Now that September is here and things have cooled off, it may put you in the mood to sit around a backyard campfire on these cooler evenings. And if that's the case, Mt. Carmel fire chief Francis Speth has some advice...
Speth’s comments were made at a recent City Council meeting.
A Wabash County Labor Day tradition returns this weekend with the 102nd annual Orio Chowder. The chowder is hosted by Wabash Presbyterian Church in Orio and Reverend Kevin McGinnis says chowder will be ready early Saturday…
McGinnis says there’s something for everyone tomorrow in Orio….
Chowder is $23 a gallon as 1,100 gallons are being made today. Last year, 1,000 gallons sold out before 1:00.
This year, an extra 100 gallons will be prepared bringing the total to 1,100 gallons being served. In addition, there’ll be softball, sand volleyball, horseshoes, and washers tournaments. Proceeds from the chowder go to church missions and maintenance of the Oreo Cemetery
WSJD File Photo Of 2019 Orio Chowder kettles.
Illinois State Police District 19 Commander, Captain Nathan Douglas, announced today activity and enforcement figures for the month of August. Troopers in District 19, which includes Wabash, Edwards, Wayne, White, Hamilton, Saline, and Gallatin Counties, recorded 1,105 incidents during the month.
Enforcement activity consisted of 390 citations and 953 written warnings, including 6 DUIs, 161 speeding citations, 49 occupant restraint citations, 21 criminal arrests, and 260 written warnings for speeding. Troopers also assisted 51 motorists, conducted 147 Motor Carrier Safety Inspections, and investigated 18 traffic crashes. There was one fatal traffic crash investigated by District 19 during August, resulting in one fatality.
Moreover, District 19 issued 243 citations and 350 written warnings for “Fatal Four” violations. These violations are most associated with fatal traffic crashes and include DUI, Speeding, Failure to Wear a Seatbelt, and Distracted Driving.
GIBSON COUNTY, Ind. – The Indiana Department of Transportation announces a complete closure on State Road 57 for a bridge deck overlay project.
Beginning on or around Wednesday Sept. 8, contractors will close the S.R. 57 bridge spanning Pigeon Creek, north of S.R. 68 and just south of County Road 650 near Buckskin. Workers will apply a new driving surface to the bridge at this location.
During the project, the bridge will be closed around the clock. Work is expected to last for about five days depending upon weather conditions. Local traffic will have access up to the point of closure, but all through traffic should use the official detour following S.R. 68, I-69 and S.R. 64.
INDOT urges drivers to slow down and stay alert near crews.
An Illinois woman is in jail in Hawaii accused of presenting a fake COVID-19 vaccination card. According to Hawaii News Now, 24-year-old Chloe Mrozak went about her weeklong vacation and when she arrived to fly back home, police in Hawaii were waiting for her. Screeners said the big tip-off was the name of the vaccine, Moderna, was misspelled. It said "Maderna." Upon checking, investigators found no trace of her vaccination.
Illinois Republicans want Gov. J.B. Pritzker to veto the legislative maps Democrats passed this week.
Maps drafted in May were passed by majority Democrats at the statehouse. Despite calls from civic groups asking that lawmakers wait until the final Census data was released, Gov. J.B. Pritzker enacted the maps. Republicans criticized the governor for going against his campaign promise to veto partisan legislative maps.
Democrats said they drafted and passed maps based on estimates to meet a constitutional deadline of June 30 for the legislature to act. Final data from the Census wasn’t released until mid-August, months tardy because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A special session to revise the maps was held Tuesday in Springfield. A status hearing was held Wednesday in the federal lawsuit Republicans filed this summer challenging the legislative maps.
House Deputy Minority Leader Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, noted on the House floor Tuesday Illinois’ population decline. Those remaining, he said, were left out of the process to draw new political lines for the next ten years by the Democratic majority in the House.
“Seventy-three people went behind that closed map room door and 12,812,435 other Illinoisans were literally shut out,” Demmer said.
But there’s one person Republicans say can block the maps: Gov. J.B. Pritzker. They’re again urging the governor to abide by a campaign promise to veto maps drawn by politicians.
“I hope that Gov. Pritzker rights your wrong with a veto of this politician-drawn map, but unfortunately given the recent history I’m not confident of that, because this Democrat majority continues to prove over and over again that you care more about your personal power than the people you represent,” Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie said on the Senate floor.
Pritzker’s office didn’t return messages seeking comment.
Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, said all Republicans have done is sue Democrats.
“We’ve never seen any of your plans, we’ve never seen any of your maps produced by the minority party,” Harmon said. “Where are those maps?”
Republicans say they didn’t draft maps in May because final Census data wasn’t available. They also contend it’s beyond the June 30 deadline for lawmakers to act and a bipartisan commission must take over the process.
