(OLNEY)  The frontal boundary hanging over the Midwest will continue to bring another round of shower and thunderstorm activity yet again later today and tonight – the system will finally move out of our region by late tonight, giving us a mostly dry & a little cooler period, tomorrow thru Tuesday – listen for updates.

(NEWTON)  The National Weather Service still has a Flash Flood Watch for Jasper, Richland, and all surrounding counties in effect thru tonight – with an average of three to five inches of rain falling in our area over the past 48 hours and possibly more on the way thru tonight, the flooding problem will be around for a while – many area roads, including some highways, have flooded spots, so motorists are reminded to be alert and stay out of those flooded areas – if you see a flooded road, “turn around, don’t drown” – with the heavy rains, Flood Warnings & Advisories have been posted for all regional rivers and creeks – these include the Embarras, the Wabash, the Fox, and the Little Wabash Rivers, plus all their tributaries as well.

(NEWTON)  Local and area utility crews are still out in extra force looking to restore power to those who are without due to last night’s thunderstorm activity – the windy conditions cause some power outages in our surrounding area  :  Norris Electric Cooperative reports this morning a little over 1% of its customers are without power – the number is at 232 customers affected, including several in the counties of Jasper, Richland, and Lawrence, but the most further north, in Cumberland County  :  Ameren Illinois reports this morning at least 1% of its customers are without power – the number is at just over 21,000 customers, with the largest area of outages in the Metro East, including the counties of Madison & St. Clair – a few Central Illinois counties were hit hard, including Macon, Christian, Piatt, Macoupin, Montgomery, & Champaign  :  officials say most all of these areas were affected by blown over utility poles and downed power lines.

***    Updated schedule from StrawberryFest 2013 in Newton

          Saturday, June 1

          The Heavenly Hands Puppet Show at the Newton Public Library at 10:00am

          The B & W Band at the St. Thomas School Gym from 11:00am to 1:00pm

          Cheyenne Goss, Candy Smith, and Matt Poss at the American Legion from 4:00 to 9:00pm

           Sunday, June 2

           Country Music Jamboree with all invited on the Newton Square from 1:00 to 3:00pm

(OLNEY)  Authorities are reminding folks in Richland, Jasper, & surrounding counties who still want to donate to charitable efforts to help the victims of last week’s Oklahoma tornado, to watch out for possible fundraising scams – while there are several legitimate organizations, area folks should be wary of those that apply high-pressure tactics or special gimmicks, plus never send cash – anyone can text Red Cross to 90999 to send a $10 donation to help the victims with clothes, food, and other recovery items – folks can also go online at www.RedCross.org – on the local level, several people are supporting a group of young men and women who’ve already donated time & work in Oklahoma – go online at www.HelpingHisHands.com.

(OLNEY)  It will be a busy night in the Olney City Park next Wednesday, June 5th – the Ainad Shrine Circus will be in town with a single 7:30 performance that night with grandstand tickets on sale at most all area banks and other local businesses – also Wednesday night, the local Cummins Municipal Band will start its 143rd year of performances at the City Park Bandshell, starting at 8:00 – it’s another free concert by the oldest Municipal Band in Illinois – all ages are invited out to the Olney City Park come next Wednesday.

(OLNEY)  The Olney Arts Council is offering Kid’s Theatre Kamp during the month of June – for children entering grades 3 thru 8, the three-week camp begins this coming Monday, and will be held each morning from 9:00 until 12 noon, Monday thru Thursday, at the Dr. John D. Stull Performing Arts Center at Olney Central College, with the Kamp to end with a performance of the children’s play “Stone Soup” on Friday, June 21st – at the cost of $150 per child, the Kamp will include workshops on auditions, costumes, sets, character development, blocking, dialogue, improvisation, and much more, plus break time will include various types of healthy snacks – enrollment is limited, so call now at 618-392-0721 or 618-393-6070.

