Braidwood Journal

Braidwood enters fiscal year in good financial shape

Published by admin on Tue, 05/04/2021 - 5:38pm

The city of Braidwood officially has a budget for the fiscal year that began this week.

On April 27, in a 3-2 vote, the members of the City Council passed the annual budget appropriation ordinance for the city for the 2022 fiscal year, with total projected spending across all funds at $7.9 million.

“All the patrolmen and sergeants and administration raises went through that, and everything was good,” City Administrator Tony Altiery said. “It’s balanced.”

PACE bus service returns to Braidwood

Published by admin on Tue, 05/04/2021 - 5:37pm

The PACE bus is back in business in Braidwood.

After pausing the service due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the city of Braidwood was able to restart the program with some modifications last month.

City Administrator Tony Altiery said the bus is for senior citizens, disabled residents, or caretakers of any senior citizen or disabled resident, free of charge.

“It takes them to a grocery store or to a doctor,” Altiery said.

Exelon places fish habitats in Braidwood Lake

Published by admin on Tue, 05/04/2021 - 5:35pm

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources partners with Exelon Generation’s Braidwood Station on Monday to place artificial fish habitats into Braidwood Lake.

The piping on the structures gets covered with algae within hours of being added to the lake, providing fish a lush habitat.

Since 2007, Exelon Generation has paid to put nearly 1,500 of these structures into the lake, which improves the quality of life for fish and has resulted in bigger fish in the lake.

More than 100 of the structures were dropped into Braidwood Lake on Monday.

Fossil Ridge Public Library District hires new director

Published by admin on Tue, 04/27/2021 - 4:34pm

The board of trustees of the Fossil Ridge Public Library District selected Rene Leyva as their new director during their April board meeting. Their decision comes after a nationwide search following the untimely passing last October of Richard Ashley, Fossil Ridge's previous director.

Drug Take Back event a success in Braidwood

Published by admin on Tue, 04/27/2021 - 4:32pm

Members of the Braidwood Police Department and the Braidwood Area Healthy Community Coalition (BAHCC) took part in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on April 24 at the BAHCC offices on Reed Street in Braidwood.

During the event, which is sponsored by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), folks drop off their old or unused medications for proper disposal.

The goal is to help remove potentially dangerous or addictive drugs from medicine cabinets, so they no longer pose the risk of being abused.

Reed-Custer gains approval to operate program independently

Published by admin on Tue, 04/27/2021 - 4:28pm

The Reed-Custer School District will operate its own Early Childhood Program starting next year.

Superintendent Mark Mitchell announced that the district was approved to operate that program during the April 21 regular meeting of the Reed-Custer Board of Education

In order for Reed-Custer to maintain its own program, a resolution was passed by the majority of SOWIC districts, and an article amendment was passed by the SOWIC board.

Braidwood Clerk on the hunt for $50,000 overspent by previous city administration

Published by admin on Tue, 04/27/2021 - 4:27pm

Braidwood City Clerk Adam Beaty found out that sometimes, it pays to get dirty.

Beaty has been digging through dust-covered boxes and records hoping to track down as much as $50,000 in over-payments made by the city on past bills.

“I'm working in house to recover a lot of missing pennies,” Beaty told council members last week. “On April 1, the city was advised that it had overpaid for our workers comp insurance, so we will therefore see a refund close to $41,000 back to the city.”

Reed-Custer graduate creating some buzz at Blackburn College

Published by admin on Tue, 04/20/2021 - 5:26pm

Campus life is abuzz for Dade Bradley of Braidwood who attends Blackburn College in Carlinville, Ill.

That’s because Bradley, a sophomore majoring in biology, is active in expanding a bee program on the southwestern Illinois campus.

Blackburn College's bee program is often referred to as the "greatest thing on campus no one knows about." This summer, the College has its sights set on expansion, with the number of active hives the program maintains increasing to 20 and caring for a little under a million pollinators.

After 28 years, Tammen retires

Published by admin on Tue, 04/20/2021 - 5:24pm

Outgoing Custer Township Supervisor Bruce Tammen was honored for nearly three decades of service earlier this month.

Tammen opted to retire from the position this year. New Township Supervisor Jon Furlan presented Tammen a plaque honoring his 28 years of dedicated service to the residents of Custer Park.

Tammen volunteered his time on the township planning committee in October of 1992, then served four years as a trustee before moving on to become the Township Supervisor.

Braidwood Lions ready for summer in the park

Published by admin on Tue, 04/20/2021 - 5:19pm

The Braidwood Lions Club is prepping for the return of some family-friendly events as the weather begins to warm up.

The Lions will again host a Junk in the Trunk and Farmers Market event, in conjunction with what the club is calling the “Lions Family Sunday FunDay” on several dates throughout the next six months.

And, the club said, they’re on the lookout for vendors.