ELDORADO, Ill. — Officials have now released the details of yesterday’s accident at the new Mimmo’s Pizza in Eldorado.

Vicky McWhirter, a resident of Norris City, was the sole occupant of the vehicle that ran into the pizzeria. Authorities reported that the vehicle ran into the dining area, and caused substantial damages. The building had only recently been remodeled for the opening of the new store.

As good luck would have it, there were no injuries as a result of the accident, and this might be thanks to the fact that the restaurant is closed on Mondays. Even McWhirter was able to walk away unscathed.

McWhirter told responding officers that her vehicle had brake failure, which resulted in her running into the building.

There have been no citations issued in the incident as of today.

The building a couple of hours after the incident yesterday.

SALINE CO., Ill.— Three individuals were taken to an area hospital for treatment of their injuries following a three vehicle crash this evening (Tuesday, July 8, 2014).

According to Illinois State Police spokesperson Mark Zimmerman, at approximately 4:03 p.m. the driver of a 1988 GMC Sierra truck, Gerald D. Smith, 75, of Eldorado, was stopped in the northbound land of U.S. 45 waiting to make a left hand turn onto Carter Farm Road, when an unnamed juvenile driver, age 17, also of Eldorado, driving a 2001 Dodge Ram truck failed to stop in time for the turning vehicle.

Authorities say the juvenile attempted to avoid hitting the truck by swerving to the left, but was unsuccessful.

Following impact, the Dodge Ram truck collided with a 2010 southbound Ford F-150, driven by 56-year-old Dennis E. Patton, of Shawneetown.

Patton, Smith and the juvenile were all transported from the scene by Med Force Ambulance Service to an area hospital for treatment of injuries sustained in the crash.

All three drivers were said to be wearing their seatbelts.

The Dodge Ram and the GMC Sierra were town from the scene by Bishop’s Towing of Harrisburg.

The Ford was removed from the crash scene by Jones’ Towing of Eldorado.

In addition to the towing services, the state police were assisted at the scene by the Saline County Sheriff’s Department, Eldorado Police Department, the Eldorado Fire and Rescue, as well as Med Force Ambulance Service.

The juvenile driver was cited for Failure to Reduce Speed to Avoid an Accident.

Here’s Lyndi with a few headlines (nothing like yesterday…whew) that occurred over the last 24 hours (July 7-8, 2014), for your Nightly NewsCap for the evening of Tuesday, July 8, in audio!

Topics covered include: Wreck in Lawrenceville south of the tracks at the old Texaco refinery location last night; trike-truck accident in Shawneetown yesterday covered by ISP; and details are provided about the Mimmo’s wreck from Eldorado Monday.

“I’m gonna open a Facebook page!!”

Because that’s the first order of business, you know. You just can’t exist in the world these days unless you have a FACEBOOK PAGE.

As you can see in the below screencap taken Monday, July 7, 2014 at 11:49 a.m., Todd Fort has joined the world, now that the convicted sex offender is off probation:

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Shown holding a Bible in one hand with his arm around his teenage daughter Hannah, Fort’s all proud of his new Facebook page, probably since it’s a cleaner version of the one that got him into so much trouble in 2010.

Our sources in Saline advise that Fort is or is attempting to become a preacher, hence the Bible.

Where all that religion is when it comes to Fort’s inane lawsuit against Saline County prosecutor Mike Henshaw remains one of those religious mysteries, however; as far as we understand, Fort’s attorney, Darrell Dunham, is pursuing what Judge Mark Stanley has already thrown out of circuit court, this to the appellate court, for any possible redetermination.

We’ll keep you posted, as always, on any developments on that. Meanwhile, Harrisburg peeps, enjoy…you may think Todd’s turned his life around. We know first-hand he has NOT…he’s just gone from one extreme to another.

We don’t usually hold a page, or clear a page, during production week for a late-breaking story unless it involves a dead body. That’s just the nature of the business; there’s a news budget going into the week, and some things are in flux, some things are not.

Usually Friday court hearings, especially of a low-key and last-minute nature such as an Order of Protection (OP) don’t fall into the category of “something we’ll bump another story off a main page” for.

But your first Read the Lead of the July Special Edition certainly did fall into that category, in this case, making it to our back page (which we use as a “second” front page).

And that’s because it involves a Saline County public official, and what were proven to be false allegations against him.

We’ll let the lead tell you more, and for the rest, well….you’ll just have to read it to see. Here’s Cat lady takes county board member to court for ‘stalking’, your first Read the Lead for this month’s issue:

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SALINE CO.—If anyone has ever questioned how abused Illinois’ civil Stalking/No-Contact Order procedure can be, they have no further to look than a late-June case in Saline County.

The situation county board representative Danny Gibbs, 56, found himself in with a woman known for “cat rescues” in Harrisburg at that time is not typical, but it’s a growing trend for people who are “offended” by another’s actions—or lack thereof—and are seeking to force their perception of things onto an individual by taking action in court and having a judge order it.

On Thursday, June 26, Judge Todd Lambert wasn’t so inclined, however…and what amounted to a circus sideshow, and possibly displayed the effects of a cat-borne parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, was over within a relatively short time, even though the complainant tried in vain to continue her line of questioning after it had already been proven that there was no stalking going on…at least, on Gibbs’ part.

