The Fairfield First United Methodist Church will host its semi-annual Homecoming/Prom Dress giveaway today 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 Illinois Department of Public Health reported 1,979 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease in Illinois, including 63 additional deaths. Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 3,024,663 cases, including 32,580 deaths, in Illinois. As of Wednesday night, 1,183 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 246 patients were in the ICU and 118 patients were on ventilators. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from February 17th – 23rd is 2%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from February 17th – 23rd is 2.5%. A total of 21,057,410 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of Wednesday night, 4,127,704 have been booster doses. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 17,450 doses. Wednesday 15,141 doses were reportedly administered in Illinois, 5,649 of those were booster doses.
Fairfield Memorial Hospital honors an employee each month who has been nominated by their peers for providing extraordinary patient care and customer services within and outside of the Hospital. Deana Coomer C.N.A., who works as a Coder in Health Information, was chosen as the February 2022 Employee of the Month. Deana has been with Fairfield Memorial Hospital since December of 2017.
Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 147,004 deer during all 2021-2022 archery and firearm seasons that concluded Jan. 16. The total preliminary deer harvest for all seasons compares with a total harvest for all seasons of 162,752 deer in 2020-2021. During the 2021-2022 deer seasons, hunters took 43.75% does and 56.25% males.
Attorney General Kwame Raoul has announced final approval of the historic national $26 billion opioid settlement agreement with the nation’s three major pharmaceutical distributors – Cardinal, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen – and one manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson. Following successful state and local government subdivision sign-on periods, the companies will start releasing funds to a national administrator on April 2, 2022. States and local governments will start receiving funds during the second quarter of 2022.
The Wabash Valley College Brubeck Art Gallery is exhibiting recent work by photographer Michael Mullen. Mullen’s latest series is titled, “Squeaky Toy Variations” and is a series that Mullen says, like traditional still life painting and photography, is “rife with symbolism” through artful arrangement of his vast collection of old but colorful plastic squeaky toys. The exhibition will be on display until April 5. The exhibition is family friendly and open to the public. The Gallery is open when classes are in session and during performing arts events.
Schools and organizations serving K-12 students in Sparklight communities have the opportunity to win $3,000 to fund their science, technology, engineering or math project or club as part of the internet service provider’s 4th annual “Dream Bigger” social media campaign. Entries will be accepted from March 1 through March 21 at sparklight.com/contest. Ten finalists will be selected by Sparklight and the winner will be determined by public voting from March 24 through March 31. The finalists – as well as the schools and organizations selected to receive the award – will be highlighted on Sparklight’s social media channels, including Facebook and Instagram
River stages as of this morning: the Little Wabash east of Fairfield stands at 26.98 feet, above the 17 ft. flood stage. Meanwhile, the Skillet Fork at Wayne City has a reading of 8.0 feet (flood stage is 15 ft.). The Little Wabash below Clay City is at 19.46 feet (flood stage is 18 ft.). Bonpas Creek at Browns reads 13.41 feet, and the Little Wabash at Main Street in Carmi reads 32.54 feet. The Wabash River at Mt. Carmel sits at 25.72 feet.