Fairfield Community High School is readying for its spring production of "Mamma Mia!" late next week. Shows are scheduled for April 1st and 2nd in the FCHS gymnasium; gates will open at 6:15, and the shows will begin at 7. Tickets are available at the door and will cost $5, the cheapest tickets have been for an FCHS play or musical in years. The Edwards County High School Academic Challenge Engineering Science Team took fourth place out of 21 teams at the Eastern Illinois University Sectionals conducted virtually earlier this month. The team will advance to the State Finals to be held in April. Molly Swardstrom took first place in Engineering Graphics in the contest. The Fairfield Public School District Board of Education will meet tonight at 6. The board is scheduled to act on the employment of a Superintendent after executive session, along with several other personnel matters. Other action items on the agenda include a gym floor project at Center Street, parking lot paving
Fairfield Mayor Mike Dreith says he is seeking help from civic groups willing to help with Renew Fairfield, a consolidated effort to clean up the City. It will be held on April 23rd, and the mayor says he needs people willing to volunteer to paint houses, as well as ideas for what houses need work. Appearing on the Community Connection, he says Renew Fairfield will include a variety of offerings outside of the painting including paper and electronics recycling and taking large-items at the Street and Bridge Department. The Fairfield City Council will meet tonight at 6 at City Hall. Aldermen are set to approve the seeking of bids for the construction of a new water tower and the demolition of the existing tower downtown, per Mayor Dreith. He says the new tower will hold about 300,000 gallons of water. He also says it is conceivable the entire project could be completed in 14 to 16 months. The Edwards County Board of Education met last night and presented a plaque of appreciation to long
Several injuries were reported in a two-vehicle accident yesterday morning in Edwards County. According to Illinois State Police, at approximately 9:13, 48-year-old Oakland City resident Vickey I. Blair was westbound on Route 15 at Wabash Valley Services in Browns in a 2010 Chevy Colorado, and 53-year-old Grayville resident Jeffery S. Browning was northbound on a county road in a 2011 Chevy Silverado at an intersection with Route 15. Police say Browning failed to yield at a stop sign, continued through the intersection, and struck the front of Blair's vehicle. Browning, Vickey I. Blair, and her passenger, 76-year-old Oakland City resident Vickey S. Blair, were all taken by ambulance to an area hospital with minor injuries. Browning was cited for failure to yield at a stop-sign intersection. The Edwards County Scholastic Bowl Team finished second in the Class 1A Masonic Academic Sectional Tournament at Cumberland High School Saturday. ECHS went 6-1 on the day and fell in the champi
Fairfield businessman Gary Carter continues his campaign for the Republican nomination for the new Illinois House District 116. Wayne County is currently at the southern end of District 109 and is represented by Adam Niemerg; Carter says the change in maps pulling Niemerg away from the county prompted him to run. Carter says someone needs to step to the plate to fight against statewide pandemic mandates for schools and businesses and to fight for lower taxes and the removal of the state gas tax. Carter's campaign website is carterforillinois.com. The primary election this year will be June 28th. The Drug Enforcement Administration including Missouri, Kansas, and southern Illinois seized more fentanyl in the last year than in the previous two years combined, per a recent report. The DEA St. Louis Division said agents and task force officers seized 188 kilograms of fentanyl in 2021, compared to 82 kilograms in 2020 and 104 kilograms in 2019. Investigators also seized an all-time hig
State Senator Darren Bailey spoke in Effingham yesterday in a push to reinstate the death penalty in Illinois for people who kill police officers. Bailey said he has filed a bill on the topic for anyone 18 and older who has been found guilty of first-degree murder of a police officer, provided they knew or should have known the victim was an officer. If approved, the changes would start in 2023. Bailey said nearly 30 other states have similar laws, and the bill has been assigned to a statehouse committee. Lawmakers are due back in session next month. The Fairfield Retail Merchants will hold a Valentine's Day promotion in February. Chamber Director Libby Lingafelter says the finer details of the promotion, including exactly when it will begin and how long it will last, haven't been set in stone, but it will likely be held the week before Valentine's Day; it will be a punch-card promotion as it has in the past, and people who complete purchases at enough participating busi