LATEST NEWS

The Marion County Sheriff’s Department has arrested 55-year-old Mary Travis of the 3500 block of Tonti Road in rural Salem for criminal damage to property after she allegedly set a neighbor’s trampoline on fire. Sheriff’s officials say the fire was part of an on-going dispute between the two. Travis was taken to the Marion County Jail.

Michael P. Kaminski Jr., age 42 of St. Louis, formerly of Sandoval passed away on Monday, May 29, 2023, in St. Louis. Michael was born on November 11, 1980, in Chicago the son of Michael P. Kaminski and Debra (Stilwell) Kaminski. He married Jennifer (Davis) Kaminski and they later divorced and she survives in Salem.

An Illinois serviceman who was killed in action during World War II has now been laid to rest at Camp Butler National Cemetery in Springfield. Army Air Corps Technical Sergeant Harold Kretzer of Odin went down during a mission in 1943. He was officially unaccounted for until 2022, when DNA from family members was linked to his remains, which had been interred in Europe.

Garry Ray Barton, 82, of Dix, IL passed away Friday, June 2, 2023, at his home surrounded by his family. Garry was born July 27, 1940, in Centralia, IL the son of Lawrence Barton and Lucy (Snider) Barton. He married Carole Loyd on August 5, 1961, at the Methodist Church in Walnut Hill, IL.

May weather was warmer and drier than normal in Illinois as parts of South Central Illinois fall into the abnormally dry category. In Salem, the water treatment plant reported 3.94 inches of rain, with 1.8 inches of that amount coming on one day May 8th. That brings the total for the first five months of the year to 19.62 inches. Both are under last year’s totals when 6.23 inches of rain fell in May and 22.15 inches of precipitation had fallen for the year to date.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill, (WTHI) - Family, friends, and service members honored a long lost World War II veteran in Illinois. The military held burial honors for World War II Army Air Corps Technical Sergeant Harold Kretzer of Odin, Illinois. He was buried at Camp Butler National Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois on Friday.

A judge recently sentenced one southern Illinois man for stabbing his wife in a "jealous rage," according to the Franklin County State's Attorney's Office.

MT. VERNON, Ill. (WJPF) – About a week’s worth of phone messages left with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s office have been inadvertently destroyed. The sheriff’s office says sometime between May 26 and June 2 their voicemail server crashed, erasing the messages. If you left the sheriff’s...

The Salem Wildcats Varsity summer baseball team improved to 4-0 on the season with a pair of wins over Breese Grey. Salem won the opening game 15-1. Josh Powless drove in 4 runs, Rhett Detering had 3 RBI with 2 each from Jalen Inlow and Noah Nix. Gavin Zimmermann added an RBI and Kam Wilkins scored 3 runs. Keaton Gullion singled and scored twice. Rhett and Ryan Detering combined for the win on the mound. They allowed 3 hits and no earned runs combined.

The Salem 8u Lady Cats were 2nd in the Salem Tournament in girl’s softball. South Central Storm won the tournament going undefeated. In the opening game, Alexis Henseler, Skylar Gaston and Juliette Scarlett had multiple RBI. In Game 2, Gaston doubled and drove in 4 runs. Landry Rose, Gaston, Clara Crompton, Gwen Goostree, Jayla Tabor, Henseler, Julianna Rushing and Abbi Haines had multiple hits. Tabor had 4 hits including a double in the 3rd game.

Marlin Ray “Klinger” Klingler, 72, of Waltonville, Illinois, passed away at 12:50 am June 4, 2023, at SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital in Mount Vernon. He was born July 17, 1950, in Mount Vernon, Illinois to the late Kenneth and Emelia (Betlejewski) Klingler. Marlin married Gayla (Clark) Klingler on September 20, 1975 at Saint Mary Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Mount Vernon, Illinois.

Daytime sleep studies are available at both SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Centralia and Good Samaritan Hospital in Mt. Vernon. The studies diagnose apnea and other issues that disturb our much-needed rest. More than just a nuisance, sleep disorders can greatly affect the quality of life, mental and...

Joyce Ann Olmsted, 74, of Salem, passed away at 8:19 p.m., Thursday, June 1, 2023, in Patoka. She was born November 14, 1948, in Jefferson County, Illinois, the daughter of L.C. and Nona Mae (Simmons) Eller. On November 20, 1971, in Marion County, Illinois, she married Lloyd Olmsted, and he survives in Salem.

Illinois State Police have released more details on a Tuesday night motorcycle crash on Route 37 at Cartter Road south of Salem. Preliminary information indicates the motorcyclist, 39-year-old Brian Schwartz of Irvington, and the operator of the John Deere Sprayer were traveling southbound on Route 37 near Cartter Road. The crash occurred when Schwartz passed the sprayer in a no-passing zone, went off the roadway into the ditch, and then came back onto the pavement before losing control and laying down the cycle near the Cartter Road intersection.

Kaskaskia College has been awarded a $258-thousand-dollar Innovative Bridge and Transitions grant from the Illinois Community College Board to provide career exploration and planning opportunities to youth in the KC District. The goal of the grant is to serve a minimum of 100 unduplicated in-school and out-of-school youth from KC’s...

Marla Hill, 56, of Centralia, passed away Wednesday, May 31, 2023, at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. She was born November 17, 1966, in Central City, the daughter of Meryl Black and Mary Alice (Meyer) Black. She married Craig Hill on June 10, 1992, and he survives. In...

FAIRFIELD, Ill. (WEHT) — Illinois Governor JB Pritzker made an out of the ordinary stop in Fairfield to talk with residents about the 2024 state budget investments. It includes the creation of “Smart Start Illinois”, which would provide hundreds of millions of dollars for early education and child care programs across the state. Governor Pritzker […]