Downtown Businesses

 Following up on the post about local restaurants with staying power, I got to thinking about downtown businesses, that are not restaurants,  that have lasted (oh and I forget Tres Hombres as one of the restaurants still around after 30 years). The ones that I have come up with are:  Old Town Liquor, The Door, Jerry's Flower Shop, The Door (storefront church so not technically a business but it has been here for 30+ years) and Priority Sports (previously Shoes & Stuff). Did I miss any?

New Police Chief

 As I had predicted, the city has selected interim chief Stan Reno as the new Carbondale chief of police. having spent his life in Carbondale and on the police force, he has an intimate knowledge of the community. Here is hoping he gets more foot patrols established in the city.

Downtown Restaurants

 Got talking today about the restaurants that have come and gone in downtown (and other parts of) Carbondale. I came here in 1990 and I can only think of 6 that are still here:  New Kahala, Pagliai's, Italian Village, Dairy Queen, Quatro's and Mary Lou's . Am I missing any? There are a number of fast food chains but I did not count them because most of them have moved locations several times, while Pag's and New Kahala have only moved once.

Blue Gorilla Supply

 Not sure what happened to Blue Gorilla . It opened in the old El Greco's location last eyar and appears to be doing OK. then announced it was closing for the holidays on Nov. 30, which is an interesting time to close since the next 25 days are the busiest shopping days of the year, then never has reopened.

COVID-19 Numbers for April 23

 Friday April 16 Jackson County 4897 infected, 72 dead, 4783 recovered, Randolph County 4112 infected 85 dead 4007 recovered, Union County 2183 infected, 32 dead 2147 recovered and Williamson county 7440 infected 120 dead 6966 recovered.

Friday April 23 Jackson County 4947 infected, 72 dead, 4811 recovered, Randolph County 4124 infected 85 dead 4024 recovered, Union County 2184 infected, 32 dead 2149 recovered and Williamson county 7483infected 120 dead 6966 recovered.

Masks

 Happened to be down in Metropolis yesterday and noticed they were much more mask adverse than Carbondale is. Almost all stores in Carbondale have a sign up stating that masks are required before entering. I did not see a single such sign on the doors of any stores I went into and none of the staff in the stores had a mask on. About half of the customers did though.

South Illinois

 Happened to drive up South Illinois this afternoon and was struck by the number of empty store fronts there. The retail space inside Evolve, aside from Insomnia Cookies, never has filled, Reema's old location, which looked as if it would house a fish restaurant but have not seen any movement on that end. Half the store fronts behind Trax are empty as is the strip housing Electric Larry's and Slabs. Both of those last two appear to be doing well but it is still a lot of empty space

Sunset Concerts Cancelled

 For the second year, no iconic Sunset Concerts on the steps of Shryock or in Turley Park. Probably a good idea since Carbondale has managed to avoid mass infections so far and there is no need tempting fate with a large concert. Plus it allows the city to save money which it could put into developing the downtown venue on Washington Street

Professor Indicted

 Well, that is a first for Carbondale and SIUC, although likely not one which they appreciate. I do not think the federal authorities have investigated anyone at SIUC since the early 1980s.

Snow

 Flurries of unseasonable snow hit the area today, though it has al melted off. Pictures I saw from southwest Missouri showed about an inch or so on the ground so we outght to be happy that we got no more than flurries and chilly weather.

Water

One great thing about Carbondale is the quality of the water system. I have lived within the city limits for 30 years and have never seen a "boil water" order for any place within the city limits while surrounding communities appear to have them several times a year. Certainly glad Brad Cole's plan to privatize Carbondale' s water system to raise money came to naught.

COVID-19 Number for April 16

 Friday April 9 Jackson County 4867 infected, 72 dead, 4722 recovered, Randolph County 4095 infected 85 dead 3989 recovered, Union County 2181 infected, 32 dead 2146 recovered and Williamson county 7362 infected 119 dead 6958 recovered.

Friday April 16 Jackson County 4897 infected, 72 dead, 4783 recovered, Randolph County 4112 infected 85 dead 4007 recovered, Union County 2183 infected, 32 dead 2147 recovered and Williamson county 7440 infected 120 dead 6966 recovered.

Police Chief

 According to this, we are down to two candidates for a replacement police chief for Carbondale. Of the two,unless there are some skeletons in his closet that have not come out, I lean towards Stan Reno. His 30 years with the department means he already knows Carbondale, unlike John Franklin, who would bring new eyes and an outsider's perspective to the job but would lack the knowledge of Carbondale that Reno has. I do hope that both of them treat guns with enough respect to not leave one in the unlocked glove compartment of their car.

Old Main Burning

 Since I have looking at the history of student disturbances on campus back in the late 1960s, here is a story on the burning of the Old Main Building, which took place on June 8, 1969, about a year before the campus shutdown that pretty much ended mass student protests on campus. Like the attempted bombing of the Agriculture Building, this is considered a cold case but SIUC Police shill classify it as open.

