Smiling in front of her surprise Christmas present are Debbie Hettinger, left with Anthony Hettinger. It was because: “She’s given me everything, when she had hardly anything,” that Southern Illinois University Edwardsville senior Anthony Hettinger entered a radio contest to win a car for his adopted mother, Debbie Hettinger, a car. And he won.…

  ST. LOUIS — Western Specialty Contractors – St. Louis Branch recently completed a project to restore and waterproof the roof of the Museum of Westward Expansion located beneath the iconic Gateway Arch on the St. Louis Riverfront. The work is part of a multi-phase project, spearheaded by non-profit organization CityArchRiver Foundation, to expand and…

  BELLEVILLE — Caritas Family Solutions recently increased efforts to collaborate with the community by leasing space at its 900 Royal Heights Road facility to Beacon Ministry of Belleville. The building, formerly a nursing home, was purchased by Caritas in 2014 with a vision to create a nonprofit collaborative center. Hoyleton Ministries was the first…

  EDWARDSVILLE — Madison County received $1.89 million in federal funding this week to support its operations in the fight against homelessness. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded $1,891,803 on Tuesday to Madison County Community Development to address homelessness throughout the county. The funds are part of the Department of Housing and…

  SHILOH — St. Clair and Randolph counties are setting the pace in Metro East home sales. The Realtor Association of Southwestern Illinois released the November 2016 housing statistics. The two counties saw more homes sold year-to-date this November than the last five Novembers. In St. Clair County, year-to-date home sales were up 11.6 percent…

  SPRINGFIELD — Illinois homes sales regained momentum in November with double-digit increases in annual home sales and continued strong gains in median prices, according to Illinois Realtors. Statewide home sales (including single-family homes and condominiums) in November 2016 totaled 11,341 homes sold, up 14.8 percent from 9,881 in November 2015. The statewide median price…

  O’FALLON, Ill. — City Administrator Walter Denton has been appointed to serve as chairman of the Illinois Municipal League Municipal Managers Committee for 2017. “Walter has done a phenomenal job as O’Fallon’s city administrator. His appointment by IML is a true measure of how well respected he is as a city administrator and how…

  EAST ALTON — This year, the Riverbend community donated 32,979 items for United Way’s 27th annual Community Christmas program. The items collected include new toys, non-perishable food, baby and personal care items, and winter essentials like coats, hats, gloves and scarves. This year’s drive concluded last week when dozens of volunteers collected donation boxes…

  EDWARDSVILLE – Township Supervisor Frank Miles says the township has received a $13,796.25 grant from the Metro East Park and Recreation District to fund renovations to Restroom 2 at the Robert C. Stille Edwardsville Township Community Park, located at 6368 Center Grove Road in Edwardsville. The grant is the third grant that the township…

Claire Dorsey, 11, of Moro (center), donated more than 50 Children’s Scholastic Christmas books to Alton Memorial Hospital’s speech therapists recently. Claire, a sixth grader at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Bethalto, used the money donated to her by family and friends after performing in a school production to buy the books. Accepting the…