The Fyie & Rice Law Office LLC Golf League will begin June 6th at the Fairfield Public Golf Course with a 5:30 shotgun start. Two-person teams will play weekly nine-hole matches and accumulate points through August 16th. Matches will be scheduled on Mondays and Tuesdays. League dues are $55 per player. The sign-up sheet can be found at the course outside the pro shop, and the team sign-up deadline is June 1st at 6 p.m. Anyone seeking more information can contact Marty Vaughn at martinrvaughan@gmail.com or 617-866-3378.
Two injuries were reported in a three-vehicle accident about four miles north of Cisne yesterday. According to Illinois State Police, at approximately 1:20 p.m., 49-year-old Louisville resident Ericka L. Spicer was northbound on Highway 45 in a 2015 Jeep. She stopped to wait to make a left turn, and a 2013 Buick SUV, driven by 40-year-old Flora resident Tricia A. Colclasure, stopped safely behind her. 41-year-old Ramsey resident James L. Riley failed to stop and struck the rear of the Buick with his 2017 International Truck, causing it to rear-end Spicer’s Jeep. Spicer and Colclasure were transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries; Riley reported no injuries on-scene and was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.
37-year-old Olney resident Jeremy M.T. Ralston was sentenced in Wayne County Circuit Court Tuesday. He admitted to violating probation in March for a Class 2 felony count of delivery of methamphetamine and was sentenced to 30 months probation. He was also ordered to pay $5,881 in fines and court costs. 27-year-old Fairfield resident Cody R. Smith pleaded guilty last week to a Class B misdemeanor of criminal trespass to real property; he was sentenced to one year conditional discharge and ordered to pay $1,239 in fines and court costs.
Clay City Unit District 10 Superintendent Cathy Croy has been named the 2022 Superintendent of Distinction by her colleagues in the Wabash Valley Region of the Illinois Association of School Administrators. The Wabash Valley Region is comprised of Clay, Richland, Lawrence, Edwards, Wabash, Cumberland, Clark, Effingham, Jasper, and Crawford counties.
Illinois Eastern Community Colleges will offer a Truck Driving Certificate Program in the coming weeks at the West Richland Center in Noble. The course will run May 16th through July 21st, Monday through Thursday, from 5 to 9 p.m. Gary Phillips will be the instructor and will cover theory, behind-the-wheel range, and behind-the-wheel public road. Pre-registration is required. Anyone needing more information can contact the Student Services Office at Wabash Valley College in Mt. Carmel at 866-982-4322.
The Wayne County Chamber of Commerce held a groundbreaking ceremony yesterday morning for the new McDonald’s building in Fairfield. Concrete work began yesterday, and construction on the new facility is anticipated to be completed on or near August 2nd. The new building will be located at the same address and will have the same orientation, but it will be shifted south. The current building will remain open for the majority of the work, but it will be closed for about a week as construction finishes. Notably, the drive-through will be expanded to a dual-lane, side-by-side format, allowing for 40-50 vehicles to be in line to alleviate traffic issues on Main Street.
The USDA has accepted more than two million acres in offers from ag producers and landowners through the Conservation Reserve Program General sign-up, including more than 25,000 acres in Illinois. This is the first of the program’s multiple sign-ups occurring in 2022. The General CRP sign-up ended March 11th. About 3.4 million acres are expiring this year, and the USDA encourages producers to consider the Grassland, Continuous, and CREP sign-ups, which are currently open. Nearly 260,000 acres have been submitted for Continuous and CREP sign-ups so far this year. Grassland had its highest participation ever last year, and its sign-up closes next Friday.
Wayne-White Counties Electric Cooperative has scheduled its 85th annual meeting for June 3rd at Wayne City High School. A pork chop dinner will begin at 5, entertainment by southern gospel quartet the Leib Family will begin at 6:25, and the business meeting will begin at 7. This is the first meeting for the co-op CEO Chris Hopfinger in that role, and three members of the Board of Directors will be elected; seats up for election include those held by Ken Lamont in District 4, Steve Becket in District 8, and Noel Edmison in District 9.
Fairfield Memorial Hospital will bring its Digital Mammography Truck to the Horizon Healthcare Medical Clinic in Cisne Saturday for a mobile mammography event. Appointments start at 8 a.m., and walk-ins are welcome until 11. After 11, patients will be seen by appointment only. Individuals can call the FMH Diagnostic Imaging Department at 847-8249 to secure an appointment.
The IDPH reported no new cases of COVID-19 in Wayne, Edwards, Clay, Hamilton, or Jefferson counties yesterday. Wabash, White, and Marion counties added two cases, and Richland and Lawrence counties added one. As a state, Illinois announced 5,748 new cases and 14 additional deaths.
One state lawmaker says more can be done to ensure Illinois is a safe haven for reproductive rights. The governor says abortion will continue to be legal in Illinois regardless of any action on Roe v. Wade, but Representative Kelly Cassidy says additional legislation may prove beneficial, including a bill passed by the House but still awaiting a vote in the state senate to protect doctors and people who come to the state for abortions.
Jeff Adkisson, Executive Vice President of the Grain and Feed Association of Illinois, is reminding local elevators about cybersecurity. The FBI says the industry should be extra vigilant as spring gets rolling in earnest not to open suspicious emails or attachments. The association represents more than 90 percent of commercial grain storage space in the state. Members include grain elevators, handling facilities, processors, feed mills, and companies who provide goods and service to the industry.
This is Arson Awareness Week, and the Office of the State Fire Marshal is trying to raise awareness about the cost of arson and the toll it takes on communities. The Office does has some tips for helping reduce the risk of arson, including keeping doors and windows of unoccupied buildings locked and boarding up abandoned buildings. Last year, the Office responded to more than 1,000 arson investigations, and canine teams were brought to more than 200 cases.
River stages as of this morning: the Little Wabash east of Fairfield stands at 11.55 feet, below the 17 ft. flood stage. Meanwhile, the Skillet Fork at Wayne City has a reading of 7.38 feet (flood stage is 15 ft.). The Little Wabash below Clay City is at 14.60 feet (flood stage is 18 ft.). Bonpas Creek at Browns reads 4.55 feet, and the Little Wabash at Main Street in Carmi reads 10.59 feet. The Wabash River at Mt. Carmel sits at 10.55 feet.
Today’s crude oil price is $100.75, up $5.25 from yesterday. The June crude oil price is $108.00, up $2.10 from yesterday morning.