Two missives taped to doors at the Jacksonville Masonic Lodge and Central Christian Church are a part of an ongoing multi-state investigation into possible harassment and threats of domestic terrorism.

The missives contain anti-masonic information claiming that the Masons worship Satan. According to the Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Illinois and member of the Jacksonville Harmony Masonic Lodge Frank Cline this has been going on all around the state and in 3 others: “What is being taped to the doors of lodges and churches is anti-masonic information. It all came back from the book Morals & Dogma which was written back at about the time of the Civil War. The way things worked back then are not the way they work today. They are trying to take those antiquated items and say that this is what your masons today are doing. They are trying to scare people out of belonging to the Masonic Lodge, and they are trying to get the churches to scare their members to get out of the Masonic Lodges. We don’t know the point of why they are doing this.”

Cline says there hasn’t been any threats of physical violence yet to the local lodge. He says some property damage has occurred at other lodges out of the area. Cline says membership have faced anti-masonic movements for centuries. People have long questioned Masonic symbolism and ritual being tied to the occult and Satanic worship. Cline says its all been misinformation spread by removed members from the the fraternal organization or disgruntled members of the public: “The main Masonic ritual is also based on the Old Testament of the Bible. There is nothing Satanic. There is nothing witchcraft about it. Men of all religions belong to the Masonic fraternity. All you have to do to belong is believe in a Supreme Being or in a god. I mean, we have had Hindus and Buddhists kneel at the same alter to take the Obligation of Masonry, so it is nothing that is restrictive on our side.”

Cline says all local lodges have been instructed to send any communications or packages to the Adams County Sheriff’s Department in Illinois to Deputy Gunnar Caster who is investigating if any criminal activity can be charged. Churches in the area who receive any of these letters or packages are also instructed to send any security videos and letters on to Caster at gcaster@co.adams.il.us. Cline says that they have also discovered that the FBI’s Anti-Terrorism Task Force is also investigating the case since it crosses into similar incidents being reported in Missouri, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

The Morgan County Health Department received confirmation of another COVID-19 death in the county today. The health department received confirmation of the death of a female in her 50’s at a hospital. It’s the 121^st death attributed to the virus in the county since the pandemic began.

The health department also reported 9 new cases of COVID-19 today. This brings the active number of cases in the county to 76, with 9 of those hospitalized.

The Greene County Health Department announced 10 new positive cases of the virus in that county today, since their previous report last Thursday. Greene County currently has 14 active cases overall. Greene County Health Officials say they are moving to weekly COVID-19 updates that will appear each Thursday.

The Cass County Health Department announced 5 new cases yesterday, bringing their active case count to 29, with 6 individuals hospitalized.

The Medicare open enrollment period begins tomorrow. People looking to change their existing Medicare plan can receive free, personalized assistance through the Illinois Department on Aging’s Senior Health Insurance Program (SHIP).

Open enrollment runs from tomorrow through December 7^th. During that time period, people who are already enrolled in Medicare have the opportunity to review their current coverage and switch to a different plan for the following year.

To make this process easier for Medicare beneficiaries and their caregivers, Illinois’ SHIP program offers statewide health insurance counseling services through a network of 325 sites and 1,100 trained and certified counselors.

SHIP counselors can answer questions about Medicare, Medicare Supplement, long-term care insurance, Medicare HMO’s, private fee-for-service and other health insurances. All services are free, and SHIP counselors do not sell or solicit any type of insurance.

To find a SHIP counselor near you, call 1-800-252-8966 or visit this link. Visit Medicare.gov to begin comparing plans.

The Macoupin County Health Department has issued an alert of someone allegedly posing as a health department nurse entering homes.

The Health Department says that residents have been notifying them that they have been contacted in person in their homes by someone posing as a nurse from the health department. This individual is telling residents that they are doing well-check visits for individuals age 80 and older.

Be advised that this individual is not a representative of the Macoupin County Health Department and nurses are not visiting homes in Macoupin County to conduct well-check visits for individuals age 80 and older. Macoupin officials are asking to please share this information with your senior neighbors and family members in the Macoupin County area.

MCPHD does have Public Health Navigators who provide specific households with care packages, which they drop off on doorsteps. The Public Health Navigators do not enter the homes, nor do they ask to speak to the residents in the home, according to Macoupin Health Officials.

