A Golden, Illinois a former school paraprofessional has been charged in Brown County for allegedly stealing over $2,000 from a nondenominational community camp.

Rabecca Zeiger of Golden has been charged with Class 3 Felony Theft or Unauthorized Control between $500-$10,000.

Charging documents allege that between November 5^th and December 14^th of last year that Zeiger obtained a credit card owned by Jensen Woods, making unauthorized purchases totaling $2,048.

According to a directory with the Regional Office of Education #1, Zeiger was listed as a paraprofessional in 2022 for Camp Point Central Junior High School. A call to the Central District Office confirmed today that Zeiger is no longer employed with the district.

Zeiger appeared in Brown County Circuit Court yesterday on the charges. She will have a first appearance with defense counsel on June 5^th.

The U.S. Postal Service says they are moving forward with taking away Springfield’s mail processing center despite intense push back from the public and area lawmakers.

Elected officials in the region have held town halls, proposed new legislation, and protested in attempts to get the USPS to change course on moving the mail processing center to St. Louis.

The USPS will in turn make the Springfield post office into a Local Processing Center, significantly reducing its operations and the number of employees. Springfield becomes one of the 58 sites that USPS is shutting down, citing concerns about efficiency. Champaign, the Quad Cities, and Peoria are also losing their mail processing center as those operations are being moved to Chicago.

Central Illinois has regularly ranked in the bottom in the entire country for on-time deliveries by the USPS for all of its services.

State Senator Doris Turner expressed her frustration with the decision in a statement on social media last night: “The decision to convert the Springfield Post Office into a local processing center is extremely disappointing and will have lasting effects on residents across Central Illinois. There is no reason for our mail to be diverted out of state, but sadly this is our new reality. I joined hundreds of residents, postal workers and local elected officials at a town hall on March 26 to share our grave concerns about the proposal. USPS did not listen to our community. This will not only slow down mail delivery time, but also create life threatening hardships for those who rely on the mail service for their medication needs, especially our seniors.Springfield is home to Illinois’ state government. Why are we delaying delivery of important documents by sending them to Missouri? This is a poor decision that will affect each and every one of us.”

WICS reports that it will take up to a year before the Springfield site officially closes down.

A Mt. Sterling contractor working at Western Illinois Correctional Facility has been arrested and charged for allegedly smuggling drugs and contraband into the prison.

The Journal Courier reports that 49-year old Joshua D. Havens of Mt. Sterling was arrested on February 21^st by the Illinois State Police after an investigation into reports of contraband being brought into the prison. Havens wasn’t formally charged until April 26^th by the Brown County State’s Attorney’s Office, according to online court records. The State Police report says that the charges stem from incidents that occurred on or about November 30^th.

Havens is accused of two counts of unauthorized bringing of contraband into a penal institution by an employee, both Class X felonies. One count alleges Haven brought in controlled substances and the other alleges he brought in a cellphone, according to charging documents obtained by the Journal Courier through the Brown County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Havens is also charged with Class 3 felony possession of a look-alike substance with intent to deliver. Charging documents indicate Havens is accused of bringing 100 pills that looked like a controlled substance into the prison.

According to the Illinois’ Comptroller’s Office online salary records, Havens was employed by the Department of Corrections at Western IL Correctional Center as a part-time carpenter.

The investigation remains ongoing according to the report.

Havens was released with a notice to appear in court. He is scheduled to appear on Monday in Brown County Circuit Court for a first appearance with counsel.

A Springfield woman will spend the next month in the Menard County Jail after pleading guilty to arson in Cass County Circuit Court on Monday.

41-year old Amy M. Coats pleaded guilty to Class 2 felony arson. Coats was arrested on November 30^th of last year after a fire destroyed a home that Coats formerly resided in located at 306 Wooldridge Lane in Philadelphia Township.

According to the Cass County State’s Attorney’s Office, local fire officials brought in an investigator from the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal to conduct an investigation after they had determined that the fire started under suspicious circumstances after locating fire accelerators inside the home. OSFM investigators were able to send off materials collected inside the residence to their Belleville laboratory and were able to determine that gasoline was used to purposely start the fire.

The Cass County State’s Attorney’s Office says that through the use of cellphone records that pinged Coats location, and through assistance from the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office on a forensic audit of cellphone records – Coats was placed at the home at the time of the fire.

Cass County State’s Attorney Craig Miller says that the arson charge was applied on Coats due to her attempt to defraud State Farm Insurance through a property damage claim placed on the home. Miller says that through the filing of the claim and a third-party investigation conducted by State Farm claiming the fire to be suspicious in nature, they were able to pinpoint that Coats had intentionally set the fire in order to defraud her homeowner’s insurance policy.

Coats pleaded guilty to the charge on Monday in front of Cass County Circuit Judge Timothy J. Wessel. Coats was sentenced to 60 days of local jail time with day-for-day credit to apply, 2 years of adult probation, and ordered to pay a $200 county fine plus court assessments. She was immediately remanded to the custody of the Cass County Sheriff’s Office and will serve her local jail sentence in the Menard County Detention Facility.

A national bestselling author is giving another nod to Jacksonville and a local inn for her recently released book.

USA Today bestselling author Rachael Bloome has once again featured Jacksonville‘s Blessings on State Bed & Breakfast in her new release The Unexpected Inn, which hit the shelves May 1st. This book continues the story from Blessings on State Street, and even features one of Innkeeper Gwenn Eyer’s signature breakfast recipes. The Blessings Bay series is set on the West coast in a town much like Jacksonville.

