The McDonough County Voice
Your eyes could tell you that Monday was a special day at Macomb City Hall. First, there was a tent on the city hall lawn. Second was the number of people gathering under and around the tent.
The tent was in place as an alternative to indoor crowd prohibitions. The Macomb City Council met inside the building as usual. Then they recessed and reconvened under the tent.
The outdoor gathering was to permit as large a group as possible to witness and participate in the swearing-in ceremony of Police Chief Jerel Jones. In addition to his family from Chicago, and many Macomb residents, representatives of the NAACP were on hand including the state president.
Build a Better Block Macomb unveils park recycled cap benches & picnic table
Linda Lee Blaine, BBB Macomb
USA Today Netwrk.
MACOMB Macomb’s public spaces will be receiving six new benches and a youth-sized picnic table thanks to a community wide initiative spearheaded by Build a Better Block Macomb.
The benches are created by Green Tree Plastics in Evansville, Indiana (https://www.greentreeplastics.com/) from plastic caps and lids that are otherwise not recyclable. The response to the call for recycled caps was tremendous with many local organizations, businesses, and individuals collecting caps. Due to this initiative, over 2,000 pounds of plastic have been diverted from the landfill. Two benches were donated to the community in 2020 and are located at the Macomb Public Library and the WIU Horn Field Campus.
Voice Correspondent
MACOMB Mayor Mike Inman discussed Friday a three-legged stool of community strategies for coping with the coronavirus pandemic. He said they are mitigation, testing, and vaccination.
Inman spoke from Macomb City Hall and his comments have been posted to the Macomb You-Tube channel.
The mayor said McDonough County has a less than three percent COVID-19 positivity rate and that the regional rate is around five percent. He said three days at 6.5 percent or less is the Restore Illinois Phase 4 standard.
Inman announced Illinois Department of Public Health COVID-19 testing dates in Macomb. All will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Tanner Hall Circle on the campus of Western Illinois University. Testing will be done on February 4, 8, 15, and 17.
Mayor predicts weeks of senior vaccinations
Patrick Stout
MACOMB Mayor Mike Inman discussed coronavirus vaccinations for those 65 and older on Friday.
He spoke from Macomb City Hall and his comments were posted on the Macomb YouYube channel. Vaccination of older residents is part of Illinois Department of Health Phase 1B, which began Monday.
The mayor predicted release of a distribution plan by the McDonough County Health Department. I m convinced of that, Inman said. I m confident they have a plan ready to roll out..The whole process will be laid out, especially for those in the 65 and older category.
Inman urged patience. He said there are more than 5,000 people in McDonough County who are 65 or older. It will take weeks to complete these vaccinations, he said.
Inman talks about Tier 1 possibility
Patrick Stout
Voice Correspondent
MACOMB With last Friday s placement of McDonough County in Restore Illinois Tier 2 status, Mayor Mike Inman said the county is very close to a Tier 1 declaration and resumption of limited indoor dining. The mayor spoke from Macomb City Hall and his comments were posted to the city s YouTube channel.
Inman said the county meets all but one of the Tier 1 requirements. He said a coronavirus positivity rate of under eight percent for three days is required. The positivity rate was 7.9 percent on Friday. Mitigation efforts are paying off, the mayor said. He also mentioned that hybrid learning classes in Macomb schools would begin January 19, as would classes at Western Illinois University.