Woodlawn Cemetery Memorial Day Services

Here are some photos from today's 150th anniversary Memorial Day Service at Woodlawn Cemetery:

Start of the service with Mayor Mike Henry making opening remarks

Remarks by Rep. Mike Bost

Reading of Gen, John A. Logan's General Order #11, directing the GAR to celebrate Memorial Day on an annual basis.

21 gun salute by the local Civil War re-enactment unit

Laying of a wreath at the monument to the Unknown Soldier

Taps

Memorial Day Ceremonies

Carbondale will host its 150th (my how time flies) Memorial Day ceremony  May 30th at 10 a.m. in Woodlawn Cemetery with speechifying from the Two Mikes, Mayor Mike Henry and Representative Mike Bost:

The annual Carbondale Memorial Day Service will be held on Monday, May 30, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. at the historic Woodlawn Cemetery located at 405 East Main Street in Carbondale. Mayor John “Mike” Henry will serve as Master of Ceremonies and the keynote address will be delivered by United States Representative Mike Bost.

The first memorial service in Illinois, one of the first in the nation to honor those who had died in the Civil War, took place at Woodlawn Cemetery on April 29, 1866. 150 years later, Carbondale and the southern Illinois region continue to commemorate this solemn tradition. It is with this historic perspective that we will welcome a Civil War regimental band, The Red Bank ReUnion Band, as they perform arrangements utilizing musical instruments of that era. Later that day, they will present a Memorial Day concert at the General John A. Logan Museum in Murphysboro.

Other participants in the Service will include the Veterans of Foreign Wars Teeter-Carter-Watson Post 2605, the Daniel H. Brush Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 514, the Carbondale Preservation Commission, Company C of the 31st Illinois Volunteer Infantry, the African American Museum of Southern Illinois, and Girl Scout Troop 8641. The Carbondale Community High School Advanced Choir and Concert Choir will each perform. Pastor Sándor Paull of The Vine Church will deliver the Invocation and Benediction. The generous members of Hopewell Baptist Church have offered the use of their parking lot to attendees of the service.

Fourth Friday Fair Postponed

Due to impending yucky weather, tonight's Fourth Friday Fair has been postponed until next week:

The Fourth Friday Fair, originally scheduled for May 27, featuring “Bike Carbondale” activities, has been postponed until next Friday, June 3,

due to extremely wet conditions and forecasted thunderstorms. The event will feature a bike fix-it station, skateboard demonstrations,

a bike giveaway, free kid’s activities, and music from Hans Predator. The event is not cancelled, just being moved to a more favorable date.

The Fourth Friday Fairs will run April - September. This event has the potential to draw in all parts of the community in a back-to-basics

way; Carbondale Main Street is proud to bring you this new event series!

Walker's Bluff

Walker's Bluff and the Chamber of Commerce are making a big push this weekend to show support for The Resort at Walker's Bluff at Herrinfesta Italiana. Apparently the plans for expanding the Resort, and coincidentally bringing 1200+ construction jobs and 700+ resort jobs hinge on the state approving a gambling (or it is more euphemistically call these days, gaming) bill which would allow the development of a casino at the Walker's Bluff complex. No casino bill, no jobs.

As long as the folks at Walker's Bluff are footing the bill for the complex, that means no tax dollars or waivers going to help fund it, I lean towards supporting it. We do need to be aware though that research shows bringing large scale gambling into an area, and this is gambling, brings an increase in crime and addicted gamblers, for which someone will have to foot the bill.

Garden Tour

Free on the 5th?  Keep Carbondale Beautiful has orgainzed a self-guided garden tour of some of C'dale's attractive gardens. Tickets to the gardens and maps of the tour only $5.

Keep Carbondale Beautiful announces Garden Tour

 Carbondale, Ill. May 23, 2016  –  Keep Carbondale Beautiful has been lining up gardens for their third annual garden tour, set for Sunday, June 5, from 11 am to 3 pm.  The tour is self-guided: participants can drive or even bicycle to all the gardens.  They are all within city limits.  Tickets and maps can be purchased for $5/person at the Old Train Depot (corner of Main and Illinois).

