Councilman of the Week

Councilman Adam Loos made the Capitol Fax for his stance advocating for legalizing recreational marijuana here. Personally, since Missouri shows no sign of advancing legalization there, I think a well run recreational marijuana shop in East Cape would do gangbusters. People cross the bridge to visit the Pony and stop off for a bit o' grass on the way home, but only use it after you get home since smoking and driving do not mix.

500 Jobs

According to the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce, there are at least 500 jobs unfilled in the healthcare industry in the southern Illinois region south of I 64. They pay an average $45000-$50000 per year and are not just in the medical field but also in maintenance, transportation, administration and security. If you are interested, I would suggest contacting the Carbondale Chamber for more info on which health care operations to contact.

Native Plant Sale

Need some native plants for next spring:

Native Plant Sale on Oct 5 at Town Square

Oaks and magnolias, hydrangeas and chokeberries, flowers and ferns are just some items expected at the fall sale of native trees and plants, held by Green Earth and Keep Carbondale Beautiful, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 5 at Carbondale’s Town Square Pavilion, on the northeast corner of Main Street (Route 13) and Illinois Avenue (Route 51). 

Green Earth and Keep Carbondale Beautiful team up for this fundraiser, with KCB selling native trees and shrubs, and Green Earth selling dozens of other native perennials.  All plants are grown in the area by Southernwood Gardens, Forrest Keeling Nursery, and Tabor Nursery.  Experts will be on hand to advise shoppers on best practices for planting and maintenance.  Trees are $30, shrubs are $20, and most other plants are $5 or $10 each.

Director Sarah Heyer says Keep Carbondale Beautiful appreciates getting advance orders.  “If you know what you want, let me know by Sunday the 29th.  That helps us order the right number of trees and shrubs.  We are ordering 40 different kinds of trees, so I only get a few of each, unless I know there’s a demand for more.”  To push that demand, KCB gives a $5 discount on pre-ordered trees.  Buyers can also special order plants that are not otherwise expected.  “We’re working on a special order for a community garden, and a couple big trees for the City.” More information can be found at keepcb.org or by calling 618-525-5525.  For more information on Green Earth, go to greenearthinc.org or call 618-201-3774.

National Solar Tour

Local solar energy provider AES Solar will host a stop(s) on the National Solar Tour on October 5, although the stops in the region have yet to be set. From the press release:

"The event, slated for October 5th, showcases the solar technologies your neighbors are using to 1) drastically reduce monthly energy bills, 2) reduce harmful carbon emissions, and 3) enjoy rich tax credits and cash incentives as they improve their property values.

“The ASES National Solar Tour shows families and businesses real-life examples of how their neighbors are harnessing free energy from the sun to generate electricity, warm and cool their homes, heat water, and slash monthly utility bills,” AES Solar founder Aur Beck said."

Hat Shop

Noticed that the hat shop that had advertised as going in the strip of stores behind Trax apparently has changed its mind as the sign is no longer in the window. However, there is a new sign in the store front formerly occupied by Autopsy saying "Hat Shop Coming Soon", so we shall see.

Evergreen lake

Stay out of Evergreen Lake for the immediate future. The long spell of hot dry weather has cause significant algae growth in the lake which could harm people and pets swimming in the lake. Hope we get some rain soon.

West Main Plot for Sale

It appears the plans to build a gynecology clinic on the plot of land where the late Jeffery Laundromat stood across from Memorial Hospital have fallen through as there is now a For Sale sign on the plot. Unfortunately, it is not a great location for anything due to lack of parking, unless Memorial Hospital wants to pick it up for.....more parking.

Ghost Hunter Coming to SIUC

In case you are interested, received this email from the city. Wonder if they will take him to the various haunted spots on campus:

SPC will be hosting Ghost Hunter Chris Fleming on Wednesday, October 23, 2019 beginning at 6pm in the Student Center Auditorium. This event is open to the community, however the “spirit communication” at the end will be for students to participate in as it is limited to 50 people.

