The Kenneth Acree murder trial may have reached its final continuance in Morgan County Court.

Acree was in court Thursday on status after both the defense and state have been waiting for multiple search warrants get completed from AT&T Mobile for phone records needed for the case.

State’s Attorney Gray Noll says that things are likely going to move forward this Spring: “Mr. Acree’s case was set for status [on Thursday]. The court called the matter, and it was continued until March 31st at 2PM. There is still some outstanding discovery that is coming in the form of some search warrants that have yet to be returned. The status on those search warrants was set for Thursday, and it has now been continued to March 31st.”

Acree is accused of shooting Robert “Joey” Schofield to death in October 2020 in rural Murrayville and then, is accused of concealing Schofield’s death by burying the body in a field near Gobblers Road in Nortonville.

Acree’s wife, Laura, and Schofield’s wife Sara have also been subsequently charged with concealment of a homicidal death in connection to Robert Schofield’s death, but are being tried in separate cases that are also on continuance.

Noll says that there is no set time line for length in a case of this magnitude: “It’s hard to say what’s normal for a first-degree murder case. Certainly, I’ve prosecuted cases that have been pending for a longer period of time and a shorter period of time when it comes to first-degree murder. First-degree murder cases are obviously the most serious classification of offenses that we prosecute, and this particular one has a lot of discovery to go over. We are going on about two years that this case has been pending. I think both parties are hopeful to have it resolved some time in the near future.”

Kenneth Acree is next due in Morgan County Circuit Court before visiting Judge Ryan Cadigan on March 31^st at 2PM for further status in the case.

Local unemployment rates in some counties appear to be heading in opposite directions.

Morgan County’s unemployment rate dropped a tenth of a percent from last month, down to 3.6% staying almost in line with national averages. Sangamon and Greene also saw declines from the previous month down to 3.6% and 3.9% respectively.

Brown County remains the best in the region for unemployment with 1.8%.

Scott County saw a full percentage point increase compared to last month up to 5.6%, while Cass, Pike, and Schuyler continue to hover around or just above 4%.

Overall, in the state, jobs were up over-the-year in all 14 major metropolitan areas. The Lake County-Kenosha, Wisconsin area in the far north and the Quad Cities saw job growth of nearly 3.5% or better in that time frame, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security.

Illinois continues to lag behind the national unemployment rate of 3.5% by a point and a quarter at 4.7%. Nationally, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate has remained relatively stagnant since March 2022.

Two area fire departments will be losing a wealth of knowledge and experience here in the next few months.

New Berlin-Island Grove Fire Chief Steve Frank has decided to retire after 48 years of service. The announcement was made on the fire department’s Facebook Page last night.

The White Hall Fire Department is also in the same situation, as Fire Chief Garry Sheppard will hang up his gear on March 1^st.

Sheppard has been a firefighter for 44 years and has spent the last 25 years as Fire Chief in White Hall. Sheppard notified the White Hall City Council earlier this month so they can began seeking his replacement. Sheppard told WLDS News on January 12^th that he had been attempting to retire for the past year and just felt like it was time.

Sheppard recently told the Greene Prairie Press that he wanted to hold off on leaving until March so that he could assist with setting up the new fire protection district for the area. Sheppard says he’s really proud of the work he put in with the other fire chiefs in the county to bring better mutual aid on fire calls and also having the EMS Service for the county.

Sheppard says he will continue to work his plumbing and heating business in White Hall.

The Beardstown School Board has selected an interim Superintendent while they search for a permanent replacement of the late Michael Smith.

The 55 year old Smith passed away suddenly on January 7^th in Jacksonville.

According to the Cass County Star Gazette, the Beardstown School Board named former Superintendent Reggie Clinton as the interim superintendent. Clinton will serve the district on a 55-day contract starting on February 1^st.

A search with the assistance from the Illinois Association of School Boards has already begun.

In other board action, the Beardstown School Board agreed to pay the estate of Smith all remaining monies owed as well as 30 days pay at his regular daily rate.

Several tributes were read to Smith at the meeting and the board accepted books in Smith’s honor from the Regional Office of Education.

