The Fairfield City Council held a special meeting last night to elect an Acting Mayor in the wake of the passing of elected Mayor Mike Dreith. Alderman Gary Moore was nominated to serve as Acting Mayor and was approved by a 7-0 vote. Acting Mayor Moore was sworn into office by City Attorney Darrin Rice and declared he will vote as a mayor in council meetings, meaning he will only vote to break ties or when a supermajority is needed. In other action, the council authorized the signature of the acting mayor to bank accounts and designated him as an authorized agent for the IMRF. It also approved a new three-year FOP contract after failing to do so in the past two meetings. Some changes in the contract include an expansion of residency requirements to a 45-minute radius from the police department in an effort to attract a larger applicant pool. The next contract cannot include another residency expansion, and the current contract will also include a 12 percent pay increase in its three years. Aldermen Dewey Eckleberry and Eugene McGill voted no. Fairfield Memorial Hospital's Board of Directors, Administration, Foundation, Volunteers, and staff have invited the public to attend an Open House for the new FMH Surgical Pavilion this Sunday, beginning at 2 p.m. Visitors will be able to tour a new Skilled Care Unit on the third floor; Surgical Specialty Offices on the second floor; and new Emergency Department, Urgent Care, and two new Surgical Suites on the first floor. Light refreshments will be served in the FMH Café, and each attendee will be given a commemorative bag. The Café will be closed for lunch and dinner Sunday to allow staff to prepare and serve refreshments during the Open House. Anyone with questions can call Administration at 847-8242 or 847-8243. Edwards County Commissioners met Monday at the county courthouse. Commissioners discussed updates on the county solar ordinance, and the State's Attorney will draft a revised ordinance for approval at their next meeting on July 1st. Setbacks will be changed from 500 feet to 200 feet from a property line containing a residence. Draft copies will be available prior to the meeting. The IDPH reported four new cases of COVID-19 in Wayne, Wabash, Lawrence, and Jefferson counties yesterday. Marion County added nine cases, and Clay, Richland, and Hamilton counties added two. Edwards and White counties held steady on the state website. As a state, Illinois announced 4,861 new cases and 18 additional deaths. River stages as of early this morning: the Little Wabash east of Fairfield stands at 6.33 feet, below the 17 ft. flood stage. Meanwhile, the Skillet Fork at Wayne City has a reading of 5.10 feet (flood stage is 15 ft.). The Little Wabash below Clay City is at 5.40 feet (flood stage is 18 ft.). Bonpas Creek at Browns reads 3.22 feet, and the Little Wabash at Main Street in Carmi reads 5.01 feet. The Wabash River at Mt. Carmel sits at 8.08 feet. Today's crude oil price is $112.50, up $1.00 from yesterday. The July crude oil price is $119.86, up $0.82 from yesterday morning.