Highland Around Town — Jan. 12 edition

Noon Wednesday, Jan. 12, is the deadline to appear in next week’s “Around Town” listing. We must receive your event in writing with a contact phone number for questions. Due to the number of submissions, events may run only one time in print, will be edited and appear in the week before the event date.

Email: lifestyle@bnd.com. Mail to: Highland News Leader Around Town, Belleville News-Democrat, P.O. Box 427, Belleville, IL 62222-0427. Questions, call Jennifer Green at 618-239-2643.

Thursday, Jan. 13

▪ National Alliance on Mental Illness Southwestern Illinois (NAMI SWI) — 7-8:30 p.m. Online via Zoom. Virtual support meetings for family members and other caregivers of individuals with mental illness. Meetings are peer-led and rely on the knowledge and experiences of the group to help one another. Registration is required in order to receive the link to these meetings. For more information or to register, contact Pat Rudloff at silverlining6@charter.net.

Friday, Jan. 14

▪ Highland Fish Fry — 4-7 p.m. VFW Post 5694, 1900 VFW Road, Highland. Fish, chicken, shrimp, sides. Carryout and limited indoor dining. Masks required for customers going through the serving line. No call-in orders. facebook.com/vfwpost5694

Saturday, Jan. 15

Book Sale — 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Jan. 15. Tri Township Library, 209 S. Main St., Troy. Book donations accepted during the book sale and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays. Book sale sponsored by the Friends of the Library. 618-667-2133.

Saturday, Jan. 15, & Sunday, Jan. 16

▪ St. Louis Symphony Orchestra: ‘Romeo and Juliet’ — 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 15, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 16. Powell Hall, 718 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis. Valerie Coleman’s “Umoja” sways, bringing us together. Virtuoso violinist Augustin Hadelich soars and stuns in Samuel Barber’s tender concerto. Stéphane Denève shares his favorite moments from Sergei Prokofiev’s ballet, bringing us along in the youthful lust and fury of William Shakespeare’s classic tale. slso.org

Sunday, Jan. 16

▪ Albers Legion Chicken Dinner — 4:30-6:30 p.m. American Legion Post 1026, 600 N. Bertha St., Albers. Menu: 1/2 chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, slaw, bread and butter, coffee, tea, dessert. Cost: $12 adults, $5 kids ages 5-12, under 5 eat free. Bingo players eat for $10. 618-248-5505.

Tuesday, Jan. 18

▪ Parents of Addicted Loved Ones — 7-8:30 p.m. Online via Zoom. The PAL group provides education, support and hope to family members and loved ones of someone who has an addiction of substance use disorder. If you would like to join the teleconference, please call/text 618-567-6095 or email craigloddeke@yahoo.com. palgroup.org

Friday, Jan. 21, through Sunday, Jan. 23

▪ St. Louis Symphony Orchestra: ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1’ in Concert’ — 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21, and Saturday, Jan. 22; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 23. Powell Hall, 718 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis. The SLSO performs Alexandre Desplat’s epic score as the franchise’s seventh film is projected onto a giant screen. Join all your favorite characters—and not-so-favorite ones—as they encounter familiar dangers, new threats, and powerful friendships in this once-in-a-lifetime event. Ticketholders for the original March 20-22, 2020, concert dates: original tickets will be honored on the rescheduled dates. 314-534-1700 or slso.org.

Christmas Tree Recycling

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Carlyle Lake will be collecting used, real Christmas trees for the annual Christmas Tree Recycling Project. The Corps of Engineers, along with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, uses these trees to provide effective and economical fish habitat at Carlyle Lake.

Christmas trees can be donated through Sunday, Jan. 30, at the following locations: Plant Land (located on Old Route 50 east of Breese), Dam East Highwater Boat Ramp, and the Little Prairie Nature Trail parking lot located in the West Spillway at Carlyle Lake. All decorations, including garland and tinsel, must be removed. No artificial trees or wreaths.

Every spring, volunteers from various conservation minded organizations and clubs donate their time to help submerge the trees in the lake as fish shelters. These fish shelters provide breeding areas, resting places, and protection. They give young fish much needed living spaces where they can feed on plankton and avoid being preyed upon by larger fish. The protection provided by the trees allow young fish to grow to maturity and ultimately provide more fish for anglers.

If you are interested in volunteering to help place Christmas trees in the lake in the spring, contact the Carlyle Lake/Kaskaskia Navigation Project Office at 618-594-2484 or email at carlylelake@usace.army.mil.

HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital Breese welcomes first baby of 2022

HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital Breese welcomed Camden Blake Myers as the first baby born at the hospital in 2022.

He arrived at 12:56 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 1, weighing 6 pounds 7 ounces and 20 inches long. Camden’s parents are Patrick and Katelyn Myers of Vandalia.

Camden has an older brother, Hudson, who is 2 and was born at St. Joseph’s Hospital as well. His grandparents are J.D. and Amy Vieregge of Vandalia and Don and Dana Myers of Cresson, Pennsylvania.

In celebration of being the first baby born in 2022 at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Camden and his family were presented with a gift from St. Joseph’s Women and Infants Center. The gift included a book, a stuffed turtle, a car seat cover, baby wipes and an outfit. In addition, St. Joseph’s Hospital auxiliary gifted Camden with a handmade baby blanket and an ornament.

The parents shared Hayley Schleuter, RN helped with the delivery of their first son and she was also there for Camden’s delivery.

For more information about HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital Breese, visit the hospital’s website at stjoebreese.com.

This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 3:13 PM.