An Auburn woman was arrested by Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputies for drug trafficking on Thursday.

35 year old Christina L. Smith of Auburn was arrested by Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office Drug Interdiction and Response Team during a traffic stop. According to Springfield Leaks, the DIRT Team had been conducting an investigation in the Auburn area for methamphetamine trafficking. Subsequent to that investigation, it was learned by officers that Smith was allegedly selling and delivering the drug in Auburn.

During the traffic stop in her vehicle, DIRT allegedly located approximately 15 grams of purported methamphetamine along with a digital scale. She was arrested without incident and is currently lodged at the Sangamon County Jail. Smith has been charged with possession of methamphetamine between 5-15 grams and methamphetamine delivery between 5-15 grams.

Smith was on parole for a 2018 conviction in Macoupin County for methamphetamine delivery. She had recently been released after serving a nearly 3-year sentence.

According to Springfield Leaks, she may face further charges in the case.

Governor J.B. Pritzker made permanent an executive order regarding telehealth by signing a bill in Chicago Thursday.

Pritzker signed executive order 2020-09 in March 2020 as a part of his COVID-19 executive orders requiring insurers to reimburse health care providers for telehealth with the same payment rates as in-person care. House Bill 3308, passed by the General Assembly this Spring, permanently extends the parity requirement for mental health and substance use disorder services, while authorizing all other telehealth to be covered though 2027.

Pritzker says the bill expands upon his original order: “Illinois is now one of the first states in the nation to turn our emergency response into a permanent reality. Not only that, it expands key telehealth services like early intervention programs for early childhood development, adding to the growing number of telehealth services the General Assembly authorized this year such as support for tele-monitoring interactions among doctors so that they can improve patient care. We are making it easier for our residents to make telehealth an important and regular way to access healthcare services so that they can live their best lives.”

To protect confidentiality, the bill bars insurers from requiring patients to provide a reason—such as proof of hardship or an access barrier—for choosing a telehealth visit over an in-person consult. Additionally, an insurer cannot require patients see a healthcare provider virtually if they prefer an in-person visit, nor can an insurer mandate that physicians offer telehealth. Pritzker says Illinois has become the nation’s leader in offering the telehealth services and protections. The bill takes effect immediately.

A murder trial in Brown County went through several pre-trial motions yesterday afternoon.

42 year old John M. Dean appeared before Judge Charles H.W. Burch in Brown County on several motions, including a motion to reconsider a ruling in May that Dean had violated terms of his bond set the previous year where he was on ankle monitoring and staying at his parents’ residence prior to trial. Dean sent social media messages to an acquaintance named Jeremy Houston, which violated the terms of no social media use while on home confinement.

Defense Attorney John Leonard argued through both U.S. And Illinois Supreme Court Case law that the court’s decision to prohibit Dean’s usage of social media on home confinement was a violation of his First Amendment rights.

Brown County State’s Attorney Michael Hill explained that Leonard’s argument was incorrect because the two instances in the case law pertain to mandatory supervised release or probation and not someone on bond pending a jury trial: “The ones that [Mr. Leonard] cited stand for the proposition that a condition of probation or mandatory supervised release that prohibit people from using social media is a violation of the First Amendment right to Freedom of Speech. It’s my position that those cases and those rulings are inapplicable here because we are not dealing with probation or MSR, we’re dealing with bond conditions. Bond conditions, as the court said, the court has a lot of latitude as to what conditions they can impose because there are several reasons for bond. One is the protection of the public. One is to ensure the defendant comes to court. And as the court said today, there is another one out there, and that is to protect the integrity of the process. That gives a lot of latitude to a judge as to what they can do for bond.”

Judge Burch subsequently denied the motion to reconsider bond and Dean was remanded back to the custody to the Brown County Sheriff’s Office after the hearing.

