St. Mary’s informal groundbreaking takes place

MT. VERNON —  An informal groundbreaking ceremony was held at the future site of St. Mary’s Catholic Church Wednesday.

“We appreciate the help of the city and the community and we are proud to be able to build this spectacular facility in the heart of Mt. Vernon,” construction project coordinator Jim Dolwick said.

The church has been at present location since 1921. The Rev. John Iffert said the need for upgraded facilities and space have been discussed for some time.

“This has been in the works for a while,” Iffert said. “It has been needed for a long time. Conversations were started back in the 1980s. Parishioners began discussing how more space could be created. A new building, relocation and adding on were all discussed before the parish decided to stay downtown and do new construction. It was really more of a space issue. The current building can comfortably seat 250. The new church will have a capacity of up to 600 people.”

Iffert said the new church will be more suited for the ways liturgy is celebrated today.

“We will be able to celebrate funeral rights with a casket in the center of the aisle,” Iffert explained. “It will have a larger capacity as a home for prayer, weddings, community activities and it will be connected to the parish center. It will be a much more unified campus in that way.”  full story

Marion County Sheriff's Department Handles 16 Accidents on Ice Slick Roads Friday Night

The Marion County Sheriff's Department was flooded with 16 accident reports when a combination of rain and snow froze on the surface of some roadways when the temperature dropped below freezing late Friday afternoon.

The first three wrecks occurred on Interstate 57 just north of the Boone Street Overpass where both the north and southbound lanes froze solid for a short distance. While there were initially fears of injuries and possible entrapment, Salem Fire Department personnel that responded to the scene say that turned out not to be the case. One car spun around and ended up in the median, a second slid into a sign, and a third hit a guard rail.

The sheriff's department was notified of 13 other accidents as Friday evening progressed. Only one of those resulted in injuries. In that wreck, a car driven by 26-year-old Amber Statler of Louis Road in Venedy ran off the Route 161 Extension near the Pleasant Grove Church in rural Iuka and rolled over. Kell Firemen were called to the scene to assist Statler until ambulance personnel arrived to take her to the hospital for treatment.

Of the other wrecks, six occurred on U.S. 51 in the Patoka area. Other cars left U.S. 51 south of Centralia and south of Sandoval, on Route 161 east of Centralia, at Brewery Hill and Green Street Road, on Selmaville Road, and on U.S. 50 west of Salem near RP Lumber.

Centralia Police reported both the McCord Street and U.S.51 overpass on the city's south side both turned to solid sheets of ice preventing vehicles from being able to make it up the inclines. Both were closed briefly so salt trucks could treat the road surface and get rid of the film of ice. Salem Police reported no accidents blamed on the icy road conditions.

By Saturday morning, road conditions had largely returned to normal, with just scattered slippery spots.  full story

Illinois Mom Gets Probation in Daughter's Death

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - A central Illinois mother charged after her boyfriend allegedly killed her daughter has been sentenced to 24 months' probation. Twenty-five-year-old Candis Ethridge of Bloomington said in court Friday that she knew 3-year-old Destiny Cox would be in danger when she left her alone with David Gharrett. Gharrett is charged with first-degree murder in the girl's death in April. Authorities say she died of multiple traumatic injuries. Ethridge pleaded guilty to one count of child endangerment in a deal with prosecutors that require her to testify at Gharrett's trial if she's called as a witness. The Bloomington Pantagraph reports that friends and neighbors told authorities they saw Gharrett physically and verbally abuse Destiny. The pair also has a 2-year-old son who's in foster care with relatives.  full story

Lawmaker proposes new solution to distracted driving in Illinois

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - One lawmaker in Springfield is taking a different approach to combat distracted driving in Illinois.

Instead of banning potentially distracting activities like texting, talking on the phone or eating behind the wheel, state Sen. John Millner, R-West Chicago, is proposing to create a "distracted driving" violation that would be targeted to drivers violating current traffic rules due to distractions like phones or food.

"The bill is for the people who can't chew gum and walk," Millner said.

Millner said his legislation is in no way a ban of any devices or activities in the car, but rather leaves it up to the drivers to decide whether they can handle distractions while driving or not.

"I've seen truck drivers talking on the phone and handling it just fine, but I've seen other guys in small cars on their phones and forgetting to put their turn signal on, or nearly running into another car. It's ridiculous," Millner said.

According to Millner's bill, if a driver fails to obey traffic rules, speeding restrictions or proper lane usage while engaging in a distracting activity, the driver will be issued a distracted driving violation.

Legislation to reduce the growing number of accidents caused by distracted driving has been a popular issue in Springfield this session. There are several bills that would restrict cell phone usage in vehicles and one bill that proposes to ban texting on bicycles, but legislation targeting all distractions behind the wheel is a new one.

Among the various bills addressing distracted driving is the issue of enforcement. Millner said his legislation would be easier to enforce than a cell phone or texting ban because an officer only needs to see that something is in the driver's hand while making a traffic violation.

Millner said his bill is not overreaching personal liberties and instead does the opposite. Instead of restricting activities from all drivers, the legislation only targets those who can't control their vehicles while participating in a potentially distracting activity.

Millner's bill would allow law enforcement officers to stop, search or inspect a vehicle and its contents if there is suspicion that the driver has committed a distracted driving violation.  full story

Mt. Vernon pitcher commits to Shawnee

MT. VERNON — The Rams’ incoming ace pitcher made his college plans known on Friday.
Jared Anthis, who finished last season 7-1 on the mound, will continue his baseball career at Shawnee Community College in Ullin.
“Anytime a kid can go on to college and play a game they love and get their school paid for, it’s a good day,” Mt. Vernon baseball coach Tim Holloway said. “We’re excited for Jared and his family. I think he’s going to be a good one.”
As a junior, Anthis threw 65 innings and had a 3.77 earned run average for a Mt. Vernon team that advanced to the sectional and finished with a 28-9 record and won the South Seven Conference championship.
“I pitched against quite a few tough teams last year, and I just think that’s going to help me this year,” Anthis said. “I’ve had experience with the tougher teams, and I think that’s going to help my team and I all around.”
The college located in southern Illinois north of Cairo is a good fit for Anthis, according to Holloway.
“I think it just fits his personality,” Holloway said. “Jared’s a laid-back guy and kind of a country boy. He’s going to feel at home down there. I think he’s also a player that has a high ceiling. He’s not done growing.”
Anthis is expected to be the ace of this season’s staff and has been working to improve his skills in the offseason.
“I’ve just been working on gaining velocity, getting my legs stronger, working on my upper body,” Anthis said.  full story

Bluford students collect donation

BLUFORD — There probably hasn’t been much loose change jingling in parents’ pockets who have children attending Bluford Grade and High Schools the last three weeks.
“The kids were really enthusiastic the last three weeks,” Bluford Grade School faculty member Karen Putt said.
Students at both the grade school and high school levels have actively collected loose change to send their collective total in the form of a donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
When asked why the students were undertaking this collective endeavor of goodwill, Putt answered without a thought.
“All the kids just kept saying was, ‘We want to help the children at St. Jude get better.’ They were really excited to do this for the hospital,” said Putt.
The third grade students in Putt and Manda Donoho’s classes counted up the donations of loose change collected, which totaled $1,900.
“The kids raised even more this year than last,” Putt noted. “Last year we raised $1,600 to send to St. Jude.”
Students at Bluford Grade School gathered in the school gym Friday to celebrate their efforts over the last three weeks.  full story