Headlines – December 6, 2022

Two Fairfield residents are behind bars this morning following arrests made by Fairfield law enforcement.  Fairfield Police nabbed 25 year old David T Asher at around a quarter till 9am Monday morning.  He was wanted on a Wayne County warrant for Domestic Battery.  Asher has been in trouble with law enforcement already this year.  Back in April, an Order of Protection was granted against the Fairfield man.  He was also picked up on a warrant for a Disorderly Conduct charge that dates back to 2020 in April.  Online court records indicate Asher is scheduled for arraignment on that charge on December 29th.  No other details on this most recent warrant arrest have been made public.  Asher is behind bars on $270 bond.

Wayne County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested Marie Antoinette Milash at the Wayne County courthouse Monday afternoon.  It was just after 1:30pm when officers took her into custody on the warrant for Obstruction of Justice.  Court records show she was at the government building apparently filing an order of protection for stalking against a Carl Tuttle of Fairfield.  Bond has been set at $500.

An Albion woman has been cited with Failure to Reduce Speed to avoid an accident following a collision Thursday afternoon just before 4pm.  According to Wayne County Sheriff’s Deputies who responded to the scene, a Chevy Silverado with a trailer driven by Nina Geiling of Petersburg, Indiana was east bound on Highway 15 at the intersection with County Road 2400 East.  Geiling had slowed at the intersection due to a vehicle turning at the intersection.  The report indicates Brianna Dawson of Albion was driving a Chevy pickup behind the truck and trailer and allegedly due to a distraction from Dawson’s child, she wasn’t able to slow down in time to avoid the accident.    Geiling was also cited for not having valid registration.

Wayne County Deputy Jeffrey Taylor made an arrest of 43 year old Joseph Cannon of Wayne City Friday.  Cannon was wanted on failure to appear warrants out of Wayne County, one for Meth Possession and the other for Theft.  Bond was set at $1,095.  Cannon was originally charged with Meth Possession back in September of 2020 and given probation after a series of pre-trial proceedings and a plea deal.  He’s due in court for a status hearing next Tuesday, December 13th.

Wayne County officers tracked down a Mt. Vernon, IL man that’s been wanted since at least May of 2019 on Friday.  46 year old Mark Z. Buchman was originally charged on Christmas Eve of 2018 with 2 Class 3 Felonies of Forgery.  In May of 2019, Judge Molt signed the warrant seeking to bring Buchman into custody.  Bail has been set at $20,000 or $2,000 cash.

At the Illinois Farm Bureau Annual Meeting held in Chicago, two local county Farm Bureaus
were recognized with the prestigious Pinnacle Award for excellence in programming and
services to their members. The Edwards County Farm Bureau was recognized with the award
for Membership Group 1 and the Wayne County Farm Bureau was recognized in Membership
Group 2. The Pinnacle Award is presented to the top county Farm Bureau in each
membership group for their outstanding programming activities. It is the highest-level award
given by the organization and recognizes overall program excellence, planning, and
implementation, as they relate to the county Farm Bureau’s goals and priorities. The Wayne
County Farm Bureau was also recognized with the Liberty Bell Award for exceptional
advocacy at the local, state, and national legislative levels. In addition, the White County
Farm Bureau was awarded the Liberty Bell for Membership Group 1. The Illinois Farm Bureau
has five membership groups based on county Farm Bureau membership size.

The Albion City Council met Monday night…with the report, here’s Mark Curtis

The number of counties in Illinois with elevated levels of COVID-19 cases is on the rise. The
Illinois Department of Public Health reported Friday that there were 63 counties in the state
at an elevated Community Level for the virus as of November 18th. That is up from 46
counties the previous week.

State Representative Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich) has issued a stinging rebuke of Illinois
Democrats’ latest attempt to take away law-abiding citizens’ Second Amendment rights.
Niemerg says he believes the bill is a direct affront to the rights afforded citizens of the
United States to protect themselves, their families, and their property. He says this is a
straight up gun and ammunition grab. The bill contains several provisions that would make
law-abiding citizens currently in possession of semi-automatic hand guns, rifles, and shotguns
and magazines that hold more than ten rounds into criminals. Niemerg says a hearing of the
House Judiciary Criminal Law Committee had previously been scheduled and canceled.

Illinois lawmakers last week passed significant legislation dealing with electric vehicle manufacturing incentives and the availability of hygiene products for prisoners in the state’s
correctional system. But some weightier issues, including a possible assault weapons ban, will
wait until a lame duck session scheduled for early January. Last week, lawmakers wrapped up
a five-day fall veto session that focused mainly on changes to the SAFE-T Act criminal justice
reform package first adopted in 2021 and a $1.8 billion infusion of cash into the state’s
Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. But several other bills passed as well, including an
expansion of tax credits and other incentives aimed at promoting electric vehicle
manufacturing in Illinois. Last year, lawmakers passed the Reimagining Electric Vehicles in
Illinois Act, or REV Illinois, that provided tax incentives for electric vehicle manufacturers, or
companies that manufacture certain component parts for electric vehicles, to locate or
expand in Illinois. Under that program, companies receiving the breaks could receive a state
income tax credit of 75-100 percent of payroll taxes withheld from each new employee and
25-50 percent for retained employees.

Lake Land Community college has a new volleyball player from Fairfield. Lexi Cline from the
Mules volleyball team has singed with the Lakers. The signing had the whole volleyball team
there, her parents and her closest friends! The Mules volleyball team was one for the ages
setting a bunch of school records. The team went 33-6 (2nd most wins in Mules volleyball
history) BDC champs for the 5th straight time, and regional champions. All of us here at WFIW
are wishing Lexi good luck next year at Lake Land!

Illinois football is set to face Mississippi State in the 2023 ReliaQuest Bowl. The game will be
played January 2nd at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The Illini is playing in its
20th bowl game in program history. Illinois finished 8-and-4 overall and 5-and-4 in the Big
Ten.

Taking a look at US Geological Survey River Stages from the area:

The Little Wabash at Golden Gate sat at 5.79 feet Tuesday morning.

The Little Wabash below Clay City is at 4.61 feet.

The Skillet Fork at Wayne City had a reading of 5.01 feet.

The Bonpas Creek at Browns reads 1.43 feet.

The Little Wabash at Main Street in Carmi is at 3.63 feet.

The Wabash River at Mt. Carmel sits at 3.08 feet.