Honestly, I was a bit surprised to receive an invite for a ride-along from Stanford Police Chief Dustin Carter. While Chief Carter has shown himself to be more than willing to work with local media - I’ve spoken with him a few different times on past articles - it’s quite the jump to go from answering press questions over email to inviting the local media into a squad vehicle to see what police see. Naturally, I jumped at the opportunity. After finalizing a date and then having to take a rain check due to my pesky full time job, we settled on meeting at the Stanford Town Hall at 4:00 P.M. on Saturday, July 2nd.

Residents of Armington were shaken up last week with reports of an attempted child abduction on Wednesday, June 16th. A social media post gained area-wide attention stating that an officer from the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Department had approached residents seeking information relating to the incident that happened in the town park. While details on the incident are sparse at this time, one source familiar with the investigation tells The Mail that multiple police agencies responded to the area to investigate the report.

Father’s Day is a day to celebrate fatherhood and honor fathers and father influences many have had in their lives. Despite the day’s long history globally, albeit in different forms and names, the United States' first celebration was on June 19th, 1910 in the state of Washington. While this was the first day it was celebrated in the country the holiday wouldn’t become a nationwide holiday until 1972, some 58 years after Mother’s day had become a national holiday.

Waynesville native Al Furman was recently recognized for his service to the country by a group known as the Honor Flight Network. The national group selects men and women who have served in the U.S. military, and flies them to Washington D.C. for an exciting day seeing the nation’s memorials and experiencing the gratitude and appreciation of a thankful country. “I’d been asked to go in the past”, Al tells The Mail, “but I’d always thought it was more appropriate to let the ‘older guys’ go ahead of me. But, I’m 81 now. So I guess it was just my turn.”

On Tuesday, May 24th, 18 year old Salvador Ramos entered Robb Elementary School, in Uvalde Texas, armed with a rifle and pistol. Reportedly carrying 1,600 rounds of ammunition, Ramos went on an hour-long shooting spree that left 19 students and 2 teachers dead, while also wounding over a dozen others. Ramos was eventually shot dead by Border Patrol agents who entered the school; of their own accord, while Uvalde police forces remained inactive in a nearby parking lot. The lack of police action on that day has left Americans struggling to answer certain questions, the main question being “What can we expect from local police if a similar event happens in my town?” However, to even start to answer those types of questions, it is worth becoming familiar with procedures currently in place within law enforcement entities.

Every year Americans take time out of their busy lives to acknowledge Memorial Day, a holiday enacted, originally, to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice during our civil war that raged from 1861 to 1865. Originally known as “Decoration Day”, American citizens were encouraged to visit the graves of those who fell at battles such as Bull Run, Antietam, Vicksburg, and Gettysburg. In modern times, “Decoration Day” has turned into “Memorial Day” and is meant to honor the American citizens who have fallen in all American wars. Proof of the evolution of this holiday can easily be seen with the prevalence of the Red Poppy. 

Local teen Jadon Nafziger traveled with his family to Hillsdale, Michigan last weekend to compete in the National Junior Paralympics Regional Championships, where he brought home the gold medal for precision shooting. Jadon competed in the under 15 para standing precision air rifle event over the course of 3 days, shooting twice in competition. This week, The Mail was granted exclusive access to The Champ to find out more.

A large altercation involving multiple teenagers occurred at Casey’s gas station, in Mackinaw on Wednesday, that lead to the arrests of 4 teenagers by the Mackinaw Police Department. Some time that evening, the teens exited the gas station and created a disturbance in the parking lot, at one point surrounding the vehicle of a 31 year old mother who had chided the teens for their misbehavior, witnesses say. At one point, the teens indicated that they were willing to resort to violence, however, local resident Danny Hale stepped in. 

Mother’s Day is a holiday celebrated in multiple countries throughout the world to honor our mothers, but where did this holiday come from?. In the modern form we know today, the holiday originated in the United States and is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Many countries follow this date but others celebrate the day at different times of the year. 

If you could go back 5 years to ask Atlanta native Jimmie Barr if he was ever going to author a children’s book, the answer would have been a resounding “No”. While Jimmie was no stranger to written word - he had been writing music for quite some time and even has an award or two under his belt, the thought of writing a book had never seriously crossed his mind. However, when the family added another member in the form of daughter Carlee, Jimmie was inspired.

Issues with manganese in the drinking water of the town of Danvers have been resolved, according to village officials. In January, residents were notified that the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency had found manganese levels in the city’s drinking water to exceed their threshold of .150 PPM. In response, village officials determined that a media filter was the cause and made plans to replace it. However, shipping issues arose and work to replace the filter had to be delayed.

Area service organizations and churches hosted Easter Egg Hunts for area youth.

Construction on a windmill farm in Tazewell county known as the “Rail Splitter II” could begin as early as 2023. Rail Splitter II Wind Farm will be located  north of the town of Lincoln. The wind farm is near the townships of Boynton, Hopedale, Hittle, and Little Mackinaw. The company behind the project, EDP Renewables North America, claims that the wind farm will bring numerous benefits to area residents and mention financial, environmental, and even national security concerns. 

Thefts of catalytic converters are on the rise nationwide and central Illinois is seeing more than its fair share of the crime. A catalytic converter is an emission control device that converts toxic gasses and pollutants into cleaner air by way of a chemical reaction. Thieves target converters because they contain three valuable metals: platinum, palladium, and rhodium. Rhodium, the most valuable of the 3 metals, is currently selling for $600 per gram. Typically, these thefts occur between midnight and 5:00 A.M. and involve the thief getting under a vehicle and cutting the part out with a saw. A skilled thief with the proper tools can cut a converter out and be gone in under 3 minutes. The Mail reached out to two local police chiefs - Mackinaw’s Michael Kemp and Stanford’s Dustin Carter - for their perspective on the issue.