REMINDERS  :   
    The Richland Memorial Hospital Auxiliary will host a fundraising “premier jewelry” sale next Monday from 8:00 to 4:00 at RMH – all proceeds will help the Auxiliary with their various projects at the hospital

    The Heritage House and Carnegie Museums in Olney are open for tours tomorrow, from 1:30 to 4:00 at both sites – all ages are invited out to view the various displays and artifacts at both locations in Olney

    The Teutopolis Monastery Museum and its more than 30 rooms full of historical articles is open for tours tomorrow afternoon, from 12:30 to 4:00 – admission is $3 for adults and $1 for children – all are invited

    It’s the annual “Fly-In, Drive-in” breakfast at the Olney / Noble Airport tomorrow morning, between Olney & Noble, just off of Old Route 250 – serving from 8:00 to 11:00 – all ages are invited

    A special “gun show” is in Olney and Richland County this weekend, at The Holiday – the show will run from 9:00 to 5:00 today and from 9:00 to 4:30 tomorrow – activities for children and those of all ages

    The Jasper County Antique Tractor and Machinery Club is scheduled to host a “tractor drive” this morning, starting at 9:00 – all are invited to gather at the Jasper County Fairgrounds in Newton

    The next 4-H recycling drive is this morning from 8:00 to 11:30 at the six sites in Richland County – all newspapers, magazines, and other items must be bundled separately before dropped off

    The Main Street Farmers Market is set up this morning from now until 11:30 in downtown Olney – that’s in the parking lot just north of the Main Street / Whittle Avenue intersection – plants & more available

(OLNEY)  That slow-moving storm system over the Midwest will bring another few rounds of showers & thunderstorms to our region again later today thru tonight and thru tomorrow night – heavy rainfall & severe conditions are possible – we should dry out Sunday & stay dry then thru next midweek – listen for updates.

(NEWTON)  The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Watch for Jasper, Richland, and all surrounding counties in effect thru Saturday night – with an average of two to four inches of rain falling in our area overnight, combined with two to three inches of rain over the past week, and with possibly more on the way over the next 24 to 36 hours, flooding is already a problem – many area roads, including some state highways, have flooded spots, so motorists are reminded to be alert and stay out of those flooded areas.

(NEWTON)  The National Weather Service in Lincoln is reporting that there is currently a weather radio outage affecting the weather radio transmitters in the Newton, Jacksonville, Peoria, and Springfield areas – although the NWS equipment is working fine, there is a problem with Verizon phone lines that feed the broadcast to the transmitters – technicians hope to have the system back up and running as soon as possible.

(OLNEY)  Meanwhile, the early Friday morning thunderstorm activity has put local utility crews out to work in extra force  :  as of early this morning, Norris Electric Cooperative reports power outages effecting some 532 customers, a little over 2% of its customer base, mostly in Effingham and Clark Counties, and a handful of customers in the counties of Jasper, Crawford, and Lawrence  :  Ameren reports power outages effecting some 4,600 customers, about 1% of their total customer base, mostly in the counties of Perry, Saline, & Jefferson – there’s no Ameren outages reported in the Richland County region  :  utility crews are still trying to restore power as soon as possible – in some areas, that may take another several hours.

(OLNEY)  The State Senate has rejected a plan pushed by the State House to solve the state’s pension crisis – last night’s 42 to 16 vote now leaves lawmakers without a solution to the pension issue with only one day left before the General Assembly’s scheduled adjournment – while the House-backed plan would have cut benefits and increase contributions for employees to help cut a $97 billion debt in five pension systems, the Senate prefers a plan that offers employees a choice of benefits to forgo – today’s the final day of debate.

 
(NEWTON)  The State House approved a measure yesterday on a 108 to 9 vote to regulate high-volume oil and gas drilling in Illinois – the bill outlines rules that energy companies would have to follow during the “fracking” process, including requirements to disclose “fracking” chemicals and test water both before and after drilling – the measure also holds the energy companies liable for contamination – the bill now goes to the State Senate for consideration – State Representative David Reis, the chief Republican negotiator and sponsor of the bill, praised the action, hoping the Senate follows suit – for more, logon at www.ilga.gov.

