By Benjamin Cox on April 15, 2021 at 12:12pm
The Greene County Board is back looking for a county engineer. After a special Transportation committee meeting on Monday held at the Greene County Courthouse, members of the committee were informed by acting county engineer Diane Hendricks that the candidate they were preparing to hired had accepted another job.
The Greene Prairie Press reports that Hendricks was informed via a letter from the Illinois Department of Transportation last week that Nathan Bullard of Plano had accepted a county engineer position in Alexander County.
The board had saved a significant amount of money by attempting to hire Bullard through a service from the Illinois Society with Professional Engineers. The board had hired an outside firm that had they found a suitable candidate, would have cost the county $25,000. The Greene Prairie Press reports that Hendricks has proposed using the Illinois Society of Professional Engineers again for the c
By Benjamin Cox on April 10, 2021 at 12:08pm
The Greene County Agricultural Fair will return this year, but with some changes. Greene County Fair Board President Jerry Joyce told the Greene Prairie Press this week that a shortened version of the fair will run this year from Tuesday through Saturday, June 22nd-26
th.
The Greene County Agricultural Fair is one of the earliest county fairs in the state and one of the oldest. This year marks the 168th year for the fair. Last year was only the second time in history that the fair was canceled. The previous cancellation occurred during World War II.
By Benjamin Cox on January 29, 2021 at 5:47pm
A second set of arrests have been made in connection to a theft ring in southwestern Greene County last week. The Greene Prairie Press reports that part-time Carrollton Police Officer Jesse Faul was patrolling near the Carrollton Pool on Friday, January 22nd at approximately 2:30AM when he saw suspicious activity from two vehicles around the park by the pool. Two subjects abandoned an alleged stolen jeep in the middle of the road and fled in a nearby parked white sedan.
According to police reports, Faul pursued the vehicle into Jersey County. Faul had radioed ahead to Jersey County Sheriff’s Deputies about the pursuit. Jersey County Sheriff’s Deputies had placed stop sticks near the north end of Jerseyville to help conclude the pursuit. The pursuit reached speeds in excess of 120 miles per hour when the vehicle hit the stop sticks. The driver’s side front tire was punctured by the strips, and the car continued at
By Benjamin Cox on December 30, 2020 at 11:39am
Two individuals were arrested in Carrollton on December 18
th for porch piracy. Porch pirates are common this time of year, as they go around neighborhoods stealing packages from front porches. Doorbell cameras and social media helped to allegedly thwart 2 individuals on the Friday before Christmas in Carrollton.
35 year old Michelle L. Carraway of Jerseyville and 36 year old Justin G. Counts of East Alton were arrested shortly before 2PM on December 18
th by Carrollton Police and Greene County Sheriff’s Deputies. According to the Greene Prairie Press, the arrest came less than a half hour after a photo of Carraway was posted on Facebook allegedly showing her taking a package off a porch equipped with a doorbell camera. The female depicted in the video left the package on the porch because of its weight and then joined a man on a sidewalk in front of the home. The homeowner then alerted police and posted the phot
By Benjamin Cox on December 22, 2020 at 12:04pm
Charlie & Beth Burrus in front of the Burrus Drug Store with their dog Ernie.
The Roodhouse community saw two of its most well-known public servants and business leaders retire over the weekend. Charlie and Beth Burrus retired from full-time pharmacy work on Friday after over 30 years in business.
The Burrus Drug Store opened in 1961 after Charlie’s family purchased the Coffman Drug Store. Roy and Betsy Burrus managed the store on the Roodhouse square until 1985.
According to the Greene Prairie Press, Charlie spent many days of his childhood and adolescence at the Coffman and eventually Burrus Drug Store. Charlie was a jack-of-all-trades at the store – taking deliveries to customers, waiting on customers in the store, stocking shelves, and general cleaning duties. Charlie eventually decided to go to school to be a pharmacist and was admitted to the St. Louis College of Pharmacy. While at pharmacy school, Charl