Perfect timing...perfect pose...The Other Half and yours truly saw a bald eagle which was perched high in a tree along Illinois Route 146 near the Union County State Fish and Wildlife Area.
How can it be December already? This week, once again, bear with me as we take a look at a little bit of this...and a little bit of that... We’ll start with many, many apologies to the spirit of John Lennon...
This an “authentic” photograph of a squirrel. The real deal. The photograph is not a deepfake. Just ask the squirrel. He (she?) lives in the neighborhood. Really.
Don’t know about you...but this “old guy” was not ready for temperatures to be in the 20s...
A hawk made a brief stop atop a utility pole along the State Forest Road last Sunday afternoon. The hawk’s colors stood out in the light of an autumn afternoon.
Thank you, Dueling Pianos guys. Don’t know if you’ll read this, but I’m grateful for the song you chose to share when you passed by my vantage point at last Saturday’s Veterans Day parade in Anna.
Clouds filled much of the sky over Union County last Saturday morning. The image was captured during a stop along Aldridge Road, between metropolitan Cobden and Illinois Route 127.
Every once in a while, I figure it might be nice to create a scrapbook featuring some of the images yours truly has stumbled across during the latest chapter in The Journey Through Life. 
One last chance to bask in the sun? A turtle (yes, folks, another turtle) took advantage of sunshine and warm temperatures on the last Thursday afternoon in October. Pretty soon, many turtles will be flying south for the winter.
Before we get to the “good stuff”... Did you remember to celebrate National Cat Day on Sunday, October 29. We mentioned the special day to Bob, who got some pork roast out of the deal.
Oh, deer...  One day last week, I was motoring through metropolitan Anna and happened to spot this “critter” along a city street. I drove on for a block, turned around, went back to have another look. I’m guessing there’s a story...
Perfect timing...perfect pose...The Other Half and yours truly saw a bald eagle which was perched high in a tree along Illinois Route 146 near the Union County State Fish and Wildlife Area.
This an “authentic” photograph of a squirrel. The real deal. The photograph is not a deepfake. Just ask the squirrel. He (she?) lives in the neighborhood. Really.
A hawk made a brief stop atop a utility pole along the State Forest Road last Sunday afternoon. The hawk’s colors stood out in the light of an autumn afternoon.
Clouds filled much of the sky over Union County last Saturday morning. The image was captured during a stop along Aldridge Road, between metropolitan Cobden and Illinois Route 127.
One last chance to bask in the sun? A turtle (yes, folks, another turtle) took advantage of sunshine and warm temperatures on the last Thursday afternoon in October. Pretty soon, many turtles will be flying south for the winter.
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, a time when healthcare providers increase their patient/provider conversations about regular colonoscopies.  But for patients who are hesitant to begin the process or needing an in-between screening, Southern 7 Health Department, S7HD, continues to...
More than 500 high school students and teachers from around Southern Illinois visited Shawnee Community College’s main campus near Ullin Feb. 22 for the college’s annual Career and Technical Education Day.  Ninth and 10th grade students got hands-on experiences in professions like nursing, welding...
Hunters in Illinois harvested a statewide total of 803 wild turkeys during the 2023-2024 fall archery turkey season.  The Illinois Department of Natural Resources, IDNR, reported the total compared to a 2022-2023 harvest of 801 turkeys and the five-year average of 750 birds harvested. This season,...
The Shawnee Hills Arts Council is planning to offer a free advanced scene study class. The first class is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 13, at the Anna Arts Center, which is located at 123 W. Davie St. in Anna. The instructor is James Roberts. The targeted audience for his course...
St. Joseph Catholic Church in Cobden is planning to restart its twice monthly food distribution program.  Distribution is scheduled to resume on Wednesday, March 20. Days and hours are planned on the first and third Wednesdays of each month, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the church’s parish hall,...
History provides powerful lessons about the dangers of hate and intolerance.  People must aim to learn from them and not repeat those same dangerous mistakes, the organizers of an essay contest for young people say.  The Mobile Museum of Tolerance, MMOT, created by the Simon Wiesenthal Center,...
The board of directors of Veterans Honor Flight of Southern Illinois has announced that the 12th mission to transport Veterans to Washington, D.C., is scheduled for Tuesday, May 7. “The generosity of Southern Illinois just keeps coming,” Veterans Honor Flight of Southern Illinois chairman Bryan...
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is planning to host public scoping meetings for the Lower Mississippi River Comprehensive Management Study (LMR Comp) at venues throughout the study area between Feb. 27 and March 11. The meetings will consist of a remote overview presentation and followed by an on-...
The Illinois Department of Public Health, IDPH, on Friday, Feb. 2, announced that the latest data continued to show the spread of respiratory viruses was declining throughout the state.  The state’s overall respiratory illness level decreased from low to minimal in the most recent available CDC...
Southern 7 Health Department, S7HD, has announced January Wellness on Wheels, WOW, Van Clinics which are scheduled in Union County. The schedule includes:  Jan. 31. Dollar General Store, Dongola. 9:30 a.m. to noon. Jan. 31. Dollar General Store, Anna, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Free services which are...

Obituaries

Patricia Ann ‘Pat’ Shaffer
Patricia Ann “Pat” Shaffer, 74, of Dongola, died peacefully on Sunday, March 3, 2024, at her home, with her family at her side.  She was born on April 27, 1949, in Anna, the daughter of Wilborn and Nina (Gulley) Goines.  She married Larry Shaffer on April 27, 1973, in Dongola.  She is survived by...
Jeffrey Lynn Stout
Jeffrey Lynn Stout, 57, of Dongola, died Monday, March 11, 2024, at his residence, with his loving family by his side. He was born on April 25, 1966, in Cairo, the son of Robert and Betty Calvin Stout. He married Lisa Williams on Sept. 25, 1987. Mr. Stout was a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. He...
Thomas ‘Tom’ Sadowski
Thomas “Tom” Sadowski, 69, of Anna, died Sunday, March 3, 2024.   He was on born April 2, 1954, in Chicago, the son of Stanley Frank and Harriet M. Lipinski Sadowski. He married his loving wife and best friend, Shari Ellis Sweeney, on April 2, 2014, in Jonesboro. He retired from a long and...
Roger ‘Dale’ Douglas
Roger “Dale” Douglas, 72, of Karnak, died Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, at Parkview Nursing Home in Paducah, Ky., after a battle with cancer.  He was born on Feb. 6, 1952, in Metropolis, the son of Clyde and Opal Basham Douglas.  Dale, known as Roger at his work, was a 1970 graduate of Century High...
Rev. Lacie Dean Betts
Rev. Lacie Dean Betts, 83, of Tamms, died on March 7, 2024, at his home, surrounded by his family. He was a minister for many years and pastored several churches in Southern Illinois. He retired from the Department of Transportation.   He and his wife, Mary, ran the Happy Helpers Pantry for years...

Sports

The Anna-Jonesboro Community High School wrestling team was 6-3 in meet action last week. The visiting Wildcats competed in Clarksville, Tenn., Saturday, Dec. 9. A-J fell to Brentwood Academy 48-37...

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