Bloome says in the introductory letter of the book that she is inspired by Eyer and encouraged by her outlook on life as she battles cancer. Bloome also acknowledges that the truth is better than fiction, saying that the locality in the book draws from Jacksonville.

Bloome and readers from seven states gathered in Jacksonville two years ago for a readers retreat celebrating the release of Blessings on State Street.

Blessings on State Street and The Unexpected Inn are available in both digital and print formats through Rachael Bloome’s website and national retailers. Our Town Books in downtown Jacksonville will stock both books for Jacksonville area readers.

The South Jacksonville Celebration had a much quieter year this year with a great turnout over the weekend.

Select students from Jacksonville School District 117, students from Garrison Alternative School, and students from the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired got a free pre-event attendance day on Friday.

Police Chief Eric Hansell says other than one minor incident, the celebration was a place you could find families enjoying rides, games, and food this weekend: “It was very, very successful. We had good weather with just a little bit of rain on Saturday afternoon. Everybody was pretty well-behaved. The largest crowd, it looked like, was on Sunday afternoon about 2:30-3ish. We had very little trouble. We had some kids that we had to remove. Some parents had tried to drop some kids off without coming in with them. Those issues were rectified. We ended up with only one arrest out of the event for a battery. Other than that, it was great. Last year, we had to shut down early because of a large fight. We really had no fights whatsoever this year. Like I said, everybody had a really good time. It was very well-received. We got a lot of ‘thank yous,’ many thank yous for the law enforcement presence, and a lot of thank yous to the Village of South Jacksonville for putting this event on for families in the area.”

Hansell says that food and rides all had smooth operation throughout the weekend, with a very lucrative take from the good attendance for the food vendors.

Jeremy Coumbes assisted with this report.

Few details have been released about a police pursuit through multiple counties involving multiple agencies in Calhoun County have been released since Monday.

The Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department issued a public notice on their social media page on Monday that their office had received multiple calls requesting additional information involving suspects involved in an incident that occurred in Brussels.

The notice said there was no imminent danger to the public and that there were no suspects at large connected to the unnamed incident. The Sheriff’s Office said that after viewing camera footage, there was only one suspect who was apprehended in the early morning hours on Monday with the assistance of a K9 Officer from the Pike County Sheriff’s Department.

The Calhoun News Herald reports that the incident began as as suspect fled a traffic stop in Jersey County and was last seen traveling through Hardin at a high rate of speed. Deputies are said to have lost sight of the vehicle, but later found an overturned vehicle matching the description in Brussels and were later able to locate the suspect.

Calhoun County Sheriff Bill Heffington told the News Herald that more details will be issued in a press release soon.

The trial of a former Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy for armed violence, domestic battery, and aggravated battery to a pregnant person began yesterday in Adams County Circuit Court.

31-year old Cody R. Shaffer of Loraine is facing up to 30 years in prison after he is alleged to have strangled, bit, and pointed a loaded gun to the head and stomach of his 9-months pregnant girlfriend Brittany Ambercrombie.

After jury selection during the morning on Monday, the prosecution began its case in chief. Muddy River News reports that Ambercrombie was the only witness called to the stand before the trial recessed for the day. Ambercrombie recounted the events of the night of January 26, 2023 and the early morning hours of January 27, 2023.

Ambercrombie testified that Shaffer had returned to the home they shared in Lorraine on the night in question agitated and under the influence of alcohol. She testified that Shaffer got on top of her and eventually, she was able to push the two of them off of a bed onto the floor, at which point she said that Shaffer grabbed a 38-caliber Ruger pistol and placed it under her chin and pointed it at her stomach threatening to shoot her.

Shaffer’s defense attorney, Drew Schnack, pointed to what he called inconsistencies in Ambercrombie’s testimony. Schnack also accused Ambercrombie of making up some of her testimony.

The trial resumed Tuesday morning at 8:30 in Adams County Circuit Court in front of visiting Schuyler County Judge Mark Vincent. Vincent is the former Brown County State’s Attorney.

Hy-Vee officials announced a recall on Monday affecting two types of Hy-Vee Cream Cheese and bulk-packaged Cookies & Cream Mix.

Officials reported the products are being voluntarily recalled due to possible Salmonella contamination.

Although there have been no confirmed reports of illness due from consuming these products, the manufacturer recommended Hy-Vee recall the products out of extreme caution.

The products include Hy-Vee Whipped Cream Cheese spread both 8 and 12 ounce packages with use by dates of 8/7, 8/14, and 10/1; and Hy-Vee Cookies & Cream Mix both 4 and 16 ounce packages with use by dates of 12/1 and 12/5.

Officials said no other varieties of Hy-Vee Cream Cheese of bulk-packaged items are affected by this recall and all affected items have been removed from the shelves.

Customers who purchased the product should dispose of the product or return it to their local Hy-Vee store for a full refund.

Customers with questions may contact Hy-Vee Customer Care representatives at 800-772-4098 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

East College Avenue from Hardin to Blackburn Alley was closed Monday evening after a semi got stuck underneath the railroad bridge.

Jacksonville Police, the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department, and a local towing company responded to the bridge at 4:55PM.

No one was hurt in the incident, including the driver, identified as 42-year old Mahad Abdi Mohamuud of Willmar, Minnesota.

No citations were issued. No estimate on damages to the truck or the bridge were supplied in police reports.

The road was shut down for approximately one hour while the truck was removed from underneath the bridge.