The first-degree murder trial of Brodey Murbarger has been delayed again. Murbarger was set for trial September 19 for the slaying of 15-year-old Megan Nichols of Fairfield. Following a telephone conference on Wednesday in Wayne County Circuit Court, Murbarger’s defense attorney requested a continuance until October 3. Without objection, the defense attorney’s motion was granted. Judge Michael Molt vacated the original September 19 trial date and set a final pretrial hearing for September 13. A hearing on all pending motions will be held September 27, with a filing deadline of September 20.
Ongoing Make A Difference Activities includes: Class of 2025 Matching Funds Challenge – The FCHS class of 2025 is donating $100 for our contribution to make a difference day and would like to challenge the other classes/clubs to match. We would also like to invite ALL Wayne county schools to join in with us! Class of 1982 Alumni Matching Funds Challenge – The FCHS class of 1982 is donating at least $100.00 to the MADD! We challenge ALL FCHS alumni classes to match our donation!!! Class of 2009 and 1979 have accepted the matching funds challenge and will be donating $100 to MADD as well. Wayne White/City of Fairfield Pie In Face Challenge – Mayor Gary Moore and Wayne White Electric President/CEO Chris Hopfinger have accepted a challenge regarding the Make a Difference Fundraiser! Wayne White Electric will challenge the City of Fairfield to see who raises the most money for the Make a Difference Day (Splash Pad) between August 1st and October 14th! If the City raises the most money, they get to throw a pie in Chris’s face, if Wayne White Electric raises the most money, they get to throw a pie in Mayor Moore’s face! We will either let Gary throw the pie in Chris’s face or let Chris throw the pie in Gary’s face OR we will draw a name out of a hat of employees to decide who gets to throw the pie! Big Boy Catering Food Truck Challenge – Big Boy Catering has challenged all Food Trucks to put out a donations/tip jar to collect money for MADD. If you would like to make a donation to MADD, please make checks payable to FCHS memo MADD and send to Angie Tucker at FCHS, 300 West King Street, Fairfield, IL 62837. If you are conducting a fundraiser, please contact Donna Reever at 618-842-2649, ext 402, so they can add you to their project.
The Boil Water notice issued for Jasper earlier this week has now been lifted.
The 14th annual Wayne County Antique Tractor Drive will be held on Labor Day, Monday, September 5. All tractors that are model year 1992 or earlier (30 years of age or older) are welcome to participate. The route will begin and end at Vaughan Equipment Incorporated, located at 908 South First Street (Route 45) in Fairfield. Planned tours during the drive include Junkyard Art by Tam-I-Am and Scarbrough Trucking. Check-in will begin at 8:00 a.m. with a planned departure time of 9:00 a.m. Pictures will be taken at the time of check-in (before departure). The driver meeting will begin promptly at 8:45 a.m. Recognition will be given for the most original unrestored tractor, oldest tractor, youngest driver, and the driver who traveled the furthest to be at the event. The oldest driver will be recognized with the Earl Smith Memorial Award. Registration is $20 per tractor if registered by August 15. After August 15, registration is $30. Lunch is included with the registration fee. Drivers must be at least 16 years of age and have a valid driver’s license in order to drive in this event. It is recommended that tractors be able to keep a 10-mph pace during the drive. Other requirements including an SMV sign, and tow chain are listed on the registration form. All the details can be found at www.waynecfb.com/tractordrive.
Fairfield Memorial Hospital recently welcomed six Registered Nurses from the Philippines through a program called United Methodist Healthcare Recruitment. This recruitment agency works to recruit and place many Registered Nurses, Certified Nursing Assistants, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists and Medical Technologists within hospitals across the USA. The six registered nurses have agreed to work with Fairfield Memorial for the next three years.. “They are very compassionate and eager to take care of our patients. Everything here is different for them, from equipment, to working environment, however being a Nurse has the same expectation. They are eager to learn our policies and procedures quickly, however efficiently. The RNs have such a strong work ethic, desire to please our patients, and ability to work in high stress situations. They are well versed in many different areas of Nursing with backgrounds in Medical Surgical, Operating Room, Emergency Department, Skilled Care Unit, Intensive Care Unit as well as Utilization Review and they are used to functioning single handedly without the wonderful collaborative care that we are able to provide here. They have very quickly become a part of our FMH family and I am privileged to work alongside them.” Stated Dawn Murbarger RN, EMT-P, Clinical Nurse Educator. The purpose of UMHR is to help solve the existing and projected healthcare staff shortages across much of the USA. According to the CNO Perspective Report Nurses are the largest work group in the healthcare system and, as we have seen over the past two and a half years, their impact on the safety and wellbeing of communities, nations, and the world is immeasurable. “We have faced and conquered many challenges thrown our way in Healthcare with COVID-19 being one of the most challenging. When I saw how weary staff was from working tirelessly and truly dedicating themselves to our community and patients I knew we had to do something. The decision was easy with the UMHR program and implementing a plan to not only help our strained staff but also provide our patients with unwavering care. We are so blessed to have this incredible and dedicated group of Registered Nurses to truly go beyond the call of duty.” stated FMH CEO Katherine Bunting-Williams.
Pictured left to right is Milleth Kilat, RN; Madelyn Dela Cruz, RN; Angelique Esteban, RN; Lourdes Bulasa, RN; Mae Ann Araman, RN and Glenn Bongcales.