(OLNEY)  The City of Olney is noting that electricity marketers have begun door-to-door and telephone campaigns in Olney – however, citizens should be aware that the electric aggregation program sponsored by the City of Olney has a rate of .04009 cents per kilowatt-hour – this rate is lower than residents will pay under the terms of individual contracts currently being offered by those door-to-door solicitors and/or telemarketers – the City of Olney’s aggregation program does not require its customers to sign a contract and will not be called nor visited by a salesperson – citizens are reminded that the City’s electric contract is already lower than any rate charged by Ameren Illinois, plus the City’s program does not have any variable or hidden charges – for more, call Homefield Energy, toll-free, at 1-866-694-1262, check their website at www.homefieldenergy.com/Customers/Pages/CommunitiesWeServe.aspx, or contact the Olney City Hall.

(NEWTON)  The City of Newton has discovered that Republic Services has mistakenly increased their trash hauling bills to its commercial customers in Newton – in accordance with the City’s contract with Republic, the maximum amount that it can raise each customer’s price per year is 3% with no other fees or adjustments to be added – Republic customers in Newton who have been erroneously billed, should call the Republic telephone number that’s listed on the customer’s statement to have the account properly adjusted.

(OLNEY)  Authorities are investigating the drowning death of a Wayne County man at Forbes State Park near Omega – Marion County officials say 21 year old Damon Garrison was swimming with friends in the beach area of Forbes Lake at around 2:00 yesterday afternoon when he became exhausted and disappeared below the water’s surface – despite efforts by his friends to save him, Garrison’s body was found about an hour later in about 12 feet of water in the swimming area by State Conservation officials – Garrison was pronounced dead at shortly after 3:30 with no signs of foul play – an autopsy will be conducted later today.

(OLNEY)  The Olney Arts Council is offering Kid’s Theatre Kamp during the month of June – for children entering grades 3 thru 8, the three-week camp begins this coming Monday, and will be held each morning from 9:00 until 12 noon, Monday thru Thursday, at the Dr. John D. Stull Performing Arts Center at Olney Central College, with the Kamp to end with a performance of the children’s play “Stone Soup” on Friday, June 21st – at the cost of $150 per child, the Kamp will include workshops on auditions, costumes, sets, character development, blocking, dialogue, improvisation, and much more, plus break time will include various types of healthy snacks – enrollment is limited, so call now at 618-392-0721 or 618-393-6070.

(NEWTON)  It’s time for StrawberryFest 2013 in downtown Newton this weekend – it all starts today with live entertainment and plenty of homemade ice cream throughout the afternoon & evening – then a full day of activities tomorrow, including breakfast, a 5K run & walk, a petting zoo, a puppet show, the child ID program, many live performances, and plenty of more ice cream and other concessions – then it all wraps up on Sunday with special family music – now, here’s a note concerning the local concerts  :  if it’s raining tonight, the High Road III performance will be moved to the Sunrise Youth Center & Community Building in Newton – if it’s raining tomorrow evening, the Matt Poss, Candy Smith, and Cheyenne Goss performances will be moved to the Newton American Legion, all with the same starting times – so despite the weather, check it all out tonight thru Sunday afternoon, at StrawberryFest 2013, all in Newton, this weekend.

REMINDERS  :   
    The Teutopolis Monastery Museum and its more than 30 rooms full of historical articles is open for tours this Sunday afternoon, from 12:30 to 4:00 – admission is $3 for adults and $1 for children – all are invited

    It’s the annual “Fly-In, Drive-in” breakfast at the Olney / Noble Airport this coming Sunday morning, between Olney & Noble, just off of Old Route 250 – serving from 8:00 to 11:00 – all ages are invited

    A special “Gun Show” is coming to Olney & Richland County this weekend – at The Holiday, the show will run from 9:00 to 5:00 tomorrow and from 9:00 to 4:30 on Sunday – all ages are welcome to attend

    The Jasper County Antique Tractor and Machinery Club will host a “tractor drive” tomorrow morning, starting at 9:00 – all are invited to gather at the Jasper County Fairgrounds in Newton

