Senior Living and Loving it/Health Mind Body & Sole Summer 2024

Ars Gratia Artis

By: Mary Cox

Do you doodle when you are talking on the phone or listening to others talk? Have you ever wanted to learn how to draw or paint? It’s never too late to learn how draw or paint or to throw a pot or make jewelry.

Many famous people have started painting at advanced ages. By the age of 76, Grandma Moses had developed arthritis, which made embroidery painful. Her sister Celestia suggested that painting would be easier for her, and this idea spurred Moses’s painting career in her late 70s and she painted until she was 101.

In 2012, President George W. Bush started taking lessons for two years to learn how to paint. Now,

some of his paintings are in a book called “Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief’s Tribute to America’s Warriors.”

A painting by Prince Charles, Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney, Johnny Cash or Tony Bennett can fetch thousands of dollars.

We are blessed in the Metro East. We have two colleges, Lewis and Clark Community College and Southern Illinois University where you can either learn to paint and a number of gallery’s who offer lessons to potential artists.

SIUE offers art classes for non-traditional students taught by graduate students for no credit. There are courses in oil, acrylics, watercolors, sculpture, pottery, jewelry and metal working available.

Vondell art gallery in Wood River is a location where you can learn how to paint, tool leather, or learn Zentangle? If you already have some of these skills but you want to join a class where you continue to learn and have fun? Vondell offers classes in leather pictorials (creating beautiful pictures out of leather), painting classes and Zentangle. (The Zentangle is an easy-to-learn way to create images by drawing structured patterns. The patterns are called tangles. You create tangles with combinations of dots, lines, simple curves, S-curves and orbs.)

The Edwardsville Arts Center inspires the lives of youth and the creative spirit of adults through

classes, exhibits and cultural events. Carolyn Tidsall, the director of programs, said that Edwardsville Arts Center encourages people of all ages to draw and paint. We have done research about people with disabilities to learn how to help them overcome their incapacities.

Jacoby Arts Center in Alton offers art classes for all ages: YogArt, photography, adult wheel throwing, digital photo design. Camp Options: Clay Camp, Messy Art Camp, Space Art Camp, Food Art Camp, and Play with Clay for Kids. If you are retired or about to retire, now is a great time to see if painting, drawing, throwing pots, or metal smithing is right for you.

SUMMER SALADS

By: Mary Cox Photos Courtesy of Sollie Photography

Who doesn’t love salads? I had three friends in to enjoy a salad luncheon. The

trick was that they had to bring their favorite salad which relieved me of having to make four salads myself. Each recipe was outstanding and unique. As we

munched most of the afternoon, we kept going back to seconds and thirds.

Ingredients:

8 oz. angel hair pasta

3 Tbs. olive oil

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 cup of grape

Tomatoes halved

10-15 basil leaves

I made a family favorite Helen’s Cauliflower Salad. It is so easy and everyone loves it.

Directions:

Chop up the cauli ower, green onions and olives into small pieces throw in a large bowl. Mix with Hellman’s and serve.

½ cup Parmesan cheese (grated or shredded)

Zest from one lemon

3 Tbs. capers

Juice from 2 lemons

1 tsp. salt

Ingredients:

1 Head of cauli ower

1 bunch of green onions

Ann Preismeir brought a cold Lemon Capellini Salad that was not only delicious, it was refreshing.

Directions:

Cook the pasta and drain. Mix the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and garlic. In a large bowl place the pasta and add the dressing, tomatoes, capers and parmesan cheese. Put in the refrigerator for about an hour then add basil leaves, lemon zest, more cheese and more capers if desired. Serve with lemon wedges.

1 small jar of green olives stu ed with pimento

½ cup of Hellman’s mayonnaise

(It MUST be Hellmans nothing else works)

Ingredients:

1 lb. slaw mix

4 green onions

2 pkgs. of Ramen noodles

½ cup sunflower seeds

½ cup of cider vinegar

1 pkg. toasted

slivered almonds

½ cup oil

¼ cup of sugar

Seasoning mix from noodles

Sally Manush brought Karen Medlock’s recipe for Oriental Cole Slaw.

Directions:

Crush Ramen noodles in package, mix together with slaw, almonds, onions and sun ower seeds. Set aside. Mix Vinegar, oil, sugar, and seasoning mix together. Pour over slaw mixture when ready to serve.

