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Today Is

National Black Cat Day

It’s National Black Cat Day on October 27th! Black cats need a little positive PR as their reputation as an omen of bad luck is well-known (and unearned, frankly). In the lead-up to Halloween, National Black Cat Day provides the chance for feline fans to show off their love for the oft-maligned, but always iconic animal.

Learn more about this and other holidays at National Today

‘Tis the Sneezin’ to Get Protected: IDPH Launches Campaign to Fight Triple Threat of COVID-19, Flu, RSV

State of Illinois is urging Illinoisans to get protection from the full range of seasonal respiratory viruses

CHICAGO – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has launched a new awareness campaign called ’Tis The Sneezin’ to remind residents to vaccinate against the fall and winter triple threat: the flu, COVID and RSV. The announcement comes as data indicates six counties in the state are at an elevated level for COVID-19 hospitalizations, according to the CDC’s national COVID Data Tracker<https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#maps_new-admissions-rate-county> as of the week ending October 14. However, the total number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state has been trending downward in recent weeks, with 503 hospitalizations for the week, down 8% from the previous week.

Also this week the CDC issued an alert to healthcare providers read more here advising of a shortage of a medication called nirsevimab which is used to protect infants from RSV. The CDC is recommending that doses should be prioritized for infants under 6 months and those with certain risk factors. The CDC also recommended that expectant parents talk to their healthcare provider about receiving an RSV vaccine approved for use during the 32nd to 36th week of pregnancy that protects newborns from RSV.

“IDPH is continuing to work closely with local, state, and federal partners to monitor the three respiratory viruses that caused last fall and winter’s tripledemic,” said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra. “We encourage all Illinois residents to do the same to prevent illness and protect yourself and your loved ones. The tools include washing your hands, improving ventilation inside your homes, staying home if sick, and getting immunized with the vaccines available to you. Why? Because . . . ‘Tis the Sneezin’.”

Highlighting a common way respiratory viruses spread, the ’Tis The Sneezin’ campaign showcases everyday moments interrupted by a common symptom of the flu, COVID and RSV, along with a punny call to action to encourage vaccinations. Following are some examples (click on links to see videos):

* Rideshare<https://youtu.be/vDYm7bj0wrs>: Don’t pick up illnesses this winter. Vaccines can keep you healthy through the holiday sneezin’.

* Elevator:<https://youtu.be/C4B_1KLx7v4> Ding! Sneezin’ season is coming up. Avoid coming down with symptoms by getting up to date on all vaccines.

* Detention:<https://youtu.be/wLq0OAm7hDo> Teach the flu, COVID and RSV a lesson on who’s boss. Get vaccinated and avoid the holiday sneezin’.

* Selfie:<https://youtu.be/vO6pyqt4cS8> Sickness always has the worst timing. Get protected from the holiday sneezin’ by getting vaccinated.

The campaign will reach Illinoisans in every corner of the state in both English and Spanish through a variety of traditional and online media channels, including cable, broadcast and connected TV; streaming audio and radio; billboards and bus shelters; digital display and video; print and social media.

In September, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended newly reformulated COVID-19 shots for everyone over the age of 6 months. The federal agencies have given the green light for updated mRNA vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer that target the currently circulating strains of the COVID-19 virus. They also have recently approved an updated Novavax COVID-19 vaccine.

These newly approved shots are considered safe when given at the same time as other vaccines for the flu and RSV.

Studies have consistently shown that COVID-19 vaccines lower the risk of getting symptomatic COVID-19 and improve protection against serious illness, hospitalization and death. New evidence is also emerging that it can protect you from long Covid and flu vaccines are also protective against heart disease. Most Americans can still get a COVID-19 vaccine for free. For people with health insurance, most plans will cover the COVID-19 vaccine at no cost. People who don’t have health insurance or with health plans that do not cover the cost can get a free vaccine from their local health centers and pharmacies.

For those who are uninsured or under-insured, the CDC this summer launched the Bridge Access Program<https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/bridge/index.html> that will cover the cost of COVID-19 vaccines this fall. The Vaccines for Children Program<https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/vfc/index.html> will cover vaccines for eligible children.

In June, the CDC’s ACIP recommended use of a single dose of RSV vaccine for persons 60 years of age and older. In August, ACIP also recommended a new preventive measure against RSV for infants under 8 months and toddlers at high risk, a new monoclonal antibody shot called nirsevimab. This medication was the subject of the CDC’s advisory that warned of shortages and urger healthcare provides to prioritize the use of nirsevimab.

On September 22, ACIP recommended seasonal administration of one dose of RSV vaccine during weeks 32 through 36 of pregnancy, to maximize protection for babies after birth.

