$100 was the winning bid for the city owned lot at 1231 Bainum Street. The bid from William Bates was the only one received for the lot that previously had a house on it that the city demolished.
The city will now seek bids for an empty lot it owns in the 600 block of Cherry Street, with one stipulation. The winning bidder must commit to putting a house on the lot so that property is returned to the tax rolls
A 29 year old Bone Gap man has been sentenced to five years in prison on two separate cases in Wabash County Circuit Court. Trenton Hammond was charged June 9th with failure to report change of employment which is a Class 2 felony. In 2014, Hammond was convicted of criminal sexual abuse and had previously failed to report a change of address which was required because of his status as a sex offender. Hammond was then charged October 14th with aggravated battery for striking a woman and throwing her to the ground. State’s attorney Kelli Storckman reports that on Monday, Hammond was sentenced to five years in the DOC on each count. He’ll be on one year of parole after his release. The prison sentences will run concurrently.
Workers with Mt. Carmel’s sewer department recently found some interesting items while pumping out the overloaded pump #2 at the Ficklin lift station. Sewer commissioner Justin Dulgar said crews found kid’s underwear and flushable wipes….
Dulgar’s comments came at Monday’s City Council meeting which he attended remotely.
Another lengthy prison sentence has been handed down to a second person involved in the sexual assault of a Mt. Carmel girl.
According to state’s attorney Kelli Storckman, 33 year old Lona McKee was charged last December 6th in connection to an incident in which she and Thomas Rosche sexually assaulted a 12 year old girl. The two faced a Class X felony charge of predatory criminal sexual assault with Rosche already pleading guilty and getting a 35 year prison sentence. McKee’s charge was an accountability count for allowing the assault to take place.
On Monday, McKee, formerly of Robinson, also pleaded guilty and she was sentenced to 30 years in the Department of Corrections to be followed by 3 years to natural life of parole.
She has been free on a recognizance bond since her arrest last December, but was ordered to surrender to the Wabash County Jail on December 5th. The incident occurred between November 1st of 2020 and June 30th of 2021.
At the November 2022 Allendale School Board meeting held in the Library of Allendale School, the board:
Approved the 2022 Tentative Tax Levy. The Board will adopt the levy at the December 2022 meeting.
Reviewed and approved the 2022 Interactive School Report Card, which will be linked on the website.
Approved the membership for 2023 to the Southern Illinois Junior High School Athletic Association.
Approved the submission of the Waiver of School Code (section5/10-20.12a) for all full-time employees. This waiver, if approved, will be good for five years.
On 11/12/22, Mt. Carmel Police arrested Lacy A. Higgins, age 34, of Mt. Carmel for Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Possession of Hypodermic Needle, and Obstructing Justice following a traffic stop in the 300 block of W 9th Street. Also arrested was Tyler L. Wade, age 29, of Mt. Carmel, for Possession of Methamphetamine and Unlawful Possession of Weapon by Felon. The traffic stop was a result of Higgins committing a violation of the Illinois Vehicle Code. During the stop, the officer determined Higgins had a suspended Illinois Driver’s License and that her passenger, Tyler Wade, was on Mandatory Supervised Release (Parole) through the Illinois Department of Corrections. During the stop the officer located (2) needles, one loaded with suspected methamphetamine, a set of scales, and two bags of suspected methamphetamine. During the investigation, officers also found a 3 ½ inch spring assisted knife on Wade. Both were transported to the Wabash County Jail. Once there, Higgins was found to be concealing another bag of suspected methamphetamine on her person. Both were charged with the above offenses and held pending a pre-trial detention hearing.
Wabash County Commissioners voted unanimously yesterday to create a full-time public defender’s position. The move is being made after Judge William C. Hudson recommended the county go from a part-time public defender to a full-time role. He said provisions of the Illinois Safe-T Act that goes into effect January 1st puts more onus on the county having a public defender available on a more regular basis. The current public defender, James Lane, is retiring at the end of the month. Hudson said, by law, the new position will be paid 90% of the salary earned by the state’s attorney. Two-thirds of the salary is then reimbursed by the state leaving Wabash County’s share at around $47,000 counting benefits. Currently, the county’s share for a part-time position is $20,000 with no benefits.
As to possible candidates for the position, Hudson said that could prove tricky…
Hudson said now that commissioners have approved hiring a full-time public defender, the job listing will be sent throughout the second judicial circuit looking for applicants. Judges of the second circuit will ultimately appoint the public defender after Hudson makes a recommendation with input from county commissioners.
Wondering when you might receive your Wabash County real estate taxes? Join the club, Mayor Joe Judge says city hall has received numerous calls recently inquiring about the status of tax bills. But, Judge said those calls are mis-directed….
Judge said the city had turned in its’ required documentation last December for the 2021 taxes payable in 2022. There have been no updates offered at any recent county board meetings as to the status of property tax bills…when they’ll be mailed, and what the due dates will be.
The speculation game continues into what’s going in to the former Borowiak’s IGA store at 9th and Walnut Street. On Friday’s Ask The Mayor, Joe Judge offered some vague information after it was announced Family Dollar was leaving its’ Walnut Street location…
Crews have been busy the last couple of years rehabbing the building and most recently paved a new parking lot.
In August 2022, Illinois finally resumed the process of establishing a robust and equitable recreational cannabis industry, with cannabis retail licenses finally being issued to 185 winners after over a year of delays. There have been rumors for months of a retail cannabis store opening in the former AT&T location at 9th and Chestnut. But Mayor Joe Judge says while nothing’s official, we should know soon…
Out of the 185 latest license winners, only four are in non-metropolitan areas of southern Illinois like Mt. Carmel and Grayville. In fiscal year 2022, the state saw $1.5 billion in cannabis sales with the state collecting $443 million in taxes. Municipalities’ share of the taxes was $146 million in the latest fiscal year, up 77% from the previous year.