Local News

Here are the latest election results as posted by Platinum Elections for area counties
Marion County: Clinton County: Jefferson County: Fayette County: Washington County: Wayne County: Bond County: Listen to WJBD-FM 100.1 for tabulations of multi-county election results, which will also be posted on the election result page.[socast_ad_slot widget_name="Ad Slot" slot="lightbox_bigbox"]
4h ago

New industry in Salem building plant on Selmaville Road
Construction has started on a 35,000 square foot building at 154 North Selmaville Road in Salem that will be the home of 618 Plastics. The concrete floor has been poured, and the building steel is starting to go up. The company is expected to have around ten employees when operations begin this summer. The project is a multimillion-dollar investment in Salem. Five new injection molding machines and support equipment have been ordered for phase one. Cost savings techniques are being planne...
7h ago

Salem Firemen handle hay bale and dog house fires
Salem firemen were called out twice on Monday for fires that were quickly extinguished. The first fire was in two hay bales being hauled on a trailer coming into the west side of Salem. After those following the trailer saw the fire, they called for emergency help. A Salem Police Officer pulled the driver of the truck, James Kennard of Mt. Vernon, over to alert him of the fire. He then moved the vehicle into the Walmart parking lot where the fire was extinguished before it spread to the ve...
12h ago

Seven people injured in crash on US 51 in Patoka
Seven people were injured Monday morning when two vehicles collided on U.S. 51 at Clinton Avenue in Patoka. Preliminary information from State Police indicates a vehicle driven by 25-year-old Austin Britt of Patoka stopped at the stop sign on Clinton Avenue but then crossed the highway into the path of a southbound car on US 51 driven by a 37-year-old woman from Beaver Dam, Kentucky. Both drivers along with five passengers from Beaver Dam, Kentucky were injured in the crash. They were all ta...
12h ago

Police Beat for Tuesday, April 1st, 2025
Two people were taken to the Marion County Jail on Monday on outstanding no bond warrants. 27-year-old Tyler Faith of Norton Road in Odin was returned from the Fayette County Jail at Vandalia on a no bond felony failure to appear warrant. 19-year-old Colton McCowen, who told Centralia Police he was homeless, was arrested on a no bond failure to appear major traffic warrant.
12h ago

Centralia Correctional Center recognizes over 50 vocational school graduates
Kaskaskia College administrators came to the Centralia Correctional Center gymnasium on Friday for a graduation ceremony, recognizing fifty-five inmates who received certificates through the college's vocational school program at the prison. Over the past year, students have been eligible for certification in four areas: culinary arts, warehousing and distribution, construction operations, and HVAC, as well as high school equivalency. KC Provost Julie Obermark says the program has been growin...
Mar 31, 2025

Centralia Home and Community Expo attracts around 2,000 visitors
An estimated 2,000 visited the Centralia Home and Community Expo over the weekend. Chamber Membership Director Matt Packman is pleased with the turnout. "I think it was a great year for the home show," Packman said. "We had fifty vendors out here, over sixty booths. We are the largest home show in the region, and I think we had a really good turnout this year. We had some weather in the forecast that looked hairy for a bit, but we held out and had a really good showing here in ...
Mar 31, 2025

Homeless Centralia man arrested after causing concern at Centralia Home Show
A 19-year-old homeless Centralia man has been charged with aggravated battery in a public place, aggravated battery to a police officer, and resisting arrest after he was asked to be removed from the Centralia Home and Community Expo over the weekend. Centralia Police Lieutenant Steve Whritenour was at the show when he was alerted to James VanScoy allegedly causing issues with some of the vendors. VanScoy went outside and then ran when Whritenour identified himself as a police officer and tol...
Mar 31, 2025