The issue arose when on June 5, Roxanne Vandyke, 51, of Plum Street on the north side of Harrisburg, filed petitions for a Stalking/No-Contact Order (still styled in court as an OP, or, order of protection), one each against Danny Gibbs and his wife, Jeana.

In nearly indecipherable, loopy-lettered handwriting, Vandyke outlines what her problems were with….

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To find out what happened next, simply click the headline to the article above the excerpt if you have an online membership to the e-Edition; or, if you don’t, click this link to get started! Or, if you prefer to hold a paper in your hands, head on out to any one of our vendors in Harrisburg: ROC One-Stop on Poplar and Commercial, M&H Liquors on Commercial; Discount Food Mart on Main; and Book Emporium on Gum Street. Throughout Saline County, you can also pick up a copy at Raleigh Quick Mart in Raleigh; ROC One-Stop in Galatia and Carrier Mills; and in Eldorado, College Drive Liquors, and both locations of ROC One-Stop. Hurry…next one hits the stands in TWO WEEKS.

Here’s Lyndi with the Nightly NewsCap for the evening Wednesday, July 9, 2014….news, views, AND some bloopers!!

Topics covered include: Three-car wreck details from yesterday’s Texas City area of U.S. 45 in Saline County; Christine Burr pleads guilty in Effingham County in the death of Joseph Delaney 2011; the Pennsylvania crew that showed up in Lawrenceville with a warrant for two of the crew; Todd Fort gets a Facebook page; and Hamilton County drunk driver Delong pleads guilty in White County this morning; and, BLOOPERS!!

Every once in a while we come across information that we just can’t publish right away.

And, we know that’s aggravating for a lot of people, especially those who are on the inside of the news at hand, and are seeing it and reporting it to us, hoping exposure will bring about change.

But, sometimes, in order to change to come about, it’s best to sit on a news piece and wait for things to shake out, so that certain aspects of the information won’t change when we DO produce an article about it.

And we reached that point in June, nine months after the initial incident that started us—as well as authorities—on the investigation.

Here now is your even ing Read the Lead, Police officers focus of steroid investigation:

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Black book code with list of officer’s names said to be broken

Shawn Gregory

SALINE CO.— Multiple sources have independently confirmed a story that Disclosure has been sitting on for nearly a year: that the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) along with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) has been and currently is investigating several area police officers for alleged use and trafficking of anabolic steroids and possibly narcotics.

The case dates back to the Fall of 2013, when a bank robbery occurred in Harrisburg.

Through a series of events that began almost immediately (as in, as soon as responding law enforcement got word of who was involved in the robbery), the situation has unfolded and has lead to a current investigation into what has, up until that time, been only rumored to be going on in the area: rampant steroid use, trafficking…and, “cooking” steroids, a practice that’s come to be popular in recent years due to successes in meth-making, and which involves “enhancing” legally-obtained steroids with illicit substances to increase their effects.

And while there’s no direct indication that this “cooking” practice is going on, what may lead to at least indirect indication of it is a black book with information written in code that was obtained during the course of the investigation…and what code authorities are saying has been “cracked” and is aiding significantly in tracking down exactly who is involved, and their level of involvement.

Coming on the heels of this discovery is the June 24 plea the bank robber, Casey A. Heflin, 28, of Boaz, Kentucky, entered in federal court (U.S. District Court in Benton), where he was indicted in March of this year.

And locals in Saline County and in particular, in Harrisburg, are wondering exactly what information Heflin has been issuing now that he’s a federal convict and could spend the next 20-plus years in the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

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To read the rest of this article, click on the headline above if you have an online membership to the e-Edition, or, if you’re not already a member, simply click this link here to get started! Or, if you want to pick up a copy of this issue, visit any of our wonderful vendors, including those in Saline County: In Harrisburg, go to ROC One-Stop on Poplar or Commercial Drive; Book Emporium on Gum Street; Discount Food Mart on Main Street; or M&H Liquors on Commercial. Also, visit our ROC One-Stop vendors in Eldorado, Carrier Mills (we’re getting them more papers as we speak) and Galatia, as well as College Drive Liquors in Eldorado, and Raleigh Quick Mart in Raleigh! Hurry…a week from Tuesday is the release of the July-August issue, so don’t miss this one!

It continues to intrigue us the level of crossover between the city of Marion and the city of Harrisburg.

And what’s on the front page this month exemplifies that crossover.

When we first started working in Williamson County last year, we were amazed at how some of their city officials were so close to some Harrisburg city officials, “helping” with “ideas” to make Harrisburg work the way Marion “works.” Of course, it’s already been an established fact that Marion “works” on corruption….and since Harrisburg has such a good foothold on that, it would stand to reason that then-Harrisburg mayor Eric Gregg would be all eager to get in on THAT action, since he was an incompetent leader all-around, and support from the corrupt would be just his bailiwick.

But at the time we were covering Gregg’s faux pas in the ‘burg, we simply didn’t know or understand the idiocy of Marion’s city attorney, Steve Green…not until he told one of our correspondents that she couldn’t photograph him at a city council meeting last summer.

Once we started looking into THAT debacle, and realized that of course Marion would want a city attorney with a room-temperature IQ (so he could be manipulated int telling the media, and subsequently the public, whatever Marion wanted them told), it kind of escaped our purview that Steve Green was also involved in Gregg’s flounderings in Saline County circuit court.

