Mt. Vernon / Jefferson County Daily Record - Oct. 5, 2011

Mt. Vernon Police Department Arrests

    Travis L. Deloch, 19, of the 800 block of South 21st Street, was arrested at 12:40 a.m. Sunday on a charge of contempt of court. Bond was set at $10,000.
    Justin M. Brown, 28, of the 1100 block of South 17th Street, was arrested at 8:03 p.m. Saturday on a charge of aggravated battery in a public place.
    Tashia R. Mcclain, 23, of the 1700 block of South 12th Street, was arrested at 4:13 p.m. Saturday on a charge of retail theft.
    Brandon Paul Carello, 26, of the 16400 block of North Illinois Highway 37, was arrested at 3:41 p.m. Saturday on charges of retail theft and criminal trespass to land.
    Jeffery W. Johnson, 45, of the 300 block of Halia Crest, was arrested at 6:03 a.m. Saturday on a charge of aggravated driving under the influence. Bond was set at $15,000.
    Eldon E. Millman, 31, of the 800 block of Maple Street, was arrested at 4:24 p.m. Friday on a charge of aggravated battery with a weapon that is not a firearm.

Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Arrests

    Bradley A. Kelley, 46, of the 19700 block of North Miller Lake Lane, was arrested at 6:57 a.m. Saturday on charges of criminal sexual assault and domestic assault with intent to cause bodily harm.  viTFt

Kinmundy Man Killed When Run Over on Kinoka Road; Circumstances Leading Up to Incident Remain Under Investigation

An investigation is underway to determine what happened leading up to a 50-year-old Kinmundy man being struck and killed while lying on the Kinoka Road in rural Kinmundy Monday night. Kevin Williams was taken from the scene to Salem Township Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Marion County Sheriff's Deputies say Williams was struck by a pickup truck driven by 59-year-old Alan Webster of Turner Road in Louisville. Webster reported he was westbound on Kinoka Road, when he came across someone lying in the roadway in his lane of travel. He said by the time he saw the man it was too late to stop. Marion County State's Attorney Matt Wilzbach says the big question is why Williams was lying in the road. He reports Williams had apparently been a passenger in a car driven by his girlfriend, 38-year-old Cindessa Easley of the same address in Kinmundy. She told investigators the two got into an argument and Williams asked to get out of the car. She stopped and let him out. After driving away a short distance, Easley said she turned around and arrived just after Williams had been struck by the Webster pickup truck. Wilzbach says deputies and State Police Crime Scene Investigators are still trying to confirm Easley's story and says at this point homicide has not been ruled out. A State Police Accident Reconstructionist is also assisting in the investigation. Wilzbach says there were indications both Williams and Easley had been drinking. Marion County Deputy Coroner Troy Cannon says Williams was pronounced dead as a result of massive trauma to the head and chest consistant with the accident. Wilzbach reports the Williams family did not want an autopsy completed. The State's Attorney plans to go along with their wishes unless an autopsy becomes necessary to provide evidence in the case. Wilzbach feels if there were any prior injuries they probably could not be separated from those sustained when Williams was run over by the pickup truck. The accident occurred a quarter mile west of Baylis Road. Meanwhile, Easley was later arrested for aggravated battery when reportedly becoming unruly while being treated in the Salem Township Hospital Emergency Room. She was taken to the hospital after reportedly fainting at the scene of the accident. Easley is accused of scratching the left arm of a hospital employee trying to control her, resulting in a cut and bleeding from the employee's left arm. Easley also reportedly resisted sheriff's deputies who escorted her out of the hospital and took her to the Marion County Jail where she remains Tuesday morning.  oxL2A

Coroner's Office Still Trying Determine Cause Of Death of 23 Day Old Centralia Girl

Marion County Deputy Coroner Troy Cannon says an autopsy conducted today (Monday) was inconclusive on the cause of death of a 23-day-old Centralia girl. Cannon reports Taniya Mathews was not breathing when brought into the emergency room of St. Mary's Hospital by her mother, Tiesha Matthews, early Saturday morning. The baby was pronounced dead after the emergency room staff was unable to resuscitate the child. Cannon says there were no signs of foul play. He says the baby appeared to be in good health other than having trouble keeping formula down. He hopes toxicology tests will help pinpoint the cause of death. Cannon notes the baby had vomited prior to being found and possibly could have died from choking.  RHiJD

Marion County Police Beat for Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

