Allendale Ruritans Fred Deadmond, Bob Bowser, and Jim Barger accepting Ruritan National Community Service awards at the Lincolnland Ruritan Fall Convention in Olney.
Vincennes man arrest on DUI charge
On November 23, 2017, at 10:05 p.m. Gibson County Deputy U.B. Smith stopped a Silver 2006 Nissan Frontier for failure to yield for law enforcement and speeding on US 41 near County Road 1025 South. Upon approaching the vehicle Deputy Smith detected the odor of alcohol coming from the driver 33 year old Martin Garcia Ventura of Vincennes. At that point Deputy Smith began a roadside DUI investigation that resulted in Mr. Ventura being taken into custody and transported to the Gibson County Jail.
At the Gibson County Jail Mr. Ventura was charged with Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated /Refusal and Operator Never Licensed. He remains in custody on a hold from an outside agency.
All Criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Coyote Problems In Illinois
With colder weather sweeping in, Illinois residents, especially those with pets, should be aware that coyotes will be searching for food for winter, which means they are more likely to be closer to homes.
Lynsey White, director of Humane Wildlife Conflict Resolution with the Humane Society, said people should make sure they are not unintentionally providing food for a coyote.
“You also want to make sure you are not unintentionally feeding a coyote by leaving pet food outdoors for example,” White said. “You want to make sure your trash cans are secure. You just want to make sure you are not providing any additional sources of food.”
The Humane Society offers a few recommendations for pet owners to keep coyotes from being attracted to your house. Residents should avoid feeding pets outside, make sure yards are free from fruit that has fallen from trees, clean up bird seed, set trash cans out the morning of pick-up instead of the night before and use trash cans with tight lids. If composting, do not compost meat or fish.
Neighborhoods with free roaming pets can also attract coyotes. Keep pets in an enclosed, coyote-proof area. Coyote-proof fences are at least eight feet tall and made from materials coyotes cannot climb, or at least six feet tall with a protective device like chicken wire on top. Fences also must extend at least one foot underground to prevent coyotes from digging under to get through.
“The most important thing is to make sure that you’re not letting your cats or dog roam around freely outside,” White said.
If a coyote is spotted, the Humane Society recommends hazing. Hazing involves yelling and approaching a coyote with arms extended or using noisemakers like pots and pans to scare them. Residents also can throw items like sticks or small rocks that will not hurt coyotes. It is important to continue showing aggression toward the coyote until it has left the area completely.
The Humane Society said killing a coyote will not eliminate them from the area because another one will simply move into the unclaimed territory, and the species is effective at reproducing in large numbers.
Big Changes Proposed At SIU
The chancellor at Southern Illinois University's main campus is doubling down on his plan to change the school and hopefully reverse years of declining enrollment and lost money.
But the faculty senate at SIU Carbondale doesn't like Chancellor Carlo Montemagno's plan to restructure the campus. They say his plan is too sudden, too broad, and will close too many programs or departments.
Montemagno last week said that doesn't matter. He said SIU cannot continue to hemorrhage students and their tuition dollars. That means campus bureaucracy must go.
"We are spending too much time and money on administration, and not enough on teaching and research," Montemagno said in a video message to campus last week. "[Adding] to this challenge is outdated ways in which our departments function, limiting innovation and collaboration."
At SIU Carbondale, just 1,354 of the school's 4,795 employees work in a classroom. The budget for the school was more than $488 million last year. As a result, Montemagno said, the school is stuck in a downward spiral.
"We have lost 50 percent of our freshman class over the past three years alone," Montemagno said. "The nearly nine percent drop in enrollment this year reflects a $9.4 million loss in tuition revenue. We have 6,000 fewer students than we had just 10 years ago."
Montemagno said he knows that new programs, a new focus on students, and an effort to bring SIU Carbondale out of its entrenched ways can turn the school around.
"We cannot continue to do what we've always done and expect a different outcome," Montemagno said. "We must change."