The Carrollton School District recently removed a teacher from its online instruction program through a third party.

According to the Greene Prairie Press, the Carrollton School District sent letters home to parents on January 19^th notifying them that Kristy L. Sicard had been removed permanently as the district’s online math instructor. Sicard was employed through Chicago-based third party online vendor ELEVATE K-12. The district had been using the online vendor for math instruction after unsuccessfully finding a full-time in-person math instructor for the district.

Superintendent Mark Halwachs asked ELEVATE to remove Sicard permanently after an unidentified individual forwarded information that Sicard’s Missouri teaching certificate was surrendered after Sicard pled guilty to felony assault in Maries County, Missouri.

According to a Ozark First News, Sicard was originally charged with a felony count of sexual contact with a student in May 2018 in Waynesville, Missouri. According to the report, the alleged sexual contact with the student happened twice between March and May 2016. According to a probable cause statement in the case, the victim also was said to have received several nude photos of Sicard with messages exchanged with her over SnapChat. Several of the victim’s juvenile friends also allegedly saw the photos while over at the victim’s house.

On August 20, 2018, Sicard pled guilty to third degree assault and in June 2019 permanently surrendered her teaching license and was ordered to serve 5 years of probation, perform community service, and undergo a sex offender evaluation per the plea agreement.

The stories on Sicard were easily accessible by a simple Google search. According to the Greene Prairie Press report, Superintendent Halwachs said that all of the required background checks done by the district did not turn up any of the information. The third-party vendor also is said to have conducted their own criminal background checks and they also did not reflect the criminal felony plea in Missouri. Halwachs says at the time that Sicard began online instruction with the Carrollton District, Sicard possessed a valid teaching certificate from the Illinois State Board of Education.

The information of Sicard’s felony plea has been forwarded to ISBE for appropriate action, according to Halwachs. The district has also requested a permanent replacement of Sicard for their online math program and have asked the company and ISBE to perform more thorough background checks on potential instructors.

Jacksonville Police responded to a vehicle vs. building crash in the 1900 block of West Morton Avenue at 3:07 this afternoon.

Upon arrival and subsequent to an investigation, police say that a car being driven by 84 year old Maris R. Gent of Roodhouse mistakenly drove into the front of Maurices after placing the vehicle into drive instead of reverse.

According to a police report, the vehicle received damaged to the front bumper and hood but was able to be driven from the scene. The store received significant damage to the front glass door and unknown other areas of the store.

No injuries were reported and no citations were issued.

A Macoupin County jury convicted a Medora man on all counts in a 2018 murder case on Thursday.

39 year old David W. Buck, Jr. was found guilty of first-degree murder, possession of a Stolen Vehicle, Possession of a Stolen Firearm, Aggravated Unlawful Restraint, and Felon in Possession of a Weapon after a Macoupin County jury deliberated for a little less than three hours on Thursday afternoon.

Buck was convicted of shooting 34 year old Rachel E. Warren in the head in a home in the 400 block of North Main Street in Chesterfield in February 2018. According to information provided by the Macoupin County State’s Attorney’s Office to Advantage News, Warren and Allen Wheeler, also of Chesterfield, picked up Buck the afternoon of February 8, 2018. Buck was described as a former friend of the two. Once at Warren’s house, Buck shot Warren in the head and abducted Wheeler, who was forced at gunpoint to drive into the countryside to dispose of the weapon. Buck then stole Wheeler’s truck and led authorities on a high-speed chase from Macoupin into Jersey County. Riverbender reported at the time the chase caused the Southwestern School District to go into a soft lock down the day of the chase. Buck was charged and lodged at the Macoupin County Jail on $1 million.

The jury trial in the case began on Monday in Macoupin County Circuit Court and was presided over by Judge Joshua A. Meyer. A sentencing hearing in the case has been set for February 17th. Due to the multiple charges and the aggravating factor of using a firearm during the shooting, Buck faces up to life in prison.

The Greene County Economic Development Group has formally signed a broadband agreement with Frontier to bring fiber Internet to the door to every home that wants it in Greene County.

