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 Fairfield Coin Club held its 52nd Annual Coin Show and Auction on October 9 at the North Side Grade School. Doors opened at 9:00 AM. There were approximately 180 people who attended the show. Hourly door prizes of a 2023 Red Book were won by Fay Sons, Gary Oliver, Paul Turner, Barney Barnett, Danna Sutton and John Fetherling. There were 17 Tables with dealers present to buy, sell and trade coins. This year the Annual Show book and scholarships are being dedicated to James Isle or Jim as many called him, was a lifetime member of the Fairfield Coin Club. James has been a member of the Coin Club since 1973 and has served the Club in all areas. James has been President, Vice President, Treasurer and Director many many times. James was very active in all areas of the club. James was the leader in putting together the money jar for the Fall Fun Fest and always put together the Money Christmas tree to be raffled off at our Christmas show. He was a long-time auctioneer for the Fairfield Coin club monthly shows and the Annual Shows. James was a huge supporter and organizer for the kids’ activities at the monthly and Annual Show. James will be deeply missed by all of the club members and Directors. His shoes will be hard to fill. James has been active in the club the longest of any club member at this time. With him went a vast amount of Knowledge, Kindness and we will treasure the memories. Each year the Fairfield Coin Club awards 2-$500 scholarships to Frontier Community College. As of this year our club has awarded $27,5000 total in scholarships. This year’s scholarship recipients are Laina McKinney and Riley Irwin. Laina and Riley are both graduates of Wayne City High School. Laina graduated in May of 2021 and is in Nursing classes, Riley graduated in May 2022. Winner of the James Isle Memorial Scholarship is Nicholas Sursa. Nicholas graduated in May 2019 from Mt Vernon Township High School and is in the Nursing Program at Frontier Community College. A penny stacking contest was held and this year’s winner was Evan Kessler stacking a stack of pennies 4 ½ inches tall. Evan won a 2022 Silver Eagle for his efforts. According to the Guinness book of worlds records the tallest stack of pennies is 6 foot 1 inch. There was also a Junior auction where each kid was given $60.00 in play money and they were allowed to bid and buy coins to take home with a wide variety of piggy banks with money and proof sets were auctioned off. All of the Juniors appeared to have a good time with all of the auction lots donated by members of the club. There was an auction of 50 lots sold this date with the Auctioneer being Roberta Marshel and the runners were Junior members of the club. Food service this year was provided by Lil Buddies of Wayne City with pulled pork sandwiches, loaded nachos and hotdogs along with apple pie and drinks. The food was excellent as always.
This year’s raffle prizes were awarded, and they are as follows:
- 1st Prize 2022 $10.00 American Eagle Gold (¼ Ounce) won by Collins Matthews
- 2nd Prize 2022 $5.00 American Eagle Gold (1/10 Ounce) won by Tim Ridgley
- 3rd Prize 5 Ounce Silver Bar won by Tim Ridgley
- 4th Prizes 2022 Silver Eagles (5 Drawings) Doris Robertson, Tom Kessler, Dwain Hetzel, Dwain Thomason, and Kent Henson
- 5th Prizes 2022 Silver Eagles (5 Drawings) Otis Brach, Gary Easley (2), Judie Simmons and Bob Emmitt.
The 50/50 raffle was won by Judie Simmons with her donating all of the winnings to the club for club activities. Thank you, Judie, for your generosity. This year’s officers are as follows: President Roberta Marshel, Vice President Larry Kauble, Secretary/Treasurer Josh Isle and Bourse Chairman Roberta Marshel. Directors currently are Danny Isle, Maynard Doty, Clint Hayes, Judie Simmons, Dwain Thomason, Robert Fulf and Bryan Morgan. The Fairfield Coin Club uses its money to buy Red Books for all of the schools and libraries in Wayne County. We also do 2 $500 scholarships a year to Frontier Community College. We have also donated to support the hospital, Kids in Motion, to the canine unit of the police Department and other worthy causes as they arise. The club wishes to thank everyone who came to the 52nd Annual Coin Show and Auction. We would also like to Thank the North Side Grade School for allowing us to use the school gym and Chuck Harl for all of the hard work he puts into helping get things ready and helping on the day of the show. We could not ask for a better person than Chuck. Also, we would like to Thank Lil Buddies for providing food at our show. It is always good to support our local businesses. Thank you everyone for a successful show.
The American Red Cross is still in need of all blood types and platelets as all area donors are urged to get out and give blood when possible. The upcoming area blood drives :
- Today – The House of Prayer in Albion from 12:00 to 6:00
- Tomorrow – Neoga High School from 1:00 to 6:00
- Thursday – Oblong High School from 8:30 to 2:30
- Thursday – The Flora Church of the Nazarene from 12:00 to 5:00
- Friday – Newton Community High School from 8:30 to 2:00
- Monday – (10/17) – First United Methodist Church in Olney from 12:00 to 4:00
For more information go online to redcrossblood.org.
