Here's a rundown of what's been going on in the area...in brief.
The bomb squad taking the dog into the courthouse in Marion, at about noon Wednesday.
The Franklin County Courthouse was cleared yesterday afternoon of any suspected bomb (improvised explosive device, as it literally was termed reportedly by the caller) called in yesterday morning. Authorities also opted to close the Williamson County Courthouse since the threat was non-specific to any courthouse, but came in at Franklin; a cell phone ping revealed that the call came in from the county line. Both courthouses were cleared of any suspicious devices, and everything's back to normal today...but the caller is probably going to be tracked pretty soon, looks like. We'll update if that happens.
A bad wreck was reported by ISP as happening on the Williamson-Franklin county line yesterday morning at about the same time all this courthouse mess was happening. According to ISP, a northbound Freightliner on Interstate 57 swerved to avoid a deer on the interstate, lost control, and overturned on the roadway. An approaching Freightliner somehow didn't see the overturned truck and struck it at full speed, ripping open the trailer of the overturned rig and spilling its contents all over the interstate "violently," as ISP's report indicates. The crash closed the interstate for over six hours, and resulted in an air transport of the second driver, Martin Brouillette, 34, of Newfoundland in Canada, and his passenger, Josie Anne Bellaire-Robert, 27, also of Newfoundland, had to be taken to a local hospital. Citations are pending outcome of the investigation.
Your tax dollars are going toward funding the fight against opioid addiction. It's been announced that a big federal grant has been dispensed to the Illinois Department of Public Health, which has been further dispensed to four counties that apparently IDPH believes are really wrecked by the heroin epidemic: Fayette, Jefferson, Marion and Washington. The grant is for $2 million on the state level; how much is actually going to those four counties hasn't been specified in published reports; and how the IDPH selected these counties is unknown unless it has to do with reporting and statistics (which might stand to reason, since they are where major interstates and the rail travels through, they are locations where there are prisons [and therefore undesirable elements outside the prisons moving to the area to be near their incarcerated loved one], and ergo the dope moves through with intensity). Whatever the situation, all the cops will now have doses of Naloxone to deliver to overdosing addicts. No word on whether there'll next be doses of insulin or anti-convulsives being toted around by law enforcement so they can save people with REAL illnesses.
Robert Sneed
After an entire football team of 8-year-olds decided they'd "take a knee" at a sporting event, Cahokia in southwestern Illinois got a black eye last week. Not that Cahokia was off the radar in any capacity (owing to the corruption of their local public officials, which you can read about here), but now, it's back on firmly with the arrest and charging of a county deputy. Robert Sneed, age unavailable (but shown here; he's young), a St. Clair County Deputy, has been charged with two counts of Official Misconduct after an incident in February. Sneed is accused of pulling over a woman who apparently didn't have "her papers" in order and so she said that her car title was back at the house in Cahokia. He followed her home so she could retrieve it, then is alleged to have sexually assaulted her, reportedly under threat of jail if she didn't go along with him. To underscore it, it's alleged, Sneed returned to her house just last month (August) and sexually assaulted her again, which is the point that she went to the hospital to report it, and which is the point that authorities got involved. Sneed has been placed on paid administrative leave - typical for St. Clair County - and he's free on a minuscule $2,500 cash bond.
And don't forget that Fall is fest time in southern Illinois, and Corn Day is coming up this weekend in Carmi; also in Carterville is the Southern Illinois Irish Festival; Greenup up in Cumberland County is enjoying their Fall Festival; and if you dare to go to Carbondale (what with all the crimes and shootings and all), SIU-C is having a Family Weekend Craft Sale. Whatever you're doing this weekend, be watching Disclosure for breaking news and related silliness to alleviate some of the bad stuff that happens (we know; times is hard and all that.) Mark your feeds and subscribe to our social networks!