Wayne County Crimestoppers is offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons who stole a battery back up box and two large-style batteries and a charger from Norfolk Railroad. Anyone with information can call or text Crimestoppers at (618) 842-9777. The information you provide could be worth a cash reward.
One of the two victims in Friday’s house explosion in Wabash County has died from their injuries. Media reports said Wabash County Sheriff Derek Morgan confirmed that 66-year-old Kevin Murphy died at a Louisville, KY hospital after being airlifted there following the 5:39 p.m. explosion. Murphy’s wife, Sue, was also airlifted to a Louisville hospital where she was reported to be in the ICU in stable condition. Sheriff Morgan said a group of neighbors pulled one victim from the residence before it was fully engulfed in flames. Investigators with the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s office arrived on the scene Friday night and were continuing their investigation Saturday.
The West Salem Chowder and Homecoming was held Saturday. The chowder bulk sales was sold out in about an hour. Preparation for the soup began at 3 a.m. Saturday on the square. The highlight of the day was the Cutest Child Contest held at 12 noon. The winner was three-year-old Kylee Turner. Kylee’s parents are Kyle and Brandi Turner of West Salem.
The 25th annual White County Crop Tour is set for Wednesday, August 31st. Individuals are invited for breakfast starting at 7 a.m. in the basement meeting room of the Farm Bureau Building in Carmi. The teams will depart at 7:30 a.m. Data from at least eight different locations in ten townships will be collected in the county. Groups will return to the Farm Bureau Building by 11 a.m. for lunch and accumulation of the data. The complete report will be available to attendees during lunch and will be released to the public the following day. Those wishing to participate in the tour can sign up by contacting the White County Farm Bureau office at (618) 382-8512.
Area river stages as of this morning: Little Wabash River east of Fairfield is at 22.23 feet. Flood stage is 17 feet. At Clay City the stage is 6.1 feet. Flood stage is 18 feet. At Carmi the stage is 25.26 feet. Flood stage is 27 feet. The Skillet Fork at Wayne City is at 5.08 feet. Flood stage is 15 feet. The Wabash River at Mt. Carmel is at 3.49 feet. Flood stage is 19 feet. The forecast for the area is for dry conditions the entire week, with no mention of rain through Saturday. At the studios of WFIW/WOKZ we measured 22 hundreths of an inch of rain overnight Saturday and early Sunday morning.