Area artists in spotlight

Cedarhurst Center for the Arts will spotlight southern Illinois performing artists at the first "Cedarhurst's Got Talent" event Saturday.
"Cedarhurst has a focus on regional artists of all kinds, but we generally showcase visual arts," said Hillary Settle, director of development for Cedarhurst. "This is an opportunity to emphasize performing arts talent in our region and raise money for our 2012 programs."
The evening will start at 5:30 p.m. with a silent auction before dinner from Cindi's Catering at 6:30. The talent show portion will begin at 7:30 p.m. and feature eight acts from Mt. Vernon and the surrounding area.

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Community Thanksgiving dinner set for locals

For the 14th year, Central Christian Church will hold a community Thanksgiving dinner for more than a thousand local residents.

Anyone may attend from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, and donations are accepted but not required.
Preparations for the meal begin at least two days in advance, with breaking bread for the turkey stuffing and preparing sweet potato casserole, said Randy Sells, Central Christian Church pastor.

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Salem Woman Wanted for Hit and Run in Kell

The Marion County Sheriff's Department is looking for a 23-year-old Salem woman who fled from the scene of a hit and run accident Wednesday afternoon. Danielle Hills reportedly was northbound on the Old Salem Road in rural Kell when she sideswiped a car driven by 66-year-old Charles Mills of Old Salem Road who had run off the side of the road to try and avoid the crash. Neither driver was hurt. Deputies say Hills is wanted for leaving the scene of an accident and driving on a revoked license. Meanwhile, the owner of the van Hills was driving, James Russell of Green Road in Iuka, said the vehicle was taken without permission. The Marion County canine was called out to assist in locating Hills. Anyone with information on Hills whereabouts is asked to contact the sheriff's department or Marion County Crime Stoppers toll-free and anonymously at 1-800-499-8835.

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Centralia Man Found Not Guilty By Reason Of Insanity On Stalking Charge

A 50-year-old Centralia man has been found not guilty by reason of insanity for stalking a Centralia woman in June. Judge Sherrie Tungate ruled at the close of the bench trial that the prosecution had proven Tom Arnold guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, but said the defense had proven that Arnold was guilty by reason of insanity. The defense presented a report from Clinical Psychologist Dr. Daniel Cuneo. His testimony was not countered by an expert witness by the prosecution. Arnold will now be sent to the State Department of Human Services for an evaluation and treatment. He'll be brought back to court on December 13th for a status hearing. Arnold had been found not guilty by reason of insanity before for stalking the same woman, but had been released after undergoing treatment for the maximum time allowed for that class of crime. Arnold was charged with driving past the victim's home on three days in June, starring at her, writing multiple letters and sending flowers causing the victim to suffer significant mental suffering, anxiety or alarm.

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Vacant Sandoval Home Destroyed By Fire; Arson Suspected

Sandoval Firemen say arson is believed to be the cause of a fire that heavily damaged a vacant home at 207 North Broadway in Sandoval early this morning. Assistant Chief Chad Parsons says heavy fire was coming from the rear of the home when they arrived on the scene at four Thursday morning. The roof burned off the structure, but the walls remain standing. The Odin Fire Department was called for mutual aide assistance. Firemen were on the scene for about five hours. Parsons says there were no utilities on in the home. There were reports of several young people seen running from the area of the home shortly before the fire was discovered, but they have not been identified and firemen are uncertain if they were involved with the fire. No word yet on who owned the home. There were no injuries.

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Illinois' October Home Foreclosures Up 9.7%

CHICAGO (AP) - Illinois home foreclosure activity rose 9.7 percent in October compared to the previous month. A report released Thursday by RealtyTrac shows Illinois with 12,522 foreclosure filings last month. Filings include default notices, auction-sale notices and bank repossessions. The filings represent one in every 423 housing units in the state. That rate is 26.2 percent lower than in October of last year and seventh-highest nationally. RealtyTrac says the increase in many states likely is due to lenders resolving paperwork processing problems that had delayed many foreclosures. But it says new state court rulings and laws create uncertainty that threatens to delay a real estate recovery. Nevada continued to have the nation's highest foreclosure rate. Other states with foreclosure rates higher than Illinois are Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia and Michigan.

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Jones Says Governor Quinn Eyeing Centralia Murray Center for Possible Closure

State Senator John O. Jones says Governor Pat Quinn is now threatening to close the Murray Center in Centralia. He says the governor is sensing that his plan to close seven state facilities may be failing, so he might rethink his plan, and propose another round of closures. The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability has not finished work on Quinn's plan that affects the Chester Mental Health Center and Illinois Youth Center at Murphysboro. Legislators have called into question the Governor's rationale for closing the facilities that were picked, without having already a long-term plan in place. Jones said he is going to resurrect a 2008 legislative plan, which called for a Facilities Closure Panel to be formed. The plan stalled out when legislative majorities refused to allow the bill to be called for a vote in the Senate. Senator Jones said that anytime a closure is announced, or even mentioned, it can alarm a community, but the Senator urged everyone in Clinton County to react with caution and remain vigilant. The proposed legislation would be similar to the 95th General Assembly's House Bill 1235 Senate Amendments.

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Illinois House OKs Alternative Pay for School Chiefs

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The Illinois House approved a plan to pay regional school superintendents after Governor Pat Quinn erased funding for their salaries last summer. 　 The House voted 74-36 Wednesday to use local property tax funds to pay superintendents and their assistants in 44 regional education offices. It would pay them for just one year. The measure sponsored by Democratic Rep. Frank Mautino of Spring Valley also creates a commission to determine the best way to continue the duties of regional superintendents. They conduct school safety checks, run programs for truant and troubled children and more. Quinn said the state couldn't afford the $11 million to pay them and cut it in the current budget. Most superintendents have been working five months without pay.

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Illinois House Targets Loophole on Teachers' Pensions

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Illinois lawmakers are trying to close a loophole that let two lobbyists qualify for retirement benefits as teachers after spending a single day in the classroom. The measure passed the House on Wednesday and now goes to the state Senate. It targets two lobbyists for the Illinois Federation of Teachers. They spent one day as substitutes, which allowed them to qualify for the teachers' pension system. Democratic Rep. Jack franks of Marengo calls it "depressing" that he needed to sponsor legislation to remove them from the pension system. His bill passed 112-0.

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Illinois Corn Forecasted Lower Than Expected, Soybean Unchanged

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is forecasting Illinois corn yields at 156 bushels per acre, decreased by three bushels from October. The USDA estimates total production for the state to reach 1.95 billion bushels, down slightly from a year ago. Corn harvest was 89-percent completed by October 30th, and down from 98-percent last year. The USDA forecasts soybean yields at 46 bushels per acres, unchanged from October. They estimate total production for the state to reach 407.1 million bushels, down 13-percent from a year ago. Soybean harvest was 94-percent completed as of October 30th, and down from 99-percent last year. 　 Corn production nationally is forecasted at 12.3 billion bushels, down one-percent from October, and down one-percent from a year ago. Corn yields are expected to average 146.7 bushels per acre, down 1.4-bushels from October and down 6.1-bushels from a year ago. Soybean production nationally is forecasted at 3.05 billion bushels, down slightly from October, and down nine-percent from last year. Soybean yields are expected to average 41.3 bushels per acre, down 0.2-bushel from October, and down 2.2-bushels from last year.

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