The first installment of Wayne County Property Tax Bills is due October 29th, according to county Treasurer Donna Masterson. The second installment is due November 29th. The total amount to be collected this year is $19,118,774.94. A breakdown of where that money will go can be found below. The amount last year was $18,083,255.18. 2021 Breakdown: County - $1,835,258.01; Townships/Road Districts - $2,220,725.45; Cities, villages, and incorporated townships - $1,871,681.81; School Districts - $11,579,596.71; Fire/parks/drainage/miscellaneous - $1,611,512.96 Two Fairfield residents were sentenced in Wayne County Circuit Court yesterday. 21-year old Taylor J. Mayes pleaded guilty to a count of DUI, a Class A misdemeanor, and was sentenced to one year supervision. Mayes was ordered to pay $2,857 in fines and court costs. 55-year-old Kathryn M. Hartley pleaded guilty to a count of theft of services, a Class A misdemeanor. She was sentenced to one year probation plus time served and ordered to pay $1,079 in fines and court costs. 21-year-old Fairfield resident Joshua L. Smothers was booked in the Wayne County Jail this morning. He was arrested by Fairfield Police on a Wayne County warrant for aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer and reckless driving. He was released after posting $1,020 bond. Spring Semester Registration opens Tuesday at Frontier Community College. FCC says new students can apply for free and find the Spring 2022 schedule at iecc.edu. Spring classes begin January 10th. Anyone wanting to schedule an advisement appointment can call the college at 842-3711. Circuit Judge Douglas Jarman issued a Temporary Restraining Order in September to allow some Teutopolis students to attend school without wearing a mask. On Wednesday, he vacated that TRO and vacated a hearing on the matter schedule for Thursday. He did give permission for the filing of an amended pleading in the matter, and a status hearing is scheduled for the 28th. Area officials remind people calling someone with a 618 area code of changes beginning October 24th. To complete a local call at that time, people will need to dial the seven-digit number plus the area code or the number plus 1 plus the area code. On or after the 24th, calls made with only seven digits may not connect, and a recording will say the call cannot be completed as dialed. The Wayne County Board met last night and held a lengthy discussion on adopting a fee schedule for charging townships for assessment of properties. The board voted against the suggestion 10-3, with Gary Sloan, Nathan Jones, and Bruce Reeves voting yes. In other action, the board tabled a vote on reducing the board representation from 14 to seven members. At the conclusion of the meeting, Board Chairman Bruce Reeves stated he was stepping down from the board due to health conditions at his home, effective immediately. The Fairfield Park Board met last night and held a discussion on vandalism at Lakeside and Leo French parks. It voted to replace security cameras at Lakeside around Veterans Field in an effort to deter ongoing vandalism; it then discussed park hours at Leo French and how or if it would be possible to close the park at night. It recognized the difficulties of the possibility, but it also noted the almost nightly damage around the basketball court, turnaround, and buildings. No action on the matter was taken. The board did open a new savings account after a $5,000 donation from the Kiddie Kollege for renovation of the children's pool, where it hopes to install a Splash Pad in the relatively near future. The FCHS Homecoming Parade is scheduled to be held today at 2, with line-up on North First Street. FNB in Fairfield says it will be closed at approximately 2 for the parade, and it will reopen immediately after. We'll have coverage on 104.9 WFIW, as well as video streaming on wfiwradio.com, sponsored by FNB. The Hamilton County Health Department announced two new cases of COVID-19 yesterday, bringing its total to 1,302; five people were in isolation. White County reported 10 cases and sat at 3,035, and Jefferson County announced 20. It also reported the death of an unvaccinated male in his 70s. On Wednesday, it said it had 44 cases in the past week in teens or younger, up from 42 in the previous week. The state Department of Public Health announced 2,481 new cases of COVID-19 and 50 additional deaths. Statewide totals sat at 1,663,364 cases and 25,377 deaths. The Southern Region had a seven-day positivity rate of four percent on the 11th, up from 3.9 percent on the 10th. The Clay County Board met Tuesday night and heard from Clay County Hospital President Bob Sellers. He announced CCH wants to expand the Flora Medical Clinic into a Medical Office Building. He asked the board to get the project started by hiring a general contractor at a cost of $76,770, and it approved the request. The total cost of the project is estimated at nearly $3.3 million. Sellers also said construction at the Clay City Medical Clinic should be complete by the end of the month, and they intend to have an open house on Veterans Day. Lawmakers are due back in Springfield next week for the Fall Veto Session. The six-day session begins Tuesday, and a few items are already on the docket. Lawmakers are expected to take up newly-drawn Congressional District maps, as well as a correction to the Clean Energy Bill passed last month. There is also talk of nixing the state's Parental Notification Act for abortions. USDA funding is benefitting the Illinois Climate-Smart Ag Partnership. Michael Woods, with the state Department of Ag, says the effort is about increasing cover crops and education. He says the IDOA will attempt to increase cover crop acres from one million to two million, and he believes conservation education is as important as other practices built up in previous years. River stages as of this morning: the Little Wabash east of Fairfield stands at 7.68 feet, below the 17 ft. flood stage. Meanwhile, the Skillet Fork at Wayne City has a reading of 5.09 feet (flood stage is 15 ft.). The Little Wabash below Clay City is at 5.26 feet (flood stage is 18 ft.). Bonpas Creek at Browns reads 12.45 feet, and the Little Wabash at Main Street in Carmi reads 5.46 feet. The Wabash River at Mt. Carmel sits at 5.75 feet. Today's crude oil price is $74.25, up $0.75 from yesterday. The November crude oil price is $81.93, up $0.63 from yesterday morning.