    The next 4-H recycling drive is tomorrow morning from 8:00 to 11:30 at the six sites in Richland County – all newspapers, magazines, and other items must be bundled separately before dropped off

    The Newton Aquatic Center will host its first “Midnight Swim” tonight from 9:30 to 12 midnight – it’s open to any high school student – remember, the pool’s open from 1:00 to 9:00 daily in Newton

    It’s a Country Rhodes “fish, chicken, & shrimp fry” fundraiser this evening at the Olney City Park Community Building, with serving from 4:30 to 7:00 – all proceeds to help Larry Weber with expenses in his fight against cancer – tickets are available at all area banks, area churches, or here at Freedom 92.9

    And don’t forget today’s “open house” at Farm Pride in Newton – stop by and look over the Kubota lineup of equipment and more – plus, prizes and refreshments available during regular Farm Pride hours

(OLNEY)  That slow-moving storm system off to our west & northwest will bring another several days & nights of scattered shower & thunderstorm activity to our region this afternoon thru Saturday night – heavy rainfall & severe conditions are possible so stay tuned to those NOAA weather alert radios to updates – it appears we’ll dry out on Sunday & stay dry then thru midweek of next week – listen for weather updates.

(NEWTON)  With the June 9th deadline fast approaching, it appears state lawmakers are deadlocked on two seperate concealed carry bills – approved late last week, the House bill involves concealed carry with some location exceptions – but it’s been rejected by the Senate version which would still allow cities to retain their own regulations – some lawmakers say that plan will not fly in a House vote – a federal appeals court ordered Illinois nearly six months ago to drop its concealed carry ban and approve a law to allow it.

(OLNEY)  The State Senate says it will approve a bill which could one day allow people to register to vote by using the Internet – lawmakers say the bill aims to make the voting process more appealing to people who otherwise do not vote – under the plan, Illinois will let applicants register online using their driver’s license and the last four digits of their Social Security number – the issue has mixed reviews in the House.

(NEWTON)  Schools will not get any additional money next year, that’s under a budget plan that cleared the State Senate yesterday – in fact, it provides just 89% of the required funding level for students, plus holds funding flat in areas like transportation and bilingual education – while every Republican voted against the bill, claiming the levels are unequal across the state, Democrats say it’s the best they can do.

(NOBLE)  The Noble Village Board met earlier this week – the Board  :  adopted an ordinance amending the Village of Noble’s Nuisance Abatement Procedures for optional methods for the removal of dangerous and unsafe buildings  :  noted that the Village’s water hydrants were flushed earlier this month with no problems found  :  approved the repair cost of Village Park playground equipment at a cost of $178  :  noted that the Village has mailed out its Water Quality Report and Cross Connection Survey asking water customers to complete the survey and return them to Village Hall as soon as possible  :  agreed to seek bids to tear out and replace curbing in front of the Noble Food Store and Post Office  :  took no action on a request for a dead end sign on Poplar Street  :  noted that mosquito spraying will soon begin Village-wide  :  and noted the garbage pickup by Republic Services will be a day later than normal this week – instead of tomorrow, the trash will be hauled away on Saturday  :  the Board’s next regular meeting will be June 10th.

(NEWTON)  The City of Newton has discovered that Republic Services has mistakenly increased their trash hauling bills to its customers in Newton – in accordance with the City’s contract with Republic, the maximum amount that it can raise each customer’s price per year is 3% with no other adjustments or fees to be added – Republic customers in Newton who have been erroneously billed, should call the Republic Services’ telephone number that’s listed on the customer’s statement to have the account properly adjusted.

(OLNEY)  Congressman John Shimkus will be in our area of the 15th Congressional District today – the lawmaker will take a plant tour of a coal mining equipment manufacturer in Mt. Vernon this morning, followed by “open office” hours at the Flora City Hall from 1:00 to 2:30 this afternoon – the Congressman will then make a medal presentation at the Clay County Courthouse in Louisville, honoring a deceased serviceman, by giving his family the Bronze Star and Purple Heart – folks here in the 15th District can keep up-to-date by checking the Congressman’s website – go online at www.shimkus.house.gov.