Golfing For Your Health

By: Mary Cox

Since it was created in Scotland in the 1700’s, golf is one of the best ways for people to exercise no matter your age at local golf courses, children ages 6 and up can start playing golf by taking lessons. At 12, you can play on courses until you are in your nineties or older. We are blessed in Madison County with a number of golf courses that provide golfers courses with all sorts of different skills. You can play nine holes, eighteen holes, Harry Reynolds of Wood River plays twice a week. On Wednesdays, he plays a scramble at Rock Springs Park and plays 9 holes at Rolling Hills on Fridays.

Harry said he started playing as a kid but when he started working at Shell Oil, he would only play once a year at the Shell Oil golf day for

its employees. “I would play for money and prizes. I never shot a hole in one but, I shot an Eagle once. (two shots under par.)

Once he retired, he started playing twice a week. “I am the oldest man in my foursome or close to it. Besides getting my exercise, I have met some wonderful friends playing golf.” Harry is 90.

Etoile Manush, mother of Charlie Manush of Godfrey, played golf twice a week until a month before she died in 2022. She was 99 years old. Etoile loved to play. She used a cart and played 9 holes in the morning before mass.

Mickey Sabolo, manager of Belk Park golf course in Wood River said that he started playing at 11 and he is currently 59.

“At Belk Park Golf Course we encourage everyone to play. We start kids at 5 or 6 to

take lessons. If they are 5, we evaluate their size and strength to start lessons, but at 6 kids are physically able to play. We even have an 82-year-old ranger who takes lessons. You need to set goals for yourself and you can improve your game.”

Sabolo also talked about Edwardsville High School runs a Junior Gold Academy at Belk Park Golf course that teaches 6- and 7-year-olds to play golf.

If you think you might want to play but don’t want to purchase clubs until you decide you want to play regularly, you can rent clubs at most courses. Also, you can buy used clubs online, but even used, golf clubs aare not inexpensive.

For those who have the time and finances you can tee off at 30 incredible golf courses located throughout the Metro East and enjoy spectacular vistas, exceptional accommodations, and a diverse golf scene that will bring joy to golfers of every skill level.

Mary Campbell the manager at Spenser T. Olin Course said that they are celebrating 35 years in operation at the end of this month with an open house that is open to the public. Arnold Palmer designed the Spenser T. course. It has a 9-hole course and an 18-hole course. There is a learning center, 9 hole walking course, putting green and driving range. Campbell said that, “golf is a game for all ages whether you’re 6 or 90.”

Alton has parks for all seasons

By: Jill Moon

Regional parks

Regional parks are described as large areas able to accommodate visitors not only from Alton but from the region and multiple communities, with multiple activities including active and passive recreation, athletic fields, natural areas, and other significant features.

Gordon F. Moore Community Park 4701 College Ave.

Gordon Moore is home to Lloyd Hopkins Field, home of the Alton River Dragons, and the Spencer T. Olin Golf Course, a 7,000-yard 18-hole championship layout and nine-hole Learning Center, and the Dr. Raymond Simpson Tennis Center with eight tennis courts (four lighted), a two-story viewing stand, and bleachers.

The park also is home to the serene Oriental Garden and the Nan Elliot Memorial Rose Garden, regularly deadheaded by volunteer groups. It also has:

• Carillon summer Sunday concerts through early September.

• A nine-hole disc golf course located between the rose garden and the Oriental garden.

• Six playgrounds, one strictly for toddlers. Surfaces vary including sand, poured in place, and fibar.

• 54 acres of athletic fields with 10 baseball diamonds with a drinking fountain and bleachers on each diamond and seasonal restroom at Tball/machine pitch fields.

• 21 soccer fields for tournaments and league play, mostly with bleachers.

• A memorial on the east side of the main entrance with a statue of Alton’s fallen union family to show strength and solidarity of organized labor in the Riverbend.

• A 19-acre lake and dam with a walking bridge. The lake is stocked by Illinois Department of Natural Resources with bluegill, bass and catfish.

• A 400 shrub Hosta Garden with a walking path and benches.

• A natural area with prairie grass restoration with a one-third mile non-paved walking path with southeast perimeter chat roadway.

• Over 10,000 memorial trees planted within the parks boundaries.

• A memorial fountain for military veterans with memorial bricks and flags of five branches lies adjacent to the rose garden in the center of the park.

• Located near softball diamonds is a Freedom Shrine with replicas of several historical documents to the state of Illinois.

