8-03-2006




TWO KILLED IN CARLINVILLE HOUSE EXPLOSION

Two people were killed Wednesday morning in a house explosion in Carlinville.  A residence at 203 Sue Street was leveled by the explosion, which scattered debris over a four-block area.  A neighboring house was also heavily damaged and caught on fire.  Carlinville police are reporting that as many as fifteen homes on Sue Street sustained damage.  All the houses were evacuated and checked by firefighters.

Around 7:30 Wednesday morning Carlinville residents heard a loud explosion and began calling Macoupin County 9-1-1.  Police say there were four people inside the home.  55 year-old Margaret Hatlen and 9 year-old Michael Albracht died from their injuries.  A 27-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy were airlifted to Memorial Hospital Burn Center in Springfield.  An elderly female living next door was taken to the Carlinville hospital for treatment of a laceration.

Fire departments from Carlinville, Girard, and Gillespie battled the fires.  Authorities are investigating the cause and have not ruled out natural gas. 

FIRST HUMAN CASE OF WEST NILE IN ILLINOIS

A man from St. Clair County is the first Illinois resident this year to be diagnosed with West Nile disease.  The man, who is in his 60s, became ill in July and is recovering.  Most people with the virus have no clinical symptoms of illness, but some may become sick three to 14 days after the bite of an infected mosquito.  Persons older than 50 years of age have the highest risk of severe disease.  In 2005, Illinois recorded 252 human cases of West Nile, including 12 deaths. 


CEILING FAN BLAMED FOR FIRE

Ceiling fan wiring was the apparent cause of a fire this morning at the Dolly Webb residence on Taylor Street in Mulberry Grove.  Fire Chief Dwight Volkmar told WGEL that his department was on the scene for around two hours and limited the damage to the attic and living room.  According to Volkmar, a neighbor noticed smoke coming from the attic vent and alerted the homeowner.  No one was injured and the damage was estimated at $1,000. 

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UNIT 2 HIRES NEW PRINCIPAL FOR SORENTO

The Sorento Center has a new principal.  The Unit 2 School Board Monday night voted to hire Bill Carpenter of Carlinville.  Carpenter replaces Donald Harris who had accepted a position with a Granite City middle school.

Carpenter told WGEL that he has been a teacher and administrator for 24 years.  His background includes being a teacher and coach at Macon Meridian for 11 years.  He served seven years at Carlinville as a teacher, athletic director and principal. For two years he was an assistant principal facilities director in the Pleasant Plains School District.

Carpenter says he is very excited about his new position and looking forward to the coming school year. He noted that he is trying to get his feet on the ground and get accustomed to what is done in the Unit 2 District.  Carpenter grew up in Mattoon and attended the Humboldt School.  He said Humbolt is identical to Sorento.

During Monday’s special session, the school board also okayed several hirings for the Pre-K program. They also approved the hiring of Megan Garrison as the Greenville Junior High cheerleading sponsor, Trevor Stoecklin as the junior high baseball coach, and Kolin Dothager as a teacher at the Greenville Elementary.

CITY RECEIVES MONTHLY CREDIT FROM INSURANCE PROVIDER

The City of Greenville will be receiving a 2% monthly credit from its health insurance provider, Group Health Plan.  City manager Dave Willey told WGEL that there had been a disagreement with the company on the pricing of the policy.  The city’s insurance agent agreed to not take the 2% commission as a gesture of good faith.  Willey says this is retroactive to the policy’s starting date of April 1 and continues until it ends March 31, 2007.  The credit will mean $600 per month in savings for the city.  Group Health Plan is the insurance provider for the city employees. 

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GRANT PROGRAM AVAILABLE TO HELP KEEP COOL

A grant program to help low income residents keep cool is returning this summer.  State Representative Ron Stephens announced on Monday that $8 million in funds are available through the Low Income Energy Assistance Program or LIHEAP.  This state and federally funded program assists households with monthly incomes of $1,225 for a single person, a two person household up to $1,650, or a four person household of $2,500.  The grants are paid directly to the participant’s electric utility.  Eligible applications will be accepted on a first come/first serve basis through August 18, or until funding for the summer program is exhausted.  For more information, call 1-800-843-6154.

FULL DAY FOR THE BOND COUNTY FAIR

It’s the first full day of the 2006 Bond County Fair.  The carnival opens at 6pm and midget auto racing begins at 7pm.  Sponsored by the Midwest Auto Racing Association, the grandstand opens at 5pm with hot laps at 6pm.  Musical entertainment by Hard Drive gets underway at 7:30pm in the activity building.

 

SPORTS

MARION TO GET MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAM

Minor league baseball is coming to southern Illinois.  A new Frontier League team will be playing in the 2007 season in the new stadium being built in Marion.  The state has provided a $3 million grant to the city of Marion for public infrastructure improvements to accommodate the new stadium.  The ballpark is being built at the intersection of Interstate 57 and Route 13.  The construction phase creates around 75 jobs.  The annual operations of the team and the stadium will require around 120 people.  SIU-Carbondale, John A. Logan College, and area high school teams will also be offered use of the stadium.  The Gateway Grizzlies and the River City Rascals are also members of the Frontier League.

 
 

OBITUARIES

No New Local Area Obituaries

THE WGEL SECRET WORD IS GIVEN MONDAY THRU FRIDAY IN THE 11AM, NOON, 1 & 2PM HOURS. WRITE IT DOWN AND WHEN WE CALL, YOU COULD WIN $50.

 

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