Special Weather Statement issued by the National Weather Service out of PADUCAH KY. Jefferson-Wayne-Edwards-Wabash- White: Including the cities of Mount Vernon, Fairfield, Albion, Mount Carmel, Carmi. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL INTO SATURDAY MORNING ... Rainfall totals will likely range from 1 to 2 inches some areas, but some locally higher amounts will be possible if thunderstorms manage to repeat over the same locations. In addition, areas fog, possibly dense at times, may develop throughout southern Illinois for a few hours as a warm front lifts north into the region. Motorists should be prepared for visibilities well below a mile at times. The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 11,858 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease in Illinois, including 52 additional deaths this past week. Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,944,056 cases, including 27,117 deaths, in Illinois. As of mid-week, 2,953 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 772 patients were in the ICU and 391 patients were on ventilators. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test is currently 4.9%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity 6.2%. Currently the IDPH reports a total of 42,033,355 test performed state-wide. A total of 18,475,621 vaccines have been administered in Illinois, 2,555,087 of those have been booster doses. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 67,956 doses. The Illinois Variant Case count now stands at 24,673 with 16 cases listed as the OMICRON variant. This past Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 vaccine being available in Illinois. More than 18 million doses have been administered in Illinois over the past year and as of yesterday, 63% of all state residents are now fully vaccinated. The southern Illinois stats show the number of fully vaccinated residents is averaging from 35-45%. While state health officials were hoping for 80-90% fully vaccination rates throughout Illinois, they continue to urge everyone to get their shots. Meanwhile, Pfizer is testing a third COVID-19 vaccine dose in children after finding that two doses didn't create a strong enough immune response in some kids. The change will mean delays in submitting data until next year. Pfizer and BioNTech say two doses of the vaccine in children under two years old was comparable in the trial for older teenagers, but not for ages two through five. ISP received a call to investigate a two-vehicle traffic crash with injuries at approximately 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 17 on Interstate 64 westbound at Milepost 100 in Wayne County. Preliminary investigative details indicate that 75-year-old Addie Mae Cain of Springfield, MO, was traveling westbound driving a White 2019 Kenworth Truck Tractor Semi-Trailer, in the right lane on Interstate 64, near the Milepost 100. 30-year-old Joy C. Ming-Wilson was in the left lane driving a Red 2019 Ford Mustang, traveling westbound and attempted to pass. Cain refused medical attention; Ming-Wilson was airlifted to a regional hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Kenneth Lee Holley, 53 of Mulkeytown, was sentenced last week in Franklin County to a total of 60 years in state prison on multiple counts of child pornography and aggravated criminal sexual abuse. On Monday, Holley was sentenced to 18 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections on each of the three counts of child pornography to be serve consecutive to one another. Holley was also sentenced to 6 years in IDOC on each of the two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, to be served concurrent with one another but consecutive to the sentences on the child pornography counts. Holley was also ordered to pay restitution for counseling for the victims and a $2,000 fine for each count of child pornography. His sentenced in the IDOC will be followed by a three-year term of mandatory supervised release. The case was investigated by the Franklin County Sheriff's Department and prosecuted by State's Attorney Abby Dinn. Bond was set at $30,000 Friday for a 60-year-old Salem man who was formally charged in Marion County Court with traveling to meet a minor. Donald Bumgarner is accused in the charge of traveling a distance in Illinois for the purpose of engaging in unlawful sexual conduct with a defendant he believed to be a child after using a device capable of electronic data storage or transmission to attempt to lure or entice a person he believed to be a child. If released on bond, he is ordered to have no contact with anyone under 18 and no contact with Bryan Memorial Park. Bumgarner is due back in Marion County Court for a preliminary hearing on January 11th. A 31-year-old Mt. Vernon man has been sentenced in Jefferson County Court to a total of 75 years in prison for first-degree murder and robbery. Traviel Gibson was charged with fatally shooting his father, 48-year-old Sam Gibson, and the robbery of a cell phone from his father's girlfriend Rhonda Wesley. The incident occurred on May 13th of last year while he was staying at a home in the 1800 block of Cherry Street in Mt. Vernon with his father and his girlfriend. Gibson had earlier been found guilty in a jury trial. Trial testimony indicated Sam Gibson had been shot 13 to 15 times. Judge Jerry Crisel handed down a 70-year prison term for the murder and a five-year consecutive term for the robbery. The judge rejected a motion for a new trial prior to the start of sentencing on Thursday. Illinois' governor has signed legislation to repeal a requirement that parents or guardians be notified when girls younger than 18 are seeking an abortion. Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker says it's an effort to safeguard reproductive rights that are being stripped and threatened elsewhere. The bill Pritzker signed Friday was approved by the Illinois Legislature this fall. Effective Jan. 1, 2024, it repeals a 1995 act requiring that a parent or guardian be notified at least 48 hours in advance when a minor 17 or younger seeks an abortion. Republicans criticized Pritzker and Democrats for stripping parents of their rights and say the repeal puts girls across the Midwest in danger.According to the most recent data from the Illinois Department of Public Health, 7,534 nonresidents received abortions in Illinois in 2019, compared with 2,970 in 2014 and 5,528 in 2017. HB 370 is effective June 1, 2022. River stages as of this morning: the Little Wabash east of Fairfield stands at 12.51 feet, below the 17 ft. flood stage. Meanwhile, the Skillet Fork at Wayne City has a reading of 7.06 feet (flood stage is 15 ft.). The Little Wabash below Clay City is at 9.48 feet (flood stage is 18 ft.). Bonpas Creek at Browns reads 11.19 feet, and the Little Wabash at Main Street in Carmi reads 10.48 feet. The Wabash River at Mt. Carmel sits at 13.34 feet.