The Macoupin County 4-H Shooting Sports Program recently received a grant of $2395 from the National Rifle Association Foundation. The grant helped to fund new archery equipment.

The Macoupin County 4-H Shooting Sports Program started in 2011 and has over fifty 4-H members. Shooting disciplines of Archery, Shotgun, and Rifle are offered to youth in this program. Jason and Jennifer Brown of Gillespie, Lisa Coan of Staunton and Mark Koskie of Worden are all certified instructors for the 4-H program. Interested adult volunteers are welcome to join by contacting the Carlinville Extension office at 217-854-9604.

The Macoupin County Fair will have a new admission policy this year.

Those attending the Macoupin County Fair this year will pay a $5.00 per person admission charge. With the $5.00 charge, individuals will have unlimted access to the carnival rides with no additional charge. Grandstand shows and pit passes will still have seperate charges.

According to Fair Board President Mark Dugger, a final decision still has not been made concerning the exact time of day the admission charge will begin. He adds it will most likely begin at 3:00 or 4:00pm.

There will be no admission charge of those individuals that are attending the early morning shows such as 4H contests and showings.

(Hillsboro)--A new city commissioner was appointed during the Hillsboro City Council meeting Tuesday night. The Hillsboro City Council accepted the resignation from Commissioner Bruce Holcomb during their meeting. In his letter, Holcomb thanked the staff and city for all of their help during this time in office. The Hillsboro City Council then approved to appoint Don Karbin as its new commissioner.

The Hillsboro City Council also appointed Lyn Buerkett to the cities planning commission. Buerkett replaces Greg Holcomb on the commission. The Hillsboro City Council also approved the reappointment of David Powell to the planning commission.

Commissioner Chris Sherer announced that the city is currently looking for part time help for mowing and at the swimming pool.

Blackburn College will host a Guinness World Record attempt for the longest soccer marathon on April 10-13. Benefitting St. Louis Children's Hospital, the game will be played from 1:00pm, April 10 through 5:00pm, April 13, at the Blackburn College Soccer Stadium in Carlinville.

With support from Blackburn College, the Athletic Department, Student Body and the Board of Directors this event will raise money to support cancer research at Children's Hospital in St. Louis, MO.

Current information about the event is available at www.worldrecordsoccergame.com

Individuals wanting to get rid of old electronics will have the chance nex month in Staunton.

Madison Communications will hold a ecycling event on Saturday, April 5, 2014, from 9am until noon at their office in Staunton. Electronics such as computers, keyboards, small appliances and televisions will be accepted.

State law now prohibits the disposal of electronics in land fills and the ecycling event is an approved way to get rid of such items.

(Hillsboro)--Montgomery County Board Chairman Roy Hertel is asking residents to be extremely careful with outside fires and to avoid burning if possible because of increased numbers of ground and timber fires in the past week.

Residents are asked not to burn unless they can monitor and control the fire. All fire departments in Montgomery County have been called to several ground fires in the past week. Many fires were started by residents who were not able to contain the spread of the fire on their own, and local fire departments were called in to battle the blaze which at times encompassed several acres.

The Macoupin County Fair is looking for 5 and 6 year olds in the Macoupin County area for the 2014 Little Miss and Mister Pageant. This year's pageant will take place on Wednesday, June 25th.

Children may not be younger than 5 or older than 6 by the pageant date in order to be eligible. Prior to the pageant children and parents or legal guardians will be required to attend practices to prepare the children for the stage.

The pageant is limited to 30 total contestants, with 15 spaces available for the girls and 15 spaces for the boys. Those spots are filled on a first come first serve basis. Send a letter with the child's name, birth date, gender, parents/guardians name, address and phone number where a parent/guardian can be reached. The first 15 girls and 15 boys will receive a letter or phone call confirming their entry into the pageant. The deadline for applications is April 14, 2014.

Mail entry letters to Elissa Graham at 17363 Prairie Lawn Rd, Carlinville, IL 62626. For questions, call Elissa at 217-827-7156.

In Macoupin County's biggest primary election race, Shawn Kahl defeated incumbent Sheriff Don Albrecht in the Democratic Sheriff's race.

Kahl obtained 4,508 votes and Albrecht received 2081. Vote totals are not offical until they are canvassed.

It appears Kahl will face Republican Sheriff's candidate Dale Volle, who ran unopposed, in the November General Election.

(Hillsboro)--More than thirty seven hundred ballots were cast during Tuesday's General Primary election. Results include: the Panhandle Morrisonville Consolidation question failed. The referendum passed in Montgomery county with close to 78 percent voting in favor. However, failed 57 percent to 43 percent in Christian County.

Montgomery County also had several electric aggragation questions on the ballot as well. Questions in Taylor Springs, Butler, Litchfield, Nokomis, Witt and Irving all failed. Aggragation questions in Waggoner, Raymond, Farmersville, and Coalton passed.

Also Tuesday evening, the Shoal Creek Fire Protection question also failed in Montgomery County 72 to 37. Overall Montgomery County voters had a twenty one percent turn out for Tuesday's election.

Health Expo 2014 will be held on Tuesday, April 1, 2014 in the Crystal Ballroom in Staunton from 8am until noon.

