DOZENS ON HAND FOR RELAY FOR LIFE CLOSING CEREMONY

A large crowd remained throughout the night and were on hand for the Relay for Life closing ceremony Saturday morning around 6AM at the Bond County Fairgrounds.  The Bond County Relay for life was another huge success this year raising $56,867.37.  During the closing ceremony Patti Brooks also told the crowd that next year the total money raised from the Bond County Relay for Life will likely reach 1 Million Dollars.  Each year the relay for life teams hold dozens of fundraising events to help fight cancer.  And this year’s total for monies raised could still go higher as more donations come in through August. 

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COUNTY BOARD APPROVES CONTRACT WITH ATTORNEY TOM LONG FOR REDISTRICTING APPEAL

The Bond County Board approved a contract with attorney Tom Long to serve as Special State’s Attorney in the redistricting law suit appeal.  According to board member Tom DeVore, the contract was at the request of Tom Long.  The contract will have Long represent the county in the Appellate Court but not if the case is appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court.  The contract allows the cost for representation not to exceed $15,000.00.  Long served as Special State’s Attorney in the trial stage of the lawsuit earlier this year during which Judge Nelson Metz ruled in the county’s favor.  The lawsuit was brought by county resident Ron Shevlin over the redistricting maps passed by the county board last year. The vote to approve the contract with Long was approved 3-2 with members Whalen and Lucco voting no, and Willeford, Langel, and DeVore voting yes.   

MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT ON I-70

Illinois State Police from District 11 responded at 8:00 a.m. Friday, June 1 to the scene of a motorcycle accident just east of the Pierron exit on Interstate 70.  According to the accident report, Rex Clark, age 65, of Indiana, was riding a 2010 Victory motorcycle westbound in the left hand lane of Interstate 70 when he began to pass a semi truck.  The driver of the semi told police as the motorcycle was passing him, it appeared the wind blew the motorcycle off the roadway and into the median.  Once in the median, the driver of the motorcycle lost control.  Clark was ARCHed to St. Louis University Hospital where he is being treated for serious, but non-life-threatening, injuries.  Highland EMS and Highland-Pierron Firefighters responded to provide assistance. 

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QUESTIONNAIRE SENT OUT TO BOND COUNTY PROPERTY OWNERS

A questionnaire was sent to approximately 1300 property owners in Bond County.  Supervisor of Assessments Deb Langham said residents who received the questionnaire have 15 acres, a home site, and are receiving a farmland specialized assessment.  The questionnaire is intended to ensure that people who are receiving the farmland assessment are truly harvesting and receiving ag income.  Deb said their goal is to properly assess properties in Bond County.  If you are a farmer and you have a contiguous piece of property or a piece of property across the road, you will keep your farmland assessment.  There have been several individuals who brought their questionnaires into the Supervisor of Assessments office and Deb said they are happy to help individuals complete the form.  If you have any questions, call her office at 664-2848.

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OVERNIGHT COMMODITY TRADING

The CME Group recently announced they have expanded agricultural commodity trading hours.  Agrivisor Senior Market Analyst Dale Durchholz told WGEL changes are ongoing and there are most likely several changes yet to come.  Overnight electronic trading now starts at 5:00 p.m. and continues until 2:00 p.m. the next day. Before these changes, they used to suspend electronic trading at 7:30 a.m. and resumed trading when the pits re-opened at 9:30 a.m.  They have added a few hours at the beginning and the end of the trading day and eliminated that suspension.