Community parks

Community parks are described as intermediate in size and can accommodate visitors from multiple neighborhoods and the whole community, usually with both active and passive facilities.

Riverfront Park

south of downtown alongside the Mississippi River, located between the Alton Argosy Casino and Alton Marina

• 4,000-seat Alton Amphitheater.

• Playground with poured rubber surface with a concrete surrounding border.

• Kids fountain located along the old lock wall.

• Two picnic shelters.

• Seasonal restroom facilities.

• Pedestrian bridge across Landmarks Boulevard from Broadway into the park.

Rock Spring Park 2116 College Ave.

• Sledding.

• Home to the Grandpa Gang’s annual Christmas Wonderland.

• Home to Rock Springs Golf Course, a nine-hole course, and an 18-hole disc golf course.

• Playground with wood mulch.

• Unmowed woodland.

• Three picnic areas with pavilions and grills.

• Seasonal restrooms

• Russell Commons, near the Mississippi River at the south end of Ridge Street

• Home of Alton dog park.

• An asphalt walking path, approximately three-fourth of a mile long, winds through the natural area and mowed portion of the park.

• Connection to Vadalabene bikeway.

• Three picnic pavilions.

Neighborhood/mini parks

Often neighborhood parks and mini-parks are two separate categories, but with the overall number of neighborhood/mini parks in Alton, the categories were combined.

Neighborhood/mini parks accommodate residents within neighborhoods, and ideally within a 10-minute walk. Depending on the size, they may have a combination of active and passive facilities, but often have limited activities or even singular activities such as a playground.

Barth, Sixth and Langdon streets

• Site of the Paul Owens Holly Memorial which includes a holly tree-lined brick sidewalk with benches and drinking fountain.

• Football/soccer field that’s informal type with no lighting.

• Flower garden and landscaping.

• Three picnic pavilions.

Dormann Square Park

201 E. Seventh St.

• Home of the Cousley Sunken Garden in memory of Mary Lou Cousley.

• Historic style street lights around the park.

• Lavish landscaping, put in and maintained by the neighbors including the late Cousley.

Eunice Smith Arboretum Park

2101 Edwards St.

• A four-acre passive park with mature trees and minimal off-street parking.

Haskell

1200 block of Henry Street

• Home of the Haskell Playhouse, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, built for Lucy Jane Haskell, daughter of Dr. William A. and Florence Hayner Haskell, by Lucy’s grandfather, John E. Hayner in 1885.

• Sledding.

• Little library.

• Brick sidewalk leading to the Haskell Playhouse is lined with engraved bricks of memorials and memories.

• Free weekly concerts are given by the Alton Municipal Band between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

• Limited bench seating is available.

• Playground equipment with fibar wood chip and poured in place rubber surfaces. Hellrung

Central Avenue near Seventh Street

• Skate park.

• Children’s art tiles along brick wall.

• Community garden beds.

• Playground.

• Walking trail.

• Basketball court.

• Picnic shelter.

James H. Killion (Salu) 2400 Washington Ave.

• Home of Alton’s Juneteenth celebration, one of the longest-running Juneteenth celebrations in the nation.

• Park bench placed along Washington Avenue in honor of James H. Killion.

• Two playgrounds.

• Two lighted basketball courts.

• Picnic shelter with grills.

• Portable restrooms during summer.

Milton

At the foot of Aberdeen Avenue

• Playground.

• Football/soccer field.

• Northside, 201 Rozier St.

• Playground.

• Lighted baseball diamond.

• Football/soccer field.

Olin

State Street at Grand Avenue

• Playground equipment with kitty cushion fall surface.

• Park benches surrounding the play area.

• Drinking fountain.

• Lighted walking trail encompassing an open playing field.

• Two picnic shelters with grills.

• Shuffle board courts.

• Along State Street is an old limestone wall built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a work program for the unemployed that was created in 1935.

• 70 trees were planted within the boundaries of the park.

• Football/soccer (open field).

• Basketball court.

Riverview

Riverview Drive at Bluff Street, overlooking the Mississippi River at the end of Belleview Avenue

• Sledding.

• Natural area, mature trees and flower gardens

• From Memorial Day through Labor Day a weekly concert by the Alton Municipal Band is given at the bandstand gazebo, a site for many wedding ceremonies.

• Restrooms.

• Views of Mississippi River from bluff.

• Sunken garden.

• One of the most popular small parks in Alton.

