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BenGil Staff 03:00 pm | Monday

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Ninth Annual Tour de Coal Bike Ride is Sept. 27

BenGil Staff 01:04 pm | [caption id="attachment_3363" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Riders engage in either a 15 mile, 36 mile, or 66 mile trail.[/caption] Join the Coal Country Chamber of Commerce on its ninth annual Tour de Coal bicycle ride on Saturday, September 27, 2014, at the Benld City Hall. The Tour de Coal is for riders of all ages and abilities who have an interest in cycling in the Macoupin County, Ill., area. The ride will be held in conjunction with the 15th Annual Fall Festival held at the Benld City Park, where the bike ride ends. Choose from a 13.6-mile family ride, a mid-length 35-mile ride or a metric century (64.8 miles). The terrain is flat to rolling with some hills. Registration is from 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the Benld City Hall-Civic Center on the day of the event. You can save money by registering in advance either by mail or through Active.com. Advance registration is $15 per person and $40 for a family of three or more people living in the same household. On the day of the ride, the cost is $20 per person and $50 for family of three or more people living in the same household. The Tour de Coal will have something new this year. There will be a mass start beginning at 7:00 a.m. for those riding the metric century. If you're wanting to find someone with similar riding skills, this is a good way to find them. It will start at the registration area on Central Avenue (Rt. 138). All other riders will start their ride heading north on Second Street as in the past. The mass start is NOT mandatory for metric century riders. If you plan to ride the metric century and do not want to start at 7:00 a.m., that is alright too. Out-of-town visitors to the Tour de Coal can camp at Benld City Park on Friday night, which is just 1 block north of the Benld Civic Center. For information about camping, contact Mickey Robinson at (217) 710-5218 or mrer@madisontelco.com. Bananas, bottled water and oatmeal cookies will be available at the registration desk the day of the ride. Preregistration by September 15 guarantees a t-shirt. Late registration will be honored with t-shirts while supplies last. A portion of each person’s registration fee will go to Fight the Fight, a local program which helps families with large unexpected medical costs. Other proceeds from Tour de Coal will be used by the Coal Country Chamber of Commerce to improve the communities of Benld, Dorchester, Eagarville, East Gillespie, Gillespie, Mount Clare, Sawyerville and Wilsonville. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - There are plenty of ways to keep up on BenGil news: Sign up for our weekly email newsletter Follow us on Twitter for the fastest breaking news updates and score updates Like us on Facebook for a slightly different take…

Person identified after criminal damage to storage center

BenGil Staff 05:01 am | The Gillespie Police Department has identified a person of interest following several reports of criminal damage to the storage facility in the 200 block of Southern Street. The police department received multiple reports of criminal damage to the Gillespie Mini Storage facility during the morning hours of Tuesday, July 15. The storage facility is located east of Quality Motors and southeast of Dollar General. Illinois State Police crime scene technicians and Gillespie police officers were on the scene during the morning hours of Tuesday and had the east end of the storage facility taped off with yellow barricade tape. The Gillespie Police Department is conducting the investigation, but crime scene technicians from the Illinois State Police are processing the evidence. It is unclear how many storage units were damaged during the incident. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - There are plenty of ways to keep up on BenGil news: Sign up for our weekly email newsletter Follow us on Twitter for the fastest breaking news updates and score updates Like us on Facebook for a slightly different take…

Annual kids and family concert to end Community Band’s season

BenGil Staff 04:13 am | The Heritage Community Band will wrap up their summer concert season with a final performance Thursday evening, July 31, at 7:30 p.m. under the bandstand behind Staunton Public Library. The band will play with guest soloist, Dr. Pineda, and Aaron Schmidt. The concert will be packed with fun and music for the kids with Staunton native Dr. Kris Pineda and Aaron Schmidt. Pineda will be a guest soloist and Schmidt, an old band favorite, will be playing the tuba this week. The free concert is perfect for the whole family. The Heritage Community Band is the municipal band of Staunton, Mt. Olive, Gillespie and Benld. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - There are plenty of ways to keep up on BenGil news: Sign up for our weekly email newsletter Follow us on Twitter for the fastest breaking news updates and score updates Like us on Facebook for a slightly different take…