America at 250

SIUC,  in conjunction with the city, has launded a website listing local events tied into the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.   If you know of an event, you can submit it on the website.

Maybe it is just age but I remember the celebration of the 200th anniversary back in 1976 as getting a lot moe attention. There was the parade of the tall ships into New York Harbor as well as hundreds of other events throughout the year focusing on the nation's history. I have not heard about anything of that magnitude for this year's celebrations, though New York city will host another Parade of Tall Ships on July 4th

George Sheffer Visitation

 If you want to attend the visitation for George Sheffer, it is tomorrow from 3 p.m. to 7p.m.  Mass is 10 a.m. on Thursday at St. Francis Xavier.  From the obituary:

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, April 29, 2026 from 3:00pm until 7:00pm, with a Rosary Service at 7:00pm all at Meredith Funeral Home in Carbondale. Funeral Mass will be at 10:00am on Thursday, April 30, 2026 at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Carbondale with Father Carl Scherrer officiating. Burial will be private.

Storm Shelter

 The University is opening Trueblood Hall as a storm shelter until the storm has passed

CARBONDALE -

The City of Carbondale has partnered with Southern Illinois University to open a storm shelter in anticipation of severe weather this evening. This designated “Safer Place” is available to community members who may need a secure location should dangerous conditions arise.

The shelter is located at 1175 S. Washington Street, Trueblood Hall. Parking is available on the west side of the building, and the entrance is on the lower level on the southeast side of the building.

The shelter will be open from 5:00 PM until the severe weather event has passed.

RIP George Sheffer

 Civic leader, and owner of Murdale True Value for over 30 years,  George Sheffer passed away in his sleep this past Friday night. I got to know George first as a lay minister at St. Francis Xavier church where he was active as a lector and eucharistic minister and later when he started the paw painting program through the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce. In more recent years, he had acted in an advisory capacity to the city, drawing on his decades of business experience.

I last saw George at reconciliation/confession during Holy Week before and he looked in good health and spirits then.  A friend saw him and Diane, his wife for those who do not know the family, during mass on the 19th and said he looked fine as well.

Update:  here is George's obituary from Meredith  Funeral Home

West Side Plaza

 The stip on the west side of town housing Legacy Fitness and Central Church is getting a facelift and rennovation.  The facade on the western 2/3 of the building will be removed, Pro Nails will move its retail space next to Edward Jones and the entire west half of the building will be rennovated to accomodate Illinois Department of Human Services offices, which will relocate from Murphysboro to Carbondale.

Carbondale Sign

 The city has put a large Carbondale logo across the top of the Robbie Stokes Memorial Stage, complementing the one on the Multi Modal Transport Station. Now to complete the set, they should put the name of the city across the facade of the City Hall/Civic Center

Homeless Shelter

 The city is on track to receive $2 million to fund creating a permanent homeless shelter overseen by the Warming Center. according to the story, the city is working to get NeroRestorative to donate a building at 306 West Mill for use as the shelter, just down the hill from the Survivor Empowerment Center.  Since that location was previously an apartment building, it would need far less renovation to convert it to a shelter than would demolishing the current one, which is not up to code, and build a new one. It would also be far enough away from the southwest residential area that concerns by residents of that area should be minimal.

City of New Orleans

 I got to thinking the city should license the song "City of New Orleans" and play it at the multi-modal station, especially when that train picks up and unloads passengers. Would certainly help reinforce Carbondale's history as a railroad town.

Wall Street

 the city is doing a lot of work on S. Wall Street. From what I understand, the plan is to reduce it from 2 lanes each way to one lane each way, a center turn lane and a bike lane.  Stay off the street if you can as traffic backed up horribly and traffic moving either direction appears somewhat artibrary.

The results should be fine once everything gets finished but right now, East Walnut was backed up clear to S. Washington this afternoon.

Arbor Day

 From the city.  I do wish the city would get around to replacing the trees removed on West Main and West Walnut several years age

The City of Carbondale proudly celebrates its 45th consecutive year as a Tree City USA community. In recognition of this milestone, the Forestry Division will plant a Swamp White oak in honor of our current standing Mayor, Mayor Harvey.  

The Celebration will take place on Arbor Day, Friday April 24 at 3pm at Founders Park, located behind the City of Carbondale Police Department. As part of the observance, the Daniel H. Brush Chapter National Society Daughter’s of The American Revolution will plant a Jefferson elm in honor of the nation’s 250th anniversary. 

