(photo courtesy of Richard Perkins III)
Several fighters were on the scene of a tank battery fire in Mt. Erie on Monday evening. The Cisne Volunteer Fire Department, along with the Fairfield Rural Fire Department, Orachardville and Clay City were all on the scene alone with, what we have been told were several other responders. A lightning strike is believed to have started the fire. Above is a picture of the blaze sent to WFIW by an onlooker at the scene. No injuries have been reported and no details of the fire are available at this time.
The Fairfield City Council met for about 90 minutes last night. Much of the meeting was devoted to the possibility of establishing a pharmaceutical marijuana grow operation being developed locally. Any medical marijuana in the state of Illinois would be sold by 60 dispensaries, who would buy the product from licensed growers in the state. Mayor Chuck Griswold said the city of Fairfield has a site picked out for an operation, which would be a 50/50 effort with the county. The site is located on ten acres south of the city’s sewer plant, which the mayor said would be in a rural area away from any residents.
45-year-old Gregory B. Oneal of Carmi was arrested Tuesday evening on a domestic battery charge, following an incident that occurred at 702 Foley Drive in Carmi. Booking records indicate Oneal was jailed shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday, with bond set at $750.
A Harrisburg woman has been sentenced to seven years in prison for stealing the identity of a senior citizen in her care. Kimberly Ital, 46, received the sentence Tuesday in Saline County court. Ital was arrested in September after prosecutors said she stole tens of thousands of dollars from a 72-year-old woman with dementia. She pleaded guilty in March to three counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of theft.
A trash truck apparently became entangled with a guy wire of the WNOI-FM radio tower on U.S. 50 in Flora, bringing the tower to the ground and knocking the station off the air. Part of the tower hit the radio building, causing a hole in the roof. There were no injuries. Pat Garrett, who was on the air at the time, said he had his headphones on and heard what sounded like a thunderclap.
The Illinois Treasurer’s Office plans to auction off nearly nine-thousand pieces of unclaimed property, including antique coins, jewelry and presidential campaign buttons. The property came from owners who haven’t claimed the items from the state for at least five years. The online auction runs July 7th through July 11th.