The Fairfield City Council will hold their regular meeting on Tuesday, October 11 at 6:00pm at city hall, with a public hearing to take place prior to the meeting at 5:50pm. The public hearing is in regard to rezoning property at 1010 West Court & 110 NW 11th streets and bid opening for sale of city owned property. In routine business the council will discuss an ordinance for the sale of city owned property, for the auxiliary police building, and ordinance to rezone property from an R-2 to a B-3 Zone, ordinance for a TIF Agreement with B-Way Design & Decorating LLC, and an ordinance on risk management insurance. Other items on the agenda include a street closing request for the Christmas Parade to be held on December 3rd at 5:00pm, a request to use recreation funds for the Christmas Parade, and discussion/approval concerning a request for water line extension.
The Edwards County CUSD #1 October Board Meeting has been moved from 10/17/2022 to 10/20/2022.
Last night was Homecoming and Senior Night at the Train Yard, and the Mules claimed a shut-out victory, defeating the Hamilton County Foxes with a final score of 52-0. With the victory, Fairfield moves to 4-3 in Conference Play, while the Foxes now drop to 3-4 on the season. In Homecoming festivities, a new Homecoming King and Queen were crowned. Chelsea Cuff was crowned as 2022 FCHS Homecoming Queen, with Johnathan Paul being crowned the 2022 Homecoming King.
Blue Point Church west and north of Cisne is holding their 125th Homecoming Celebration through Sunday, October 9th. Today Jeff & Sheri Easter will be performing a southern gospel concert in the Blue Point gym at 6:00pm. Everyone is Welcome and a love offering will be received. On Sunday, October 9th, The Victory Boys from Mt. Vernon will be singing in the 9:30am service. Also on Sunday, October 9th, Jason Taylor, pastor of the Vertical Church in Yuma, AZ will be preaching in the 10:30am service. A pot-luck dinner will be served at noon on Sunday, October 9th in the gym.
The Wayne County 4-H Foundation will hold a drive-thru Fish Dinner today. Serving will be from 10:30 – noon and will be a drive-thru on Main Street at the Courthouse. Cost of the meal will be $12. Menu will include: 2 fried fish fillets, hush puppies, fried potatoes, & a cookie. Cars may drive in front of the Courthouse. There will be no need to leave your vehicle to give your order and pick it up. Make plans to attend this annual event held to support 4-H in Wayne County. For more information, contact Melinda States at 599-6510.
The Fairfield Coin Club is holding its 52nd annual Coin Show and Auction at the North Side Grade School. The doors open to the public at 9:00 am. Hourly door prizes begin at 10:00 am and auction lots will be on display starting at this time. At 1:00 pm there will be special awards and presentations, with the penny stacking contest at 1:30 and the junior auction at 2:00 pm. The regular auction begins at 2:30 pm and raffle winners will be drawn at 3:00 pm. For more information check out the Fairfield Coin Club on Facebook at Fairfield Coin Club Fairfield Illinois.
The Mount Erie Fall Festival runs through Sunday, October 9. Today’s events include 9:00am Vendor Markets, 5K Run/Walk, Inflatables & Rides; 10:00am Power & Grace Tumbling; 11:00am Cruise In & Tractor Show, Parade starts at Noon, 1:00pm Entertainment by Union Road, Chicken Races at 3:00pm, Pedal Pull at 4:00pm, Punk’n Chuck’n at 5:00pm, 6:00pm Bingo @ Mike’s Suction Barn and Movies on the Corner. The full schedule of events can be viewed here … Mt-Erie-Fall-Festival
The 68th Annual Piopolis Shooting Match and Raffle will be held Sunday October 9th beginning at 12 noon, sponsored by the St. John the Baptist Holy Name Society. Piopolis is located six miles north of McLeansboro IL on Route 242 or ten miles south of Wayne City on Route 242. Food and refreshments will be available. For more information contact, Michael Karcher, Trustee at 736-2341 or 599-1735.
The four Illinois Eastern Community Colleges are urging high school seniors to apply now for the next round of Student Success Scholarships, before the October 28th Priority Deadline, to ensure they are first in line for scholarship dollars. Initiated in 2020, the tuition awards are available to students within the IECC District who have committed to attend either of the four colleges by completing the admissions application and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid by the Priority Deadline date. Students can go to iecc.edu/priority to begin the application process now and file their FAFSA as soon as possible. Last year, the IECC awarded more than $272,000 in Success Scholarships to 408 area students. The award recipients will be announced prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. Students or parents with questions should contact the Financial Aid offices at any of the four colleges or logon at iecc.edu/financial.
