Piles Fork Greenway

 The city will start work on the next stage of the Piles Fork Greenway sometime in the near future. this means the homeless encampment located next to the Greenway on East College will get relocated, though the city does not indicate as to where. It has been located back behind University Mall and further south on the Greenway in the wooded area near Levels at various times but I think both of those are private property so the city would have to get permission from the property owners should it want to move them to either location.

Recycling Drop off

 Following up on recycling drop off locations within the city, the city confirms the bins on both East Grand and East College have been removed with no indication as to when or if the city will relocate them. That means all of your reccyling has to go to the location behind the old University Baptist Church, now Exodus Church, to Southern Recycling, or in your bins for weekly pickup if you have residential pick up.

Amazon Hub Delivery

 Amazon Hub Delivery  has opened in Marion. I keep getting notices asking me or my staff to particpate and we always decline.  The problem is, delivery people get paid about $1.60 per package and make 50 to 70 deliveries per day within a three mile radius, meaning about $116 per day. With that many stops, the car's gas milage drops by about 25% and the wear on the car increases significantly, negating the entra money the delivey driver makes.

Flooding

 I was talking with a friend this evening about the (much needed) rain and she commented the city had not seen much flooding in recent years.  In the past, if it rained hard, the city could expect to see flooding at the intersection of 51 and West Mill, in front of the Varsity Theater and at the intersection of North 51 and Willow.  I have not seen any flooding at those three locations in several years and am not sure if that is due to the city having improved sewer and drainage systems or if his area does not the get heavy, short term downpours that we used to receive wherein we would received 2-3 inches of rain in less than an hour.

Signs

 Here is hoping we get the promised wayfinding/directional signs sometime this year.  I often see people cycling on the sidewalks on Illinois and University who appear to have no idea there is a safer bike path from the town square all the way to the university. Part of the T-mobile grant the cit received was to go for additional signage but I have not heard anything more about it since the announcement of said grant.

Recycling Drop Off

 According to the city map, Carbondale has three locations, besides Southern Recycling, where residents can drop off recyclable materials:  parking lot at the now closed University Baptist Church, East College across from Victory Dream Center and behing the Grand Avenue Mall.  I took a look at all three spots this week and only found recycling bins at the University Baptist Church location.  If the others have been moved to new locations, the city should update its map of their locations.

Carbondale Times

 Paddock Publications has been sold to the Chicago Tribune, which is owned by venture capital firm Alden Media Group. The new owner has decided to shut down the Harrisburg Register, Gallatin Democrat, Marion Republican, Vienna Times, Monday’s Pub, and the McLeansboro Gazette, leaving only the Carbondale Times,  Franklin Co Gazette, and the Anna Gazette Democrat publishing. The Carbondale Times will also move back to a Wednesday release date from its current Friday.

July 4th fireworks

Carbondale will host its annual Independence Day fireworks display at the SIUC baseball fields with parking in the Bantera Cener parking lot. There will be a concert starting at 7:45 with the fireworks beginning at 9:15.

Of course, you could just wait around the town square as Carbondalians will shoot off fireworks in the neighborhoods to the northeast and northwest of the Pavillion

Flag Day

 Drove though the northwest side yesterday and, aside from the Lions Club display on Illinois Avenue,  I did not see a single American flag on display at any home. Certainly a decline from my youth when nearly every house would have a flag out.

Pride on the Strip

In case you are interested, here is the schedule for Pride on the Strip today. have not seen any actual schedules  printed up anywhere.

Robbie Stokes Stage

The Way Down Wanderers will perform the inagural conccert at the Robbie Stokes Memorial Stage on June 25 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. It will be nice to see how well the new space functions as a perfromance venue. It would also be nice, though I doubt if they did, if the city had installed audience accessable bathrooms in the facility rather than bringing in portable toilets.

University Baptist Church

 According to the signs outside the building, the University Baptist Church building is now occupied by "Exodus Church" which looks like another version of Central Community Church, targeting young people and families.  At least someone sees Carbondale as an area of growth.

Citywide yard Sale

 I only heard about it a couple of days ago but there is a citywide yard sale taking place this Saturday.  Here is a link to the list of locations participating

Emergency Exercise

  Do not be worried if you see a number of emergency vehicles on the south side of Carbondale on June 9th  as a number of emergency reponse groups are particpating in a tornado response exercise that will probably last most of the day. From the email:

Emergency response agencies from across Jackson County will participate in

the Jackson County/Carbondale Tornado Response 26 Full-Scale Exercise designed to evaluate

and enhance the community's ability to respond to a major tornado disaster.

The exercise, scheduled for June 9, 2026, will simulate the aftermath of a severe tornado

impacting multiple areas on the Southwestern side of Carbondale. Participants will include Local

Emergency Management, Fire Departments, Law Enforcement Agencies, Emergency Medical

Services, Public Health Officials, Hospitals, Public Works Departments, Volunteer Organizations, and Private-sector Partners.

Water Office Closed

 Water office closes at 2 p.m .this Thursday for training

The City of Carbondale water office will be closed on Thursday, June 4, 2026 from 2:30-5:00 PM for department wide training. In person payments and other services will not be available at this time.