Morgan County Coroner Marcy Patterson has released the identities of two people who were killed in a single-vehicle crash in Alexander on Saturday night.

Authorities were called to Old Route 36 at Orleans Road in Alexander on Saturday to a one-vehicle roll over crash at 10:07PM. The preliminary traffic investigation revealed that the car was eastbound on Old Route 36 when it left the roadway and struck a power pole before landing upside down in a field.

One occupant, 38-year-old, Joshua Perabeau, of Jacksonville, was transported from the scene of the crash by LifeStar EMS to Jacksonville Memorial Hospital and was pronounced dead at the hospital. The second occupant, his wife, 36-year-old Kimberly Perabeau, was pronounced deceased on scene.

The investigation into the crash continues to be investigated by the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office and Coroner’s Office.

The identity of a man who was involved in a brief standoff with Roodhouse Police and the Scott County Sheriff’s Office in Alsey earlier this month has become available.

A Scott County Sheriff’s Deputy attempted to serve an active Greene County warrant for petition to revoke probation on a suspect at a home near the corner of Cottonwood and Cherry Streets in Alsey on Tuesday, August 9^th. The deputy was being mutually assisted by an officer from the Roodhouse Police Department in the execution the warrant.

Upon arrival, the suspect, identified as 50 year old David G. Moore, shouted obscenities at the officers, had a brief physical struggle with officers, and fled inside the residence where he barricaded himself inside. After the officers made entry into the home, police learned Moore had received a laceration above his right eye. Moore was taken from the residence by ambulance to Boyd Memorial Hospital in Carrollton for treatment and was later booked into the Greene County Jail.

The Roodhouse Police Department confirmed after the incident that the officer assisting in the arrest fractured their ankle and had to have emergency surgery to repair the damage. The officer currently remains in recovery at home.

Moore has been cited with aggravated battery of a peace officer, battery of a peace officer, and resisting a peace officer. Charges have yet to be filed in the Greene County State’s Attorney’s Office or the Scott County State’s Attorney’s Office. Moore remains lodged at the Greene County Jail without bond.

North Greene Unit District #3 has named a new junior high/high school principal and athletic director.

Brett Berry has been promoted to the role of Junior High/High School Principal. Berry takes over for Amanda Macias. Macias’ last official day was August 11th as she has taken the job as principal of Alton Middle School, which is closer to her home.

Berry is an Illinois College graduate and has been with North Greene School District in various capacities since 1997. Most recently, he has been the Dean of Students at North Greene Junior High/High School since 2020. Berry also has served as the district’s Athletic Director.

High School Girls’ Basketball Coach/Junior High Girls’ Track Coach McKea Jones will take over as the district’s athletic director. Jones has been with the district since 2018.

Greene, Scott, and Jersey County landowners are asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to take a closer look at the Spire STL Pipeline once again.

Landowners have asked for a request to rehearing on FERC’s dismissal of a request to rehear the pipeline’s permit on July 21^st.

On May 24^th, an agent of FERC submitted a report after visiting the pipeline’s easement after the pipeline has had a noted history of non-compliance when it comes to environmental issues created by the pipeline’s construction, which were evidenced in reports provided by the Illinois Department of Agriculture and the Illinois EPA within the last 3 years. The landowners insist that their has not been a timely restoration of their properties by the natural gas company and the FERC agent’s report has denied them that right.

Nate Laps of Central Land Consulting LLC who represents a large group of the landowners in the 3 counties, says the land issues are numerous: “The majority of the area that Spire has crossed are agricultural lands. Some are wooded areas, but they are mainly agricultural. The first thing they have damaged heavily are drain tiles. The landowners are identifying a lot of drain tiles that are either not connected at all where they previously had been connected across the easement or they are just settled or insufficient and not working. You are seeing a lot of flooding in those areas where the broken or unusable drain tiles are. The drain tiles are crucial in order for the farmers to get the highest yields and get production at the fullest. The other thing is there is a lot of debris, matting material, rocks, and compacted soils that are causing a lot of damage to farming machinery – especially combines. During harvest especially for soybeans, you are cutting a lot lower and these things cause a lot of damage to the cutter bars. It can get into the rotors. It does pretty extensive damage to some pretty high-end equipment that the farmers rely on. There is a lot of erosion. A lot of landowners are complaining about the mixing of top soil. The soils are severely compacted. These things have gone on for way too long and the landowners just want their properties restored.”

