Edwards County VFW Memorial Post 8222 will conduct services this coming Sunday and Monday to honor veterans. The post will visit nine cemeteries in the West Salem area and hold a service at the Veterans Memorial on the Square in West Salem on Sunday. The first ceremony will be at 8 a.m. on the square, and the post will move to Shiloh Cemetery at 8:30, Ebenezer at 8:40, Macedonia at 9, Little Wabash at 9:15, Marion at 9:30, Parkersburg Oak Hill at 10, Walnut Grove at 10:15, Zion United Methodist at 11, and the Moravian at 11:15. The post will visit 12 cemeteries and hold another service at the courthouse in Albion on Monday. It will begin at Birk Cemetery at 7 a.m. and move to Mt. Zion at 7:15, Wanborough at 7:30, Little Prairie at 7:45, Samaria Baptist at 8, Pleasant Hill at 8:15, West Village at 8:30, Bone Gap at 8:45, Browns at 9, Union at 9:15, Graceland at 9:30, and Old Albion at 9:45. The post will conclude its Memorial Day services with a public program on the Edwards County Courthouse Square in Albion at 10 a.m., weather permitting.
North Wayne EMS responded to a single-vehicle accident south of Enterprise Saturday night. According to county deputies, at approximately 11:17, 58-year-old Olney resident Lisa D. Harmon was eastbound on a county highway in a 2000 Oldsmobile. She failed to negotiate a curve and overturned in a ditch. Harmon was taken to Clay County Hospital and was cited for operating an uninsured vehicle. A tow truck was called to the scene, and the vehicle sustained over $1,500 damage.
Fairfield police arrested 27-year-old West Salem resident Michael Collins Friday night on a charge of domestic battery. He was taken to the Wayne County Jail and held, pending the setting and posting of bond. 26-year-old Fairfield resident Dylan J.L. Luther was arrested Saturday night on a charge of driving suspended or revoked, and he was held, pending the posting of $270 bond.
Illinois State Police District 19 Commander Captain Nathan Douglas has announced the results of a Special Traffic Enforcement Patrol held in Wayne County in May. The patrol allowed the ISP to provide increased enforcement for impaired driving, occupant restraint, speeding, and distracted driving violations during the national “Click It or Ticket” campaign. Troopers reported 14 total citations and 50 total written warnings, with most coming for speeding.
This is the 50th anniversary of Title IX, and it has added significance for the current IHSA Board President. Katy Hasson is the second woman to serve in the role since the organization’s inception in 1903. She was elected to the board in 2016, and this is her second school year as president. She is the principal at Rockridge High School in western Illinois.
Fairfield Mayor Mike Dreith has announced his nomination for the city’s Police Chief. He says he intends to nominate former Fairfield police officer and mayor Brent Maguire at tomorrow’s city council meeting. The 48-year-old Maguire served as mayor from 2017 to 2020 and was a police officer from 1997 to 2011. He defeated four people to become mayor by a wide margin but resigned his seat in August 2020 to accept a lecturer position in criminal justice at Oakland City University.
The Fairfield City Council will meet tomorrow at 6 at City Hall. Outside of appointments, aldermen are anticipated to award a bid for the new water tower; they are also scheduled to discuss an ordinance setting fees for the new Class Q Liquor License established earlier this month. Other agenda items include approving the FOP Contract, seeking bids for a salt storage shed, and an ordinance authorizing the sale of property.
Edwards County Schools held their graduations on Saturday. For ECHS, Rylan Robb was named Valedictorian for the Class of 2022. Zoe Barnes, Sam Lynch, Max Fieber, Sage Alka, Molly Swardstrom, Emma Wiseman, and Lauren Luker were Class Salutatorians. Alice Robb and Carlin St. Ledger were Valedictorians of the Albion Grade School graduating class. Abby Gill was Salutatorian. West Salem’s Valedictorian was Lola Nussmeyer, and Kami Keener was Salutatorian.
Fairfield Memorial Hospital’s Horizon Healthcare Clinics in Fairfield, Cisne, Grayville, and Carmi will offer school and sports physicals from June 1st to September 1st at no out-of-pocket expense. Clinics are located at 213 Northwest 10th Street in Fairfield, 413 Park in Cisne, 319 West Commerce in Grayville, and 1103 West Main in Carmi. Walk-ins are welcome at all locations, or people can call 842-4617 to schedule an appointment or get more information.
According to the CDC over the weekend, 6,330 people in Wayne County were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, or 39 percent of its population, including 48.1 percent of people over 18 and 68 percent of people over 65. 46.8 percent of fully vaccinated people had been boosted. 39.1 percent of Edwards County residents were fully vaccinated, including 48.4 percent of those over 18 and 73.3 percent of those over 65. 47 percent of vaccinated people had been boosted.
A bill is headed to Governor J.B. Pritzker’s desk that would help soybean farmers across the state. Illinois Soybean Association Marking Director Andrew Larson says the bill was sponsored by Senator Patrick Joyce and Representative Eva Dina Delgado. It would support the use of biodiesel in Illinois; traditionally, the state has used B-10 or B-11 blends of biodiesel, and the bill would extend state sales tax exemptions toward 20 percent in the coming years.
Illinois Senator Dick Durbin says energy companies are responsible for high gas prices and are using their powers to price gouge. He says there is no basis for the high prices based on market forces or supply and demand. According to GasBuddy last week, prices across the state were 47 cents higher than late April and were about a dollar and 63 cents higher than one year ago.
Illinois Treasurer Mike Frerichs is celebrating one million claims paid out through his office’s I-CASH Program. His office keeps unclaimed property like old paychecks, lost war medals, life insurance policies, contents of forgotten safe deposit boxes, and more, and he says ensuring the property gets back into the hands of rightful owners has been gratifying. Anyone wanting to look for unclaimed property can visit illinoistreasurer.gov and click on I-Cash.
River stages as of this morning: the Little Wabash east of Fairfield stands at 17.64 feet, above the 17 ft. flood stage. Meanwhile, the Skillet Fork at Wayne City has a reading of 7.55 feet (flood stage is 15 ft.). The Little Wabash below Clay City is at 19.53 feet (flood stage is 18 ft.). Bonpas Creek at Browns reads 5.11 feet, and the Little Wabash at Main Street in Carmi reads 15.92 feet. The Wabash River at Mt. Carmel sits at 16.09 feet.
Today’s crude oil price is $106.25, up $1.00 from Friday. The June crude oil price is $111.08, down $0.57 from Friday morning.