The Mount Vernon City Council has their meeting tonight, because yesterday was Labor Day. The meeting will be be at the Rolland W. Lewis Building in Veteran’s Park beginning at 7 PM and as always, it can be heard on WMIX 940 AM. The agenda for tonight includes bid results for a mower, requests to close roads in town for certain events, resolution on revolving loan agreement with a restaurant and vacating a road. Again tonight’s City Council meeting will be on WMIX 940 AM at 7 o’clock.
Construction work begins today on northbound Interstate 57 between mile markers 80 and 88. During stage 1, the northbound driving lane will be closed and all traffic will be shifted to the passing lane starting at the Franklin-Jefferson County line to the Ina exit at mile post 83. Access to the Ina ramps will be maintained during this time. Once stage 1 is completed, the non-passing lane will be open and traffic will use the newly surfaced lane while the work is done on the passing lane. In stage 3, work on the passing lane at mile marker 83 to the north another 5 miles will be done. The exit ramp at Ina will remain open, but the entrance ramp to I-57 will be closed for no longer than 5 days at some point. Completion dates on each stage are unknown at this time. Motorists are advised to slow down and expect delays, refrain from using a cell phone in the construction zone or find an alternative route. Similar road work will be done on the southbound lanes in the Spring next year.
A DuQuoin residence was heavily damaged by fire early Sunday morning. The cause of the fire has not been determined, but it is not believed to be suspicious in nature. No injuries were reported at the scene of 437 North Chestnut.
The City of Mount Vernon Public Utilities Department has lifted the boil water notice for 1000 block of Wilshire and 1102 Wilshire. They still have boil water notices in effect for the 700 & 800 blocks of South 19th Street and the 1800 block of Conger Avenue. These may be lifted tomorrow.
Authorities say a 75-year-old Missouri man drowned in southern Illinois’ Carlyle Lake after the boat he was in capsized. Fayette County Coroner Bruce Boven says the body of Cecil Lindsey of Ballwin, Missouri, was found near a shoreline Sunday morning shortly after two hours found his overturned boat nearby. The coroner says that Lindsey may have been in the water since sometime Saturday afternoon. Boven says it isn’t clear what caused the boat to capsize, though he says it may have hit submerged tree stumps or other objects in the water. An autopsy was planned.
A southern Illinois sheriff accused of trafficking marijuana on the job has lost his bid to keep jurors from hearing his jailhouse statements that led to charges he plotted to have two witnesses killed. U.S. District Judge J. Phil Gilbert rejected Raymond Martin’s insistence the interviews with two investigators in January be ruled inadmissible during his trial. The trial is scheduled to start Monday in Benton. Martin’s attorney had claimed the statements were improperly obtained because his then-public defender wasn’t present. But Gilbert ruled authorities had a legal right to query Martin because he had not yet been charged and that Martin waived his constitutional right to have an attorney present. Martin has pleaded not guilty and remains jailed.
The Williamson County Sheriff’s office is asking the public to help them identify the suspect in a business burglary that occurred on August 14th at Whisker Willie’s Bar on Route 37 in White Ash. According to the report, a suspect forced entry into the building and removed an undetermined amount of cash. Photos are available for viewing at www.williamsoncrimestoppers.com. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff’s office at 618-997-6541 or the Williamson County Crimestoppers at 1-800-414-8477. Persons contacting crimestoppers do not need to leave their name or phone number. That person will receive a tip number for identification, as information leading to an arrest can have a reward of up to $1,000.
This September is National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Damon T. Arnold is encouraging women to learn the symptoms and risk factors of ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer is the ninth most common cancer in women, not counting skin cancer, and ranks fifth as the cause of cancer death in women according to the American Cancer Society. The Illinois State Cancer Registry estimates 990 women in Illinois will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer this year, and around 660 will die from it. Some of the risk reducing factors of ovarian cancer include taking birth control pills, having children and having a tubal ligation or a hysterectomy. Learning about the disease by talking with your doctor about screenings and exams.
As part of Illinois’ observance of National Preparedness Month in September, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency has unveiled 8 new radio spots aimed at encouraging people to prepare for disasters. The ads are expected to direct people to the Ready Illinois website to learn more about how to prepare for emergencies. The new spots include 4 recorded by acclaimed actress Marion Ross from “Happy Days” TV stressing the importance of having a home preparedness kit and a family preparedness plan. Two other new spots focus on the need for pet owners to assemble a pet preparedness kit, while awareness of the “Seven Signs of Terrorism” and the public’s role in prevention are the subjects of two additional spots. National Preparedness Month is a nationwide campaign focused on encouraging Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses and communities. For more information about the website or to hear the radio spots, go to www.Ready.Illinois.gov.
The holiday may be over, but that doesn’t mean law enforcement is going to ease up. Illinois State Police District 19 Commander, Captain Richard Kinter, announced that Troopers will be conducting a Night Time Occupant Restraint Enforcement Patrol in Saline and Gallatin Counties during the month of September. They will target an area with saturation patrols that focus on traffic violations and related compliance with safety belt and child safety seat laws. Safety belt enforcement zones will also be set up to ensure the driver and passengers are buckled up. Safety belts are one of the most effective safety devices in vehicles today, estimated to save over 15,000 lives each year. Over half of vehicle occupants killed in a traffic crash were not properly buckled up. Greater awareness, acceptance, and use of occupant protection equipment will save many lives.