Numerous screenings will be available including Cholesteroal, Triglycerides, Hemoglobin A1C, blood pressure, colon cancer, iron levels, prostate cancer, skin cancer and more. Cholesterol, glucose, and Hemoglobin A1C screenings require preregistration by calling 217-854-3223 ext. 225.

Also available will be information on various health topics, such as, medication reviews, health care organizations, elder abuse, and more.

The event is sponsored by the Macoupin County Public Health Department, Crystal Ballroom and the Area Agency on Aging for Lincolnland.

(Springfield)--Montgomery, Christian, Logan, and Sangamon County will be sharing in more than twenty million dollars in grants for construction projects. According to Governor Pat Quinn, the projects include five bridges along Interstate 55 in Montgomery, Sangamon, and Logan county that will be cleaned and painted. The estimated cost of the project will be one point two million dollars. Other local projects include the Interstate 55 frontage road in Montgomery county will receive surface treatment costing over one hundred and eighty thousand dollars.

The grants are part of the Illinois Jobs Now Capital Improvement Construction program. The projects will be managed by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

The Gillespie School District Prekindergarten will conduct their annual preschool screenings on Monday, April 14th from 8am until 2:30pm, Tuesday, April 15th from 1-7:30pm and Wednesday, April 16th from 8am until 12:30pm.

This is a free developmental screening for all preschool children who will not be attending kindergarten in the fall and will be three years old by September 1, 2014.

Parents are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to identify a child's strengths as well as weaknesses in the areas of fine and gross motor skills, concepts and language skills. Vision and hearing will also be screened at this time.

The screening will be used to determine eligibility for the District #7 Prekindergarten program. All parents will be informed of their child's performance immediately following the screenings.

Parents will be asked to complete a parent interview covering early development. It may be helpful to bring the child's baby book for some of the information. The child's orginal birth certificate should be brought as well.

To make an appointment, call BenGil Elementary at 839-4828 extension 1251 or 1226.

The Greene County Health Department is sponsoring a Health Fair for people of all ages on Wednesday, Mach 26, 2014, from 7an until noon at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Route 67 south of Carrollton.

Many local service providers, as well as regional and state agencies, will participate in the Health Fair. Over 30 different screenings and informational displays with free promotional materials will be offered, including free blood pressure, vision screenings and Derma Scan.

The sponsors welcome Greene County citizens, as well as out-of county residents to participate in the Greene County Health Fair. For any questions, call the Greene County Health Department at 1-800-942-0961.

Children living in the Carlinville Community Unit School District who will be attending kindergarten in the 2014-15 school year should register on March 19 from 3-7pm in the Carlinville Primary School located on the Shipman Road.

A child is elibible to enter kindergarten if his/her fifth birthday occurs before September 1, 2014.

Contact 217-854-9849 if you have any questions.

(Nokomis)--A new mayor for the city of Nokomis was appointed during the Nokomis City Council meeting Monday night. The City Council approved Terry Hill to be the cities new mayor. Hill's term will run until April of 2015.

It was also announced during Monday's meeting that the wastewater treatment plant has again been nominated for wastewater plant of the year. The awards will be given out later this year.

The Annual Paws Care Trivia Night will be held on Saturday, April 5th at the Litchfield Community Center. According to Jim Cloud from Paws Care, the trivia night is one of many events the organization does throughout the year.

Blackburn College recently hosted the 23rd annual Macoupin County Scholarship Auction and Dinner.

Attended by over 200 Blackburn faculty, staff, Board of Trustees members and community members, the auction and dinner proceeds grossed $28,379 The auction included 75 individual items, including Cardinal tickets, vacation get-a-ways, framed prints, and a variety of other items donated by area businesses and individuals.

Since its inception in 1991, the auction has helped fund scholarships for 85 students from Macoupin County and has distributed more than $286,460.

MJM Electric Cooperative will celebrate its 75th Anniversary at the annual meeting to be held Saturday, March 15, at Carlinville High School.

Registration will start at 8:30am and the business meeting begins at 10:00am.

There will be a comedy magic show, bounce hous and bucket truck rides for children and musical entertainment will be provided by the Centenial Road Band.

The co-operative will also have power bill credit prizes, a steak lunch served following the meeting and attendees will receive a $10 credit on their electric bill along with a 75th Anniversary Keepsake blanket.

MJM Electric Cooperative will celebrate its 75th Anniversary at the annual meeting to be held Saturday, March 15, at Carlinville High School.

Registration will start at 8:30am and the business meeting begins at 10:00am.

There will be a comedy magic show, bounce hous and bucket truck rides for children and musical entertainment will be provided by the Centenial Road Band.

The co-operative will also have power bill credit prizes, a steak lunch served following the meeting and attendees will receive a $10 credit on their electric bill along with a 75th Anniversary Keepsake blanket.

The Litchfield Fire Department was dispatched Monday morning to the 400 block of North Illinois Avenue in Litchfield

According to the Litchfield Fire Department:

Around 7:30 the department responded to the home with a report of fire in the stove. The homeowner reported that she had been warming the stove up when she noticed sparks coming from inside.
Further investigation revealed that the oven had malfunctioned causing the cooking coil to fail.