The Illinois Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday that Future Farmers of America dues for every student taking agriculture education classes across the state will be covered starting this fall. The $550,000 appropriation is spearheaded by State Senator Doris Turner. FFA is a national organization for young adults interested in leadership and agriculture. It has been a priority of the Pritzker administration to make farming and agriculture more accessible, and these dollars help to diversify the make-up of the FFA organization. The elimination of dues makes Illinois a FFA affiliation membership state, ensuring every student that is enrolled in agricultural education will have FFA membership dues automatically paid, making them an FFA member. In 2021, Governor Pritzker signed House Bill 3218 and Senate Bill 1624, two measures that add "agriculture education" to the list of acceptable electives that qualify a student for admission to state universities, and "agricultural sciences" to the list of acceptable science courses for admission. The FFA agriculture education program is for students in 7th-12th grade. Currently, over 350 schools across Illinois have an FFA chapter. On Tuesday at around 2PM Reporting Officer George Spencer responded to a report of a burglary that had taken place at 1484 County Road 1400 E in Carmi. He met with Richard Kearney who reported that his storage building on the property had been intruded at some point earlier in the day. Kearney stated that a gold 1971 Honda 100 motorcycle was missing from the storage unit, reporting that the vehicle was worth somewhere between $300 and $750. After further surveying the building he also noted that multiple radiators also appeared to be missing. No further information about this incident has been made available at this time. Members of the Edwards County FFA chapter attended the 94th annual Illinois State FFA Convention June 14-16 along with more than 5,000 other FFA members, advisors, and guests. With a 2022 theme of "Initiate," the three-day event annually recognizes achievements of Illinois FFA members, elects the major state officer team, and celebrates agriculture. During the convention, the following awards were presented to the Edwards County FFA chapter. Growing Leaders National Chapter Award Section Winner: As part of the National Chapter Award program and the chapter's program of activities, Growing Leaders is designed to encourage the chapter to develop individual and cooperative activities to enhance students' life skills. The University of Illinois College of ACES is the statewide sponsor of the Growing Leaders National Chapter Award. Pictured above (from L to R) in photo 002A: Emma Glover and Jake Wiseman Harvest For All Section Winner: Recognizes FFA chapters that have excelled in their efforts to fight food insecurity in Illinois through dollars raised, pounds of food donated, and hours volunteered. Illinois Farm Bureau Young Leaders sponsors the Harvest For All awards. Pictured above (from L to R) in photo 002B: Callie Meserole and Kassidi Metcalf Top 10 Section President: Emma Wiseman was recognized as one of ten outstanding section presidents in the state who achieved the highest degree of excellence during their year of service to the chapters in their section and the Illinois Association FFA. The Illinois Farm Bureau Family of Companies Youth Education in Agriculture Committee sponsors the Top 10 section presidents award. Pictured above in photo 002C: Emma Wiseman Top 10 Chapter Reporter: Rylan Robb was recognized as one of 10 outstanding chapter reporters in the state for exemplary dedication and diligence in communicating with chapter members and the local media. The award is sponsored by Illinois Agri-News. Foundation One Star Supporter: The chapter was recognized for making a gift of $1,000 to the Illinois Foundation FFA. Gifts of at least $1,000 during the annual fundraising campaign earn Foundation One Star Sponsor status. Pictured above (from L to R) in photo 002E: Jake Wiseman and Emma Glover State Premier Chapter Award Section Winner: The State Premier Chapter Award is given to the chapter in the section with the highest overall score on the National Chapter Award application. The Illinois Farm Bureau Family of Companies Youth Education in Agriculture Committee sponsors the State Premier Chapter Awards. Pictured above (from L to R) in photo 002F: Kassidi Metcalf and Olivia Bosecker The convention spotlighted the Association's annual service project, which provided $250 scholarships to 20 FFA chapters planting trees throughout the state. Students at the convention were greeted with activities including a career fair featuring colleges and agribusinesses and an opportunity to engage in the history of Illinois' capital city. The sessions featured addresses by National FFA Western Region Vice President Josiah Cruikshank of Oregon and from each of the retiring major state officers. A new report on distracted driving crashes throughout the nation shows Illinois is among the worst for the second year in a row. According to the latest date from 2020, Illinois has the sixth highest rate of distracted driving deaths per licensed driver, at 185, which is nearly double the number of deaths in the much more populous state of California. Officials say speaking on a mobile phone while driving doubles the risk of a crash while texting increases the risk by up to six times. With the safest drivers in Nevada, Mississippi, and California, those worst than Illinois are Kansas, Louisiana, and New Mexico. The Illinois State Fair has added a big name comedian to the grandstand lineup. Emmy Award-winning host of "The Daily Show" Trevor Noah will be on stage Friday night, August 19th. The South African born comedian has written, produced, and starred in 11 comedy specials and has become quite popular. Along with the USAC and ARCA races, some of the other grandstand acts include Sam Hunt, Demi Lovato, Brooks & Dunn, Willie Nelson & Family, Shaggy & TLC, Jon Pardi, and Disturbed. Tickets are on sale now online, at ticketmaster.com. For more details go to the State Fair Facebook page. The 2022 Illinois State Fair runs August 11th through the 21st. The Illinois Beef Association endorsed Congresswoman Mary Miller for re-election in the 15th District and sent a warning to farmers that Rodney Davis has taken large campaign contributions from animal rights extremists who threaten the livestock industry in rural Illinois. Mary Miller and her husband Chris run a third-generation cattle and grain farm and are members of the Illinois Beef Association. Miller serves on the House Agriculture Committee and is one of the few remaining family farmers in Congress. "Mary Miller is a family farmer and beef producer who has been, and will continue to be, a strong voice for agriculture and the cattle industry in Washington D.C.," said Dr. Paul Walker, the President of the Illinois Beef Association. Mary Miller is a farmer, and she supports agriculture and the cattle industry." The Illinois Housing Development Authority Board announced conditional awards using $75 million in federal tax funds to provide gap financing and complete the underwriting for affordable housing developments. Funded through the COVID-19 Grant Program, the IHDA is providing grants to 19 developments in Illinois, most of them in the northern part of the state, to create or preserve around 1,000 units of affordable housing. River stages as of this morning: the Little Wabash east of Fairfield stands at 17.61 feet, above 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 9.17 feet (flood stage is 18 ft.). Bonpas Creek at Browns reads 1.30 feet, and the Little Wabash at Main Street in Carmi reads 10.31 feet. The Wabash River at Mt. Carmel sits at 6.38 feet. Today's crude oil price is $99.19, down $4.46 from yesterday. The July crude oil price is $109.50, down $1.08 from yesterday morning.