Change Illinois Executive Director Madeleine Doubek said in a statement the organization hopes the courts will “force the correction of lawmakers’ callous political mapping calculations.”
“Twice in a matter of months, Illinoisans have seen their overwhelming pleas for independent and transparent mapmaking utterly ignored by those elected to represent them,” Doubek said. “Their maps make a farce of democracy and their mapmaking process was a charade. Illinois lawmakers have effectively demonstrated the clear and compelling need to end gerrymandering once and for all.”
Democrats contend the maps are fair, in bounds and represent the diversity of the state.
As the school year gets underway, signs that read “school bus drivers wanted” are a familiar sight throughout Illinois and the nationwide driver shortage is being felt in the Land of Lincoln.
Numerous districts are forced to tier bus schedules, with buses making multiple rounds to prevent overcrowding.
“Due to the driver shortage, we had to change from two-tier schedule to three-tier schedule to use drivers on multiple routes,” Peoria Superintendent of Schools Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat said.
Parents in the Granite City area are being asked to find their kids other means of transportation to school because of the driver shortage. This week the district is providing bus transportation only for students in kindergarten through 4th grades, according to a letter on the district's website.
All 5th through 12th grade students without a ride to school will be granted an excused absence and will be allowed to make up any work.
School officials are turning to mass transit for help. The district announced Madison County Transit will offer free bus rides to students through the end of the month. The three Granite City schools affected by the school bus driver shortage are along MCT’s current routes.
Some bus company officials attribute the shortage to mass retirements during the pandemic. Others point to Governor J.B. Pritzker’s vaccination mandate for school employees. Scores of Chicago school bus drivers have reportedly quit because of the mandate.
East Aurora Superintendent of Schools Jennifer Norrell told the Chicago Tribune that some students are missing classes while others are sitting on buses for hours during hot weather due to the problem.
“It was a catastrophe,” she said. “We didn’t plan to have all those children and they sat there for hours hungry and exhausted."
Decatur Public Schools are also dealing with a school bus driver shortage.
“We continue to deal with a critical shortage of bus drivers due to COVID. We know the late buses, and in some cases missing bus routes, are exceptionally frustrating, not only for parents but for our school as well,” the district said in a statement.
The Peoria school district has its own bus service, and Desmoulin-Kherat says they are offering more money to attract drivers.
“What we’ve done is offer a new driver sign-on bonus, which is a $500 sign-on bonus,” she said. “We already attracted seven new drivers and they are in training.” She added they are actively advertising for new driver as well.
ISP TRAFFIC CRASH ALERT
The Following Preliminary Information is Being Released by Illinois State Police District 19
WHAT: One Unit Personal Injury Traffic Crash
WHERE: 2625 E at 1905 N, Wayne County
WHEN: Aug. 31, 2021, at approximately 9:40 a.m.
VEHICLE: Unit 1 – 2002 Red Ford Escape
Unit 2 – 2012 Black Chevrolet Truck
DRIVER: Unit 1 – Robert L. Traiteur, 43-year-old male from Geff, IL – Transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Unit 2 – Anthony D. Brown, 43-year-old male from Noble, IL
PRELIMINARY: A preliminary investigation indicates the following occurred: Unit 1 was traveling southbound on Wayne County Road 2625 East approaching the T intersection at County Road 1905 North. Unit 2 was traveling eastbound on county road 1905 N. Unit 1 turned west and struck the driver side of Unit 2. The driver of unit 1 was transported to a local hospital with no-life-threatening injuries. No further information is available at this time.
CHARGES: Unit 1 driver was issued a citation for Failure to Yield at T Intersection.
The public is reminded all persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
More issues at the city’s recycling center have prompted Mayor Joe Judge to plead with residents to obey the rules or possibly lose the recycling center. The latest issue stems from plastic bags holding recyclables being placed in the bins…
Over the weekend, a social media post from the city chastised those abusing the recycling bins by placing plastic bags in the bins that caused the recycling center to be closed Monday.
This weekend photo from the City of Mt. Carmel Facebook page shows dozens of unacceptable plastic bags in the recycling bin.
The Wabash County jobless rate continues to improve according to the latest data from the state’s department of employment security. Last month, the local unemployment stood at 4.2%, good for the lowest rate in southern Illinois. The July rate was down from the 4.9% mark in June and the 9.6% figure in July of last year.
According to IDES, employment gains were posted in government, leisure and hospitality, and information in the Mt. Carmel-Olney area of southeastern Illinois.
Employment declined in manufacturing, educational and health services, construction, natural resource and mining, and professional and business services.
While Wabash County had the lowest unemployment rate last month, the highest was recorded in Pulaski County at 9.5%.