Fairfield FFA member Jacob Britt was awarded the National FFA Organization's highest honor, the prestigious American FFA Degree, during the 95th National FFA Convention on October 29, 2022, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Less than one percent of the 850,823 FFA members in the country ever earns this distinction. Recipients of the honor are reserved for those students who have earned at least $10,000 and productively invested $7500 through Supervised Agricultural Experience Programs (SAEs), met all requirements of a twenty-page degree application, and completed an interview with a state recommendation committee. Jacob is currently majoring in accounting at University of Southern Indiana and he is the 15th Fairfield FFA member to receive the FFA degree. A rural Fairfield Woman is back behind bars following her arrest on Halloween morning by Wayne County Sheriff's Deputies. 26 year old Baylee Ann Hutcheson turned herself in to authorities just after 11am Monday on a petition to revoke probation warrant related to a residential burglary charge. As of Tuesday morning, Hutcheson remains behind bars on $1,020 bond. She'll be due in Wayne County court on December 1st at 1pm. On 10/25/2022, at approximately 12:07 PM, Fairfield Police responded to a 3 vehicle crash at the inter intersection of West Delaware and Commerce Drive. A 2022 Ford Escape, driven by Jamia Nally, 29 of Grayville was traveling south across West Delaware. Nally pulled into the path of a 2021 Chevrolet Silverado driven by Timothy Legg, 43 of Fairfield. Upon impact, Legg's vehicle went across the intersection, striking a 2014 Toyota, driven by Ivan Kunce, 72 of Fairfield. Kunce was facing north at the intersection, waiting to cross. Nally, a passenger in her vehicle and Legg were transported to Fairfield Memorial Hospital for treatment. All 3 vehicles were towed from the scene. Nally was cited for failure to yield the right of way. Fairfield Fire Department and Wayne County Ambulance Service assisted. On 10/27/22, at 1:59 AM, Fairfield Police arrested Brylan C Stephenson, 24 of Fairfield, in the 100 block of Market Avenue, during their investigation into a vehicle crash in that area. Stephenson was arrested for Aggravated Assault on a Peace Officer, Aggravated Battery of a Peace Officer and Resisting. He was transported to the Wayne County Jail and lodged pending a bond hearing. On 10/27/22, at 7:52 AM, Fairfield Police arrested Shannon L Cone, 35 of Fairfield, at 912 N Epworth Street, Fairfield. Cone was arrested for an incident that occurred on 10/26/22 at 705 W Water ST in Fairfield where he was accused of entering a residence and remaining after being told to leave. He was transported to the Wayne County Jail and lodged pending a bond hearing on charges of Criminal Trespass to a Residence and Disorderly Conduct. On 10/28/22, at 4:11 PM, Fairfield Police responded to the intersection of W Delaware Street and Commerce Drive in Fairfield for a traffic crash between a 2009 Chevrolet passenger car being driven by Tori J Gonzalez, 16 of Fairfield and a 2015 Nissan SUV driven by Erica M Penrod, 48 of Fairfield. The Gonzalez vehicle was Northbound on Commerce DR when it was struck in the side by the Penrod vehicle, who was Eastbound on W Delaware ST. Both vehicles were towed. No injuries were reported. Gonzalez was cited for Failure to Yield at a Stop Intersection. * If you have any information regarding crimes, please contact the Wayne County Crime Stoppers phone or text at (618) 842-9777. Your tip could be worth a cash reward. * All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Sunday turned out to not be much of a day of rest for White County Sheriff's Deputies. At 9:50am, Deputy Michael Brown arrived at 28 year old Zachary Kleilein's residence at 601 East Main in Norris City in response to a call that Kleilein's vehichle and garage were broken into the night prior. He said his wife had just cleaned out his vehicle, but didn't believe anything was taken. Kleilein said he thought it was kids because the car had been locked, other than the driver's side door. Deputy Brown then asked if he wanted to sign a complaint and Kleilein agreed. Walking in front of the house, Kleilein showed the deputy where a couple items from the garage had been dropped on the ground. The items included a Christmas ornament and a bottle of water. They were photographed, but left with the victim. At 1pm, Deputy Brown arrived at the home of 38 year old Jason Laymance at 404 Wilson Street in Enfield for a warrant check. Laymance was wanted on a White County warrant for Retail Theft (fuel from Huck's). The report indicates Laymance became upset and asked what the bond amount would be. After checking with dispatch, it was revealed, Laymance was also wanted on a Hamilton County warrant for Aggravated Fleeing and Eluding a Police Officer. The deputy had allowed Laymance to go inside to change his shirt and shoes. After asking him to come back outside, there was no response prompting Deputy Brown and Deputy Malone who had arrived to assist to enter the home where they were unable to locate Laymance. After a brief manhunt on foot, officers located Laymance, took him into custody and gave him an additional charge of Resisting or Obstructing a Police Officer. Jason Laymance is being held in the White County Jail on $2,550 bond. Former Hawaii congresswoman and presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard is standing behind Republican Darren Bailey in the Illinois governor's race. The Democrat-turned-independent endorsed the downstate senator in his quest to defeat incumbent Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker. During a rally yesterday in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, Gabbard called Bailey a man of the people. Pritzker's campaign blasted Gabbard's endorsement of Bailey, calling her a "Russia apologist and conspiracy theorist." The following courtesy of Jerry Nowicki and Peter Hancock of Capital News Illinois In the Tuesday, Nov. 8, election, Illinois voters will cast a ballot on a state constitutional amendment, every statewide constitutional office, every seat in the General Assembly and, in 12 counties, a spot on the state's Supreme Court. For more information about voting, including how to and where to cast an in-person ballot on election day and prior to it, you can visit your local election authority. You can find information for all local election officials on the Illinois State Board of Elections website. Information on where your Election Day polling place can be found here. As of Monday, the Illinois State Board of Elections had reported 590,333 early votes had already been cast, including 362,604 mail-in ballots, 224,595 early in-person ballots and 3,134 grace period ballots. Below is a brief summary of the statewide races. Links to other coverage on the races and interviews with the candidates and coverage of the Supreme Court races can be found here in the Capitol News Illinois voter's guide. Governor's Race Gov. JB Pritzker is facing off against state Sen. Darren Bailey, a Republican farmer from downstate Xenia. The candidates' views diverge widely on just about every topic, from abortion to state spending to pandemic response to addressing gun crime. The Libertarian candidate is Scott Schluter. The candidates' differences are demonstrated by Bailey's voting record on some of the major policy proposals backed by Pritzker. Bailey was a "no" vote on almost all of them, saying in one public appearance that he'd like to repeal "everything" Pritzker signed into law during his first term in office. Bailey voted against the state's operating budget each year, saying it contains wasteful spending. Pritzker, meanwhile, has cited those budgets as the reason Illinois was able to pay down a backlog of unpaid bills that ballooned to $16 billion under Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, along with other interest-accruing debt. Bailey also opposed the legalization of marijuana and a $45 billion public works infrastructure plan. The public works plan was funded by a measure that double