“Carbondale’s continued recognition as a Tree City USA community reflects our long-standing commitment to sustainability and quality of life” says City Manager, Stan Reno. “Planting trees in honor of Mayor Harvey and America’s 250th anniversary is a meaningful way to celebrate and honor both her great leadership and our nation’s enduring legacy.”   

We ask the community to join us in this celebration and encourage citizens to conduct their own personal Arbor Day celebration by planting a tree of their own.  

Questions about planting your own tree or other city forestry services? Contact the City Arborist by email at mmcdaniel@carbondaleil.gov or call 618-457-3275. 

Learn more about our status as Tree City USA, as well as SIU’s standing as a Tree Campus USA here: https://www.explorecarbondale.com/170/Forestry-Services 

Tedrick Welcome Center

 Happened to drive onto SIUC's campus today and passed the Tedrick Welcome Center and the first thought I had was "This thing is big". I had visualized a small one story building like the welcome center at the north end of Woody Hall.  Nope, the Tedrick Center is a good three stories tall and certainly has plenty of space to welcome students. I do wonder what those upper floors are used for, as I would think most welcoming of students would take place on the ground floor

Victims Rights Presentation

 Short notice but the city will host an event at the Town Square Pavillion promoting National Crime Victims Rights week this Sunday from 1 p.m to 3 p.m.

The City of Carbondale has received funding from the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators (NAVAA) through a grant from the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), within the U.S. Department of Justice, to support a regional awareness campaign during the 2026 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, April 19–25, 2026.   

In partnership with the Carbondale Public Library and the Survivor Empowerment Center, the City will promote the 2026 NCVRW theme, Listen. Act. Advocate. Protect Victims, Serve Communities, by celebrating victim advocates, service providers and the everyday individuals who listen and act to support victims of crime across Southern Illinois.

On Sunday, April 19, the City will host a NCVRW Kick-Off Celebration at the Carbondale downtown pavilion from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., featuring information on local services, light refreshments, and entertainment. On Thursday, April 23, the Carbondale Public Library will host a Know Your Rights presentation from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., highlighting victims’ rights and available resources. These event are free and open to the public.

SIUC Infrastructure

 The SIUC Welcome Center will cost an estimated $6 million.  Yeah, I know.  No taxpayer dollars or student fees are going to pay for the building and the university estimates it will open next month. 

However and meanwhile, McCleod Theater, the main stage at the SIUC School of Theater and Dance, has been closed for rennovations since December. No contractior has been hired yet, ergo no work has been done.

The University has an estmated $1 billion of defered maintenance that needs done. Quigly Hall has had leaks in the ceiling for a decade.  Most of the HVAC units on campus are obsolete.  No equiptment supply house still stocks replacement parts for them so maintenance has to source them from eBay.

Outdoor staircases have been roped off for months waiting on maintenance. Classroom floor tiles have buckled from the cold, exposing asbestos underneath. The tiles were replaced and sealed, leaving the asbestos in place.

The universtiy did not need a welcome center. It needs money spent making classroom and student facilities suitable for student.s

Chilly Jilly's

 Chilly Jilly's, the new ice cream shop in downtown Carbondale, had a soft opening this past Tuesday. Current hours are 8 a.m. to 1p.m. and from 4 to 8 p.m.  We will see how long the 8 a.m opening time lasts as I do not think many people are looking for ice cream at 8 in the morning but they cold have offerings that would appeal to customers at that hour.  I saw they offered a special Yummy Donuts ice cream sandwich, a split doughnut with a scoop of ice cream between the halves.

Slabz

 It looks as if Slabz has closed its S. Illinois location permamently. the sign has been removed from the building. I have heard the business was looking at relocating to a new location in Carbondale but no updated information on theirsocial media platforms.

Hemp n' Stuff

According to their social media pages, both Hemp n' Stuff and Magickal Hippie, which were under the same ownership, have closed down, Magickal Hippie's FB page does make a reference to following them it you want to see "what's happening next". A lot of  dispensaries have opened in the past couple of years in Carbondale to compete with Hemp n' Stuff, which, as far as I could determine, did not sell marijuana, just the supplies fo r smoking or consuming it. 

Carbondale, despite being a college town, has never had the customer base to support a new age show for more than a few years. Country Goddess lasted the longest and it closed after about 4 years.

WIDB Space

 From what I understand, the student run radio station WIDB shut down back around 2020 and the space has sat unused on the 4th floor of the Student Center since then. At least the area is getting put to use finally.