Until we went to do an update on Gregg in late June that reminded us that ol Steve-o was right there from the outset.

So here now is the noontime Read the Lead, the front page article that tells the whole sordid, messy story about just what a slacker Eric Gregg, Quinn appointee to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board (Parole Board), really is, Refusal costs Gregg attorneys:

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Steve Green, shown on left in the photo, is one of the many attorneys dumping their services as counsel for Eric Gregg (shown at Harrisburg’s Wing-a-ma-Jig fest recently) in the civil case filed against Gregg in Saline County by Luann Walker.

SALINE CO.—The former mayor of Harrisburg is having a very difficult time in the Saline County court system, and that’s mainly because he refuses to abide by its rules.

And the fallout from that refusal has been the turnover of attorney he’s retained in the case, one of them being the questionable Steve Green, city attorney of Marion, who was the first in a series to have bowed out due to Eric Gregg’s stubbornness.

Gregg was named the respondent in a civil suit in late 2012, several months before it was announced that he was ascending to a plum position on the state’s prisoner review (parole) board.

The suit, filed by a former Gregg business partner, LuAnn Walker, alleges that Gregg did not wrap up their business partnership appropriately, and as a result, owes Walker large sums of money.

And the suspected reason why Gregg is ignoring interrogatories and legal demands for discovery of his financial doings lends greatly toward assertions Disclosure has held for at least the past year: That Gregg lied on his statement of economic interest in order to secure the job on the Prisoner Review Board (PRB), an act which could get him charged criminally.

The court documents in the case show that Gregg and Walker were in partnership with MidAmerican Energy Services, one of many such somewhat fly-by-night outfits that have developed over the past several years as energy distribution (electricity and gas) became more deregulated in the markets and allowed energy “aggregation” (an individual company purchasing “energy” at a fixed rate for later sale to counties and municipalities) to enter the field.

The two were in partnership in the business since November 2008, according to court documents, and were to equally split the profits of the business, which were obtained after one or the other, or both, pitched the energy aggregation to such public bodies as school districts, cities and counties who enter into energy contracts typically with other, larger providers.

But in late February 2012, Gregg told Walker that they were going to “no longer conduct an ongoing business venture.” This cannot be done under Illinois law without proper “winding up of business” as outlined by statute, and is especially true if the aggrieved partner was continuing to honor the terms of their agreement, as Walker claims she was, under the Illinois Uniform Partnership Act of 1997.

Under a three-count claim, Walker alleged Winding up of Partnership Business, Breach of Oral Contract, and Breach of….

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To read the rest of the article, click the headline above the excerpt if you have a membership to the online e-Edition, or, if you don’t, simply click this link here to get your membership started. Membership to the online e-Edition gets you every article we’ve ever produced for print since two years ago this month, and you can peruse the site all day long for only $5.99 for a month’s worth. Or, if you prefer to hold a hard copy of the paper in your hands, you can visit on of our 50 vendors throughout southern Illinois, including these in Saline County: In Harrisburg, M&H Liquors, Discount Food Mart, Book Emporium or both location of ROC One-Stop; in Eldorado, College Drive Liquors and both locations of ROC One-Stop; in Raleigh at Raleigh Quick Mart; and ROC One-Stop in Carrier Mills and Galatia. In Williamson County, you can pick up a paper at ROC One-Stop in Marion on West DeYoung, as well as in Johnston City and West Frankfort; and Pit Road Racing on the square in Marion and Hunter’s Cove Barbershop on West DeYoung. Hurry…this one is on stands for only eight more days, and they have been moving quickly, with re-stocks in most locations!!

Who WOULDN’T be a little freaked out about a ‘polar vortex’ in the middle of summer in the Midwest?

Well. WE aren’t.

I mean, the big sweeping cool front coming down out of the Gulf of Alaska is going to give us a reprieve from the miserable 90+ temps we usually face every year at this time. That means it’s completely tolerable for us to be out in the berry thicket at the old home place (covered here, here, here and here). You might even have to wear a jacket if you’re out at one of the local county fairs going on in the area. Not a bad deal. Don’t know what it might do to certain crops if it’s sustained…but it’s supposed to leave by the end of the week. Here are some maps, all of them from weatherbell.com:

Remember January 6, 2014? When the Polar Vortex was ostensibly combining with Sharknado to make us scream “WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!!” from cold? Yeah. We all didn’t. It was cold, and it turned out to be expensive when the utility bills came in, but…most of us made it just fine.

Here’s our new polar vortex. Don’t know if the Sharknado is in accompaniment.

This is unexpected, but nice. I mean, turn off the A/C, open the windows, and save some money. Also, get out in the berry patch. But…after the bad weather has passed:

ILZ038-042-043-045-046-051>057-061>063-066>068-071>073-151100-
CHAMPAIGN-CHRISTIAN-CLARK-CLAY-COLES-CRAWFORD-CUMBERLAND-DE WITT-
DOUGLAS-EDGAR-EFFINGHAM-JASPER-LAWRENCE-LOGAN-MACON-MCLEAN-
MOULTRIE-RICHLAND-SANGAMON-SHELBY-VERMILION-
1210 PM CDT MON JUL 14 2014

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL
ILLINOIS...EAST CENTRAL ILLINOIS AND SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AS A COLD
FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA. WHILE WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS
NOT EXPECTED...SCATTERED STORMS MAY PRODUCE SEVERE WINDS THIS
AFTERNOON.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED BETWEEN NOON AND 4 PM.

