The City of Carrollton broke ground on a new two-year long process last Friday. Local dignitaries gathered on Carrollton’s west end for a ground breaking ceremony at the site of where a new water tower will be constructed.

The site is near the current FS plant on the city’s west edge. According to the Greene Prairie Press, the Meek Family of Carrollton sold the land to the city for the project that has taken nearly 2 years to get off the ground. State Senator Steve McClure and Representative C.D. Davidsmeyer were on hand for the ceremony.

The new tower will hold 250,000 gallons, nearly doubling the capacity of the current tower which was built in 1924. The new tower’s construction will be overseen by engineering firm Benton & Associates. The nearly 2.1 million dollar project was funded by the Illinois EPA’s Public Water Supply Loan Program. The new tower is expected to be completed by next Summer or early Fall.

The Village of Chapin has a new president. The Board of Trustees selected trustee Rex Brockhouse as the interim President. Brockhouse replaces Ken Drake who resigned on August 13^th. Drake resigned amid an ongoing dispute over the village’s ATV ordinance. According to village meeting minutes, still has not been resolved at this time.

Brockhouse will serve until the next scheduled election. A new Public Works Superintendent is expected to be named at the next village meeting. Former Village Public Works Superintendent Dalton Surratt announced his resignation effective on August 20^th after he had taken employment elsewhere. The village interviewed 5 different applicants during a special September 7^th meeting.

A Jacksonville woman has received an award for excellence in nursing.

Renee Holt of Jacksonville received the DAISY Award for Nursing Excellence at Memorial Medical Center this week.

According to a press release from MHS, Holt was nominated by a patient at the nonprofit hospital to receive the award.

Holt has been with Memorial for about 33 years. She currently works as a registered nurse in the Emergency Department at Memorial Hospital. Holt is certified as a trauma nurse specialist and serves as one of the dedicated Emergency Department preceptors for new graduate nurses.

Holt was recognized as a DAISY Award recipient in front of her co-workers and hospital leaders. She received a certificate and a hand-carved sculpture called “A Healer’s Touch” during the presentation.

The DAISY Awards were established as an extension of the Daisy Foundation to recognize exceptional and compassionate nursing care from an individual nurse in the line of duty.

A three-county chase through highways and cornfields this morning ended in one arrest. At approximately 1AM, an officer from the Roodhouse Police Department observed a vehicle parked in the middle of the road on US Highway 67 near Cloverleaf Feeds south of Roodhouse.

When the officer activated his emergency lights the suspect operating a Red Dodge SUV took off at a high rate of speed. The officer ultimately attempted to stop the suspect operating the vehicle, however, the suspect continued.

Members of the Roodhouse Police Department, White Hall Police Department, Greene County Sheriff’s Office, Carrollton Police Department, Scott County Sheriffs Office attempted to stop the suspect. A pursuit took place in Roodhouse, rural areas of Greene County, Scott County, on Interstate 72 East bound, and ultimately back on US 67 South bound. The suspect lead officers on multiple types of terrain ranging from pavement to cornfields.

According to Roodhouse Police Chief Kyle Robison in a press release, the suspect was operating the vehicle at speeds over 100 miles per hour and at times with no headlights on. The suspect struck several orange cones on the Interstate, side swiped a Carrollton Police Officer’s patrol vehicle causing damage, and nearly hit a Greene County Sheriff’s Deputy head on. Minor damage was sustained to a White Hall Police vehicle during an effort to stop the suspect.

The pursuit ended when the suspect exited from US 67 at Asley-Manchester Road where he struck a private citizen’s vehicle at around 2AM. 49 year old David G. Moore of Alsey was immediately taken into custody. Boyd EMS, Winchester EMS, and the Roodhouse Fire Protection District was summoned to the scene to render aid. The private citizen involved refused all medical treatment and was given a ride home from a friend, according to police. Moore refused to allow medical treatment on scene, but was later transported to Boyd Memorial Hospital in Carrollton for observation. No major injuries were reported.

Moore has officially been charged with Aggravated Fleeing and attempting to Elude a Police Officer, Aggravated Reckless Driving, and Resisting or Obstructing a Peace Officer. Robison says that further charges against Moore may follow after a review from the Greene County State’s Attorney’s Office. Moore is currently lodged at the Greene County Jail.

Some Memorial Health System employees will see an increase in their paycheck starting next month. The hospital system announced yesterday that more than 3,000 employees across its 5 hospitals will have their minimum wage increased to $15 an hour.

The increase will immediately impact about 12-hundred workers who are currently below that $15 an hour level at Memorial’s five hospitals and affiliated medical offices. But the nonprofit health system says other employees will also see their pay adjusted upwards, leading to increases for about 37-percent of its total workforce.

Memorial says impacted employees will receive full details of the changes to their compensation in a letter that will be mailed to them by October 15^th.