(NEWTON)  The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has scheduled a series of open houses for the public to ask questions and receive information about Illinois’ deer herd – the five meetings in June will feature DNR staff discussing the deer management program, hunting regulations, surveillance / management of chronic wasting disease, and more – each open house will be held from 4:00 to 7:00 each evening at each location – that’s June 3rd in Rockford, June 4th in St. Charles, June 5th at the County Farm Bureau Auditorium in Champaign, June 6th at John A. Logan College in Carterville, and June 11th at PASA Park in Barry, just west of Pittsfield – details and other information are available online at www.dnr.illinois.gov.

(OLNEY)  The investigation continues into a Wayne County traffic fatality that occurred shortly before 9:00 this past Tuesday night – the State Police say 37 year old Kevin Kimmel of Carbondale was traveling on the Route 161 Extension near Johnsonville when his SUV ran off the roadway, into a ditch, hitting a culvert, overturned, and rolled over – ejected from his vehicle, Kimmel was pronounced dead at the scene – the State Police are being assisted by Wayne County authorities and the Orchardville Fire Department.

(NEWTON)  StrawberryFest 2013 is fast approaching, coming to the downtown Newton Square this weekend – it will all start tomorrow with live entertainment and plenty of homemade ice cream throughout the afternoon & evening – then a full day of activities on Saturday, including breakfast, a 5K run & walk, a petting zoo, a puppet show, the child ID program, many live performances, and plenty of more ice cream and other concessions – then it all wraps up on Sunday with special family music – that’s all this coming weekend, May 31st thru June 2nd, on the Square in downtown Newton – that’s StrawberryFest 2013.

(NOBLE)  The West Richland School Board will have a special meeting tonight at 7:00 in Noble – most of the meeting will be held in closed session for the purpose of interviewing potential candidates to serve the District as Interim Superintendent for the 2013-2014 school year – the Board may also discuss other issues during the closed session, such as litigation, negotiations, student discipline, and personnel.

REMINDERS  :   
    The Teutopolis Monastery Museum and its more than 30 rooms full of historical articles is open for tours this Sunday afternoon, from 12:30 to 4:00 – admission is $3 for adults and $1 for children – all are invited

    It’s the annual “Fly-In, Drive-in” breakfast at the Olney / Noble Airport this coming Sunday morning, between Olney & Noble, just off of Old Route 250 – serving from 8:00 to 11:00 – all ages are invited

    A special “Gun Show” is coming to Olney & Richland County this weekend – at The Holiday, the show will run from 9:00 to 5:00 on Saturday, June 1st, and from 9:00 to 4:30 on Sunday, June 2nd – check it out

    The Jasper County Antique Tractor and Machinery Club will host a “tractor drive” this coming Saturday morning, June 1st, at 9:00 – all are invited to gather at the Jasper County Fairgrounds in Newton

    The next 4-H recycling drive is this Saturday morning from 8:00 to 11:30 at the six sites in Richland County – all newspapers, magazines, and other items must be bundled separately before dropped off

    The Newton Aquatic Center will host its first “Midnight Swim” tomorrow night from 9:30 to 12 midnight – it’s open to any high school student – remember, the pool’s open from 1:00 to 9:00 daily in Newton

    It’s a Country Rhodes “fish, chicken, & shrimp fry” fundraiser tomorrow evening at the Olney City Park Community Building, with serving from 4:30 to 7:00 – all proceeds to help Larry Weber with expenses in his fight against cancer – tickets are available at all area banks, area churches, or here at Freedom 92.9

    The Jasper County Health Department will host a community-wide “Health Fair” today from 10:00 to 2:00 at the Sunrise Youth Center & Community Building in Newton – the theme is “The Circus of Life” and all ages are invited to stop by and check it out this morning and afternoon in Newton

(OLNEY)  Another nearly stationary frontal boundary extending into the Upper Midwest will continue to be the focus for showers & thunderstorms over the next several days & nights – with dry & hot conditions on the south side of the front, the on-and-off chances of rain will begin late tomorrow afternoon and continue then thru the upcoming weekend – the warmer than normal air will hang around as well – listen for updates.

