Alton News Archives

“May they ride in peace and live in awe. May their lives - and their tanks - remain full.”

Out of respect, the hundreds of motorcycles sat silent. One by one, Bob Myers, 59, a retired millwright from Jersey County, read the names Sunday of people he called brothers and sisters, "all of them gone ... via St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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“One night a nearby competitor had two customers for dinner, and instead of cooking just for them he brought them to our place.”

By CARL PHILLIPS/Island Breeze Dorothy Barscz, better known as Dotty B or Dorothy B, has a singing voice that is familiar to hundreds of people in the Laguna Madre area. via Valley Morning Star

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“I'm not sure who nominated me at the forum, but I'm sure thankful to whoever did”

Next January, a junior at Alton High School will be attending the 56th Inauguration of the President and Vice President of the United States. via Alton Telegraph

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“Knock on wood, our business is just as good, if not better”

The Casino Queen's business is down, and it blames Illinois' smoking ban.

Initially, the $92 million new casino, which opened last summer on the East St. Louis riverfront, saw revenues increase from the smaller boat, but business has declined since Jan. 1 when the state's ban on smoking in public places took effect.

'It's been devastating,' said casino manager Tom Monaghan, who has seen fewer gamblers on the new 'boat in a moat' and fears more are going to new nearby competing casinos across the river in Missouri, where gamblers still can smoke. Read more

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AP: Murder victim's roommates "used her for target practice" We'd posted recently about Dorothy Dixon, a disabled pregnant woman who was basically tortured to death in Alton, Ill. via Crime Scene KC

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“They just sat around the kitchen table and fought.”

Banished to the basement, the 29-year-old mother with a childlike mind and another baby on the way had little more than a thin rug and a mattress to call her own on the chilly concrete floor. via Longview News-Journal

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Dam, that's a pretty lock: the sun sets behind the Corps navigation structure at Alton, Ill. via Grist Magazine

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“As an attorney and former prosecutor, I believe that this bill provides a good balance between giving the court the proper authority to maintain public safety and respecting the rights of the defendant.”

State Sen. Bill Haine is guiding legislation that would allow judges to deny bail to people accused of crimes such as that of a former SIUE student awaiting trial on charges of attempting to make a terrorist threat.

Haine, an Alton Democrat and former Madison County state's attorney, said Monday: 'If somebody makes a terrorist threat or a threat of mass violence, it is reasonable to prevent them from being given an opportunity to follow through with their threat by posting bail.'

Police arrested Olutosin Oduwole on July 20 after finding he wrote a note that contained rap lyrics and also stated: 'Send $2 to ... PayPal account if this account doesn't reach $50,000 in the next 7 days then a murderous rampage similar to the VT shooting will occur at another highly populated university. This is not a joke.' Read more

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ALTHOUGH but sixteen years old, Robert Wadlow, Alton, Illinois, schoolboy giant is 7 feet, 10-1/2 inches tall and weighs 365 pounds. via Modern Mechanix

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“What does a person have to do to deserve to die like that?”

Story is from Alton, Ill. Five people are charged in the homicide of Dorothy Dixon, a pregnant, mentally disabled woman who was beaten to death in January. via Crime Scene KC

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The torture killing of a pregnant Illinois woman has resulted in charges against a household of six people, including three teens and a 12-year-old. Police in Alton, Ill., say an autopsy revealed Dorothy Dixon, ... via The Post Chronicle

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ALTON, Ill. - Six people are charged in the killing of a pregnant developmentally disabled woman who was beaten and scalded with hot liquid in Alton, Ill. via KSTP-TV Minneapolis

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A Madison County Grand Jury has indicted six people in the death of an Alton woman and her unborn child. via MyFox St. Louis

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“My head hit the steering wheel and I broke my nose”

An East Alton attorney, who faces multiple charges after taking out a row of mailboxes with his pickup truck, chalks the incident up to badly timed text messaging. via Alton Telegraph

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Alfred J. "AJ" Smith, 62, passed away at 12:10 a.m. Sunday, March 2, 2008, at St. via Alton Telegraph

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Three men from Alton and one from Wood River were charged Wednesday after a Dorsey resident reported seeing them smash his mailbox with a baseball bat, then he followed them until deputies stopped them near Alton.

Charged with five misdemeanor counts of criminal damage to property and one misdemeanor count of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia were: Evan R. Busse, 18, of 4620 Camella Place, Alton; Brett E. Beilsmith, 19, 127 Thompson, Wood River; George W. Goeken, 20, 2538 Randolph, Alton; and Zachary T. Hardin, 18, of 4309 Chantel, Alton. Read more

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“No one is going to get from their house today”

Deep snow, heavy rain and sleet snarled travel and caused scattered flooding Tuesday from the Mississippi Valley to the East Coast. via Houston Chronicle

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Redevelopment of Alton's downtown riverfront is almost complete, so is the city's updating of its downtown next? The city has hired a St. via WQAD-TV Moline

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A recycling center is being credited with tipping off authorities about three people now accused of stealing cemetery vases and trying to sell them for scrap metal. via Chicago Tribune

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