For treatment of COVID-19, Illinoisans who experience symptoms can access no cost-share telehealth services through the SIU School of Medicine Covid Test to Treat<https://www.siumed.org/treatment/covid-19-test-treat-clinic> services or call (217) 545-5100.

Illinois has more than 170,000 courses of effective therapeutic medications, including Paxlovid and Lagevrio, supplied through the US government that are available through providers and pharmacies that will continue to be provided free of charge to those with Medicare, Medicaid and the uninsured until supplies run out. Paxlovid and Lagevrio will also be commercially available in November 2023.

The CDC recently launched a new national respiratory virus dashboard<https://static.prototype.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/index.html> that allows the public to view the levels of COVID-19, flu and RSV in each state.

Additional resources and COVID-19 data can be found at https://dph.illinois.gov/covid19.html.

The federal government has established a website that provides an all-purpose toolkit with information on how to obtain masks, treatment, vaccines and testing resources for all areas of the country at: https://www.covid.gov/.

Metropolis Police Department in Need of Dispatcher

/ WMOK

WMOK Staff

Oct 27, 2023 | 9:52 AM

(WMOK) Metropolis, IL – Metropolis Police Chief Harry Masse has advised that they are hiring a full time 911 dispatcher. Masse said that the position will likely be a night shift. 6p to 6a. (Union shop shift bids are twice a year by seniority)

Applications are available at Metropolis Police Department, 1020 Broadway St. Starting pay is $17.74 an hour plus benefits and retirement. .55 cents an hour shift differential for nights as well.

City of Metropolis Police Department is hiring a full-time dispatcher.

Candidates must meet the following criteria:

• 21 years of age

• US Citizen

• Work under stressful conditions

• Be able to deal with people under different stressful circumstances

• Pass drug test

• Pass criminal background test

• Pass IL State Police LEADS testing.

• Be able to type approx. 50 words per minute

• Be able to multi task under stressful situations

• Be able to work different shifts and holidays

• Excellent starting pay and benefits

You may pick up an application at City Hall or the Metropolis Police Department. Metropolis City Hall Jobs

The City of Metropolis is an equal opportunity employer.

The City of Metropolis will recruit, hire, train and promote into all job levels the most qualified individuals without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, disability, age, sexual orientation or affectional preference, military status, or status as a special disabled or Vietnam era veteran except where sex is a bona fide occupational qualification.

The City of Metropolis will prohibit harassment against any applicant or employee who is a member of one of these groups.

Applications will be accepted until close of business on Monday, November 27, 2023.

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WMOK Morning Show

6am to 10am

Monday thru Friday

Domestic Violence Awareness and Prevention Month:

Read more here on identifying an abusive relationship

If you’re in need of a pathway to exit an abusive relationship please contact
Massac County Guardian Family Services at
618-524-4357 (24⁄7)

WMOK Community Events Listing

How to Submit Your Event:

Via email to WMOKnews@frontier.com with the words “upcoming event” in the subject line

Via Facebook Messenger on the WMOK Facebook page

Via Text – 618-524-9209

Via Walk-In – Lobby Hours 8am to 10:30 or by appointment (text 618-524-9209)

Via Mail – 339 Fairgrounds Road, Metropolis IL 62960

City National Bank Coat Drive

City National Bank is accepting donations of new or gently used coats for youth in Massac County. Donations can be made at either branch location.

Monetary Donations can be made to City National Bank Attn Maggie PO Box 380 Metropolis, IL 62960.

Distributions will be made as requests are received or at the local schools week of November 13th.

Medicare Open Enrollment at Metropolis Happy Hearts in November

Must Schedule Appointment

(WMOK) Metropolis, IL – WMOK spoke with Betty at Happy Hearts about the upcoming Medicare Open Enrollment in November.

Betty told WMOK that Medicare Open Enrollment will be offered every Wednesday in November at Happy Hearts.

You must schedule an appointment. To do so – call 618-524-9755

Reminders from the Massac County Tax Assessors Office

(WMOK) Metropolis, IL – Massac County Supervisor of Assessments Gary Hamm has advised of upcoming reminders that homeowners will want to be aware of.

November 6th is the last day to file an appeal for the 2023 assessment year. You can file your appeal through the assessments office (1 Superman Square RM 1A, Metropolis) or by emailing garyhamm@massaccountyil.gov

Hamm also advised that splits and combinations requested after the date of July 31st 2023 will not be completed until the following assessment year. He asks that folks are mindful of this in their home closings.

