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.

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.