A 20-year-old Centralia woman remains in the Marion County Jail after being arrested on a probation hold. Taylor Rogers of Ruth Ann Drive was arrested by Centralia Police. 29-year-old Brandon Black of North Broadway in Salem is being held on an outstanding Williamson County traffic warrant. Black was arrested after Salem Police were called to investigate a suspicious person in the Wal-mart parking lot. Salem Police say late night patrols in Bryan Memorial Park following recent vandalism has resulted in two arrests. 21-year-old Daniel Zimmermann of West Spruce in Salem was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia. He was released on $100 bond. 22-year-old Amelia Peters of Hotze Road in Salem was given a notice to appear in court for possession of synthetic cannabis. 32-year-old Jarid Lichtenfels of Maplewood in Salem was arrested by Salem Police for alleged disorderly conduct. Lichtenfels is accused of cursing and making threats outside the Anthony Hotze home on North Ohio Street. He was released after posting $100 bond. 31-year-old Vanessa Schmitz of West Sixth in Centralia posted $250 bond and was released after being picked up on an outstanding small claims warrant. The Marion County Sheriff's Department has received reports from Pepsi that two vending machines have been stolen. One was taken from Dave's Auto Body Shop on Route 37 North in Kell and from the former Mac's Drive In south of Salem.  WDvin

Jefferson County Fiscal Committee discusses budget

The Jefferson County Fiscal Committee on Monday continued with in-depth budget discussions.

The committee gave unofficial nods to a number of budget expense increases, but also hesitated over a few line items.

Within the judges’ budget, a $5,000 increase is being asked for in the juvenile detention line item because of the four young men charged with the May 31 shooting death of cab driver Charles Ellis.

Board Chairman Robert White said the county is looking for new ways to increase its revenue, and a price increase to all marriage licenses may be seen in the future.

He said Marion County raised its license cost to $50, but Jefferson County isn’t likely to follow suit.

“Ours are now $25, and may increase to $30,” he said. “For copies, we may start charging $12 for the first copy and $6 for the second.”

He said based on this year’s marriage licenses, that would increase the county’s revenue by at least $12,000.

Fiscal Committee chairman John Keele supported the move, saying it was a small fee increase that could really help the county.

The committee also gave the nod for a part-time assistant to the Supervisor of Assessments for about $16,000 to stay in the budget.

Board member Ted Buck said Supervisor of Assessments Steve Lueker desperately needs assistance.

Don Rector, board member, said Lueker goes above and beyond his job duties.

Board member Robert Knutson raised a discussion of how much the County Board plans to invest in its facilities.

“I would like to avoid the perception that we need a sales tax increase,” he said.

Buck said the board spends approximately $30,000 a year on maintenance from the county’s contingency fund.

Knutson said he believes it is important for the board to make a commitment to county facilities, and brought up the possibility of installing a pitched roof on the courthouse.

“It’s become painfully obvious that we’ve got some issues that are going to be pretty costly,” he said.

The Fiscal Committee also informally agreed that administrative assistant Suzy Tate’s title should be changed to executive assistant and that she should receive a raise.

White said Tate is a valuable employee to the county.

The Sheriff’s Office Committee on Wednesday will discuss the budgets within the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.  U5NAM

Salem Mayor Concerned 300 Qualified Applicants Can Be Found For Proposed Industrial Expansion

Salem Mayor John Raymer says one of Salem's industries is interested in adding 300 employees in the next year, but there is a concern if they can find that many qualified workers. Raymer brought up the concern at the Kaskaskia College Salem Education Advisory Committee meeting held on Friday."I'm a little concerned about a war breaking outbetween our two major manufacturers over the same pool of people. I think that will really lead in the direction of some cooperative efforts between the city, the college, and between these people because if we have the ability to grow by 30 percentat one of our manufactures I don't see any way in these economic times we can step away from it," Raymer said. Raymer did not namethe manufacturer looking at a possible expansion. He addedanother industry has already had problems filling new jobs at its Salem facility. Raymercongratulated Kaskaskia College for both the new extension center in Salem and the incubator program that is helping establish three new businesses in the community. Raymer feels Kaskaskia College can be the economic engine to drive the area out of the recession. Kaskaskia College President Dr. Jim Underwood agrees. He notes good jobs are out there, but a high school diploma is no longer enough to get them. "We're now in a concerted effort to reachindividuals in junior high, high school and elementary school with this notion that post secondary education is going to be important for you to have a good paying job and you need to start looking at career options. That is a generational change that is sizable. You can no longer goright to workafter high school orif you're ahigh school drop out," Underwood explained. He addedmanufacturing, railroad, and coal mining jobs have all become more technical and require a higher degree of training than in the past. Underwoodnotes the college is working hard to help those who dropped out of high school get a GED. Underwood says ten years ago 44 percent of those living in the Kaskaskia College district did not have a high school diploma. That has now dropped to 29-percent. Underwood says that's great progress, but the number is still too high. Underwoodnotes the college is going a step further and providing a two year scholarship to each GED graduate to allow them to continue into higher education courses. Underwood says before the scholarship program began, those obtaining GED's would disappear after completing the course work. Now he reports more than 300 a year are moving into college classes. Underwood says those students will be great applicants for the manufacturing expansion jobs. Vice President of Instructional Services Greg Labyak added the college is available to provide specific courses to upgrade the skills of current employees of area businesses. - http://goo.gl/Adznv

