Gary & Greg join Big Jake's show today as the Gaetti Sports Academy on Thursday, March 27th from 6pm to 9pm will celebrate their 5th Anniversary and Gary Gaetti Day AND it's on opening day of baseball! Enjoy the crawfish boil prepared by Gary with all proceeds going to benefit the Dream Come True Prom!

Participate in the fun activities with prizes including the Home Run contest as well as the Longest Drive contest on our new golf simulator.

Watch as the St. Louis Cardinals take on the Minnesota Twins. And enjoy the Gary Gaetti latte (hot or iced) at the Rail RAIL Coffee Room all week. See you on Thursday!

 

The Painted Cowgirl Market on N. Old Salem Road in Mt. Vernon is hosting a Harvest Festival & Veterans Salute this weekend, Saturday & Sunday from 9a-3p both days. The Festival will feature over 60 vendors, antique tractors, food trucks, and a blacksmith demonstration. Gwen Hails is the owner of The Painted Cowgirl Market. She says while this weekend is for her business and area vendors to come together to provide a kickoff to some great holiday shopping for the community; she says it's also about honoring those that made weekends like this possible. Cowboy Church will take place on Sunday morning at 10am on the grounds of The Painted Cowgirl Market. This is a rain or shine event.

 
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Whitney Hodge was on the Morning Show to talk about the 13th Annual Cooking for CASA event coming up on January 18th.

Local business men and women, civic leaders, and others will prepare their favorite dishes and compete for their chance to win a Golden Skillet. Chefs will face off in a fun filled evening where guest are able to sample a variety of foods from different categories, so bring your appetite and tip money for your favorite chef so they can take home the People's Choice Golden Skillet! While this is a competition, it is all in good fun and a way to support foster children in Jefferson County.

5:00 - Doors Open5:30 - Program Begins6:00 - Serving Begins7:30 - Silent auction closes, Live auction begins8:00 - Chef and Auction winners announced

Tickets:$50/person$500/table of 10

Tickets can be purchased at the CASA office at 612 N. 12th St. or online:

Call the CASA office at 618-204-5453 for more information or to purchase tickets.

 
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Whitney Hodge joins Big Jake's show to discuss the importance of CASA to Jefferson County as well as their upcoming Fried Chicken Dinner Fundraiser this weekend. Learn more about CASA and how you can become an advocate for foster children in Jefferson County via this interview!

 

We are in serious need of foster parents in this area! However, just because fostering may not be the right fit for you, doesn't mean there aren't other ways to help!

As of 7/31/24, there are 176 Jefferson County children in foster care. Only 92 of those children have a CASA Advocate. The #1 reason that we are not serving 100% of the children is due to a lack of volunteers.

Our volunteers spend an average of 5-10 hours per month advocating for a foster child or set of siblings. Those hours would include meeting with the child monthly, maintaining contact with the caseworker, service providers and CASA supervisor and attending court hearings and case meetings when needed. The CASA advocate is the eyes and the ears for the judge outside of the courtroom and the voice for the child in the courtroom. A New Advocate Training class will begin in October!

 
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