(NEWTON)  Illinois Democrats are proposing a $35 billion state spending plan – the proposed budget will include pay raises for state workers and cut some programs for senior citizens – lawmakers have been able to agree on a budget, thanks to higher than expected state income tax collections from last month in April – both the State House and State Senate are expected to vote on the budget by the end of this week.

(OLNEY)  The State Senate’s executive committee has rejected last week’s proposal to permit concealed carry in public – the Democratic-controlled group voted down the bill yesterday on an 8 to 6 tally – those against the plan say the law would have made local gun laws ineffective, specifically in Chicago – that June 9th deadline still looms over the State Capitol as lawmakers try to approve some type of concealed carry.

(NEWTON)  Higher auto insurance premiums are coming soon for some Illinois drivers – the State House passed legislation yesterday that will hike the minimum insurance required by law beginning in 2015 – some say the plan will cost drivers who currently pay only the minimum another $75 a year – the measure has already passed in the State Senate and now goes to the Governor’s desk for his final approval.

(OLNEY)  The Olney City Council met last night – the Council  :  took no action on a request to allow package liquor license sales on Sundays – the Council tabled action on this and other liquor license issues within the Olney City Code  :  discussed concerns of low-vision or the vision-impaired in using the City’s downtown crosswalks  :  agreed to reduce the number of Class A liquor licenses from 6 to 5 with the closing of the Fireside  :  agreed to purchase Street Department road equipment for just over $191,000 to better prepare city streets for oiling & chipping  :  approved the city’s MFT Maintenance of Streets for 2013 in the amount of $135,000, some of which will help pay for the road equipment purchases  :  on a 4 to 1 vote, used the state bid to purchase two half-ton pickup trucks from Ridings Chevrolet in Taylorville for $33,410  :  on a 4 to 1 vote, purchased a three-quarter ton pickup truck from Eagleson’s for $20,966  :  on a 4 to 1 vote, approved an ordinance to allow Council members to attend a meeting by phone or other electronic means if out of town for business or other reasons as stipulated by the state  :  agreed that Councilman Bob Ferguson serve as Mayor Pro-Tem is the absence of Mayor Ray Vaughn  :  and change the Council meeting time from 7:30 to 7:00 beginning next month  :  the Olney City Council’s next meeting will be Monday, June 10th.

(NEWTON)  The rains fell again across Illinois last week, bringing planting progress to a halt in many areas, although some spotty work continued at times – yesterday’s USDA Crop Report shows 89% of the state’s corn crop has been planted, as of Sunday, with 40% of the soybeans now in the ground – with some flooding, the state’s average rainfall last week was at just over 1 inch, three tenths of an inch below normal – the state’s average temperature last week was 62.6 degrees, nearly 3 degrees below normal – the state’s wheat crop remains in mostly good to excellent condition as well  :  farmers in our ten county area report nearly 90% of the local corn is planted with at least a third of the local soybeans planted as well – the local wheat crop is rated 75% good to excellent, 20% fair, and 5% poor to very poor – most all area farmers are making progress to finish planting with some heavy rains from last week hampering that progress this week.

(OLNEY)  Area farmers are reminded that the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service will spend the first two weeks of June surveying thousands of farmers across Illinois to get a clear indication of the production and supply of major commodities for 2013 – while NASS workers will compile the information collected into publicly accessible reports, the confidentiality of individual farmers and their farm details will be preserved – details gathered will include data on what crops have been planted and what commodities are in storage, plus more – and while most of the survey is done online, by mail, or by phone, some local visits will be done on a random basis – for more details, call the Springfield NASS Office at 800-622-9865.