Specialty parks

Specialty parks do not fit easily within the other categories of regional, community, neighborhood and mini parks. They often have a specific or unique purpose, may have significant cultural or historical significance, and enhance the overall park and open space system.

Size and activity can vary greatly since each park tends to have unique characteristics

Lincoln Douglas Square

100 Market St.

• Site of the final debate in the 1858 U.S. Senate election between Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln.

• Life-size statues of Lincoln and Douglas stand at the site.

• Home of the annual Alton Christmas Tree lighting.

• Limited bench seating around the square.

• Landscaped gardens.

• The first weekend in October is the time of the annual Lincoln-Douglas Days.

Piasa Park

900 W. Broadway

• The park is under the bluffs where the historic Piasa Bird mural is located.

• View of Mississippi River.

• Starting point of the Great River Road bike trail.

• In 2023, a plan came about to redevelop the spot with an up to $6.5 million project, expected to be complete by summer 2025.

State House Square

Circular open space at intersection of College Avenue and Central Street

• Site of state of Illinois consideration for state capital state house. In 1833, the General Assembly passed an act enabling voters to choose between Alton, Vandalia, Jacksonville, Peoria or Springfield.

• Home to new State House Square Christmas tree lighting.

• Fountain and landscaped.

Union Park

a small triangle wedge park at the corner of Union Avenue and Central Street

• Main feature is a fountain.

• Needs work.

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Loving Excellence In Senior Care

Nestled in between the Illinois and Mississippi River, between the blooming bluffs and hillsides, is a small county known as Calhoun. Calhoun is small but very family oriented, meaning everyone knows everybody. Among the owned businesses that Calhoun has to offer there is a quaint nursing home that sits right in the middle of the county in the town of Hardin IL, Calhoun Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Calhoun Nursing and Rehabilitation Center has been providing short term and long term care to this community for 60+ years! They offer a variety of services such as short term rehab, long term care, skilled nursing, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Outpatient and they are

contracted with the local health department to lend a helping hand with Home Health services. Calhoun Nursing and Rehab has always been known for their friendly staff that are compassionate about their residents, the tasteful home cooked meals, and a clean environment. The therapy team has also been known and rewarded for their outstanding services, receiving the 5 Star Therapy Award 13 years in a row with 7 of those years earning Super 5 Star Status. Calhoun Nursing and Rehab has dedicated staff that have worked for the team for 20+ years! This shows how much experience flows through the building from work ethic to dedication and love to the residents!

I Scream, You Scream, We A Scream For Ice Cream

By: Mary Cox

W e are accustomed to having ice cream available whenever we want it, but where did ice cream come from? Some sources describe ice cream-like foods as originating in Persia as far back as 550 BC. Using ice houses and ice pools,

Persians were able to serve and produce an iced dessert with noodles, sugar and nuts and sorbets all year round.

It is thought that Marco Polo brought gelato, an ice-based dessert with milk and sugar, back to Italy in the late 1200’s. Ice cream existed in America

Live E asy and Wor r y Free!

Senior L iving in G odfre y, IL

For over 20 years, Asbur y Village has been a staple of the community by providing the highest standards of living and care for the residents who call it HOME. Here,you’ ll find a countr yside neighborhood that bustles with activities and opportunities. We offer a fresh focus on good health and wellness, and exciting, new ser vices, amenities and programs. We invite you to come be a part of it all, to discover what’s next We welcome you to reach out to our team to schedule a in person tour to see for yourself what sets Asbur y Village apart from all others. We look for ward to meeting with you and your families!

SCHEDULE A TOUR! (618) 466-8662

during the colonial area. It is widely thought that our founding fathers all served ice cream in their homes.

But it wasn’t thought until 1904 that the waffle ice cream cone was created at the St. Louis World Fair when an ice cream vendor ran out of card board bowls and bought waffles from another vendor to wrap around to hold his ice cream.

Walking down the frozen food aisle of your local grocery store you will see hundreds of different brands of ice cream, frozen yogurt and gelato in hundreds of different flavors. But what if you want something more like a sundae, soft ice cream or an ice cream float?

There are so many places between Alton and Edwardsville to order your favorite ice cream treats as the weather gets warmer. Hot weather and ice cream go together.

If you are in Alton, you have many choices. Shivers frozen custard is for those who prefer a soft custard.

The Pink Cow serves not only hard ice cream and soft ice cream, it also has sugar free for anyone on a diet or has diabetes.

