Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Bullard says convicted murderer Ray Tate of Kentucky was stopped in his attempt to escape from the Jefferson County Law Enforcement Center early Sunday morning. Tate had reportedly gotten out of his cell and was attempting to escape the facility when he was discovered by a correctional officer. Tate was being held in the Jefferson County Jail awaiting sentencing on April 22nd on the murder charge he pleaded guilty to earlier in connection with the death of Wayne County Sheriff's Deputy Sean Riley. Upon completion of the criminal investigation, charges for Tate in this escape attempt will be reviewed by the Jefferson County and Wayne County State's Attorneys. Each, year, the second full week of April is dedicated to the men and women who serve as public safety telecommunicators. The Fairfield Police Department would like to recognize Telecommunicators Brad Moore, Jody Clark, Logan Stewart and Allissa Keoughan. Employed by the Fairfield Police Department, they handle all communications for the Fairfield Police Department, Wayne County 911, all area fire departments and all area ambulance services. These are the first voices you hear when you call for help, the ones who talk to you while you are at your most vulnerable and get you the help you need. We would like to thank Moore, Clark, Stewart and Keoughan for their service and dedication to the public. Bail has been set at $25,000 for a 30-year-old rural Iuka man charged Friday in Marion County Court with child pornography. According to Marion County Deputy Sergeant Kevin Cripps, they received a report that Jonathan Wuehler could possibly have child pornography on his phone. Cripps says they interviewed possible witnesses and then brought Wuehler in for questioning. At that point, says Cripps, Wuehler admitted to possessing the child pornography, and was taken into custody. He was formally charged Friday with Class 2 felony possession of child pornography depicting a victim under the age of 13. Cripps says the investigation in the case remains open and is ongoing. A May 13th preliminary hearing has been scheduled in the case. The Mt. Vernon Police Department is investigating an early Tuesday morning home invasion and asking the public for any information they may have about the incident. According to Police Chief Trent Page, around 4:45 a.m. Tuesday a resident in the 1000 block of Oakland awoke to hear someone in their house removing items. The subject remained in the house approximately 20 to 30 minutes after the resident awoke. The resident was able to eventually call police who found forced entry had been made through a door to the residence. It's believed the subject left the immediate area on foot. Chief Page says it's unusual for a burglar to enter a home and stay inside while the residents are inside. He explains that generally burglars try to find a time when no one is home. He asks anyone who has heard anything about the incident on Oakland or has any information to contact the Mt. Vernon Police Department. The Illinois Department of Public Health Friday reported 10,786 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease in Illinois, including 71 deaths since April 1. Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 3,080,436 cases, including 33,465 deaths, As of Thursday night, 502 individuals were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 62 patients were in the ICU and 24 patients were on ventilators. A total of 21,509,463 vaccines have been administered in Illinois. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 19,926 doses. Since April 1, 139,480 doses were reported administered in Illinois. Of Illinois' total population, more than 76% has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, more than 68% of Illinois' total population is fully vaccinated, and more than 50% is boosted according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total tests from April 1– 7, is 2.1%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from April 1-7, is 2.3%. The case rates for COVID-19 are no longer declining and are rising in some areas of the state and have plateaued in other areas over the last 2 weeks. However, hospitalizations and deaths continue to remain low at this point in time. River stages as of early this morning: the Little Wabash east of Fairfield stands at 22.35 feet, above the 17 ft. flood stage. Meanwhile, the Skillet Fork at Wayne City has a reading of 6.23 feet (flood stage is 15 ft.). The Little Wabash below Clay City is at 9.16 feet (flood stage is 18 ft.). Bonpas Creek at Browns reads 6.12 feet, and the Little Wabash at Main Street in Carmi reads 23.37 feet. The Wabash River at Mt. Carmel sits at 12.41 feet. Today's crude oil price is $87.29, down $3.96 from yesterday. The May crude oil price is $97.35, down $0.12 from yesterday morning.