Jasper County Crash Sends 3 To Hospital
ISP TRAFFIC CRASH ALERT
The Following Preliminary Information is Being Released by Illinois State Police District 12
WHAT: Personal Injury Crash
WHERE: County Rd 300N @ County Rd 1000E (Jasper County)
WHEN: 11/23/2017 9:17 P.M.
VEHICLES: Unit 1 - Red, 2004, Hyundai
DRIVER: 16 year old female Marshall, IL
PASSENGERS: Dustin Rash, 25, West Union, IL Matthew Matlock, 31, West Liberty, IL
CHARGES: Driver –Too fast for conditions, One passenger limit Passengers – Failure to wear Seatbelts
Transports: Driver and Both Passengers - Jasper County Ambulance, Richland Memorial Hospital
PRELIMINARY: Preliminary investigative details indicate Unit 1 was traveling Eastbound on County Rd 300N just East of County Rd 1000E. Driver of Unit 1 was traveling too fast and lost control of the vehicle. Unit 1 traveled off the North side of the roadway and struck a ditch. Unit 1 traveled back onto the roadway where it came to rest. The driver and both passengers were all transported to Richland Memorial Hospital.
All subjects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law
Bridgeport Pursuit Ends in Wabash County
Last night at 8:12 p.m. Lawrence County Dispatch advised the Bridgeport Police Department along with the Sumner Police Department were in pursuit of a 2000 white GMC Sonoma south bound on the Bridgeport blacktop entering Wabash County.
It was reported that the suspect vehicle had thrown out a mobile meth lab in Lawrence County as authorities attempted a traffic stop. The Wabash County Deputy was staged at E 1200 Rd. (Bridgeport Blacktop) and Highway 11, in an attempt to deploy stop sticks. The stop sticks were deployed successfully and the suspect vehicle turned east bound onto Highway 11 and then south bound on a gated lease road with a flat rear passenger tire. The pipe gate was secured at the time and the suspect drove through it. The suspect vehicle continued south bound on the lease but struck a tree and came to rest. The driver fled the vehicle on foot into a wooded area. The Sheriff's Office requested assistance from the MCPD K-9 unit, but the suspect was taken into custody prior to their arrival.
Taken into custody and transferred to the Bridgeport Police Department was Anthony Waide Skipworth , 24 of Monroe City, Indiana. Skipworth is facing a list of charges in Lawrence County,has an active Knox County, IN warrant with possible charges in Wabash County.
Sheriff Derek Morgan, "All four departments worked a textbook pursuit and it was ended before the public was put at risk. Without the use of stop sticks it is hard to determine where this pursuit would have gone and where it would have ended. I want to commend the Bridgeport, Sumner, Mt. Carmel, Police departments and Deputy Bogard on their quick thinking, actions of bravery and willingness to work together to end this pursuit. "
First Weekend of Firearm Season in Illinois Sees Harvest of 51,365 Deer
SPRINGFIELD, IL -- Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 51,365 deer during the first weekend of the Illinois Firearm Deer Season on Nov. 17-19. Hunters took 54,452 deer during the first firearm weekend in 2016.
Illinois’ seven-day Firearm Deer Season will conclude Nov. 30 through Dec. 3.
Other deer hunting opportunities in the weeks ahead include:
• Muzzleloader-Only Deer Season on Dec. 8-10;
• Late-Winter Antlerless-Only and CWD Deer Seasons (first segment) in select counties only on Dec. 28-31, 2017;
• Late-Winter Antlerless-Only and CWD Deer Seasons (second segment) in select counties only on Jan. 12-14, 2018;
• Archery Deer Season continues through Jan. 14, 2018 (archery is closed Nov. 30-Dec. 3 in counties open for Firearm Deer Season)
For details on deer hunting, open counties, and other information, check the IDNR website at https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/Pages/DeerHunting.aspx
A table of preliminary Illinois firearm deer harvest totals by county for the first weekend of the 2017 season, and comparable totals for 2016, is below.