(NEWTON)  StrawberryFest 2013 is fast approaching, coming to the downtown Newton Square this weekend – it will all start this Friday with live entertainment and plenty of homemade ice cream throughout the afternoon & evening – then a full day of activities on Saturday, including breakfast, a 5K run & walk, a petting zoo, a puppet show, the child ID program, many live performances, and plenty of more ice cream and other concessions – then it all wraps up on Sunday with special family music – that’s all this coming weekend, May 31st thru June 2nd, on the Square in downtown Newton – that’s StrawberryFest 2013.

(NOBLE)  The West Richland School Board will have a special meeting tomorrow night at 7:00 in Noble – most of the meeting will be held in closed session for the purpose of interviewing potential candidates to serve the District as Interim Superintendent for the 2013-2014 school year – the Board may also discuss other issues during the closed session, such as litigation, negotiations, student discipline, and personnel.

REMINDERS  :   
    Visitors can view more than 30 rooms of the Teutopolis Monastery Museum this Sunday afternoon, from 12:30 to 4:00 – volunteers help explain the various displays of unique and interesting articles – admission is $3 for adults and $1 for children – visitors are urged to come early to allow ample time for the tour

    A special “Gun Show” is coming to Olney & Richland County this weekend – at The Holiday, the show will run from 9:00 to 5:00 on Saturday, June 1st, and from 9:00 to 4:30 on Sunday, June 2nd – check it out

    The Jasper County Antique Tractor and Machinery Club will host a “tractor drive” this coming Saturday morning, June 1st, at 9:00 – all are invited to gather at the Jasper County Fairgrounds in Newton

    The next 4-H recycling drive is this Saturday morning from 8:00 to 11:30 at the six sites in Richland County – all newspapers, magazines, and other items must be bundled separately before dropped off

    It’s a Country Rhodes “fish, chicken, & shrimp fry” fundraiser this coming Friday evening at the Olney City Park Community Building, with serving from 4:30 to 7:00 – all proceeds to help Larry Weber with expenses in his fight against cancer – tickets are available at all area banks or here at Freedom 92.9

    The Jasper County Health Department will host a community-wide “Health Fair” tomorrow from 10:00 to 2:00 at the Sunrise Youth Center & Community Building in Newton – the theme is “The Circus of Life” and all ages are invited to stop by and check it out this coming Thursday in Newton

    The next area blood drive is today at The Holiday in Olney, from 2:00 to 6:00 this afternoon – as always, all blood types are needed to help replenish our low Midwestern blood supplies

(OLNEY)  As the warm front over the Upper Midwest slowly moves northward, our chances of scattered rain & thunderstorms will end by tonight with a dry & hot day on tap tomorrow – however, another frontal boundary will move in with those on-and-off, late afternoon or evening, rain & storm chances again Thursday thru Sunday – stay tuned for updates.

(NEWTON)  After two hours of intense debate yesterday, the State House approved a Medicaid expansion bill that would add more than 340,000 new people to the rolls – opponents say it will cost the state too much money, while supporters say it will be reimbursed thru Obama Care – the bill now goes to the Senate – both the State House and Senate are in the State Capitol with the spring session set to end this Friday.

(OLNEY)  Protestors are back in Springfield staging a sit-in outside the Governor’s Office – it’s the second week that the group is voicing their opinion against “oilfield fracking” – with hundreds of jobs on the line, lawmakers continue to point out the “fracking” process is several years old and a very safe oilfield tool to increase oil production – the “fracking” opponents was a two year moratorium to study the process further.

(NEWTON)  All bets for gambling expansion might be off the table for now – the main sticking point is a provision that bans casino owners from giving campaign contributions, something the Governor will not approve of – bill sponsors say the measure will be tweaked with compromise & called for a vote by Friday.

(OLNEY)  There’s two municipal meetings on tap tonight, moved from last night because of the holiday observance of Memorial Day  :  the Olney City Council has a rather average agenda for tonight’s meeting, which will start at 7:30, at the Olney City Hall – while a “City of Olney” status report will be heard & some discussion of Mayor & Council salaries & meeting times, other agenda items include liquor license debate, various board & commission appointments, equipment purchases, and more  :  also meeting tonight is the Noble Village Board – that regular meeting will get started at 7:00 tonight at the Village Hall in Noble.