1904 General Store, is a welcoming old building. The first floor is full of candy, chocolate, fudge, ice cream, and other treats.

That Good is a neighborhood shop that serves hand-scooped ice cream and tasty shaved ice.

City Scoops Creamery is a micro-creamery offering 30 custom-made flavors of hard-scoop ice cream, sorbets, and Italian Ice.

Blue Ice Creamery at East Gate Plaza services East Alton ice cream connoisseurs. Blue Ice

Creamery claims to be the only place in Madison County area offering real ice cream.

In Roxana you can go to the cone barn for soft ice cream or yogurt.

Wood River and Alton each have two of the 6,400 Dairy Queens that exist in 25 countries in the world.

Started in Joliet, IL in 1940, Dairy Queen sells soft serve ice cream in sundaes, floats, blizzards and various ice cream bars.

In Bethalto there is the Weather Vane is the premier ice cream shop serving the Metro East since 1960. They specialize in buttercake concretes, pecan drumsticks, and signature sundaes.

North Star Dairy welcomes you to Edwardsville with their orange sherbert and vanilla ice cream swirl. There are lots of places to get ice cream in Edwardsville.

There is Clemintine’s Naughty and Nice whose specialty is providing the best ice cream catering services for any occasion— be it weddings, birthdays, corporate events, baby showers, or other intimate gatherings.

Annie’s is in Glen Carbon features frozen custard pies, cakes, sundaes, concretes in a variety of featured flavors.

Bobby’s frozen custard is in Maryville and asks you to join their turtle club for which they’re known. His turtle is vanilla ice cream with hot fudge, caramel, salted pecans and a Cherry. With so many choices, you could go to one location every day without running out of places to go or you can buy an electric ice creamer maker and make ice cream yourself at home so just scream for ice cream!

Alton Farmers’ & Artisans’ Market May 11 – October 19, 2024

(Every Saturday from 8am-Noon)

The 2024 season of the Alton Farmers’ & Artisans’ Market will begin on Saturday, May 11th in the parking lot at the corner of Landmarks Blvd. & Henry Street in Downtown Alton, Illinois. The market will be in session, rain or shine, every Saturday morning from 8:00 a.m. until Noon through Oct 19th.

Please note that on June 22nd our event is being displaced to accommodate the Powerboat Championship Race on the Mississippi. On 6/22 the Market will be relocated to the parking lot at the corner of Broadway & Ridge Street (next to FLOCK Food Truck Park).

Shoppers will find a wide selection of locallygrown seasonal fruit and vegetables including

heirloom varieties and organically grown crops, along with grass-fed beef, pasture-raised poultry, farm fresh eggs, local honey, hot and iced coffee, fresh bread and other baked goods. In addition, fresh cut flowers, potted plants, and a large assortment of hand-crafted artwork such as pottery, stained glass, soap, candles, and woodworking items will be sold. We are now allowed to welcome vendors who will be serving meals that are ready to eat on-site, so we expect an abundance of delicious new breakfast and lunch items to be available!

Live entertainment, artist demonstrations and other special activities have been scheduled every week. To receive reminders for what produce is in season as well as

upcoming entertainment and activities, follow the page: Facebook.com/ AltonFarmersMarket.

This year marks the 32nd season of the Alton Farmers’ & Artisans’ Market, organized by Alton Main Street as part of the organization’s efforts to revitalize the Downtown Alton historic district. Alton Main Street has received a LinkUP Illinois grant to help us improve access to healthy food. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are accepted by most vendors, and recipients can receive an unlimited dollar for dollar match. Simply visit the information booth to swipe your card and double your buying power for fresh fruits and vegetables!

By: Mary Cox

June 28

A Family Affair (Netflix): An unexpected romance triggers comic consequences for a young woman, her mother, and her boss, grappling with the complications of love, sex, and identity.

Horizon: An American Saga (in theaters) A Quiet Place: Day One (in theaters). An emotional journey across a country at war with itself.

July 3

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (Netflix) Axel Foley returns to Beverly Hills for a family reunion that includes old pals John Taggart and Billy Rosewood.

Despicable Me 4 (in theaters): Gru, Lucy, Margo, Edith, and Agnes welcome a new member to the family, Gru Jr., who is intent on tormenting his dad.

