25-year-old Brodey I. Murbarger appeared in Wayne County Circuit Court yesterday for a status hearing. His attorney said the review of discovery materials in the jail was going well, and he agreed to meet privately with the State's Attorney to discuss scheduling a jury trial. Another pre-trial conference was scheduled for June 29th at 9 a.m., and, barring a compelling reason against, that meeting will be in-person at the courthouse. 23-year-old Toria Emerson, 31-year-old Richard Emerson, and 42-year-old Troy Gwaltney saw additional charges filed against them, per online court records, over the weekend. The three faced counts of concealment of a homicidal death in relation to the death of 32-year-old Chase Mitchell in Saline County last year, and they now each face three counts of first-degree murder. Wayne County Farm Bureau Manager Doug Anderson says most area farmers are mostly finished with planting at this point of the season, outside of spot planting, and they have moved on the spray work. As such, some bureau programs are set to begin soon, like Howl at the Moon on July 31st. Tickets are on sale at the Farm Bureau office. A table of eight will cost $200, individual reserve tickets are $30, and VIP reserve tickets are $50. Proceeds will support Wayne County Farm Bureau Young Leader Committee programs, including its scholarships. The Edwards County Health Office released a coronavirus update yesterday for the month of May. The county saw 10 new cases in that time-span, bringing its total to 588. No new deaths were reported, leaving that total at 12. No new cases were reported in White County yesterday, and Wayne County did not release an update. The state Department of Public Health announced 401 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday and eight additional deaths. Statewide totals sat at 1,382,587 cases and 22,835 deaths. The Southern Region had a positivity rate of 1.4 percent on May 29th, unchanged from the 28th. Crop planting continues in Illinois, and the latest statewide weekly crop report says 95 percent of corn has been planted, with 86 percent emerged. 80 percent of the crop is rated in good-to-excellent condition. 89 percent of soybeans have been planted, with 74 percent emerged. 95 percent of winter wheat has headed, and the first cutting of alfalfa is 71 percent complete. Average statewide topsoil moisture is rated as one percent very short, eight percent short, 69 percent adequate, and 22 percent surplus. River stages as of early this morning: the Little Wabash east of Fairfield stands at 13.33 feet, below the 17 ft. flood stage. Meanwhile, the Skillet Fork at Wayne City has a reading of 5.37 feet (flood stage is 15 ft.). The Little Wabash below Clay City is at 7.51 feet (flood stage is 18 ft.). Bonpas Creek at Browns reads 2.02 feet, and the Little Wabash at Main Street in Carmi reads 10.94 feet. The Wabash River at Mt. Carmel sits at 6.91 feet. Today's crude oil price is $60.75, up $1.25 from yesterday. The July crude oil price is $68.13, down $0.12 from yesterday morning. The guest today on the Community Connection will be Brent Opell, talking about Wayne County tractor shows. Community Connection airs at 7:30 on AM 1390 and 103.3 FM. On "Morning Coffee" Mark Turner and Jeremy Smith will welcome Ken Otey. "Morning Coffee" is between 8-9 a.m. on 104.9 weekdays. To listen to a podcast of Morning Coffee and Community Connection, click on "About Us" on the top right of wfiwradio.com. Then, from the dropdown, make your choice of program.