An arrest warrant has been issued for 65-year-old Jack Lee Harrison Sr. of Fort Smith, AR. Harrison is accused of scamming an Edwards County man out of nearly $10,000 in a driveway paving scheme. Harrison faces a Class-2 felony charge of theft and a Class-3 felony charge of intimidation. According to a criminal information filed by Edwards County State’s Attorney Michael Valentine, Harrison is accused of scamming the victim, Roy Longbons of Albion, by entering into an oral agreement to pave his driveway for a specific price per linear foot, and after the project was completed, Harrison allegedly charged Longbons by the square foot, resulting in a much higher price. The intimidation charge accuses Harrison of threatening Longbons with physical harm if he didn’t pay him the money. Bond on Harrison was set at $100,000.
The Fairfield City Council meets Tuesday night in regular session. Alderman are expected to seek additional bids for the clearing of brush from Johnson and Fairground creeks through Fairfield. The council is also expected to seek bids for the planting of trees on 34 acres of land as part of a wetland mitigation project. The city must plant the trees to satisfy a U.S. Corps of Engineers order following the failed construction of a side-channel reservoir east of town, which was being built without Corps of Engineers authority, resulting in the city being forced to secure alternative wetlands to replace the wetlands disturbed by the failed project.
71-year-old James G. Roberts of Eldorado, IL has been sentenced to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to having unlawful sexual contact with two juveniles under the age of ten. The sentence was handed down in Saline County Circuit Court at Harrisburg, IL. Roberts drew a consecutive three-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to a Class-2 felony charge of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a victim under the age of 13. The victims in the case were six and seven years old at the time of the assault.
Former Harrisburg Mayor Ron Crank died Thursday, just one year after he had been chosen for the job. Reports indicate Crank had to resign his position to finish cancer treatments. He had served on the Harrisburg City Council for three years before being named the city’s Mayor last year.
Illinois is inching closer on the medical marijuana program application process for patients and caregivers. Reports indicate the state has posted the official forms online, but has asked people not to submit anything prior to September 2nd. Applications for operators of cultivation centers haven’t yet been posted, but some guidance for entrepreneurs who are preparing their paperwork was published Friday. Once everything is operational, patients and caregivers will have to submit applications before they can be approved for an official identification card that will permit them to purchase medical marijuana. Patients will pay $100 a year to apply for the card, while veterans and those with disabilities will pay $50 a year. Patients will be able to buy up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana in a two-week period from a state-authorized dispensary.