A second motion to reconsider the court’s ruling on expert fees also posed intriguing requests from Defense Attorney Leonard. Leonard motioned to the court to ask for reimbursement of upcoming and current fees to hire expert witnesses for the case. The court granted on March 23^rd authorization of $10,000 for the hiring of expert forensic analysts Dr. George Nichols and Investigator Larry Hood to be hired in advance of the trial as well as outside analysis of both DNA and firearm residue. Judge Burch granted $2,500 bail bonds posted by Dean’s family to be placed into the defense’s account trust to hire a third expert Daniel Krane of Ohio. Leonard has previously argued a back at the Illinois State Police’s crime laboratory as a reason for hiring outside experts. Former Brown County State’s Attorney Mark Vincent did not order DNA evidence when the case originally started in 2019.

Krane’s hiring is interesting because he may be refuting or re-analyzing DNA from the defense’s already hired experts. Hill says such situations aren’t without precedent: “Usually, like in this case, I can’t speak to why my predecessor didn’t want the DNA [analysis] done. Maybe there is a reason. Maybe it was a backlog. I don’t know. Typically, if there is evidence like that or gunshot residue, or fingerprint analysis, something like that – the state does that as a part of their case in chief. Then, the defense wants an expert to counter the state’s expert witnesses. That’s pretty normal. In this case, you have the defense saying they wanted an expert in the first place and now they don’t intend to use that evidence for whatever reason but the state wants to use it. Now, the defense says I need an expert to help me argue against that first expert that presented the report.”

The case returns to Brown County Court on competing motions to compel in discovery release of witness lists in the case, as both sides revealed in court yesterday new witnesses will be subpoenaed to potentially testify. Judge Burch will also rule on at least further outstanding motion as well on Thursday, July 29^th at 9:30AM.

Dean is charged with first degree murder in the shooting death of 44 year old Rebecca L. Niewohner on the evening of June 14^th at a residence in Mt. Sterling. If convicted, Dean faces 45 years to life in prison.

One local school district has decided on its COVID-19 policy for the upcoming school year. North Greene Unit District #3 says that masks will be recommended for all unvaccinated people in its buildings, but it will be required while on its buses.

Superintendent Mark Scott says they are following the guidance provided by ISBE, IDPH, and the Greene County Health Department as full in-person learning will return this Fall: “Right now, the guidelines that they have released say that masks are recommended. They don’t say they are required. They don’t say they are optional. It says recommended to wear masks – any unvaccinated people, so that is exactly what our plan is: We recommend that anyone who is unvaccinated wears a mask. If you ride one of our school buses or drive one of our school buses because of the failure to be able to social distance on a bus, masks are required while on a bus.”

Scott says that because Covid vaccines are only available for persons 12 years of age and upward that elementary school children need to follow the rules: “You know, 12 and under, they haven’t had a chance to get vaccinated, and we are recommending that they all wear a mask. Now, whether they choose to do so or not, that is on them and the parents. We recommend that everyone wear a mask.”

North Greene appears to have taken the lead in the local area on guidance for the full return to in-person learning. Triopia and Jacksonville School District 117 have tabled voting on updating their guidance until the first week in August, weeks away from the beginning of the school year. The Pleasant Plains School District has notified parents that masks are recommended for students and staff who are not fully vaccinated, but will not be required.

The Pike-Scott Farm Bureau celebrated 100 years Thursday night on the square in Winchester.

The farm bureau has grown and its mission has extended since it was started in 1920. Pike County was added in 2018 to join the two counties together. Out of the farm bureau has grown many successful business ventures and political advocacy for the area’s farmers over the past century. Executive Director Blake Roderick says many familiar businesses in the area started with the help of the bureau and its members: “[The farm bureau] also organized to form a shipping association and an insurance company. There was a Winchester Farm Bureau Mutual company that was formed. A lot of counties did that. They formed shipping companies that would have farmers come in and there would be a buyer who would work on behalf of the farmers not just the packers. Those kind of things were going on. Ultimately, those type of companies, they grew and they got to a size and became statewide. Some of them became nationwide. The buying co-ops that were formed became Scott County Service Company, and then they became part of the Illinois Farm Supply, which is FS, which is now GrowMark, which is a multi-billion dollar company all over the Midwest and Eastern United States. Then, the insurance companies became Country Companies/Country Financial, which are both nationwide also. The shipping companies for livestock – Interstate Producers Livestock eventually. They are no longer in business, but there were so many business ventures started back in the 20s because they needed to do a better job of serving the needs of the farmers.”

