Oakley Dam: A Rising Tide Now that I’m a famous Mahomet Citizen columnist when I run into people around town they frequently ask me questions about the Sangamon River. Questions like “Hey, Scott, have there been any articles written about the Sangamon River by U.S. Supreme Court Justices in Playboy Magazine?” I of course respond “Why yes, I know of […]

  I’ve always looked up to Eagle Scouts, the highest rank in Scouting. I was a Boy Scout once, advancing all the way to the exalted-sounding rank of “Tenderfoot.” For me to be an Eagle, I’d have had to continue through Second Class, First Class, Star and Life (and who knows how many “snipe hunts”). And then I would have […]

Driving across the Sangamon River at Reas Bridge Road, my first thought was, “They were going to dam the Sangamon here?”  My second thought was, “Just where the heck is the Sangamon River anyway?” ‘Here’ was on a bluff by an old cemetery just north of Reas Bridge Road overlooking the Sangamon River, also known in these parts as Lake […]

  As ET, the Extra Terrestrial, turns thirty this month, it seems appropriate that our “Notes from the River” reveals the dark truth about our own alien invasion right here in the Sangamon River Valley. Yes it’s true, the Sangamon River Valley is being attacked by alien invaders. Many of these silent killers live right among us, hiding in plain […]

  I woke up this morning to a frozen Sangamon River. Well, nearly so at least. It was one of the first significant freezes of the year, which is pretty unusual, actually. It’s typically much more frozen this time of year and a lot higher. I remember a few years back in January, the river was up at least 20 […]