The Wayne County Sherriff’s Office was dispatched to an accident in Wayne City on 6/19. At approximately 7:50 p.m. 21-year-old Seth A Cannon of Norris City was pulling up to a parking spot at the local Phillips 66 station in a 1997 Jeep Wrangler, owned by Amanda Cannon of Wayne City, when the vehicle’s throttle became stuck, causing him to run into the west side of the building. No injuries were reported at the scene.
At approximately 3:17 a.m. on 6/18 the Wayne County Sherriff’s Office responded to an accident on IL Highway 15 near Four Mile Township. 45-year-old Heather Trent of Fairfield was travelling east bound on Highway 15 in a 2006 Ford Focus owned by Bradley Sager of Fairfield, when a deer ran onto the roadway causing a collision. Wayne City Ambulance responded to the call, there were no major injuries reported.
21-year-old Cisne resident Dewey Franklin Desch JR was arrested by the Wayne County Sherriff’s Office on 6/19 at 5:45 p.m. for Fleeing or Attempting to Elude a Police Officer. He is being held at the jail on $120 bond.
23-year-old Dakota A Boyd of Fairfield was arrested by the Wayne County Sherriff’s Office Monday night on a Failure to Appear Warrant stemming from charges of Possession of Open Alcohol by a Passenger and a Passenger Seatbelt Citation. Boyd is lodged in the jail pending the posting of $345 bond.
The Fairfield Fire Department and Fairfield Police responded to 2 structure fires over the weekend. On 06/19/2022, at approximately 5:08AM, a residence at 407 NW 5th Street was reported on fire. The Fire Department was on scene for over 2 hours. The State Fire Marshal was called to assist with the investigation. On 06/20/2022, at approximately 1:38AM, a structure at 106 NW 2 nd Street was reported on fire. The Fire Department was on scene for over 3 hours. Both fires are currently under investigation.
On 06/16/2022, at approximately 8:20 AM, Kristie Buchanan reported someone had struck a 2017 Acura overnight. Buchanan discovered the damage and notified the Police Department. The vehicle was parked in the roadway in the 600 block of West King Street and received damage on the driver’s side. If you have any information regarding crimes, please contact the Wayne County Crime Stoppers phone or text at (618) 842-9777. Your tip could be worth a cash reward. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
A Cumberland County woman died Friday morning in a two-vehicle crash in Effingham County. The victim has been identified as Rachel M. Pace, 44 of Neoga. State Police report Ms. Pace was traveling north on US Route 45 just north of Rickelman Avenue in Effingham in a 2000 Oldsmobile van. The other driver, identified as Mason M. Thomas, 23 of Neoga was traveling south at the same location in a 2013 Ford F-350 pickup truck. For unknown reasons, Pace’s van crossed the center line and struck Thomas’ pickup truck head-on. Rachel Pace was airlifted to an area trauma center where she died from her injuries. Mason Thomas was injured and taken to an area hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. US Route 45 was closed for about 5 hours during the crash investigation. The accident was reported at 9:15 Friday morning.
Illinois State Police Division of Criminal Investigation Zone 7 officials are investigating the death of a 4-month-old male from Pinckneyville. On Sunday June 12, ISP DCI Zone 7 was requested by the Pinckneyville Police Department to investigate reported serious injuries to the 4-month-old male. The male was eventually transferred to a regional hospital in Saint Louis, MO where he succumbed to his injures. An autopsy was performed on Friday, June 17, and results are pending. The ISP is being assisted by Pinckneyville Police Department and the St. Louis City Medical Examiner’s Office in this open and on-going investigation.
The Illinois Department of Public Health Friday reported 27,112 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease, including 68 deaths since June 10. Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 3,380,095 cases, including 33,994 deaths, since the beginning of the pandemic. As of Thursday night, 1,162 individuals were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 131 patients were in the ICU and 33 patients were on ventilators. The preliminary seven-day statewide case rate is 213 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 Illinoisans. Last week the case rate was 267 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 Illinoisans. A total of 22,543,715 vaccines have been administered in Illinois, 4,577,772 of those have been booster doses. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 9,891 doses. Since June 10, there have been 69,235 doses were reportedly administered in Illinois. Of Illinois’ total population, more than 76% has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, more than 69% of Illinois’ total population is fully vaccinated, and more than 53% of the vaccinated population has an initial booster according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
State Representatives Adam Niemerg (R-Teutopolis) and Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City) have issued the following statement on Midcontinent Independent System Operators’ alert on possible rolling blackouts and rising energy prices that could cost Illinois families as much as $600 more annually. “Illinois families are struggling to afford record high gas prices and as the heat wave intensifies, the prospect of rolling blackouts looks to be an almost certain reality. Access to reliable and affordable energy is essential not just to our economy but also to the health and safety of our loved ones – especially senior citizens who are the most vulnerable to extreme weather conditions. Rolling blackouts should not be the norm in the United States. There should be abundant energy available for our population and there would be if we had leaders at the state and national level who put the people over the special interest groups. The Democrats in Springfield are deliberately creating these conditions by forcing the closure of coal and natural gas plants as well as peaker plants that supply extra power during peak energy use. Our focus should be on stabilizing our economy and ensuring our families have access to affordable and reliable sources of energy.”
River stages as of this morning: the Little Wabash east of Fairfield stands at 16.32 feet, below the 17 ft. flood stage. Meanwhile, the Skillet Fork at Wayne City has a reading of 5.05 feet (flood stage is 15 ft.). The Little Wabash below Clay City is at 17.95 feet (flood stage is 18 ft.). Bonpas Creek at Browns reads 1.37 feet, and the Little Wabash at Main Street in Carmi reads 7.61 feet. The Wabash River at Mt. Carmel sits at 7.38 feet.
Today’s crude oil price is $102.56, unchanged from yesterday. The July crude oil price is $111.85, up $1.95 from yesterday morning.