The Wayne City Village Board met Monday night and approved new rates for garbage pickup, new signs for the community building and park, and new mobile WiFi equipment for the ambulance. The WiFi will make it possible to send medical information to the hospital while en route from rural areas, especially near Orchardville. Board Member Kerry Esmon resigned from the board, effective Thursday. The Albion City Council met last night. The council decided against a donation to Fair Fest, but it did approve Christmas bonuses for city employees in the amount of $300 for full-time employees and $150 for part-time, plus a $20 ham voucher. Mayor Wes Harris also appointed Scott Meserole as Assistant Police Chief for the City. Fairfield Memorial Hospital CEO Katherine Bunting-Williams has announced FMH, Horizon Healthcare's four clinics, and FMH Home Health have earned The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval for Hospital Accreditation, Rural Health Clinic & Home Care Accreditation. The Gold Seal of Approval is a symbol of quality reflecting commitment to providing safe and effective care. The Wayne County Health Department announced 21 new cases of COVID-19 from Friday through Sunday, bringing its total to 3,316; 82 people were in isolation. White County added 16 cases from Friday through Sunday and sat at 3,170, and Hamilton County reported 11 to reach 1,401; two people were hospitalized, and 20 were in isolation. Jefferson County added 29 cases since Saturday, including 17 yesterday. The state Department of Public Health announced 19,110 new cases since Friday afternoon and 85 additional deaths. Statewide totals sat at 1,854,186 cases and 26,620 deaths. The Southern Region had a seven-day positivity rate of 6.4 percent on the 3rd, up from 6.3 percent on the 2nd. Its seven-day average availability for ICU beds was down to 11 percent. River stages as of early this morning: the Little Wabash east of Fairfield stands at 12.43 feet, below the 17 ft. flood stage. Meanwhile, the Skillet Fork at Wayne City has a reading of 5.72 feet (flood stage is 15 ft.). The Little Wabash below Clay City is at 5.93 feet (flood stage is 18 ft.). Bonpas Creek at Browns reads 12.45 feet, and the Little Wabash at Main Street in Carmi reads 18.46 feet. The Wabash River at Mt. Carmel sits at 7.50 feet. Today's crude oil price is $62.50, up $3.25 from yesterday. The January crude oil price is $71.08, up $2.92 from yesterday morning. The guests today on the Community Connection will be Don Witter and Joyce Caudle, talking about the Fairfield Christmas Food Basket Giveaway. Community Connection airs at 7:30 on AM 1390 and 103.3 FM. "Morning Coffee" will feature Mark Turner and Jeff Vaughan. "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.