Among the highlights this year are water features, hummingbird habitat, and gardens that sparkle.   The personality and passion of the homeowner is expressed in the garden.  At one home, 300 hummingbirds were banded last year.  At another, a fascination with rocks has led to an amazing collection.  KCB Board Member Sandy Litecky organized the tour:  “Of course the homes all have curb appeal, but it’s what’s waiting in back that takes your breath away. “

One Item City Council Meeting

Looks as if we have a special City council meeting for Wednesday with only one item on it:

1.      Council will interview and question the Consultants who submitted Proposals to conduct          the Organizational & Management Review

New City Attorney

According to this press release from the city, we have a new city attorney as of May 23. That was kept pretty quiet:

The City of Carbondale would like to announce that Lenoard “Jamie” Snyder will become City Attorney effective May 23, 2016.  Mr. Snyder grew up in Elkville and is a long time resident of Jackson County.  Mr. Snyder attended John A. Logan College, received a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Southern Illinois University, and attended Roger Williams School of Law in Bristol , Rhode Island, where he obtained his Juris Doctor in 2001.  Upon graduation, he worked a short time in private practice in Normal, Illinois before accepting a position with the Jackson County State’s Attorney’s office in June of 2002.  Mr. Snyder joined the City of Carbondale as the Assistant City Attorney in 2007 and is a member of the Jackson County Bar Association.

The Southern Talk Show

The Southern has started a new call-in show on WDBX, airing at 9:30 Monday mornings, just before Talk of the Town. Unlike most WDBX programming, the currently unnamed show is available for download from The Southern's website but lord is it difficult to find.

Upcoming Hwy 127 Closure

In case you drive Hwy 127 south of Murphysboro but not regularly, IDOT will close a section of it for about a week starting June 6th. They are doing repair work on a section of the road between Saltpeter Cave and the Cedar Lake/Pomona turnoff, making it somewhat difficult to get to Abbey Ridge Brewery or Alto Pass from Murphysboro for that week.

Farmers Market Liquor Licenses

Looks as if one of the Carbondale Farmers Markets may be applying for a liquor license. From the LAB Agenda:

Roll Call 2. Approval of minutes from April 7, 2016 3.
Application from Carbondale Tourism for a Class F1 liquor license (temporary; beer/wine only) to conduct sales of alcohol for a “Live On Series” concert scheduled between 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. on June 17, 2016, on the 200 block of West Monroe Street and the Carbondale Civic Center parking lot

4. Review of third quarter reports (January – March) for the 2015-2016 liquor license year and review of annual reports prior to liquor license renewals
5. Discussion of Farmers’ Market liquor sales and temporary extended premises permits

 6. Liquor license renewals for the 2016-2017 license year (July 2016 – June 2017)

Splash Park

If you want to see the Carbondale Fire Department fill the C'dale Splash Park facilities, be there at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning, you know, if you want to see lots of water flow:

The Carbondale SUPER SPLASH PARK IS READY, JUST ADD WATER!  The Carbondale Fire Department will assist the Park District in filling the new Super Splash with water!   The public is invited to join us in the fun Wednesday May 18, 2016, at 9:00 a.m., at 625 Lewis Lane, Carbondale, Illinois.

The City and the Park District have worked closely on this project from the very beginning, it’s great to see everyone working together locally to achieve this important community facility.   The Super Splash Park is a shining example of community building community.

Pag's Delisted

As a commentor on the post notes, Pagliai's apparently has been removed from the market as the listing link now goes to a blank page.

NGA Headquarters Location

Received the following email from Rep. Bost over the weekend, regarding the location of the NGA's western headquarters. Of course, Missouri politicians mount equally cogent reasons for the NGA's wise choice in locating the headquarters (and jobs) in north St. Louis:

 As you may know, the Southern Illinois delegation is locked in a battle with the City of St. Louis for the right to host the new National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s western headquarters, along with the 3,100 jobs that come with it.  

Studies indicate Southern Illinois’ site, adjacent to Scott Air Force Base, is best for mission security, public safety, the environment, recruitment, and cost to taxpayers.  Yet the NGA announced in April its intent to build in North St. Louis, based on what I believe is a seriously flawed and inaccurate report conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

After NGA Director Robert Cardillo refused my request to extend the timeframe for his decision to be made final until flaws in the Army Corps’ report could be addressed, I immediately filed a request for an independent investigation by the Corps’ Office of the Inspector General.

Rep. Bost and Sens. Kirk and Durbin meet this week with the NGA Director

In case you missed the latest developments, I wanted to share some recent news articles:

• Belleville News-Democrat

• Bost Urges Army Corps IG to Investigate Report that Led to NGA Decision

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch 

• Bost Suggests Congress Could Cut Funding to Thwart New NGA Site in St. Louis

• St. Louis Public Radio

• Congressman Bost on NGA Location: 'This Isn't Over'

• KSDK TV-St. Louis 

• IL Lawmakers Slam Spy Agency Site Selection

Bike to Work Month

Did you know it was Bike to Work Month? Me neither.  Here are some ways the city is celebrating over the next couple of weeks:

We encourage all citizens who support bicycling to participate in the celebration of Bike to Work Month with the following events: 

May 18^th :        Get your bike ready at the fix-it stations. Use the Fix-it Station at City Hall from 10am to

noon and Turley Park from 4pm to 6pm.