Arbitrator Rules Governor Cannot Layoff More Than 1,900 State Employees And Close Seven State Facilities

The state's largest employees union says an independent third-party arbitrator has ruled that the State of Illinois would violate the terms of a collective bargaining agreement by laying off more than 1,900 state employees and closing seven state facilities. The opinion is binding and AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Henry Bayer says the order is unequivocal and Governor Quinn should rescind all threatened layoffs and closures. Bayer says failure to comply will not only harm the vital public services state employees provide, it will expose the state to significant damages for lost wages, benefits and other costs incurred as a result of the Governor's irresponsible actions. Arbitrator Edwin Benn says there are no provisions in any of the agreements involved in this case which make an economic contract commitment by the state in any way contingent on the passing of a budget by the General Assembly sufficient to pay for those economic commitments. He notes the state made contractual promises to not lay off employees represented by the union and to not close facilities prior to July first of next year. Benn says the state simply must keep those contractual promises. He found a party is not excused from previous contractual obligations by claiming that it presently can no longer afford to meet its obligations. Benn emphasized that the integrity of the collective bargaining process itself is at stake in this case. He says if the state is correct in its statutory and Constitutional arguments, the multi-year collective bargaining agreement is, for all purposes, probably dead. Quinn is likely to appeal. He is already fighting a similar ruling over canceling union raises. The Governor has proposed closing three psychiatric hospitals, two developmental centers, a prison and a juvenile detention center in order to cut 1,900 state jobs as a result of the state's budget crisis. - http://goo.gl/01EV3

Arizona Man Sentenced For Transporting Thousands Of Pounds of Marijuana To Illinois And Three Other States

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) - An Arizona man has been sentenced in Illinois to 4 1/2 years in federal prison for his role in a scheme that involved transporting thousands of pounds of marijuana to at least four states. Thirty-five-year-old Anthony Duvernay of Tucson, Ariz., was sentenced Friday in East St. Louis. He pleaded guilty in April to a drug-conspiracy count. Duvernay is among 17 defendants who've been convicted of transporting large quantities of marijuana from Tucson to East St. Louis, St. Louis, Atlanta, and Lima, Ohio, between 2000 and 2007. Authorities say much of the marijuana shipped to East St. Louis consisted of 200- to 300-pound loads concealed in bathtubs and water heaters. Federal agents and Tucson police seized more than $300,000 in cash from participants in the operation. - http://goo.gl/St9c8

East St. Louis Businessman Charged With Unemployment Fraud

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) - An East St. Louis businessman earning what investigators call "significant income" is accused of using jobless benefits to pay tabs in Costa Rica at a Hooters restaurant and a hotel. James Quirin of Manchester, Mo., was charged Friday in federal court in East St. Louis with theft of government money through his misuse of a debit card given to people collecting unemployment benefits. Authorities say Quirin charged his Hooters tab and hundreds of dollars in hotel expenses to the debit card in March 2010. The criminal complaint alleges Quirin was working for an excavating firm and fraudulently got more than $44,000 in federally subsidized unemployment benefits. Quirin couldn't be reached for comment Monday. He doesn't have a listed telephone number, and court records don't list an attorney for him. - http://goo.gl/LLjmS

Marion County Police Beat for Sunday, October 2nd

Illinois State Police officers arrested four individuals in Marion County this weekend. 34-year-old David Arthur Alexander of East Boyd Street in Mt Vernon was arrested for alleged unlawful use of a weapon and possession of drug paraphernalia. He remains at the Marion County Jail. Two Carbondale men were arrested and released from the Marion County Jail. 22-year-old Lamar Brandon Johnson was charged with alleged driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. 23-year-old Clemon W. Moore of the same address was charged with alleged possession of cannabis. Each man posted $100. 37-year-old Harold Blake Clark of South Hickory Street in Centralia was arrested on charges of alleged driving under the influence. He remained at the jail Sunday morning.  8TQAk