read More →Local Girl Scouts show that a little group can make a big difference
A group of four Girl Scouts from Caseyville, Collinsville and Maryville recently collected supplies for Granite City APA, a no-kill animal shelter, before visiting the shelter to learn how to care for pets. The collection and visit was part of the Red Robin project for local Girl Scout Troop #726. The project first teaches the […]
Read More →Collinsville carnivals get tighter restrictions, Wild Country to replace fire alarm system
When a carnival popped up in the Orchard Shopping center in April, it surprised many in town, including City of Collinsville officials. Mayor John Miller, speaking at the City Council meeting Monday, said arrival of the carnival was a surprise to most everyone in town. “I don’t think anyone knew it was even coming,” Miller […]
Read More →Collinsville City Council to consider four TIF requests Monday
The Collinsville City Council will consider four Tax Increment Finance requests at its regularly scheduled meeting Monday, as well as an ordinance that will open the city to food trucks and additional snow cone stands. The first TIF request is for a business building located at 118 S. Seminary Street that is currently vacant. The owner, Jesse […]
Read More →Area crime wrap: Man hits stopped motorcycle, charged with pot possession
Alton man’s night goes up in smoke after possession charges Evan J. Turner, 19, of Alton, was charged June 6 with a felony charge of unlawful possession with intent to deliver cannabis after crashing into a stopped motorcycle. On Tuesday, June 3, at approximately 6:03 p.m., the Madison County Sheriff’s Office responded to a traffic […]
Read More →Ameren Illinois installs IntelliRupters to interupt power disruptions
When spring arrives, the leaves are on our trees, the flowers are blooming in our yards and, more often than we would like, the power is out in our homes. To combat the power of nature that sometimes leave us powerless, Ameren Illinois is installing new technology and improving its infrastructure. This is part of the company’s $3.5 […]
Read More →Two Collinsville residents charged following federal sting
Two Collinsville residents have been charged after a federal sting operation intended to stop abuse of the Medicaid program in Illinois. Angel D. Jones, 50, and Lawrence M. Thigpen, 53, were two of 14 indictments announced by United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois Stephen R. Wigginton, and Gerald Roy, special agent in charge, […]
Read More →Collinsville Farm Fresh burglary solved
Collinsville police announced today that a St. Louis man has been charged for the burglaries at the Collinsville Farm Fresh Dairy and the Edwardsville Farm Fresh Milk Store. On Wednesday, the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office charged Orlando M. Naylor, 44, of the 4000 block of Kossuth Street in St. Louis City, with two counts […]
Read More →Caseyville Village Attorney resigns
Story corrected to note updated pay information of attorneys who preceded John Gilbert (see related) John Gilbert has resigned after about one year as a Caseyville village attorney. Mayor Leonard Black announced the resignation at a Board of Trustees committee meeting Wednesday evening. Black said Thursday the decision to leave was Gilbert’s. “It was his choice,” Black […]
Read More →Pedestrian struck and killed on Vandalia Street in Collinsville
***Update at 4:55 p.m. June 5.*** A walking cane, shoe, shirt, mobile phone and personal shopping cart were strewn along a 30-yard stretch of Vandalia Street in Collinsville late Wednesday night at the scene of an accident in which a pedestrian was struck. The victim, Joe Merrifield, of Collinsville, has been pronounced dead. The accident […]
Read More →Prenzler used taxpayer money to investigate fellow treasurer, says part of duties
When Madison County Treasurer Kurt Prenzler stood in front of the St. Clair County Administration Building at 1 p.m. Friday, he strongly insinuated, but stop short of accusing, St. Clair County Treasurer Charles Suarez of wrongdoing while in office. That Prenzler and some staff members compiled the information distributed to the media using Madison County […]
Read More →West Nile virus detected in Madison County mosquitoes
Between the storms and the heat, the spring and summer months bring plenty of causes for concern in the Metro East, but now the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has confirmed a new danger: the first positive reports of the West Nile virus in Illinois for 2014. Madison County Health Department employees collected a […]
Read More →One year on, Caseyville has a TIF attorney again
When Leonard Black replaced George Chance as mayor of Caseyville last spring, he made a host of changes. Gone were the village attorneys, the zoning administrator, all three police commissioners, the zoning board of appeals, the treasurer, the computer repairman and the hotel/motel inspector, among others. Some were replaced quickly. Some, positions like the treasurer […]
Read More →Ameren Illinois donates bucket truck to Caseyville
Ameren Illinois President and Chief Executive Officer Richard Mark recently presented the keys to a 1997 Ford F-800 truck to Caseyville Mayor Leonard Black. The truck was a donation from Ameren to the village. The energy company donates vans, trailers and pickup trucks to municipalities on a regular basis, Mark said. He estimated Ameren receives […]
Read More →Friday’s South, in Uptown Collinsville, to expand
Friday’s South plans to head east, but it is not leaving town with some of Collinsville’s favorite pizza: It is just expanding into the vacant building adjacent to its current location. KJK Enterprises Inc, which owns the real estate where Friday’s South is located, has already bought the adjacent building and begun the remodel work. According to Eric […]
Read More →Collinsville School Board votes down fence intended to secure CHS campus
With security more of an issue today than it was when Collinsville High School first opened its doors in 1972, school board members have been grappling with two projects that would offer more security at the campus. At its general meeting in May, the board voted down both plans. One would have added fencing around […]
Read More →Despite staff objection, CARD outsources mowing; two staffers likely out
The Superintendent of Parks at the Collinsville Area Recreation District told the elected CARD Commissioners that two full-time staffers do more than just cut grass, even in the summer. Despite his opinion, four of the five Commissioners voted to outsource grass cutting for the district, setting in motion a process that will eliminate two full-time positions […]
Read More →Gaming expansion bill on hold, future of Fairmount Park in limbo
Senate Bill 1739, the gaming expansion bill that had many in the Collinsville area concerned about the future of Fairmount Park, will not be voted on in the spring session. The proposal would have allowed for video gaming at horse racing tracks in Illinois, but there has been no clear consensus on how to include […]
Read More →
