The next meeting of the Carmi City Council is set for this Tuesday beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the City Council Chambers at 225 East Main Street. Among the items the council is expected to discuss is the potential approval of a resolution authorizing Mayor Jeff Pollard to seek bids for trash pickup with amended requirements. A closed session is also scheduled to discuss personnel matters with possible action to follow. The latest numbers from around the area shows some counties in southern Illinois with dropping rates, with a rise reported in some other areas. Reports this morning showed Wayne County with 11 new cases of COVID-19 within the past week and one hospitalization. Marion County reported 36 new cases for the past week and two hospitalizations and no new deaths. The county had been on the "medium-risk level" for COVID-19 for a week, but dropped back to the "low-risk level" when new weekly results were released on Friday. Jefferson County had added 31 new case
As of this morning, the Illinois Department of Public Health is reporting a total of 3,318,982 cases of the coronavirus in the state along with 33,853 total deaths. Reports from the area indicated Wayne County had one new case in the past few days, while Clay County had five new cases and Richland County reported three new cases. As of this past Wednesday, just over 22 million vaccines had been administered in Illinois, with just over 4.5 million of those booster doses. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 12,781 doses. The Wayne County Retired Teachers' Association will award one $500 scholarship for the 2022-2023 school year. The award is available to a Wayne County high school graduate who has declared a major in education and has accumulated at least 80 semester hours towards a degree at an accredited college or university. Applicants must also have at least a 2.8 college GPA on a 4.0 scale and have full intentions to teach upon graduation. Applicati
Multiple reports Saturday indicated that Fairfield Mayor Mike Dreith passed away. According to reports, Dreith had been at his cabin Saturday. Dreith had also served as past President of Frontier Community College, and manager of WFIW/WOKZ Radio. Memorial Day Services will be held in Fairfield and Wayne City on Monday. Fairfield's service will be held in the Veterans Section in Maple Hill Cemetery at 11 a.m. Dave Land will emcee, and Robert Taylor will be the featured speaker. Taylor served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam. The service will be streamed on wfiwradio.com In case of rain the program will take place in the CP Church sanctuary on West Delaware Street. Wayne City will hold its Memorial Day service at 2 p.m. at Thomason Cemetery. Sharon White will emcee and Lamar Choate will be the features speaker. The Fairfield VFW and American Legion will also be on hand. COVID-19 cases are creeping a little higher in recent days, according to reports from around the area. On Saturday, it
A blood drive held Wednesday at the Community of Christ Church in Fairfield resulted in 72 units of blood collected, according to Blood Drive Coordinator Diane Vaughan. The drive was sponsored by the Clothesline. Winners of $25 Uniquely Rustique cards were Pat Vinson of Fairfield and Judy Pszczolkowski of Mt. Erie. The next drive at the Community of Christ Church will be the Wayne County Donormama on July 20th. Appointments can be scheduled online at redcrossblood.org or by calling (618) 838-9873. A 16-year-old Eldorado teenager was killed in an accident in Gallatin County Thursday night. Illinois State Police say the accident occurred on Illinois Route 13 just west of Duncan Lane in Shawneetown. The teen was westbound and for unknown reasons crossed the centerline, with the vehicle he was driving hitting a vehicle head-on, driven by 36-year-old Jarrod M. Farris of Manitou, KY. Two passengers in the Eldorado teen's vehicle were also hurt in the crash, a 15-year-old male from Harri
An area road closure in Wayne County has been announced. Motorists are being advised that county road 495 North will be closed from county road 2600 East to county road 2525 East until further notice, due to safety issues. The road closure is in Leech Township. Two more rounds of thunderstorms moved through the southern Illinois region Saturday, prompting some severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings shortly after noon. The first line moved through shortly after noon, with parts of Wayne and Edwards counties under tornado warnings around 12:30 p.m. The second line of storms moved in shortly before 8 p.m. Saturday night. The second line was mainly a heavy rain producer. Parts of southern Illinois were under s slight risk for severe weather Saturday. There were no immediate reports of major damage locally from the storms. Meadowbrook Skilled Care Nursing & Rehab in Grayville recently celebrated the role its staff played in maintaining human connections and wellbeing for its residents