Fire Prevention week is October 9-15, and Illinois DCFS is taking this time to remind the public about the importance of creating and practicing a home fire escape plan. In October of 2019 DCFS launched a statewide program to provide free smoke alarms to families served by the department. To-date DCFS has distributed 3,154 smoke alarms to families across Illinois, including 897 this year. “Keeping children safe is our #1 priority and ensuring that every family we serve has a working smoke alarm is an extra layer of protection we can provide,” said Illinois DCFS Director marc D. Smith. “We know smoke alarms save lives but families also need to be prepared with a plan so they can quickly get out of the house and to a safe meeting place if the alarm sounds.” According to the National Fire Protection Association: Three out of five home fire deaths result from fires in properties without working smoke alarms. More than one-third (38%) of home fire deaths result from fires in which no smoke alarms are present. The risk of dying in a home fire is cut in half in homes with working smoke alarms. Illinois law requires every household to have smoke alarms within 15 feet of every bedroom and at least one on each floor of the home. Families served by DCFS may request smoke alarms from their caseworker or call their local field office directly to request on. For more information about Fire Prevention Week and fire prevention in general, visit www.fpw.org.
The two candidates for Illinois Governor met for their first of two scheduled face-to-face debates this past week at Illinois State University in Normal. Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker and Republican State Senator Darren Bailey took the stage with the issue of crime taking much of the debate time. While issues relating to the SAFE-T Act were talked about, other discussion included the COVID-19 pandemic and state disaster declarations, plus gun rights, abortion rights, and the state economy. To Pritzker, the upstart Republican and relative legislative newcomer is a “hypocrite” on the issues for which he attacks the governor. While according to Bailey, Pritzker’s handling of crime, property taxes and education is “crushing” the state. Pritzker, elected in 2018 amid the aftermath of a budget stalemate that left the state billions of dollars in debt, boasted before an audience at Illinois State University in Normal of the way he paid down debt and balanced the budget for four years. Bailey claimed that Pritzker did so with federal relief money for the COVID-19 pandemic and by not paying the full amount necessary to fund employee pension systems. Bailey contended he would cut taxes with a “reprioritization of spending” and zero-based budgeting. Pritzker said his management of the budget has proven successful and with billions of debt paid down, his continued leadership could mean lower taxes in the future. Pritzker said he would not repeat his 2020 attempt to change the constitutionally required flat income tax to force wealthier residents to pay more, contending that his management of finances has produced budget surpluses over the last two years. Bailey stated his focus is going to be crime, taxes, and education, further stating “We need to focus on uniting this state.” The second and final gubernatorial debate will be two weeks before the November 8th election, on October 18th, in Chicago.
The U.S. hog herd has gotten smaller, but there are some signs that contraction might be slowing down. The USDA reports there were 73.8 million hogs & pigs nationwide on September 1st, up 2% from June 1st, but down 1% from a year ago. The largest herd was at 23.4 million head in Iowa, followed by Minnesota (8.8) and North Carolina (8.3). Nationwide farrowings for June through August were 1% lower than a year ago with the pig crop also down 1% even as the number of pigs saved per litter was unchanged. With the 4th highest hog herd at 5.2 million head, Illinois’ numbers are down 4% from a year ago. Also lower than September 2021 was Illinois’ market hogs (3%) and breeding herd (11%).
Five major U.S. airports are going to screen for the Ebola virus after an outbreak in Uganda. Passengers who have been in the African country within the past three weeks will be routed through New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty International, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, Chicago O’Hare and Washington Dulles International. The passengers will be subject to enhanced screening to check for symptoms of the disease. The Centers for Disease Control says the risk of Ebola spreading in the U.S. is low, as cases have not yet been detected in Uganda’s capital or travel hubs.
According to the National Weather Service widespread frost and freeze conditions are expected this weekend. Expected Impacts include damage to sensitive vegetation that has not been covered. Individuals should take the following actions: Prepare to cover any sensitive vegetation if you wish to extend the growing season; Make a pot of chili or stew; build a campfire in your backyard; and avoid anything Pumpkin Spice Flavored. Frost advisories are expected to remain in place throughout the weekend before returning to warmer weather. The current extended forecast shows dry conditions to start the week, with slight chances of rain into midweek.
River stages as of this morning: the Little Wabash east of Fairfield stands at 4.98 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 4.17 feet (flood stage is 18 ft.). Bonpas Creek at Browns reads 2.38 feet. The Little Wabash at Main Street in Carmi reads 3.34 feet, and the Wabash River at Mt. Carmel sits at 2.51 feet.