A one-year-old child was killed in an accident about a mile east of the Merriam Crossroads east of Fairfield yesterday afternoon. According to Illinois State Police, at approximately 1:35, 24-year-old Fairfield resident Porscha M. Schultz was eastbound on Highway 15 in a 2008 Dodge Charger and had pulled over on the westbound shoulder at a mailbox. She then pulled back onto the roadway and was struck in the rear by a 2015 Kenworth Semi, driven by 29-year-old Carmi resident Jordan M. Ambrous. Schultz and a front-seat passenger, 24-year-old Altamont resident Alissa J. Crum, were flown to a regional hospital with life-threatening injuries. A child was in the rear passenger seat was pronounced deceased on-scene by Wayne County Coroner Carrie Dagg. Ambrous reported no injuries but was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.
The victim in Wednesday afternoon’s fatal crash in Clay County has been identified as 36-year-old Olney resident Shane Elder. Illinois State Police say he was driving a pickup truck and for unknown reasons crossed the center line and struck a cargo van, driven by 34-year-old Benton resident Gregory Stewart, head-on. Elder was pronounced deceased on-scene, and Stewart was taken to an area hospital via Air Evac with serious injuries.
47-year-old Fairfield resident Misty D. Crump was arrested by Wayne County deputies yesterday morning. She was wanted on a Marion County failure to appear warrant for driving revoked. Crump was taken to the Wayne County Jail and held, pending the posting of $325 bond.
Murray State University has awarded Edwards County student Emma Wiseman a Presidential Fellowship Scholarship, which includes full-tuition, housing, and meals for up to four years at Murray State. The daughter of Eric and Michelle Wiseman, she has a long list of accomplishments, including the Illinois FFA Top 10 Section Presidents Award, Top 10 Chapter Presidents Award, State FFA Degree, 4-Her of the Year Award, 4-H Cream of the Crop Award, Illinois Secretary of State Read for a Lifetime Award, and DAR Good Citizen Award.
State Representative Adam Niemerg will hold satellite office hours in the area on Wednesday. His office will be at Mt. Carmel City Hall Wednesday from 9 to 9:30 a.m., The Hope Center in Albion from 10:15 to noon, and the White County Farm Bureau building in Carmi from 1:45 to 3:15. No appointments are necessary, and walk-ins are welcome. Anyone wanting to make an appointment or to request assistance from Niemerg’s office should call 217-813-6036 or contact Niemerg@ILHouseGOP.org.
Governors from Illinois and seven other Midwest states have asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a permanent waiver allowing each state to continue selling ethanol-blended gas year-round without restriction. The EPA’s decision this month to suspend summer sale restrictions of E15 gas is temporary and applies only to the 2022 summer driving season. The lower-carbon, lower-cost E15 is usually prohibited between June 1st and September 15th because of concerns it adds to smog in high temperatures. Other states formally requesting the waiver include Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
The Fairfield city-wide yard sale that had been scheduled to be held tomorrow has been pushed back to May 7th due to expected weather. The rain date was set in advance and has been printed on the sale map. In other Wayne County Chamber business, the Yard of the Month promotion will have its first award in May, and the deadline for nominations is May 6th.
Wayne County Supervisor of Assessments Jodi Poole has publicized equalized assessed valuations for real property in the county. Equalization factors of 1.0 have been applied to farm and non-farm land and farm and non-farm improvements to bring assessments to the required three-year median levels of 33.33 percent. Farm Land assessments for the 2021 assessment year will increase by 10 percent of the preceding year’s median cropped soil productivity index. Anyone who believes their assessed valuation is incorrect or not uniform should contact Poole’s office or file a complaint with the Board of Review. The final filing deadline for a township is May 25th. Poole’s office is located in the Wayne County Courthouse, with office hours 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Anyone with questions can call 842-2582.
Last month was wetter and cooler than one year ago. At the WFIW/WOKZ studios, we received six inches and 13 hundredths of rain in March, with a single-day high of an inch and 27 hundredths on the 31st. Last March, we recorded just under five and a third inches of rainfall, with a single-day high of about an inch and two thirds. The average high for March was 52.5 degrees. Last year, the average high was 61.8.
The Illinois Department of Transportation says Illinois 1, or West Third Street, in Mt. Carmel will be closed next week to allow Norfolk Southern to rebuild a railroad crossing. Work will begin Monday and is anticipated to be completed by Wednesday. A detour directing traffic onto Oak Street and Illinois 15- Ninth and Walnut streets- will be posted.
The IDPH reported one new case of COVID-19 in Wayne, Edwards, White, and Richland counties yesterday. Marion County added eight cases, Lawrence County three, and Jefferson County two. Wabash, Clay, and Hamilton counties held steady on the state website. As a state, Illinois announced 4,593 new cases, the highest single-day total since February 11th, and seven additional deaths.
Governor J.B. Pritzker has signed a package of new laws to further address the teacher shortage in Illinois. One new law reduces the reinstatement fees for a lapsed teaching license from $500 to $50, and another lowers the minimum age for paraprofessionals to work in kindergarten through eighth grade classrooms from 19 to 18. Yet another lets education students nearly finished with college classes work as substitute teachers, giving them experience and filling the need for subs. Currently, substitutes must have a bachelor’s degree.
The IHSA continues to take aim at officiating shortages in all sports. Their latest effort is “Officiating 101,” which it hopes will attract people to the profession, per Sam Knox. He says the program is not aimed at any specific sport and will cover the basics of IHSA officiating. He says the association has talked about the need for officials for some time but without any formal action, so “Officiating 101” is its concerted effort to bring attention and interest to the job. More information can be found at ihsa.org/officials.
River stages as of this morning: the Little Wabash east of Fairfield stands at 20.40 feet, above the 17 ft. flood stage. Meanwhile, the Skillet Fork at Wayne City has a reading of 5.70 feet (flood stage is 15 ft.). The Little Wabash below Clay City is at 7.92 feet (flood stage is 18 ft.). Bonpas Creek at Browns reads 13.48 feet, and the Little Wabash at Main Street in Carmi reads 19.64 feet. The Wabash River at Mt. Carmel sits at 12.88 feet.
Today’s crude oil price is $98.25, up $3.25 from yesterday. The June crude oil price is $106.40, up $4.40 from yesterday morning.
