Jefferson Fire officials say an electrical fire in the wall of Taco Joe's restaurant on Route 142 in Belle Rive resulted in minor damage Friday afternoon. Those in the restaurant evacuated after smoke started filling the building. After the fire, the restaurant had to close until repairs were made and the Jefferson County Health Department completed an inspection before it could reopen. The fire call came in around three on Friday afternoon. Firemen were on the scene for about an hour.

A pickup truck was destroyed by fire Friday night while parked in the 1000 block of North Lincoln in Centralia. Centralia City Firefighters say the truck owned by Neal Johnson of Centralia was parked when the fire was discovered. Johnson indicated he had been having mechanical problems with the truck. Firemen say the fire started in the engine compartment. The fire call came in at 9:04 Friday night.

The Harrisburg Republican has served his southern Illinois district for a decade. By MOLLY PARKER Capitol News Illinois mparker@capitolnewsillinois.com Article Summary Sen. Dale Fowler, R-Harrisburg, is stepping down after the adjournment of the spring legislative session. Fowler has served the southern Illinois region for a decade; he cited a self-imposed 10-year term limit pledge when he announced last summer that he would not seek re-election to a fourth term. In late 2024, the FBI lau...

2025-2026 Semester 2 Honor Roll 3.0 GPA - 3.499 GPA Seniors Bechtel, Izaic D. Buchanan, Gavin L. Cain, Keegan J. Carroll, Payton E. Clegg, Jaden R. Collier, Valerie A. Doudera, Tristen J. Gambill, Hudson J. Garcia, Valentin O. Gard, Cadin L. Johnston, Taylor B. Keele, Kory L. Kuhns, Dylan M. Mickens, Alexander M. Murray, Bria M. Patterson, Caylen A. Purcell, Drew R. Reynolds, Alanna M. Rostance, Aaden J. Rutledge-Jones, Hayden R. Schleuter, Amerie N. Stephens, Kayden B. Tipsword, Janiah B. W...

A 19-year-old Ohio woman visiting with family for her birthday at the Jaycee Lake spillway north of Mt. Vernon lost her balance early Thursday night and fell 15 to 20 feet from a concrete beam support structure to shallow water in the spillway below. Jefferson Fire and Mt. Vernon City Fire had to attach a rope to a basket to lift Dana Peters up from a steep ravine. She was then transferred to a Litton's Ambulance and taken to an Air Evac medical helicopter that had landed a short distance a...

The Centralia High School Board has acquired 6 and a half acres of real estate adjacent to the school property. Superintendent Chuck Lane says they will pay $190,000 for the land. "Property right there, west of airport road, people see the red and white pull barn. That's out front its away from that area, straight west goes all the way back against our football field area. Also goes a little bit north behind the visitor bleachers and out towards the back road and that little area over th...

Three Democrats have now filed petitions to run for Marion County Board. They are Kerry Hodge in District three, former board member Michael Reed in District four, and Patricia Dillow in District 5. The three candidates have been caucused into the position by the Marion County Democratic Party. Marion County Clerk Steve Fox says Monday is the final day for candidates to get caucused onto the November ballot. There were no Democratic county board or county wide candidates on the ballot for the...

A 28-year-old Centralia man has been sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty in Marion County Court to threatening a public official. Joshua Scott is accused of threatening bodily harm or sexual assault to a Salem Police Sergeant or his family. Once he gets out of prison, he'll have to serve six months mandatory supervised release. A felony domestic battery charge on the same day in April was dropped as part of the plea.