The Wayne City Unit School District # 100 is conducting Child Find/Preschool Screenings today and tomorrow from 8:30am-2:30pm, at the Wayne City Baptist Church. This screening is for children Birth to 5-year-old not yet enrolled in public schools, and not kindergarten eligible for the 2022-23 school year, and checks each child's progress in hearing, vision, speech, language, and coordination skills, to give parents a better idea of how their child is progressing before he/she begins school. This program is free, and parents will receive immediate feedback on how their child is developing. Pre-K personnel will also be present to explain their program and other services available in the area. The screening procedure takes about 45 minutes, but appointments must be made. If you live in the Wayne City school district, call 895-0357 today to make an appointment or to get more information. Children that are screening before they are 3 will be screened by Early Intervention and will not be eligible for Pre-K until they are 3. The results of the recent blood drive held on September 21 from the Community of Christ Blood Drive have been released. The Red Cross collected 58 blood units, falling short of the projected goal for the drive of 76 units. Several donors reached milestone donations, they include Howard Tanner; fourteen gallons, Larry Weisenberger; three gallons, Tiffany Isle; two gallons, Jerry Webb, and William Winter, one gallon. Thank you to these donors for their generous donations. Door prize winners were Steve Etheridge of Mill Shoals and Howard Tanner of Fairfield. The winners each received a $25.00 gift card Save-A-Lot. The Red Cross would like to thank all the donors for their continued support of the Red Cross blood drives. The drive was sponsor for the blood was the American Legion Auxiliary of Fairfield. The next local blood drive will be November 16, 2022, at the Community of Christ Church. Donors can schedule a donation appointment online at redcross.org 41-year old Shawn Swift of Grayville, Illinois, was sentenced Tuesday, September 20, 2022 to a total of 10-years in the Illinois Department of Corrections followed by a term of up to 1-year of Mandatory Supervised Release (formerly known as "parole") on two different felony cases, 2021-CF-3 and 2021-CF-27. For the offense of Aggravated Battery in 2021-CF-27, Mr. Swift received a sentence of 6-years in the Illinois Department of Corrections and for the offense of Driving While Driver's License is Revoked in 2021-CF-3, Mr. Swift received a sentence of 4-years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, with the two sentences to run consecutive to each other for a cumulative total of 10 years IDOC. Edwards County State's Attorney Eric A. St Ledger prosecuted the case on behalf of the People of the State of Illinois and public defender Brian Shinkle represented the defendant, Shawn Swift. The Wayne County Retired Teachers Association will meet on Tuesday, October 4, at the First United Methodist Church, located at 106 Race Street, in Wayne City. Lunch will be served at 11:30, followed by the program and business meeting. Speakers for the program will be Rich Frankenfeld, Director of Outreach for the Illinois Retired Teachers Association, and representatives from Senator Darren Bailey's office and State Representative Adam Niemerg's office. Cost of the meal is $12.00. The Olney Area Pilot's Association will be having its Fly In, Drive In chili lunch this Saturday at the Olney, Noble Airport, located just off Route 250 between Olney and Noble. Serving will be from 11:00 to 2:00 and everyone is invited out to see the airplanes and the airport and enjoy an all you can eat lunch consisting of chili, hot dogs, homemade pie, and drinks, with all proceeds going to help support the clubs's projects. Illinois farmland values continue to escalate. According to a survey by the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers, Illinois farmland values are up 18% over the past year. Meanwhile in certain parts of the state and in certain classifications, the jump is at 40% in the last 18 months. That compares to value increases of 30% in Indiana and 29% in Iowa. The survey also showed that cash rents have went up 25% over the past 18 months with a projected increase by $17 per acre in 2023. The survey also indicated that about 30% of farmland is rented out by owners who serve as landlords and are not involved in farming. The Illinois Department of Employment Security will be making a payment of $450 million toward the remaining $1.8 billion borrowed under the Social Security Act. Officials announced yesterday that the unemployment insurance trust fund has capacity to make the payment without impairing the department's ability to pay benefits. Illinois state government accumulated more than $4 billion in unemployment trust fund debt during the COVID-19 pandemic economic restrictions imposed by Governor J.B. Pritzker. The state saw a surge in unemployment claims over the past two years not seen since 1982. The Illinois Department of Transportation has announced it will hold a second series of open houses for individuals interested in applying for seasonal positions to help with snow and ice removal statewide. Open houses will be held throughout the state to spread the word about IDOT's annual "snowbird" program and to help facilitate new applications. Heading in last month, more than 2,500 temporary winter positions were open, including for snow removal operators and highway maintainers to help this winter. An Illinois lawmaker is proposing changes to the SAFE-T Act which will end cash bail on January 1st, 2023. Senate Bill 4228 has been introduced by State Senator Scott Bennett of Champaign aims to clarify language and improve how officials can enforce the new law, which will allow most people charged with a crime to be released from jail as they await trial, even violent offenders. Many SAFE-T Act supporters are speaking out against the new proposal while downstate lawmakers and law enforcement agencies support it. Early Voting for the November election begins today in most areas of the state. The election isn't until November 8th, but if you're hoping to avoid potential lines at the polls, you can get your vote in early according to State Board of Elections Spokesperson Matt Dietrich. Dietrich says election authorities can start sending out vote-by-mail ballots to those who have requested one. You still have time to request a vote-by-mail ballot by visiting www.elections.il.gov, or to obtain more information about early voting and vote-by-mail. Ballots must be returned and postmarked no later than election day, November 8th. Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida as a dangerous Category 4 hurricane Wednesday afternoon. As of the 9 p.m. advisory, Hurricane Ian was moving north-northeast at 8 mph and winds had slowed to 105 mph, downgrading the storm to Category 2 status. It was located 30 miles northeast of Punta Gorda, Florida, and 95 miles south-southwest of Orlando around 8 p.m. The National Hurricane Center said the eye of the Category 4 hurricane made landfall near Cayo Costa State Park at 3:05 p.m. just north of Sanibel and Captiva Islands after its eyewall lashed residents in Charlotte and Lee counties. The system had been pummeling the coast with near Category 5 sustained winds of 155 mph with higher gusts. After passing over the barrier island and moving up through Charlotte Harbor in a similar path to 2004′s Hurricane Charley, which also carved its way into Central Florida, the still Category 4 hurricane made its second landfall close to Punta Gorda near Pirate Harbor at 4:35 p.m. with sustained winds of 145 mph. As of 8 p.m., Ian's center had moved inland about 30 miles from Punta Gorda and 95 miles south-southwest of Orlando with sustained winds down to 105 mph, a Category 2 hurricane, moving north-northeast at 8 mph. Hurricane-force winds extended out 50 miles with tropical-storm-force winds extending out 175 miles. A University of Florida Coastal Monitoring Program wind tower reported sustained winds o