Two members of the Marion County Drug Court Program have been sentenced to prison after violating provisions of the program. Both 37-year-old Jessica Murray of North Maple in Centralia and 39-year-old John Ferguson of Pope Road in Sandoval both were sentenced to four and a half years in prison by Judge Mark Stedelin. Murray had pleaded guilty to felony criminal damage to property, felony retail theft, aggravated battery, and two separate counts of possession of methamphetamine to get into dru...

Unemployment fell by a tenth of a percentage point to 5.4 percent in Marion County in March. The rate is still seven-tenths of a percent higher than a year ago. The 5.4 percent unemployment translates into 703 on unemployment, down from 868 in February. The county's workforce also dropped by 145 people to 15,078. The lowest unemployment in the region is in Clinton and Washington Counties at 3.9 percent, both down from February but up 0.8 percent from a year ago. Jefferson County's unempl...

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...