Fairfield Officer Dane Horton graduated the Southwestern Illinois College Police Academy on August12, 2022. Horton is a graduate of Wayne City High School and Frontier Community College. Horton assumed full patrol duties on August 27, 2022.
On 08/26/22, at 10:48 PM, Fairfield Police conducted a traffic stop in the 300 block of SW 10th Street, Fairfield that resulted in Carolyn F Hatcher, 37 of Sims, IL, being cited for Driving While License Suspended. She was cited and released with a mandatory court date of 09/29/22.
Illinois State Police (ISP) District 19 Interim Commander, Lieutenant Kerry Sutton, has announced the results of a Distracted Driving Enforcement Program patrol held in Wayne County during late August. This program provided extra patrol coverage or ISP officers to focus on saving lives and reducing serious crashes by enforcing distracted driving laws. Seven citations were written for use of a hand-held phone or device, and four texting while driving citations were written: for a total of 11 distracted driving citations. In total ISP wrote 18 citations and nine written warnings. The extra enforcement patrols were made possible by federal traffic safety funds administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation. Interim Commander, Lieutenant Kerry Sutton, has also announced the results of an Occupant Restraint Enforcement Patrol (OREP) held in Wabash and Edwards Counties during late August. These OREPs provided extra patrol coverage for the ISP so officers could focus on saving lives by making sure all vehicle occupants were buckled up. ISP wrote 25 total citations and six written warnings, including 18 safety belt citations. Heading into the final big weekend of summer, the Illinois Department of Transportation and Illinois State Police remind everyone that alcohol and drug-impaired driving is not a game. To prevent this crime and any deadly repercussions, more than 200 law enforcement agencies across the state are stepping up to arrest impaired drivers as part of the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” national Labor Day campaign. During the campaign, which runs through Labor Day, the Illinois State Police is joining local police and sheriff departments to conduct high-visibility enforcement during peak periods for impaired driving, while reminding motorists that Driving Under the Influence is a serious crime with real-life, sobering consequences. The “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” and “Click It or Ticket” programs in Illinois are funded with federal highway safety dollars administered by IDOT.
August proved to be slightly dryer this year than last. Locally we received 3.3 inches of rain for the month, with the heaviest rainfall on August 3rd when the station measured 1.35 inches on the day. The total rainfall total for the same time last year was 4.77 inches.
The USDA has released it’s Illinois July Prices Index : the Ag Production was down only one-tenth of a percentage point from June, but increased 26 percent from July a year ago : the Crop Production Index was down 1.2 percent from last month but up 16 percent from the previous year : Livestock Production increased 2.2 percent from June and 38 percent from July last year : producers received lower prices during July for soybeans, wheat, and corn, but higher prices for market eggs, hay, hogs, and cattle. Also in July, there was decreased monthly movement for milk and cattle, an increase for wheat and hay.
The annual Du Quoin State Fair is continuing. Today is Illinois Tourism Day with bull riding at 7:00 and comedian Jeff Foxworthy on stage at 7:30. Saturday is SIU, College Day, and Coal Heritage Day with horse pulling, livestock shows, the Whippoorwill Rodeo at 4:00, Demo Derby at 6:00, and USAC Silver Crown car racing at 8:15. The final day of the fair will be Monday. For grandstand ticket sales, go online to ticketmaster.com. Stay up to date on the Du Quoin State Fair Facebook page.
Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White announced that all offices and facilities will be closed on Monday, September 5th in observance of Labor Day. As a reminder, Secretary White has extended all driver’s license, ID card and learner’s permit expiration dates to December 1. This extension does not apply to commercial driver’s licenses and CDL-learner’s permits. In addition, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has extended the federal REAL ID deadline to May 3, 2023. Individuals can visit the Secretary of State’s website at ilsos.gov for online services including checking eligibility to renew their driver’s license online, applying for a duplicate driver’s license, renewing license plate stickers, or locating the nearest Driver Services facility.
The state announced this week that it and surrounding states have been granted a federal emergency waiver by the U.S. EPA that allows for high volatility gasoline to be sold through Sept. 15. The governor’s office said it will reduce fuel disruptions following an Aug. 24 fire which broke out at a BP facility in Whiting, Ind., which produces 430,000 barrels of oil per day. Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin also requested and were granted the waiver which, the Pritzker administration noted, would boost the use of ethanol produced by Illinois corn farmers. “After learning of the electrical fire at the BP facility in Whiting, our administration has taken proactive steps to increase gas supply and reduce barriers so all Illinoisans have access to the fuel they need,” Pritzker said in a news release. “This coordinated effort with our neighboring states will reduce the chance of disruptions and keep the people and businesses of Illinois moving.”
River stages as of this morning: the Little Wabash east of Fairfield stands at 6.62 feet, below the 17 ft. flood stage. Meanwhile, the Skillet Fork at Wayne City has a reading of 5.14 feet (flood stage is 15 ft.). The Little Wabash below Clay City is at 5.64 feet (flood stage is 18 ft.). Bonpas Creek at Browns reads 2.35 feet. The Little Wabash at Main Street in Carmi reads 7.01 feet, and the Wabash River at Mt. Carmel sits at 4.65 feet.
Today’s Crude Oil price is $79.61 down $2.94 from yesterday. The October Crude Oil price is $87.75 up $0.21 from yesterday morning.