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But..it’ll pass, and we’ll be steamy again, long about the end of the week, after Poor Man’s Polar Vortex gets done with us. Enjoy.

In our Read the Leads, we like to give you a taste of what’s in the current issue…and we REALLY like to show you some of the crim coverage we give to the many counties we cover in southern Illinois.

We run the crims for a number of reasons: One is to show just the kind of criminal activity going on in downstate; another is to show how the uncollected fines and fees make a financial impact on each of the counties. As well, other news outlets don’t give criminal activity much focus, and you need to know who among you might be charged with, or even more so, convicted of, a serious crime. You interact with people all day long, not really knowing who/what you’re dealing with sometimes…so it helps to see that there are just some people who are repeat offenders who, for whatever reason, continue on about their criminal activity largely unabated.

Which is kind of the story of this next guy.

Here now is what we like to call a “crossover” piece, wherein a guy from one county goes off to an adjacent county and gets his ass in trouble. Your afternoon Read the Lead is Carrier Mills man charged in White Co. with brutalizing woman for four days:

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Richard Harrey Emerson

WHITE CO.— A Carrier Mills man has been jailed in White County after authorities say he brutalized a woman for four days in Norris City.

Richard Harrey Emerson, 24, of 225 Carline St., Carrier Mills, has been charged with two counts of Aggravated Battery/Strangulation, three counts of Domestic Battery with Priors and one count of Unlawful Restraint.

According to information filed in the case, on June 2 Emerson detained Meghan Dean, forced her to sit on a bed with her feet together, her hands at her side and not move, keeping her from leaving.

Authorities say Emerson continued to brutalize Dean, hitting her with his fist and choking her over the next three days, June 3-5.

During a probable cause hearing held June 9, police say when they arrived at the couple’s Norris City residence after receiving a call about a domestic situation, they found Dean obviously suffering from injuries sustained in the four-day ordeal.

Emerson was convicted in 2008 in White County of two separate counts of Aggravated Battery and Obstruction of Justice for which he was sentenced to three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections (DOC) and ordered to pay $3,289 in fines, fees and restitution of which he still owes

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To read the rest of the article, click the headline link above the excerpt to go right to it if you have an online membership to the e-Edition, or, if you don’t have a membership, click this link here to get started. Or, if you prefer to have a hard copy of the paper, visit one of our many vendors throughout southern Illinois, including our wonderful White County vendors, Enfield One-Stop, Mimmo’s Pizza in Norris City, Grayville Shell Mart at the interstate south of Grayville and Grayville Liquor Barn, and in Carmi, Pundrake/BP, East Side Package, and Rock Bottom Liquors! Hurry…one more week and this one’s off the stands to make way for the July-August issue, July 23!

SALINE CO., Ill.—I have filed a temporary injunction in Saline County Circuit Court to prevent Cottage Township from holding any more agenda-less meetings.

The move was predicated on the information I received last night that a hearing will be held this afternoon by county engineer Jeff Jones, who is moderating input from residents of Cottage Township and from Peabody Coal on the closure of Cottage Grove Road, located in Cottage Township.

While what I filed—and received an injunction for—today does NOT stop the hearing from being held tonight, if members of Cottage Township show up and provide any action as a board (in a quorum), any action taken at the hearing tonight—which is only an appeals process about closure of Cottage Grove Road—will be null and void.

Furthermore, it’s my intention to amend the petition I put forth today to declare all action taken in Cottage Township’s agendaless meetings be declared null and void. That, depending on what occurs tonight, may render any decisions/actions occurring at TONIGHT’S meeting also null and void.

We’re tired of public bodies taking the public’s money and not operating under 5 ILCS 120, Illinois’ Open Meetings Act. The accountability to the people doesn’t exist under that circumstance. And when there’s no accountability, public bodies act with impunity. This could clearly be seen when on June 11, 2014, a Cottage Township Board meeting was held without an agenda, and the appointment of Mike Karns as a replacement for Tim Tuttle, Cottage Township Road Commissioner, was made. Judy Kellen, board trustee, told the board at that time that they couldn’t continue forward with the meeting without first having posted a notice 48 hours in advance of the meeting in the form of an agenda. The response before proceeding was “Nobody’s going to do anything about it anyway.”

Now, someone’s done something.

We’re not against Cottage Township. We’re not against Peabody. We do believe that an equitable solution can be reached, and that may be reached tonight. But if the Cottage Township Board acts in any capacity tonight, that action will result in any decision/action being taken tonight NULL AND VOID because a Temporary Restraining Order has been entered by Judge Todd Lambert as of 1:45 p.m. today stating that Cottage Township can no longer conduct any meetings without first offering an agenda per Illinois’ Open Meetings Act.

This is the first step. If it’s not followed, there’ll be more. We have a hearing on July 25 for Cottage Township to provide evidence that they’ve been posting agendas. We have evidence that they have not. We’ll see what happens.