1968 Bombing

The SIUC Police Department website still lists the May 7 1968 bombing of the Agriculture Building as an open, albeit cold,  case. Although probably related to the Vietnam war protests, this took place two years before the "7 Days in May" shut down the campus for the remainder of the school year in 1970

Solid Rock Veterinary

 The Creekside vet facility on old Highway 13 has reopened quietly as Solid Rock Veterinary. Not much advertising and no website set up, just a Facebook page. However they are getting traffic as I have seen several vehicles parked in front of the facility when driving by the past week.

Communications from Council

 Sent out 4 emails prior to the election asking a couple of questions regarding what the candidates wanted to accomplish if they were elected/re-elected. Nathan Columbo was the only one that got back to me. One I never heard from, one let me know that my email had gone into their spam file and one said they would send something but never did, despite a follow up message. Given that a couple of my emails went to sitting council members, it makes me wonder what happens to email sent to council members by residents of the community who want to offer their opinions or to ask questions.

Vaccine Availablily

 Apparently, from what I have been told, there is enough vaccine and enough cancellations at both the civic center and Bantera Arena that both sites are accepting walk ins without an appointment. 

Faner Hall

 Interesting read about Faner Hall. The building was not designed riotproof, as it was designed long before anyone anticipated civil disturbances on campus and you CAN walk from one end to the other without going outside, as long as you do not mind cutting through some department offices.

COVID-19 Numbers for April 9

 Friday April 2 Jackson County 4819 infected, 72 dead, 4668 recovered, Randolph County 4072 infected 85 dead 3958 recovered, Union County 2179 infected, 31 dead 2140 recovered and Williamson county 7307 infected 119 dead 6926 recovered.

Friday April 9 Jackson County 4867 infected, 72 dead, 4722 recovered, Randolph County 4095 infected 85 dead 3989 recovered, Union County 2181 infected, 32 dead 2146 recovered and Williamson county 7362 infected 119 dead 6958 recovered.

7 Days in may

 following up on yesterday's post, there is still some resentment among older members of the community who remember the 7 days in May of 1970 that resulted in the National Guard patrolling Carbondale streets and SIUC becoming the only university in Illinois to shut down due to Vietnam protests. For years after that, a segment of the Carbondale population bore a grudge against the university.

City and SIUC

 If I could see the new council accomplish one thing, it would be for the city to take more advantage of the fact that it does have a top flight institution in its backyard. Instead of reaching out to the university, the city has a habit of hiring outside consultants with the expertise that could be found in various departments on campus.

Election Comments

 A few comments about the election:

Harvey and Doherty likely got reelected because both are known quantities and part of the "establishment" such as it is, of Carbondale. Both also campaigned extensively and kept themselves at the top of voter's minds.

Liechty, Montgomery and Holder did little campaigning after filing for the election. I saw one Q&A session with Liechty published, none with Holder or Montgomery. I saw no yard signs or other advertisements for any of them.

Sanders, Bradshaw , Smaligo and Columbo all campaigned extensively and, except for Sanders, responded to published questions from the media. Sanders may have responded in venues that I never saw.  Even after 8 years on the council, Branshaw still has a bit of an "outsider" tinge to her and, with the four of them campaigning as not part of the "establishment" , they would up splitting the vote for that one lone seat amongst themselves. 

Most people who vote in off year elections pay more attention to city goings on and, since they tend to be older, prefer, unless for good reason, to not rock the boat. Those 4 candidates all proposed rocking the boat to some extent, hence splitting that one remaining vote. 

Unofficial Election Results

 With 100% of the precincts in Carbondale reporting, it looks as if Carolyn Harvey and Jeff Doherty will return to their seats on the Carbondale City Council, joined by Ginger Rye Sanders  For all the brouhaha about the Makanda Township trustee race, it looks like a clean sweep by the Democratic slate as none of the Republican candidates received more than 11% of the vote, while the lowest number for any of the Democratic candidates was 13.9%. It also looks as if Carlton Smith will not return to the board for Carbondale Elementary 95.

Election

 Voted about 9:30 this am. Poll workers said less than 20 people had cast their ballots already. For what it is worth, I have seen quite a bit of campaigning for city council seats from Columbo, Sanders, Smaligo, Doherty, Harvey, Bradshaw and Liechty and none from Holder and Montgomery

Election Tomorrow

 Elections for city council and JALC board tomorrow from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. If you are not sure where to vote, here are the polling places in Jackson County

COVID 19 Numbers for April 2

 Friday March 23 Jackson County 4765 infected, 72 dead, 4638 recovered, Randolph County 4039 infected 83 dead 3940 recovered, Union County 2176 infected, 31 dead 2136 recovered and Williamson county 7252 infected 119 dead 6898 recovered.

Friday April 2 Jackson County 4819 infected, 72 dead, 4668 recovered, Randolph County 4072 infected 85 dead 3958 recovered, Union County 2179 infected, 31 dead 2140 recovered and Williamson county 7307 infected 119 dead 6926 recovered.

Slab

 The concrete slab at the corner of Main and Orchard on the west side of town is getting broken up and removed. Been empty for about a decade and before that, if I remember correctly, a small used car lot occupied the site.

City Hall Closed

 If you want any thing from City Hall get it today as city offices will close tomorrow. Vaccination clinics in the civic center will function as normal from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.