County 2016 2017
ADAMS 1642 1408
ALEXANDER 283 291
BOND 390 441
BOONE 87 82
BROWN 645 663
BUREAU 704 632
CALHOUN 482 505
CARROLL 529 425
CASS 475 429
CHAMPAIGN 165 133
CHRISTIAN 420 360
CLARK 715 775
CLAY 784 760
CLINTON 457 495
COLES 388 382
CRAWFORD 656 673
CUMBERLAND 494 478
DEKALB 79 67
DEWITT 192 180
DOUGLAS 105 96
EDGAR 387 365
EDWARDS 282 273
EFFINGHAM 589 580
FAYETTE 1050 1008
FORD 72 64
FRANKLIN 807 854
FULTON 1344 1270
GALLATIN 296 282
GREENE 660 641
GRUNDY 214 157
HAMILTON 786 779
HANCOCK 1079 1082
HARDIN 605 646
HENDERSON 372 319
HENRY 404 356
IROQUOIS 326 297
JACKSON 1562 1487
JASPER 675 663
JEFFERSON 1276 1328
JERSEY 444 410
JODAVIESS 1306 1155
JOHNSON 1166 1091
KANE 18 19
KANKAKEE 125 118
KENDALL 67 52
KNOX 820 697
LAKE 5 3
LASALLE 537 431
LAWRENCE 375 394
LEE 359 328
LIVINGSTON 293 246
LOGAN 256 206
MACON 170 150
MACOUPIN 967 945
MADISON 444 493
MARION 1051 1081
MARSHALL 382 424
MASON 305 231
MASSAC 367 282
MCDONOUGH 597 525
MCHENRY 168 151
MCLEAN 363 324
MENARD 238 226
MERCER 605 518
MONROE 704 661
MONTGOMERY 551 509
MORGAN 508 452
MOULTRIE 134 138
OGLE 538 443
PEORIA 639 524
PERRY 814 815
PIATT 75 69
PIKE 1346 1187
POPE 1096 1092
PULASKI 281 221
PUTNAM 213 232
RANDOLPH 1582 1603
RICHLAND 528 481
ROCKISLAND 552 455
SALINE 618 618
SANGAMON 385 391
SCHUYLER 901 871
SCOTT 264 196
SHELBY 782 733
STARK 136 135
STCLAIR 480 477
STEPHENSON 597 417
TAZEWELL 351 333
UNION 1060 977
VERMILION 392 330
WABASH 131 123
WARREN 382 328
WASHINGTON 672 695
WAYNE 1035 977
WHITE 547 497
WHITESIDE 390 393
WILL 168 153
WILLIAMSON 1060 1048
WINNEBAGO 217 161
WOODFORD 417 404
TOTAL 54452 51365
Indiana SR 64 In Francisco Closed Monday
State Road 64 will be closed Monday November 27, 2017 in Francisco. Norfolk Southern will be making repairs to the crossing. Make plans for an alternate route.
Mt. Carmel Boil Order Lifted
The boil order issued by the Mt. Carmel Water Department for Janeway Drive and Meadowbrook Drive in North Park has been lifted.
Wabash County Home Decorating Contest
New to Christmas Uptown in 2017 is the “Sights & Sounds of Christmas” Home Decorating contest. Open to all Wabash County Residents, the judges will choose 5 winners for Best Use of Lights, Best Traditional Decorations, Best Use of Sound, Best Use of Theme (A Disney Christmas), and an overall Grand Champion. Winners will be announced at the ceremony for the “Lighting of the City of Mt. Carmel Christmas Tree”, scheduled for 6pm Friday, December 1st at Veterans Park as part if the 10th Annual Christmas Uptown Festival. Winners receive a $25 Merchants Gift Check and Wall Plaque. Entries may be made online from the Christmas Uptown Mt. Carmel Facebook page, or by calling 618-263-2093. Deadline to enter is 10pm Sunday, November 26th with judging Monday evening, November 27th.
