The Fairfield City Council met last night and approved a contract with the Wayne County Humane Society for animal control. The society had sent a proposal for $3,100 per month, limited hours, and no pick-ups of bite dogs or vicious animals earlier this year; the new contract is for $2,000 per month and includes 24/7 pickup on bite dogs and vicious animals. In other action, the council approved an ordinance to proceed in seeking bids for water tower construction and demolition. The new tower will go on Northwest Seventh Street and will replace the existing tank already in use. That tank, and the old tower downtown, will be demolished, and the work is included in the roughly $1.5 million price tag. Financing will be comprised of state grants and TIF money, and the balance will be taken care of in some way by the city, depending on total grant amounts. In his report at last night's meeting, Mayor Mike Dreith said inflation will take a toll on the City budget. Chemicals for the water
Fairfield Mayor Mike Dreith says he is seeking help from civic groups willing to help with Renew Fairfield, a consolidated effort to clean up the City. It will be held on April 23rd, and the mayor says he needs people willing to volunteer to paint houses, as well as ideas for what houses need work. Appearing on the Community Connection, he says Renew Fairfield will include a variety of offerings outside of the painting including paper and electronics recycling and taking large-items at the Street and Bridge Department. The Fairfield City Council will meet tonight at 6 at City Hall. Aldermen are set to approve the seeking of bids for the construction of a new water tower and the demolition of the existing tower downtown, per Mayor Dreith. He says the new tower will hold about 300,000 gallons of water. He also says it is conceivable the entire project could be completed in 14 to 16 months. The Edwards County Board of Education met last night and presented a plaque of appreciation to long
The Greater Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors is supporting the establishment of a Business District in Fairfield. At a meeting yesterday morning, the board heard a presentation from Mayor Mike Dreith and unanimously voted to support the idea. A public hearing has been set for March 8th at 5:30 at City Hall before a City Council meeting, and the majority of the council will have to support the idea for it to become a reality. All council meetings are streamed on the City's Facebook page. The Edwards County High School ACES team earned second place in the Regional Academic Challenge in Engineering and Science competition, which was hosted by Olney Central College last Wednesday. The team will advance to compete in Sectionals in March in a virtual competition via Eastern Illinois University. First-place individual finishers included Emma Wiseman in English, Lauren Luker in Biology, Tobias Reineke in Physics, and Molly Swardstrom in Engineering Graphics. Fairfield
The City of Fairfield will hold a public hearing on March 8th before a City Council meeting to discuss the possible implementation of a business district in the city. The move would increase sales tax by one percent within the district boundaries. Mayor Mike Dreith says the city currently has a seven percent sales tax rate, the lowest in the immediate area, and the proposal would move it to eight percent. He also claims about 67 percent of money spent inside the proposed boundaries comes from outside the City. The City of Harrisburg recently added a similar district. Mayor John McPeek says he implement a .75 percent tax increase for a district in January 2021, and it went into effect in June. He says it has brought in a significant amount of money from out-of-town shoppers who want to hit some of the bigger chains present in Harrisburg. He is also cognizant a tax increase of any kind is a tough pill to swallow, but it is his belief cities need some way to bring in income. The Village
Frontier Community College has announced its academic honor recipients for the Fall 2021 Semester. 76 students were named to the CEO/ Chancellor's List, requiring at least a 3.9 GPA. 42 students were named to the President's List with a GPA or 3.75 to 3.89, and 27 were named to the Dean's List for having a GPA between 3.5 and 3.74. A full list of honor recipients can be found in the following attachment: Honors-List-Fall-2021 49-year-old Rockford resident Eddie W. Thomasson was sentenced in Wayne County Circuit Court yesterday. He pleaded guilty to a Class 3 felony count of forgery and was sentenced to one year conditional discharge. He was also ordered to pay $1,018 in fines and court costs. 20-year-old Woodlawn resident Jonathan M. Richardson pleaded guilty in October to a Class 2 felony count of burglary. He was sentenced yesterday to two years probation. A separate case was dismissed, and he was ordered to pay $1,863.75 in fines, court costs, and restitution. Fairfie