Alto Pass News

Sunny days in October are precious. The heat, humidity, and biting insects of summer are gone, while the snow, ice, and bitter cold of winter haven't arrived yet.

Sara Lipe glanced at her southern Illinois peach orchard after winds topping more than 100 mph tore through in May and felt dread in the pit of her stomach.Limbs had been snapped off trees, and fruit ripped from those still attached.

More than 500 people made the five-mile hike from the Bald Knob Cross of Peace to downtown Alto Pass in the second annual Crosswalk on Saturday.

Brett Haynes, of Lemont, and Hannah Streicher, of Kankakee, enjoy an outdoor concert Saturday at Spring Fest in Makanda.

But Union County's Dana Pearson adds that there's no need for anyone around Cobden to feel alarmed.

Every year folks celebrate Easter at the Bald Knob Cross in Alto Pass. This year the cross celebrated an event of its own, the 50th anniversary of the monuments ground breaking.

Hundreds of people in southwestern Illinois gathered for Easter services Sunday at the base of a rusty, crumbling 111-foot cross, part of restoration efforts that were delayed by years of discord.