1-30-2008

 

WEATHER PLAYS HAVOC TUESDAY AFTERNOON

 

A virtual tour of weather extremes hit the WGEL listening area Tuesday afternoon. First we experienced a windy high of 63 degrees with an afternoon tornado watch. Next came thunderstorms at about 3PM with winds changing direction from south to north and falling temperatures.

 

At 3 PM, Southwestern Electric's Fruit substation near Marine went down. 350 Southwestern customers were out of power for 45 minutes. The same storm continued through Bond and Fayette Counties, taking down a Southwestern line northwest of Pocahontas and a substation in Fayette County. A tree fell on an Ameran line at Woburn Road and Route 140, but the line was unbroken.  Another fallen tree blocked the road on Rt. 127, north of Rt. 140 and a fallen telephone pole was reported on Avery Branch Road. 

 

About five hundred and thirty Southwestern Electric members, served by the cooperative's Fruit Substation, near Marine, lost power around 8:00 PM, due to high winds.  Linemen worked to restore power by rerouting power from other substations. 

 

WGEL talked to Ameren this morning and altogether some 30 thousand Ameren Customers in Illinois were without power from the storms across the state yesterday, currently some 4000 Ameren Customers are without power including 469 in Carlyle. An Ameren spokesperson told us he expected most customers would be back in the next few hours.

 

Temperatures plummeted and snow began to fall. In Clinton County the storms produced hail along with the rain and snow. A weather spotter reported a funnel cloud near I-64 near Nashville. That funnel never touched ground but high winds blew the roof off the high school in Nashville. 

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KEYESPORT AREA KILLINGS INVESTIGATION CONTINUING

 

WGEL spoke with Sergeant Dave Wasmuth, of the Illinois State Police, concerning progress in the investigation into the killings of George and Linda Weedon, last April, in the Keyesport / Tamalco area. According to Sergeant Wasmuth, the case has "livened up" recently. The Illinois State Police and the Bond County Sheriff's Department are looking into other aspects of the Weedon's lives. This investigation has provided additional information, which will hopefully lead to a resolution of the case. WGEL will have more on this double murder investigation, when information is released to the public.

 

MULBERRY GROVE BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETS

 

The Mulberry Grove Board of Education met Tuesday evening, January 22nd, at 6:30 PM for a closed session, with the regular meeting beginning at 7:00 PM. District Counselor Les Sinks demonstrated the "Career Cruising" software, emphasizing the program's capacity to help students explore a number of career interests and opportunities. Following a closed session, the board took action on several items. The 2008-2009 calendar and updated certified staff seniority list were approved and the board accepted a letter of retirement from high school teacher Dianne Neathery, effective at the end of the 2010-2011 school year.

 

The next meeting of the Mulberry Grove Board of Education will be Tuesday, February 26th, at 7:00 PM, in the District Media Center.

 

 

A NEW MISS ILLINOIS

 

We have a new Miss Illinois. Molly Reeves of Danville was named Miss Illinois, Sunday in Springfield. Reeves is a college student, studying art and fashion design, at Illinois College in Jacksonville. Miss Effingham County Lauren Hoffman, of Effingham, was named second runner up and Miss Clinton County Fair Savahna Voss, of Germantown, was awarded best stage presence. Allie Grotts represented Bond County at the pageant. 

 

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BOND COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY LOOKING FOR DONATIONS

 

The Bond County Historical Society held it's monthly meeting Tuesday night. We spoke with Historical Society President, John Coleman, who said the society is looking for needle point donations to sell at the Annual Quilt Show on April 5th at the St. Lawrence Church hall. Any donations will be offered for sale at the quilt show and the proceeds will benefit the historical society. The annual ham and bean soup supper has been set for Saturday September 13th, to coincide with the 150th anniversary of President Lincoln's speech, in Greenville. The next Bond County Historical Society meeting is February 25th, at 7PM, at the Bond County Housing Authority Building.

 

GREEN BEAN AND GARBANZO BEAN RECALL

 

The New Era Canning Company has recalled all #10 cans of green beans and garbanzo beans because they may cause botulism. These are large cans containing between six and seven pounds of beans. The codes on the recalled product begin with the numbers “00249” or the letters “GREEN” or “GARB”. The Illinois Department of Public Health has confirmed that these beans have been distributed within the state. The majority of these products were potentially sold nationwide to various food service customers, but consumers may have bought them at retail stores. The affected products should be returned to the store of purchase.