July 4

Space Cadet (Prime Video): Florida party girl Rex (Roberts) turns out to be the only hope for the NASA space program after a fluke puts her in training with other candidates who may have better resumes, but don’t have her smarts, heart and moxie.

July 5

July 19

Find Me Falling (Netflix): Aging rock star John Allman decides to take a break from his career to reclaim his spark on an island in Greece.

Transformers: High Moon (in theaters). A continuation of the Transformers series.

MaXXXine (in theaters): Hollywood, adult film star Maxine Minx finally gets her big break.

July 11

Tyler Perry’s Divorce in the Black (Prime Video): Ava, a young banker is heartbroken when her husband Dallas abandons a marriage she is determined to fight for.

July 12

Descendants: The Rise of Red (Disney+). Polar opposites Red and Chloe crossing paths at a momentous celebration in Auradon when unexpected chaos breaks out.

SUMMER AT THE MOVIES

Skywalkers: A Love Story (Netflix). A daring couple travels worldwide to climb the last super skyscraper, attempting a bold acrobatic stunt on the spire to salvage both their career and relationship.

Twisters (in theaters): As storm season intensifies, the paths of former storm chaser Kate Cooper, is lured back to the open plains after a devastating encounter years prior.

July 26

Deadpool & Wolverine (in theaters): Wolverine is recovering from his injuries when he crosses paths with the loudmouth, Deadpool. They team up to defeat a common enemy.

Fly Me to the Moon (in theaters): Brought in to fix NASA’s public image, marketing maven Kelly Jones wreaks havoc on launch director Cole Davis’s already difficult task of putting a man on the moon. (in theaters).

Sponsored

Longlegs (in theaters): FBI Agent Lee Harker is a gifted new recruit assigned to the unsolved case of an elusive serial killer.

July 18

My Spy the Eternal City (Prime Video): Teenage Sophie convinces JJ to chaperone her school trip where they both end up as pawns in an international terrorist plot.

The Fabulous Four (in theaters): It tells the story of two friends who travel to be bridesmaids in a surprise wedding of their college girlfriend.

Aug. 2

Cuckoo (in theaters) : 17-year-old Gretchen leaves her American home to live with her father, who has just moved into a resort in the German Alps with his new family.

Harold and the Purple Crayon (in theaters) : Inside of his book, adventurous Harold can make anything come to life simply by drawing it

Kneecap (in theaters) : Fate brings together disillusioned music teacher JJ with self-confessed ‘low life scum’ Naoise and Liam Og, changing the sound of Irish music forever.

The Instigators (in select theaters): . Follows two robbers who must go on the run with the help of one of their therapists after a theft doesn’t go as planned.

Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie (Netflix). Bikini Bottom has been stolen. Sandy Cheeks and SpongeBob watch in disbelief as everyone’s favorite town is scooped out of the ocean by a sinister, mysterious company.

Aug. 9

Borderlands (in theaters): Lilith, an infamous bounty hunter with a mysterious past, reluctantly returns to her home, Pandora, the most chaotic planet in the galaxy.

The Instigators (Apple TV+): Follows two robbers who must go on the run with the help of one of their therapists after a theft doesn’t go as planned.

It Ends With Us (in theaters): Lily Bloom, a woman who overcomes a traumatic childhood to embark on a new life in Boston and chase a lifelong dream of opening her own business.

My Old Ass (Prime Video): Elliott Labrant, who has been advised by her future self not to fall in love, is sure she can do so after being given the advice. Trap (in theaters)

Aug. 14

Daughters (Netflix): Four young girls prepare for a special Daddy Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers, as part of a unique fatherhood program in a Washington, D.C., jail.

Aug. 15

Jackpot (Prime Video): The Grand Lottery has been established in economically challenged California. The only catch? Kill the winner and you can legally claim their prize

Aug. 16

Alien: Romulus (in theaters): While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.

Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 2 (in theaters). The continuation of one story of the settlement of the American west

The Union (Netflix): Mike, a construction worker from Jersey, is quickly thrust into the world of super spies and secret agents when his high school ex-girlfriend Roxanne recruits him on a high-stakes US intelligence mission.

Aug. 23

Between the Temples (in theaters): A cantor in a crisis of faith finds his world turned upside down when his music teacher re-enters his life as his new adult Bat Mitzvah student.

Blink Twice (in theaters): When tech billionaire Slater King meets cocktail waitress Frida at his fundraising gala, sparks fly.

The Crow (in theaters): Soulmates Eric and Shelly are brutally murdered when the demons of her dark past catch up with them.

