No One Injured in Early Morning Jacksonville House Fire

A Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy is now facing charges in Adams County for assaulting a pregnant woman. Cody Shaffer, no age provided, was arrested Friday in Adams County. According to a report by WGEM in Quincy, Shaffer allegedly struck his pregnant girlfriend with a pistol before then trying to strangle her.

Morgan County area residents are being warned of a new phone scam. According to a press release from the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office this morning, a business in rural Morgan County and another located within the City of Jacksonville have reported receiving phone calls from someone claiming to be from the corporate office of the business.

A Quincy woman facing first-degree murder charges after a 2020 car crash killed four people has chosen a bench trial for her case. 39 year old Natasha McBride appeared in Adams County Court yesterday with her attorney, Public Defender Todd Nelson, before Judge Tad Brenner. According to Muddy River News, McBride waived her right to a jury trial and Judge Brenner set aside three days for the trial after deliberations on the length between the state and defense.

The Village of South Jacksonville may have to consider raising water and sewer rates just as the treatment plant has come back online. Village President Dick Samples updated the Board of Trustees during committee of the whole Thursday night, that the village has been off of the line from the City of Jacksonville since last Friday.

County leaders have some big plans this year to celebrate today’s 200th anniversary of the formation of Morgan County. 200 years ago today, on January 31st, 1823 which was a Friday, Morgan County was officially founded. County Commissioner Ginny Fanning says even though today’s anniversary has been quiet, big things are in store this year as the days get longer and warmer.

The Winchester EMS had a good return of their annual fundraiser over the weekend. The 24th annual chili cook-off took place on Saturday. Twelve chili teams and six salsa teams were in the competition for top prizes in each category. The cook off had been on hold the last two...

Morgan County has been chosen as a recipient of emergency food and shelter funds from the federal government. The Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded Morgan County just a little over $14,000 through Phase 40 under the Emergency Food & Shelter National Board Program.

A Springfield man who was one of the first inside the U.S. Capitol Riot more than 2 years ago was convicted of federal charges on Monday. 40 year old Thomas B. Adams, Jr. was found guilty of entering a restricted building and obstructing an official proceeding. According to the Washington D.C. Federal court, Adams will remain free on recognizance until his sentencing on June 16th.

The Kenneth Acree murder trial may have reached its final continuance in Morgan County Court. Acree was in court Thursday on status after both the defense and state have been waiting for multiple search warrants get completed from AT&T Mobile for phone records needed for the case. State’s Attorney Gray...

A former Greenfield baseball coach and IHSA official appeared in Greene County Court on Friday for a pretrial status hearing. 24 year old Austin L. Bishop of Greenfield faces a charge of unlawful grooming, stemming from an arrest by Greenfield Police and Greene County Sheriff’s Deputies in September 2021. According to charging documents filed in the case by the Greene County State’s Attorney’s Office at the time, Bishop is alleged to have requested nude photographs and videos of a juvenile via text messages.

The Carrollton School District recently removed a teacher from its online instruction program through a third party. According to the Greene Prairie Press, the Carrollton School District sent letters home to parents on January 19th notifying them that Kristy L. Sicard had been removed permanently as the district’s online math instructor. Sicard was employed through Chicago-based third party online vendor ELEVATE K-12. The district had been using the online vendor for math instruction after unsuccessfully finding a full-time in-person math instructor for the district.

Tonight, we have two games for you, both in Jacksonville. Routt hosts West Central tonight, and the pregame on WEAI will be at 7:05. On WLDS, the pregame begins at 6:45, as Decatur MacArthur comes to town to play JHS. Elsewhere, Greenfield-Northwestern welcomes Carrollton, Triopia is on the road at...

A Jacksonville area service group is kicking off its annual online fundraiser this week. The Rotary Club of Jacksonville’s Fabulous February Fun-raiser begins this Wednesday, February 1st. Organizers say the event will include daily auctions on the club’s Facebook page, “Rotary Club of Jacksonville #3227.” Auctions will begin on...

Local unemployment rates in some counties appear to be heading in opposite directions. Morgan County’s unemployment rate dropped a tenth of a percent from last month, down to 3.6% staying almost in line with national averages. Sangamon and Greene also saw declines from the previous month down to 3.6% and 3.9% respectively.

Chapin resident Cynthia “Cindy” Staake of Worrell Land Services has earned the highest rank of appraisal licensing in the state. The Journal Courier reports that Staake has received the Certified General Real Estate Appraiser license, fulfilling two years of education and testing. According to her biography on the...