Halloween Concerts

Here is the lineup of concerts for Carbondale Halloween.  Concerts take place in the Washington Street Venue. Not familiar with most of the acts but I know the Jungle Dogs always bring out a good crowd

Recreational Cannabis Sales

Both Murphysboro and Marion have voted down licensing the sale of recreational cannabis within the city limits. I heard one opponent in Marion say they wanted the city to remain "drug free". Wonder if that means they will target cigarette and alcohol sales next?

Will bet that Carbondale will allow the sale of cannabis in the city limits when it comes up for a vote. After all, council expanded the sales of beer and wine significantly and seems to have no problem with the number of video gaming parlous that have opened in the city.

West Chautauqua Roundabout

Checked with the city and traffic count at the Chautauqua-McLafferty intersection is 4550 per day, which is a lot busier than I thought. A three vehicle crash took place there in 2013, killing one and sending 5 others to the hospital. This and that lack of visibility of oncoming cars are the main reasons the city decided to put the first roundabout there. The council voted at last Jan. 22nd's meeting to study what could be to improve safety at the intersection and the roundabout is the result

Trick or Treat Hours

Official Carbondale hours for Halloween trick or treating are Oct 31, 5 p.m. -8 p.m. Happily, we have not followed a national trend of designating the last Saturday of the month for Trick or treating. A lot of business, especially, that profit off sales of Halloween merchandise are pushing for the designation of the last Saturday of October as National Trick or Treat Day. Carbondale already does something similar with Trick or Treat on Main Street and Safe Halloween at Murdale and Unofficial Halloween, which always take place on the last Saturday of October and actually give kids two opportunities to run about for candy but I would hate to see 0ct. 31 trick or treating replaced with last Saturday trick or treating

Roundabout Funding

The city received just over $1.5 million in funding from the state to install a roundabout at the intersection of  Chautauqua and McLafferty on the west side of town, right at the top of the steep hill on West Chautauqua. Not the first place I would think to put a roundabout but limited visibility heading east on Chautauqua up the hill and turning left onto McClafferty could be dangerous, while, at the same time and slowing traffic down at that point would be good.

The city has wanted to test roundabouts for several years now but installing them at places that could really use them, like the 5 way intersection at Illinois, University and Mill would really interfere with traffic flowing through downtown and force the city to implement a roundabout without testing first to figure out the logistics of one. Test one out on a slower traffic section before installing more in higher traffic areas.

Employment Fair

The city will sponsor an Employment fair at the civic center on Wednesday Oct 9th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Various local and regional companies looking to recruit staff will have booths set up to talk with potential employees. Attendees should dress professionally and come with a state ID and resume.

DuQuoin State Fair

Attendance at grandstand events at the state fair this year was up about 25%, bringing in an extra $97,000 to the fair coffers. Guess that the kerfluffle over Confederate Railroad brought a lot of extra attention to the events at the fair and brought more people out. I had heard of several plans to boycott or otherwise inconvenience fairgoers and it would seem they came to naught.

Enrollment Down

SIUC Chancellor John Dunn announced 10 day enrollment numbers today for SIUC and they do not look good:  11,695. That is less than half when I first came to Carbondale back in 1990 when enrollment peaked at about 24,000

Railroad Accident

From what I have heard from secondhand sources, a train coming through downtown yesterday afternoon stuck a pedestrian crossing the tracks, killing her. While the police and emergency vehicles investigated the scene, the train naturally remained in place, blocking all crossings in town, leaving the only way to get crosstown through the Mill Street Underpass or Pleasant Hill Overpass.

Apparently the woman had an argument with someone at a restaurant in the northeast area of the square, ran out and failed to notice the oncoming train which hit and killed her. The accident took place just before 6 p.m. and police and emergency personnel were on the scene until about 8 p.m., with the train leaving the scene about 8:15

Accident

Best to avoid driving through downtown Carbondale tonight. A freight train hit a pedestrian at the Est Main railroad crossing just before 6 p.m and all of the crossings in downtown are still blocked an hour and a half later. If you are driving east or west through Carbondale, use either the Mill Street Underpass or Pleasant Hill overpass as all other crossings are blocked. Police and ambulances are on the scene and directing traffic away from the area.