A major power line just outside the Ameren Texas substation southwest of Salem led to a major power outage early Sunday morning for some Ameren and Tri-County Electric customers in Marion County. The problem began at 3:40 and wasn't corrected until 5:10 a.m. for some Tri-County customers and 8 a.m. for some Ameren customers. The Tri-County outage affected an estimated 3,000 customers served by the Salem, South Salem, and Iuka substations. Ameren reports about 1,200 total customers lost power,...

Three candidates have filed petitions to run for Mayor of Centralia to replace the retiring Bryan Kuder. Council member Barri Allen and the President of the Centralia Foundation Dave Agee were both on hand when filing began at 7:30 Monday morning. Joshua Qualls filed later in the morning. So far five candidates have filed for the two four-year council seats. Mike Reed, Debbie Smith, and Thomas 'Tommy' Henegar were in line at 7:30 Monday morning, with Ricky Garrett and Judith Meeks-Hakim ...

The Salem City Council will be asked to pass its annual tax levy at Monday night's meeting. The levy is 3.95-percent higher than the prior year's extension. Since it is below five percent, no truth in taxation hearing will be necessary. The council will be asked to move forward with city hall masonry work even though the cost could be much higher than the $105,000 budgeted. City staff is recommending Western Specialty Contractors for a base bid of $138,000 with a total expenditure of up t...

Two people were taken to the Marion County Jail on Sunday on no-bond warrants and were held pending further court action on Monday. 24-year-old Erica Maltman of North Cherry in Centralia and 23-year-old Ashton Womack of Vienna were arrested separately by sheriff's deputies.

An early Sunday morning crash on I-57 at mile marker 107 west of Kell has sent the driver to a St. Louis Hospital for treatment. State Police say preliminary information indicates the driver drove into the right ditch and struck a tree. An Air Evac helicopter landed on the northbound lanes of I-57 near the crash scene to take the driver to a St. Louis Hospital. Marion County Sheriff's Deputies, United Medical Response and Kell Fire all responded to the scene to assist in handling the crash. ...

A 54-year-old Iuka man was injured when his car ran off the 6100 block of Omega Road near the entrance to Forbes State Park and struck a tree. United Medical Response transported Joseph Grear of North Avenue to Salem Township Hospital for treatment. The Marion County Sheriff's Department is handling the crash. They report Grear got out of the vehicle on his own. The crash occurred at 6:16 Saturday night.

A rural Centralia man reported that a person hired to do work at his home left behind a grenade. The Marion County Sheriff's Department reports the incident occurred at a home in the 1400 block of Zion Hill Road on Saturday afternoon. The sheriff's department called the Secretary of State Bomb Squad to determine if the grenade was live. The conclusion was that the grenade was capable of being used, but was empty. The bomb squad removed the grenade from the scene.

A 21-year-old Odin man was arrested by Centralia Police for aggravated battery in a public place and aggravated battery to a pregnant or handicapped person. Thomas Meredith of Janet Road was taken to the Marion County Jail to await a final decision on charges and a first appearance in court.