MARION, Ill.—Marion Police Department has reported a scam is taking place right now within Williamson County.

Reports have been made of people receiving calls from a person claiming to be with “Williamson County Federal Warrant.”

This person is claiming the recipient has a federal warrant and must purchase a Green Dot card to pay their warrant to avoid being arrested.

Authorities are warning that this is a scam, and if you receive this type of call, DO NOT give out personal, credit card or banking information over the phone.

Report these types of calls to your local police department, Marion Police Department at 993-2124 or Williamson County Sheriff at 997-6541.

The lovely Angela is back at the helm for the Thursday version of the Nightly NewsCap for the evening of July 17, 2014!

Topics covered include: Gaseous situation in Vincennes this morning turns out okay for all involved; Marion and Williamson County are plagued with scam calls; and what Ang did in court today that should send a chill through the public bodies that are holding meetings without agendas…but which may work distinctly to the advantage of the residents of Rocky Branch in Cottage Township.

Say “Raymond Moss” anywhere in or around Harrisburg and you’ll get a mixed bag of responses.

However, this latest reference to the multiple-criminal-conviction’ed Harrisburg native is new in the lexicon of all things Moss.

We won’t give away anything else in the intro; you have to read the story for yourself to see what’s going on. Here now is your noontime Read the Lead, Moss submits FOIAs to city, available in the July Special Edition 2014 that’s on stands for a few more days ONLY:

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HARRISBURG—One of Saline County’s most reviled convicts may be planning one of his jailhouse lawyer moves.

Raymond Moss, who is now a registered sex offender after being convicted in 2012 of rape and abuse of a woman in a September 2010 Harrisburg case, has issued multiple Freedom of Information Act requests to the City of Harrisburg.

And while the terms “Raymond Moss” and “Freedom of Information Act requests” might not be in the least bit synonymous, the now-50-year-old Moss, whose erratic driving and cat-and-mouse game with authorities lead to the 2002 deaths of the popular Hurd Brothers, might have even bigger plans up his sizeable sleeve than just retrieving a little bit of information from city files.

According to a source at city hall, Moss’ FOIA request is seeking three specific things….

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To find out what Moss is seeking—and what he’s probably trying to do with the information—click the headline link above the excerpt if you have an online membership to the e-Edition; or if you don’t, simply click this link here to get your subscription started for access to the e-Edition! Or, if you prefer to have the newspaper in your hands, head out to one of our many vendors across the southern part of the state, including in Saline County all locations of ROC One-Stop—Commercial Drive and Poplar Street in Harrisburg; Galatia, Carrier Mills and both locations in Eldorado, State Street and Highway 45—as well as College Drive Liquors in Eldorado, Raleigh Quick Mart in Raleigh, and M&H Liquors, Book Emporium and Discount Food Mart in Harrisburg. But hurry…this one’s off the stands as of next Tuesday, July 22, when deliveries of the July-August issue commence!

Saline County, IL — There has been a traffic crash in Saline County between a van and a motorcycle this afternoon at approximately 2:46pm.

According to the preliminary traffic crash investigation, the 2005 GMC Safari van was north bound on U.S. 45 at Alexander Road and the driver (Fabiola Bernal) was yielding for oncoming traffic in order to turn left onto Alexander Road.   The 2005 Harley Davidson motorcycle was north bound on U.S. 45 when it rear ended the GMC Van.  The driver of the motorcycle (Robert Bushkill) was transported to the hospital in Eldorado and later transported by life flight to Evansville, Indiana.

Both vehicles were towed from the scene by Jones Towing of Harrisburg, Illinois.  
The Illinois State Police was assisted at the traffic crash scene by the Eldorado Police Department, Saline County Sheriff’s Department and Med Force Ambulance Service and Life flight.  

Possible charges are pending in this accident after the investigation is completed.

Once in awhile, we get tongue-tied when producing ‘caps and especially when we have some strange names in the course of the reports…and tonight was one of those nights. So Lyndi rounds up the headlines…and “caps” off the ‘cap…with some post-production silliness as we conclude our first day of deliveries of the July-August 2014 edition of DISCLOSURE!

Topics covered include: Ivan Dill of Mt. Carmel finds out that walls don’t give when you bang your head on them repeatedly…but heads do; a township official in Crawford County has been hemmed up on a DUI and meth charges; Illinois State Police work a crash in Saline County; and the e-Edition is up and deliveries are underway for the July-August 2014 edition!! Don’t forget the bloopers…listen past the outro.

MARION, Ill.—An evening wreck on the main highway east-west through Marion has sent four people to the hospital.

The accident, which occurred at about 5:30 this evening (Wednesday, July 23, 2014), was a rollover that occurred on DeYoung (Illinois 13) in the vicinity of Matrix Tool Sales.

The rollover involved a blue Mitsubishi and a small white Ford pickup.

The four injured between the two cars were all taken to Heartland Hospital.

Things are getting kind of dangerous on DeYoung, since all the construction has been going on and it’s damned confusing for people who’ve been familiar with driving that highway for so many years now not really knowing which lane they’re supposed to be in.

More as we get it if we can; check back.