On Saturday, March 19th, at approximately 4:51 P.M. The Tazewell County Coroner’s Office was contacted to respond to a two vehicle accident at the intersection of Townline and Locust Roads in rural Tremont. At 5:51 P.M. Tazewell County Coroner Charles R. Hanley pronounced 22 year old Ashley Embree and her 16 year old sister, Sarae Embree, deceased at the scene. Both victims are residents of Pequot Lakes, Minnesota.  A recent CI Proud article quotes Tazewell County Sheriff Jeff Lower as saying that the UTV the sisters were riding in “ran a stop sign and collided in the intersection with a pickup truck that was traveling eastbound on Townline road.” 4 other people involved with the accident, including the driver of the UTV and the pickup truck, were transported to OSF St. Francis Medical Center.

Just this past week the Illini Prairie All-Conference lists for boys and girls basketball were released with three Olympia High School basketball players making the list. Taylor Nowaskie, the senior player who broke Olympia’s all-time career scoring record, made first-team, Casey Wissmiller, also a senior, made second-team, and Saegen Pierce, a senior, was an honorable mention.

Gasoline prices have risen significantly in recent months and weeks. Naturally, average American citizens want to know the reasons behind this price surge that has set the national average for a gallon of gasoline at $4.32, with Illinois in front of the pack at $4.56 on average. It is important to note that gasoline prices rise and fall with the prices of crude oil, though that effect is not always in sync or to the same degree. We should also take into consideration that cause and demand play the biggest part in whether the price of gasoline rises or falls.

On February 19th, Dylan Eimer earned a 4th place medal at the IHSA state wrestling tournament. With this finish, he is the only freshman in Olympia history to ever place at State! The state wrestling tournament was held at the State Farm Center in Champaign. Dylan had to win at the regional and sectional level first to even advance to the state competition.

MACKINAW – As the rash of vehicular break ins and burglaries seems to continue unabated, the Mackinaw general public has one question on their minds: “Why are these adolescents allowed to continue with their crimes?” As a matter of fact, the Mackinaw Police Department seems to be wondering the same thing. On February 8th, at 9:05 A.M. The police department published a post on their public Facebook page which encouraged Mackinaw residents to contact the Tazewell County State’s Attorney’s Office, and even reach out to Stewart Umholtz via Facebook; with their questions or to air their concerns for the safety of the community. At 11:23 A.M. The Mackinaw Police Department changed the tone of their message when they edited out the contact information to Stewart Umholtz and his State’s Attorney’s Office. 

Following a series of burglaries in the area, on Monday evening Mackinaw police  announced that they have taken two juveniles into custody on burglary charges, with more charges expected. In a social media announcement, the Mackinaw Police Department encouraged local residents to contact the Tazewell County State's Attorney Office to express concerns for the safety of the community and urge the office to follow through with charges “as it seems to be the same group of juveniles, repeatedly”. In the post, the Mackinaw police asked the community for their assistance with these types of crimes by reporting any suspicious activity one might happen to notice. “If you see something suspicious, get as much information as you can, and report it. Nothing is too small to report! Some important pieces of information we like are: descriptions, pictures, video, last direction of travel, etc.”

Central Illinois was nearly shut down this week thanks to extreme weather brought on by “Winter Storm Landon”. Landon started, locally, on Tuesday evening with rain that turned to sleet, followed quickly by snowfall that had accumulated at an inch per hour in some places. According to the National Weather Service, Mackinaw received 10 inches of snow on Tuesday and Wednesday, with some communities in the area reaching the 12 inch mark. In Fulton County, Lewistown reported almost 14 and a half inches, with Canton receiving just over a foot of snow. Gen. Wayne A. Downing International Airport, in Peoria, officially received 10.6 inches.

Construction is set to begin on a new solar power system at Tremont Middle/High School this month, in a project that is designed to provide all the energy needs of the building; as well as save the school district money in the future. There are three areas where solar panels are being installed -- 1) a ground-mounted array; 2) panels on the roof of our bus maintenance shed;  and 3) panels that will go on top of a newly-constructed bus canopy that will provide protection from the elements for the school buses. The construction of the system is paid for by the solar company, Hawk-Attollo, and the investors who contributed financially.  They will benefit from the tax incentives and other rewards that come from solar installations.  The school district will not own the system, but will instead purchase the electricity it produces from Hawk-Attollo at a rate that is cheaper than current electric rates.

The Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 brought forth a lot of things, including the inspiration for Trevin Nichols’ My Tiny Town Just Got Put on Lockdown. Trevin Nichols grew up in Iowa but moved to Leroy, Illinois as a kid where he graduated from high school. Now he works building maintenance at Country Financial and has a wife, three kids, and two pets. 

It is no secret that Rivian, the electric vehicle company in Normal, has had a bit of a tough time the last few months. Last week, their COO stepped down not long after the company announced that they were going to be 200 units short of their 1,200-unit goal, set by the end of 2021. Rivian stocks went public on November 10, 2021, at a price of $106.75 and have fallen to $79.95 at the time of this writing. Living in the area, I’ve heard plenty of rumors about what is happening on the Rivian production floor. Honestly, I’d be shocked if our average reader hasn’t heard some of the same rumors. This week, I was given the go-ahead to search out current and former employees of Rivian and compare their experiences.