Legal counsel of the Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Department of Agriculture are now involved in the issue asking for FERC to intervene. Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth is also reviewing the case and has been asked to help with intervention on the landowners’ behalf.

The Roodhouse Rez reopened on Friday.

The Journal Courier reports that Illinois EPA returned an acceptable sample of below recommendations for an algal bloom early Friday morning.

Mayor Tom Martin reopened the lake to recreational activity after speaking with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Martin told the Journal Courier that any fish caught in the lake should be thoroughly cleaned with water before consumed.

The lake had been closed since August 5^th after it was reported that the water had turned green from the toxic algal bloom. According to the Journal Courier, DNR water samples had returned an elevated level of microsystin – a liver toxin and carcinogen to humans. The algal bloom is a result of recently hot temperatures at the end of July and beginning of early August.

IDNR and the City of Roodhouse say to continue to exercise caution at the lake and swimming is always prohibited.

The City of Mt. Sterling recently announced a new amenity at Mt. Sterling Lake.

The city partnered with the Tracy Family Foundation to purchase a combination kayak/canoe launch that was installed on Tuesday last week.

The launch features a 20-foot ramp with handrails and accommodates both kayaks and canoes.

The $15,380 project was 80% funded by the Tracy Family Foundation to help strengthen recreation options in Brown County.

The launch was purchased from JLS Marine, Incorporated of Springfield.

The city said in a separate press release they are possibly looking at offering kayak/canoe clinics in September and October.

Mt. Sterling Lake is located one-and-a-half miles north of Mt. Sterling, just northeast of Rolling Greens Golf Course.

A juvenile was taken to the hospital after their vehicle struck a light pole in a parking lot Saturday night.

Jacksonville Police responded to a single-vehicle crash with injuries on private property at 10:06PM Saturday evening in the 100 block of East Morton Avenue.

According to preliminary reports, an unidentified vehicle driven by a 17 year old female struck a light pole in the parking lot of a business. The vehicle received disabling damage and had to be towed from the scene. The teenager was taken to Jacksonville Memorial Hospital for non-life threatening minor injuries. No damage totals were listed in the report.

No citations were issued, according to the report.

The West Central Mass Transit District Board of Directors announced the hiring of two administrative positions today. Both names are familiar to the Jacksonville area.

The Board has hired Debra Walters as Assistant Director and Tiffanee Peters as Finance Director. Both women officially joined the staff in the newly created positions in July to round out the agency that serves 6 counties.

Walters is a graduate of Illinois College. She joins the transit district after this past year serving as the social service director/Medicaid specialist at Heritage Health. Walters previously served as the Executive Director of the Morgan County Housing Authority from March 2019 to March 2021. Walters and former Morgan County Housing Authority Finance Director Mary Jo Mast were placed on administrative leave from MCHA in February 2021 and then ultimately dismissed by the Housing Authority Board in March 2021 for unspecified reasons. Walters previously served as MCHA’s Finance Director from 2015 until the time of her appointment as Executive Director.

Peters previously worked for DD Homes in Cass County before eventually becoming the Village of South Jacksonville’s Treasurer and Office Manager through 4 separate administrations dating back to 2017. Peters resigned from her position in the Village of South Jacksonville in June after a lengthy absence. In a resignation letter to the Village Board of Trustees, Peters provided no explanation for resigning from the post.

West Central Mass Transit District Board President Tom Atkins said in a press release that both hires secure future planning and organizational concepts to lead the transit district forward.

West Central Mass Transit provides demand-response public transportation to residents of Morgan, Cass, Schuyler, Brown, Pike, and Scott counties.