Friends of the Fairfield Public Library will conduct their semi-annual bake sale on Saturday, October 15, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the library on the corner at 300 SE Second Street. During the bake sale, there will also be hundreds of books available for $1 each, according to Librarian Michelle Conard. Baked goods for the sale should be brought to the library by 2 p.m. on Friday, October 14, or between 9 and 10 a.m. on Saturday morning. Books and DVDs can be donated whenever the library is open. Annual dues for Friends of the Library are $12 for an individual, $20 for a family, and $30 for non-profit organizations as well as businesses and professional offices, and they made be paid during the sale. All proceeds from dues and fundraisers the Friends conduct are used by the library for its programs and purchases.
The City of Fairfield have announced that Trick or Treat hours will be on Sunday, October 30th and Monday, October 31st from 5-8pm. Additionally, the City of Fairfield and the Wayne County Chamber will be holding a Trunk or Treat event at the city parking lot, east of the post office, on Monday, October 31st from 5-8pm. This is a free event with Candy, Games, and more. Decorate your trunk or tent and help the kids have a Happy Halloween. This event is open to all residents of Wayne County. For more info or to RSVP call 842-6116.
Illinois State Police (ISP) District 19 Interim Commander, Lieutenant Kerry Sutton, announces the ISP will conduct a Nighttime Enforcement (NITE) patrol in Wayne County during October. NITE patrols allow the ISP to focus on preventing, detecting, and taking enforcement action in response to impaired driving and occupant restraint violations especially between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. The number of unrestrained drivers killed in traffic crashes is significantly higher at nighttime and combined with impaired driving means even more traffic deaths during these critical hours. Officers will strictly enforce violations including: – Driving Under the Influence (DUI); – Safety Belt and Child Restraint use; – Speeding; – Distracted Driving; and, – All Illinois Vehicle Code and Criminal Violations. Alcohol and drug impairment are factors in more than 30% of all fatal motor vehicle crashes in Illinois. Over half of all fatal crashes in Illinois occur at night. The NITE program allows officers to work even harder at removing dangerous impaired drivers from the road and making sure everyone is buckled up. This project is funded through the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Illinois State Police District 19 Interim Commander, Lieutenant Kerry Sutton, announced today activity and enforcement figures for the month of September. District 19 includes Wabash, Edwards, Wayne, White, Hamilton, Saline, and Gallatin Counties. Enforcement activity consisted of 447 citations and 1,179 written warnings, including 5 DUIs, 206 speeding citations, 36 occupant restraint citations, 20 distracted driving citations, 22 criminal arrests, and 426 written warnings for speeding. Troopers also conducted 138 Motor Carrier Safety Inspections and investigated 35 traffic crashes. There were two fatal traffic crashes investigated by District 19 during September, resulting in two fatalities. Moreover, District 19 issued 262 citations and 518 written warnings for “Fatal Four” violations. These violations are most associated with fatal traffic crashes and include DUI, Speeding, Failure to Wear a Seatbelt, and Distracted Driving.
As the 2022 Illinois farming season is starting to wind down, the number of farm fatalities for the year is lower than average. So far this year, seven farm-related deaths have been recorded in Illinois, that’s down from ten at this time in a typical year. However, as the case is many years, there are a lot of near misses that are not reflected in the stats. The numbers show that at least half the farm deaths in Illinois every year occur on rural roadways as farmers move equipment from field to field or from field to home.
The US Attorney General Office for Southern Illinois says a number of scams impacting senior citizens are being seen in the southern part of the state. Rachelle Aud Crowe says in addition to the identity theft schemes, there are a variety of other schemes to look for as well, including those dealing with grandparents, taxes, lotteries, and more. Go online for tips and other information, at justice.gov/usao-sdil/pr. In the wake of widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Ian, the State Attorney General’s office is continuing to alert Illinois residents who want to donate to help out those affected, to be on the lookout for fundraising scams. Those who plan to donate to relief efforts should take a little extra time to look into the charitable groups or organizations before giving money. For safety tips, logon at illinoisattorneygeneral.gov.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s Office is receiving a nearly $400,000 Federal Grant to set up hate crime training. The training will be for law enforcement and prosecutors, to help them better understand hate crimes and create a safe environment for victims, according to Attorney General Raoul. The Attorney General’s Office will develop the program over the next year. It’s anticipated law enforcement will start training towards the end of 2023 with prosecutors receiving the training in 2024.
An approaching strong cold front will bring in some clouds tonight along with a chance of some scattered showers tomorrow, although it appears most of the rain could stay to our north and west. The better chance of us getting wet is Wednesday afternoon and evening as the front actually moves through our downstate area. Then we dry out with sunshine back in the forecast and some cooler air in place for Thursday through most of the weekend.
River stages as of this morning: the Little Wabash east of Fairfield stands at 4.93 feet, below the 17 ft. flood stage. Meanwhile, the Skillet Fork at Wayne City has a reading of 5.02 feet (flood stage is 15 ft.). The Little Wabash below Clay City is at 4.13 feet (flood stage is 18 ft.). Bonpas Creek at Browns reads 1.40 feet. The Little Wabash at Main Street in Carmi reads 3.31 feet, and the Wabash River at Mt. Carmel sits at 2.55 feet.
Today’s Crude Oil Price is $85.64 up $4.19 from Friday. The November Crude Oil Price is $91.80 up $3.56 from Friday morning.