(OLNEY)  A high pressure ridge will build into the Midwest by later today, bringing in dry and cooler air for the weekend ahead – a weak upper level disturbance will give us some clouds tomorrow evening and on Sunday, but no rain is expected – in fact, looks like another dry spell thru next week – listen for updates.

 
(NEWTON)  The frontal boundary that rolled thru last evening brought several tornado warnings for area counties from the National Weather Service – authorities report some wind damage in Jasper & surrounding counties, along with 1 to 2 inches of rain is some spots – further south, the Olney area had some storm activity with strong winds and on average, under an inch of rain – some had more, some less – there were some power outages, but most all electricity service was restored late last night – no injuries reported.

(OLNEY)  A new Illinois law will keep former lawmakers from boosting their public pensions by taking a short-term government job at a higher salary – the Governor signed the bill yesterday that specifically requires a city or county that hires a former lawmaker for less than two years to pay the increased share of the man or woman’s pension – the law follows reports about a former State Representative that increased his pension to more than $120,000 a year by working one month for a Chicago Alderman before quitting.

 
(NEWTON)  Another new Illinois law signed yesterday has created a police commission in southwest Illinois, involving public officials and police from East St. Louis, Alorton, Brooklyn, & Washington Park – the Metro East Police District Commission, to be comprised of 17 appointed people, will help provide guidance, ethics standards, oversight to police departments, & help seek grant money in the Metro East.

 
 
(NEWTON)  Health officials in DuPage County say they’ve confirmed a second human case of West Nile Virus in a Villa Park man in his 50’s, not to mention of cases that are pending confirmation – statewide, the number of reported human cases stood at 11 before this new DuPage County case – while no deaths have been reported to this point, the Illinois patients have ranged in age from 47 to 76 – last year, the first human case wasn’t reported until August 19th – folks should use insect repellant containing “deet” while outdoors.

 
(OLNEY)  The East Richland School Board met last night in Olney – the Board  :  accepted, with regret, the resignation of Board Members, Dr. Gerald Mastio and Dr. Jervaise McDaniel, effective immediately  :  approved an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Edwards County School District, allowing a student to finish her high school education at ERHS  :  approved the evaluation plans for teachers & principals  :  approved various job descriptions as presented  :  approved the first reading of several new policies  :  accepted resignations of ERMS Paraprofessional Felecia Nohren, ERES Teacher Assistants Jamie Oestrich & Amanda Brame, ERES Part-time Teacher Assistant Linda Allen, and Bus Driver Susan Griffin  :  hired Part-time Counselor Suzanna Ridgely, ERMS Athletic Director & Coach Rick Franklin, Bus Driver Kasey Foerster, Teacher Assistants Brittania Williams & Megan Yonaka, and Paraprofessionals Leslie Davis, Amy Fulk, Jamie Shamhart, & Darleta Wagner  :  also approved a long list of volunteers for district sports & the FFA  :  the East Richland School Board will have its next regular meeting on September 20th.

 
(NEWTON)  The USDA has released its August Crop Production Report : the 2012 Illinois corn crop is expected to yield 116 bushels per acre, down 41 bushels from a year ago – if realized, this would be the lowest Illinois corn yield since 1995 – the acreage harvested for grain was estimated at 12.6 million, a 200,000 acre decrease from the June Acreage Report, mostly due to abandonment – production of corn for grain would be 1.462 billion bushels, down 25% from last year : the 2012 soybean crop in Illinois is expected to yield 37 bushels per acre, 10 bushels below a year ago, and the lowest yield since 2003 – the total production for the state is forecast at 309 million bushels, which is 26% below last year – if realized, this would be the lowest bean production since 1988 : we’ll look at local & area numbers next week.

 
(OLNEY)  A Richland County man has been indicted on methamphetamine related charges returned by a federal grand jury – 51 year old Mark Keller of Olney faces one charge that he conspired to manufacture over 50 grams of meth & another charge of possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute – Keller faces several years in prison, with a fine & supervised release – the Richland County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the case investigation – Keller is considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

 
(OLNEY)  A Clay County woman has been indicted on meth related charges returned by a federal grand jury – 27 year old Erin Rutger of Sailor Springs faces one charge alleging that from October of 2010 to June of 2012 in Richland County and elsewhere, that she knowingly possessed pseudoephedrine for the possible manufacturing of meth – Rutger faces up to 20 years in prison, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to 3 years supervised release – the Richland County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the case investigation.

(NEWTON)  The Illinois State Fairs continues today in Springfield – today is Futures for Kids Day, with more monster truck racing, a demo derby, and on stage tonight, Cheap Trick with Night Ranger, Blue Oyster Cult, and the Georgia Satellites – tomorrow will be Park District Conservation Day with Miranda Lambert & the Pistol Annies on stage – Sunday’s final day at the Fair will be Family Day with a reduced admission of only $2 per person with the Steve Miller Band with Dave Mason on stage Sunday night  – there’s plenty of carnival rides, concessions, & more at the Illinois State Fair, wrapping up this weekend.

REMINDERS  :  
    Orders are now being taken for the RMH Auxiliary “Fall Mum” sale – with five colors available, the cost is at $6 each – the ordering deadline is August 31st – call the hospital at 618-395-2131, extension 4009

    Area singers are invited to join the OCC Community Chorus, beginning its third season this fall, meeting from 6:00 to 8:00, each Monday night – it begins next Monday, August 20th, at Olney Central College

    The St. Joseph School will host a fundraising breakfast this Sunday morning with serving from 8:00 to 11:30 in the school cafeteria – tickets at the door – proceeds for the 7th & 8th grade trip to Washington, DC

    The Noble Citywide “garage sales” will be held tomorrow – for those wanting to use the Village Park, waivers must be completed at the Village Hall – stop by today during regular office hours

    A Country Rhodes "fish fry" benefit is tomorrow evening at the Olney VFW with serving from 4:00 to 7:00 – it’s all-you-can-eat with a fundraising auction to follow and tickets at the door – carryouts will be available – also a poker run will be held with signup at 9:00 that morning – the vehicles leave the VFW at 10:00 with stops at Moonshine, Westside, Vic’s, and back to Olney – all proceeds to benefit Steve Hayes

 
    The St. Thomas School in Newton will have it’s Duck Race 2012 fundraiser tomorrow at the Newton Aquatic Center – cash prizes to the top three ducks – proceeds to benefit the school – call 783-3517

    It’s the Ralph Carter 19th annual benefit poker run tomorrow with signup from 10:00 to 11:30 Saturday morning at the Olney American Legion – vehicles will leave at 12 noon with various stops announced at signup – a hogfeed, auction, & live entertainment will follow at the American Legion tomorrow evening with the public welcome – all proceeds go to Shriners Children's Hospitals – for details, call 838-7359

    The Richland County Farmers Market will have fresh produce and more on sale this afternoon in the Olney City Park, under the pole barns, from 12 noon to 5:00 – all are invited out and check out the items