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After one of the most arduous production weeks in terms of gathering material and dealing with other factors (disruptions, emergencies and breaking news, the last of which altered the front page…three times over), we’re proud to present the July-August 2014 edition of Disclosure! This issue has the usual assortment of crims and corruption, a LOT of which has the crims as well as the cognoscenti pissed off already…! See what everyone’s griping about by digging right into this month’s issue either right here online at the e-Edition, or at any one of our 50 or so vendors across southern Illinois. And to help you with your digging, every issue we provide you This Month’s Print Headlines right here at the site, which is a listing of the headlines, preceded by the dateline (where the action in the article occurred/originated) and followed by a brief synopsis of what the individual articles are about. Print headlines are presented in segments: Front page, back page (our “second front page”), pages 2 and 3, features (pages 16/17), our regions (Egypt, Heartland and Central) and Op-Ed. So without further ado, here now are your PRINT HEADLINES for the July-August 2014 edition!

PAGE 1

John E. Bradley

WILLIAMSON CO.—Is state rep facing his own ARDC complaint? Those who are familiar with Illinois state representative John E. Bradley will know that what’s being presented in this article is 100 percent dead on; those who aren’t familiar with him, get that way. Because this is some explosive material, and we’ve already started to get the threats about it. More to come as it develops…and this is one of many stories that will cause this paper to blow off the stands, so make sure you get to your copy QUICKLY.

Jamie Brunson…exonerated

LAWRENCE CO.—FOUR-YEAR ORDEAL ENDS: The situation for James Brunson, owner of Bridgeport Package in Bridgeport, isn’t over quite yet…but as we covered here late last week, what happened July 18 is a major stop i that direction. This article focuses on the significance of Jamie’s local victory…and on what has set the stage in the federal case he’s litigating against public officials from Lawrence in that venue’s civil court.

SALINE CO.—County closes road, but Open Meetings Act violations could undo it ALL: Yes, I know….plenty of people think they’ve read all the coverage there is to read about the closure of Cottage Grove Road. But this case, too, is far from over. We explain it all in this investigative report.

Willow Long

EFFINGHAM CO.—Autopsy report made public: We FOIA’d for the Willow Long autopsy report on March 18, the day Justin DeRyke entered his guilty plea to her murder. Gyrations in his sentencing occurred, however, delaying our ability to view the report. But on July 8, we were able to…and here’s the full run-down on it, with some really weird things that we can’t yet explain being incorporated in it.

OLNEY—Youth battered, police mute: Another strange case that needs intense police involvement—but isn’t getting it—has emerged in the city of Olney. At least this time, it’s not an “unexplained” death. But it could have been.

BACK PAGE

EFFINGHAM—Effingham City ignores the law, seems ambivalent about child porn in library: Has the city of Effingham gone the way of the Orlando Park Library District up north? It’s very possible…and Illinois Leaks is on it. Read the whole thing in this article.

Gaege Bethune…a kid as weird as the spelling of his name?

JACKSON/SALINE COs.—ID of local has little impact on death case: In May, authorities finally revealed, via Freedom of Information Act requests from the Carbondale Times, who the driver of a vehicle in Carbondale was that was alleged to have been the last person to see Pravin Varughese alive. The news apparently didn’t reach over to Saline County very impactfully. Read what there is to know about the case as it involves Gaege Bethune, who’s originally from the Eldorado area…and what it means to the case at hand.

Aaron Emery

FRANKLIN/SALINE COs.—Franklin County drug death under investigation: The death of a Carrier Mills boy in a West Frankfort home has also not been covered well. Here, we try to sort out what little bit authorities are saying about it…and what’s becoming commonly known, as well as what it might mean if a recent Illinois drug law for accountability is misapplied.

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WILLIAMSON CO.—Williamson County tax assessment: what is going on with diminished property values?: Think your property tax is too high in Williamson County? It probably is…but look at it like this: you’re taking up the slack for those who aren’t being properly assessed, thanks to their goodbuddy Jeff Robinson, Williamson County tax assessor. This article shows just HOW MUCH the assessments are off…and there’s more to come!

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JEFFERSON/SALINE COs.—Harrisburg man issued traffic tickets in Jefferson County under questionable circumstances: Yes ANOTHER crossover piece, involving a spurious incident in which a truck driver was stopped by police in Ina, and…well, you gotta read it.

EGYPT

Former Saline County Assistant State’s Attorney Eva Walker…is her return imminent?

SALINE CO.—Board approves hire of assistant prosecutor for more efficient judicial system in Saline: Mike Henshaw made a good point last month, and this month, the county board acted on it. So the only question left is…will Eva Walker return? Let’s hope we’re going to be that fortunate!

WILLIAMSON CO.—Details of major mid-June cocaine bust: It’s no secret that there’s a significant coke problem in Marion. But now, the people busted are talking…and now, there really ARE NO SECRETS…

HARRISBURG—City foxes watching the H’burg TIF henhouse: What “legacy” did Marion-suckup and former Harrisburg mayor Eric Gregg leave? Part of it lies within the wonky TIF District…which is supposed to be for “development” of sections of town that are “blighted,” but of course, isn’t TOUCHING those.

HARRISBURG—Officer wins 2012 DUI case: Recap–with a little extra, as we always do—of Harrisburg police officer Brent Stanley’s win in court in late June, for our print readers.

SALINE CO.—Eldorado homeowner chases down burglar: There’s been a REALLY disturbing trend in Saline County in recent weeks of home invasions and burglaries. Here’s the first of many this month, this one from ‘rado.

