20-year-old Rick A. Meador and 35-year-old Tara Haws were sentenced to 50 years in prison yesterday in connection to the shooting death of Kyle Johnson in Olney in 2020. Meador pleaded guilty in September to one count of first-degree murder, and Haws was found guilty in March of first-degree murder. Each will have to serve three years of mandatory supervision upon release.
11 men and women were honored yesterday during the annual Police Memorial Ceremony in Springfield, including Wayne County Deputy Sean Riley. Others killed in the line of duty include Chicago Officer Ella French, Pontoon Beach Officer Tyler Timmins, Champaign Officer Christopher Oberheim, Bradley Officer Marlene Rittmanic, and ISP Senior Master Trooper Todd Hanneken. Their names are etched on the official memorial on the state capitol lawn.
Fairfield police arrested 38-year-old Fairfield resident Tracey L. Glad yesterday morning on a charge of domestic battery. Glad was taken to the Wayne County Jail and held, pending the posting of bond.
Illinois State Police District 19 Commander Captain Nathan Douglas has announced the activity and enforcement figures for the month of April. Troopers in District 19 recorded 1,265 incidents during the month. Enforcement activity consisted of 470 citations and 1,144 written warnings, including 175 speeding citations, 61 occupant restraint citations, 27 distracted driving citations, 26 criminal arrests, and 405 written warnings for speeding.
Wayne City High School will host its Senior Awards Day on Tuesday at 1 p.m. The Wayne City High School Senior of the Year will be chosen from the seniors of the month, and $100,000 in Wayne City High School Scholarship Foundation awards will also be announced. Award sponsors can contact Ruth Kissner at 895-3108 to reserve a spot for the program. The public is also invited to attend.
Emergency Medical Services Week is May 15th through the 21st– a chance to honor the sacrifice and dedication of EMS workers. The Wayne County Ambulance Service will celebrate EMS week on May 16th by offering free blood pressure checks and blood sugar checks from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The service will also offer ambulance tours at its building at 501 Southwest Seventh Street in Fairfield.
More than $525,000 in scholarships and monetary awards was awarded to Fairfield Community High School seniors yesterday at their annual awards event. Alexis Thomason, Trenton Jones, Haley Dozier, Konnor Dagg, and Hunter Biggs were recognized with Illinois State Scholar Awards, and Dagg and Elaina Kunce won the U.S. Army Scholar-Athlete awards. Chris Henry, Ryland Thomason, Parker Richardson, and Blaine Milner were recognized for their plans to enter the National Guard, and Remington Wheeler was recognized for plans to enter the Army. More award winners can be found in the following attachment: FCHS-2022-Awards-Day-Winners
21-year-old Fairfield resident Troy D. West was injured in a two-vehicle accident yesterday near Koontz Cemetery south of Fairfield. According to Illinois State Police, at approximately 2:30, West was northbound on Highway 45 in a 2005 GMC and slowed to turn left onto a county road. 21-year-old Fairfield resident MacKenzie N. Conrad was following in a 2018 Jeep and struck him in the rear. West was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries; Conrad reported no injuries on scene and was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.
The Fairfield City-Wide Yard Sale is set to be held tomorrow after being postponed last week, per Wayne County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Libby Lingafelter. She says some sales may have taken place last week, and some that were scheduled may have conflicts tomorrow, but most sales should take place as planned. Sale maps can be found in the Wayne County Press, at the Chamber Office, or at the CDC.
The Fairfield Business and Professional Women’s Foundation is accepting scholarship applications for Wayne County high school girls and mature women returning to college. All scholarships awarded will be valued at $2,000. High school applications will be available in the school guidance offices, and the mature women scholarship application is available at Frontier Community College. Scholarships must be postmarked for return by June 1st.
According to our sister station in Carmi, the City of Carmi will soon add a Tractor Supply Company location. The new business will be housed in the former Rural King and K-Mart building, per The Property Shop owner Amber Knight. Knight says the farm store will hopefully be open by the beginning of August. The building in question has been empty for several years, and online records indicate it sold for $900,000.
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported no new cases of COVID-19 in Wayne, Edwards, Marion, Lawrence, or Jefferson counties yesterday. Wabash County added three cases, Hamilton County two, and White, Clay, and Richland counties one. As a state, Illinois announced 4,148 new cases and 10 additional deaths.
A report is out on a COVID-19 outbreak at the LaSalle Veterans Home in November 2020, where 36 residents died from COVID. The Auditor General says the IDPH didn’t show up to react to the spread of the virus inside the home until 11 days after the outbreak began. Governor J.B. Pritzker says everything was going against keeping residents safe. The report says the region in which the home is found saw cases jump by 212 percent from October to November of 2020.
The IDPH is backing the FDA’s proposal to ban menthol-flavored cigarettes and cigars. Menthol is the last flavor currently allowed in cigarettes, and the FDA says banning it will help prevent people from picking up the habit and will ultimately save lives. State Public Health Tobacco Control Program Director Gail Devito agrees and says there is also an equity component at play, as teens, especially African Americans, are more likely to opt for the menthol variety.
Illinois’ Senior Senator is lashing out at Republicans after a document leaded from the Supreme Court suggesting a possible overturn of Roe v. Wade. Dick Durbin says the leaked document opens a can of worms with a Republican stronghold on the nation’s highest court, and he believes gay marriage and LGBTQ rights will be in the spotlight next.
River stages as of this morning: the Little Wabash east of Fairfield stands at 16.07 feet, below the 17 ft. flood stage. Meanwhile, the Skillet Fork at Wayne City has a reading of 7.28 feet (flood stage is 15 ft.). The Little Wabash below Clay City is at 14.94 feet (flood stage is 18 ft.). Bonpas Creek at Browns reads 4.88 feet, and the Little Wabash at Main Street in Carmi reads 12.80 feet. The Wabash River at Mt. Carmel sits at 13.18 feet.
Today’s crude oil price is $101.25, up $0.50 from yesterday. The June crude oil price is $108.52, up $0.52 from yesterday morning.