Hear our Coffee Break from earlier this year with Gary Hamm here – We discussed Things homeowners can do to improve resale value of home, tax bills, things that can effect taxes and “the senior freeze”.

Saturday, October 28

10A-2P – National Drug Take Back Day – Hosted by Metropolis Police Department and partnered with the Massac County Drug Awareness Coalition (McDAC), Representative Patrick Windhorst and Senator David Fowler. This initiative addresses a “public safety and health issue” because medicines that are left too long in households can be easily vulnerable to misuse and abuse. Please bring your unused medication to the front lobby of the Metropolis Police Department located at 1020 Broadway St., Metropolis IL and they will take it off your hands and incinerate them.

11A-3P – Grace Church, 102 E. 20th St., will host a free community meal on the fourth Saturday of each month. Everyone is welcome.

11A-3P – Massac County Drug Awareness Coalition – Free Laundry Event! – Come wash up to 3 loads of laundry on MCDAC. This will take place at Super Suds Coin Laundry on the corner of 5th and Scott Streets. Detergent and dryer sheets will be provided by MCDAC ROSC. There will also be information, resources, and free narcan will be available. For more questions or information, please call MCDAC at (618) 524- 1393.

Fort Massac Trunk or Treat – Costume Contest at 4P Trunk or Treat at 5P

5p-8p – City of Golconda Trick or Treating

5-8P – First Baptist Church Golconda – Trunk or Treat

6-8P – The Massac Historical Society is hosting an all new and improved haunted walk thru of the historic Elijah P Curtis home on 405 Market Street Metropolis IL. The crew has gone all out to transform the home to get you in the Halloween Spirit. The Society holds 2 fund raisers a year to help keep the historic home open for tours to the public and the Halloween Haunt is 1 of them. $5 entry fee and children under 10 are free with an adult. The Society will be giving away a beautiful fall wreath that evening and your ticket for the haunted walk will get you in the drawing for the wreath. Light refreshments will be served. Come help this group keep the Curtis home alive.

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Monday, October 30

9a – 3p – COPE Food Pantry takes place in Metropolis today and every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1013 North Avenue – please bring your photo ID and proof of Massac County residency.

Massac County High School National Honor Society will hold a trunk-or-treat from 5-6 p.m. The honor society invites grade school aged children and encourages costumes. The Trunk or Treat will be held in the front parking lot of Massac High

Tuesday, October 31

The Kiwanis Club of Metropolis meets every Tuesday at noon at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 520 Ferry Street in Metropolis

City of Metropolis Trick or Treating

City-Wide Trick or Treating in Brookport from 5-8p

City-wide Trick or Treating – Village of Joppa – 5-8P

City-Wide Trick or Treating in Vienna from 5-8p

WMOK has confirmed with both nursing facilities in Metropolis that they will accept Trick or Treaters from 5 until 8pm in the lobby of their facilities.

Southgate Nursing and Rehabilitation Center – 900 E 9th St, Metropolis

Metropolis Rehabilitation & Health Care Center – 2299 Metropolis St, Metropolis

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Save the Date

Sunday, November 5, 2023

Clocks will “fall back” one hour at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, November 5, 2023.

Saturday, November 11 – Veterans Day

Monday, November 13 – Friday, November 17

City of Metropolis Clean Up Week – All items must be at your normal pick up place and within 5 feet of the trash container. All Items should be bagged or contained – anything loose should be bundled so that it can be handled by one employee. Lumber will be picked up in small amounts only and must be stacked in 3’x3′ rolls. Carpet and padding must also be rolled in no larger than 3’x3′ rolls. Items that will not be picked up include: electronics, appliances, yard waste, hazardous or medical waste, construction and demolition debris, tires, batteries and paint cans (unless empty and dry).

Friday, November 17 5:30P

Massac Memorial Hospital Foundation Christmas Dueling Pianos – featuring Steve Heisner and John Windings at Shawnee Community College. Tickets are $30 until Nov 3rd. Silent Auction & Appetizers will start at 5:30 and event at 7:00pm. You may purchase tickets via the website or by calling Robbin McDaniel at 618-524-2176 x3113. Tickets can be purchase after Nov.3rd and at the door for $35

Thursday, November 23 – Thanksgiving

Friday, November 24 – Black Friday

Saturday, November 25 – Small Business Saturday

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Illinois and Beyond

Authorities scour woods, water and homes on Day 2 of search for suspect in Maine mass shooting

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Authorities scoured the woods and hundreds of acres of family-owned property, sent dive teams with sonar to the bottom of a river and scrutinized a possible suicide note Friday in the second day of their intensive search for an Army reservist accused of fatally shooting 18 people and wounding 13 at a bowling alley and a bar in Maine.

