The Southwestern Illinois College Belleville Campus, 2500 Carlyle Ave., is hosting an Eggs-traordinary Egg Hunt Saturday, March 27. The festivities kick off at 9 a.m. with the 2-year-old or younger division’s hunt for 15,000 candy- and prize-filled eggs. The family-friendly event also offers a 3- to 5-year-old division and a 6- to 12-year-old division.

If you’re looking for a fast, easy way to give back to your community, then look no further than the Southwestern Illinois College Red Bud Campus, 500 W. South Fourth St. The campus will host a blood drive from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday, March 29 in the Performing Arts Room.
You can be a hero to up to three individuals by donating a pint of your blood during the upcoming American Red Cross Blood Drive.

On March 24, Red Bud Regional Hospital’s Healthy Woman program will host a free dinner, from 6-7:00 pm, at the Hospital auditorium.  Guest speaker, Jackie Malinski, Director of Nursing at Red Bud Nursing Home, will provide an educational presentation called “Considering Long Term Care? What you need to know.”

Who: CHESTER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Where: Chester Eagles Club – Tuesday, March 16
When: 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. (side room)

The next scheduled prenatal class at Memorial Hospital in Chester will be Saturday, April 10, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the hospital conference room.  “Although that seems like a long time away, it will be here before we know it,” said a Memorial Hospital spokesman.

Get George Portz together with a few of his friends and what you have is the toe-tappin’ all-star bluegrass jam scheduled for 7 p.m., Friday, March 26 at the Southwestern Illinois College Belleville Campus Main Complex Theatre, 2500 Carlyle Ave. Tickets are only $6 each.

 In addition to the large Chester wall map described last week, two more large wall maps will be displayed in the Chester Welcome Center.  A large 4’ x 6’ wall map of the State of Illinois will be matted, framed and displayed near the front  entrance.  This informative and impressive map was donated by Representative Dan Reitz for display in the new facility.
A large Randolph County wall map will also be framed and displayed.  Sites of interest to travelers will be marked and an informative legend will tell about the marked sites.  The sites will be designated by categories with color coded icons to help the visitors plan their stops in Randolph County.

For the past two months, Chester High School Theater Department has been preparing for its spring production.  Under the direction of Mrs. Brenda Coop, past performances have included musicals like Beauty and the Beast in 2008 and Disney’s High School Musical in 2009.  This year’s 2010 production will be a play, The Best Haunted House Ever, and under the direction of the high school’s newest English and Language Arts teacher, Mrs. Paula Ray.

When is a routine agenda item not routine? When the agenda is for the Red Bud City Council.
Training requests for city employees are usually routine matters approved unanimously, as were three training requests at the council’s March 1 meeting.
Two requests for Officer Carl Williams and one for Joanne Cowell were approved. Each request is for a one-day training program. None of the requested training requires a registration fee, but each involves mileage and meals.

 At the  Chester City Council meeting held Monday, March 1, the council approved Lighting Resources Ins.of Bridgeton, MO to install a 600 amp electrical panel and all related work for the Cohen Complex softball fields. Also approved was the OSLAD Grant Committee’s recommendation, All Purpose Erectors Inc. of Lebanon, Il, for the sports lighting proposal for the Cohen Complex softball fields.

The following were discussed and approved at the meeting:
  • Water Tower – Grant in the amount of $337,500.00; loan in the amount of $175,825.00.  Caldwell bid for the water tower project was $411.000.00.

Eddie Runyon of New Athens remembers happier times when Amanda Lynn Runyon, his two-year old daughter was born. Today, Amanda is in Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis in critical condition from a beating sustained from her mother’s boyfriend, Kraig Monroe.
Monroe, 24, is being held in the St. Clair County Jail charged with aggravated battery of a child. Bail has been set at $500,000. He reportedly punched the baby in the stomach for crying.
Eddie Runyon, 23, is a coal miner working out of state since 2008. He was working in Kentucky at the time of the beating. He grew up in Marissa.