If you have any questions or if you have been approached by someone posing as a nurse from the health department conducting in-home well checks in Macoupin County, please email the Macoupin County Health Department at mcphd@mcphd.net or call us at 217-313-5078. You may also contact the Macoupin County Sheriff’s Department at (217) 854-3135.

A man who led Greene County authorities on a high speed chase last month has recently been found unfit to stand trial.

49 year old David G. Moore of Alsey was recently found unfit to stand trial on a charge of aggravated fleeing of police at least 21 miles per hour over the speed limit, a Class 4 Felony.

Moore led authorities on a chase through rural areas of Greene and Scott County on September 17^th in speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour on multiple terrain and at times with lights off. Damage was sustained to a White Hall Police cruiser and a private citizen’s vehicle. The pursuit ultimately ended when Moore’s red Dodge SUV struck the private citizen’s vehicle at Asley-Manchester Road. No injuries were reported in the incident.

Dr. Daniel Cuneo of Belleville performed the evaluation by motion of Greene County Public Defender Tom Piper. In an email with Greene County State’s Attorney Caleb Briscoe this afternoon, Briscoe confirmed that Dr. Cuneo had found Moore unfit for trial and that Greene County sitting Judge Zachary Schmidt would be signing an order this week remanding Moore to the custody of the Department of Human Services for further mental health treatment.

Moore was facing the possibility of up to 3 years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000 and a mandatory driver’s license suspension if found guilty in the case.

A national family advocacy group has released an advisory about a troubling new online phenomenon called sextortion.

ParentsTogether says online sexual predators are doctoring photos and videos of children into sexual images or sexual situations. The offender then shows the victim the edited images and threatens to release them to their parents, friends, school, or social media unless the child sends them more, often increasingly graphic, photos or videos and in some cases money as well.

ParentsTogether says the advisory comes after multiple reports of this happening in various states to kids as young as 7. According to research from Thorn, 1 in 5 nine-to-12 year olds have had an online sexual interaction where they were asked to send nude photographs or videos.

ParentsTogether urges families to talk with younger children about the dangers of interaction with strangers or their peers online. ParentsTogether is also urging tech companies to do more to protect young children online from sexual predators.

To report this kind of child online exploitation, contact local law enforcement as well as the Illinois Attorney General’s Office Child Exploitation Task Force by emailing illinoisicactip@atg.state.il.us and reportchildporn@atg.state.il.us or by calling (312) 814-3505. You can also contact the Springfield FBI field office at (217) 522-9675 , call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or report it online at tips.fbi.gov.

Northeastern Greene County saw some major damage from the storm system that swept across Central Illinois on Monday afternoon.

Greene County Chief Deputy Sheriff and Emergency Management Coordinator Cale Hoesman says that the damage was limited to outbuildings in the small village of Wrights, approximately 8 miles northwest from Greenfield: “There were actually two [mahcine] sheds in town there that were totally destroyed.”

Hoesman says he has spoken with the National Weather Service to help them gather information on the storm’s intensity: “Preliminary [reports] have it listed right now as having wind speeds of over 100 to 115 mph, which classifies that as an EF-2 currently. After they get their data and put it all together, we will have more of an answer of exactly what [the intensity] would be.”

Hoesman says overall that the area was really fortunate to not have any further damage: “As of right now, we have not had any reports of injuries, so we’ve been very fortunate in that aspect, and also no homes were majorly destroyed or anything. We had a couple of residents that were without power for a little bit, but that was restored Monday night. We also were very fortunate in that aspect.”

Tornado touchdowns were also reported in eastern Morgan County and southeastern Cass County with the system on Monday afternoon, but no damage has been reported in either of those counties.

According to the National Weather Service Severe Weather Outlook for today, a couple of rounds of thunderstorms are possible during the day today and on into this evening. The threat for severe weather is relatively low, but cloud-to-ground lightning and locally heavy rain is possible. An additional chance of thunderstorms lingers into tomorrow and Friday, with chances of severe weather remaining low. Cooler temperatures and clear skies are expected to begin with the start of the weekend.

UPDATE: The National Weather Service confirmed the EF-2 rating late last night. According to the press release from the St. Louis office: “The EF-2 tornado touched down at 2:36pm, destroying several large barns and outbuildings. The tornado quickly moved to the northeast, producing sporadic damage to trees and two other outbuildings before lifting, 3 miles from where it touched down.” The tornado was 75 yards wide and had a path of approximately 3 miles.