(NEWTON) StrawberryFest 2013 is fast approaching, coming to the downtown Newton Square this weekend – it will all start this Friday with live entertainment and plenty of homemade ice cream throughout the afternoon & evening – then a full day of activities on Saturday, including breakfast, a 5K run & walk, a petting zoo, a puppet show, the child ID program, many live performances, and plenty of more ice cream and other concessions – then it all wraps up on Sunday with special family music – that’s all this coming weekend, May 31st thru June 2nd, on the Square in downtown Newton – that’s StrawberryFest 2013.

(OLNEY)  The Richland County Treasurer’s Office has mailed out the last of real estate and mobile home tax bills – if property owners in Richland County do not receive their bills by the end of this week, they can call the Treasurer’s Office at 392-8341 or stop by for a duplicate tax bill – the first installment of Richland County’s real estate taxes is due on July 5th with the second installment due on September 5th – the mobile home privilege tax is due in one payment on July 31st – if questions, call or stop by the Treasurer’s Office, open each Monday thru Friday, from 8:00 to 4:00, at the Richland County Courthouse in downtown Olney.

(NEWTON)  The Newton Aquatic Center is reminding folks that its first “Midnight Swim” will be this coming Friday, May 31st, from 9:30 to midnight, which is open for any high school student – the Aquatic Center’s hours are from 1:00 to 9:00 daily, or for more information, check the Center’s website online, at www.cityofnewton.il.com – for further details or information, call the Newton Aquatic Center at 783-8080.

(OLNEY)  Authorities are reminding folks in Richland, Jasper, & surrounding counties who want to donate to charitable efforts to help the victims of last week’s Oklahoma tornado, to watch out for possible fundraising scams – while there are several legitimate organizations, area folks should be wary of those that apply high-pressure tactics or special gimmicks, plus never send cash – anyone can text Red Cross to 90999 to send a $10 donation to help the victims with clothes, food, and other recovery items – folks can also go online at www.RedCross.org – on the local level, several people are supporting a group of young men and women who’ve already donated time & work in Oklahoma – go online at www.HelpingHisHands.com.

(NEWTON)  Authorities continue to investigate the death of a Mokena, Illinois man who was killed this past Sunday after being struck by lightning at Shelbyville Lake – the report indicates 29 year old Jonathan Olisio was hit by lightning while fishing near the Lake’s Dam on the Kaskaskia River on the east edge of Shelbyville – Olisio was pronounced dead an hour later, shortly after 4:00, at Shelby Memorial Hospital.

REMINDERS  :   
    It’s the annual “Fly-In, Drive-in” breakfast at the Olney / Noble Airport this coming Sunday morning, between Olney & Noble, just off of Old Route 250 – serving from 8:00 to 11:00 – all ages are invited

    A special “Gun Show” is coming to Olney & Richland County this weekend – at The Holiday, the show will run from 9:00 to 5:00 on Saturday, June 1st, and from 9:00 to 4:30 on Sunday, June 2nd – check it out

    The Jasper County Antique Tractor and Machinery Club will host a “tractor drive” this coming Saturday morning, June 1st, at 9:00 – all are invited to gather at the Jasper County Fairgrounds in Newton

    It’s a Country Rhodes “fish, chicken, & shrimp fry” fundraiser this coming Friday evening at the Olney City Park Community Building, with serving from 4:30 to 7:00 – all proceeds to help Larry Weber with expenses in his fight against cancer – tickets are available at all area banks or here at Freedom 92.9

    The Jasper County Health Department will host a community-wide “Health Fair” this Thursday from 10:00 to 2:00 at the Sunrise Youth Center & Community Building in Newton – the theme is “The Circus of Life” and all ages are invited to stop by and check it out this coming Thursday in Newton

    The next area blood drive is tomorrow afternoon at The Holiday in Olney, from 2:00 to 6:00 – as always, all blood types are needed to help replenish our low Midwestern blood supplies