Incoming (Netflix): Four freshmen navigate the terrors of adolescence at their first-ever high school party.

New pickleball, golf facilities coming to Edwardsville after council gives the OK

By: Charles Bolinger

Restaurants, a new gas station with a convenience store, hotels, an apartment complex and golfing and pickleball complexes may all be coming to the eastern edge of Edwardsville as part of the Park North development.

These and more are all part of a redevelopment agreement approved May 6 by the city council. The development is bordered by Route 143, Interstate 55, and is just north of Plummer Family Park.

Park North, which encompasses about 94 acres, has multiple facets. Currently, some trees have been removed while earthmoving and grading is underway and has been for at least a few months. Sewer piping is gathered on the site in stacks, awaiting installation.

The original pond on the north end was drained but will remain in some form near Route 143.

The total estimated project cost for this work is almost $12.8 million.

Meanwhile, city public works crews have been busy extending Sports Park Drive north from its present terminus at Plummer Family Park to the park’s border with Park North. Construction crews with Plocher and Byron, the co-developers, will take the road all the way to Route 143, where it will meet Blackburn Road. A new intersection with traffic signals will be established at 143, Blackburn and Sports Park, eliminating the “lanes to nowhere” on 143 in both directions on the west side of Interstate 55.

Extending Sports Park Drive will also fulfill one of the city’s promises to area residents around the park: to reduce the traffic loads on Goshen and Ridge View roads. It will also provide direct access to the park from I-55, creating an eastern gateway

for the city. At some point, the Illinois Department of Transportation will enhance the adjacent 143-55 interchange to handle the additional traffic load.

Plocher and Byron provided a summary about the golf complex for the aldermen, which was the first verified piece of Park North. “A group of local and national investors in conjunction with Scott Plocher, president of Plocher Construction Company, Inc. and Christopher Byron, managing partner for the Edwardsville-based law firm Byron Carlson Petri & Kalb, LLC, have formed North Park Development, LLC to bring a premier golf and entertainment complex to Edwardsville.

“The complex will have an upscale restaurant featuring a local chef-inspired menu, a sports bar and an expansive outdoor patio area. The complex will center around an 18-hole mini golf course inspired by PGA venues and

two levels with 40 to 50 climate-controlled hitting bays offering the newest in gaming/golfing technology and will welcome every level of golfer. The complex will be located (in the southwest section of Park North) directly adjacent to the Edwardsville’s Plummer Family Park and will be the first of many new developments at the Park North development.”

Park North will cater to what city officials have long desired for Plummer Family Park; nearby facilities like restaurants, hotels and a gas station that will cater to those who use Plummer for tournaments, league championships and other visits without going to other cities for food, gas, lodging and entertainment.

Golf complex details include a 12-acre site with 210 parking slots, a 6,000-squarefoot restaurant and 90 seats, a 5,560-square-foot patio/terrace with 60 to 80 seats, a 1,200-square-foot

kitchen and more. The golf complex will comprise about 30,000-square-feet total.

A rendering shows about 10 parking spaces and chargers for electric vehicles. The pair of hotels in a previous rendering have been changed to multifamily residential and retail just north of the golf complex. The gas/convenience store in the northwest corner remains the same. The two hotels moved to the east side of Sports Park Drive, north of the pickleball courts. The anchor retail store layout is unchanged.

The former multi-family portion changed to a pickleball complex with 28 courts. Those would align with 25 other pickleball courts at Plummer after its second phase of construction completes in March 2025.

According to Sean P. Goding with Pangea Development, which also plays a role in Park North, the pickleball court facility will be called the SmashHouse and is to be located in the SE quadrant of

the new Park North.

“It will be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, pickleball facility in the country,” he said in an email on May 7. “It will be a nice permanent job(s) creator, revenue generator and a major national and regional sports tourist attraction.” When at full capacity, the facility will be able to host almost 10,000 athletes and visitors.

Park North is the first of two planned developments at 143 and 55. Later in this decade, The Pointe will start construction. Four years ago, the project received a surprise boost when an adjacent landowner agreed to sell acreage, which nearly tripled the size of the project, from 54 to 149 acres.

The project now extends into Edwardsville and would offer 13 lots, ranging from 5.6 to 18 acres. Many of the lots outside city limits are designated as mixed-use commercial, while much of what is within city limits is marked office or flex industrial space.