Salem's newest industry is open. 618 Plastics is located in a newly constructed 35,000 square foot building on Selmaville Road just north of West Main Street. Their first customer is their next-door neighbor North American Lighting. President Don Hall says they currently have six employees and expect to grow to 15 to 20 by the end of the year as new business flows in. The company moved into its new facility the week after Thanksgiving and has now been in operation for about six weeks. "...

The St. Louis Major Case Squad has identified the 41-year-old Carlyle woman found dead in her home Tuesday morning as Sadie Tull. Tull lived alone and ran her dog grooming business Furfetti Pet Salon out of her home on Fairfax Street. The Major Case Squad is not saying how Tull died or if there were any signs of forced entry to the home. They have also declined to say anything about suspects or a motive. Carlyle Police found Tull inside her home after being called to do a welfare check. Ther...

A vacant home on Centralia's demolition list burned in an early Thursday morning fire. Centralia City Firemen say the home at 429 North James was fully engulfed in flames through the roof upon their arrival. The fire was spotted by a passerby who went to a neighbor's home to report the blaze. Firemen say the back door of the home had been kicked in and there was no gas or electric utility making the fire suspicious. The burning home was only five feet from an occupied residence. Firemen wer...

Kell Firemen say lightning apparently struck a tree outside a rural Bluford home early Thursday morning and move inside the residence. The fire call was to the Billy Goin residence at 23,621 North Geneva Road in extreme northeast Jefferson County. The fire department was called after the lightning strike broke out two windows and caused a smoke smell in the home. Kell Firemen found the lighting strike had entered through the storm drain, charring the drop of the ceiling around the drainage sy...

A 41-year-old Central City woman faces charges in Marion County Court in connection with alleged aggravated battery to a child while a teacher at the BCMW Head Start Program in Centralia. Renee Davis of North Harrison was arrested by Centralia Police on Tuesday after they reviewed video of three incidents involving three four-year-olds that occurred on February 26th in a Head Start classroom. Centralia Police Lieutenant Steve Whritenour says they entered the ongoing investigation at the requ...

The State Department of Revenue will assign a tax multiplier of 1.00 to Marion County for this year's tax bills. The decision means the state has found the 12-percent multiplier assigned earlier by Supervisor of Assessments Mark Miller will be enough to bring the county's equalization to one-third of its value. The multiplier is used to achieve uniform property assessments among counties, as required by law. Marion County has been issued a final property assessment equalization factor of 1....

The St. Louis Major Case Squad has been activated to investigate the death of a 41-year-old woman who was found dead in her home in Carlyle. The Carlyle Police Department reportedly went to the home in the 2100 block of Fairfax Street for a welfare check around eight Tuesday morning when the woman was found dead. No other details have been released. The Major Case Squad is asking anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS.

The former police chief of the Carlyle Police Department is facing several federal charges for allegedly embezzling more than $100,000 for his personal benefit. A federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment charging 52-year-old Mark A. Pingsterhaus of Carlyle with two counts of wire fraud and two counts of theft of government funds. According to the indictment, Pingsterhaus is facing charges for allegedly embezzling funds from at least January 2017 to November 2025 as police chief for...