Wamac Police Chief Steve Prather was presented with the Law Enforcement Medal of Honor at Monday night’s Wamac City Council meeting.
He was one of 136 law enforcement officers selected from around the state to receive the award but was out of town for the ceremony in Springfield earlier this year.
Prather’s award was for his bravery in a July 2019 high speed chase into Washington County where the suspects, later identified as Jared Queen and Maria Moore of Missouri, opened fire on police. Prather was credited with eventually disabling the car bringing the chase to an end and the two being taken into custody, but received back injuries in the process. Both Queen and Moore have since been sentenced to prison for their role in the chase.
Wamac Mayor Butch Mathus presented the award to Prather noting that he withstood gunshots and everything else, while showing bravery under fire.
After accepting the award, Prather says he was fortunate things turned out the way they did.
“It’s a great honor to receive such a great honor from the state of Illinois. And I’m in great company. To be able to receive the plaque, some of these officers were killed in the line of duty, and just very lucky it turned out the way it did. Nobody else got hurt and the other officers went home safe that night.”
In other action, Mathus said the city would have to evaluate water and sewer rates after receiving an 11-cent per 1,000 gallon increase in the cost of water from the City of Centralia. He expects action to increase the rates will be taken next month.
The board agreed to discontinue sending second notices before water shutoffs.
The board approved the purchase of a new $120,000 dump truck for the public works department.
Mathus is not happy that the Canadian National Railroad now wants to charge Wamac $125 a month to have access to Gilmore Street for the residents who live there. He notes the city has been responsible for maintenance and the railroad has had no expense in maintaining the street. Mathus says he’ll be negotiating with the railroad to work out a solution.
