Wayne County Board Chairman Bruce Reeves says the board will not vote on naming an Interim Sheriff at its meeting tonight. He says the board must first formally declare a vacancy for the position, and letters will then be sent to the Republican and Democratic Party Chairs. The board is expected to hold a special session in the coming days to bring the matter to a vote. The North Wayne School Board held a special session last night to vote on following the state mask mandate for schools. The board voted 7-0 in favor of keeping masking optional for the year, both indoors and on buses. North Wayne is the second board in the Wayne/Edwards County area to have such a vote, joining Edwards County. Fairfield Police say 30-year-old James Wood and 24-year-old Amanda Powell were cited after two separate accidents Tuesday. Wood reportedly struck a vehicle driven by 63-year-old Michael McQuire after failing to stop at an intersection, and Powell reportedly struck a vehicle driven by 44-year-old Carol Tannahill while pulling onto First Street. No injuries were reported in either accident. State police say 26-year-old Raleigh resident Jonathan C. Gilbert was taken to a hospital with serious injuries after a two-vehicle crash on Route 1 in White County last night. Police say Gilbert stopped at a construction stop light, activated his hazard lights, and exited his truck due to vehicle issues. As he was walking around the vehicle, 45-year-old Carmi resident Bill W. Van struck its rear. Several Fairfield residents were booked in the Wayne County Jail yesterday. 25-year-old Jordon M. Cottrill was charged with possession of meth and driving with a suspended license, and 44-year-old Elizabeth M. Shelton was arrested on a Clay County warrant for failure to appear in court on a charge of delivery of meth. They were held in the jail, pending the posting of bond. The Fairfield Park Board will meet tonight at 6 with a light agenda. After a financial report and a report from Park Superintendent Chris Jenkins, the board will hear a pool manager report as a matter of old business. It is then set to discuss its ongoing efforts to bring a Splash Pad to the pool as its only item of new business. The McLeansboro City Council met Tuesday and approved the appointment of Jeff Johnson as Ward 3 Alderman. He fills the vacancy created by the resignation of Lucas Jones on June 24th. The council also heard its water tower project was nearly complete, as Shawnee Professional Services planned to finish hooking it up yesterday to allow Rend Lake to come today to set the operating pump and, possibly, train workers. The old tower will go offline as soon as the new tower is ready. The Fairfield Community High School Board of Education met in special session last night. After a lengthy discussion, the board voted to approve their updated Return to School Plan, following state guidance and requiring masking while indoors. Matt Rush cast the lone "No" vote, while Chris Miller, Kimberly King, Jeremy Carter, Tony Conrad, and JC McDuffee voted "Yes." Gayle McGehee was absent. Each member expressed their displeasure with the mask mandate issued by the governor, but the board's legal counsel and insurance carrier advised it to follow state guidance. No screening will be implemented, and remote learning will not be offered. Superintendent Jill Fulkerson said masks will not have to be worn outside, so plans are underway to potentially have some classes outdoors. Wayne City also held a special school board meeting last night. It opened with a call for a motion to approve the governor's mandate requiring masking while indoors, but the matter was tabled indefinitely. The district will continue to recommend masking while indoors and will require it on buses, as stated in its previous Return to School Plan. The Wayne and White County Farm Bureaus have announced Alyssa Short as the new Ag Literacy Coordinator. Short began her duties August 5th and will be responsible for implementing the organization's Ag in the Classroom program efforts in schools in both counties. Anyone interested in volunteering or supporting the Ag in the Classroom effort can contact Short at agliteracty@waynecfb.com or 842-3342. The Edwards County Health Office announced 28 new cases of COVID-19 from August 5th through the 11th- 25 of the cases were unvaccinated individuals. The county sat at 710 total cases. Wabash County added 74 cases in the past week, bringing its total to 1,571; three people were hospitalized, and 75 were in isolation. Hamilton County added four cases yesterday and sat at 943 cases; two people were hospitalized, and 21 were in isolation. White County added nine cases to reach 2,056, and Jefferson County added 29 cases. The state Department of Public Health announced 3,933 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday and nine additional deaths. Statewide totals sat at 1,451,094 cases and 23,551 deaths. The Southern Region had a seven-day positivity rate of 9.7 percent on the 8th, up from 9.6 percent on the 7th. Governor J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity have announced a $250 million Back to Business, or B2B, grant program to support the recovery of small businesses across the state. The first in a series of programs set to launch, B2B will offer small businesses access to funds to help offset losses due to COVID-19, bring back workers, and take steps to rebuild amid the pandemic fallout. Cooler temperatures should arrive this weekend for most of Illinois, according to Freese-Notis Meteorologist Dan Hicks. He says the weekend, and early next week, will see more comfortable temperatures and lower dew points, along with drier weather. Heat advisories have been in play for many parts of Illinois this week, including in the immediate listening area, which remains in an advisory until 8 tonight. River stages as of this morning: the Little Wabash east of Fairfield stands at 23.25 feet, above the 17 ft. flood stage. Meanwhile, the Skillet Fork at Wayne City has a reading of 8.18 feet (flood stage is 15 ft.). The Little Wabash below Clay City is at 21.20 feet (flood stage is 18 ft.). Bonpas Creek at Browns reads 11.58 feet, and the Little Wabash at Main Street in Carmi reads 17.71 feet. The Wabash River at Mt. Carmel sits at 7.94 feet. Today's crude oil price is $62.25, up $1.00 from yesterday. The September crude oil price is $69.34, up $0.96 from yesterday morning.