By Steven Stilt The Kaskaskia College Board of Trustees swore in three of its members to new terms during Monday night's meeting, and voted to maintain the board's current leadership structure. Trustees Craig Finke, Bill Hawley, and Linda Stover took the oath of office for their new terms, having been re-elected to seats on the board during the election held earlier this month. Trustees voted to retain Hawley as chairman and Stover as vice-chair of the board, and to have Laura Wedekemper cont...

The Centralia City Council welcomed Eli Cox as the new recreation coordinator for the city of Centralia at Monday night's council meeting. Cox, who previously worked for four years at the Clinton County YMCA, began working for the city last week. He says he is excited to take on his new role. "So far, I've been getting my bearings here. It's been raining a lot lately, but we're trying to get Rotary Park up and running... It's awesome going out there and seeing so many people having fun,&...

Centralia Police arrested 25-year-old Rayveion Crosby-Daniels for alleged domestic battery, criminal damage to property and theft. Crosby-Daniels told police he was homeless. He was taken to the Marion County Jail. 49-year-old Dorian Benton, who said he was homeless, was arrested by Centralia Police on a no bond felony failure to appear warrant.

Ameren Illinois is reporting 1,600 lost power, mostly in the Centralia area when a fast-moving severe thunderstorm crossed Marion County around eight Tuesday morning. At 11:15 Tuesday morning, there were still 900 without power. The most severe damage was reported in Centralia, where Fire Chief Jeff Day reported six different locations in town where trees had brought down power lines. One line fell into water in the alleyway behind the Sutherland Garnier Funeral Home causing arcing in the w...

The Salem Chamber of Commerce Award Gala honored a number of businesses and individuals for their work in the community on Saturday. A special award was presented to Produce Plus for all the help they provided to recent flood victims. The Little Egypt CEO program received the Partners in Progress Award for its work in developing high school students into future business leaders. The award was presented to the facilitator of the program, Malory Crouse. "We have juniors and seniors acros...

By JOHN O'CONNOR Associated Press CHATHAM, Ill. (AP) - A car smashed through a building Monday afternoon, killing four young people and injuring several others during an after-school program in a small city outside of Springfield, Illinois, police said. Officers responded at about 3:20 p.m. to calls about a vehicle ramming through the building, fatally hitting four people before exiting the other side, Chatham Police Department Deputy Chief Scott Tarter said. Those killed were between the ag...

Salem Community High School Prom will be Friday night from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. at Salem Community High School in B.E. Gum Gymnasium. Doors will open to the public at 7:00 p.m. This year's theme is "Wisteria Lane," and the colors representing the theme are lavender, purple, black, and white. Special music will begin at 9:00 p.m. with coronation starting at 9:30 p.m. and the Grand March immediately following coronation. Retiring Queen Miranda Podergois (daughter of Frank and Nikki...

The Hair of the Dog and the Barking Lot at 325 South Poplar in downtown Centralia have reopened with new owners. Five family members, Andrea Wollenhaupt and her daughter Jessica of Centralia along with Jane, Kent and Stacy Gabriel of Witt have purchased the business from Hannah Shores. Andrea Wollenhaupt says she will be the only one to keep another job. "The business is beautiful, and I love them so much. My dog was here five days a week every time I went out of town for work. My daught...