Nearly two days after the shooting, law enforcement officials gave no indication that they have any leads on Robert Card’s whereabouts. During a lengthy news conference absent of any major developments, Maine Department of Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck would only say that authorities are leaving all their options open.

“We’re going to be all over the place,” Sauschuck said. “That’s not saying that we know that the individual is in this house, you know, in that house or they’re in that swath of land, this acreage.”

Generation Gap

15 Great Family-Friendly Halloween Movies to Watch This Year

‘Ghostbusters’ and ‘Spirited Away’ won’t terrify the kids or bore the adults.

Getting a group of people to agree on what movie to watch is hard under any circumstances—especially if the group spans a wide age range. The task becomes tougher still if you’re confined to spooky movies in honor of Halloween. Naturally, you’ll want to steer clear of heavy-duty horror flicks for the sake of any young kids in your party. But you also don’t want to choose a movie so geared toward the tykes that it’s a snooze-fest for everyone else.

To find a happy medium, UK-based holiday park operator Parkdean Resorts recently devised a system that ranks spooky movies based on their family-friendliness. First, the researchers compiled a list of movies with G and PG ratings, plus some comparably mild Halloween-appropriate programs that premiered on television (e.g. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and the 1998 Disney Channel Original Movie Halloweentown).

Read More: Read the full article here

Ron Howard's wife had never seen The Andy Griffith Show when they started going out

Great Westerns toy with tension just as much as any horror master. On TV, Westerns like Rawhide, The Rifleman, Bonanza and Wagon Train occasionally ventured into spooky territory, spinning ghost stories and introducing spellbinding witches. These episodes weren’t just scary, they were often tragic, and the result is a more haunting effect than you might expect from the Old West, even with all its ghost towns.

Ready to see The Rifleman shaking in his boots? Here are the scariest episodes from classic TV Westerns, where cowboys donned masks and their piebald steers ended up as dark omens branded with “Murder.”

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Happy Hearts
Technology Time
with WMOK

To all of our Happy Hearts learners – we want you to keep working on this daily routine of texting. Also – Continue to write down any questions that you have about your phone so that we can assist you with those when we meet at happy hearts on October 25th.

Millennials to lead Halloween spending while other generations cut back

While 45% of overall consumers are expected to cut back on spending this Halloween, millennials are expected to drive spending for the spooky holiday, according to new data from e-commerce company Jungle Scout.

According to the new research, 41% of millennials said they expect to spend more than they did last year on Halloween items. This number is a contrast to Gen X and baby-boomer generations, where 52% and 50% respectively anticipate spending less. Jungle Scout notes that millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) are nearly twice as likely to have children under the age of 18 compared to other generations, likely explaining the increased expected spending.

Boomers appear to be the most consistent with their past habits as 43% expect to spend about the same on Halloween this year as they did in 2022. According to the data, Gen Z’s planned spending most closely matches overall consumer sentiment, with 47% of them planning to spend less

WMOK School and Sports News

Massac County Unit #1

11:30 am dismissal – Friday, October 27th, 2023 (Student Half-Day/School Improvement Day)

Massac County High School Athletics – Monday 10/23 through Saturday 10/28

Massac County Sports are brought to you on WMOK by:

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City National Bank of Metropolis

Massac Memorial Hospital

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Home of Superman – City of Metropolis, IL

Monday

MCHS is excited to host an IHSA 2A Volleyball Regional this week. Play begins tonight with two quarterfinal matches at 6:00 and 7:00pm. Admission is $5 each night, come out this week to enjoy some great volleyball action and help cheer on the girls

Good luck to the Massac County FR/SO football team as they travel to face off with the Pinckneyville Panthers tonight at 6:00pm in their season finale

Tuesday

Here is the updated Massac County IHSA 2A Volleyball Regional bracket following quarterfinal play last night. Tonight the semi-finals begin with Massac County vs A-J at 6:00pm followed by Murphysboro vs Vienna at 7:00pm

Massac County Volleyball will play in the first semi-final this evening of the IHSA 2A Regional tournament at 6:00pm as they host the Lady Wildcats from Anna-Jonesboro. Show up to pack the gym and cheer on these girls

The Massac County Volleyball team rolled through the semi-final tonight over A-J in two sets and advanced to the 2A Regional Championship on Thursday night at 6:00pm where they will take on Murphysboro

Wednesday

No Events Scheduled

Winter sports participants: FamilyID Registration is now open for the Winter 2023-24 season. A parent/guardian must complete this prior to tryouts or practices starting. Use the QR code or click here