Wayne Brown, former president of the Scott County bureau from 2014-2018 and one of the key organizers of Thursday night’s event says he hopes the evening was a fun time of fellowship and memories for the current members and their families. Jeff Hurrelbrink and Chuck Frost prepared the evening meal of pork chop sandwiches, beans, and ice cream sandwiches. There was also a gathering of the remaining living past presidents of the Scott County Farm Bureau.

Thursday night also had a traveling farm bureau exhibit of memorabilia. Brown says that the Farm Bureau has expanded beyond just the farming family but the entire community in its century of existence: “We have a lot of members that are outside the farming community but maybe connect through a business or a family. We also have members that are in the ag business but maybe not working as farmers. There is a lot of benefits to being a farm bureau member. Anything that helps support the farm bureau helps the farmer and helps the community. In our community, that’s really a big thing.”

Several hundred members of the surrounding community were in attendance Thursday night to celebrate the significant achievement. Winchester Mayor Rex McIntire and Scott County Board President Bob Schaefer both presented the farm bureau with an official city and county declaration that declared July 22, 2021 as “100 Years of Farm Bureau in Scott County Day.” 50th District State Senator Steve McClure also was on hand and presented the farm bureau an Illinois Senate proclamation recognizing the centennial event. 100th District State Representative C.D. Davidsmeyer also was on hand and presented a similar proclamation from the Illinois House.

Current Farm Bureau President Kim Curry says he started coming to farm bureau meetings as a young boy with his father and recognized the impact and importance of the farm bureau at a young age. He says he’s not sure what the next 100 years holds for the farm bureau, but he says that in the near term the farm bureau is going to work on better communication about farm-to-table operations with the general public: “With all of the changes in agriculture in the last two or three decades and even the last five years, it’s just hard to imagine what will be coming down the road in the next century; but coming up in the near future, we’ve got a lot of disconnect between the people that grow the food and the people that consume the food. Some people that consume the food are very vocal on how they think it should be raised, and I applaud their efforts but sometimes their ideas don’t work out real well on the production side. I think that’s where we are going to kind of be working in the near future is trying to bridge that gap between consumers and producers and find a way that we can grow enough food to feed everybody and protect the environment, and do it cost effectively. We have to be able to make money at it [as a farmer] or we can’t do it.”

Roderick says that the Farm Bureau continues to work hard in the political realm in bridging that gap between the political and the physical act of farming. He says the farm bureau’s advocacy for the family farm and the farmer continues to happen every year and is glad that he’s seen the many accomplishments during his years involved. He thinks the next 100 years will be much like the first despite the growing changes – continued science brought to the farm to help with best practices, continued political action, and continued fellowship and hard work in the next generation of the Pike-Scott area farmers.

The City of Mt. Sterling is continuing to grow. The Main Street update with period lighting and new sidewalks along with ADA compliance for all of the downtown area’s front building entrances was completed earlier this year.

City Manager Vada Yingling says that the city was able to complete the project with the state’s Transportation Enhancement Program known as ITEP. The 80/20 grant helped the city renovate at little to no cost to the city. She says the city has applied for and been approved for a second round of ITEP funds to do a second phase of renovation: “We applied for the second round of ITEP funding just this last November, and this was going to be [for] Phase II, which is two blocks of historic Capitol Avenue, which would be up from Main Street to the courthouse and then a block south from Main Street south to the next block to South Street. The project includes sidewalks making everything ADA compliant to every building, new parking lanes, period lighting which will match Main Street, along with benches, and some landscaping and planters. We will also re-pave those two blocks of Capitol Avenue all on the city’s responsibility.”

Yingling says that the beautification project has made the downtown area more accessible. She says the city has gone with Hutchison Engineering of Jacksonville. She says that the city has had a long, successful history of working with the engineering firm on various projects over the years. The full project will cost $1,757,800 with the ITEP funding covering $1,379,200. The city’s obligation will be $378,600 plus engineering costs.

