Ben Singson

Jacksonville

Jacksonville Journal-Courier reporter. Mizzou 2021. He/him. My last name is pronounced “sing-sawn”. Retweets =/= endorsements.

Articles

Meredosia performing arts camp interweaves faith and artistic expression

1 week ago | bnd.com | Ben Singson

An overnight camp in Meredosia is inviting campers to embrace their creativity while also deepening their faith. Green Pastures Christian Retreat Center kicked off its first of three weekend performing arts camps on Friday. Each overnight camp runs through Saturday and interweaves the arts with faith-based education. Some 61 campers from incoming fifth through 12th grades attended the camp's first weekend.
MacMurray Foundation hands out scholarships to MacMurray Scholars

2 weeks ago | bnd.com | Ben Singson

MacMurray Foundation & Alumni Association has chosen its newest class of MacMurray Scholars. Some 39 college students will receive scholarships worth between $1,500 and $5,000 from the foundation. About 15 are from the Jacksonville area, including Springfield, with other recipients hailing from eight states other than Illinois.
Air conditioners, copper pipes stolen from Jacksonville worksite

2 weeks ago | bnd.com | Ben Singson

Jacksonville police are investigating the theft of about $7,000 worth of air conditioners and copper pipes from a Jacksonville worksite. Police were called Monday to a building at 600 E. State St. by a contractor working on the facility's heating and air-conditioning system. The contractors said two air-conditioning units and accompanying copper pipes were taken during the weekend, according to police reports.
Rushville nonprofit holding airplane ride fundraiser

2 weeks ago | bnd.com | Ben Singson

RUSHVILLE - Schuyler Veterans Homes is raising money by offering rides in an airplane. The nonprofit that builds homes for veterans will offer airplane rides from 7:30 a.m. to dusk June 21 at Schuy-Rush Airport on County Farm Road. No reservations are required. Passengers ages 5 and younger will get to fly free while those ages 6 to 10 can fly for $10 and older passengers can fly for $25. In case of inclement weather, the flights will be held June 22. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Rushville nonprofit holding airplane ride fundraiser

2 weeks ago | myjournalcourier.com | Ben Singson

RUSHVILLE — Schuyler Veterans Homes is raising money by offering rides in an airplane. The nonprofit that builds homes for veterans will offer airplane rides from 7:30 a.m. to dusk June 21 at Schuy-Rush Airport on County Farm Road. No reservations are required. Article continues below this adPassengers ages 5 and younger will get to fly free while those ages 6 to 10 can fly for $10 and older passengers can fly for $25. In case of inclement weather, the flights will be held June 22.
Pig Days returning to Pike courthouse for weekend

2 weeks ago | myjournalcourier.com | Ben Singson

PITTSFIELD — Pig Days is returning this weekend to Pike County Courthouse. The festival will be Friday and Saturday on the courthouse lawn, bringing with it family fun, competitions and live entertainment, according to Pittsfield Lions Club, which is sponsoring the event.
Display on centennial celebration proof of Jacksonville's civic pride, creator says

2 weeks ago | lakecountystar.com | Ben Singson

A poster for Jacksonville's October 1925 centennial pageant sits alongside other photographs and artifacts in a new display at Jacksonville Public Library. Morgan County Historical Society Vice President Chad Boehlke, who created the display, said the celebration is a sign of the city's civic pride. Ben Singson/Journal-CourierOriginal documents from Jacksonville's 1925 centennial committee sit inside a display at Jacksonville Public Library.
New taxes on gas, tobacco, sports betting to take effect in July

2 weeks ago | bnd.com | Ben Singson

New taxes are set to hit the books in Illinois now that Gov. JB Pritzker's state budget has been approved. The state General Assembly passed Pritzker's record-breakingly large budget Sunday, approving a $55.2 billion spending plan for Fiscal Year 2026. With it comes a host of new taxes, many of them set to go into effect July 1. The state's motor fuel tax automatically will rise on that date.
Jacksonville directors crowdfunding to bring zombie apocalypse to region

3 weeks ago | bnd.com | Ben Singson

A pair of Jacksonville creatives want to give the zombie apocalypse a west-central Illinois spin. Devin Smock and Samuel David are raising money to produce and shoot "Holler," a post-apocalyptic western horror movie set to be filmed in and around west-central Illinois. Smock has launched crowdfunding pages on both Kickstarter and IndieGoGo, asking for $5,000 to make the movie. A trailer for the movie was released May 26.
Fourth annual Juneteenth coming to downtown Jacksonville

3 weeks ago | bnd.com | Ben Singson

Jacksonville's branch of the NAACP is set to put on its yearly celebration of Juneteenth. The city's fourth annual celebration of Juneteenth will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 19 on the downtown square. The event will feature history, scholarships games and vendors. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1863, when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, were informed by Union soldiers of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, the document that ended slavery in the United States.