SALINE CO.—Galatia man jailed after allegedly attacking wife: And then…there’s the domestic scene….

WILLIAMSON CO.—Active Williamson County criminal report keeps authorities hopping: A very BUSY time in Williamson County during the month of July for cops and courts!

Carolyn Glore “Butter” McGhee

HARDIN CO.—Snitch in cocaine trial claims she’s a victim: The re-emergence of Carolyn Glore “Butter” McGhee (ask us later why she’s called “Butter” if you don’t already know)…this time she’s the victim instead of the witness for the prosecution.

SALINE CO.—The Tolley effect: Sister of attempted murder suspect charged with filing false police report: We just can’t seem to get those Tolley girls under control. Read this one carefully; it’s kind of hard to follow, with all those kids being charged with all the things that they are.

GALLATIN CO.—Theft, violence and a sex crime charged in Gallatin: The docket report for GallCo, with, as usual, inferior work on the part of prosecutor Allen Roe.

SALINE CO.—Driving revoked and DUI focus of traffic arrests: A little DUI and traffic roundup that totally pissed off a local “good guy” merely because we did to him what we do to ALL, which is to list any criminal convictions in the background. All factually, all on the record…and yet his asshat buddies say we “lie”? We, as a society, are doomed if that’s what people REALLY think.

SALINE CO.—Police say unemployed drug suspect holding meth, paraphernalia when she ran stop sign: as we always say….if you’re going to do your dope outside your own home, for god’s sake obey traffic code.

SALINE CO.—Eldorado man charged after busting convicted rapist’s face: Crim on crim crime in Eldorado. Oh my.

HARRISBURG—Harrisburg man busted in Huck’s vodka heist: Now HERE’S a story that might explain to you why prices are high in some businesses. You’re just not going to believe how this one went down.

SALINE CO.—Suspended driver busted for drugs and forgery: And here’s ANOTHER story that seriously will make you scratch your head and wonder what the hell it is with Saline County crims….and that it might be in the water.

SALINE CO.—Theft, forgery and property damage featured in Saline Co. general crime report: The general crim roundup for whatever doesn’t fit into other categories. And yes, Eric…if they had any kind of significant criminal history, it’s in there.

CARRIER MILLS—Carrier Mills enacts ‘Dangerous Building Ordinance,’ $100/day fine until corrected: Carrier Mills board meeting coverage, and some very interesting topics were brought up.

MARION: Fire chief retires: Jack Reed has retired from the fire department in Marion and has taken an appointment on the park board. It’s an interesting situation, this. More to come.

WILLIAMSON CO./U.S. DISTRICT COURT—Father of teen who took his own life after anti-bullying video files federal lawsuit: Reproducing, for our readers who don’t have internet access (and many of our elderly readers do not) the very interesting federal civil suit that Brad Lewis has filed in the death of his son, Jordan.

MARION—Arrest made in July 2 Marion shooting: Another repro, for the elderly readers in the very neighborhood where it happened, of the report of the arrest in the shooting, said to be drug-related.

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MARION: Boynton Street Center board member’s reinstatement at issue for city council: A fascinating piece about what appears to have been a drug arrest that should never have happened, and how it impacted the life of the Boynton Street Center board member it happened to.

HEARTLAND

CLARK CO.—Mainstream media defends actions of park board; ends up with egg on their faces: Full coverage of an AWFUL situation in Clark County following the massive screwups on the park district board there. And folks…if this stuff is happening in lil ol Clark County…it’s happening EVERYWHERE. Be aware of your “layers of government” and how many there are…your taxes are impacted by this!

Travis Ferguson

JASPER CO.—Jasper County bad boy commits suicide: Suicide is a terrible thing. But then again, so is arson. Here’s coverage of a guy who was alleged to have done the latter, and ended his life by the former.

CRAWFORD CO.—DUI-drugs focus of Crawford police blotter: Quite a bit of activity in Crawford County for the month of July!

CRAWFORD CO.—Short meetings in Crawford County, City of Robinson: And conversely, NOT a lot of activity on the Robinson City Council and county board.

JASPER CO.—Oblong man facing six counts of deceptive practice: A little bit of info coming out of Jasper County circuit court this month.

CENTRAL

LAWRENCEVILLE—Out-of-state criminal nabbed after quick response by Lawrenceville police chief: An amazing story of a group of losers who were stopped in a car singlehandedly by police chief Jim White.

WAYNE CO.—FAIRFIELD GIRL STILL MISSING: The mysterious disappearance of a 15-year-old Fairfield girl is still in the news. Here’s info on it, including resolution to a rumor of someone who was said to have been one of the last ones to have seen her, but has been cleared of any suspicion.

RICHLAND CO.—Poker Run and a new animal shelter topics of discussion at Richland County Board: Government meeting coverage, with the twisted Leo Ledeker once again making an ass of himself.

RICHLAND CO.—Earp/Trout beating victim assaulted again: Does anyone remember Heath Roy from 2009? The guy who got beat up by the nasty child molester Jonathan Trout and then HE (Roy) got charged? Yeah, he’s been arrested AGAIN, and no Urps were involved in it this time. Even though there’s another guy in the article who is sporting one of those idiotic “tribal” tatts.