Current occupancy of buildings in the downtown area is now over 90% as more businesses continue to move into the area. She says is not just the downtown area that is growing: “We are having a 51-home subdivision being built. They broke ground earlier this year, about a couple of months ago. It’s on the west side of town. The city formed another TIF district, a 3rd TIF district that encompasses not only the new subdivision but Clark Park, our swimming pool, our ball diamonds. It takes in some residential [areas] and also out to our nursing home so that there is room for if there is ever improvements there, we will have TIF monies available to help fund those improvements. It’s exciting to think that we would have a new subdivision. We haven’t had a new subdivision in Mt. Sterling since the 50s or 60s.”

Yingling says that the city and the county have plenty of jobs and are hoping to attract more people that have to drive into the county for those jobs to come live in Mt. Sterling. Yingling says she’s excited to see the growth of the city and has high hopes for what the future will be bringing.

15^th District Congresswoman Mary Miller has introduced companion legislation in the House to help farmers and the federal government define the terms of the Waters of the United States.

Waters of the United States or WOTUS are the rivers, streams, and lakes that fall under federal jurisdiction and forms the foundation of the Clean Waters Act enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency.

In 2015, former President Barack Obama published a rule meant to clarify which streams and wetlands fall under federal protection, something that has caused frustration and litigation for the country’s farmers since 1972.

In 2019 by executive order, former President Donald Trump rolled back the Obama era regulations on the rule, calling it both a power and land grab by the former administration. The move was largely praised by farmers and industry groups. In July 2019, Indiana Republican Senator Mike Braun sought to codify the Trump order into law. Braun recently reintroduced the Trump rollback in the U.S. Senate. Miller has sponsored the companion legislation in the House.

The Biden Administration has said that it would re-implement a version of the Obama era rule after the EPA announced it would be initiating a new rule-making process that would restore protections prior to the Obama-era rule and seek to find a better WOTUS definition.

Braun and Miller’s measures currently sit in committee awaiting votes.

Jacksonville Police are investigating two locations that were hit with gunfire overnight.

According to a press release, at approximately 11:18PM Friday police dispatch received a report of gunshots in the 600 block of Jordan Street and in the 300 block of North Prairie Street.

Upon arrival, officers determined that a residence had been struck by gunfire in the 300 block of North Prairie and that a vehicle had been struck by gunfire in the 600 block of Jordan Street. No injuries were reported at either location.

No arrests have been made in connection with the incident.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Jacksonville Police Department at 217-479-4630 or the Morgan, Scott, Cass Crimestoppers unit at 217-243-7300 to leave an anonymous tip.

The Pike County Sheriff’s Office and Illinois State Police District 20 Troopers are looking for an endangered elderly man at this hour.

The Pike County Sheriff is requesting your assistance in locating Ronald Abney, who is an 82 year old white male, who is 6 foot and weighs 240 pounds. Abney has white hair and is wearing a green plaid shirt and khaki pants. He was last seen leaving Hardin, Illinois and possibly traveling to Moberly, Missouri at 3:00p.m. on Friday, July 23rd. Abney was driving a red 2004 Honda Accord with Illinois license plate AHI85. 

Mr. Abney has a condition that places himself in danger. Any person with information regarding the whereabouts of Ronald Abney should contact the Pike County Sheriff’s Office at: 217-285-5011 or contact 9-1-1.

Morgan County Coroner Marcy Patterson has released the identity of a young woman killed in a single-vehicle roll over crash on Old State Road Friday night.

The passenger that was pronounced deceased at an area hospital at 7:46PM Friday is 19 year old Daiziana Burton of Jacksonville. Burton and the 17 year old driver of the 2007 Honda Accord were both ejected from the vehicle after the vehicle went off the roadway for an unknown reason, struck a ditch on the south side of the roadway, and then rolled several times before coming to a stop.

The driver was transported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Their current status is unknown.

The Illinois State Police Traffic Crash Reconstruction Unit (TCRU) and the Morgan County Coroner’s office are continuing the investigation.