May 18^th :        Bike to the Brown Bag Concert at the Town Square Pavilion.

May 19^th :        SIU Bike Day in front of the Student Center with information and bike repair assistance

from 11 am to 2 pm.

May 20^th :        Ride and Dine with the City, the ride will start at the fix-it station in front of City hall at 11am and ride from City Hall down University Avenue to Mill Street and

then back up Illinois Avenue to the Town Square Pavilion, where lunch will be provided by the Co-Op.

May 27^th :        Bike Night at the Fourth Friday Fair and the winner of the Bike Scavenger Hunt will be

announced.

Track Work

It looks as if ties are getting replaced on the sections of railroad track running through downtown. No indication that there will be any highway closure though.

Preservation Commission Meeting

The Preservation Commission meets next Monday. Here's the agenda:

Roll Call and Determination of a Quorum
2. Approval of Minutes – April 18, 2016 (attached)
 3. Communication and Reports:
a) Educational and Technical Assistance Committee
b) Nomination and Hardship Committee
c) Work Plan Committee
d) Certificate of Appropriateness Committee
 e) Downtown Advisory Committee Report
4. Old Business:
a) No Business
 5. New Business:
a) Approve Fiscal Year 2016’s annual report to the Certified Local Government Program.
b) Create Historical Park Subcommittee
 c) Create Founders’ Day Subcommittee
6. Comments by the Public, Commission Members or Staff: 

New School Open House

Next Thursday:

-Carbondale New School is hosting an Open House on Thursday, May 19 from 5-7 p.m. This event is open to the public. Current and potential families will be able to view a variety of creative and unique student work ranging from science, history, art, and Spanish. Please play on our large Certified Nature Explore Outdoor Classroom!

 The teachers and Director will be on hand to answer questions regarding Carbondale New School. Light refreshments will be served

Parking

The problem with parking in downtown Carbondale is not that there is none. There is plenty of parking. The problem is that it is not convenient parking. If they cannot see the entrance of the business to which they want to go, the average customer is likely to only want to walk about 30 to 40 yards or approximately 100 feet on average. With the exception of the parking on the Town Square and that in front of the Campus Shopping Center and University Plaza, downtown parking is all rather hidden between buildings facing Illinois Avenue and the railroad. Putting up more signage indicating directing people to public parking and maybe modifying the meters so as to give people two hours of parking for a quarter, allowing them the time to dawdle over a meal or spend time in a bar without having to worry about feeding the meter.

Lot Swap

Not sure exactly which two lots are getting swapped since there is no lot, of which I know, at the southwest corner of East Mill and S. Washington. Maybe the southeast corner at the same location? Still a good move though as the East Grand lot sits half a block away from the main SIUC campus, providing more close-in parking to that area. SIUC has plenty of parking, it is plenty of convenient parking that the university lacks.

The swap works out well for the city as it puts a large number of parking spaces within a block of downtown Carbondale. While not as good as having a large block of spaces bordering or just off S. Illinois, only a block away is still pretty convenient, as long as the city puts signage up informing drivers the spots are there.

Hilton Groundbreaking

Ground was broken for the new Hilton Home 2 Suites in downtown Carbondale today. When completed, the building will occupy the 200 block of West Elm, just south of PK's and stretching from Illinois Avenue to University Avenue. Members of the community have been anticipating a downtown hotel for over a decade so pretty great to see one actually coming to the area. If I might kvetch a bit though, downtown does have quite a bit of open space already, just waiting for someone to infill it with development. Instead, the developers are taking up a parking lot and pulling down two existing buildings to replace with the hotel.

Aban Kitchen Temporarily Closed

Aban Kitchen, which only opened about six months ago, posted this sign on the front door this week, indicating that they are temporarily closed for "renovation". I hope that it all it is but, given how long it took them to get open and to have to close for renovation so soon after opening doesn't look good.

Coolz

I see a building permit has been filed for Coolz Ice Cream and More for 1400 West Main, likely in the little strip mall located across from the west side Subway. I don't think the Neighborhood Co-op sells ice cream by the scoop so there has been no place to get ice cream on the west side since Baskin Robbins closed almost a decade ago.

Carbondale Police

Happened to be driving on University north of Main St. on Saturday and happened to spot 3 Carbondale PD officers tossing a football around with a group of kids. People have been saying the PD needs to reach out more to the community, especially on the north side, and this looks like a good example of such outreach.