Downtown Mural

Orphans Mural Goes Up Downtown

A new historic mural dedicated to the Centralia High School Orphan basketball team’s legacy, has been installed on the east wall of the Uptown Café. This is the second in a series of murals planned by the Chamber of Commerce Image Committee.

Image Committee Chairman Todd Dobbs said, “I am excited to see the year of work and planning that went into this project coming to fruition; what might seem like a fairly simple task, once again proved to be a tedious and painstaking process in order to achieve the desired outcome.”

The mural is a graphic artist’s rendition of an actual photograph taken by Centralia Sentinel photographer Brian Hunt at the last game the Centralia Orphans basketball team played in historic Trout gym. Not only does it recognize the fabled teams’ history but the accomplishment of being the nation’s most winning High School basketball team in the 20th century.

The goal has been to have the mural in place in time for this year’s Fall Fest & Halloween Parade according to Dobbs, “We were able to overcome some last minute technical issues to meet our deadline and are very pleased with the results.”

A plaque describing the Orphans’ record of achievement will be unveiled at a later date in conjunction with a dedication ceremony. Lighting for the mural will also be installed similar to the lighting on the American Legion’s building.

Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Bob Kelsheimer said, “The murals are a part of a long term plan and a coordinated effort between the Chamber’s Image Committee and the City of Centralia to attract new businesses and visitors to the downtown business district. The Image Committee’s artist’s renderings coupled with the City’s façade improvement program facilitated the building improvements we see today. This process began in earnest two years ago and kicked into high gear starting with façade improvements at the Stanford building on Third Street. The vision created by the Chamber’s Image Committee and City leaders has become a reality, and today we see an ever growing and vibrant “Towne Centre”.

The next two projects the Chamber’s Image Committee will be undertaking is a Civil War mural and a historic downtown walking tour guide.

Trick-or-Treat

Mayor Rebecca Ault would like to announce that this year’s Trick-or-Treat Night for the City of Centralia will be on Friday, October 30^th from 6 to 8 p.m. for children 12 years of age and under. Please be aware that rain does not cancel Trick-or-Treat; parents are urged to use their own judgment if inclement weather is present.

Collection Routes Change in October

Effective Monday, October 5, 2009 collection routes for garbage, refuse, yard waste and city wide cleanup will change for some citizens in Centralia. Veolia ES Solid Waste Management L.L.C. will be implementing the new collection routes in an effort to improve service delivery and expedite collection processes. The northeastern portion of the City, which formally received collection on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will now begin to receive collection services on Monday. This will include streets north of McCord Street (Illinois RT. 161) and east of the Canadian National rail line. Tuesday collection, which was previously an area in the south central portion of the city including Fourteenth Street on the south to Calumet Street, Sycamore Street east to Perrine and north to Second Street, will now, be west of the Canadian National rail line and north of Seventh Street, in the vicinity of Beech Street. Wednesday routes, which used to be an area west of Pleasant Street and north of McCord to Brookside Avenue then west of Brookside to the City limits, will now be streets west of Lincoln, south of McCord and north of Calumet with the west boundary in the vicinity of Beech Street. Thursday routes, which used to be the eastern side of the City from Gragg on the north to Calumet on the south, Perrine and Lincoln on the west will be the same with the addition of Lincoln to Perrine, north of Calumet to Second Street and eliminating collection north of McCord Street (Illinois RT. 161) to Gragg Street which will be moved to the Monday route. Friday collection, formally in the north, west and south areas of the City, will now be streets south of Calumet and west of Pleasant Street with the western boundary being Brookside Avenue.

A detailed map of the new collection schedule may be found on the City’s website: www.cityofcentralia.org. For more information or general inquiries on collection schedules or services, please contact Veolia toll free at (888) 867-8066. Residents may also contact the City Yards (618) 533-7640 or City Hall (618) 533-7623 with additional inquiries.