WAYNE CO.—Fairfield woman faces nine counts following DUI arrest: Wayne County crim roundup.

WHITE CO.—Attempted stabbing charged as misdemeanor: White County crim roundup

OLNEY—Medical marijuana facility could be coming to Olney area, city vies for grow op siting: Of COURSE Olney’s throwing its hat into the ring for the MM facility to be cited in District 12. The remarkable thing about this is…Olney’s nasty water might just be the “thing” to set up the grow op, since it smells and tastes like fish, a vital component in fertilizing.

RICHLAND CO.—Officer injured twice in as many days during arrests: We have a problem with police getting injured in Richland…and here’s the latest. And sadly, David Hyde doesn’t seem to take it seriously.

WHITE CO.—Carmi pair sentenced following domestic: Gotta wonder just what kind of “domestic” this was.

CLAY CO.—Fitness evaluation ordered for Clay burglary suspect: The Clay County crim roundup.

LAWRENCE CO.—Former Edwards prosecutor’s daughter named in lawsuit: Here’s a different one. A 16-year-old new driver allegedly runs a stop sign…and dude coming the other direction is hit. Hard. And…she happens to be defense attorney/former Edwards state’s attorney Brian Shinkle’s daughter…and the complainant is using her mom’s divorce attorney. Go figure.

RICHLAND CO.—Claremont meth felon facing more drug charges: The Richland County dope charge roundup.

Trevor Seibert…getting his drunk on.

WABASH CO.—Sex offender, DUI drugs and bad checks charged in Wabash County: The return, in this article, of a punk who thought he’d be smart and harass our vendors and advertisers…until he found out from one that it’s ILLEGAL to do that, and that action would be taken against his nasty ass if he continued.

WHITE CO.—Walmart clothes heist halted by employees: Where there’s a Walmart, there will be alleged shoplifting. It’s apparently just so easy.

WAYNE CO.—Trio of Peddicords busted following strangulation: Wayne County violence roundup.

WAYNE CO.—Wayne City man charged with molesting teenage girl: Wayne County perv roundup.

WAYNE CO.—Frequent felon focus of Wayne Co. crim report: The rest of the Wayne County crim roundup that can’t be categorized easily in the other roundups.

HAMILTON CO.—Pot, trespass, booze and guns featured in Hamilton police blotter: Hamilton’s County’s blotter for the past several weeks, without one original alleged crime in the bunch…even the alleged crims are dumb as stumps these days.

WHITE CO.—Woman punched so hard teeth imprints left in lips: Now HERE’S something you don’t see every day…indentations in the mouth. Wow. THAT was a smack.

LAWRENCE CO.—Pair of drug arrests reported in Lawrence: A slight Lawrence County crim roundup.

OP-ED

SURLY & UNCOOPERATIVE (Jack) The REAL reason journalism has always been referred to as the Fourth Branch of Government
ICY (Ang) Foreign concept: Work hard, strive to be better
NOT JADED (Jade) Family’s the core—and the key—to a happy life
REDHEAD RAMPAGE (Lyndi) Baa baa BAD black sheep (of the family)…

VOICE OF THE PEOPLE (letters) City of Benton’s wastewater treatment facility

BACK OVER YOUR TALES: What we were covering in the 2009 August Special Edition:

SALINE CO. (Eldorado), Ill.—Authorities this hour have confirmed that there has been a kidnapping at knifepoint in the city of Eldorado in Saline County.

The situation broke at about 9:30 p.m. this evening (Wednesday, July 23, 2014).

The victim is a 19-year-old female; the crime was reported to Eldorado Police by her grandfather. We don’t have any names as yet.

An alert has been sent out through county and state.

The incident occurred at 1113 (CORRECTED) Beulah Street. No direction of travel has been given, but authorities are looking for a gray Chevy Equinox, Illinois registration.

UPDATE 10:10 p.m.

The plate on the 2005 Equinox came back to a Sonny R. Pilgrim, date of birth February 28, 1991. Authorities DO NOT KNOW if Pilgrim is the driver; that’s just the plate registration.

UPDATE 10:26 p.m.

Our sources in Jackson County (specifically Carbondale) are reporting that at 10:06 p.m., police received a cell phone ping from either the alleged kidnapper or the alleged victim. The ping was located in Marion.

More as we get it; check back frequently, as this is developing.

ELDORADO—AUTHORITIES HAVE CONFIRMED THAT THE OWNER OF THE VEHICLE INVOLVED IN AN ALLEGED KIDNAPPING LAST NIGHT, SONNY PILGRIM, IS IN CUSTODY AT THIS HOUR.

Sonny Pilgrim, from a Facebook page

Missouri Highway Patrol is credited for picking up Pilgrim in their state. This was the “direction of travel” we reported last night about the case, when Jackson County authorities notified that a cell phone “ping” was picked up shortly after the alleged abduction in Eldorado, this “ping” coming from either Pilgrim’s phone, or that of his on again/off again girlfriend, Courtney Goodwin, detected in the city of Marion.

Courtney Goodwin, from a Facebook page

According to authorities, Pilgrim wanted Goodwin to go with him from the home, and she was unwilling…resulting in the knifepoint aspect.

We’re waiting to hear more from Missouri authorities. Please keep checking back.