Illinois State Police say 72-year-old Louisville resident David C. Beccue died in a single-vehicle accident early yesterday morning in Clay County. Per state police, at approximately 12:15, Beccue was westbound on Sailor Springs Road in a 2019 Ford Ranger. For unknown reasons, he left the roadway, overturned, was ejected, and was fatally injured. No further information will be disseminated at this time.
Franklin County detectives responded to rural Benton Wednesday afternoon to a discovery of human remains. Franklin County Chief Deputy Kyle Bacon says it is believed the remains are those of Orient resident Joshua R. Brock, who went missing on October 9th. Deputy Bacon says an autopsy is scheduled, and no further information in the case will be released at this time. The sheriff’s office was assisted by Illinois State Police Crime Scene Services, the Franklin County Coroner’s Office, and the Benton Fire Department.
Wayne County deputies arrested 46-year-old Fairfield resident Franklin R. Price yesterday morning. He was wanted on a Williamson County failure to appear warrant for petition to revoke probation on a charge of failure to register as a sex offender. Price was taken to the Wayne County Jail and held, pending the posting of $575 bond.
30-year-old Flora resident Cody M. Kell was arrested by Clay County deputies on January 13th. He was wanted on a Clay County warrant for failure to appear in court on a charge of battery, and bond was set at $375. He appeared in Clay County Court and was released. He was also wanted on an Edwards County failure to appear warrant for theft, and bond for that warrant was set at $175. Clay County officials say he was taken to Edwards County.
The White County Farm Bureau plans to hold its 101st Annual Meeting on next Friday at its office building on 304 East Robinson Street in Carmi. The meeting will begin at 10:30 a.m. and will include various reports, approval on acts and deeds of the Board of Directors, and election of officers and directors. The meeting will conclude with lunch, catered by Yesterday’s Catering. Reservations are requested by contacting the Farm Bureau office by the end of today.
Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White says all Secretary of State departments and facilities will reopen for in-person transactions on Monday, January 24th. Driver services facilities operating on a Tuesday-Saturday schedule will reopen Tuesday. All departments and facilities had been closed since January 3rd due to COVID-19 cases surging statewide.
Significant funding is on the way for Lock and Dam 25 on the Mississippi River just north of St. Louis. Jim Tarman with the Illinois Corn Growers Association says the project will be fully funded at $732 million. He says the project has already partly begun, and he is excited to get the project fully underway. Tarman has served the ICGA since 1994.
The Fairfield Community High School Board of Education met last night and heard the tentative date for graduation is May 15th. Prom is scheduled to be held on April 23rd; a tentative 2022-2023 school calendar is under review and will be voted on next month. In personnel moves, the board accepted the resignation of custodian Dana Felowitz, effective February 20th.
Due to the amount of staff and students who are absent because of COVID, Fairfield District 112 will not be in session today. This includes both North Side and Center Street Schools. The district will use an emergency day to be made up at the end of the school year.
With a delayed primary this year, Illinois saw a fifth Republican candidate for governor enter the race recently in Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin. State Senator Darren Bailey announced his run last year, and he says Irvin and his policies expose what is wrong with the Republican Party, which is sell-out Republicans. He says much of the state’s Republican leadership has put itself behind Irvin.
The IDPH reported 59 new cases of COVID-19 in Wayne County yesterday. Case numbers in Edwards County jumped by 21, Wabash County by 60, and Hamilton County by 25. Richland County cases increased by 91, Lawrence County by 80, and White County by 46. Marion and Jefferson counties had the biggest jumps in the immediate area at 142 and 99 cases, respectively. As a state, Illinois announced 23,246 new cases and 198 deaths. Statewide totals sat at 2,732,720 cases and 29,708 deaths. The Southern Region had a seven-day positivity rate of 18.9 percent on the 17th, up from 17.7 percent on the 16th.
Fairfield Memorial Hospital and Horizon Healthcare request the public’s assistance in helping slow the spread and surge in COVID and influenza cases gripping the nation and community. They say the pandemic is not over, and we all need to do our part in helping one another by wearing a mask, avoiding public gatherings, washing hands frequently, socially distancing, getting vaccinated and boosted, and staying home when sick.
Governor J.B. Pritzker has announced a new round of Back to Business Grants for small businesses. The latest round is more than $111 million, per the governor, funding more than 2,900 grants to businesses still recovering from the pandemic. The money is meant to help with things like hiring staff and maintaining COVID protocols. The deadline to apply for the grants has passed, but grants will continue to go to previous applicants until funds are exhausted.
The ag sector continues to keep an eye on 2022 input costs, especially fertilizer prices. Gary Schnitkey with the University of Illinois says inflation is a part of the equation. He says, as of last month, the inflation rate is 7.1 percent, the highest since the 1970s. Much of that has to do with supply chain issues and scarcity of goods.
River stages as of this morning: the Little Wabash east of Fairfield stands at 8.12 feet, below the 17 ft. flood stage. Meanwhile, the Skillet Fork at Wayne City has a reading of 5.22 feet (flood stage is 15 ft.). The Little Wabash below Clay City is at 6.40 feet (flood stage is 18 ft.). Bonpas Creek at Browns reads 2.56 feet, and the Little Wabash at Main Street in Carmi reads 5.89 feet. The Wabash River at Mt. Carmel sits at 8.33 feet.
Today’s crude oil price is $80.00, unchanged from yesterday. The February crude oil price is $83.97, down $2.37 from yesterday morning.