The group signed the agreement yesterday that defines the commitment to make available fiber internet service up to 2 gigabits/second for all habitable and business locations in the county within 24 months. The total cost for this project will likely exceed $100 million.

Frontier says they’ll do the project if the county receives an award from the Connect Illinois grant program in the first quarter of this year and if the county can commit $1.1 million to the project.

In a release on the group’s Facebook Page, the $1.1 million would be due in 3 installments parted out until 2025, upon completion of the project. Pat Pinkston, an advisor on the project says he’s heard positive things from the government bodies in the county and is confident something is coming: “I would say that we’ve actually been pleased with the responses that we’ve had from each and all of the entities. All of them recognize this as a historic opportunity to serve Greene County and really raise the bar, and actually put Greene County in the highlight across the state. Ultimately, this level of service if provided as planned would probably put Greene County as one of the most connected counties in the state in its entirety. I think they are all pleased. They are all excited, especially if you talk to the smaller villages and the rural areas. This is something beyond what they ever anticipated. The challenge they all face is can they free up some portion of funding to support the $1.1. million. That’s probably the biggest roadblock, because every one of those – whether it be a school, a township, or the county – if they take money and attribute it to this, that essentially removes available funding from other real dire needs they have.”

The proposal was recently brought to the Greene County Board but no action was taken. A discussion panel has been set for 6PM Thursday, February 23rd at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Carrollton by the Greene County Farm Bureau. Members of the Broadband initiative and a Frontier representative will be on hand to answer questions from the public on the project.

The Illinois State Police have released more information about a two-vehicle crash that killed a Roodhouse woman on Tuesday.

According to the report, at approximately 7:30AM on Tuesday a 2010 Yellow Freightliner Straight Truck driven by 28 year old Johnathan Price of Pittsfield was traveling eastbound on the Winchester-Woodson Road. At the same time, a 2017 silver Subaru Forester being driven by 66 year old Karen S. Crabtree of Roodhouse was traveling northbound on U.S. Route 67.

State Police say for an unknown reason, Price’s truck failed to yield right of way at the intersection and struck the SUV. The SUV then left the roadway to the right and struck the ditch. Crabtree was pronounced deceased at the scene by the Morgan County Coroner’s Office. Price reported no injuries at the scene.

All lanes of traffic reopened after the crash at approximately 1:15PM on Tuesday. Price was later cited for failure to yield to right of way.

The Jacksonville Area Hall of Fame nomination process has a little less than 3 weeks left.

John Buchanan, Hall of Fame committee member, says there are several places for you to return your nomination form to the committee: “Nominations opened to the general Jacksonville area on January 1st and they will remain open through February 15th. There are several places to pick up a nomination form and several places to submit them, including our post office box – PO Box 645 Jacksonville, Illinois 62651. There is an option to return and complete an application online through our Facebook Page.”

Buchanan says nominators should try and offer the best and most complete picture of the nominee when they submit an application to the Hall of Fame selection committee. He says that it’s not an exercise in futility if a nominee isn’t chosen the first time around, as all information is kept for subsequent nomination cycles.

Buchanan says the Hall of Fame selection committee has already gotten into some interesting conversations about what constitutes an honoree. He says it’s not necessarily a person who has worked in a certain profession competently for a significant amount of time in Jacksonville, but has done more: “They may have reached out and tried to repay their community with volunteer service, and they have been involved in several organizations. Not just been a member of those organizations, but has been a leader of those organizations. You can serve on a committee and not make much of a commitment, but if you’re an officer in one of those committees, then you have a commitment. A person that has a distinguished career and has a track record of community service, you can see where they maybe would have a step above some of the other nominees.”

Buchanan says a third area that the committee is looking at is whether or not an individual has left a tangible impact on the Jacksonville area and its people.

For more information, find the Jacksonville Area Hall of Fame on Facebook or reach out to Buchanan, Forrest Keaton, Laura Marks, Bob Byers, Pat Kennedy, Lori Oldenettel, Alberta Robinson, Stephen Symons, and Greg Olson for more information.

Nominations are due back to the committee by February 15^th.