Area News
Lady Rockets to Play in Consolation Championship in Highland
With wins over Hillsboro and Belleville-East, the Okawville Lady Rockets earned a spot in the consolation championship at the Highland Girls Basketball Tournament. Okawville outlasted Hillsboro to win 51-49 in overtimes Tuesday, and the Lady Rockets knocked off Belleville East 49-42 on Wednesday. Okawville will face Breese Central in the consolation championship game Saturday at…
Read MoreNashville Grad Takes School Trip to Panama
It has been a year of firsts for Nashville High School graduate Alex Johannes, and the firsts are not limited to being a college freshman at the University of Illinois. Johannes recently returned from a trip to Panama with the U of I College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. “It was the first time…
Read MoreClosed Session For Prairie State Takes Most Of County Board Meeting
Few details are being released about the Washington County Board negotiations with the Prairie State Generating Company. It was a topic for about an hour in closed session of the board meeting last Tuesday. Committee Chairman Eric Brammeier said little can be reported, other than the committee has had one meeting with Prairie State at…
Read MoreOkawville Fair Queen Places In Top 15 At State Pageant
Okawville Fair Queen Tiffany Thompson was named one of the 15 finalists at the Illinois County Fair Queen Pageant in Springfield Sunday. She competed in a field of 73 fair queens from across the state. The pageant was held as part of the Illinois Association of Agricultural Fairs Convention at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in…
Read MoreFake Bomb Scare At St. Libory Dollar General
A man on the premises at the St. Libory Dollar General made a bomb threat Monday morning. No bomb was found. The Sheriffs Department arrested the suspect, who has not been identified, pending charges. He is being held at the St. Clair County Jail as the investigation continues.
Read MoreHouse Construction Slows In Rural Areas Of County
Only nine building permits were issued for new house construction in Washington County in 2019, according to records of the Zoning Office. That is less than half the 19 permits issued in 2018. The next lowest number was 13 permits in 2013. People building new houses apparently prefer rural areas than towns. While the 9…
Read MoreNashville Man Killed in Traffic Crash Last Tuesday
A Nashville man was killed in a traffic crash last Tuesday night on State Route 127 just north of New Minden. James K. Lamar, 55, was pronounced dead at the scene at 11:37 p.m. by Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Fletcher. According to the report from the Washington County Coroner’s Office, Lamar had just left work…
Read MoreCar Stolen from Okawville Recovered in Missouri
Okawville Chief of Police Steve Millikin announced that the second vehicle stolen last August was recovered in Wentzville, Mo., earlier this month. A car reported stolen from West Walnut Street in Okawville on August 21 was recovered after a traffic stop in Wentzville on January 5. The driver of the vehicle was taken into custody…
Read More*UPDATED* Deputy-Involved Shooting of Dogs Leads to Investigation
*UPDATE: The officer has been placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation. Stay tuned for more updates. The Washington County Sheriff’s Department is bringing in another law enforcement agency to investigate a deputy-involved shooting of two dogs in a rural area near Richview and Irvington. A Facebook post by the dogs’ owner implicating a…
Read MoreBoard Says No Marijuana Businesses in Okawville
Though marijuana was officially legalized in Illinois effective at the start of the year, Okawville will not be home to any cannabis businesses. The Okawville Village Board passed Ordinance No. 572 prohibiting cannabis establishments in the village at the regular meeting last Monday night. The measure passed just two days before Illinois became the 11th…
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