A Republican gubernatorial candidate will make a stop in Fairfield this weekend on his campaign bus tour. Businessman Gary Rabine will be at 5 Brothers on the west edge of town from 11:30 to 1:30 tomorrow , and anyone interested in meeting the candidate is welcome to attend. Rabine will also be at Clay County’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner Fundraiser tomorrow at Floyd Henson Junior High School in Flora at 5 p.m. Tickets for the Clay County event can be purchased at the door for $25, and dinner will begin at 6. Rabine’s running mate is Aaron Del Mar.
The Fairfield Police Department will test to complete an eligibility list for hiring this spring. Applications will be available at City Hall on Monday, and they must be returned to City Hall no later than 4 p.m. on May 13th to be considered. A mandatory orientation meeting will be held May 20th at City Hall, and a physical and written test will be administered on May 21st. Anyone with questions should call City Hall at 842-2294.
Wayne City High School says Amber McGhee has been named its Senior of the Month for February. The daughter of Jacqueline McGhee, she is involved in the History and Beta clubs and Red Ribbon Team and is a member of the Newspaper Staff, Yearbook Staff, and Honor Society. McGhee works at Bonnie Café in Mt. Vernon, and, among other awards, earned first place at a Beta Club convention in 2020 for apparel design.
Amber McGhee
Kindergarten registration for Johnsonville Elementary School will be held Thursday from 3 to 5 p.m. The event is for all students who will be entering kindergarten in the fall at Johnsonville, and children must be at least five years old by September 1st to enroll. People should bring a certified copy of their child’s birth certificate from the courthouse and the child’s social security number.
The SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation has announced applications are available for the Dr. Jean M. Modert Scholarship. Applications can be found at http://bit.ly/SSMHealthScholarships, or people can call 899-1048. The scholarship is offered to students who are dependents of an SSM Health Illinois employee or who have a permanent residence in Wayne, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Marion, Perry, or Washington counties for a year prior to the application date. Scholarships must be delivered or postmarked for delivery to the Good Samaritan Foundation office by April 1st. The minimum award will be $1,000 per year.
Illinois is fining Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois $339,000 for allegedly violating state law. Per the Chicago Tribune, the Illinois Department of Insurance says Health Care Service Corp. was late in filing documents proving it is providing adequate networks of doctors and other providers to the Springfield Clinic, which has about 100,000 patients. The state says the company was 339 days late in submitting documents after it dropped the clinic from its network, and it is being fined $1,000 per day late. Health Care Service has 10 days to contest the fine.
The Wayne County Quilts of Valor Chapter will hold a ceremony for Vietnam War veterans tomorrow at 2 at the Fairfield First Christian Church. Lisa Konopasek says 54 veterans are scheduled to be honored, all of whom physically served in Vietnam. Only veterans who have received a letter from QoV will be honored at the ceremony this weekend; Vietnam Era veterans will be honored at a later date. FNB is sponsoring the event, and light refreshments will be served. We’ll have a video stream of the quilt awards on wfiwradio.com. Anyone who knows a veteran can reach out on the chapter Facebook page or call 599-8492, 599-6522, 919-1648, or 516-1573. For veterans out of the county, people can submit nominations at QOVF.org.
Fairfield Mayor Mike Dreith says the city will hold a consolidated clean-up effort on April 23rd called Renew Fairfield. The day will include a variety of offerings; the Street & Bridge Department will accept large items at its building on East King Street, and organizations will offer paper and electronics recycling, as well. The City is also seeking a list of single-level, owner-occupied homes in need of a paint job by volunteer civic groups. Anyone looking to submit a home for review for the work should call Fairfield City Hall at 842-2294.
The FCHS Class of 2023 begins selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts and Signature Coffees today. The fundraiser runs through April 8th, and delivery will be on the 12th. Payment is due at the time of the order, and checks can be made payable to FCHS. Anyone wanting to support the class with senior activities should contact any current member of the Junior Class, or sponsors Natalie Hurd or Rhonda Buchanan at 842-2649.
We recorded more rain but less snow last month than one year ago. At the WFIW/WOKZ studios, we received five inches and 57 hundredths of rainfall in February, and we also received about four inches of snow. Rainfall was spaced out across the month, but about two-and-a-quarter inches came on the 17th and 18th. The snow came in the first week of the month. Last February, we recorded three inches and 31 hundredths of rain and about 17 inches of snow, including over eight inches in a single day.
The IDPH reported one new case of COVID-19 in Wayne and Richland counties yesterday. Wabash and Lawrence counties added three cases, Jefferson and Hamilton counties five, and Marion County 10. Edwards, White, and Clay counties had no new cases on the state website. As a state, Illinois announced 1,723 new cases and 15 additional deaths. Statewide totals sat at 3,059,915 cases and 33,293 deaths. The Southern Region had a seven-day positivity rate of 1.5 percent on the 21st, down from 1.6 percent on the 20th.
IDOT says bridge construction is affecting north- and southbound traffic on Interstate 57 near Dix in Jefferson County. Southbound lanes are closed, starting today, and southbound traffic will be diverted to the northbound lanes. Traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction, and the southbound exit ramp at milepost 103 at Dix is closed. Lanes will be closed until November 15th.
Governor J.B. Pritzker is celebrating the passing of legislation paying down some significant state debts. The bulk of the money, $2.7 billion, will help replenish the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, which was depleted paying out benefits during the pandemic. Republicans are critical of the bill, saying it doesn’t fully pay back the fund, which may cost businesses.
River stages as of this morning: the Little Wabash east of Fairfield stands at 20.88 feet, above the 17 ft. flood stage. Meanwhile, the Skillet Fork at Wayne City has a reading of 8.25 feet (flood stage is 15 ft.). The Little Wabash below Clay City is at 19.25 feet (flood stage is 18 ft.). Bonpas Creek at Browns reads 11.06 feet, and the Little Wabash at Main Street in Carmi reads 22.20 feet. The Wabash River at Mt. Carmel sits at 19.17 feet.
Today’s crude oil price is $105.25, down $2.75 from yesterday. The May crude oil price is $110.10, down $4.56 from yesterday morning.