This puts Memorial ahead of the statewide mandated $15 an hour minimum wage increase scheduled for 2025. The health system’s minimum wage increase will impact primarily entry-level positions across the organization. Those positions include patient care support staff, housekeeping, customer service, and food and nutrition staff.

Illinois’ jobless rate has slowly crept down despite the total number of jobs that are open remaining the same.

The state added just under 2,500 jobs in August. The statewide unemployment rate currently sits at 7%, slightly down from last month. Morgan County and the remainder of the listening area remained well under the state and national unemployment rates, hovering around 5%.

IDES’ statistics say the Leisure and Hospitality industry continues to rebound, adding 5,800 jobs last month. Manufacturing and Government sectors also saw high gains last month.

The state’s unemployment rate was up 1.8 percentage points higher than the national unemployment rate reported for August, which was 5.2%.

This report may look much different next month after federal pandemic unemployment benefits ended the first week of this month.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has announced an arrest of a Macoupin County man on child pornography charges.

38 year old Robert C. Owens of Brighton was charged in Macoupin County Circuit Court with five counts of possession of child pornography, each a Class 2 felony punishable by up to three to seven years in prison. Owens’ bond is set at $75,000.

Raoul’s investigators along with the Macoupin County Sheriff’s Office and Brighton Police stopped Owens on his way to work on Tuesday to execute a search warrant. Owens was arrested after law enforcement allegedly discovered evidence of child pornography. The Attorney General’s office will prosecute the case with Macoupin County State’s Attorney Jordan J. Garrison’s office.

Owens is currently being lodged at the Macoupin County Jail awaiting a first appearance in court.

A potentially criminal social media video challenge has hit close to home.

A video challenge on the social media platform TikTok called the “Devious Lick” challenge has been taking place across the country resulting in alleged vandalism and theft incidents at jr. highs and high schools. “Licks” refer to thefts or robbery in current street slang. It has been popularized from the 2019 song “Momma I Hit A Lick,” by 2 Chainz with Kendrick Lamar. However, most of the TikTok videos involving these recent uploaded incidents include a sped-up version of rapper Lil B’s song “Ski Ski Basedgod.”

The challenge usually chronicles an individual or group stealing school supplies or destroying school property. Restrooms are primary targets because mirrors, sinks, urinals, ceiling tiles and toilet stall doors and dividers are among prizes being stolen and displayed in videos on the social video site.

Franklin Principal and Superintendent Jeff Waggener says the school has been hit by incidents that resemble the challenge in the past week. Waggener said in a phone call today that the post on the school’s Facebook highlights incidents were students have taken bags of hand soap from dispensers and flushed them down the toilet causing damage to the Jr.-Sr. High building’s sewer system. The post says the incident will cost the district thousands of dollars to repair. The district is currently investigating the incident further.

Waggener said today over the phone, not wishing to address the question further, that parents are the biggest advocates for the district in a situation like this and they have asked the district’s parents to talk to their kids about the potential disciplinary actions and problems issues like this cause.

The “Devious Lick” challenge began earlier this month according to sources. Since then, TikTokers in high schools and colleges began posting videos of heists of school supplies that has received over 175 million hits across the country. TikTok has told USA Today they are removing the hashtag and search results to discourage the behavior.

Governor J.B. Pritzker announced Monday that parents in the state trying to find employment will be able to apply for 3 months of childcare assistance from the state.

The Illinois Department of Human Services is expanding the Child Care Assistance Program. Pritzker says the expansion is a nation-leading program aimed at putting people back to work: “For parents looking for work, Illinois will provide three months of child care. Anyone who is engaged in a job search and otherwise qualifies for childcare assistance can access this benefit starting October 1st. DHS, Department of Human Services is working closely with its sister agencies as well as through its network of resource and referral agencies to support many families who may not have qualified for CCAP before. Despite claims by some that unemployment benefits were ruining the job market, we’ve now watched study after study prove that states that slashed unemployment benefits during the pandemic saw almost no uptick in job applicants, but a plurality of job seekers who are parents cite care responsibilities as their primary reason particularly those without college degrees.”

Pritzker says the initiative is twofold. It’s also aimed at keeping childcare providers in their position around the state to help provide this crucial care to the currently unemployed: “Childcare work is often some of the least appreciated work out there. Not by me. And it’s an industry where staffs, most of whom are women, have historically been underpaid. So in the coming months, Illinois will also be sending a bonus of up to $1,000 to everyone who works in a childcare center or childcare home in Illinois. It’s a simple thing that we can do to say ‘thank you’ to the people who carry the rest of the working world on their shoulders; and it sends a message to families across the nation that Illinois is a great place to raise a young family because we value our childcare workforce.”

The childcare workforce bonuses are scheduled for disbursement next month and will continue through March 2022.

Families interested in applying for support through the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), can contact their local Child Care Resource & Referral Agency at inccrra.org or by calling 1-877-202-4453.