Officially opening the expanded Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine (SIU SDM)   clinic last month were, from left: Jennifer McClure, SIUE Marketing & Communications; Dr. Ken Rawson, SIU SDM associate dean; Dr. Randy Dunn, SIU system president; Dr. Randy Pembrook, SIUE chancellor; Dr. Bruce Rotter, SIU SDM dean; Illinois State Senator Bill Haine; Rich Walker, SIUE interim vice chancellor for administration; and Kevin Brooks, representing U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth. (Photo courtesy of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville)

Partnership with New Orleans finalized

St. Louis area development officials — including the directors of two major Metro-East riverport complexes — have finalized an agreement with the Port of New Orleans to cross-market and facilitate freight movement between the two cities.

Under the memorandum of understanding, signed Feb. 23, the two cities will work jointly to promote the distribution of imports, arriving at the Port of New Orleans, through St. Louis-area distribution centers such as the I-55 Corridor complex in Edwardsville.

They will also work to encourage export of Midwestern agricultural commodities and manufactured goods through a St. Louis-New Orleans supply chain. The partnership was finalized during a meeting arranged by the St. Louis Regional Freightway.

Among the 11-person delegation representing St. Louis were America’s Central Port Executive Director Dennis Wilmsmeyer and Kaskaskia Regional Port District General Manager Ed Weilbacher. Some 500 million tons of cargo are already transferred annually along the Lower Mississippi River, they note.

Alton mayoral race heats up

The City of Alton has become the site of one of the most expensive mayoral races in the state, the campaign finance tracking website IllinoisSunshine.org reports. Together, campaign committees for incumbent Mayor Brant Walker and three challengers had raised a total of $28,094 in funding, as of Feb. 23.

The Alton race consistently makes the website’s weekly ranking of the top 10 most expensive municipal election contests in the state; last week placing ninth.

Incumbent Walker will be challenged in the April 4 election by Alton Police Lieutenant Dan Rauschkolb, community activist Joshua Young, and business man Scott Dixon. Walker, who won as a write-in candidate in 2013 after being taken off the ballot, has raised the majority of the funding so far, with Dixon accounting for most of the rest.

Young plans to run a grassroots campaign and reports little fundraising.  Rauschkolb is currently pursuing court action to remain on the ballot, after the Alton Municipal Electoral Board upheld an objection to his nomination papers.

Snyder Memorial Highway bill advances

The Illinois House of Representatives has passed a resolution to rename a section of Illinois Route 100 in honor of slain St. Louis County Officer Blake Snyder.

A Godfrey native, Alton High School graduate, and Edwardsville resident, Snyder was killed in the line of duty on Oct. 6.  He was active in Metro-East community activities.

The legislation to create the “Officer Blake Snyder Memorial Highway” was introduced in January by State Rep. Dan Beiser, (D-Alton), It is sponsored in the Illinois Senate by State Sen. William Haine (D- Alton).

SIUE expands dental clinic

The Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine (SIU SDM) officially opened its renovated clinic in University Park on the Edwardsville campus last month. The clinic will provide a full scope of dental services, including preventive dentistry, cleanings, fillings, crowns and bridges, dentures, surgery, root canals and implant procedures, according to school officials.

It is also equipped to perform simple and complex pediatric dental care. Additional training laboratory space has been included in the new clinic to support the Clinical Certification Course of the SDM’s International Advanced Placement Program.

The clinic, located at 195 University Park Drive,  will open to the public Wednesday, March 1. For those individuals interested in making an appointment, contact the Main Patient Clinic at (618) 4747000 during regular clinic hours (Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.- 5 p.m.).

The $3 million project was funded from private donations, SDM Clinic Operation, SDM equipment use fees, Parking Services revenues for repairing and surfacing the parking lot, and University Plant funds.

Southern Illinois begins countdown to eclipse

Communities across a swath of Southern Illinois have begun preparing for an Aug. 21 total solar eclipse.  The path of first total eclipse in the continental United States since 1979 will extend from Oregon to South Carolina with Illinois communities like Chester and Waterloo near the center of the eclipse zone.   In Carbondale, where the eclipse will be experienced for 2 minutes and 38 seconds, Southern Illinois University will offer a weekend of events culminating in a public viewing at Saluki Stadium.

Rock star Ozzy Osbourne will headline a “Moonstock” music festival in Carterville. Representatives of several Metro-East communities are taking part in a St. Louis Eclipse Task established to help local officials deal with issues such traffic congestion associated with the event.

–Metro-East Area News Briefs–