District #348 School Board Approves 24-25 Budget

At their monthly meeting Monday night, the Wabash District #348 school board approved the 2024-25 budget that calls for almost $18.8 million in expenditures and nearly $19.2 million in receipts. On the expenditure side, Superintendent Dr. Chuck Bleyer said nearly $13.5 million, or 71.5 percent of expenditures will go toward salaries and benefits. Almost $6.5 million of the budgeted receipts will come from local real estate taxes.

ILLINOIS STATE POLICE ARRESTS PAXTON MAN FOR POSSESSION OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE MATERIAL

PAXTON – Illinois State Police (ISP) announces the arrest of 37-year-old Brett M. Sorensen of Paxton, Illinois for Dissemination of Child Sexual Abuse Material.

After the receipt of a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), the ISP began an investigation regarding the dissemination of child sexual abuse material.  Preliminary facts gathered through the course of the initial investigation led to the issuance of an arrest warrant for Sorensen. 

On September 17, 2024, ISP Division of Criminal Investigation Zone 5 agents arrested Sorensen and executed a residential search warrant in Paxton, Illinois. Sorensen is being held pending an arraignment hearing in Ford County, Illinois. 

This ongoing investigation is a collaborative effort between the Illinois Attorney General’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Ford County Sheriff’s Office, the Paxton Police Department, the Ford County State’s Attorney’s Office, and ISP..

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Ford County Crime Stoppers at (217) 379-2109.

Anonymous tips of child sexual abuse material can also be reported through the NCMEC CyberTipline at www.cybertipline.com. To keep kids safe online, learn more at: https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/onlinesafe/; www.cybertipline.org ; For resources for survivors of sexual abuse visit: https://www.missingkids.org/gethelpnow/csam-resources .

Wabash County Drug Free Community Coalition Awarded Federal Grant for Youth Substance Use Prevention

Mount Carmel, Illinois — Wabash County Drug Free Community Coalition has been selected as a recipient of a $125,000 in federal grant from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) under the Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program. This grant program, managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), represents an opportunity to strengthen ongoing efforts in preventing youth substance use in our community.

 ONDCP’s DFC program is the nation’s leading effort to mobilize communities to prevent and reduce substance use among youth. The DFC program provides federal grants to community coalitions to identify and respond to the issues unique to their community and change community conditions tied to youth substance use. With this grant, Wabash County Drug Free Community Coalition will be able to continue building a safe, healthy, and drug-free community.

 “Preventing substance use today is critical, so that today’s youth don’t become tomorrow’s overdose victims. We are thrilled to award this grant because we know the outcomes DFC funded coalitions are capable of achieving when implementing evidence-based prevention strategies at the local level.” said Helen Hernandez, Administrator of the DFC Program at ONDCP. “Through the DFC program, CDC is empowering community coalitions to implement local solutions to unique, local conditions, with the common goal of preventing youth substance use.” added Allison Arwady, MD, MPH, director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at CDC.

 “Wabash County Drug Free Community Coalition is grateful for the support of and partnership with ONDCP and CDC,” said Wabash County Health Department Administrator, Judy Wissel.  “We are proud to share this mission and effort to prevent youth substance use and protect the well-being of our community. Furthermore, this grant will allow us to better collaborate with our partners, including Wabash County Health Department, Wabash County Sheriff’s Office, Mount Carmel Police Department, Wabash CUSD #348 , Wabash County Chamber of Commerce, WSJD-FM Radio Network, Allendale Community Consolidated School District, H.E.R.O. Foundation, First Christian Church of Allendale, Rotary Club, Wabash General Hospital, Wabash Community Health Center, and Wabash County Drug Court. By focusing our collective expertise and resources on this critical issue, we will ensure a positive impact on our youth and community.”

 More information about the DFC program can be found here.

New COVID Vaccine Goes Quickly At WCHD

Wabash County residents are snapping up the new COVID vaccine. Wabash County health department administrator Judy Wissel told county commissioners yesterday that the health department received its’ first shipment of the new COVID vaccine last week and after today’s appointments, the vaccine will be gone. Wissel said a second shipment should arrive by the end of the month and when it does, appointments will again be scheduled. She said the announcement will be made via social media.

WGH Board Member Resigns

There’s a vacancy on the Wabash General Hospital Board of Directors. At their meeting yesterday, Wabash County Commissioners accepted the resignation of Nathan Stevenson from the WGH Board. County board chairman Scott West said Stevenson was resigning to accept an “opportunity” with the hospital. There was no word from the county board on when the process to replace Stevenson on the hospital board would begin.

At Least Two School Board Members Won't Seek Reelection

Next year, there’ll be at least two open seats on the Wabash District #348 school board. Board president Tim Schuler and vice-president Kyle Peach both told WSJD last night that they will not seek re-election during next April’s consolidated election. The other board members whose terms expire next year are Theresa Hocking who had “no comment” on whether she plans to run again and Susan Wood who said she hasn’t made a decision yet. Petition packets to run for school board are now available in the Wabash County Clerk’s office. The filing period is November 12th through 18th.

Traffic stop leads to arrest of Petersburg man on DUI charge

On September 15, 2024, at 1:28 a.m. Gibson County Deputy Wyatt Hunt conducted a traffic stop on US 41 near County Road 750 South in Fort Branch after observing a Black 2004 GMC pickup perform an unsafe lane change, and then fail to maintain its lane of travel.  Upon approaching the vehicle Deputy Hunt immediately detected the odor of alcohol coming from the driver 22 year old Lane Miller of Petersburgh.  At that point Deputy Hunt began a roadside investigation.  At the conclusion of his investigation he placed Mr. Miller into custody and transported him to the Gibson County Jail where he was charged with Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated with a Prior Conviction.
 
Assisting Deputy Hunt in his investigation was Deputy Michael Bates. 
 
All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until, and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
 

Road closure planned for State Road 59 in Knox County

KNOX COUNTY, Ind. – The Indiana Department of Transportation announces a road closure for State Road 59 in Knox County.

Beginning on or around Friday, September 23, crews will close State Road 59 in Knox County in Sandborn. This closure will occur between State Road 67 and State Road 58.

This road closure will allow for crews to remove the asphalt surface and apply a new asphalt overlay. During the asphalt removal process, repairs will also be made to the concrete pavement. Work is expected to last through October, depending on the weather.

The official detour for this project is State Road 67 to State Road 58. Local traffic will have access up to the point of closure.