Fire departments were called to a fire in Crossville last night on Main Street that reportedly spanned multiple blocks at times. The fire appeared to originate from a vacant building near Citizens National Bank, and firemen worked to keep the wall of a destroyed building from falling onto the bank next door. No injuries were reported, but the fire did cause damage to electric lines, leading to widespread power outages in the area.
25-year-old Fairfield resident Russell W. Tyler was sentenced in Wayne County Circuit Court yesterday. He pleaded guilty to an amended count of battery, a Class A misdemeanor. Tyler was sentenced to one year probation and time served, and a separate count was dismissed. He was also ordered to pay $642 in fines and court costs.
Minor injuries were reported in a two-vehicle crash near Carmi yesterday morning. According to Illinois State Police, at approximately 5:41, 38-year-old Eldorado resident Damion J. Goben was southbound in a 2007 Dodge Dakota, and 55-year-old Carmi resident Dwayne L. Cunningham was northbound in a 2016 GMC Sierra. Police say Goben lost control due to heavy ice on the roadway, crossed the center line, and hit Cunningham head-on. Goben was taken by ambulance to an area hospital, and Cunningham refused medical attention.
Fairfield police arrested 21-year-old Fairfield resident Joshua L. Smothers last night on a charge of driving suspended or revoked. He was booked in the Wayne County Jail and released after posting $270 bond.
The Fairfield Rotary Club became the next group to endorse the proposed Business District for the City after a presentation yesterday by Mayor Dreith. The City Council will vote on its implementation on March 8th at City Hall after a public hearing that day at 5:30. The district would increase the sales tax by one percent in its boundaries on certain products, but medicine, grocery food, and new vehicles would be excluded. The Rotary joins the Lions Club, Volunteers for a Progressive Fairfield, and the Chamber of Commerce in supporting the idea.
Fairfield Memorial Hospital has announced Stephen Welty, who has been with FMH since 2017 as a Certified Diabetes Educator, is now a licensed Family Nurse Practitioner. Welty will care for patients for acute and chronic conditions at Horizon Healthcare’s Rural Health Clinics, especially for patients who are diabetic or at risk for diabetes.
Applications for the Albion Moose Family Center 621 “Deceased Pilgrim Memorial Scholarship” are now available. They may be picked up from Edwards County Guidance Counselor Kelley Biggs at ECHS; Scholarship Committee Chairman Michael Snidle says they are not available at the Lodge. Applications may also be mailed by contacting Biggs at 445-2325, and they must be returned or postmarked by March 18th.
Authorities say two men, including 51-year-old Casey resident Michael Wright, were killed in a plane crash in Ohio. Officials say a single-engine Piper Saratoga was traveling from Illinois to Findlay, Ohio, when it went down in a wooded area Tuesday night. 59-year-old Avon, Indiana, resident Shane Halbrook, the pilot, and Wright, the co-pilot, were killed, and the cause of the crash is under investigation. No other information was available.
Last week, Fairfield Mayor Mike Dreith formally asked for assistance from the USDA to help bring about the return of a lake at Lakeside. He says retired engineer Jerry Quindry has been a great asset, and the application, in part, is to compile the work that was done in previous attempts to restore the lake. He says that alone will not solve flooding along Johnson Creek, so the City is investigating other possibilities to slow water down north of the lake, possibly at Atkinson Forest.
The Fairfield First United Methodist Church will host its semi-annual Homecoming/Prom Dress giveaway tomorrow from 9 to noon. The church is on the corner of First and Delaware streets, and the giveaway will be held in its Fellowship Hall. People will be able to choose from hundreds of dresses and shoes, and bouquets and jewelry will also be available, all free of charge.
The Fairfield FFA Chapter will wrap up National FFA Week festivities Monday at FCHS due to winter weather this week. Monday will be Drive Your Tractor to School Day, and the FFA will grill porkchop sandwiches for lunch. Sandwiches will be available at the west end of the FCHS Ag shop, beginning at 11.
The Fairfield FFA Alumni will hold their Scholarship Lunch this Sunday at the Fairfield Rural Fire Department building on the east highway out of Fairfield. Service will begin at 11, and the meal will include pork chops, cheesy potatoes, green beans, dessert, and a drink. The cost is by donation, and all proceeds will benefit the Fairfield FFA Alumni Scholarship Program.
Cisne FFA Alumni interviews scheduled for yesterday were postponed until March 2nd at 6 p.m.
Last month was drier and cooler than one year ago. At the WFIW/WOKZ studios, we received two inches of rainfall in January, with well over half that total coming in its first two days. Last January, we recorded three inches and 17 hundredths of rain and over an inch-and-a-half of snow, with a single-day high of an inch and 57 hundredths of rain. The average high for January was 38.5 degrees, and the highest temperature recorded at the station was 61 on the 1st. The coolest high was 22 on the 7th. Last year, the average high was 40.5, with a high temperature of 55. Last year’s coolest high was 28.
The IDPH reported six new cases of COVID-19 yesterday in Wayne County. Hamilton, White, and Lawrence counties added three cases, Richland County added one, and Clay County added six. Marion County jumped by 25 cases, and Jefferson County increased by 11. The state lowered the total number of reported cases in Edwards and Wabash counties. As a state, Illinois announced 1,979 new cases and 63 additional deaths. Statewide totals sat at 3,024,663 cases and 32,580 deaths. The Southern Region had a seven-day positivity rate of 4.1 percent on the 21st, down from 4.7 percent on the 20th.
Illinois State Police say they saw a big increase in dangerous drug and weapon seizures in 2021. The ISP’s Metropolitan Enforcement Groups recovered an estimated $71 million in weapons and illegal drugs, including fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine. The “MEG” units partner with state intelligence officers, Illinois National Guard Counter-Drug Analysts, and community groups to stop the flow of narcotics.
Conversations are underway between the Illinois Department of Corrections and state lawmakers about the future of the Pontiac and Vandalia Correctional Centers. Representative Dan Brady sent a letter to the governor and IDOC Director after both facilities transferred a significant number of inmates to other facilities. In a proposed plan, the Pontiac prison would lower its inmate count by nearly 1,000, and the Vandalia site would see a 600-inmate drop.
River stages as of this morning: the Little Wabash east of Fairfield stands at 27.11 feet, above the 17 ft. flood stage. Meanwhile, the Skillet Fork at Wayne City has a reading of 8.95 feet (flood stage is 15 ft.). The Little Wabash below Clay City is at 19.98 feet (flood stage is 18 ft.). Bonpas Creek at Browns reads 14.08 feet, and the Little Wabash at Main Street in Carmi reads 32.09 feet. The Wabash River at Mt. Carmel sits at 25.01 feet.
Today’s crude oil price is $85.75, up $0.75 from yesterday. The April crude oil price is $93.91, down $4.11 from yesterday morning.